Enough is enough! As the Chick-Fil-A hysteria has grown, both
sides of this issue are becoming more and more inflamed. The purpose of this writing is to encourage
evangelical Christians who are taking a stand for their beliefs and to explain
to Christians who are on the “side” of the LGBT community, why many evangelical
Christians are taking a stand. If you are not a Christian you are still welcome
to read this blog, but if you are offended in any way, just remember that I
warned you. That is not the intent;
however, it could happen.
What does the Bible really say? Comments used against the evangelicals range
from the argument that Jesus didn’t say anything about homosexuality to Jesus’ ministry
being a radical ministry of love. So how
do Christians explain what the Bible says when people interpret it
differently? Why do some Christians
explain away some sections of the Bible and embrace others? The divide within the Christian community
seems to grow wider every day.
Unfortunately, there are many issues surrounding these questions that I
will not be able to address here. This
verse comes to mind, and I suggest that it be prayerfully considered. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is
the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter
through it. But small is the gate and
narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14. These are Jesus’ words. I suggest to you that we Christians need to
re-evaluate which road we are traveling.
Now, on to some arguments that I have heard from both
Christians and non-Christians alike.
“What about judge not?” The
verses in question are these, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you
will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2. To explore the meaning of this verse, one
must first understand what the word “judge” means. At least two words in the Bible are used to
describe what we consolidate into the word
“judge” today - the word judge and the word discern. Biblical history suggests that the word
“judge” involves making a decision regarding guilt and pronouncing a
sentence. Discernment would be to
determine, through God’s spirit, those things that are sinful or not sinful. Throughout the Bible, believers are told to
be discerning. The apostle Paul even
prayed for the believers at Philippi with the following words, “And this is my
prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of
insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and
blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that
comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:10-11. So are Christians “judging” when we say that
the Bible indicates that all forms of fornication are wrong, including
homosexuality – absolutely not! Are we “judging” when we say that people who
practice a Gay lifestyle are going to hell?
Well, yes, we are. It is only for
God to judge and pronounce sentence.
That is not our calling. (This is
why even many evangelical Christians are upset about the activities of Westboro
Baptist Church.)
Another argument to be addressed that is quite troublesome
because it shows a lack of understanding of the roots of the church is that if
Christians are going to say that homosexuality is wrong then we shouldn’t wear
polycotton blends, eat shellfish, etc.
These things are referring to laws given by God, through Moses, to the
Israelites in the book of Leviticus.
First and foremost, these were laws given to the Israelites. God had several purposes behind these laws;
the first is evident in Exodus 19:5, “Now if you will obey me fully and keep my
covenant then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be
for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
The definition of holy is “set apart”.
This is God promising to “set apart” the nation of Israel for himself as
a “treasured possession”. Therefore, the
laws present in Leviticus are God’s covenant with Israel, not with the
gentiles. Can we explain away these
laws, then? No, because if these laws
were requirements for holiness then, they should be requirements for holiness
now. So why do we Christians often times
not know or obey these laws? To
understand this, one has to look at the early church and the discussion by the apostles
and elders over requirements for the gentiles.
The discussion surrounded the requirement of circumcision, and radiated to
other areas of life. The account of the Jerusalem council can be found in Acts
15, but the basic outcome was this, “It
seemed good to the Holy Spirit not to burden you with anything beyond these
requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood,
from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.” Acts 15: 28-29.
Christians should want to be holy, but the purpose of the
law is to make us realize that we simply can’t do it on our own. We are all sinners and only through the
shedding of Jesus blood and His resurrection are we imparted
righteousness. Does this mean that we
can forget all of the law and do as we please?
Absolutely not! Consider Jesus
words, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I
have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth until heaven and earth
disappear, not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the
Law until everything is accomplished.”Matthew 5:17-18. Consider also, the words of Paul – the man
chosen by Christ to be the first missionary to the gentiles. “What shall we say
then? Shall we go on sinning so that
grace may increase? By no means! We died
to sin, how can we live in it any longer?”
Romans 6:1-2. Jesus made it
clear that anyone can be forgiven, but is expected to repent. It has often been argued that Jesus made it
clear that we shouldn’t “judge” when he told the people “If any one of you is
without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” This argument tends to overlook that Jesus
(who is the ultimate judge) also told her to “Go now and leave your life of
sin.” John 8:11. This command, straight
from the mouth of God, indicates that we are not to continue in sin once we
have been forgiven.
Now for the most confusing of all the misinterpretations
that I have read regarding this topic – love.
What is love, exactly? If you are
a parent, do you allow your children to disobey, regardless of the
consequences? I would expect not. If you are on a hike and your child wants to
jump an unsafe distance, I would suspect that you would tell them “no” or stop
them in order to protect them. That is
love in action. God’s laws for our life
were given out of His love for His children -a way to protect us from Satan and
ourselves. In the “Love Chapter,” 1
Corinthians 13. We are told among other
things that “love always protects”. Love
does not mean acceptance – “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth.”
So what about Chick-Fil-A?
Dan Cathy never said condemning words or told anyone they were going to
hell. He simply answered a question
about his beliefs and said he supported Biblical marriage. He gives money to groups who lobby congress
to promote those beliefs. So what? We are blessed to live in a country where we
can express our opinion and give money to whatever causes we want. We can vote our beliefs. As citizens of the U.S., we are more
responsible than Christians in other countries who don’t have the freedom to
vote and express their opinions. So if
you want to support Chick-Fil-A, go ahead.
If you don’t, then don’t.
In conclusion, I suggest to all Christians that we are to
live holy lives under grace, attempting to abstain from sin. Praise God for his
grace, since this is an impossible task!
Also, instead of vocally condemning the LGBT community in a hateful
sounding fashion, love them, instruct them, and pray that God will use you to
bring them to faith in Jesus. What about
professing Christians who are also practicing homosexuality? Paul wrote difficult words for us to hear in
1 Corinthians 5:9-12. Read these and
other verses, but most of all pray!
