As Christians, we understand that the Gospel is not violence, at least not in the way that the world accuses it. For, while the Gospel does attack the parts of us which are deader than dead, it also brings never-ending life that replaces our death and can never be taken away. The Gospel damaging our sinful flesh brings life in the same way the surgeon’s scalpel cuts away the cancer to preserve the patient. Therefore, to withhold the Gospel, which is the only cure for the malady of man, would be the only actual violence we could ever perpetrate against humanity.
 
INTRO
A kind of fragile despair has crept into the modern mind so that it can no longer be safely challenged. To question the thoughts, or the lifestyle, of another person or group has become the moral equivalent of executing violence against them. Or so we are told. To say that this or that thing is morally wrong, and needs to be repented from, is to become culpable for their suicide. This was the ugly goblet of shame recently dumped on my unsuspecting head.
In a private message on Facebook, I was asked the following questions by a random user:
“Do you think my friend deserved all the abuse and pain that she took? Are you happy that she’s dead? Do you hate my friend? Pastor, did you want transgender people to kill themselves? Is that what you wanted?”
These questions were shocking to me. Not only does my very existence (and Biblical beliefs) threaten the life of another human being, but the only acceptable recourse offered is for me to no longer call transgenderism a sin. As a Christian, I cannot comply here. According to this logic, either I will disobey God by turning a blind eye toward sin or become a serial killer with bloodstains on my hands. This is the highly polarized perspective I was invited into.
But, as I was thinking about this exchange, I realized that this is precisely what persecution will look like in the modern world. When a Christian shares truth from Scripture, even in the most gentle and loving ways, we will not be beaten, beheaded, or thrown in prison. At least not yet. More likely, we will be accused of murdering people with ideas. We will be endlessly boycotted and ever hated by people who do not have the love of Christ and, as a result, have an endless supply of fury to spew in our direction for a thousand lifetimes.
The message continues:
“You’ve made an enemy. Until you stop your vendetta, die, or move away, I guess I’m just going to have to fight you forever.”
As Christians, how are we to think about messages such as this?
REMEMBER, WHO WE ARE
Before we move on to strategy, we need to remember who we are in Christ. We are people who have been ransomed out of the kingdom of darkness and brought into God’s marvelous Kingdom of dazzling Light (Col. 1:13). Before Jesus rescued us, we were enslaved by our aberrant passions (Ti 3:3) and consumed by all malice and disgusting rebellions (Ro. 1:29-32; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Co. 6:9-10). There was nothing at all different between the most flagrant sinners on earth and us, which is, in fact, where God stepped in (1 Cor. 6:11). From that wicked and lowly estate, the Lord Jesus Christ set His electing affections upon us and purchased us out of the thralls of sin to become His slaves of righteousness (Ro. 6:17-18). Now, as people who belong to Him, we declare our allegiance and adorations, our loyalty and love, by no longer gratifying our former lusts (Gal 5:16; Eph. 2:1-8), but by killing the flesh (Ro. 8:13), so that we can be obedient to Him (John 14:15; Eph 2:10). That loving and loyal obedience requires that we will go, do, and say whatever He commands (Luke 6:46), which involves nothing less than discipling the pagan nations to know what Jesus thinks concerning all things (Mt. 28:18-20). Essentially, being a Christian means joining Jesus’ campaign to conform the world (the world we once belonged to) into His beautifying redemptive vision. That work requires sharing the Gospel (Mk 16:15).
REMEMBER, WHAT WE ARE CALLED TO SHARE
Now, to share something, we must first know what that thing is. We can only speak intelligently about a thing if we fully comprehend what that thing is. For that reason, a brief sketch of the Gospel is in order, followed by some common lies that the world will accuse us of when we are vigilant in sharing God’s truth.
The Gospel is God’s loving offer of reconciliation and compassion to seedy rebels (Ro. 5:8). It is an offer executed by Christ alone (Jn 14:6), applied by His Spirit alone (1 Pt. 3:18) for the salvation of those He predestined alone (Eph. 1:5; Ro. 8:28-30). It is a message meant to be communicated by the very ones it saves (Ac. 1:9). It is a message we are called to become increasingly familiar with and effective at sharing (Phm 9). And it is a message that has certain essential elements that must be included if it is to be considered a “Gospel message.” Those elements are as follows.
