How should a Christian relate to those who practice homosexuality?

Welcome to our Wednesday “Ask Beau” post. The purpose of this weekly feature is to provide you, our readers, with biblical responses to questions you have about practical issues that you face.

As always, you may submit questions for future “Ask Beau” posts by contacting us at beau.stanley@gracebrethren.org or viewfromthepugh@yahoo.com, or by leaving a comment on this post.

Last week I received a question via email regarding how Christians should respond to fellow believers who choose to live a homosexual lifestyle. This is a great question, one that is extremely relevant in our current cultural situation. Permit me in this post to broaden the question a bit to this: How should a Christian relate to those who practice homosexuality?

It is important to establish first what the Bible says about homosexual behavior. In one of the least politically correct passages in the Scripture, Paul speaks of lesbianism (Romans 1:26) and male homosexuality (1:27) as “dishonorable,” “unnatural,” and “shameful” (ESV). The vice list in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 contains two Greek words that denote the passive (malakoi) and active (arsenokoitai) participants in male homosexual acts. A form of arsenokoitai appears in the vice list in 1 Timothy 1:8–10 as well. Leviticus 18:22 presents male homosexuality as one of several prohibited sexual practices. The narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:20–19:29, especially 19:4–13) indicates that the destruction of these cities came about at least in part because of the homosexual practices of the inhabitants. When one looks at the biblical text, it is clear that God considers homosexual behavior to be a serious sin. 

Christians should speak this truth to homosexuals in love (Ephesians 4:15), but it is important to consider what that really means. Those who speak the truth in love are humble and cognizant of their own faults (see our prior post on judging). They genuinely look out for the best interests of the other person. They realize that transformation takes time and that homosexuality is usually tied deeply to perceptions of identity and worth. They aren’t unnecessarily offensive and they don’t call names. 

In fact, I am concerned that when relating to those who practice homosexuality, Christians are sometimes so focused on the “truth” part of speaking the truth in love that we forget the “love” part. I wonder if we would be so shortsighted when dealing with people who are engaged in other sins—some of which are prohibited in the same vice lists mentioned above—such as disobedience, lying, and extramarital heterosexual contact! When we view our relationships with homosexuals solely through the lens of challenging their behavior, we miss the charge to pray for them faithfully and to build bridges with them, bridges of acquaintance, friendship, and genuine, tangible care. Honestly, would we feel loved by “friends” whose only mission in the friendship is to confront us? Instead, let’s follow Jesus’ model of loving engagement—which caused Him to be criticized for being “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:34).

There is also a biblical distinction that I should mention here, in light of the form in which this question was posed to me. The Bible directs Christians to be more relationally “open” to non-Christians who practice sin than to those who claim to be Christians and practice sin (1 Corinthians 5:9–11). Thus, regarding the unrepentant believer or professing believer who continues in homosexual behavior, eventually (not immediately—see the general pattern laid out in Matthew 18:15–17) the best course of action for a Christian may be to dissociate himself from that person, making sure he leaves the door open for future restoration and reconciliation (Galatians 6:1). 

Now it’s your turn. What are your thoughts on this important and sensitive question?

—Beau Stanley

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How should Christians react to the Casey Anthony verdict?

Welcome to our Wednesday “Ask Beau” post. The purpose of this weekly feature is to provide you, our readers, with biblical responses to questions you have about practical issues that you face.

As always, you may submit questions for future “Ask Beau” posts by contacting us at beau.stanley@gracebrethren.org or viewfromthepugh@yahoo.comor by leaving a comment on this post.

On Tuesday the 5^th, Chris B. asked me if I would comment on the Casey Anthony trial in light of some of the angry responses to Anthony’s acquittal. While I didn’t follow the story closely, I’m happy to suggest some thoughts on how Christians should react to this verdict.

As much as it may seem that Casey Anthony murdered her daughter Caylee, I do not think that we should say that the justice system failed in this case. Del Tackett, an insightful Christian thinker, argued this point better than I could in a post published on his blog last Thursday (thanks, Jim A.). Our legal system rightly has a high standard of proof in criminal cases, and, as Tackett notes, the Bible places a high value on the testimony of witnesses. Apparently there were no sufficiently clear witnesses in this case, whether human or physical.

We need to have realistic expectations about what human legal systems can accomplish. It’s helpful to think of a distinction that Chris B. made in his email: the distinction between God’s justice and man’s. God’s justice is perfect; man’s justice is imperfect. Human legal systems will never catch every criminal, nor can they, because we humans are limited in knowledge and inherently biased. God, on the other hand, is omniscient (1 John 3:20) and unbiased (Acts 10:34). Because He is completely good (1 John 1:5), He will not be mocked by evil, but will punish the guilty (Nahum 1:3), whether or not human legal systems are able to punish the guilty.

