Is This Unloving?

It is the month of June! And in our day and age, that means that the corporations and politicians of our culture are promoting what has been dubbed “pride month.” I was debating whether to write on this topic, given the sensitive nature of it, but after seeing not just the culture generally going extra hard for pride month this year, but professing Christians also cudgeling the church into submission with the cultural norms of the day, I felt it necessary to address what I believe to be key notions believed by pro-gay Christians, helping biblical Christians to handle this behavior biblically.

The three important concepts I will be addressing are as follows:

1)  The notions of the “judge not” passages in scripture and the teaching of the entirety of scripture

2)  What our attitudes and behaviors toward sin should look like biblically

3)  Why it is not unloving to call homosexuality, bisexuality, transgenderism, and other sexual sins “sin.”

1) Are we truly never to judge anything at all?

What does it mean to judge someone or something? Are we ever commanded to judge? If so, what does that look like?

These are all important questions to ask in the church today. Constantly, Christians are told, “the Bible says ‘Don’t judge!” but no context is ever given to those words. This is a biblical topic that has been abused in more ways than one, and pastors everywhere need to carefully lay out what scripture teaches on this subject. First, let’s look at the passage most often quoted to club Christians into silence: Matthew Chapter 7.

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive. Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (NET)

In this passage we see the phrase in question, “Do not judge,” but it seems more complex when you read what follows. Jesus here is rebuking hypocrisy, not prohibiting judgement writ large. We see from the “wood in the eye” analogy that it is not wrong to point out sin to someone in order to restore them to righteousness in a particular area, but it is wrong to do so when you don’t hold yourself to the same standard. We see this concept repeated in Paul’s letter to the Romans:

“Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge someone else. For on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things.” Romans 2:1 (NET)

You see, the ones who judge are condemning themselves not for judging, but for doing the very things they are condemning others for doing.

We also see Jesus commanding people to judge in John 7, where Jesus addresses Himself being judged for healing on the sabbath. Here is what He said,

“Jesus replied, “I performed one miracle and you are all amazed. However, because Moses gave you the practice of circumcision (not that it came from Moses, but from the forefathers), you circumcise a male child on the Sabbath. But if a male child is circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken, why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to external appearance, but judge with proper judgment.” John 7:21-24 (NET)

People were judging whether Jesus was wrong for healing someone on the sabbath. Jesus doesn’t reply to them with, “Don’t judge!” but explains why their judgement is misguided, and in so doing He calibrates their moral compasses to true north, so to speak. Then He commands them to judge properly.

Going back to the wood in the eye, Jesus says once you have removed the plank from your own eye, then you will be able to see clearly to help your brother remove the speck from his eye. He does not say, “Remove the plank from your eye and don’t worry about your brother who has the speck in his eye. That’s between himself and God.” No, He says you can see clearly in order to help your brother! And if that wasn’t clear enough, Paul writes in Galatians chapter 6,

“Brothers and sisters, if a person is discovered in some sin, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too. Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Chapter 6:1-2. [NET]

We as Christians are obligated to help others to turn away from their sins in a spirit of gentleness. We are to imitate Christ who was, as John says in John 1:14, “full of grace and truth.” Often Christians will exhibit one or the other. Either they will shout truth angrily at people and treat them with disdain, or they will exclusively show grace to people forfeiting truth seeking to preserve that grace.

2) How should we feel about sin?

It has long been my opinion that the church today has become too soft in its view of sin. We have watered down morality to the point where a significant portion of professing Christians approve of abortion, frivilous divorce, homosexuality, drunkeness, fornication, and many other sins. As many times as we have heard this verse, we need to hear it still:

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20 (NASB)

I was once told that the modern creed, “Love the sinner; Hate the sin,” isn’t in the Bible. “Where is the verse that says that?” this person asked me. After explaining to her that while the creedal statement itself is not found in any one verse, it is a summary of two biblical concepts, I showed her where these concepts are clearly found in scripture: For loving sinners, Matthew 5:44, Romans 5:8, along with numerous passages exhorting Christians to love their neighbor.
For hating the sin (which is really the part people disagree with), Romans 12:9, Isaiah 5:20, and many more .

3) Is it unloving to tell people that homosexuality is sinful?
Before we answer this question, read it again, but change the word

“homosexuality” for incest, beastiality, adultery, theft, rape, or really, any other sin. It is not unloving to tell people who are committing acts that hurt themselves or others, or devastate their relationship with God, that their deeds are resulting in such. Jesus called people out on their sins again and again. His message was one of repentance of sin. And think about it this way, if your neighbor was being made deathly sick from their water supply being contaminated, even if they absolutely loved the taste of their water, wouldn’t it be unloving not to tell them that what they are drinking is hurting them?

And isn’t that similar to the gospel? We know that humanity has sinned, and that salvation is available in Jesus. Wouldn’t it be unloving to not tell people that they are in need of a savior because of their sin and share the gospel with them?

Rather than avoid sensitive issues like homosexuality and judging, Christians need more than ever to know what God says about them and stand firmly on His Word, not calling what is evil “good” and vice versa; even if it isn’t consistent with the culture around us. “Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 (NET)

And to those Christians who still think I am being hateful or “judgy,” I will simply echo the words of Paul in Galatians 4:16 when he asked, “Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?”

Recommended Resources:
(4) Mike Winger (homosexuality) - YouTube (Playlist)