We’re currently in the thick of LGBT Pride month. Even before the first day of June, rainbow flags have fluttered over streets and in store windows. “Love is love” is plastered on shirts and signs everywhere we turn.
There is an air of confusion in the world we live in. A world where genders and pronouns are constantly changing. A world where definitions are fluid. A world where you and I are told we can discover our own truth.
What should Christians believe in a culture like this? Is LGBT Pride month a bad thing? Do LGBT rights merely promote equality? Is there anything wrong with the rainbow flag? Shouldn’t we be able to love anyone we want?
In a culture of confusion, it’s difficult to discern truth from lies. As believers, we must turn to Scripture so we can remain steadfast in Christ's Truth. Share on XIn a culture of confusion, it’s often difficult to discern truth from lies. As believers who seek to uphold the truth and honor Christ’s name, we must turn to Scripture so we can remain steadfast in a raging storm of confusion.
What Is Love?
Love is often defined today as “an intense feeling of deep affection.” According to this definition, love wavers depending on how one feels from moment to moment. Love is subjective, meaning that it changes based on the individual. One may love someone of the opposite sex, while another may love someone of the same sex. There are no absolute standards to guide how we feel. Love differs from person to person.
But biblically, love is an action that we are commanded to do. 1 John 4:7-8 tells us, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Jesus was the ultimate example of love when He gave up His own life and died on the cross for His people whom He loved (1 John 4:10). Although He pleaded with God the Father while in the garden of Gethsemane to allow Him to not partake of such suffering (Luke 22:42), He bore the torture of the cross despite His feelings.
Love has been twisted. The media lies about what love really is. In the Bible love is not a feeling it is a choice, which means we have the ability to choose whom and how we love. It is not something we simply “fall” into. Share on XThe nature of love has been twisted and distorted in our society. Mass media daily lies to us on what love really is. Love is not a feeling that cannot be controlled or guided. Rather, it is an action of the will. Biblical love is a choice, which means we have the ability to choose whom and how we love. We can control our desires. In the Bible, love is a command. Love is not something we simply “fall” into.
Is Homosexuality Wrong?
We’ve been told that the battle is about love. It’s a battle over whether Christians truly love everyone. It’s a battle over whether we should be allowed to love whomever we desire to love. It’s a battle over what love truly means.
But I believe the battle runs deeper than this. The battle is over whose kingdom reigns: ours, or God’s. Deep within each one of us is the desire to put self at the center. It is a desire to be our own gods and do whatever we want to do.
The real battle is a battle against God as King and Ruler over all, and what He tells us in His Word. In the Old Testament, there are several laws against homosexual acts and relationships (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13). Later in the New Testament, Paul tells us, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” Included in the list of the unrighteous are “men who practice homosexuality” (1 Corinthians 6:9). Paul goes on to say that “such were some of you” because the power of the Holy Spirit radically transforms lives in salvation. Romans 1 speaks of homosexual relationships and “passions” as being “contrary to nature” as God created them (Romans 1:26-27). When God gives people up to these dishonorable passions because they refuse to worship God as their Lord, it’s a sign of God’s judgement.
While God created marriage to be between man and woman in the very beginning, we are challenging God’s design. While God commands against homosexual relationships, we are challenging His sovereign rule.
We’ve been told that the battle is about love. But the real battle is a battle against God as King and Ruler over all, and what He tells us in His Word. Share on XWhat Is The Purpose Of Marriage?
The purpose of marriage and romantic relationships lies far deeper than mere attraction. As stated earlier, love is an action that we can control, not something we are a victim of.
When God first created mankind, he created them male and female, to be together in the context of marriage (Genesis 1:27). God created Eve as a helper for Adam so that he would not be alone (Genesis 2:18). Throughout the Bible, when marriage is mentioned or written about, it is always between one man and one woman (see Mark 10:6-9, 1 Corinthians 7, Colossians 3:18-19, and 1 Peter 3:1-7).
In Ephesians 5:22-33, wives are told to submit to their husbands and husbands are told to love their wives as Christ loved the church, giving Himself up for her. This passage says that marriage is a mystery, only shared between one man and one woman. The reason why marriage must only be between man and woman is because it beautifully portrays the love that Christ and His church share. Marriage is meant to point the world to the gospel, which can only be done when it is between a husband and wife.
