OPINION:
This isn’t about gay marriage or the latest celebrity who comes out as nonbinary. It’s about people whom God loves. LGBTQ+ people aren’t “out there.” They’re here; they’re people in our lives.
This is not a topic I take lightly. I’ve dedicated countless hours to studying passages, reading books, interviewing pastors, and speaking with members of pro-LGBTQ+ organizations.
Subscribe to have The Washington Times’ Higher Ground delivered to your inbox every Sunday.
To truly give this topic the spiritual context it deserves, I urge you to pick up a copy of my book “Taboo” – and this isn’t a sales pitch. Today’s article is a primer; I want you to go deeper.
Whenever we talk about difficult topics, it’s essential to trust that God, who is righteous, is also right about this. So wherever the passages lead you — even if culture, the church, or you disagree— trust our Lord.
Are Christians called to love?
In Luke 10:25-37, a Samaritan found a man, beaten and dying, passed over by “righteous” men. The injured man was different, but different didn’t deter the Samaritan. He loved him.
Do you love your neighbors? What about the ones who are LGBTQ+?
Sometimes those who claim to love the Bible and its passages the most love people the least. That means we don’t really love the passages at all. We love our version of the passages, the version that allows us to be “right.”
But according to Luke 10:26-28, if you don’t love, you don’t have life. People who pick and choose their neighbors can’t be neighbors with God.
Are Christians called to judge?
Matthew 7:1-5: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged… . Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? …You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Jesus is concerned Christians will pick at others’ sins and pay no attention to the sins in themselves. But notice He says to start with your plank and then remove their speck.
Should Christians pick the specks out of other people’s lives? Should Christians judge? Specifically, LGBTQ+ people? The answer depends on who you are and who they are.
If they’re not Christians, you should not judge. Christ did not tell Christians to judge the world. Jesus did not tell his disciples to tell people who aren’t his disciples to start acting like disciples.
The apostle Paul said, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside” – 1 Corinthians 5:12-13.
What business is it of ours to judge non-Christians for their lifestyles, sexuality, or definitions of marriage? Jesus says to take the speck from your “brother’s eye”— a fellow Christian. If he’s not a brother, it’s not your business to judge.
Even if they are Christians and there’s a plank in your eye, you should not judge. If there’s a sin you aren’t taking seriously and aren’t repenting of, you shouldn’t say a word about anyone else.
But if you are a repentant Christian, not perfect but sorry and trying to change, then you should lovingly judge someone who is LGBTQ+ and loves Jesus.
In other words, repentant Christians should judge. We should judge ourselves, and we should judge one another. Repentant Christians should point out that speck and help remove it in Christ’s name.
Choosing people AND passages
In John 8:2-11, Pharisees tried to trap Jesus by bringing him an adulterous woman and asking if she should be stoned. He told them to throw the first stone if they had never sinned. They all left, admitting they were sinners like her.
But the tension wasn’t over because Jesus still stood there. He had never sinned, so he had the right to throw the first stone. What did Jesus do?
“‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin’” – John 8:11.
Did you catch the word “and”? “I love you, and stop sinning. I love you, and leave that life. I love you just as you are, and don’t stay that way.”
Christ loved people AND passages. He wants Christians to love people AND passages.
With the Holy Spirit’s power, we can be AND people. We can be the neighbors who invite the gay couple over for dinner AND tell them about God’s goodness. We can be the church that loves it when lesbians walk through our doors so we can show them love AND share the light of God’s Word. We can be the Christians who confess our same-sex desires only to find unconditional love AND prayers for our hearts to change.
We have a God who says, “I’m not going anywhere. I don’t condemn you.” Nothing makes us want to leave our lives of sin like that. May the Holy Spirit help us love what God loves, love who God loves, and love how God loves.
–
Excerpt taken from “Taboo: Topics Christians Should Be Talking About but Don’t” by Mike Novotny (© 2024 Time of Grace Ministry). This topic is covered in much more detail in chapters 7-10 of this book, addressing questions such as “Are people born gay?” “Can you be a gay Christian” and “Why do we take Leviticus seriously.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.