Isn't Christianity Homophobic?

Just not into it.

Like something that many of the population observes, I just choose to abstain. I cannot get enthused like the crowds or the banners or the bumper stickers. What am I referring to? Pride month.

As many of you know, June was “pride” month, which is awkward for Christians. The world celebrates homosexuality and the “coming out,” of various members of the LGBTQ community.

Pride month is another example of the decline of our country’s moral and spiritual values. I’ve always questioned that behavior of which so many seem to express pride or enthusiasm.

I’m a child of the 80’s and homosexual behavior has always been understood as deviant, secretive and was considered unlawful up until 2003. During the first month of summer, there are advertisements of rallies and parades in most cities in America. Why be proud of a behavior that produces regret, self-loathing and misery?

Now I know I run the risk of offending people with my thoughts. Some of you will be offended because you have loved ones who are gay or lesbian. Others of you listening may be offended because you identify with one of these groups for which LGBT stands for. Still some of you may be take offense because you feel like I’m being unloving or unkind. I assure you; this is not my intention. Nevertheless, I do think it is necessary to speak up as to why I and others do not celebrate “pride” month.

I would also argue that Christianity is not homophobic, but loving and honest with those that feel otherwise about the gay lifestyle. Pastor Voddie Baucham said:

“What’s not loving is to look someone in the eye when God says they are in jeopardy of an eternity in hell, and merely wink and nod at their sin because you are afraid of being called names. Speak the truth, saints, amen.”

God is pretty clear on the matter. And it is not something to be proud of.

The homosexual lifestyle in all of its manifestations is contrary to the expressed will of God revealed in Scripture. Among a list of abhorrent sexual sins, God tells His people in Leviticus 18:22: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” Among the other transgressions listed alongside of sodomy are incest, bestiality and other practices of the neighboring nations to the Hebrews. The Lord then concludes the section in verse 29 by saying:

“For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 18:29

The Lord wanted His people to be different than the rest of the world. And with such difference, came a contrast of sexuality and its practices.

God plainly made His feelings known on the subject when He brought terrible judgement against the communities of Sodom and Gomorrah earlier in Genesis 19. Yes, there were a host of transgressions that led to the rainstorms of fire and brimstone, but it cannot be denied that homosexual behavior was in the mix. Jude’s epistle uses God’s judgment upon Sodom as a testimony to New Testament Christians.

Jude 6–7 (ESV)

“And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.”

So it is clear from the Old Testament Scriptures that the gay lifestyle is against the will of God for anyone.

In 1 Kings 15:12, we see that King Asa did away with the male cult prostitutes, much to God’s satisfaction. The neighboring nations practiced such things, but God called His people to be different! So you can see that such behavior has been around for millenia. And God has been clear that such behavior is not His will for anyone, regardless of public opinion.

1 Kings 15:12 ESV

12 He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

God calls us to a life of contrast from the world.

Christianity and Biblical Judaism maintained a counter-cultural position on sexual ethics: that being one man and one woman within the covenant of marriage. It illustrate the Greco-Roman culture of the first century, Rebecca McLaughlin writes:

“We are tempted to think that today’s sexual possibilities did not exist in the first century. But the repeated reference to all sorts of sexual immorality in the New Testament reminds us that the Judeo-Christian restrictions on sex were always countercultural. Ancient Greek cultural allowed sex between males- typically between grown men and teenage boys- and celebrated homoerotic desire. Plato, while not approving of homosexual sex, wrote of one student, ‘Star-gazing Aster, would I were the skies, to gaze upon thee with a thousand eyes.” (McLaughlin, 163)

In contrast to such culture, the New Testament speaks of a different lifestyle empowered by the gospel. We see that Jesus endorses traditional marriage in Mark 10 when answering the Pharisees about divorce and its legitimacy, Jesus defends the traditional view of a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman by stating:

“But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Mark 10:6-9 (ESV)

God is profoundly pro marriage, defining this sacred institution as a holy covenant between a man and a woman for life. This is God’s design for love between the two genders and the propagation of humanity. We should not be surprised that with the denigration of traditional marriage, there have arisen other definitions cast on an institution that has been the bedrock of society since the days of Adam and Eve.

Finally, the New Testament epistles warn us that the practice of the gay lifestyle, while being desirable for some, will nevertheless disqualify them from membership in God’s kingdom. The Apostle Paul, speaking to Christians in the sexually diverse community of Corinth, wrote: “

“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, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 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.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV)

You will hear people say “Love is love. What difference does it make how you express love?” But should Christians play party to this liquid definition of love? Would God approve of us affirming something that He does not approve of? I argue no. But the gospel is calls people to deny themselves and take up the cross and follow Jesus!

That is why the church at Corinth had members who were former homosexuals. But God did a work and transformed them. And they were healed!

And this should not surprise us. God never accepts where we are when we hear the gospel, regardless of what sin in which we’re involved. The good news of Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. (Matthew 16:24). It is condemning of all sin, not just homosexuality. McLaughlin states:

“We cannot read the Bible and not be offended- condemned even- unless we come as broken sinners.” (McGlaughlin, 166).

Human sexual desire is complex without God.

The truth is that human sexuality without the redemptive and transformative power of the gospel is messy to say the least. It changes and morphs. It incorporates new varieties of sin. It leads a person to a string of using and being used. Psychology professor Lisa Diamond, a lesbian activist, has extensively researched the nature of sexual orientation and found surprising conclusions. McGlaughlin states:

“After years of study, Diamond has concluded that, when we categorize people as gay or straight, ‘We are not in fact cutting nature at its joints, we are kind of imposing some joints on a very messy phenomenon.’” (McLaughlin, 169).