Marriage must only be between man and woman because it is made to beautifully portray the love that Christ and His church share, and point the world to the gospel, which can only be done when it is between a husband and wife. Share on XThroughout the Bible, God is referred to as the groom, and His people are His bride. God rejoices over us as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride (Isaiah 62:5), and the church is betrothed to Christ, awaiting His imminent return, and preparing herself for Him (2 Corinthians 11:2). We eagerly await the marriage supper of the Lamb, when the bride will finally be ready for her groom after adorning herself in pure garments for His return (Revelation 19:7-8).
As believers, we must face the month of June differently than the world does. We must remember that culture does not define love. We must remember that God is the sovereign ruler over all, calling sin what He calls sin. We must remember that the greatest need of those around us is to be brought to salvation through the power of the gospel rather than to receive affirmation for their chosen lifestyles. We must remember that marriage is a picture of Christ and His church, and as such, we must uphold marriage as only between one man and one woman.
I pray that we will uphold every human being with dignity as God’s image bearers and speak the truth in love to those around us. May we be a people who share the gospel of Jesus Christ to others, bringing their sin into the light of God’s Word to show their desperate need for Him. I pray we remain steadfast in the storm of confusion, holding fast to our anchor in the storm despite the waves that rage around us.
When I was 13 my dad introduced me to the book Do Hard Things. I found it very interesting and enlightening and at the time it inspired me to be who I am and not let society’s low expectations of me as a teenager affect who I am. Now I feel like this is all a bit hypocritical. In the past I have looked to this website for inspiration and help but now I feel hurt. I am a Christian and I am also a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Attitudes like these make me feel unsure about whether I can be accepted as both. I personally don’t think that the bible is something 100% to go off. A lot of it is great inspiration to how we can be a better person and live lives that celebrate God. But some of the laws in the bible are quite outdated for our times such as Leviticus 15:19. This states that a menstruating women must be kept separate for a week and anything she touches during that time is unclean. As we can see, no one would dream of doing that to a woman in our time, it would be seen as the height of disrespect. No one can control when they are on their period and they also can’t stop it from happening! So why is this law and other similar ones peacefully ignored but when it comes to laws about homosexuality, they are noted and it is told to everyone that it is wrong? You cannot choose what to obey and what to ignore whilst also proclaiming that people aren’t following the law.
As for your what you said about whether love is a choice or a feeling, choosing to love in the context bible is about choosing whether you be kind or be right. Its a choice of whether you help someone out or leave them on their own. That’s the action that we are commanded to do. That is different to love in the context of relationships and marriage. This love is the feeling that you spoke about that is ‘twisted by the media’. It is scientifically proven the lust, attraction and attachment, the three parts of love in relationships are caused by chemicals in your brain. I won’t discuss more of the article but I’ve cited it at the end of this comment if you would like to read more.
It is actually possible to worship and celebrate God whilst also being gay or another identity within the LGBTQ+ community. Its not one or the other. I’m not trying to offend anyone, but when did God talk to you and said “hey, tell all the homosexuals that they need to stop being gay because I command it” If you, personally, think it is wrong, that’s ok, keep that opinion to yourself, just leave everyone else be, they aren’t hurting you with their gayness. We don’t know what God wants and it is up to us to individually interpret for ourselves what our purpose in this life is. I wanted to write about this so that this website can have a little more diversity of different opinions. To me, being a Christian isn’t about rituals, it isn’t about reading scripture, it isn’t about preaching the Gospel. Its about doing what little or big things you can to improve someone’s day, to make someone’s life a bit easier, to support someone through a tough time. Its about thinking about others needs but also still thinking about yourself and affirming yourself and believing in yourself. In other words to treat yourself like your best friend because you are stuck with you for the rest of your life whether you like it or not, so you need to take care of yourself and that isn’t selfish. Its about loving people in the way that you respect them, even if you don’t understand.
Thank you for reading my comment and I hope you can respond and answer of my questions -Calla
Love, Actually: The science behind lust, attraction, and companionship – Science in the News. (2017). Retrieved 12 July 2022, from https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/love-actually-science-behind-lust-attraction-companionship/#:~:text=As%20it%20turns%20out%2C%20love,lust%2C%20attraction%2C%20and%20attachment.
Loved this! I though maybe Romans 1:18-32 should’ve had a mention in there, addressing what God thinks about all this stuff.
What do you think of Pastor Steven Anderson?
This article has been great! I personally have been very angered as well as saddened by what has happened to our country in these past two years. There are those who say that homosexuality and the Bible can coexist, but that is simply not true, not when the Bible so blatantly declares that marriage is reserved for a man and a woman.
