Ex-Lesbian: Should the Church Remain Silent About the LGBT Community?
A same-sex couple walked into Jack Phillips’ bakery in Colorado and ordered a wedding cake. Phillips made a very conscious decision to exercise his right of religious freedom as well as freedom of speech under the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. He refused their order. Phillips could have just accepted their money and baked the cake. Instead, he chose to stand by the Creator’s original design of marriage between one man and one woman. His stand won the support of the Supreme Court.
As the LGBTQ community grows stronger, Christians should not cower behind church walls, afraid to preach sermons of holiness and sexual integrity in fear of offending the LGBTQ.
Our silence may not have words, but it speaks loud and clear. If we say nothing, it becomes a clear message of tolerance and acceptance. If we do not voice our intolerance of the LGBTQ’s agenda and their boisterous display of sexual immorality, we are portraying our beliefs as weak and of little value. If the gospel we profess has the ability to change lives and alter destiny, why would we remain silent and hide the very answer to the issue of sin?
The morality of our nation has shifted. When we compromise the innocence of our children and allow a grown man dressed as a woman to enter a women’s bathroom in front of our little girls, there is a grave problem. Even worse, is the rights denied to a disgusted parent that speaks against the transgender or cross-dresser who has invaded the privacy of that little one.
Can we remain silent and remain in God’s will? Jesus showed love but refused to relax His standard of holiness. Although so many will argue that Jesus never spoke against homosexuality, He certainly never endorsed it. The biblical standard has always been marriage between one man and one woman. Anything less was and still is sin. Jesus spoke clearly against all forms of sexual sin outside of marriage.
He called the nation to repentance (Matt. 4:17). God sent Jonah to speak up against the sin of the people of Nineveh (Jon. 1:1-2). John the Baptist was beheaded because he did not hold back regarding the sexual sin of King Herod (Mark 6:14-29). The prophet said in Isaiah 58:1 to cry aloud and don’t hold back. Isaiah admonishes us to put their sin on full display.
Do we just sit idle while the transgender and gay advocates stand against our morals in courts of law and claim we are violating their rights? The LGBTQ are storming in the courts and rallying against any Christian who opposes their point of view. Now, we have to ask, “Whose rights are really being violated if we cannot express our faith freely?”
Christians need to stand beside those leaders and politicians like Senator Ted Cruz who have great influence and endeavor to take back our constitutional right to refuse and disallow anything that goes against our freedom to practice our faith and express our belief through obedience to God’s Word. Without our voice, Beto O’Rourke, backed by the Human Rights Campaign, will win the election against Senator Ted Cruz and join forces with those who believe our agreement with God’s Word is discrimination against the LGBTQ.
Our faith should be strong enough to never back down on what we believe. The LGBTQ community believes we are denying their rights if we refuse their agenda and speak against their lifestyle. In actuality, they have every right to be whatever they want to be. They do not have the right, however, to make Christians accept their lifestyle. We can freely protest and refuse to allow them to dictate what to preach or what the curriculum of our children should be. We can stand up and fight for what we believe God’s Word says. God will always back His Word!
Our loyalty belongs to Christ. In our love for God, we want to show the LGBTQ community that Christ’s love extends to all. Christ welcomes everyone with open arms. Anything less than love is not Christ-like. Our love does not mean tolerance for their sexual orientation.
We cannot stand silent and allow them to shut our mouths. We are compelled to express our indignation against their agenda of sin. We must make a firm stand and reject the agenda that tries to dictate what we can and cannot preach in our churches. We must stand up and declare the truth of this gospel and its ability to change the life of anyone who puts their true faith in Jesus Christ. If we believe in the power of the cross, then we know that our only hope is in Christ.
To hide this gospel is to hide it from those that really need it. We cannot be silent. We must speak out and let all know that Christ is alive and ready to change the life of anyone who will dare to trust Him. We welcome the LGBTQ community to give Jesus the opportunity to infiltrate their lives and demonstrate that He can fill their life with joy, peace and love. Our ministry is here to support anyone who wants to come out of that lifestyle and get to know Jesus as their Savior. {eoa}
Janet Boynes founded Janet Boynes Ministries in Maple Grove, Minnesota, in 2006. She has authored two books: Called Out—A Former Lesbian’s Discovery of Freedom and Arise—The Journey from Fear to Faith. She challenges individuals and the church to reach out with a message of hope and restoration to the homosexual community. Her articles have been featured on the front cover of Charisma magazine, Called magazine, Power for Living, Bound magazine and many more. Her life is proof that the love of God has the power to heal and restore the brokenness in our lives. It’s been 19 years since she was called out of the lesbian lifestyle. Janet travels the U.S and overseas and shares her story of redemption. Her desire is to bring hope through the power of Jesus Christ.