How do I share about Jesus with my beloved gay friends? (Part 1)
Today we deal with a potentially volatile question, but one that I hope we can answer with sensitivity and maturity. This week, I want to set a foundation and next week I want to follow up.
“I am a follower of Jesus, and I am writing you to figure out how would be the best way to minister to family, friends, and co-workers who are gay. These wonderful people in my life know that I am a follower of Jesus and that I want to be obedient to him. The gays in my life feel that if they ever stepped foot into a church, they would be rejected by people and by God. A few of them are bitter and angry because they have been hurt at some point within a church, or they are afraid of rejection and what the Bible teaches about their lifestyle. A couple has asked me about my church’s beliefs, what the pastor is like, etc. They are curious about God. I love these people in my life with all of my heart, and I want them to know the love and grace that I have experienced from Jesus. How can I point them to Jesus?”
First, I want to begin by apologizing to the LGBT community. The reality is that there has been a tremendous amount of harm done over the years in the supposed name of Christ. There are plenty of groups that we read about in the media that simply spew venom and do not accurately reflect the Word of God.
At the same time, for followers of Christ who cling to the authority of the Word of God (which I do), we cannot simply rip pages out of our Bibles because we don’t like what they say.
Indeed, the Scriptures have a lot of really hard things to say about my private life, my thought life, my sex life, my financial life, and so on and so forth.
So, how do you share about Jesus with friends and family who have lifestyles contrary to what scripture teaches? You treat them the same way that you would anyone else: as a human being made in the image of God desperately in need of help, just like all of us.
In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Rome (Romans 1:18-32 – please look it up on the web in the ESV for the sake of space in this column), Paul describes the condition of all humans.
(1) Everything is made by God, but rather than acknowledging him as the sovereign Creator, humanity rejects his reign in our lives.
(2) The primary ways in which humans ignore God are by either pretending like he does not exist or worshipping that which is created rather than the one who created it.
(3) In response to this rejection, God simply gives us what we want – complete with all the consequences that follow.
(4) This results in a depraved heart, a depraved body and a depraved mind.
(5) Paul’s conclusion, as he works his way through the letter, is that EVERYONE (not just some people) needs salvation from this mess into which we are born.
To summarize, every person on the face of the planet is born into the same boat. We are depraved people, separated from our Creator, desperately in need of a rescuer.
Humanity needs saving, regardless of who you are, what you’ve done, or haven’t done. The things we do that are defiant against God (in other words, sins), are not what make us broken or dysfunctional, they are simply the fruit of our broken hearts.
Actions flow from the inside outwards, not the other way around. We do sinful things because we are sinners. We are not sinful because we sin.
In Romans 1, Paul gives examples of this depravity.
Describing our sick hearts, he says that people worship a lie instead of worshipping the God of truth.
He describes our depraved bodies primarily through the lens of sexuality stating, “women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another.”
But then he continues, describing the debasement of our minds, “They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness.
“They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.”
The point is: in one fell swoop Paul just described the sin-sick situation which describes the entirety of humanity. The one who points their finger at the gay must also point their finger inward at the gossiper. We cannot demonize a depraved body yet tolerate a depraved mind.
Everyone needs Jesus. Before a person is a gay or lesbian, they are a human and all humans need rescuing. It is because of this reality that I believe you should treat a gay or lesbian no differently than you should treat any other person in your life.
They need Jesus. You need Jesus. Everyone needs Jesus. Love them, listen to them, speak truth to them, pray for them the way you would and should all people.
With this foundation laid, next week I would like to respond to what I believe to be the deeper question: “How do you point someone to a God who wants to be king of every area of your life?”
If you want to spend more time listening to me talk about today’s subject, please consider listening to this message which I preached at Revolve two years ago.
Do you have a question about life, family, or faith for Pastor Bill? Email RevolveNJ@gmail.com with the subject Ask Pastor Bill and your question.
Bill Laky is the husband to Gina, father to Emma and Eden, founding pastor of Revolve Church in North Cape May (www.RevolveChurchNJ.com), and a follower of Jesus Christ. You can follow him on social media at www.facebook.com/wjlaky.
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