There are those who say that the Bible is just good advice, that the homosexuality rule is interpreted from person to person. However, let me say this: how can you be a Christian and not accept the Bible as 100%, divine, inspired by God? Yes, I know that sounds harsh, but I have been learning about Christian worldviews as a part of my schoolwork this year, and several Christian philosophers have asked that very same question.
I would like to thank you for publishing this. I think we all need to hear this message.
I agree with you Sierra
Yeah
I just wanted to say that the reason that they kept women seperate while they were menstruating is that they didn’t have the same hygiene products or knowledge so it helped to keep things from getting infected. It was to protect them. Now we have a better understanding of hygiene.
Love isn’t a feeling, or is it caused by chemicals in your brain. That’s temporary, and is based on attraction and lust/emotions/feelings. Love is an action and a choice you make over and over again. If love was just some chemical in your brain what happens when those chemicals stop? you stop loving? You fall out of love? But the thing is love never fails, because it’s not based on emotions or feelings, but on actions and the choices we make. It’s why we’re told to love our enemies. Because even sinners love those who love them, so what credit is it to us to love only those who love us? And the act of loving your enemy isn’t based on how you feel about them. The 1st greatest commandment though is to love your God with all your heart, and the 2nd being love others as yourself. So if you love God 1st what do you do? You follow his word and his commandments. Then you love others through those words and commandments. There’s no in-between. God comes 1st. He’s the very reason why you’re able to live life and enjoy feeling all those feelings you love feeling so much, because he created them. But feelings aren’t always about love… as even abusers who have those feelings and call it love more times than not still hurt and abuse those they claim to love when their feelings aren’t feeling very loving in that exact moment. What about those who claim they love their partner, but the partner doesn’t want to be with them? And instead of letting them go, they take their partners life because of all the hurt and pain they were feeling from the lost? Was that love? They felt something, but it wasn’t love. Love isn’t based on emotions or feelings. It’s an action and a choice we make no matter how we may be feeling in the moment. 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 defines love, and at no point does it say that love is a feeling. Our creator has a reason for why he does what he does, and this is why he says lean not on your own understanding, because there could be a lot unseen that we don’t know about or understand. Everyone wants what they want because it *feels right*, but that doesn’t mean that it is right. For the same reason taking the life of someone you claim to love isn’t right. Maybe it felt right in the moment, like there was some justice, but make no mistake, that was in no way love or justice.. because love isn’t self seeking, or does it demand its own way. 1 Corinthians 13:4–8.
Sierra, I wholeheartedly agree. Thank you for sharing your view!
Thanking the Lord for you and being a bold witness for Jesus and his eternal Word
The Lord bless you a d your family
Thank you. Just… thank you.
I have recently been more exposed to LGBT+ culture over this last year and I find them so hard to interact with. Not because I dislike them, or because I am prejudiced, or anything like that– I just have such an ache in my heart for them. I have come to tears hearing them talk and seeing how lost they are. And there are a few who have made jokes about God that absolutely infuriate me but I never know what to say. So thank you for not being afraid to talk about this. I feel like I struggle a lot with knowing how to share Jesus with them when they already seem so set against God.
Thank you so much for your comment, Allie. Yes, it’s a very difficult and heartbreaking thing. Praying right now that you have wisdom to share Jesus with them! Keep strong and faithful and stand upon God’s Word!
Alright, I have a question for everyone who has read this or commented on this and either agree or don’t agree: if a new part of the Bible was suddenly found that stated clearly that it did not matter if the marriage was of a male and a male or a female to a female but that all marriage must be one of respect, understanding, and trust, would you take it as Word of God or would you take it as another “lie” to make us confused.
In all of these passages from the Bible it is repeated over and over that we should have relationships that are good, loving, and kind and the words “Husband and Wife” an implied normality of the time from which that part of the Bible was taken. We live now in a time where that is no longer a normality. We as Christians have taken this too far, for the Bible states as one of the Ten Commandments “You Must Not Testify Falsely Against Your Neighbor.” We have not been told by God that to be part of the LGBTQ+ is a sin and as such all that is not proven is false and we have testified wrongly.
Please do not push away other Christians just because they are LGBTQ+, for God welcomes all who turn to Him.
Hi, Sofia! Thanks so much for your comment! While I understand your question, I do believe that it’s a pointless rumination because the Word of God is complete and any “new revelation” would not be of the original manuscripts that the Lord has given us. God doesn’t change His mind and He doesn’t hide His truth from people. We have been given “all we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3) and part of that is a biblical understanding for marriage and relationships. Neither does the Word of God, or our interpretation of it change culture by culture. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8). And yes, we do have clear commands from God that any deviation from marriage and sex in marriage between a man and woman is sin. (see Romans 1, 1 Cor 6:9-11, as well as many OT passages). So your arguments are weightless and pointless.
