Month of Pride

I discovered recently that June is perversion, aka LBGTQ pride month. While many, even Christians, celebrate this movement as empowering and liberating. Many will undoubtedly be marching in the LBGTQ Pride parades throughout the country. How should Christians respond to this outward expression of a perverse lifestyle? This article will examine the LBGTQ  lifestyle to explain why Christians should condemn it, and how they should respond to the ever-increasing expression of this lifestyle in the public sphere.

Surprisingly, even with the rising hostility towards Christianity in the public sphere, the LBGTQ lifestyle is still not terribly popular with the average citizen.  I recently spoke with two acquaintances who are non-Christians and both expressed a distaste for the gay lifestyle, while still accepting its practitioners wanted to do it, they were welcome to do so.  Their sentiment is echoed across the nation. However, Christians should not follow the culture, and ought to instead to be setting the trends of the culture.

Christianity is based on a belief that the Bible is true and ought to be followed. Therefore Christians ought to search the Scriptures, not the culture for their answers, including about the LBGTQ lifestyle.  Leviticus 20:13 tells us God’s opinion of the lifestyle. “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them,” God calls the gay lifestyle an abomination. The Hebrew word used here is the word tow`ebah which literally translates as something abhorrent.  Thus literally homosexuality is abhorrent to God.  The New Testament confirms this in Romans 1:26-27 “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”  God refers to homosexual behavior as unnatural and unseemly. The word unseemly in Greek is aschemosune which translates roughly into English as something shameful. God’s opinion did not change in the New Testament.

Why does God take such a dim view of the LBGTQ ideology? Because He designed man and woman to be together as one. Genesis 2:24 tells us “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Jesus reiterates this in Matthew 19:5.  Man and woman were clearly designed for one another.  This design is a big deal to God because of what the marriage relationship pictures.  Ephesians 5:22-28 tells what the marriage relationship symbolizes.

 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

Marriage is more than just a physical commitment between two people. Marriage is more than a social construct. Marriage was ordained by God to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church.  As Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it, so is the husband to love his wife.  As the church is supposed to submit to Christ, so the wife is supposed to submit to the husband. This cannot happen in an LBGTQ relationship.

Since the Bible can clearly establish that the LBGTQ lobby is wrong, there remains the question of how Christians ought to respond to their continued presence.  As before, Christians ought to look to the Scriptures.  In John 8, Jesus is brought a woman taken in adultery, who, under Mosaic Law, should have been stoned.   Jesus responds in a very different manner than the religious leaders were hoping He would. “When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” John 8:10-11 tells us. Jesus responded with love and compassion towards this woman. However, His love did not cause Him to accept her wrongdoing. Note that when He told her to depart, He specifically said: “sin no more.” In other words, Jesus gave her another chance to live life, but He expected her to live God’s way. This ought to be Christian’s response to the gay movement. We are equal sinners to them and thus ought to respond in love and compassion. However, we cannot overlook the wrong they do, nor fail to call it what it is.

Pride month is not about pride in who people are. Rather it is an exhibition of perversion and rebellion against God. Christians cannot ignore that fact and be consistent with Scripture. However, rather than shout down the LBGTQ lobby or engage in heated angry debates, Christians should respond in love, showing the love of Christ in word and deed to those who have rejected God. It would behoove us to remember we are not here to win a meme war, or to shout down our opposition. We are here to win souls to Christ, and that is not done in name calling and vitriol.