Student Ministry - April 2021
Dear Church Family,
Recently I was asked by one of our students what to think about the fact that their friends say they believe in Jesus, but also affirm the idea that people should be able to live however they want. This is specifically related to the LGBTQ+ lifestyle. This is a normal question that our students and even elementary students have to grapple with at school. It is a question that we cannot avoid. It is a reality that is going to confront Christians at every turn, and has begun attacking Christian schools, universities, and organizations. How should we respond when the world expects us to get in line with its philosophies of gender and sexuality norms?
The answer to that question really depends on a few things. The main thing it depends on is who you want to please. There are only two options to choose from when it comes to being pleasing. You can either be pleasing to men or pleasing to God. You can either serve the world, or you can serve God. They are mutually exclusive. But isn’t that exactly what the world disagrees with? They think you can serve both God and men. But that is not what God says. In James 4:4 He clearly states: “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” So if you want to please men, then all you need to do is agree with them and disagree with God. It is pretty simple, but it has dire consequences.
I think that deep down inside, people know they shouldn’t agree with the philosophies of the world. That is why the decision to adopt an LGBTQ+, or any other sinful lifestyle, usually takes some time and serious consideration. Sometimes, though, it is only a difficult decision because they have a hard time deciding which people to please. But what about people who don’t care about pleasing men, but rather want to please God? How do we respond to the pressure of the world to conform to their ideals? The Bible is really helpful with this (shocker). Romans 12 says to us “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” If you want to please God, the only way to do that is by letting Him transform you by the Word in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We go to Jesus just as we are, sin and all. But Jesus changes us and transforms our thoughts and way of life. This is what the world just can’t stand.
This is not a belligerent take at the LGBTQ+ community or anything like that. This is just where our students live. They are constantly bombarded by these questions, and they need answers. This is simply a statement of non-conformity to the status quo. I’ve been bullied a lot before as I was growing up, and I expect to be pushed around as a Christian adult too. But that is just going to make me more non-conformist and more gospel transformist. If this is where our students live, then we must help them reject and stand up to the bullying of the world. We must help them go to Jesus in the Word and be transformed in their minds. We must help them understand what God says is right versus what people think is right. And we must pray that God would soften their hearts to believe Him and desire to please Him instead of the world. And this we must do all with the right attitude. So my prayer is that God would transform us to be like Jesus. That we would take hard stands against His enemies, all while loving them and desiring them to turn and be saved.