Free Speech, Love, & Homosexuality

Over the past few days I have heard three different arguments all centered around the same topic. From posts I've read to people I've listened to it seems that people are gravitating to one of the three arguments to take a stand for truth as they see it. There is no greater potential for error then to focus on a part rather than a whole. As a pastor I'd like to share my perspective, but more importantly I’d like to disclose what the Bible has to say about all of this.

First of all is the "Freedom of speech" argument. This whole thing spun into motion because a man, who owns a large fast food chain (Chick-fil-a), shared his opinion, when asked, of a biblical perspective of marriage. That perspective being that marriage should be between a man and a woman. I personally agree with what he said, but this goes far beyond what the man said. First, was he free to say what he wanted to say? Yes. Was he hateful in what is said? No. I think a lot of times people use their freedom of speech to say hateful, mean things, but this wasn't one of those times. It was actually a very light and tame statement that would have been ignored if he were a pastor, but made headline news because he runs a major corporation. As a pastor I thank God for freedom of speech, I regularly exercise that right as I stand in the pulpit on Sunday mornings. It's interesting though, the Bible says that Jesus only said what he heard his father say, and he only did what he saw his father do. As Christians we really don't have the "freedom" to just say what we want without first filtering it through the Holy Spirit and Scripture.

The second argument came in response to people standing in line at Chick-fil-a to show support of the man and the restaurant. The thought circling social media was, "As Christians we need to love homosexuals and by standing in line to show support of Chick-fil-a we are spreading hate". Now, I didn't stand in line and so I don't have an accurate picture of what really went down, but I can imagine. I imagine some people who hate gays were in line, I imagine some people who wanted to stand for freedom of speech were in line, and I imagine some people who really like chicken were in line. I propose that hate or at least the lack of showing love would be rooted in the motives to stand in line rather than the act of standing, for the simple reason that people were there for different reasons. I have no problem with people taking a stand to love and support their gay friends, I would do the same. The Bible is very clear about the topic of loving one another; it even goes so far as to tell us to love our enemies... love really is the answer. I draw the line at accepting a person's sin. There are many people that I deeply love, but I don't accept or approve of their sin and lifestyle. This brings me to the third argument...

Is homosexuality a sin? Yes it is. 1 Corinthians 6:9 says, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,..." and then Romans 1:18-32 is a strong passage about homosexuality. The problem is that by me making that statement people will automatically think that I hate homosexuals, which is farthest from the truth. I also believe lying, stealing, murder, sex before marriage, etc. are sins. I counsel people every week that struggle in some of these areas or others, and I love them. My love doesn't go so far as to make room for their sin, but rather I love them in spite of their sin. In fact my own struggle with sin and weakness allows me to operate with the same love and grace that Jesus has shown me. As a Christian there is not a middle ground on homosexuality being a sin. You are either on one side or the other. The danger here is to approve of sin as an act of love. But in reality that’s not love at all. Love is speaking truth into a situation tangled in deception. Our culture has taken a sin and turned it into a people group, a social agenda, and an acceptable lifestyle. The fact is that all sin leads to spiritual and physical death.

I don't know that my writing this will change anything, but Pastors and leaders need to speak truth into a culture that doesn't believe in absolute truth. We need to love people passionately and intensely towards a savior that offers hope and freedom. And lastly, we need to recognize opportunities to take a stand on issues that divide even if it’s not popular.