RYAN LEASURE

CHRISTIANITY AND THE LGBTQ MOVEMENT

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LGBTQ

In 2008, the state of California voted to affirm Proposition 8 which declared that marriage exists exclusively between a male and a female. Given the current climate of Western culture, you may need to do a double take. 2008? California? The most liberal state in America? Voting to affirm traditional marriage values? Given where we’re at as a society, Proposition 8 sounds like it belongs to the Puritan era, not 2008.

Much has changed over the last dozen years or so. The tide of public opinion has shifted at break-neck speeds to the point where one is accused of hate speech for declaring what was almost universally affirmed fifteen years ago. Loss of jobs, lawsuits, and public shaming are all real threats for anyone who whispers a negative word against the LGBTQ Movement.

TWO CHOICES

Given the current position of Western civilization, Christians are faced with two options: 1) They can go along with culture and affirm LGBTQ relationships, or 2) Hold to what the universal Church has taught for almost two thousand years. 

In many respects, I don’t expect the secular culture at large to embrace a biblical worldview when it comes to anything, let alone marriage. And while I believe the current movement is largely misguided, my primary concern isn’t America; it’s the church. The writers of the New Testament share this same emphasis. For instance, when talking about sexual sin, Paul writes, “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?” (1 Cor. 5:12).

But how should Christians respond when others hold up the banner of the cross and the rainbow flag simultaneously? To give just one example, Matthew Vines, self-proclaimed homosexual and author of God and the Gay Christian writes, “Christians who affirm the full authority of Scripture can also affirm committed, monogamous same-sex relationships.”1 What are we to make of these claims? Is Matthew Vines right? Does God bless homosexual relationships, provided that they are “committed” and “monogamous”? Or, does God forbid them? That is the question I hope to answer. 

WHERE AM I HEADED?

In case it’s not obvious by now, I hold to the view that the Church has universally accepted for almost two thousand years. Namely, that God ordained marriage to exist exclusively between one male and one female (Gen. 1-2). And to support this position, I’m going to write a series of blog posts answering the following questions:

While I won’t be able to address every issue, I hope to respond to the main revisionist arguments along the way. If you’re interested in following along, be sure to subscribe to the blog or make sure to revisit soon as I’ll be posting six more articles in the coming weeks.

MY OWN CONFESSION

Before going any further, let me start by saying that I, in no way, think I am better than anyone who embraces the LGBTQ Movement. I deal with my own sexual temptations too. In fact, Scripture is clear that we are all sinners before God (Rom. 3:23); and we all stand condemned apart from the saving work of Jesus (Jn. 3:18). Any Christian who truly grasps the seriousness of their own sin, the holiness of God, and his gracious act of forgiveness can’t help but be humble. We have nothing to boast about except the cross of Christ (Gal. 6:14). 

I also acknowledge that the Church has often times been hypocritical when addressing this issue. We have treated homosexuality as if it’s the worst of all sins and downplayed many other “respectable sins.” We must acknowledge this, and aim to be more consistent moving forward. 

A QUICK WORD ABOUT TOLERANCE

I realize that stating my position as such puts me at risk as being labeled as intolerant, bigoted, or homophobic. Certainly, I can’t control your opinions of me, but I dispute these labels. I dispute them because I am tolerant of the LGBTQ community as the term is classically defined. Historically, tolerance has meant that even though we disagree on something, we still respect each other as fellow human beings and image bearers of God. In other words, tolerance implies disagreement. Unfortunately, many now think that simple disagreement implies intolerance or hate. 

MY MOTIVATION

I also want to state in emphatic terms that my motivation for writing on this topic is love. Jesus commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves. And this is an attempt to love those who celebrate the LGBTQ Movement. To further illustrate this point, I want us to consider the following quote from the self-proclaimed atheist Penn Jillette. He states:

“I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think people shouldn’t proselytize and who say just leave me along and keep your religion to yourself—how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?

“I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”3

Jillette’s comments get to the heart of my message. My desire is for everyone to experience human flourishing and eternal life. Thus, I don’t believe it’s loving to encourage the LGBTQ lifestyle when the Apostle Paul writes that those who practice homosexuality will not inherit the kingdom of heaven (1 Cor. 6:9-10). Please read this as a loving plea. 

Perhaps you disagree with me. Perhaps you believe that God blesses homosexual relationships. If so, I hope you’ll stick around to engage my later posts as I make the case for the traditional Christian view.

  1. Matthew Vines, God and the Gay Christian, 3.

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