To that end, Christians shouldn’t alter the Word of God based on popular thought. But his message of God’s love never wavered. He talked with the woman at the well (John 4). Jesus didn’t condone the outward embrace of sin, but he didn’t outcast the people involved.
LGBTQ characters account for 9.1 percent of series regular characters on scripted broadcasts (primetime, adult and youth programming), according to the 2020 GLAAD “Where Are We On TV” report. Expect backlash, particularly from a society that continually normalizes and promotes all sexual sin via media platforms. Proclaiming Christ, even in love, is counter-cultural. > Cissie Graham Lynch: Speaking to the LGBTQ community with grace & truthĥ.
Consider Colossians 4:6: “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” He promises His Word will not return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11) and simply urges us to be ready at all times to share Christ (1 Peter 3:15). But remember, as you walk in obedience to Christ, turn everything-especially your loved one-over to God. And there is nothing wrong with grabbing a socially distant cup of coffee and gently challenging your friend. Yes, you should invite your LGBTQ+ loved one to church (even virtual church). You can introduce people to Jesus all day long, but you personally can’t transform a single soul. And the only thing that changed that identity for me was the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”Ĥ. “When I was fully immersed in that lifestyle, my entire identity was wrapped up in my sexual orientation. “Homosexual orientation affects the whole person: the mind, will, emotion and body,” he writes. Cook reminds his readers, there are gay pride parades but not gossip pride parades. It’s sin, so it separates a person from a Holy God, but it’s rooted so much deeper. Homosexuality is complicated, but it’s not a gray area. We’re also told not to grow weary in doing good (Galatians 6:9) no matter what’s happening around us.ģ. We’re supposed to put on the armor of God and resist things contrary to God’s Word (Ephesians 6:13). But we’re also “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37). As followers of Christ, our marching orders are simple (per Mark 12:30-31): We are to love God and love people. Jesus was firm in His stance on a variety of topics, including marriage, which He cited between one man and one woman in Matthew 19:5. Don’t confuse loving God’s creation with affirming the sin the world promotes. Billy Graham once explained why you were createdĢ. God’s people are reminded to “clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). Treat every single person you encounter the way God intended-as His beautiful creation. God intricately knit every human being in the womb (Psalm 139:13). “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.” It wasn’t random or haphazard. No matter what identity a person chooses, that individual was created in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 is very clear. So what’s a believer to do? Consider these 5 Biblical truths as you minister to your LGBTQ loved ones:ġ. Over the last several years, I’ve seen many Christians cave to culture.” “Somewhere in the last decade, ‘I disagree with you.’ came to mean ‘I hate you.’ … Although we are not forced to bow down to a golden image, we are pressured to bow down to the great god of Public Opinion. “If you believe that homosexuality is a sin, you are immediately labeled a bigot or homophobic. And holding to God’s revealed truth in His Word concerning homosexuality is even more dangerous,” Becket Cook wrote in his book, A Change of Affection: A Gay Man’s Incredible Story of Redemption. “Claiming the name of Christ is sometimes a dangerous business.
It can be a murky area where even the most compassionate and sincere Bible-believing Jesus follower can hesitate to step. Later in 2020, a separate report found that nearly half of adults identifying as LGBT claim to be religious. The Pew Research Center shared last year that the majority of people who approved of homosexual lifestyles didn’t consider religion important in their daily lives. Within the last decade, acceptance of LGBTQ+ lifestyles have been on the rise in America and beyond. “It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge and my job to love.”