Homosexuality, Changing Times, & The Bible (Part 4)

(Read the entire series.)

The Church’s Response

As the LGBT agenda has gained traction in America, and specifically after the Supreme Court legalized homosexual marriage, the evangelical church has been scrambling for a response. Unfortunately, there is not a united front representing the church. For example, within many major, relatively conservative denominations and organizations, there have sprung up movements actively lobbying for acceptance of LGBTs and homosexual behavior including same-sex marriage and even ordination of homosexuals.¹ Others have been more ambiguous. Andy Stanley, for example, preached a message in 2012 that seemed to embrace homosexuals in a committed same-sex relationship or marriage. Al Mohler’s thoughts are in the following post:

He [Stanley] told of a couple with a young daughter who divorced when the wife discovered that the husband was in a sexual relationship with another man. The woman then insisted that her former husband and his gay partner move to another congregation. They did move, but to another North Point location, where they volunteered together as part of a “host team.” The woman later told Andy Stanley that her former husband and his partner were now involved as volunteers in the other congregational location.

The story took a strange turn when Stanley then explained that he had learned that the former husband’s gay partner was still married. Stanley then explained that the partner was actually committing adultery, and that the adultery was incompatible with his service on a host team. Stanley told the two men that they could not serve on the host team so long as the one man was still married. He later told of the former wife’s decision not to live in bitterness, and of her initiative to bring the whole new family structure to a Christmas service. This included the woman, her daughter, her former husband, his gay partner, and his daughter. Stanley celebrated this new “modern family” as an expression of forgiveness.

He concluded by telling of Christ’s death for sinners and told the congregation that Jesus does not condemn them, even if they cannot or do not leave their life of sin.²

Many have challenged Stanley to clarify his position but to date he has not done so, leaving concerned church leaders to interpret what exactly he is saying. The closest he has come to an explanation seems to be at one of his Catalyst West conferences, an event series for pastors under 40.

We just need to decide from now on in our churches when a Middle School kid comes out to his small group leader or a high school young lady comes out to her parents,” said Stanley. “We just need to decide, regardless of what you think about this topic — no more students are going to feel like they have to leave the local church because they’re same-sex attracted or because they’re gay. That ends with us. Stanley acknowledged that there was a diversity of views on homosexuality and gay marriage among his audience, but felt that regardless of these differences churches, as a collective, can create safe space for gay youth. There is not consensus in this room when it comes to same-sex attraction. There is not consensus in this room when it comes to gay marriage,” said Stanley. We just can’t continue to look into the filter of our politics at our spirituality. It’s got to be the other way around … and specifically when it comes to this issue.³

In line with Stanley’s apparent unwillingness to stake out a clear position on homosexuality comes a recent TIME article entitled “How Evangelicals Are Changing Their Minds on Gay Marriage.” The author, Elizabeth Dias, states:

Every day, evangelical communities across the country are arriving at new crossroads over marriage. My magazine story for TIME this week, “A change of Heart” is a deep dive into the changing allegiances and divides in evangelical churches and communities over homosexuality. In public, so many churches and pastors are afraid to talk about the generational and societal shifts happening. But behind the scenes, it’s a whole different game. Support for gay marriage across all age groups of white evangelicals has increased by double digits over the past decade, according to the Public Religion Research Institute, and the fastest change can be found among younger evangelicals—their support for gay marriage jumped from 20% in 2003 to 42% in 2014.⁴

By way of confirmation of these statistics is a statement in a recent essay found in Christianity Today. The authors state, “The Christian pro-family agenda that makes its center mission the reversal of gay marriage will be spectacularly unsuccessful … 70 percent of millennials (and more than 40 percent of evangelical millennials) support gay marriage.”⁵

While I agree that the reversal of gay marriage must not be the center mission of the church, the proclamation of the gospel and Jesus Christ having that honor, this does not minimize the importance of the issue. Nor do we frame our mission on the basis of the latest surveys and the opinions of the majority. And as a side-note, has not the definition of evangelical been stretched to the breaking point when individuals can defy the clear teaching of the Scriptures on such an important topic and still be identified as evangelicals?

Yet, without question, those claiming to be evangelicals have certainly muddled the waters. Take an article found in the July/August, 2015, edition of Christianity Today written by Margaret Philbrick telling the story of her brother who “became a woman.” The article draws to a close with a disturbing statement and an equally disturbing event. The statement, “We hurt the LGBT community by ostracizing them from our churches. Let’s bless them with our listening ears, willingness to be uncomfortable, and hunger to seek the heart of Jesus in every conversation.” This was preceded by an account in which the author, her brother, who had had a sexual reorientation operation and was now living as a woman, and his lesbian girlfriend, attended together a church service in which foot washing was a part. As the author,

poured water on the feet of his [brother’s] girlfriend, and she on [the author’s], “the Lord met us in a white plastic tub of tepid water. In that moment I knew I loved her. I admired her courage going forward and embracing the unfamiliar… How like the Lord to transform our uncomfortable, twisted hearts and minds with his presence and love.⁶

If these types of ideas are reflective of the current confusing and fuzzy thinking within Christianity, and I believe they are, we are in need of careful, biblical meditation on everything touching LGBT issues. Briefly, in light of these troubling trends within the church, how should the church respond? Here I will list the main headings in an article written by Alex Montoya and make a few comments. I would encourage a thorough reading of the entire article.⁷

First, the church must expose homosexuality as sin against God. It is an offense against the Lord, a detriment to the church and a disservice to those involved in an LGBT lifestyle to minimize the clear teaching of Scripture that homosexual behavior, in whatever form, is sin.

Secondly, we must be careful to extend grace and compassion to homosexuals. Without question homosexuality is a sin, but it is one of many sins for which Christ died in order to redeem us. Homosexuals are sinners, as are we all, and Christ died to save sinners. Because of the enslaving nature of sexual sins, careful and devoted discipleship will be necessary for any LGBT person who comes to Christ.

Thirdly, the church must remove practicing homosexuals who claim to be believers from their fellowship (1 Cor 5). Making them comfortable and providing them a safe environment within the church, as some are advocating, is to minimize the gravity of their sin and falsely assure them that all is well with them and the Lord.

In addition, there is the danger of their attitude toward homosexuality infiltrating the thinking of other believers. Finally, the church must resist the homosexual community’s assault on society. Given the political and moral mindset of our culture at this time, standing against the LGBT agenda will be difficult and costly. But the church of Christ must make its voice heard, declaring with biblical authority that homosexuality is a sin and a powerful influence toward further moral corruption in our culture.

Conclusion

The LGBT agenda has made rapid progress in Western civilization in the last few decades. In just a few short years, homosexuality has gone from a disgraceful, sinful lifestyle which most made every effort to hide, to a psychological disorder that needed to be cured to a normal alternative lifestyle, flaunted in public and defiantly daring any to oppose it. When Bruce Jenner became Caitlyn and shortly thereafter won the Entertainment and Sports Programing (ESPN)’s Arthur Ashe Courage Award, it was noted by some that very little courage was needed at all. Seemingly, the majority within the sports world and the American public in general, rallied in support around Jenner. Those needing courage are the ones who, even in the most gracious of ways, oppose the LGBT lifestyle and/or disagree with same-sex marriage.

The world has changed so rapidly that many of us are getting whiplash. The church has been put in a unique and difficult position by standing for the truth which has been thoroughly rejected by the majority. But in darkness light shines best. May the church not cave to the demands of the many but honor the Lord who has set them free from the bondage of darkness.