Louie Giglio, President Barack Obama, and Homosexuality

By: Thomas Fletcher Booher

Sometimes it is good to talk on current issues. I assume most people reading this will be aware that Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia and leader of the Passion Movement was invited to give the benediction at President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony. Then a gay rights group dug up a sermon some 15-20 years ago that Giglio preached where he called homosexuality a sin. A big stink was then raised, and Giglio withdrew to not cause a greater controversy. A pro-gay "pastor" has replaced Giglio. 

Four years ago Rick Warren faced similar heat, but he was not removed. So in four years the tide has turned in the public eye and in the White House- to condemn homosexuality as a sin is to not be with the times, with the beliefs of today, with what the god of "today" says. 

I want to address how this has happened. It has happened because Christians don't know their Bibles and what it says about homosexuality, and those who do believe homosexuality is a sin have not called it sin, or they have done so in such a way that is mean-spirited. All are wrong. Those who don't want to call being gay sin either do so because they don't want to be persecuted, or because they don't know how to argue that it is sin. Those who single out homosexuality and get their jollies from putting gays down don't really know why it is sin either but simply know that God hates it and therefore they want to spread hate too. Those are the only two voices you really hear on TV from Christians regarding homosexuality. Neither are what is needed because neither one is the biblical approach. 

What is needed is a thoughtful, careful, but firm explanation of what God says about homosexuality, and further, what He says about marriage. Scripture does clearly call homosexuality sin, but we must explain to unbelievers why it is sin. It is not enough to say that it is unnatural, nor that God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. This would be acceptable if this was used as shorthand, but sadly it is not. The message that the culture needs to hear is that the Lord God is indeed God, and as such He is sovereign over all, and He has created all things and everyone for His good purposes, His glory, and His people's joy. This is why He created Adam and Eve, man and wife, and the sacred institution of marriage is supposed to reflect the precious spiritual union between God and man, between Christ and His bride. So perhaps we could say homosexuality is wrong because Christ marries a bride, not a groom. The God of the universe would not allow His marriage to be classified in terms of homosexuality nor let his relationship to His people be represented by a homosexual union, of groom and groom or bride and bride. So why do we? That would at least spark more discussion. 

The bottom line is that people don't understand the gospel nor do they have a Calvinistic understanding of the sovereignty of God over all things including salvation, and thus they don't fully understand why God created man and woman, Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. And if the world is going to be changed at least to the point where it is acceptable to still believe homosexuality is a sin, they must hear both the gospel and the purpose for the Creation of the first man and woman. Man needed a helpmeet, someone like him, but not exactly the same. Man needed companionship, someone who was his own flesh but yet wasn't quite the same. Different strengths. Complementary, not identical. It reflects the communion and diversity in the Godhead, between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It takes this diversity to bring forth new life- whenever God acts, each member of the trinity is involved. Take Creation- The Spirit of God hovers over the depths, and yet Scripture also says it is Christ who made all things for Himself, and it was God the Father's plan to do this! So with humankind, diversity in strengths, diversity in sexes, produces the clearest image of God, who is the highest good and the greatest delight. Further, the complete diversity of the Godhead is what made new life, all Creation, and it is the diversity of the King and Queen of Creation, man and woman, that creates new life. This is true for the animals as well. Heterosexuality represents the Godhead, homosexuality does not. Therefore, heterosexuality represents mankind, homosexuality does not. 

So what needs to be stressed to all the liberal pastors who think homosexuality is fine, and all who are unbelievers and think homosexuality is fine, is that when you mess with marriage- one man and one woman- you mess with Christ, with His Creation, and with His good purposes for marriage and love, which is the reflection of His own love for His people and our own love for Him. Further, you mess with the very image of both man and God when you do this. In short, you mess with the very fabric and structure that God has created the universe to be sustained, subdued, and governed by- the family structure itself. Men and women marrying and having children and raising them well is what makes this world go round, Christian or not. Anything apart from that and the world goes haywire, because God is the one who ordered the world, and He did it through diversity, the diversity of His Godhead. When people believe there are no God given differences between man and woman, they will behave unisexually, demonstrating neither the characteristics of the man or woman that they are that God has placed in them, and yet there are differences in the roles of the Godhead. And when mankind embraces homosexuality because there is no difference to begin with, sin happens. Pedophilia and rapings  happen. Bestiality happens. Incest occurs. Murder increases. 

This teaching must, of course, work in tandem with the gospel because unregenerates will not desire to follow God's family plan for the universe if they do not have that persuasion already. There is a small chance they may concede that it is a viable position and something to think about, but they will not submit to it in their hearts. My hope and prayer is that more men and women of God would begin to take the gospel and the theology of marriage and family as defined by God to the masses, even to other Christians who don't know what it is themselves. Only this coupled with prayer, by God's grace, can turn the sexual immorality in our nation around, and thus save it from great moral wickedness.