"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” – Jesus, Matthew 7:13-14
Dan Kimball brought my attention to an article written in The Times Online by N.T. Wright regarding the impending division in the Episcopal Church over the ordination of openly gay clergy in their denomination.
I’m very glad to see N.T. Wright standing with Scripture on this.
I don’t understand how any Bible-believing Christian leader can condone sin that the Bible says will lead to destruction.
Understand this: I live and work as a full-time minister for a church in San Francisco. I’ve dealt with this issue and am grilled about it regularly. My job would be much easier if I could pick and choose what to teach from the Bible and what not to teach from the Bible, but my faith won’t allow me to do that.
Here are a few Scriptures I encourage church leaders to meditate on:
1 Timothy 4:16
16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Romans 14:22b
22b … Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
2 Peter 3:15b-16
15b … Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
James 3:1
1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
Hebrews 13:17a
17a Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account.
Church leaders and teachers will be judged by God more strictly than others because church leaders and teachers influence the faith and lifestyle of others more than anyone else on the planet!
We, as leaders, will give an account to God for the actions, behaviors, lifestyles, and mindsets we approve of, and the actions, behaviors, lifestyles, and mindsets we disapprove of. We’ll be judged according to how we lead.
Wisdom mandates that how we lead, and what we approve and disapprove of should line up with God’s view of things.
I’m afraid many leaders today are condemning themselves by what they approve in the name of love, but what they fail to understand is their desire to accept is outweighing their desire to bring others back into fellowship with a Holy God.
Sacrificing the biblical call to repentance on the altar of acceptance and cultural relevance is nothing short of idolatry.
I could never, in good conscience, ever tell someone their lifestyle or actions are okay with God if it totally flies in the face of what the Bible says, yet that’s exactly what’s become a common practice today.
A person has to do some real Scriptural contorting (that is, they really have to distort what’s being said) to make the Bible appear to say that practicing homosexuality is okay.
Actually, I take that back – a person has to completely write off large sections of Scripture as totally irrelevant today (as many do) to make the Bible appear to say that practicing homosexuality is ok.
To be perfectly clear, this post is not intended to be about politics. Patrick Mead wrote a great article on his Tentpegs blog about Christians’ involvement in politics a couple of weeks ago that is closely aligned with my own view on the subject – please check it out. I’m not talking politics here.
What I am talking about, and what this post is intended to advocate is a high view of Scripture that takes God’s revealed will seriously. I simply encourage church leaders to speak the truth in love.
Regardless of the issue, truth is found when one peers into the mind of God. That is easily and conveniently done by studying what He’s been gracious enough to give us – His holy, inspired Scriptures.
Maybe I’ll write more about this someday, but not tonight.
Props to N.T. Wright, Dan Kimball, and others like them for taking a stand on this.
I wonder if a minister flagrantly disobeyed the law constantly (like speeding) would the fellowship of believers discipline him? Would most churches discipline their pastor if he was constantly looking at porn? Would a church make a minister step down if he was found to have stolen from the church coffers?
My answer to all three of these is “I would hope so.” To be fair to all the pastors who struggle with same-sex attraction, I would hope any sin that dwells in the tents of pastors should be outed, confessed and dealt with. Arrogance, pride, lying, plagarism, and laziness should all accounted for and dealt with. Lets not just pick on the guys with same-sex attraction.
I agree with you Dusty. I’m really not meaning to pick on anyone – simply dealing with the subject matter this post was about. Any unrepentant sin is a bad thing.
There is, however, a big difference between a church leader who STRUGGLES with same-sex attraction and a church leader who EMBRACES it and teaches everyone that it’s actually okay in God’s eyes to be a practicing homosexual. There’s a VAST chasm of difference between the two of those.
Thanks Wes. It’s not like this issue is going to disappear. I think most churches hope that gays will just stay away so we don’t have to deal with the difficulties or offend anyone. How do we share God’s love with people whose identity is wrapped up in an ungodly relationship.
If someone was to try and convert me to a faith that required leaving my wife, that would be an ENORMOUS stumblingblock regardless of how friendly and caring the person telling me this was. I wouldn’t be very open to anything else they had to say.
Of course, there is no cookie cutter answer. It’s misleading to suggest a single approach of interacting with gays, because they’re all individuals with different attitudes, just as we are. What is clear is that God wants to use us to draw others (including gay couples) closer to Him but without compromising His moral standards.
You’re doing a great job! Keep on speaking the truth in love.