[Our #1 voted topic] LGBT issues are all around us, and the Christian response seems to be getting more and more polarized. Is there another option beyond the angry, judgmental right and the permissive, anything-goes left? We sure hope so.

Transcript

INTRO

Today, we conclude our sermon series, Ask: Because Your Questions Matter, with our #1 voted question, how should a Christian view LGBTQ issues? This is a great question and a conversation that is much needed, especially in the church. I know for me; this conversation can feel difficult because there are a lot of different dynamics in play. How do we understand and honor God’s truth, our experiences, other people’s experiences, the LGBTQ experiences, and not feel the tension that this topic can create? As I’ve mentioned before, I do not have all the answers to these questions, so I encourage you to continue to learn. I trust that the learning process will help us grow and understand who we are and what we are supposed to do as believers. It is always my desire to communicate God’s truth in the most loving way that will lead us to see His desires for all of us.

One way that I plan to do that is to speak respectfully of the LGBTQ community by not using terms like homosexuality. Homosexuality is a common term describing same-sex relationships, but among the LGBTQ community it can have negative connotations and unfortunately Christians have used to attack the LGBTQ community so I want to be mindful and respectful when talking about this issue.

In our lifetime, the LGBTQ community has become more and more accepted. In 2015 the US legalized same-sex marriages. And it’s only been a little over two decades, back in 2001, when the Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriages. In my own life, I’ve straddled both the church and therapy professions and I know people in both circles who support LGBTQ communities while others disapprove. I’m sure we all have family members, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, and people in our community who identify as part of the LGBTQ community. For some us, this is nothing new while for others it can feel very difficult to navigate. So, this morning, wherever you are, I invite you to hold whatever tension or opinion you have and dive with me to see what God’s Word has to say about this question of how should a Christian view LGBTQ issues?

ENGAGING THE SCRIPTURES FROM AN LGBTQ PERSPECTIVE

The traditional Christian perspective and understanding regarding same-sex relationships and LGBTQ issues is that it is a sin and goes against God’s desire and plan. Traditionally, Christianity upholds the belief that God created male and female and the heterosexual marriage is God’s design. The heterosexual marriage is also the only relationship where sex isn’t any issue. Anything outside of a heterosexual marriage including all LGBTQ relationships go against God’s desire. The traditional position is the position I hold, but as I prepped for this sermon, I went a different route.

Normally, my sermons begin by finding scripture that affirms my position, but I opted to begin from an LGBTQ affirming perspective. In 2012, Matthew Vines shared a presentation about how the Bible does not condemn a loving, committed, same-sex relationship. It was uploaded to YouTube (Matthew Vines - The Gay Debate: The Bible and Homosexuality).

Although some considered his perspective not largely new or profound, YouTube helped make his perspective more accessible to the general public. At the time, Vines was a college student at Harvard but decided to pause his education career to research what the Bible had to say about same-sex relationships. In his study, he addressed the 6 major Bible passages that speak against same-sex relationships, which are:

• Genesis 18-19, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because the men wanted to engage in sex with other men.

• Leviticus 18:22 says, “‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.”

• Leviticus 20:13 says, “If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”

• Romans 1:26-27. We’ll talk about this one later.

• 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says, “9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. “

• 1 Timothy 1:9-11 says, “9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.”

Vines argues against the traditional interpretation, and I won’t go through them in detail, but it offered me a perspective of how someone who identifies or is part of the LGBTQ community could understand how the Bible supports it.

A general summary of Vines’ argument is that the Bible says nothing for or against a loving, committed, same-sex relationship. He concluded that it wasn’t God’s design for anyone to be alone or abstain from sex unless it was their calling so he concluded that a heterosexual or same-sex relationship that was loving and committed was biblical and better than no relationship. Vines argued that the traditional interpretations which speak against same-sex relationships speak specifically to lust, excess, infidelity, promiscuity, rape, or violence, but not a loving relationship.