We also need to expect unfairness and not be surprised by it. Even if Casey Anthony didn’t murder Caylee, someone apparently did, and it’s just not fair that a little child should be treated as Caylee was. But as long as sin exists in this world, unfairness will exist. It is absolutely a good thing for us to seek fairness, but for us to demand fairness is neither realistic nor biblical. 

We learn from Jesus Himself that our primary business as Christians is not to demand fairness, but to dispense love. If Jesus had demanded that He be treated fairly, no one would be able to spend eternity with God. Instead, Jesus endured unfairness in order to love people in the ultimate way (John 15:13). My suspicion is that if Christians were as adamant about loving people as we are about justice and fairness, the world would be very different.

I’m sure many of you followed the Casey Anthony trial. What are your thoughts on the trial, the verdict, or the reactions to the verdict?

—Beau Stanley

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Change in the NBA and beyond

I always love the off-season in professional sports.

From the draft to free agency, it’s interesting to see how teams address their needs and to see players switch teams.

Teams can get much better or much worse in a hurry depending how they handle this crucial time. That’s why I’m looking forward to tonight’s NBA draft (7:30 p.m., ESPN).

The Cleveland Cavaliers have two of the first four picks and are actively involved in trade talks for other players. Chances are good they will have a dramatically different team after tonight. The hope is they will be able to add talent to do better than they did last year.

Personally, I would love for them to get Derrick Williams of Arizona and Brandon Knight of Kentucky. What do you think?

I love seeing change with my favorite basketball team, and it’s easier to see change when it doesn’t have a direct impact on my personal life (and when my team needs a lot of improvement).

But change can be really scary when it touches me personally.

When the unexpected happens, I turn to the unchanging God, whose love for me is steady and constant. I and other Christians have the privilege of enjoying a wonderful relationship with Him through Jesus. Paul wrote these words to the Roman Christians of his day:

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death or life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor or worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of Hell can separate us from God’s love” (Romans 8:38 NLT).

Do you know His love? If you don’t, shoot me an e-mail at viewfromthepugh@yahoo.com.

I’d love to talk to you about it.

—Chris Pugh

(EDITOR’S NOTE—Photo: Thomas Northcut/Digital Vision/Thinkstock)

The easiest way to avoid hypocrisy

“Christians are hypocrites,” many would say.

Gabe Lyons and David Kinnaman’s book unChristian, which details common perceptions of Christians by non-Christians, suggests that “hypocritical” is one of the top adjectives that non-Christians use to describe those who claim the name of Christ. Most Christians are aware of this charge; some have been called “hypocrite” directly.

There is an easy way to avoid the charge of hypocrisy. Stand for nothing.

I’m not suggesting that you should stand for nothing, of course. It’s important to realize, though, that anyone who takes a moral stance on anything opens himself to the charge of hypocrisy. It is much easier to sit in a place of moral relativism or ambiguity and throw darts than it is to take a firm moral position (which Jesus did all the time, by the way).

Christians should be humble in expressing the truths of the Bible, many of which are very unpopular. But we shouldn’t think our humility will ever enable us to avoid the “hypocrite” label altogether. We stand for moral absolutes, and we violate those absolutes because we aren’t perfect, just as our non-Christian friends aren’t perfect.

Our goal should be to express the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) and to abide by Jesus’ standards through the power of the Holy Spirit.

If, while striving for this goal, I still get called “hypocrite,” I can live with that.

—Beau Stanley

Follow @beaustanley

Is technological innovation a good thing?

Welcome to our Friday “Ask Beau” post. The purpose of this weekly feature is to provide you, our readers, with biblical responses to questions you have about practical issues that you face.

We invite you to submit questions for future “Ask Beau” posts by contacting us at beau.stanley@gracebrethren.org or viewfromthepugh@yahoo.com or by leaving a comment.

Today’s question: “Is technological innovation a good thing?”

In and of itself, technological innovation is a very good thing. Technological advances come about as people utilize their God-given talents and capabilities. As Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen note in The Drama of Scripture (pp. 37–39), for humans to explore and develop the potential of God’s creation is part of what it means for us to live out God’s mandate to have dominion over the earth (see Genesis 1:28). Technological innovation as a concept is not just neutral. It is good.

