I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.
– Thomas Jefferson
Hostility towards tyranny is a hostility we should
get behind.
And tyranny, as noted in yesterday’s post, can come through the government or from the culture. Either way, restrictions on freedom of speech, religion, or conscience should raise red flags and sound alarms.
Manny Pacquiao’s current situation is the most recent case in point. Last week the Christian boxer expressed his view on same-sex marriage and, for that offense, he’s lost an endorsement contract and gained a scathing backlash from the media and other celebrities.
All of which a number of us are protesting because, after all, free speech is something Americans allegedly treasure.
But apart from the free speech issue, the Pacquiao controversy also raises some critical questions for Christians. If we believe homosexuality is a sin, does that mean we should publicly condemn it? Is it arrogant for us to call it wrong? Is it irresponsible not to? Under what circumstances, if any, should we speak up on
the subject?
Before diving into all this, let’s remember that Manny didn’t just randomly impose his viewpoint. The whole brouhaha started when he was asked by a reporter what he thought of same-sex marriage. He answered; headlines lit up; hell broke loose.
So people may disagree with his position (that homosexuality is wrong) or with the illustration he used (a reference to animals). But they really can’t charge him with arrogance or being “holier than thou” because, in all fairness, the guy was just providing an honest answer to a direct question.
And judging by the response Christian public figures get when they’re likewise honest about their position on sexuality, we can expect something similar for ourselves if we take a similar stand. Let’s consider, then, when and how such a stand should be taken.
Three words come to mind when I think of this: Priority, Inevitability, and Necessity.
Priority: The Gospel First and Foremost
When it comes to our relationship to non-Christians, our primary concern is their eternal state – dead in sin (I Corinthians 15:22) and in route to eternal separation from God. (I John 15:12; Revelation 20:15) The specific sins our friend or loved one commits are secondary, so Paul said he was less concerned with judging the sins of the world than with judging sin inside the church, where his jurisdiction of authority really was. (I Corinthians 5:12)
That tells me that if I have an unsaved friend, family member, or co-worker whose homosexual, I’m not obligated to point that one sin out and persuade him to abandon it. Even if I could persuade him to turn from it, unless and until he’s born again, he’d still be just as lost. Homosexuality is a symptom of the problem, a point Paul made especially well in Romans 1:21-27, and thereby a secondary issue next to the primary need for salvation.
Christians are free to enjoy, love, and serve whoever they’re dealing with. Jesus modeled this by interacting with people of all kinds, from outcast sexual sinners like prostitutes to highly religious Pharisees. (Luke 7:37-47) Such interaction doesn’t require preaching to them, and if there is preaching to be done to the unsaved, it should center on the need for salvation. The gospel is our priority.
Inevitability: Hot Topics call for Biblical Responses
Yet preaching the gospel without also preaching on sin means preaching something other than the gospel. And even if my priority is loving my neighbor and sharing the Good News, if the neighbor in question is homosexual, then it’s unrealistic to think the subject won’t eventually come up. So when I’m asked my opinion on it, as Pacquiao was, I should give it with respectful clarity. After all, since the church is embroiled in ongoing controversies over this, the subject is relevant and the question Where do you stand? is a reasonable one. When we’re asked, then good stewardship, not to mention honesty, requires an answer.
Sometimes a situation will force the issue. If I’m asked to attend a same-sex wedding, and I feel conscience won’t allow me to do so (Romans 14:23; I Timothy 5:22) then I’ve got to explain why.
Other times simple conversation raises the subject, like when I’m discussing news items with friends or family and the re-definition of marriage comes up, and I can hardly pretend not to have strong views on the matter.
When that happens, Paul’s mandate for the servant of the Lord to be “apt to teach” (II Timothy 2:24) reminds me that I should be prepared to articulate a balanced, Biblical perspective on sin, sexual standards, and the wisdom of marriage and family by God’s design. That’s truth stewarding, a critical part of a disciple’s life, and in 2016 and beyond, it’s inevitable that this topic will test our integrity as “workers who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
(II Timothy 2:15)
Necessity: Making Disciples calls for Unapologetic Instruction
When a non-Christian is engaged in sexual sin, that’s a secondary issue we may or may not raise, depending on the situation, the nature of our relationship, and the wisdom God gives us at the time.
But sexual sin on a believer’s part is another matter and a primary one at that. Whereas bringing it up with non-Christians may be discretionary, bringing it up to a Christian is a necessity.
Let’s remember Jesus mandated us not just to preach the gospel, but to make disciples as well. (Matthew 28:19) That tells me that disciple making is as much a part of the Great Commission as evangelizing, and disciples can’t be made
without instruction.
Several instructive scriptures come to mind when we talk about homosexuality among those naming the name of Christ. Sexual sin is specifically serious and unacceptable to the Christian (I Corinthians 6:19) and cannot be tolerated within the church (I Corinthians 5:11-13) It’s not to even be named among us (Ephesians 5:3) and our abhorrence of it should include all its forms, whether homo
or heterosexual.
If the proper handling of our bodies and appetites is part of what we’ll eventually answer for when we stand before God, then a large part of what should be taught in our churches is how, specifically, we’re to manage these vessels, and what the guidelines for proper management are.
God be merciful, then, to the church or pastor who avoids teaching the flock the truth of what God expects and what He forbids. Unapologetic instruction in right living should be business as usual among us, and instruction without clarity is, to my thinking, no instruction at all.
An Important, though not Exclusive, Challenge
There are hundreds of important challenges we need to meet, both inside and outside the Church, and homosexuality doesn’t top the list. But there’s no ducking the fact that it’s become a doctrinal and moral controversy unlike any other, with unprecedented pressure being put on the Christian population to either convert to a position of approval, or minimize the importance of the subject, or shut
up altogether.
Manny Pacquiao rejected all three options. I argued yesterday, and I’ll reiterate today, that bringing animal behavior into the discussion as he did isn’t my cup of tea. But I respect and appreciate his willingness to state a position grounded in eternal truths rather than social trends.
That makes him – and, I hope, will make us as well – hostile to the tyranny Jefferson swore his resistance to, and more committed than ever to first knowing, then living, then expressing, truth.
There’s no other way to freedom, as Jesus said. (John 8:32) And there’s no other option for anyone wanting to truly love, and follow, Him.
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