Because the truth is that sex is meant to be an intimate exchange between a husband and a wife, many times resulting in the conception of children. It is a gift of common grace, an act of love between two people committed for life under the covenant of marriage.

Nevertheless, our world has cheapened it to where it is a highly selfish action, meant to satisfy one’s desires only, regardless of how backward, unnatural and pagan as they might be. McLaughlin points out:

“It is all too common for people to gain physical pleasure for sex without the emotional connection.” (McLaughlin, 159).

Today, people get their identity from what or who they desire; desire seems to identify a person. I do not wish to be identified by my desires! So what’s the big deal? The big deal is that we are losing our moral compass; not as a world- that train has already left the station. Now a slim majority of our population supports gay marriage, with most of that support coming from those 30 and younger.

We as the body of Christ must regain its moral compass! And so God is calling His people back to faithfulness before Christ returns!

Most recently, singer Demi Lovato made the news for changing her pronouns back to she/her, after she was “they/them” for the last couple of years. In an interview with Spout podcast. “Recently, I have been feeling more feminine and so, I have adopted she/her again,” said Lovato. “I’m such a fluid person.”

Lovato came out as non-binary in May 2021 with a video and Twitter thread, that informed the public they would be going by they/them pronouns. (The Real Lesson of Demi Lovato Updating Her/Their Pronouns (msn.com)).

Thankfully, the Anglican Communion met recently and reaffirmed a decision made in 1998 to state that homosexuality was a sin and that marriage must be between a man and a woman.

Lambeth 1.10 (Anglican Church law) rejects “homosexual practice as incompatible with scripture” and “upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union”. It says same-sex unions should not be legitimized or blessed.

Harriett Sherwood, who writes for the Guardian, stated:

“The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches, which claims to represent 75% of Anglicans across the globe, said 1.10 “explicitly applies the clear and historic teaching of scripture to matters of sexual morality”.

Justin Badi Arama, the archbishop of South Sudan, said: “We are living at a time of great spiritual confusion and moral flux. The church of Jesus Christ cannot afford to lose its moorings in holy scripture and drift with the world.” (See Justin Welby ‘affirms validity’ of 1998 gay sex is sin declaration | Justin Welby | The Guardian).

My prayer: Faithfulness in Truth and Love

My prayer is that we as a church would maintain the line of willingness to minister to anyone, while never condoning or affirming a lifestyle that God does not approve of.

Nevertheless, let us pray for and serve those from any walk of life and continue to point many to the good news of Jesus Christ. Let us never compromise the Biblical standard by calling homosexuality good, when it is bad; and let us apply this principle to any sin. Because all sexual sin is sin. Viewing pornography is sin. Premarital sex is sin; cohabitation is sin; Pedophilia is sin; Bigamy is sin., etc. etc. McLaughlin concludes: “The Bible invites us to pursue human love in different forms, governed by different boundaries.” (McGlaughlin, 159).

Jeff Johnston, Culture and Policy Analyst with Focus on the Family and a former homosexual, said:

"We believe it's very important that parents begin teaching their children at a young age about God's design for humanity, for relationships and for marriage. You're not talking to kids about sex at this point. You're just saying God made us male and female in His image. And that's a good thing. Boys and girls are both good but they're different from each other and that's the way God made us."

The same article pointed out that according to a February 2022 Gallup poll, 21 percent of generation Z Americans, those born between 1997 and 2003, identify as LGBTQ, nearly double the number of Millennials who do so.

With those numbers in mind, Johnston encourages Christian parents to talk and remain engaged, even if they don't accept their child's alternative lifestyle.

"I've seen this tear apart families," said Johnston. "I encourage parents to maintain a relationship with their child, to do what you can to maintain a relationship with them while you're still holding on to biblical truth." ('Seasoned with Grace and Truth': How the Church Needs to Respond to the LGBT in Our Midst | CBN News).

This approach is in dramatic contrast to the parents of A 17-year-old California girl who de-transitioned from a boy and has warned against letting children change gender. Paul Farrell reported:

“Chloe Cole opened up about how taking puberty blockers and having surgery 'irreversibly and painfully' damaged her body from the age of 13.

She said it has left her unlikely to be able to have children and unable to breastfeed if she can because she had a double mastectomy.

She also told how she could be at risk of certain types of cancer - such as cervical cancer - due to her invasive treatment.

Chloe revealed her trauma in heartbreaking testimony during a hearing on reimbursements being made to those seeking hormone therapy in Florida.

It comes after Florida’s governor last month moved to ban transition therapies for children and revoke Medicaid support for trans adults' treatments in the state.” (Do not transition your kids' is message from former trans girl, 17 (dailymail.co.uk)).

CONCLUSION

J.C. Ryle was an Anglican priest and the former Bishop of Liverpool who served in the late 19th century. He wrote:

“It costs to be a real Christian, according to the Bible. There are enemies to be overcome, battles to be fought, sacrifices to be made, and Egypt to be forsaken, a wilderness to be passed through, a cross to be carried, a race to be run. Conversion is not putting a person in an arm-chair and taking them easily to heaven. It is the beginning of a mighty conflict, in which it costs much to win the victory.” (Bishop J. C. Ryle, d. 1900)

Let us not communicate otherwise to anyone for fear of sending them to an eternity without God. Amen.