The problem comes about when people use or develop technology in a way that is not glorifying to God. While Twitter can be a great medium for sharing godly wisdom, it is also a “good” medium for being cruel and disrespectful to anyone who has a public account. While texting makes it possible to send a quick message to someone without interrupting him greatly, texting also may drive us to have electronic “conversations” that ought to be taking place face-to-face. While a smart phone can help us to be more productive, it can also distract us from our families or friends.

While I acknowledge that technology can be used for evil purposes, I am concerned that some Christians may have an irrational fear of technological change and development, as if it somehow undermines our faith. We don’t have to compromise the unchanging message of the Bible just because we use new mediums of communication and interaction. Many mature Christian leaders understand this—I follow James MacDonald, Rick Warren, and Paul Tripp on Twitter!

To some extent, I may be preaching to the choir since you are, after all, reading this post on a blog (though you may be clinging to the soon-to-be-dinosaurish email). If so, fine. Just do me a favor and share this post with your techno-happy friends, and maybe these thoughts will eventually trickle down to those who are less technologically inclined—gasp!—by word of mouth.

— Beau Stanley

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Being content with imperfect contentment

5/29 Joy in the Journey from Grace Polaris on Vimeo.

My wife really has a lot of insight. In Tuesday’s post I mentioned something she had shared about Coach Tressel’s situation. I believe it was the same day that she encouraged me based on a point Pastor Jonathan Wiley made in last Sunday’s sermon (video above).

As I bemoaned the fact that I was not as content as I would like, Stacey reminded me that Jonathan had said in his sermon (see particularly 14:45–15:25 in the video above) that contentment must be learned. He said that contentment is “not natural” and suggested that we can say, “Amen” to that. I add my “Amen” to the chorus.

Jonathan was expounding Paul’s words in: “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content . . . I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry” (ESV; emphasis mine).

We need to be content with the “contentment-learning process.” Ironically, we can become discontent not just with the God-ordained trials of life, but also with the pace at which our maturity in contentment moves forward. This just makes things worse.

It’s helpful to remember that God is at work within all Christians, taking us through the necessary highs and lows so we can “get” contentment. He is faithful and much more patient than we are.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, as they say, and neither is a mature, contented Christian. Let’s not let our imperfect contentment cause us to be discontent. We are where we are; let’s press on.

— Beau Stanley

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Will Jesus return in 17 days?

According to Harold Camping, we only have 17 days left before Jesus comes back.

Camping, an 89-year-old California radio station owner who leads Family Radio Ministries, has launched a nationwide campaign claiming that the Bible indicates the Rapture, an event in which Jesus returns to take Christians to heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18), will happen on May 21, 2011, followed by five months of tribulation and the end of the world on October 21.

Family Radio Ministries’ site explains the May 21 date as follows: 1) In Genesis 7:4, God warned that the destruction of the earth would occur in seven days. 2) The flood waters began on the 17th day of the 2nd month of the Hebrew calendar, in the year 4990 B.C. 3) The Bible equates a day with 1,000 years (2 Peter 3:8). 4) 7,000 years (7 times 1,000) after the beginning of the biblical flood is May 21, 2011 (4990 +7000 – 1 for the missing year “0”).

And if you believe May 21 is the definite date of the Rapture, I have a mountain in Columbus I would love to sell to you.

I believe in the return of Jesus, and it could happen soon with everything that’s been taking place in the world lately. I also commend Camping and his followers for taking the Scripture seriously.

But Camping’s analysis is heavily flawed. First of all, when read in context, 2 Peter 3:8 clearly does not suggest that 1 day equals precisely 1,000 years in any biblical timeline. Second, the destruction of the earth spoken of in Genesis 7:4 was the flood of Noah, not the renewal of the earth spoken of in 2 Peter 3:10.

I could mention other errors, but maybe the most significant is that Camping’s prediction is irreconcilable with Jesus’ warning against date-setting for His Second Coming:

“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32 KJV).

Others have attempted to use math to predict Christ’s return. Camping himself incorrectly predicted that the Rapture would happen in 1994.

Camping’s date setting is dangerous. It’s also alarming that he also chose to spend thousands of dollars on a marketing campaign focusing on the May 21 date.

What happens if and when May 21 passes with no Rapture?

We’re called to live our lives in such a way that we are ready for Jesus’ return. We should share the good news of salvation through trust in Jesus alone, and we should show Jesus’ love to others and live our lives following His lead.

Doing that doesn’t require us to know a date.

—Chris Pugh

(EDITOR’S NOTE—Photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock)