PRIDE in Our Land
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· 3 viewsWestern Heights Baptist Chruch, 7.2.23
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Background to passage: As LGBTQ+ PRIDE month has finally come to an end, I would like to take a day encourage you in the battle for your own soul and the souls of others. I would like to love like Jesus loved by confronting sin among sinners (religious and non-religious). I would also like to remind us of our instructions on how to behave toward our brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends, and to those falsely called our enemies.
There is no way that I can do justice to this topic in one sermon. There will be points that need to be made, angles that could be viewed, counsel that could be given that I won’t be able to deal with today. I welcome your feedback. I would be glad to sit down and talk with you about things that I say today (that is the best way to communicate clearly and maintain civility and promote understanding). I will attempt to be clear, but please give me the benefit of the doubt if I say something that you interpret as being really wrong. I know that there are many of you with family who live this lifestyle, let me encourage you to feel no shame. It is hard, but you are not alone.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Opening illustration: Declaration of Independence: The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness...
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Main thought: As the mainstream culture, media, left-wing activists push the PRIDE agenda upon this nation, not only in the month of June or the summer of 2023, but the whole year, we must stand firm with a biblical worldview. We must seek the face of God to determine our orthodoxy and our orthopraxy.
1) How To Think About LGBTQ+ Issues (Gen 1-2)
1) How To Think About LGBTQ+ Issues (Gen 1-2)
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
1) How To Think About LGBTQ+ Issues (Gen 1-2)
1) How To Think About LGBTQ+ Issues (Gen 1-2)
Explanation: Here in the first two chapters of the bible, we can draw out some principles that God has given for us to begin to process important truths to guide our thoughts and views on the LGBTQ+ issues that we face.
God made two genders: male and female. They are both made in the image of God. There is also an element of mystery in the fact that the two genders created represent a complete picture of God.
God defined marriage: v. 25 “the man and his wife” is how he defined it. Two males cannot be married, two females cannot be married, regardless of what our culture or legal system says. Homosexual couples cannot make babies. Biblical families did take various shapes because of war, separation, and other circumstances, but it was never the shape of homosexual parents. Biblical sexuality and behavior are confined to marriage between a man and a woman. Any understanding or practice of sex and sexuality outside of this relationship is contrary to nature and to God’s law.
Argumentation:
Illustration: St. Philip's College in San Antonio on behalf of the professor, Dr. Johnson Varkey, demanding the institution reinstate him after he was fired in January 2023.
"When teaching the human reproductive system, Dr. Varkey also stated that human sex is determined by chromosomes X and Y, and that reproduction must occur between a male and a female to continue the human species," First Liberty stated in its letter. "In the course of teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology, he made these statements in every class for 20 years, without any incident or complaint."
On November 28, 2022, four of Varkey's students walked out of his class when he stated that sex was determined by X and Y chromosomes, just as he had dozens of times before.
Complaints against Varkey said he has engaged in "religious preaching, discriminatory comments about homosexuals and transgender individuals, anti-abortion rhetoric, and misogynistic banter" and that his teaching "pushed beyond the bounds of academic freedom with [his] personal opinions that were offensive to many individuals in the classroom," according to the letter
Application: First, educate yourself on the issues, and not just from one source. Do understand that the transgender movement, specifically, is terribly destructive. Terminology is used to seduce, confuse, and normalize what is abnormal. Terms are invented, language is manipulated, and political correctness is used as leverage to shame anyone who shares an alternative belief. Words are swords, but so are books, movies, music, hormones, and surgeries. Legal means can/should be used to protect our young people. Schools, libraries, and the marketplace can be places of enormous battles.
Practically, refuse to use they/them in the singular, just use their names. You may have to cut the cable, transfer schools, put limits on phones, homeschool, speak at school board meetings, run for office.
Secondly, focus on the family. Be godly parents. Have dinner with each other. Discuss issues like this. Parents, if you are not discussing them with your kids, others are. Some school systems are even helping children be “trans” while they are at school without telling their parents. Let’s stand for marriage. People are waiting longer. They are living with/sleeping with boyfriends and girlfriends. Kids out of wedlock. This minimizes importance of marriage, which is the core of the family with the purpose of putting on display the beauty of Christ and his Church. Have children. First command. Do not look upon them as a burden. Do not look upon large families as abnormal, foolish, gluttons for punishment, etc.
Students, know that you are walking targets. To change any culture, it has always been known that you must capture the minds of the young people. That’s why they display LGBTQ material in stores, on library shelves, and even on warning signs. Most of you have or will have a Gay- Straight Alliance club. More of you will have friends and classmates who go down those paths than any previous generations. You will have more conversations than I ever will. In higher academics, unless you are at the most solid Christian schools (only about a dozen), you will be attacked, if not openly, subtlety. You must prepare your minds with an answer for this cultural agenda, as it will not get easier. You must drown yourself in the word of God to protect yourself. You need to surround yourself with believers, young and old, to fortify your soul. Satan is out to destroy you quickly or slowly if we are not to stay vigilant. To rest easy without biblical knowledge and preparation and commitment will end up in the trendy deconstructionism.
2) How To Behave Regarding LGBTQ+ Issues (1 Cor 6:9-11)
2) How To Behave Regarding LGBTQ+ Issues (1 Cor 6:9-11)
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
2) How To Behave Regarding LGBTQ+ Issues (1 Cor 6:9-11)
2) How To Behave Regarding LGBTQ+ Issues (1 Cor 6:9-11)
Explanation: As firm as we are to stand regarding the LGBTQ+ agenda, we are given standards and instructions about treating others that are not like you. The pendulum has swung too far this way and too far that way, and a proper line is not always easy to draw. Evangelical Christians have been portrayed as haters, unkind, bigoted, and sometimes we have earned those feelings. So, I am going to give you eight principles and instructions to help us live well among a perverse culture.
Christianity is not a crusade against anything. It is a mission to save sinners, and restore the moral beauty of the bride of Christ — a mission pursued by the cross of Christ, through the power of the Spirit, for the glory of God. Opposing sin is never an end in itself. Christian denunciation of sin is for the sake of holy jubilation in the presence of God…Christians do not stop disapproving of what will destroy people (sin). They start desiring the good of self-destroyers (sinners). Forgiven Christians want others to join them in being forgiven. Hope-filled Christians want others to join them in the hope of glory. Christians rescued at the cost of Christ’s life are willing to sacrifice for the sake of rescuing others. -Piper
It could have been you (Luke 13:1-5)
It was some of you (1 Cor 6:9-11)
Some still struggle (Rom 7:15, 18-19, 22-25)
Avoid the appearance of evil (1 Thess 5:22)
Do unto others (Matt 7:11-12)
Love the least of these (Matt 25:31-46)
Share the gospel, which will mean confronting sin (2 Cor 5:16-21)
Always treat LGBTQ+ with respect, kindness, human dignity and decency (Mark 12:29-31)
1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?
3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?
5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
22 Abstain from every form of evil.
11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Illustration:
Application:
32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.
35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,
25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Closing illustration: Declaration of PRIDE Summer 2023
Recap