Since the video, Vines has gone to start a non-profit to support LGBTQ inclusion in the church and he also wrote a book. I’ve appreciated Matthew Vines’ perspective and posture in taking time to research his concerns, being respectful of others’ responses and critiques, and being brave to tackle this topic. Here’s a quote from his presentation that helped me be compassionate towards him.

“But those people, gay people, are just as much children of God and just as much a part of His creation as everyone else. And there’s something terribly unseemly about straight Christians insisting that gay Christians are somehow inferior to them, or broken, or that gay people only exist because of the fall, and that God really intended to make everyone straight like them. But you know, I am a part of creation, too, including my sexual orientation. I’m a part of God’s design.”

I share his concern when he expresses his concern about how the same-sex community has felt like second-class citizens in the church. It is a serious reminder when he expresses to his audience that the LGBTQ community is as much a part of God’s creation and anyone who is wrestling with LGBTQ issues is not inferior.

ENGAGING THE SCRIPTURES FROM A TRADITIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Unfortunately, society and even Christians have made them to be. And while I am empathetic, I also find myself feeling unsettled about his and the current church’s perspective. When he says,

“And there’s something terribly unseemly about straight Christians insisting that gay Christians are somehow inferior to them, or broken, or that gay people only exist because of the fall, and that God really intended to make everyone straight like them.”

We are all products of the fall, not just those with same-sex attractions and I feel like the fight has been over the adjective that comes before Christian. Vines focuses on what it means to be a gay Christian whereas many Christians who hold to a traditional view focus on what it means to be a straight Christian, but the truth is our sexual orientation doesn’t necessarily make us right or wrong with God nor does it make us a faithful or faithless Christian. It isn’t our sexual orientation that makes us faithful Christians, but rather our relationship with Jesus. I want us to watch a video of the late Tim Keller and his response to a similar question in an interview with David Eisenbach regarding this issue.

Some have critiqued Tim Keller’s response as skirting over the issue and not addressing it head-on, but I think there’s something worth considering. Maybe sexuality isn’t the issue. Maybe, there’s a bigger issue underneath being straight or LGBTQ that we have to understand in order to truly understand what is going on. Author, Christopher Yuan, from Christianity Today wrote a response to Vines’ book saying this that captures some of my sentiments.

“Our society may place a great emphasis upon a sexual identity, but Scripture does not. As a matter of fact, our identity should not be placed in anything (such as our sexuality, gender, or race) other than Jesus Christ.” (Why 'God and the Gay Christian' Is Wrong About the Bible and Same-Sex Relationships)

The church and society have gotten lost in this battle and have placed sexual identity above our identity in Christ. For me, it feels like the church’s solution to any LGBTQ issue is to change the sexual orientation from LGBTQ to heterosexual or celibacy, but I don’t think that’s the case. People with a heterosexual orientation are just as sinful. Just because you have a heterosexual sexual orientation doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. Heterosexuals can still be sexually immoral I think the better approach that we need to consider is to understand where sexual sins come from. To help us understand this, I’m going to read from Romans 1:18-27. This is what it says,

“18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”

In Paul’s opening of Romans, he shares his desire to visit the church in Rome so that he could preach the gospel to them hopeful that they would be encouraged and strengthened. After this warm greeting, he immediately goes to tell them that God is responding to their wickedness. What a way to kick off a letter! But Paul does this because his goal is to show them their wickedness so that he can persuade them to understand why they need Jesus in their lives. Paul informs the believers that they are all godless and wicked even though they are aware that God exists. But even with that knowledge, they have exchanged God for idols. So instead of worshipping God, they worshipped idols and as a result, verses 26-28 says,

“26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SEXUAL IMMORALITY AND IDOLATRY

Because of humanity’s rebellious nature and willful rejection, God’s wrath or his response is that he takes his hand off them. Think of your child or little one who you’ve cared for and, in your effort, to care for them, they intentionally reject you. That’s what’s happening here. And contextually, this was a reflection of the early church’s understanding of obeying and disobeying God. Idol worship in biblical times often involved sexual immorality so the result of humanity exchanging God for idols is that they engage in all sorts of sexual immorality, which include same-sex relationships. So, according to Romans 1, the root of sexual sins is idolatry. Tim Keller, who we heard from earlier, describes idolatry like this as this,

“What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give…[an idol] is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living” (Counterfeit Gods).”

