What is a Christian? A Christian is a person who was once a rebel sinner, at war with God through wicked works. But by God’s merciful redeeming grace, he or she has been freed from their sins and adopted into His family through the propitiatory work of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21-26). Because Jesus died in the place of sinners on the cross (taking the wrath of the Father they deserve) and was buried in a tomb, only to raise Himself from the grave of the third day, those who trust in His work receive His righteousness in the great exchange (2 Cor. 5:21). Now, through this free and marvelous gift, sinners become saints and have the promise of everlasting life. And on top of this, they are made new creations with new hearts and new desires (2. Cor. 5:17). This is a Christian.
Yet, how does one come to be a Christian? What must we do to be saved? Romans 10:9 tells us, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This belief and confession come from faith in Jesus Christ and His completed work on the cross. There are no works that we can do because we are slaves to sin and the wages of our sin is death (Rom. 6:20-23). There is no work we can offer to God that will merit any kindness from Him for all our sins are an abomination before Him. God cannot look on sin without pouring out His judgment upon it (Hab. 1:13). Therefore, the free gift of salvation must be given by God by grace through faith that no man can boast of having saved himself (Eph. 2:8-9). In fact, faith itself is a gift from God. Therefore, we are called in Scripture to repent, turn from our sins, and trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 3:2; Mark 1:14-15).
Repentance from sins, while a gift from God Himself (2 Tim. 2:25), is a command of God to all those who would find forgiveness in Christ. It is a change of mind which leads to a change of action. It means we agree with God that our sins have put us at odds with Him, that we are deserving of His judgment, but that we will no longer live in the sins from which He has redeemed us (Rom. 6:2). It is the mark of a believer that he or she will live a life of ongoing repentance, persevering against temptation, trials, and tribulation until they day they are ushered into glory (Matt 24:13). The saint is one who once walked in the ways of this world but has turned to become more like their Savior (1 Cor. 6:9-11). Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And true salvation is marked by the saint who continually lives a life of repentance and seeks to do the good works of God, which He prepared for us beforehand as a testimony to His redeeming work and the glory of His name (Eph 2:10)
With all this in mind, we must face a crisis that continues to rear its head in the professing church. Thanks to weak and shallow preaching in the professing church, through those who promote easy believism and seeker-friendly methodologies, there are professing Christians today who do not believe one must live a life of repentance in Christ to be a Christian. Even worse, they preach an ideology that one can be identified by their sin of sexual immorality and still be a follower of Christ. Today, within the professing church, there is a continual call for churches to accept the idea that there can be “Gay Christians,” “Queer Christians,” or “LGBTQIA Christians.” That persons who live ongoing lifestyles of unrepentant sin before God can somehow still be followers of Christ and should be treated as such. Such an ideology is foreign to Scripture and should never be permitted within the church.
Putting aside for the moment the ludicrous attempts to redefine what Scripture clearly teaches on sexual immorality, let us address the idea that such a thing as a “Gay Christian” can exist within the church. Paul clearly teaches that to continue in the practice of any sin is to be a slave to sin (see again Romans 6). One cannot be a slave to Christ, having been freed from the power of sin and death, yet remain in unrepentant sin (1 John 1:6). In fact, the church is called to examine the fruit of professing Christians to see if we are genuinely in the faith (Matt. 7:15-20; 1 John 4:1-6). Therefore, a genuine Christian cannot be defined as someone who not only lives in sin but identifies, and qualifies, themselves by an adjective attached to their Christianity. To clarify, one cannot be a “Liar Christian,” an “Adulterous Christian,” a “Thief Christian,” or a “Murdering Christian.” To identify one’s self by an unrepentant sin and attach that descriptor to Christ is to blaspheme the very Savior that person claims to follow.
Such as it is with being a “Gay Christian.” God’s word repeatedly condemns sexual immorality throughout the Bible including acts of homosexuality. Only by twisting and redefining what Scripture says can anyone hope to alter this unchangeable truth. Therefore, just as any other unrepentant sin would reveal that a person is not redeemed (because it reveals their heart remains unchanged and enslaved to sin), for any person to describe themselves as openly homosexual is to admit to God they reject His commandments on sexual purity. Any willful rejection of God’s commandments demonstrates one does not follow Christ at all (Luke 6:46-49).
The greatest lie a professing pastor or church can tell a person living in disobedience to God is that it is fine to remain in their sin, that they still are accepted and loved by God. While we do not need to be morally perfect to come to Christ, as none of us can ever do so, to follow Christ means that He has changed us and continually works by the power of the Holy Spirit to produce repentance and good works. Any pastor or church that tells professing Christians they can live in rebellion to God by practicing sexual immorality heaps lie upon lie to those under their charge. What they are doing is leading such persons to further sear their own consciences against God. His law is written upon our hearts (Rom. 2:15) and it accuses us of our sin, bringing conviction upon us. It is meant to lead us to repentance and faith in Christ. Yet, professing pastors, desperate for the applause of the world, seek to deaden the voice of that God-given conscience by telling openly homosexual people they can worship Christ just as they are. Such a lie comes from the deepest pits of hell.
Pastors, Christians, and churches do not demonstrate love when they refuse to call out sin and preach repentance to those professing to follow Christ. Paul condemned such wickedness in the Corinthian church when they allowed a man engaged in an openly incestuous relationship to remain in their midst (1 Cor. 5). Paul commanded the church to apply discipline in this man’s life, to cast him out of the church that he may come to repentance. Today, in many churches, this act would be considered cruel and unloving. Yet, to Paul, this act of church discipline was an immense act of love in hope that the man would genuinely repent and turn to Christ. To refuse to call our friends, loved ones, acquaintances, or even strangers to turn from sin because they may be upset with us is no act of love. It is an act of pure selfishness because we care more about how we are seen among the unregenerate than how we are seen by God. Even worse, it is an absolute denial of the power of the Holy Spirit to bring about repentance and faith to those who desperately need Christ. Those who refuse to preach repentance serve not God, rather they serve the father of lies himself, Satan.
True love in the church is that which preaches the entirety of the gospel. That we are, by nature, rebel sinners who deserve the full and righteous wrath of God. Yet, in His gracious mercy, He sent His only Son to save sinners. That through the propitiation of Christ on the cross, our sins may be forgiven and our hearts may be made new. And, in being made a new creation, we now have new desires that we might serve our Lord by obeying His commandments. Yet, while we live in this life, we will struggle against the desires of the flesh. The temptation to sin will always be present with us but, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can overcome and choose not to sin. Will it always be easy? No. We will stumble and fall? Yes, and quite often. This too is part of our journey on the path of sanctification. This is the power of the gospel. This is what must be preached. Without apology or adulteration.
Woe to those professing pastors, Christians, and churches who preach not the true gospel. You reveal yourselves not to fear God but man. And, if you continue on this path, you will prove that you never belonged to Christ, to begin with. Repent of the fear of man. Do not accept the lies of this world. Rather, trust in the power of the Holy Spirit alone and His redeeming work in the life of believers. To do anything less is to blaspheme the Lord you claim to follow. And you may one day find yourself standing before Him as he says, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23)
Thank you for your clear refutation of the cowardly false teaching in so many churches that convince themselves that they are being loving when, as you point out in this essay, they are actually showing that they don’t really care about sinners who need to repent.
By the way, in the first paragraph I think you did not intend to write ” only to raise Himself from the grace of the third day” but instead meant to write “only to raise Himself from the grace on the third day.”
Thanks for catching the typo, swiftly corrected! And thank you for your kind words. It is appreciated.