Here’s my hubby’s carefully thought-through article on a biblically-founded response to the LGBT movement.
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For Christians who seek to live biblically, one of the trickiest issues of the day is how to make sense of the LGBT movement, and what the appropriate biblical response is. This will be an issue not only for today, but for the next decades looking ahead. Because of its recent rise of the last few decades, this issue is now in a form that Christians of previous generations (e.g. the Puritans of the 17th century) did not have to deal with. So it somewhat leaves Christians in unchartered territory.
I have been thinking about this issue for a while now. For me, one’s response to the LGBT movement depends mainly on what one’s starting point is. If one’s starting point is only about inclusion, “the freedom to love” and “equality”, one would reach a certain outcome. If one’s starting point is obedience to God and living one’s life in accordance to God’s Word, one would reach a different outcome. For Christians, I would submit that we must needs consider what the Bible says on this topic, and use this to guide our response. If we allow societal norms to sway our views, we would not be faithful to what the Bible says. (At this point, I think about Ephesians 4:14.)
This is my humble attempt to consider this issue biblically.
What the church believes is right
- A) Sexuality, as ordained by God, is the right way
The Genesis story reminds us that God created us male and female. In other ways, we were created differently and distinct. But because of the Fall, sin entered into the world. And the perversion of sexuality resulted: adulterous man-woman relationships, homosexuality, bestiality, etc.
Even though we live in a sinful world, the Bible instructs Christians to live God-honouring and God-fearing lives. We are to keep the marriage bed pure, mindful that He will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous (Hebrews 13:4). We are to submit to God and resist the devil (James 4:7). We are to set our hearts on things above, as we have died, and our life is now hidden with Christ in God (Col: 3 1-3). We are to flee from sexual immorality (1 Cor 6:18).
- B) The call is to “Repent and Believe”
The call to “repent and believe” holds true for all sinners, be they heterosexual or those experiencing same-sex-attractions. Let me emphasise: for all humans, we start off on the wrong foot with the holy God. So Christians who are saved by grace should be the first to demonstrate love for others, as they too have been utterly depraved, and now have “repented and believed”. To “repent and believe” was the call that Jesus made at the start of his ministry (Mark 1:14), and it continues to hold true.
Recently, I saw a Facebook ad of a church, whose tagline was “Don’t just come out, come home”. It is a nifty slogan, I must say. However, I think it is useful to probe what it means to “come home”. If “come home” means to be reconciled to God, and in so doing, renouncing all sinful acts and desires (in more archaic language, to “repent and believe”), then it is in line with what the Bible says. But if “come home” is interpreted as something other than what is taught in the Bible (e.g. acceptance of ongoing homosexual acts and lifestyle with no belief or desire to adhere to God’s word), then that is not the ultimate aim of the gospel, and could be very misleading.
The Bible promises hope for all of us who believe. The church in Corinth was told that the “sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexual offenders, thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers” will not inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Cor 6: 9-10). So they clearly faced the same issues as us today, as many people in society were not doing what was right in God’s sight.
But it was not the end; there was a crucial word used by Paul. The word “But”. “But they were washed, they were sanctified, and were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God”. (1 Cor 6:11) This gives all of us sinners hope that our sins, sexual or not, will not exclude us from His Kingdom. But we need to be washed, sanctified and justified by Him.
- C) Killing Sin
In Romans 8, Paul reminds us that even as Christians, we still have to battle indwelling sin. For Christians who are honest with themselves, it is a real struggle to deal with sin. Sin is not merely imperfection; it is rebellion against God Almighty. Sin lays deep within us, within the deep recesses of the heart.
Even as people with Same-Sex Attraction (SSA) have to deal with their lust, heterosexual Christians have to deal with lust too. So we are the same.
As John Owen said, “Be Killing Sin, if not, Sin will kill you”. This applies to all of us. So it means that we have to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles (Heb 12:2)
As part of the piece, I have also reflected on what I think churches have been doing wrong, even as they grapple with the LGBT issue. This is my contribution to the discussion.
What beliefs the church has wrongly held
- A) “We should exclude gays from our churches, as they are deviant”.
These are some people or churches who hold the above view. Hence, a Christian who struggles with SSA is not welcome in church. While I see the desire to keep the church pure, this thinking is ill-advised. Put another way, there is no reason why we should differentiate against sin of different types. All heterosexual Christians who battle lust are welcome in churches; why not Christians who deal with SSA but are committed to live a biblical life?
One of the tragedies, I think, committed by churches, is to exclude people with SSAs from the church community. As a result, they seek solace in gay communities, or “churches” who mistakenly proclaim that it is ok to be a “gay Christian”. Just as churches are reaching out to the marginalised in society, we should similarly reach out to all who feel marginalised in this way? We must show them biblical Christian love and care, while exhorting them to press on in the journey to live as God has ordained, or “repent and believe”, as we all must, from all our own rebellion against God.
- B) “We should not preach about homosexuality in churches, as it is too awkward”
I think this view is misguided. If we do not educate our congregants on what the Bible says on this, they will overtly or covertly absorb the views from the world. That would not be right.
