How does the love of God, as demonstrated in the gospel, inform how we share Christ to those in the gay community around us? In this video, Dr. Christopher Yuan seeks to answer that question and how Christians can better love their gay brothers and sisters.
Dr. Christopher Yuan has taught the Bible at Moody Bible Institute for over ten years and his speaking ministry on faith and sexuality has reached five continents.
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The entire video is above, and the transcript is below.
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How does the love of God, as demonstrated in the gospel, inform how we share Christ to those in the gay community around us?
I think at first, we need to recognize how the world right now is emphasizing love. You’ve probably heard the phrase, "God is love". And that is so important, yes, God is love, but that's not all God is.
We also need to recognize, is there a difference between maybe a secular understanding of love? In other words, just kind of be and let be. And is that different from God's understanding of love that says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). That love also means Romans 5, that He loved us, not when we were good, and not when we were in agreement with Him, but actually while we were still weak, while we were still sinners, while we even enemies (Romans 5:6-8).
It's that understanding of love, that love doesn't mean agreement, love doesn't mean that we have to come in line with our political positions or even our agreement on what is right or wrong, but love is transcendent above all of this. That love holds fast between grace and truth.
Sometimes we dichotomize between love and truth. And I think that's actually wrong. There is no love apart from truth. 1 Corinthians 13 that love rejoices in truth (1 Corinthians 13:6). Actually love, I think, is the full embodiment of being full of grace, full of truth, as Jesus came. John 1:14.
So it's recognizing that, but then also not being afraid that we then need to remind people of truth. Because at times we need to front-end grace. Especially when there is a sense of antagonism, not necessarily from our end, but just the perception that Christians hate the gay community. That we are against the gay community.
I think there is some ownership in which we need to do. Because we haven't done a good job at expressing grace. We love the phrase, "Love the sinner, hate the sin." But all people see by our actions is just we're hating the sin and we're not loving the sinner.
I would say as you reach out, I think the best thing is not necessarily an organized effort by the local church to say, "Here we are as, you know, First Baptists and we're gonna come to save the gay community." I really think what needs to be done now, especially in light of all the controversy and how we are so polarized, is that we need to really develop a grass-roots, evangelical thrust to reach out to those right in our lives. Our neighbors, our gay brothers, or maybe a gay sister, a gay aunt, gay coworker. And those relationships that we already have built, to then share Christ through our actions. We need to live the gospel before the preach of the gospel. And not the other way around.
And not be inhibited in thinking that I need to first tell them about their sin, because, honestly, even if we convince another of their sin and even if we convince them that same-sex relationships are sinful, they can still be lost if they don't know Christ. So front-ending the most important thing, which is faith in Christ. And through all of that, once they believe in Christ, then they will be able to recognize what it means to be a Christian and to live a holy life.
18 июн 2019
