The Stigma Attached to Sexually Destructive Behaviors is a Merciful Act of God
There was a time when the church was a fortress of truth, unyielding in its defense of God's moral law. Today, however, that fortress is being breached—not by external enemies, but by self-proclaimed “Christian” ministries actively working to normalize what God has called an abomination.
Such “gay Christianity” “ministries” like Living Out, Revoice, and Preston Sprinkle’s Center for Faith, along with church leaders from—JD Greear and the late Tim Keller to Andy Stanley and Sam Alberry—are spearheading a movement to strip the church of one of its greatest gifts of mercy: the stigma attached to homosexuality.
Stigma, after all, is not a dirty word. It is not an unfortunate byproduct of human prejudice and a deliberate act of God’s mercy. The shame that accompanies sin is a guardrail—a warning sign blazing in bright red letters, saying, “Turn back before it’s too late.” Without stigma, sin loses its sting. Without stigma, rebellion becomes a lifestyle choice. Without stigma, the church becomes indistinguishable from the world it was called to confront.
JD Greear, in one fell swoop of rhetorical gymnastics, preached a sermon a few years ago urging the church to “stand up and be among the fiercest advocates for the preservation of the dignity and the rights of LGBTQ people.”
Dignity and rights? By what standard?
He continues, “Gay and lesbian people are just like us.” But are they? When someone identifies themselves by their sinful desires, they are not “just like us.” In fact, they are the exact opposite of us—they are shaking their fist at their Creator, rejecting His design and demanding affirmation for their rebellion. Greear’s sentiment is not a call to compassion, it is a call to surrender. A call to lay down the sword of the Spirit and trade it for the rainbow-colored flag of cultural accommodation.
And then there’s Sam Allberry, founder of Living Out, and a man who wears his “same-sex attraction” like a badge of honor. “I have sexual, romantic, and deep-emotional attractions to people of the same sex,” he declares, as though this is a testimony to God’s grace rather than evidence of his own depravity.
What message does this send to the struggling Christian battling sinful desires? That it’s acceptable to embrace them as part of one’s identity? That they are to be coddled and nurtured rather than crucified and put to death?