I agree that we should love those who are LGBTQ+, but that love must look like sharing the gospel and calling out their sin that they might repent. God welcomes all who turn to Him in repentance, not all who turn to Him rationalizing their sin.
The image bearer movement is flawed as well. Name your favorite target, Hitler to Charles Manson etc., all made in God’s image, but it has no bearing on how they had to be dealt with. While as Christians we should function with that perspective, it’s imperative to not let it become a cancel club to silence us when sinful men’s wickedness require justice here on earth.
I often find it a tool of weak, pacifistic, cowards unwilling to take a stand against evil. Infecting way too many these days.
Galatians 4:13-15 “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.”
It is human nature to pick out differences in each other, to think that one group of people should have more than another group, but this has gone too far. We are just human, we do not choose who has sinned or not, and it is not our right to tell others such. That is God’s, do not try to be Him.
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” Please, just try to do that.
Hi, Sofia! I appreciate your desire to obey these biblical commands to love. I absolutely agree that the Bible commands us to “increase and abound in love for another, and for all people” (1 Thessalonians 3:12). However, I do not believe that the Bible teaches that love means disregarding sin or affirming all people and lifestyles. Yes, we are not God and we will all stand before Him and give an account and He alone knows the hearts of all people. But He has shown us in His Word what is and is not pleasing to Him and it is not judgmental to simply believe Him and to recognize those things. We must call sin sin. We do so with humility, knowing that we too are sinners who need God, but also with truth. It is not our own standard we apply, but God’s. It is more loving to tell someone the truth of their sin that they might repent from it than to pretend to not know what sin is. Neither is it loving to allow someone to disregard reality (the reality of their bodies, design, and purpose). I encourage you to study passages like Romans 1-2. I’m not here to argue, however, so this will be my last reply. Thanks for the dialogue and I pray God continues to teach you His Word!
I know that two other people have already responded, so it’s up to you if you want to listen to what I have to say. As a brother in Christ our Lord, I love you, and because of that I want you to grow in your relationship with Christ, so I’ll say only what I think is necessary for that, nothing more. I have some verses, just in case you want to read those instead of all that I have to say.
Romans 1:27
Matthew 26:41
Proverbs 3:5-6
Firstly and foremostly, the at the heart of Christian doctrine is the Bible. If the Bible is not true in every aspect, then God is a liar and we have no reason at all to believe that we know the truth or to believe any part of the Bible is true. If the Bible is true, then we have a foundation for our doctrine.
I think you had a very good question about the Levitical law. Obviously, there are parts of the law that we don’t do now, like sacrificing animals. The ceremonial law was given partly because it was more scientifically beneficial, as Lila stated above about women’s hygiene, but foremostly because it represented the purity and the work of Jesus Christ. The meticulous, strict orders of the law represented how pure the righteousness of Christ is. Now that Christ has come, the ceremonial law has been done away with because it no longer needs to show the purity of Christ, because Christ already came and showed that himself by rising from the dead. Because of Christ’s fulfillment of the law, we are no longer bound by the orders of the ceremonial law. However, we are still bound by the moral law, and that includes the ten commandments, and the sexual guidelines that God has given us. I mean this all in love, not to offend.
This is Romans 1:27 —
“27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
God explains here that men lusting after men is erroneous, and he groups those who practice it with murderers, thieves, fornicators, and malicious people in the next verses.
God’s purpose in marriage in the Bible was to represent the bond between Christ and His Church. There aren’t two Christs, and there aren’t two Churches, so a man-on-man or a woman-on-woman relationship doesn’t fit the resemblance ordained by God.
Christianity is all about bringing glory to Jesus Christ and having faith in Him alone. Specifically, the Bible instructs us not to “believe in ourselves” because we are sinful creatures. I’m a very sinful creature and I understand that unless God frees me from my sin that I’ll be stuck doing it until I die. I’ve tried so often to stop on my own but I can’t. None of us can. The Gospel’s message shows us that we have no hope if we are left to ourselves, but we do have hope if we put our Faith in Christ. To say otherwise is to say that the Gospel is for nothing, and that if we just do our best we’ll be fine.
Do not get me wrong. I do believe that helping people through hard times and being sympathetic is very important, but Christians should do it because it glorifies Christ. It’s part of proclaiming the good news of Jesus.