The Gospel begins with the bad news that we deserve death for our rebellion against God (Gen 3:19; Ro.1:32) and that we cannot repair the relationship by our own fickle virtue (Eph 2:8-9). The Gospel tells us that our sin is the poison that is killing us slowly (Ja. 1:15), and it is the toxic venom that will ensure our everlasting death in agony forever (Rev. 21:8). Because we are utterly helpless to rescue ourselves salvation must come from God alone (Jnh 2:9), which is why God sent the Lord Jesus Christ to save His people from their sin (Jn. 3:16).
That rescue plan required Christ perfectly obeying the law that you and I had perfectly transgressed (Heb. 4:15). It would involve God crediting us with the righteous status of Jesus Christ (Phil 3:9) while pouring our sin and our rebellions onto Him (2 Co. 5:21). Christ would trade places with us, giving us His life and freedom, taking our misery and shame down into the grave (Gal 3:13-14) and bringing us new life in His resurrection (Ro. 6:6). For Christ Jesus on the third day, rose from the dead, being exalted above all things (Phil 2:9), securing redemption for all His lowly people (1 Co. 1:16-17), and making Christ the author and perfecter of our salvation (Heb 12:2). Then, after ascending into heaven, to reign at the right hand of God (Ro. 8:34), He is now pouring out His Spirit onto all whom He chooses (Jn. 6:63; Ac. 2:33), so that they will have faith in Christ alone (Ro. 15:13), and so that the Spirit will help them declare His Gospel alone (Jn 16:13; Ac. 4:12; Ro. 10:14).
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Written by Samuel D. James |
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
The recovery of American masculinity will be a counterrevolution of dignity, encouraging men to embrace their God-given strength, competitiveness, and desire for meaning as signposts pointing them toward a rich life of worship, temperance, and self-sacrifice. 

The firebrand gender philosopher Camile Paglia once famously declared that there is no female Mozart because there is no female Jack the Ripper. Provocative as always, Paglia’s point is that, historically speaking, the extremes of human achievement—both superlative genius and murderous sociopathy—tend to be occupied by men. Society, Paglia argues, must therefore pay close attention to masculinity because the stakes are particularly high. The trajectory of the American male over the past few decades is proving Ms. Paglia unnervingly correct.
Conservatives have often sensed an anti-masculine bias in elite spaces of journalism, higher education, and pop culture. This was the animating spirit in a recent speech by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., to the National Conservatism Conference. Hawley’s talk, titled “The Future of the American Man,” eloquently summarized many concerns that religious and traditionalist Americans have about contemporary masculinity.
Hawley pointed out that record numbers of young men are failing to graduate, work, or marry, and that this constitutes a genuine social crisis. Moreover, as Hawley observed, the emerging generation of American men do not seem to have a definite vision for their lives. Vocational ambition and community leadership are increasingly ceded to women, as many twenty and thirtysomething men languish in inactive lifestyles dominated by video games and pornography.
These are trends conservatives certainly should be talking about, and Hawley should be commended for talking so transparently about them. But if “The Future of the American Man” gets the symptoms correct, it names the disease only in part. Throughout the speech, Hawley casts the current plight of masculinity on “the Left,” arguing that third-wave feminism’s misandry is at the heart of Democratic and progressive policies, and thus, the primary agent of this crisis.
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In a wedding the couple are publicly declaring to family and friends both their resolve, commitment and intention to a life-long sexual union. And they are asking everyone present to support them in fulfilling such goals. This means  that in an LGBTIQ wedding they are announcing their commitment not to repent, but to continually rebel against the One who made them. A Christian can never support such a decision because the Bible explicitly warns us not to be deceived that such an unrepentant person will ever enter the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

A Vexed Pastoral Issue
One of the most vexed personal decisions Western Christians face today is whether or not to attend an LGBTIQ wedding of a family member or friend. Nobody who follows Jesus wants to destroy the relationship or lose the opportunity to present the Gospel to those they know. But at the same time, we want to both honour the LORD as well as not be a stumbling block to others (See Matt. 18:6).
