LGBTQ+...Pride?

This month has been named LGBTQ+ Pride Month. According to this article at ABCnews.go.com, "Every summer in the United States, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and allies come together for a month-long celebration of love, diversity, acceptance and unashamed self-pride" (notice the words "celebration" and "unashamed"). The article goes on to explain that the month of June was selected for the "celebration" in order to commemorate the Stonewall riots that took place in 1969. If you don't know what the Stonewall riots are, I will not get into that here, but you can search and find a plethora of information on that unfortunate episode on the internet.

If you have a Christian world view, you are likely telling yourself that to celebrate sin is an absurdity. And you would be right! To have a whole month dedicated to celebrating some of the most lewd and disgusting practices that humanity has invented is as low as it gets. Imagine if, instead of this being LGBTQ+ Pride Month, it would be AFPI (Adultery, Fornication, Pedophilia, Incest) Pride Month? Although our society is rapidly approaching the time when such practices will no longer be viewed as sinful (there are already many circles that are promoting incest and pedophilia, and fornication and even adultery elicit a collective shrug from the great majority of our fellow citizens), it has not yet arrived at a point where they are setting aside a whole month to celebrate them.

It is a testimony to the depravity of man, that they not only practice these sinful activities, they not only give hearty approval to those who practice them (Romans 1), but they also celebrate them with all the gusto they can muster. It is one thing to practice these sins in the dark of night. It is quite another to not only do them in the clear light of day, but to demand that they be celebrated as somehow good and wholesome. I will not here get into all the negative issues that are generated by such conduct. But I will say that it is an irrefutable fact that those who practice these particular sins have lower life expectancies, more depression, etc. Sin has its consequences. We cannot engage in a sinful lifestyle and, simply because we choose to call it good, that automatically makes it so and eliminates the negative consequences of such actions.

The prophet of old said "woe to those who call evil good, and good evil. Who put light for darkness and darkness for light. Who put sweet for bitter and bitter for sweet" (Isaiah 5:20). This type of attitude is not new. Man has been trying to paper over his sin since its entrance into the world. And he has been failing in that effort ever since then as well. The harder people attempt to use euphemisms to try and soften the sinfulness of their behavior, the more obvious it is to anyone with a modicum of common sense that such efforts are doomed to fail.

And then you have the so-called "Christian-Gay Movement," the attempt to tell us that you can be a Christian and still engage in this sinful behavior. Seems folks who purport to be Christians are no longer interested in becoming sanctified and holy. It's better to simply give free rein to your appetites and just be a hyphenated "Christian" and presto you're good to go. We may not have adulterous-Christians yet, but it's only a matter of time before we get to that point. The current Lordship Salvation controversy shows that man is constantly trying to give himself an excuse to continue in his sin while at the same time stroking his ego and telling himself that God has to accept him because, after all, he is a "good person."

In his letter to the Romans, Paul discusses what God has done in eternity past for those whom He has appointed to be His own. In chapter 8, he tells his readers that God predestined His people to several things, among which were justification and sanctification. Unfortunately, to many who profess the name of Christ today, sanctification has become an option. Although the Ordo Salutis guarantees that those whom God has chosen will be sanctified, there are far too many professing Christians who insist that such an activity is only for a select few or that they can decide themselves whether to be part of that group or not. It has apparently escaped their notice that God did not ask their permission to sanctify those who are His. We are not at liberty to chose what activities the Spirit of God performs in us.

In the end, if those of us who profess the name of Christ are indistinguishable from the world, it is not likely that many will be motivated to embrace Christ. If they can believe that they can continue to indulge in their sin and still be a "Christian," what exactly have we accomplished? Nothing more than lead a multitude of people to believe that they have been forgiven when in reality no such thing has taken place. It will be an awful time when the day of judgment comes and many are surprised at their rejection. It will be doubly tragic, however, for those whose teaching was instrumental in leading that surprise. Holiness: don't leave home without it!