The last thing you talked about was taking care of yourself…
Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
The best way to take care of yourself is to abide by the Word of God and seek His kingdom.
Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
I will pray for you.
I’m sure it would offend a lot of people if there was a whole month dedicated to Christians or God fearing , God loving people . Seeing the Christian flag every where in every e-mail , store front , shirts , ads etc . In fact it is probably forbidden, teaching it in schools, allowing it in schools . Yet the LBGT community gets to do it . & that’s what bothers me . Fine , it’s your choice, & as a Christian I try to love everyone but I don’t think it’s right & in the month of June . I don’t want to see it paraded everywhere.
Can we talk about an important issue that people seem to miss? Specifically Christians.
As all good preachers will say – context is king when reading and applying what we learn from the Bible. All of the references to ‘calling out sin’ in the Bible are instructions for believers to believers. We must stop mis-applying what God tells us in His word. Let’s use Jesus as our example. Is that fair? How did he treat those who were not saved? He ate with them, talked to them kindly and gave them the Truth. Then he left it up to them to decide. He didn’t chase them, talk poorly about them or shame them. And yet that’s what I see Christians do so often in response to the LGBTQ community and their messages. Please stop acting un-Christlike. Be kind. Pray for those who are lost. Make disciples – not enemies. Because that’s what you do when you deny or criticise this community for their public actions.
Hey, Dave! Thanks for your comment. I
agree that Christians so often miss the context of so many passages, especially those that talk about our actions to fellow Christians vs those in the world. I’ve seen many passages misapplied in this way. However, it’s a fallacy to believe that ALL passages commanding the calling out of sin are simply referring to life within the church. Some are, such as Matthew 18:15-17. This is referring specifically to the church and it would be wrong to apply this passage to an unbeliever.
But there are many other passages that ARE applicable for the world. As you said, let’s use Jesus as our example. If we desire to do what Jesus did, we also should proclaim what Jesus proclaimed, right? What did Jesus proclaim? “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). This is the same message John the Baptist proclaimed (Matthew 3:2) and that Jesus told the 12 disciples to proclaim (Matthew 10:7). This was message to unrepentant Israel, one which they ultimately rejected (Matthew 11-12). Calling for repentance requires calling out sin, for what does someone need to repent of but their sin? So Jesus, John the Baptist, and the disciples were all calling out sin and calling for the necessity of repentance. It was imperative that Israel repent, because the King had come, and thus the kingdom from heaven was near. We should already know from reading the Old Testament, that the establishment of Yahweh’s kingdom coincides with the judgement of the wicked (cf. Obad. 15-21; Joel 3:1-17). If this generation of Israel refused to repent, then the effects would be devastating for them, as it eventually proved to be. There is no dichotomy between love and judgement. If we do not proclaim repentance because of the coming judgement, then we are actually demonstrating our hatred of those who are on the broad road (Matthew 7). They will perish unless they repent (see Jesus’s words in Luke 13:1-5). Men must know what awaits them. And this is what we must do, if we desire to be like Jesus. And isn’t it interesting that so much of what we know about Hell actually comes from the mouth of Christ? Maybe He preached about it so much, because He was the most loving of us all.
And of course, in doing so, we must not be un-Christlike. But if Jesus is again our example, the standard for whether or not we are being like Him is not whether we make enemies or not. Jesus made MANY enemies. He was hated by many– the Pharisees, for example. They plotted to kill Him because they hated Him so much (Jesus also called out their sin — Matthew 23:13-36). So while we should be kind in our demeanor, we must also be adamantly truthful and bold in saying that sin is sin and those who practice sin must repent. That is not unloving, un-Christlike, or unbiblical. It is exactly what Christians must do and are commanded to do.
We see other examples of this in what Stephen preached before he was stoned (Acts 7:51-60). I think he made some enemies through that sermon, given the fact he was stoned for it. 🙂 Or we can see the response to what Paul preached to Felix and the affect it had. (Acts 24:25). He preached “righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come,” upon which Felix became frightened. I could go on.
While we have no desire to make enemies, we have a command to love and preach the truth. Preaching the truth is loving. That requires preaching sin and repentance. Those who hate God and His Word will hate us for doing so as they hated Jesus (John 15:18-25).
Jesus didn’t just preach a warm, fuzzy message. He preached a message of complete renunciation of sin and self and a call to follow Him alone. That is what it means to be a “disciple” of Jesus. Therefore, our message must align with His. Let’s use Jesus as our example, but let’s make sure it’s the true Jesus.