It’s early in June, and, if you’re like me, you’re probably already weary of “LGBT Pride Month” and the celebration of homosexuality and transgenderism.
What do Christians need to know about this agenda? How should we respond to the ubiquitous LGBT flags, symbols, marches and celebratory events?
Just to be clear, I’m not addressing these questions out of fear or anger or as someone detached from this issue. I’m responding as someone who struggled with deeply entrenched and confusing same-sex attractions, lust and behaviors.
Thank God, I’m also a man who has found grace, transformation, forgiveness, freedom and healing through a relationship with Jesus Christ. I’m ever grateful about what God has done for me.
Here, then, are a few thoughts about what I believe Christians should keep in mind when responding to pride month.
1. God loves sinners. We’re all familiar with John 3:16, which says:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.*
And John continues in verse 17:
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
If Jesus wasn’t sent to condemn the world – then it’s not our job either. Those who don’t believe, as John continues, are “condemned already,” and our job is to point people to Christ, not condemn, shame or vilify them.
LGBT-identified folks marching in pride parades are lost – exactly those “the Son of Man came to seek and save” (Luke 19:10). Our hearts should grieve over their separation from God.
2. We were all completely lost before Jesus saved us, just like those celebrating homosexuality and transgenderism. Paul explains in Romans 5 that we were “weak” and “ungodly,” “sinners” and “enemies” of God – incapable of saving ourselves. Trapped in sin, Christ died for us and reconciled us to God.
Paul writes to remind us of who we were before receiving God’s grace:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind (Eph. 2:1-3).
Thankfully, because of God’s rich mercy and “great love with which he loved us,” when we turn from sin to Christ, He makes us alive and saves us by his grace (vs. 4-5). We did nothing to earn this, and we should respond to those trapped in sin with great humility, along with gratitude for God’s kindness towards us.
God’s wonderful saving grace and love are available to all, including those marching in the streets celebrating sins of pride and sexual brokenness.
3. At the same time that we reach out to LGBT-identified individuals with humility and the love of Christ, it’s important for Christians to understand the false ideology undergirding this movement.
Here are some key false beliefs promoted by our modern sexual agenda:
Marriage, which was instituted by God as a lifelong, faithful covenant between a man and a woman, and which is the highest picture in Scripture of Christ’s relationship with the church, has been completely redefined to include any two (and sometimes more) people who love each other – regardless of their sex.
“Sexual orientation” is viewed as a solid, scientific, well-defined concept, rather than what it is: a social construct defined by subjective feelings or sexual behaviors, a chosen socio-political identity.
“Sexual orientation” is seen as immutable, the essence of a person, a core identity that defines personhood. Instead of seeing people as male and female, as God designed us and intended, people are viewed as “gay,” “lesbian,” “straight,” or some other invented “orientation.”
“Gender” is separate from bodily “sex,” being male or female, and is at the center of a person’s identity. Rather than accepting their innate masculinity or femininity, individuals are encouraged to embrace this disembodied state of being.
“Gender” is fluid and changeable, it can be replaced or “reassigned” as needed.
There are a multitude – an infinitude – of “genders.”
Change should only be one-direction – toward homosexuality and transgenderism, never away. Helping people walk away from sexual identity confusion and same-sex attractions, identity and behaviors should be outlawed.
All Christians – but especially parents and pastors – should understand these lies, promoted by LGBT activists and their numerous allies. Instead, we should speak truth – especially to our families and congregations – with courage, wisdom and grace.
4. LGBT pride parties and festivals take place year round, and this false ideology has permeated every aspect of our culture.
Pride events aren’t just relegated to the 30 days of June. LGBT pride is a year-long bacchanalia, with cities in the U.S. and around the globe hosting events around the calendar, from Aspen’s Gay Ski Week in January through the Philippines’ Quezon City Pride March in December.
A huge chunk of the calendar has been claimed and co-opted by militant LGBT activists and their allies, demanding that we commemorate and celebrate everything from Lesbian Visibility Week (April 26-May 2) to LGBT History Month (October), and from Omnisexual Awareness Day (March 21) to Trans Awareness Month (November). In Canada, “Pride Season” spreads across four months – from June to September.
LGBT dogma is promoted in every area of life. State, local and federal agencies; business and advertising; K-12 schools, colleges and universities; celebrities and sports teams; the media and social media; and even some churches support and honor homosexuality and transgenderism.
Despite all this applause and acclaim, LGBT-identified folks are widely regarded as “victims” and “oppressed” by many. That’s not to say that individuals haven’t been hurt or wounded, but as a whole, this is a powerful, well-funded, well-supported movement.
It’s essential to remember, too, that LGBT ideology isn’t the root of our country’s ills. These false beliefs and the celebration of sin didn’t develop in a vacuum.
5. Finally, pride month is a good reminder to ask for the Father’s heart – He is our model for responding to LGBT people and activism.
First, God has a deep hatred for sin and lies – not because He hates people or groups of people, but because He knows sin is disfiguring and destructive. It mars and damages and is deeply painful. Lies and blindness from the enemy keep people locked in darkness, brokenness and despair.
That doesn’t mean we go around mouthing the platitude “love the sinner and hate the sin.” Seriously, how many of us hate sin the way God does? I know I’m guilty of hating other people’s sins more than my own.
But God’s hatred of sin stems from His deep love for people, and I want to have and demonstrate that kind of love.
Think about it: Jesus was perfect and blameless: But He drew sinners and broken people to Himself. How did He do this? He was pure, holy, tough on sin – but sinners wanted to be with Him. They knew He loved them, and they wanted to be like Him. He wasn’t a self-righteous, finger-pointing scold.
Jesus models the heart of the Father: full of grace and truth.
Because we love people, may we have a fierceness about these issues, speaking the truth and opposing this agenda, as we work to protect children and marriages and families.
And because we love people caught in homosexuality and transgenderism, may we also have a tenderness toward them, offering both grace and truth in our relationships with them. This should extend even to our opponents, as Jesus commands us to love them.
Related articles and resources:
Focus on the Family:
Daily Citizen:
Homosexuality Resources for Parents
Navigating ‘LGBT Pride Month’ – How Should Parents Respond?
When Children Encounter ‘LGBT Pride’: Resources for Parents
*All Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version.
Image from Shutterstock.
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