Unfortunately, sometimes the Gospel brings us into conflict with those we are closest to. And it is at that point which our loyalties are truly tested. As Jesus says in Matthew 10:34-39:
Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
What this means is that our relationship with Jesus must come before all other earthly loyalties. And this is where our allegiance to Him is tested. Christ Jesus calls us to what Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously referred to as “costly discipleship”.  One in which we take up our cross and we die to the applause of the world. Because this is what it means to bear witness to Christ in a world which lives in rebellion to Him.
Alistair Beggs to Differ
A social media storm obviously erupted recently then, when the well-respected evangelical preacher Alistair Begg, told a Christian grandmother that she should attend a transgender wedding involving her grandson so that she wouldn’t be perceived as being “unloving, judgmental, critical, and unprepared to countenance anything.”
It should be noted that Begg does not support gay marriage and neither would he commend Christians usually attending a gay wedding. But Begg suggested that he would advise someone to sometimes attend as a way of showing love and preserving the relationship.
Since then though, Begg has doubled-down on his comments stating that he “is not yet ready to repent over this…I don’t have to”. (This was probably in response to the article by Robert Gagnon which can be viewed here). Some evangelical Christians agree with Begg that the decision to go a gay or transgender wedding is a ‘disputable matter’ (i.e. Rom. 14), which should be left to an individual’s conscience[1]. But an increasing number of theologians and pastors teach that Christians should not celebrate an LGBTIQ marriage by attending.[2]
An Ancient Problem
The problem is actually not a modern one but was an issue which even the people in Jesus’ day faced. John the Baptist famously confronted Herod over his incestuous marriage to Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife (Matt. 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29; Luke 3:19-20). John was both imprisoned and later  beheaded due to his confrontation with Herod and Herodias over their incestuous ‘marriage’.
This is a helpful analogy in that it helps us to see the issue from another perspective and an angle of which we are yet to be confronted with, namely incest. What follows then is a ten-point summary as to why a Christian should never support or even attend an LGBTIQ union.
First, If a Christian Goes Then They Would Have to Publicly Declare Their Objection in the Service of the LGBTIQ Marriage from Proceeding
The Presbyterian Church of Australia’s Public Worship and Aids to Devotion Committee,[3] outlines that the congregation—and also couple—be asked the following questions:
Declaration of Lawfulness
If anyone can show any reason why this marriage would not be lawful, let them now declare it.
And I require and charge you both, knowing that you are answerable to God, that if either of you know any reason why your marriage would not be lawful, you declare it now.
Normally there are only nervous looks between the bride and groom, as well as uncomfortable laughter from the congregation, at this point in the ceremony. No one expects someone to say something at this point and it rarely if ever occurs. However, when it involves an LGBTIQ couple the issue quickly becomes relevant.
Historically, the question was there to safeguard against the unlikely—but not altogether impossible—situation of either one of the couple being married to someone else at the time. Or, as was the case with Herod and Herodias, being a close relative to one another. However, because both LGBTIQ desire and behaviour is a transgression of God’s law, one would be duty bound to stand and voice his or her opposition to the unlawful union from proceeding.[4]
Second, Christians Could Not Give Their Personal Congratulations
Following on from the previous point, even if the ceremony was not conducted according to the specific religious rites of a Christian denomination, a Christian could not offer his genuine ‘congratulations’ to the couple. As Al Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has said:
Remember that the traditional word used of those who are attending a wedding is that they are celebrants. They are there to celebrate the wedding. It is virtually impossible to go to … a wedding of a same-sex couple and go and smile and not give affirmation to what you believe to be fundamentally contrary to nature and injurious to human flourishing.
If you are consistently biblical in your thinking, you simply can’t go to a wedding that actually isn’t a wedding, for a marriage that you don’t believe is a marriage. One of the principles that has guided the Christian church through the centuries is that the Church cannot sanction and Christians should not celebrate weddings that are illicit or unlawful according to Scripture.
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