We must believe that the power of God’s Word, when preached faithfully from the pulpit, is true and active today in teaching our hearts and minds. The word of God is powerful, and we need our thinking to be continually shaped by the Word.
Besides this, our pastors and preachers in our churches have to get up to speed on this difficult topic, be very aware of the pastoral need within our own churches on this issue, and the Elders and Deacons have to think about the implications on how they lead their churches. The Great Commission does not exclude reaching out to the LGBT community, and surely, we are not to do so. They need the good news, as much as we do.
- C) “We should aim to convert Christians with SSA, to become heterosexuals”.
Once again, the above thinking is well intentioned, but deeply misguided. For a Christian, the goal for homosexuality cannot be heterosexuality, but holiness (I have Rosaria Butterfield to thank for this view). We are called to be holy, just as He is Holy. That means, taking steps to kill sin in our lives (with the power of the Holy Spirit), undertaking spiritual disciplines (reading the Word, praying, etc) so that we can grow to become more like Christ.
Also, the above view implies that all Christians who repent of homosexuality tendencies would be automatically healed of their sexual tendencies. By God’s grace, some like Rosaria Butterfield have changed. However, some like Vaughan Roberts and Sam Allberry are still struggling, and could very well continue as such, all their lives before reaching eternity. It is important to remember that only God can heal and repair the soul, and in his own time. We cannot force God’s hand and impose a timeline nor outcome of his healing.
Here, I plead with all Christians to first look at our own hearts, before we look outwards. We need to realise that homosexuality is not the only sin listed in the Bible (if I remember correctly, it is only mentioned 3 times in the New Testament). There are so many others that we need to repent of. Mere hatred against others who holds a different view from us is also sin that we need to repent of. To quote Monergism.com, “conservatives must repent of their sin of trusting in their own righteousness because God didn’t save you because you were pure, or because of something good He saw in you but rather, because of His sheer grace, plus nothing. The conservative religionist is as equally deserving of God’s wrath as the homosexual.”
Before I end off, there are a few issues that deserve further thought:
- How do we deal with Christians with SSAs, when they come to our church? Do we allow them to serve alongside us? Can they be serving us as Pastors, Elders and Deacons? Or do their tendencies preclude them from doing so?
- How do we educate our congregation on what a biblical, loving response to the LGBT topic should be?
- How to respectfully conduct dialogue with “churches” that hold different views on this topic. This would include those who are inaccurately preaching that having an active homosexual lifestyle with no desire for change is biblical.
Ultimately, as Christians, there is a tension of maintaining the purity of the church doctrines (in accordance to the Word), while seeking to reach out to the lost (i.e. proclaiming the gospel). In extremis, if we were to do all of the former and none of the latter, we have not been faithful to the Great Commission.
For example, if we were to do all of the latter while neglecting the former, the church that God has died for will lose its way, and be indistinguishable from the world. When we consider our response to the LGBT debate, I would suggest that how to keep the right balance is key.
A request and a plea
I am taking a risk by posting this online, as this is a highly divisive issue. As there is much vitriol online, I make this request and plea. And is is this: as much as I respect you, and your right to hold your own views on the LGBT issue, I hope that you would respect my right to hold my own views on this. One cannot claim to be tolerant, when one is intolerant of views held by others.
If you are a Christian, think deeply about this topic, and what the Bible has to say. Read what other respected Christians have to say about this. Don’t be led by what society tells you it is right or wrong.
If you hold a different view (eg. LGBT/human rights activist, equality advocate), I hope that you would also think about what we, or ‘the other side’ is saying. Because Christianity is able to offer eternal hope for all in this world (and we are all in need one way or the other), I would humbly suggest to you to consider that sexuality is not the be-all and end-all of our existence. Because we all will face death one day, we should be considering where our soul would be destined for, post-death.
Conclusion
In summary, as we deal with this complicated subject, Christians must always go back to what Holy Scriptures say. The call throughout the ages remain the same, and I pray that we would be found faithful as we deal with this topic.
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” (Titus 2:11-15)
[Here’s a post of book reviews by Lyn on the two books by Rosario Butterfield mentioned below, as well as on “Bruised Reeds”, a book on walking with same sex attracted friends in a Singaporean context.]
Useful Resources
Books
Rosaria Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor’s Journey into the Christian Faith (2012)
Rosaria Butterfield, Openness Unhindered: Further Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert on Sexual Identity and Union with Christ (2015)
Vaughan Roberts, Transgender (2016)
Wayne Grudem, Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning, upcoming
Websites
A selection of videos
Sam Allberry, “You are not your sexuality”
Rosaria Butterfield, “Homosexuality and the Christian Faith”
Sam Allberry, “Does Christianity have good news for the transgendered?”
ERLC Panel (Christopher Yuan, Sam Allberry, Rosaria Butterfield, Jackie Hill-Perry), “Is it Okay to be Gay?”
Sam Allberry, “Is God Anti-Gay?”
p.s. And here is a Facebook post by a friend who is active in this ministry and has written out his views in a grounded, yet most sensitive and humble manner.
Hi what is ssa?
Hi, it’s an acronym for ‘Same-Sex Attraction’. Will update the post to expand the acronym. Thanks!