Stunningly, in the aftermath of the horrific Orlando nightclub massacre, some accused Christians of creating an environment conducive to acts of violence toward those who identify as LGBT. Despite the outpouring of aid and prayers offered by Christians for those harmed by the shootings, some argue that only way for Christians to prove their love is through a full acceptance of gay sexual practices.The Federalist reports even some Christians erroneously believe that love requires abandoning biblical sexual ethics:
They adopt the well-worn LGBT equation: disagreement equals discrimination, denunciation, and thus danger to the same-sex-attracted person. The conclusion is illogical and manipulative to the extreme: Either you fully affirm the sexuality of the same-sex-attracted person or we will publically charge you with the sins of bigotry and violence regardless of how kind you are. The accusation is vile. There is no other word for it.
This vision of Christianity, one that endorses sexual license, can be found nowhere in Scripture. Rather, using Genesis 1 and 2 as His text, Jesus strengthens the sexual ethic and affirms the exclusive union of one man and one woman as God’s gracious design for humanity.
The problem the “gay-Christian” movement faces really comes down to this. Those who seek to rewrite historic and biblical Christian orthodoxy to sanctify certain sexual relations through hermeneutic ingenuity and accusations of harm are calling for a bridge that simply cannot be built. They must construct a whole other faith to do so. There is simply no honest reading of Jesus’ words and the rest of Scripture that makes room for any sexual ethic beyond the monogamous, permanent union of a husband and wife, be it gay, straight, bi, poly, or otherwise.
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So how should we then live? Christ was clear. As much as possible, always treat the person before us with extravagant, uncompromising grace and kindness. Likewise, treat the issue of sexual ethics with kind but uncompromising truth. Jesus was unequivocal about what this truth is. He affirmed the divine and exclusive nature of the husband/wife sexual union and the singularly authoritative text of Genesis 1 and 2 on such matters. He doesn’t leave us much wiggle room.
Every human being is made in the image of God and deserves our compassion. This does not stop us from promoting biblical sexual ethics, indeed genuine love will compel us to seek the ultimate well-being of the other. This begins in being reconciled to God and coming under His total sovereignty in every area of our brokenness, including our sexuality.
Christians are called to live faithfully in the balance and tension between the grace and truth Jesus embodied in full. We are required to live squarely in the place where we love, affirm, and work to protect everyone, accepting them as fully human, as ones toward whom God has a fatherly heart. Of course, this includes the same-sex-attracted person, as no one’s sexuality cancels out his humanity.
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But as we strive to truly love and befriend every individual, Christians are also called to honor, teach, and live the truth of a biblical sexual ethic. This is the tension God has called us to in this and all moral issues. It is of his design and wisdom and we have no room to wish it away, much less call it evil.
