Question Introduced
So this question, now somebody gave to me verbally, so I know the context, from a young lady in our church, a question around how to witness to homosexual neighbours. So how can we as believers love those around us while still being strong witnesses to the truth and hope of the Gospel? How to offer friendship without condoning a sinful lifestyle? So context is her neighbors are expecting babies, expecting with air quotes, babies via IVF.
This is something that my generation is facing more and more. We need to be equipped to navigate this well in the communities, universities, et cetera. I can start with the homosexual question.
Engaging Homosexual Neighbours
I do have a bit of experience with family members who are homosexual, and it's something that my wife and I have had to think through quite a bit. Obviously, we don't agree with the sins that they're committing, but we still have to recognize that they're still image bearers. And Paul does say in 1 Corinthians 5, He says, I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world or with the covetous or extortioners or idolaters.
Since then you would need to go out of the world. So the implication is that we need to be in the world. And obviously the main issue there is dealing with those who claim to be Christians, but are living in such a way. But he's not saying we shouldn't interact with tax collectors and sinners as Jesus said, or did.
And so, you know, with our family members, we've had to set certain boundaries, recognizing their image bearers, but still talking to them and treating them like they're a human being, still being interested in their life and praying for opportunity for those moments to come when we can share the gospel with them. and being able to preach Christ and share the truth with them in a way, hopefully that can become organic to build rapport in many ways, because I think a lot of homosexuals will assume Christians won't want to talk to them or interact with them. And so maybe it puts them off guard a little bit if we're willing to interact and talk with them. And so, yeah, I do think we should interact, but how we do that, I think there needs to be some wisdom. And so for us, as we've thought through the issue, there's just some boundaries that we've set that we will not cross.
I know a more famous person than I said that it's okay for someone to go to a homosexual wedding. We will not do that. We will not do that. It goes against nature and it goes against the word of God.
And so we're not going to do that. We also probably wouldn't allow our children in a home at a young age. If they're just going over to play, we probably wouldn't do that. Anecdotally, for years, I was invited to a house growing up, and my parents always said no, and they never told me why until I was older, and so it made sense why when they were older.
So we probably wouldn't do that, but we're still willing to have people in our, have family in our home, and we're still willing to, you know, if someone has someone over, we're still willing to go there, possibly, within reason. But I still think there needs to be some sort of interaction and kindness shown, and, you know, love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not, all those things, it does not rejoice in iniquity. you know, but rejoices in the truth. So I think
Kindness Without Condoning
there are ways to be kind and gracious without condoning the relationship. And, you know, there isn't, you know, Proverbs 32 on how to interact in this way, which we would like, but I think God will give us the wisdom we need as we try to be kind and gracious and share the gospel, but without condoning the situation. Yeah, I think that is a very good question. I think it's a great question.
And I think what the questioner puts in there is true as well with all the things going on this younger generation has some challenges to be sure it's openly promoted it's old openly you know bandied about so yeah good question i would say you know as well friendship kindness you know neighborly actions you see your neighbor flat tire you can help them change the tire And without though, now I can preach the gospel to them. I think sinners are smarter than we sometimes give them credit for. If I'm a dirty rotten sinner and I'm sitting on my porch and somebody comes along, I think I'd know if they're just trying to get me in or if they actually care. I think friendship with sinners is a good thing.
In light of 1 Corinthians 5, you know, we'd have to fly to the moon to not be friends with sinners. And you know, realizing that
Homosexuality One Sin Among Many
homosexuality is one sin among many, you know, the next-door neighbors to your other side that are heterosexual fornicators, they're in hot water, too. So, they've got, you know, lots of issues. So, you know, on the one hand, we don't condone homosexuality, for sure. We take a scriptural position, but it is one sin out of many, many sins.
And I think
The Root Problem: Estrangement From God
Paul's argument in Romans 1 is that the big thing is man is estranged from God. He doesn't glorify God, he's not thankful to God. So, from that vantage point, We see all of this depravity in society. The primary issue for the heterosexual fornicator, the homosexual fornicator, the blue-collar crime, the white-collar crime, whoever lives in your neighborhood, They need to be right with Jesus.
So, by building friendships, being neighborly, not having a mercenary spirit, I've got to lead five of my neighbors to Jesus because I've got Bible study tonight and I want to tell everybody about it. You know, no mercenary spirit, but just loving people and then as you have opportunity, you share the truth. And, you know, sometimes personal testimony is good. Yeah, I didn't fall out of the womb going to Reformed Baptist Sunday School.
We all have a past, we all have sin, we all have, you know, various things that are true of us, and yet we find hope and forgiveness and blessing in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, if there are people that, sometimes people do want to talk, too, and even debate. And, you know,
Ready to Give a Defence
why does the Bible say, you know, homosexuality is wrong? If somebody asks that, be ready to answer. Be ready to give them a reasoned defense for what the truth of Scripture says. I mean, as Mike says, or I think he intimated earlier, it's against nature.
The natural world is not sympathetic to that lifestyle. If that was the lifestyle, there'd be no perpetuity, there'd be no, I was gonna say seed, I guess that's right. I'm just thinking it's everywhere in society, like your garden hose has a male end and a female end. That's right.
And, you know, the created order,
The Created Order as Witness
God in creation made it this way. And He made it this way for a purpose and for a reason. And whatever they tell us nowadays that, you know, a child really doesn't need both, yeah, they do. They need both parents in the home.
They need stability. They need order. They need all the things that are afforded, typically, through a two-parent home, and what we call or think are old-fashioned, antiquated notions of how to do society. They served us well for, you know, 20 centuries.
It seems like there is something good about it. So, if your neighbor wants to talk, sometimes they do. We just assume that they're going to be, you know, militant and upset. Well, you can even hit them with that.
You probably think, I don't hate you. Everyone's in sin, whether it's pride, or arrogance, or bitterness, or idolatry, or sexual things. And there's hope in the Savior.
Wisdom Over Formula
It's really person-specific, the approach. Oh yeah. It's not formulaic. Sometimes, some people are very sensitive.
Other times, they're not so sensitive. You change it up. You don't have a one approach fits all. You deal with people as people.