And this is helpful because it provides us with some context to understand the connection between idolatry and sexual immorality. The connection is unfaithfulness. Idolatry is being unfaithful to God. Sexual immorality, whether it is heterosexual relationships outside of marriage, same-sex relationships, or LGTBQ relationships is unfaithfulness to God’s plan for sexuality. Romans 1 paints this picture that all sexual sin is rooted in not being satisfied with God and his plan for sex. So instead of seeking satisfaction in God, humanity looks to be satisfied with what He has created and that’s idolatry. Often, we perceive idolatry to be worshipping statues, but it is simply the worship of anything else that isn’t God whether it’s literal or figurative. Whether it’s an actual action or it’s worship in our hearts and minds. What’s also evident is that idolatry and sexual immorality frequently appear together as vices. Here are some passages.

• 1 Corinthians 6:9 - Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men

• Galatians 5:19-21 - 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

• And Colossians 3:5 says it the clearest. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

GOD’S SOLUTION TO IDOLATRY

So, what do we do with sexual immorality and idolatry? And to circle back to our original question, how should Christians view LGBTQ issues? The solution that God gave to the Israelites in Exodus regarding idolatry was the 10 Commandments. The first and second commandment is to have no gods before God and to not make an idol. Jesus summarizes and reframes it by saying it like this in Matthew 22:37-40,

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

I believe the solution to idolatry is to love God and love others. Verse 40 says it. Everything ahngs on these two commandments. The solution to LGBTQ issues is to love God and love others. When we love God, we trust him and we trust his desires for us. This undoes what happened in Romans 1. Instead of turning away from God, we turn to God. This also helps us love others in a godly way. Instead of seeing others as a means to our happiness or purpose, we see others like how God sees them. And this love should lead us to care for them like how God cares for them.

I feel like the church’s tendency is to move away from those who have different values, but if Jesus calls us to love God and love others, I think we’re supposed to move toward them. Not only does Jesus tell us to move towards them, but he also demonstrates this. In the gospels, the religious leaders describe Jesus as someone who eats with tax collectors and sinners, those who were the least holy. In this bunch were the demon-possessed, ethnic groups who were despised because of different religious beliefs, the sick, the sexually immoral. While the religious leaders moved away from them, Jesus befriends them, cares for them, and serves them all the while speaking truth into their lives, a great example of Ephesians 4:15, which tells us to speak the truth in love. So often, Christians move away from LGBTQ issues, but I think Jesus calls us to move towards them. We move towards them to help them find redemption. In Matthew 9:12, Jesus responds to the religious leaders by saying this,

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”

APPLICATION

At RiverLife, we don’t believe in the concept of guilty by association. We don’t believe that you necessarily agree with those you associate with. So when it comes to being a Christian going about LGBTQ issues, I think it’s important that you know God’s truth and desire for you so that you can associate with the LGBTQ community and not have to agree with everything they value. This reflects what Jesus did. Jesus loved his neighbors so should. Jesus called us to be compassionate over others so I think we should be compassionate to the LGBTQ community and here are 3 simple ways how we can practically do that.

1. See the LGBTQ community.

2. Hear their concerns.

3. And love them.

See the LGBTQ community by honoring their humanity. They are not second-class citizens. Treat them like anyone else. Associate with them as you would with anyone else. Hear the LGBTQ community. Be informed of LGBTQ issues. Be informed of what matters to them even if you disagree. Listen to what they are concerned about. And lastly, love the LGBTQ community. Go beyond associating and get to know individuals who are a part of the LGBTQ community. Engage in meaningful conversations that dialogue our thoughts and their thoughts. Speak truth into their life in a gentle and loving way that will encourage flourishing.

LGBTQ issues are more than a sexuality issue. It’s an issue of aligning our hearts with God’s heart. So let us see God’s desire for us and involves ourselves in LGBTQ issues in a God-honoring way. Let’s pray.