Skip to main content

Gays, Lesbians and Chik-fil-a


On July 16, Dan Cathy (the President and COO for Chik-fil-a) stated in an interview with Baptist Press that his company supports a biblical view of marriage. This one simple statement has caused quite a stir both in the news and on social media outlets.

The gay and lesbian community and their supporters have reacted in two ways. First, Jim Henson’s company (the Muppets) severed ties with Chik-fil-a. Second, the mayor of Boston spoke out stating that Chik-fil-a was not welcome in Boston and should end their attempts to open a franchise there. But beyond this the public outcry has been diverse.

Some from the gay and lesbian community are calling for an all out boycott of the restaurant, saying that it is no different than racial discrimination and no moral person would set foot in a business that did not allow African Americans inside. Others, also in support of the gay and lesbian community, have stood up to say that many Christians are gay and these “gay Christians” must lead the charge in loving those who hate and persecute them.

This frenzy leaves the church with one ultimate question to ask: can a Christian be gay? The gay and lesbian community would answer yes, stating that your sexual orientation is part of your genetic makeup. You cannot change the way you were born. But this argument does not hold up for long. The alcoholic would make the same argument, citing a history of disposition and inclination toward addiction.

But biblically speaking, humans are responsible for their actions, despite any genetic inclination toward certain feelings or habits. We alone are responsible for what we do. The much larger question must be: Has God set a standard for living, and one which includes all issues? And we as Christian must affirm with the Bible that the answer is yes.

We are all born with sinful inclinations and desires. And none is more righteous than the other. But we must crucify these sinful inclinations when we come to faith in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:9–11). That is, as the Apostle Paul states in this passage, "such were some of you." Christians are a community of ex-liars, ex-drunkards, ex-adulterers, ex-idolaters, and so on and so forth, including ex-homosexuals. Christians are engaged in a battle against our own flesh. True, we may lose the battle at points. But we are in a battle nevertheless. It is one thing to deem our desires and inclinations as sinful and battle them the entirety of our lives. It is another thing all together to concede that there is no battle to fight.

Having said this, how should Christians respond? The answer is complex, but here is a start. First, refuse to compromise the truth, or to let it be called ‘hate speech.’ There is a large chasm between speaking what you believe to be truth and hate speech. Second, love the ones who slander and persecute you, even when they are doing it in the name of Jesus. Refuse to lower yourself to name calling, refuse to isolate homosexuals from your life, refuse to treat them as sub-human. After all, they are in every way just like us ... sinners in need of grace.

Being a Christian will only get harder in America as our culture distances itself from biblical beliefs. The difficulty of being a Christian will also be compounded by those who have departed from a biblical definition of the term. Now is no time to recant. We must learn to suffer for our faith.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Mitch

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Generation of Mark 13:30

At the beginning of Mark chapter thirteen Jesus is leaving the temple area and one of his disciples points out the grandure of the temple buildings. Jesus' remark to that disciple concerns the fact that these buildings will one day be torn down. The disciples question Him further as to the times of these events, and so begins an extended teaching from Jesus on the end times.As Jesus' remarks are drawing to a close, He makes this comment in Mark 13:30: "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." (NASB) So the reader is left to wonder the meaning of this statement. Either our understanding of generation is wrong, or we are understanding what Jesus meant by "these things" wrong. I think there are at least two solutions. The word for generation (genea: Greek) could mean, as some side column reference Bibles note, "the human race". This is possible, since the events have not all happened and the human race
15 comments
Read more

Is That A Bible I See Before Me?

The Weakness of Islamic Evangelism Lately I have been struck by the testimony of those who have suffered at the hands of kidnappers in Iraq. One issue that comes to the front of my mind is Islamic evangelism. Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll spoke to ABC News of her captors holding her at gunpoint and forcing her to read the Koran, which she did. After several days they asked why she had not yet converted to their beliefs. Explaining that she needed more time she continued to read. Again the question came to her about conversion. Finally and saddest of all, she told them that she would convert because she feared for her life. But this leaves us with a strange view of the Koran and the way that Islam chooses to do their evangelism. If the Koran were powerful in and of itself, those who seek to convert Christians to Islamic beliefs would not need to use guns in the process. That is, you should automatically appeal to your most powerful source. The fact that they use guns s
2 comments
Read more

Taming The Flesh Through Suffering

There are at least a dozen books in my pastoral library that deal with battling lust. It is true that this is a huge issue for men and a great source of stumbling to many men and many pastors for that matter - so on one hand I am glad they are there and I am grateful for the insight they have given to me. But I was really struck by a verse of Scripture this morning from 1 Peter 4:1b-2. "for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions, but for the will of God." Simply put, I believe Peter is telling us that those who are suffering for Christ's sake have their mind on Christ and suffering and not on the passions of the flesh. The reason so many men battle with lust and fleshly temptations (and I include myself in that group) is that our minds are far from the things of Christ. Suffering in the flesh is the direct opposite of indulging the flesh. The man who is getting lashes on his b
2 comments
Read more