homosexuality

How Christians Should Respond to the LBGTQ+ Movement

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

As Christians, how are we supposed to respond to individuals who believe that the LGBTQ+ lifestyle is completely normal? 

What’s more, what if a person professing to be a Christian believes that God made some people to be attracted to members of the opposite sex and others to be attracted to the same sex?

There’s no way to resolve this very complex issue in a short blog post, but perhaps I can put forth some opinions to think about how to respond to this challenge, especially as Christians.

I’ll say right out of the gate that I believe the Bible clearly tells us that homosexuality is wrong. It is a sin, just like lying, stealing, and murder are. I don’t understand how you can read the Bible and come away with any other interpretation than that.

I also believe that God made us either one of two genders. Either you’re born one or the other. The idea that you can somehow proclaim that you now identify as the opposite sex not only goes against what God teaches us in the Bible, it doesn’t make common sense.

Let me first say that it personally hurts me when LGBTQ+ supporters say Christians hate homosexual and trans people. 

I know that for me that is actually so far from the truth. While there may be the outlying Christian, I believe the large majority of believers hate the sin, but love the sinner. Our great hope is to point them in the right direction.

The same is true for other types of sexual sin, including adultery and fornication. Christians don’t as a rule hate the one who is the sinner, although they would like to help them forgo the life of sin they have become ensnared in.

All I want (and most believers I would say) is for LGBTQ+ people to see the truth, let Jesus into their lives, and begin to make changes in their beliefs and behaviors that line up with solid biblical teaching.

There is no hate involved, but just a genuine desire to see others put their lives in God’s hands and trust Him with everything.

With that being said, here are a couple of verses that are often used to help show practicing homosexuals and trans people the truth.

Matthew 19: 4-6 says:

‘Haven’t you read,’ he replied, ‘that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’

In Isaiah 62:50, we read:

As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.

There are many more verses in Scripture that show that God’s intention is for one man to marry one woman. No where in the Bible is it ever referred to that man should marry man or woman should marry woman.

In fact, we are told in Romans 1:26-28 that that sort of union is sinful and against God’s plan to mankind:

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

So, clearly the LGBTQ+ lifestyle is in direct violation of the kind of fruitful, joyful life God desires each of us to have. 

It’s not just because He wants to take our fun away and have us live a sterile, joyless life. He knows that sin (including sexual sin) will make us miserable in the long run and can bring about both physical and spiritual death.

He wants what’s best for us and will cause all things to work together for good in our lives (Rom. 8:28).

But how do we reach others who are steeped in this rebellious lifestyle? I believe it takes a lot of love and a great deal of patience. 

I believe the best approach toward people of the LGBTQ+ persuasion is to reach out to them with genuine love. Make an honest attempt to connect with them and try to understand their situation. They may be much more confused about their beliefs than they’re willing to let on.

Convey to them the idea that God loves them no matter what. He wants what’s best for them, including a relationship with the opposite sex that can potentially lead to marriage and children.

You may not see results for quite some time, if ever. You may be merely planting a seed, that other people will come by and water, and still other people will see the harvest come to fruition. That’s fine, as the Bible tells us that this is the normal course of events.

So long as you’re doing what you can to show others caught up in the LGBTQ+ lifestile love and understanding, you’re advancing God’s kingdom. It may be quite some time before a person makes a commitment to Jesus and begins to put that lifestyle behind them.

Don’t be afraid to spend time with others caught up in the LGBTQ+ lifestyle. After all, Jesus ate and drank with tax collectors, prostitutes, and other sinners. It is the sick who need the Great Physician, not the well.

Jesus Himself said in Luke 5:32:

I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

We would do well to follow His example.

The Family Unit is Disappearing

/ Clay D. / 1 Comment

In America, the traditional family as we know it is fading quickly. In talking about marriage, Chip Ingram, a well-known pastor and author, stated that less than 25% of the marriages today represent the the “typical” family of a husband and wife along with their children. He went on to say that 65% of couples who marry will have lived together before marriage (incidentally, living together before saying “I do” actually increases the already-high odds that the marriage will end in divorce). Also according to Ingram, 40% of Americans now believe that marriage is obsolete.

The majority of teens and 20-somethings today see little wrong with living together before marriage. My wife and I were having a conversation recently regarding how dating and marriage are viewed these days by these age groups. She said (based on her experiences with people these ages) that the goal now is not necessarily to grow up and get married, but instead to find somebody to live with for a while and then maybe find somebody else for a while, etc.

I’m reminded of a concept I read about in The Last Christian by David Gregory. I’ve been unable to get this out of my mind. In Gregory’s depiction of family life in the year 2088, couples don’t marry. Instead, they simply sign a contract with another person to be “life partners”. To clarify, that’s not life partners as in partners for life, but rather life partners as in partners with whom to live and possibly have children, usually for a 10 year contract. At the end of this time, they can either renew the contract for another 10 years or else part ways and find new life partners.

The following morning after the conversation with my wife, I went to my favorite hair shop for a haircut. The owner/stylist and I were talking about how difficult marriage and relationships can be. I asked her if she’d ever been married. “Once,” she replied. “And that’s all for me.” She went on to say how she didn’t mind relationships but she didn’t want the hassle of answering to anybody again.

Her next statement nearly floored me. “You know, it wouldn’t be so bad if the marriage was for 5 years or something, then you could evaluate it and see if you wanted to go on.” Interestingly, she’s 52 — not exactly a young adult.

I believe the reason there is currently such an overwhelming amount of sympathy for the homosexual agenda among young heterosexuals is that the Christian right represents an enemy not just to homosexuals touting gay “marriage”, but also to a large number of heterosexuals who are living together in sexual sin. I don’t believe that in general heterosexuals are necessarily that sympathetic toward the homosexual cause for the sake of the cause itself. However, Christians represent a threat to their chosen lifestyle as well. If Christians, or anyone with a moral voice, are allowed to say that homosexuality is wrong, then what’s to stop them from saying that heterosexuals living together is also wrong?

We have generations of kids today growing up in split families, perhaps with one or both parents living with a partner outside of marriage. Add to this the overwhelming dominance of sex and rebellion in the media. Prime time sitcoms and reality shows, not to mention movies and the gigantic popular music industry, all espouse a life of freedom from any sort of sexual morality whatsoever. Pick just about any TV show and you’ll find unmarried characters randomly having sex and/or living together.

Yes, I know this sounds very preachy and old-fashioned. I’m not pointing fingers at any one group. All of us sin. However, in my heart I believe that this is why America is how it is today. For most kids and young adults, they are not getting any sort of message whatsoever about sexual restraint. It’s get what you what, how you want it, with whom you want it, whenever you want it.

Our schools aren’t helping the situation either. I read recently where a school district in Oregon recently approved making condoms available to 6th graders! All they have to do is ask for them. Crazy.

The traditional American family is already a minority; it may become virtually extinct if our society doesn’t change. Is it too late for America? For the world? Only God knows these answers. I don’t know, but my gut feeling is that things are only going to get worse from here.