Christians are losing the culture and spiritual war in America. We are losing because we seem unable to reject the values and agenda of the LGBT community without appearing unloving. This inability is best seen with the latest cultural skirmish over transgender bathrooms.
Conform or Else
Here’s how the transgender bathroom issue became the latest arena for the cultural and spiritual wars.
In 2014, the city council of Houston passed an ordinance that permitted transgender people to use bathrooms that fit their gender identity rather than the sex of their birth.
Conservatives challenged the ordinance in court. Ultimately, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that Houstonians had to vote on the issue. They voted it down.
In 2016, the City of Charlotte, North Carolina passed a similar ordinance. North Carolina Legislators blocked it by enacting a law that requires transgender people to use bathrooms that are consistent with the sex identified on their birth certificates.
North Carolina immediately felt the pressure. Several businesses held back on business investments in North Carolina. The Obama Administration sued North Carolina in federal court.
Further, the Obama Administration threatened to sue other states and withhold billions in federal funds if they passed similar measures.
…we cannot compromise our Biblical values.
A Christian Response To The Obama Administration
The hardcore support of the LGBT agenda and transgender bathrooms by the Obama Administration scares many people. They fear grown men using women bathrooms and posing threats to their wives and teenage daughters.
How should Christians respond to the passionate support of LGBT issues and transgender bathrooms by the Obama Administration? I have five suggestions.
…we must preach the Word of God all the time whether people want to listen or not.
Stand uncompromisingly on the Word of God
No matter what the POTUS or SCOTUS does, we cannot compromise our Biblical values. Read what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:2:
Preach the Word of God. Preach it when it is easy, and people want to listen and when it is hard and people do not want to listen. Preach it all the time. Use the Word of God to show people they are wrong. Use the Word of God to help them do right. You must be willing to wait for people to understand what you teach as you teach them.
This Scripture is plain and clear. It says that we must preach the Word of God all the time whether people want to listen or not. Additionally, we must use the Word of God to show people they are wrong and help them do right.
Regarding transgender people, the Scripture says God made them male and female (Mark 10:6). If a person has a desire to be a different gender, he or she is suffering from the residue of the fall of man, as all humans are in some form (Romans 3:23). This person can be delivered from this condition through the new birth (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Love LGBT people
Preaching the Word of God uncompromisingly doesn’t mean we should be unloving. We can do both. Jesus did it. His handling of the woman at the well is a great illustration of standing firm on the Word of God in a loving manner.
Another example is the way Jesus handled the adulterous woman and her accusers. He loved her in spite of her adultery while also instructing her to sin no more. It was brilliant and masterful.
Pray for the president
I voted for the POTUS twice although I’m conservative on many issues. I don’t regret my votes although I strongly regret his leadership on LGBT issues for the following reasons.
First, I wish his fervor for helping African Americans matched his enthusiasm for helping LGBT people. His reluctance to fight for African Americans is well noted.
Second, his position on LGBT issues is partially inconsistent with the Word of God in that he’s right to love LGBT people but wrong to promote the LGBT lifestyle.
For these reasons, we must pray for him, as the Scriptures instructs.
Vote wisely
I strongly detest each of the front runners in this presidential election for very different reasons.
A vote for Hillary is a vote for more promotion of the LGBT lifestyle. And who knows what a vote for Trump will mean? Hence, I will seek God for wisdom on who should get my vote, or I may go fishing that day.
Reject correlations of LGBT and African American issues
The LGBT community attempts to link its struggle for equality to the African American struggle. Below are reasons why this comparison is offensive and Christians should reject it.
First, the nation did not enslave and segregate LGBT people for almost 350 years, as it did African Americans. For merely being black, African Americans were lynched, raped, murdered, sold as property, and generally treated with extreme indignities. Homosexuals have not experienced this type of evil.
Second, God condemns the LGBT lifestyle in Scripture, however, He has never condemned or destroyed anyone for being black.
Third, legal remedies to protect the rights of African Americans are grounded in God’s moral code. Therefore, God supports justice for African Americans and celebrates laws that protect their rights whereas He detest the increase of the LGBT lifestyle.
For these three reasons and more, Christians should reject the argued correlations between the struggles of the LGBT and African American communities.
Conclusions
Now that you’ve read this article, you have a Biblical roadmap for how to stand firm on your Christian convictions and resist the agenda of the LGBT community while being loving towards LGBT people. Remember, God commands us to love everyone, even those with lifestyles we consider sinful according to Scriptures. Without love we cannot reach them, and at the end of the day, it’s our duty to reach them.
Bruce L. Collins