“Gay Christian?”
Navigating relationships often take on the feeling of being in a carnival “fun house” filled with maze-like passageways and wavy mirrors that contort reality, creating frustration and confusion. The emergence of a new category of “gay-Christian” and the resultant effect of “gay marriage” fits this metaphor to a tee.
Over the last few decades, a new designation has emerged within the visible church, the “gay Christian.” This new title trades on the notion that some people are born homosexual, just like some people are born heterosexual. Therefore, when an individual with a homosexual identity becomes a Christian, he or she is a “gay Christian” and, therefore, justified to enter into a “gay marriage.” The chain of reasoning is as follows:
- Born as a homosexual
- Homosexual becomes a “Gay Christian”
- “Gay Christian” enters into “Gay Marriage”
The new rallying cry is that gay marriage for a Christian is not just acceptable and appropriate; the evangelical church, as well as heterosexual Christians, MUST affirm it.
Let’s walk through seven reasons why the premise is false and the category of “gay Christian” as well as “gay marriage” is invalid.
First, the Bible indicates there are only two categories by which to identify an individual: physical identity – male or female (Gen. 1-2) and spiritual identity – being “in Adam” or “in Christ” (Romans 5:12-21). All other characteristics of a person are based on these two. Therefore, the idea that a person is born homosexual – as their identity from birth – is simply an assertion -a declaration with no evidence. Unlike being heterosexual, which corresponds to the physiological characteristics of the male (XX) or female (XY) chromosome, the claim of being homosexual has no physiological or scientific basis. It is a desire induced by a feeling. Indeed, some advocates would say it is a strong feeling rising in some people from a young age or even a natural proclivity – stemming from the Fall. Regardless, homosexuality is not an identity. Therefore, classifying homosexuality as being “born this way” is wrong, much like a man claiming to be a woman is wrong. A man is a man and can never be a woman, given the fixed biological reality of the male/female chromosome. To think or encourage otherwise is abusive and immoral.
Second, when a person enters into a trusting relationship with God, their identity changes – they become a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17), from being “In Adam” to being “In Christ.” God “made us alive with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5), and this transformation necessarily changes a person’s desires and behavior through the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit. To this point, Paul specifically cites homosexuality – “men who practice homosexuality” (1 Corinthians 6:9), as a behavior that is changed when those who indulged in the homosexual lifestyle trusted in the Gospel of Jesus:
“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:1).
The work of the Holy Spirit in salvation inspires a new way of living, born out of love for the grace and mercy that has been received. Although unable to achieve perfection in this life and the struggle to trust in the promises of Christ is real, there can be no doubt that the direction of the individual’s life is fundamentally altered. However, within the framework of the “gay Christian,” neither is true. The individual cannot claim redemption by Christ nor a change by the working of Christ. The argument is that the individual must commit to only expressing their identity within marriage. In this way, it is similar to the sexual ethic of a heterosexual – sexual expression within the bonds of marriage. Therefore, the person born as a homosexual doesn’t need to be redeemed from homosexuality, but merely to constrain their sexual activity within marriage. In this way, we are told to believe that a gay Christian is a person suspended between a new identity in Christ and their identity as a homosexual – violating the teaching(s) of Christ and the Bible. Be warned: a concession on this level is a fabrication and a lie.
Third, the term “gay-Christian” brands the individual as having their identity rooted in their sexual activity. While all Christians struggle to follow Christ (due to our yet-to-be-fully-redeemed humanness, Rom. 7:14-25), we are to encourage one another as we seek to honor Christ. It was this fight that Paul envisioned for the Christians in Galatia, as Christ was being formed in them – “my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” (Gal. 4:19). The formation of “Christ in us” involves learning to live by faith – taking on the character and priorities of Christ more and more. The idea of a “gay Christian” views the image of Christ formed alongside and including a homosexual lifestyle. God is simultaneously the author of salvation and an advocate for sin. What blasphemy! The very notion of a “gay Christian” is a contradiction in terms. The Bible has no category for a “gay Christian” any more than a “lying Christian” or an “adulterating Christian.” Why? The term Christian stands alone and cannot be modified by a sinful activity, such as “gay.”
Fourth, the idea of a “gay Christian” disregards the plain teaching of the Bible. The Apostle Paul was crystal clear when he wrote to the Church at Corinth that those who practice homosexuality “will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:10). Are we to believe that there is a new standard, a new revelation that supersedes Scripture? Pastors who affirm “gay marriage” stand in the legacy of the “new-fangled-prophets” who turned the hearts of the people away from the living God (see Jeremiah 29:15).
Fifth, the “gay Christian” teaching portrays the claims of the Bible as ineffectual, elevating people’s feelings as the final arbiter of what is true. How many people, and even pastors, believed heterosexuality to be God’s design for sexuality and then changed their view due to a family member or close friend declaring to be “gay”? Does something become true when I believe it? No. A thing is true or false regardless of how I feel at any given moment. For example, the child that believes Santa Clause exists does not create Santa by those feelings. Truth must regulate our emotions. When a person experiences overwhelming feelings of sadness at the death of a family member, those feelings are shaped and somewhat mitigated through the truth of Christ’s words: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25–25). The truth of Jesus’ promise becomes the conduit through which our emotions are directed. Those who promote the category of “gay Christian” will always and ultimately base truth on how they feel and not the standard of Scripture. In the end, those who promote this ideology refuse to submit to Jesus and the clear message of the Bible.
Sixth, the notion of a “gay Christian” re-forms the nature of God, crafting a confused and cruel deity subjecting people to desires they would have never chosen. Are we to believe that God made some people to be homosexual so that they are enslaved, opposed by God in His Law for expressing their sexual identity? Are we being asked to believe that only within the last decade or so have some people and pastors reached enlightenment that God’s character on this issue has evolved? Do these self-styled sages really want us to believe that God has undergone a rebirth? Is God revealing a new expression of sexuality, forged in the fires of our modern sensibilities and, as its crowing achievement, creating a new category for marriage – the category of “gay marriage”? Are we to believe that the same God who designed heterosexuality and pronounced it as being “very good” (Genesis 1:31) is sanctioning the new and improved sexuality between same-sex couples? The hubris of those who affirm this reformation of God is breathtaking. The implication is that all Christians MUST affirm the liberation of God by supporting “gay marriage.” The God of these advocates is unrecognizable from the God of the Bible.
Seventh, it violates Jesus’ teaching: “…from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh (Mark 10:6–8). Jesus believed and taught that His Father’s design for expressing sexuality was and will always involve a man and a woman. Whether in our anatomical design or in our ability to procreate, heterosexuality makes sense because that is the way we have been designed to function – to enjoy our sexuality within a union that can bring a new life into existence. To sanction something that cannot and will not perform as intended is to embrace a delusion.
Christians are to live under the joyful requirement to keep the commandments of Jesus (John 14:15). We do this because He is our sin-bearer and the giver of our new life! There is no “gay Christian” or “gay marriage” for a follower of Christ. The struggle for purity is real for all Christians. I don’t live in a pollyannaish world filled with slogans of overcoming, nor do I bury my head in the sand of denial. The Enemy of our souls wants to ensnare us to believe that God now sanctions homosexuality as long as it is wrapped in sincerity and the language of spirituality. Warn your family and friends of this growing deception. Don’t be taken captive by clever arguments by people or eloquent pastors who have “an appearance of godliness… avoid such people.” (2 Timothy 3:5). Stand opposed for the good of your soul and the souls of others.
For those who have been taken captive or willfully chosen to go along with the false ideology, I urge you to change your mind. You will only find the freedom you crave through submitting to the One who created you! Joy and meaning can be yours if you willingly submit to His rule over and in your life. If we can help you on your journey, please contact us at hello@forGodsfame.org.