Theology & Life

As you may have seen by now, June is “Pride Month.” Members of the LGBTQ+ community celebrate their sexuality, among other things. They take to the streets, to social media, to everywhere, to celebrate being lesbian, gay, transgender, queer, and anything in between.

“Pride Month” isn’t new. It is something Christians must take an ardent stand against. Because eventually, one way or another, this will impact you. Perhaps you’ll have a family member who is part of this community and you’ll have to reckon with how to interact with him or her. Maybe you’ll need to dialogue with someone at the university. Or, in other circumstances, you will be required to put your “preferred pronouns” in your email signature and/or bio.

So, let me clarify: it’s not coming—it’s here. How should we respond?

With truth. First and foremost, we must speak the truth to them. To be sure, truth-speaking must be communicated with love, as we’ll get to, but truth must be spoken nevertheless. Here are a few things we need to convey:

• Homosexuality is sinful.
• Marriage is between a man and a women.
• Men cannot become women and vice verse.
• God does not make mistakes with the sex you were born with.

The problem is, Christians are called bigots, homophobes, transphobes, and any other “phobe” simply for saying these things. In reality, that’s not true. We don’t hate or fear LGBTQ+ members—not at all. It simply means we disagree. And that’s okay.

It is imperative that we speak the truth not only to those within the LGBTQ+ community, but also to their allies. Scripture is clear that those who “approve of such things” are in opposition to God as well (Romans 1:32). To be an ally—to approve of—the LGBTQ+ community is to be an enemy of God.

The truth must be heralded, and done so with clarity.

With love. The truth we speak may fall on deaf ears if it’s not spoken from a genuine place of love for God’s creation. (It might fall on deaf ears regardless because of hard hearts. But press on!)

To be sure, there are many times when we communicate the gospel truth with genuine love, and yet, because of their hardness of heart, they still perceive it as hate. We can’t do anything about that but pray for God to change their hearts. But in the cases when we may be too abrasive or come off as arrogant or holier-than-thou, we need to humble ourselves.

We must make sure we engage with truth saturated in love.

With compassion. The person you’re speaking with, working with, learning with—whatever the situation—must be met with compassion. Not all members of the LGBTQ+ community are the same. Though they will still disagree, many will politely engage you over this topic. Others, however, will not. Regardless, we must remember we’re speaking to someone in desperate need of Christ.

In His time on earth, Jesus displayed continuous compassion (Matthew 15:32). We must be Christlike in our engagement with LGBTQ+ folks. And we also must remember that their sin takes them no further away from God than our sin did before God saved us. God saves homosexuals just like He saves liars, adulterers, and fornicators.

With non-compromise. Unflinching. Unmoving. Firm. The last thing we should do when navigating the LGBTQ+ movement (agenda) is compromise our biblical convictions in order to not cause offense. Though many in that community are reasonable, courteous, and respectful, there are even more that are not.

On many occasions, members of the LGBTQ+ community—and even their allies—make known their hatred for Christians. Make no mistake: homosexuality, and like, is clear rebellion against the holy God of Heaven and earth. It is an outright display of supposed human autonomy and an explicit sign of God’s abiding wrath and judgment.

Times are changing—times have changed. Many Christians are forced to choose between affirming the LGBTQ+ movement or losing their job; celebrating sodomy or being castigated; approving of “unnatural relations (Romans 1:26-27” or being shunned by your family. Not all Christians will have to endure this, but many will.

This is why we must not compromise; we cannot flinch. We must plant our feet firmly in the authority, inerrancy, and infallibility of Scripture. We must take a stand by affirming, believing, and trusting in the goodness and providence of God over all things. God has clearly spoken, so we must clearly speak.

With the gospel. Above all else, we must share the gospel with them because, at the most fundamental level, they are in grave rebellion and sin. They are far from God. In His grace, God desires to use His children as a means to share what He’s done, so we must be faithful!

Do not be afraid to herald the gospel of grace, the gospel of change, the gospel of God to members of the LGBTQ+ community. They need the gospel just like we did (and still do).

The gospel that changed my heart can change the heart of the homosexual. The gospel that enraptured my soul can transform the life of a trans person. The gospel that changes us into a new person will do the same for those who are submerged in the deep sea of gender ideology.

This gospel—the gospel of Jesus Christ living the life we couldn’t live and dying the death we deserved—has the power to make us whole, to bring us new life, to wipe us clean. And it’s powerful because the God of the gospel, the God of Heaven and earth, the God who is also our Heavenly Father.

Let’s navigate “Pride Month” with faithfulness to God and His Scriptures, and continue to yield to the Holy Spirit for wisdom.