Pride and the Gospel
“Well, things are changing in the church at last!”
These were the words that greeted me as I sat down to lunch with some extended family on the weekend. They were referring to the Church of England decision to offer prayers of blessing to couples in same-sex marriages and civil partnerships and the proposal to de-gender God. These are the latest results from the relentless drive of progressive Christians to get the church to catch up with the world on matters of humanity and sexuality.
Now England might feel a long way away, but these issues are on our doorstep and there are two reasons you are likely to hear more and more about them over the next few months. First, starting this Thursday, Sydney is hosting WorldPride, a global LGBTQIA+ festival that seeks to “celebrate everything queer”. There will be events and activities all over the city for the next 3 weeks and if our university campuses are anything to go by, it will be all encompassing. Second, Alex Greenwich has declared that the price of his allegiance to a major party after the forthcoming State election will be ensuring a ban on gay conversion therapy in NSW. It remains to be seen whether any protection is afforded to churches and whether preaching a biblical view on homosexuality will still be legal when such a ban takes place.
It can all feel overwhelming and I understand that some members of our church might feel like going to hide in a cave. As an alternative to withdrawing from the world (or even worse, attacking the world) I want to suggest a four-fold approach to the increasing impact of progressive thinking on the Christian faith.
First, pray. As we saw in Revelation 5, your prayers enter the throne room of God and we have a Lord who loves to hear our prayers and answer us because he loves us. Bring all your heart’s anxieties and your mind’s turmoil before the Lord because he cares for us. Present all your requests to God and you will find that the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Pray earnestly and continually.
Second, remember our common humanity—every person who walks this planet is a precious creation of God and loved by him and we ought to view people through this lens. We don’t have friends and enemies; we are all just humans. So let us pursue kindness and compassion as we talk to each other; be curious and interested rather than cutting and ignorant. Learn to ask good questions and consider the language you use, the way you speak and the assumptions you make as you speak to others. But as you do, remember that it is the opposite of loving care for people to deny, distort or downplay the life-giving truth of Scripture on matters of vital importance to understanding ourselves and God’s good plans for our lives, including matters of human sexuality and marriage. You cannot control the way people view you but you can control the way you treat others.
Third, get informed on the Bible’s teaching and be ready to defend it with gentleness and respect. The clear teaching of Scripture is that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, and that sexual activity outside the context of marriage is sin. Biblical scholars of all varieties (Christian, atheist, LGBTQIA+, Muslim and more) all agree that this is the clear teaching of the Bible. For centuries scholars have tried to discredit or disprove this through linguistic or historical approaches but every time their arguments fall over. In the end, the battle being fought in the church is over the authority of the Bible and those in the Church of England who are changing their doctrine are doing so because they have diminished the authority of the Bible in the church.
The best place to start getting informed on the Bible’s teaching is with our Let’s Talk Series from last year on Gender and Sexuality. You can find the talks here, and you can always chat to a member of staff. Don’t forget that the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection is still good news and men and women of all sexualities are becoming Christian across Australia every week.
Finally, remember that none of this anger at Christians nor these attempts to change truth is unexpected. Jesus said, if the world hates you, keep in mind it hated me first. We saw in Revelation 6 the grand collection of saints who had been killed because they held to their testimony about the truth of the Word of God. The world will never clap and cheer Christian people who want to hold to the truths of the Bible. It is more likely they will kill and maim. So don’t be surprised when people at your school or your uni or your workplace or even your family turn away from you or against you. That is all part and parcel of being a believer - it’s just not a part we are very used to here in Australia.
As we heard in church last weekend, Revelation contains a series of visions that came right on time to the early Christians. The revelation of the future victory of Christ gave them confidence to withstand the present with prayerful courage as they kept trusting Jesus every day. I want to encourage you to do the same. I believe that Christians who want to hold to the truth of the Bible are in for a rough ride in Australia in the next decade but it’s nothing God has not prepared us for. So let us hold to Jesus and reach out to others with the truth of the Gospel; there really is no other way to win at life now and for eternity.
