There can be little doubt that the
homosexual movement has experienced tremendous success over the last 10 or even
5 years. Homosexual sex has moved from an unnatural and immoral lifestyle in
the minds of the majority, to one that is celebrated by a large majority in
Western society. The homosexual movement has waged a campaign that has seen
such remarkable progress that even the pessimist has to be impressed. The
movement has conquered corporate America, the boy scouts, marriage, and has
even moved into the pseudo-Christian institutions we call mainline Christian
denominations.
Regardless of the success of the
homosexual movement, there is still the hard work that remains. You see, the
basis for society’s rejection of homosexuality, while distant, has continued to
be located deep within the Judeo-Christian ethic. As society moves away from
that ethic, it has become more accepting of homosexual behavior. But the basis
for the historic rejection of homosexuality remains a threat to the movement.
And that basis is located within genuine Christian theism. That is to say, the
basis for opposing homosexual sex remains fixed within ancient biblical
Christianity. That is the one barrier that the homosexual movement has yet to
cross. And it is that barrier that has been the target of the movement all
along. The homosexual movement is charging full force toward the goal of
annihilating biblical Christianity. It is my belief that the homosexual knows
that his life is unnatural and perverse and deep down he is unhappy and
discontent. He seems to have convinced himself that if he can wipe out the very
core of opposition to his lifestyle that perhaps he will find the peace he is
hopelessly searching for. Or, perhaps, he is just being vindictive and wishes
to deprive the Christian of the sort of freedom he thinks he has been deprived
of over the years. Either way, the Christian better understand that the
homosexual movement is bent on his destruction. What should the Christian do?
How should we respond?
First, there are homosexuals who do
not pretend to be Christians. We love them and give them the gospel as we would
any other unbeliever. We do not expect homosexuals to hear the gospel without
being offended. We expect that Christ will offend most sinners. But we preach
the gospel, undiluted, and pray that God will bring His elect to Himself. God
has clearly elected some men from out of the homosexual movement. And those
elect will only come by the preaching of the cross of Christ. That being said,
we make no special accommodations for the homosexual. We treat the homosexual
the same as we treat the liar, the adulterer, the pedophile, etc. We give them
the gospel.
Second, for the “gay-Christian”
movement, we have an entirely different response. We are now talking about a
subset within the homosexual movement that wants to move into the Church
without faith, without genuine repentance. Since repentance is the absolute
fruit of genuine faith, it is obvious to us who possesses genuine faith and who
does not. Those who do righteousness are born of God and those who love
lawlessness remain children of the devil. The gay-Christian is an individual
that claims Christ but who is still very much a child of the devil, the evil
one. His faith is a pseudo-faith because he has no desire to repent of the sin
of homosexual sex. Rather, he wants to claim the love of God purifies gay sex
somehow. God, according to the gay Christian understands his lust as love and
therefore wants the gay Christian to be gay AND to be Christian AND to be
happy. The gay Christian is not interested in self-denial, the life of the
cross, loving divine law. Instead, he desperately searches for as many possible
excuses as he can to justify his lust so that he can continue to engage in that
which he loves: epithumia, his burning lust (for someone of the same sex).
The purpose of this post is to ask
the question whether or not Christians should even be debating the issue of
“gay-Christianity.” I think the answer is that Christian Churches really have
no flexibility to place the subject of homosexual sex on the table as something
we should discuss in that context. On the flipside, I do think it is an
opportunity for us to educate the Christian on what the Bible teaches about the
subject. The Scriptures are not ambiguous when it comes to God’s view of gay
sex. And that clarity exists for a reason. Therefore, we should educate our
communities accordingly.
Additionally, we should study the
“gay-Christian” arguments and present them to our communities as a way to help
them understand the strategy and tactics of this group so that they can be good
apologists on the subject when they encounter it or receive questions about
some of the things the “gay-Christian” may be saying as they are getting on in
daily life. This is critically important in helping Christians not only
understand the issues but also in helping Christians feel confident to engage
the antagonist.
Finally, we must not allow
ourselves to be drawn into a debate about whether or not one can be gay and
Christian, at least not a formal debate that is. We can and should enter the
discussion if for no other reason than to shut the mouths of those who
contradict and refute the fool in his folly. But we will not, and cannot sit
down at the table and have an open-minded discussion about the possibility that
a person could practice gay sex and be in Christ at the same time. That is to
say, one cannot choose the homosexual lifestyle in parallel with wearing the
name of Christ. That is not a subject that we can be open to debate. The
closest we can get to that is to refute, point by weak point, every line of
reasoning presented in the “gay Christian” argument. And that is something we
must do. Moreover, we can never grow tired of refuting the truth-hating
arguments of all men who would despise Christ while claiming to love Him.
To the “gay Christian” we stand
firm in our rejection of their claim to faith. We do so forcefully. To the
homosexual movement we say that you have met your superior in the biblical
Christian. If you thought the Church would wilt, if you thought the Christian
would cave to your demands and be intimidated by your pressure, your
persecution, your silly name-calling, you were wrong. Christians are built to
handle slander, persecution, name-calling, isolation, etc., etc. We have been
from the beginning of our community. No amount of threats, intimidation,
persecution, or harm will change our view on the homosexual lifestyle. We
remain, and always will remain, united in our condemnation of your lifestyle
because we know with certainty that your lifestyle stands condemned by God.
Because God resides in us, we stand with God who keeps us, who loves us, who
pours His grace on us and who will always provide us the strength necessary to
stand for His truth. The homosexual movement has met, in biblical Christianity,
the one community that it cannot conquer, defeat, infiltrate, intimidate, or
bully. This is a fight that you simply cannot win. The odds makers cannot put
odds on this one because the possibility of the homosexual movement
successfully entering and thus conquering the Christian community is
non-existent.
