Sometimes we just have to do it … address the elephants that make it impossible to navigate a room without bumping into them. The one facing us today is sexual orientation, which includes everything from same sex marriage to gender re-identification. This past month in the U.S we’ve been encouraged to not only accept but celebrate the LGBTQ community and its agenda. Can we do that as Christians in the light of Scripture? How would the Lord want us to respond to this?

Right off the top we need to recognize some UNACCEPTABLE ways for serious disciples of Jesus to address the issue. First, we shouldn’t follow the example of groups like Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, who stage public protests holding signs that declare how much God hates those who engage in such things. Secondly, we shouldn’t just ignore what God has said about human sexuality and dismiss His Word as irrelevant or out of date on the subject. He is our Creator and Lord. We must bow to His authority on this (and every other issue), whether it’s popular in our culture or not.

The other thing we shouldn’t try to do is reinterpret Scripture in a way that makes room for our personal preferences. A recent book by Matthew Vines argues that the sin of Sodom wasn’t homosexuality itself but the attempted gang rape of the angels visiting Lot. Yet when we read the New Testament book of Jude, which mentions the incident, verse 7 says, “Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion.” Because of this, God judged them. Jude warns Christians in verse 4 to oppose teachers who “distort the grace of our God into decadence and immoral freedom [viewing it as an opportunity to do whatever they want], and deny and disown our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Amplified version)

When we read through Scripture from beginning to end, we are struck by its consistency. In the beginning humans were created by God as male and female, with each fulfilling their unique role in reproduction. God blessed their sexual union and encouraged them to multiply, creating families that would know and love Him. This was the creation order. Every mention of marriage, even into the New Testament, is in the context of a male and female coming together to become one flesh through their commitment to one another. No room is made for deviations. Mankind is never encouraged to pursue other alternatives in their sexual lives. Jesus clearly reaffirms this creation order in Matthew 19:4. Those in covenant with God were to follow the Lord’s commands regardless of how they “felt” about them.

If you want to take the time, look up the following passages and judge for yourself what they are saying. Leviticus 18:22; 20:13. Romans 1:18-27. 1 Corinthians 6:9-12. Jude 3-7. 1 Timothy 1:8-11. The whole chapter of Leviticus 18 is about unlawful sexual relations, which is far more extensive than just same sex relationships. Apparently, God cares a great deal about how we use our bodies sexually!   

Proverbs 23:23 declares, “Buy the truth and sell it not—wisdom, instruction and insight as well.” The truth we receive from God in His Word is too valuable to tinker with. Paul writes in Ephesians 5:10, “Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, because these are not proper for God’s holy people. … For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light and find out what pleases the Lord.” From God’s viewpoint, what is loving is what contributes to the health and wellbeing of mankind in the long run. It is for our good to follow the ways of the Lord. Our flesh will lead us astray; we can’t rely on it for instruction in what is right and good. In 1 Corinthians 13, the well-known chapter about love, verse 6 says “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”    

The apostle Paul lived in a time when Greco-Roman cultures around Israel participated in all sorts of social practices forbidden by Jewish law. Included were homosexuality, infanticide (killing of infants), and the worship of false gods. Paul does not counsel converts to Christ to try to impose their views on those around them, but he also warns them against adopting Roman ways just to fit in. Here’s what he wrote to the Christians in Corinth: “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside” (1 Corinthians 5:12).

As “the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15), we have an obligation to hold fast to what God says is right and good. Of course, we take our stands with the spirit of Christ … in gentleness, humility, and grace. “The Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:25-26).

In today’s world it may not matter how kindly or lovingly we share our message. It is likely we will be met with anger, hostility, and lots of accusations—people, after all, don’t like to be told things they’ve already decided against believing. Multinational corporations are tripping over themselves to support the LGBTQ movement. Even some Christian denominations are bowing to their pressure to ordain same sex marriages and allow openly gay pastors to lead their congregations.  

We’re all caught in a bind these days. Those with family members, friends, or coworkers in one of these camps will find it difficult to express a contrary view. After all, we don’t want to cause them added pain or offend them. It’s so much easier to just accommodate their lifestyle and think that it must be “right” for them, even if it’s not right for us. But Jesus warned His followers that His ways are in opposition to the ways of the world. Families would be divided, and persecution would come because we belong to Him. That’s why He told them to “count the cost” of being His disciple.

As a biblical Christian I cannot celebrate a gay lifestyle or same sex marriage. I can’t give a thumbs up to surgery that will change a young person from one sex to another. That doesn’t mean that I would try to block a person’s choice to make those decisions. I won’t harass, ridicule, or otherwise mistreat anyone whose stance is different from mine. As the people of God, we cannot dictate how others in our culture respond to biblical mandates. All we can do is faithfully represent Him ourselves.

In our desire to give everyone the opportunity to receive Christ, we make church as comfortable as possible for visitors. But are we truly loving them if we don’t share the truth about God’s judgment on sin? The Gospel is offered to those who are willing to acknowledge and turn from their sin and rebellion, trusting in the grace provided through Jesus. Whether our “sin of choice” is greed, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, idolatry, hatred, sexual impurity, lying, stealing, or anything else, we shouldn’t look for excuses to go on sinning. Jesus wants to set us free! His ways prepare us to live in God’s presence both now and into eternity.

So let’s not let the world “squeeze us into its mold” (Romans 12:2). Letting His Word inform our attitudes, opinions, and actions will enable us to faithfully represent Him and offer hope to everyone who wants to follow Jesus. As His people we can declare with confidence: GOD’S LOVE is what matters in the end.  

My dear heavenly Father, help me today to bow to your superior wisdom and to trust that what you have written is universally and forever true. Strengthen me to stand for what pleases you and not to cave to the pressures around me. Help me to truly love others by sharing Jesus Christ, who frees us from our sins. In whatever way I can be a light and a voice of hope to my culture, I give myself to you. Amen.