If you are like most of the world, once the pandemic hit, so many other issues that were dominating our lives lost their priority level. It was as though life shifted and circumstances were reorganized. As life adapted to a new sense of normalcy over time, some of those circumstances that pressed on us pre-pandemic are making their way to our line of sight again. The question that now arises is whether they have the same importance as they did before.

One specific challenge, among many other concerns for the Christian community, was the pressure to silence the church regarding its stand against homosexuality. It may seem to some that we have just accepted life as it is and consequentially reorganized our values. Some may have even changed their viewpoint. Has the church just given up on this very controversial issue?

The LGBTQ Agenda Has Not Diminished

The LGBTQ community has not been silenced or diminished. They still demand the same rights and remain adamant about obtaining these rights. The pandemic did not remove their voice or impact. Their agenda continues to include pushing same-sex relationships, marriages, and various alternate lifestyles as options, especially for children. They promote, and in some cases, flaunt sexuality to our young people before they can even write their names. It’s not a hidden agenda. This is a bold effort to infiltrate a foundation of godliness and the biblical family structure.

How Does The Church Respond?

The question is, has the church just accepted this behavior and lifestyle as the new normal? Have we adopted an attitude of acceptance and decided to move on with our lives? Have we become cold and unresponsive to circumstances that defy biblical truths just because times have changed? If we compromise our stand, what message does this give to those who seek deliverance and freedom in Christ?

It is important that we first understand that we cannot cast stones or even condemn others if we also practice sin. Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but that the world might find life through Him. Jesus does not want us to point fingers at the gay or lesbian individual. We should never put ourselves on a pedestal as if we are better than anyone just because we do not participate in their type of activity. God is not a respecter of persons. He loves us all the same and treats sin the same, regardless of the label attached to the sin. So, before we put on our justification robes and hold our heads high, let us remember that we all come from some dark place in life, and only by God’s grace and love are we here today.

Align With God’s Word

What we must bring back into focus is that we are still the body of Christ and have an obligation to abide and align with God’s Word. We cannot compromise in any way just because times have changed. The truth of God’s Word still remains. Marriage, in God’s eyes, is still a union between a male and a female. Sexual acts are reserved for that union between the husband and the wife. Gender is still determined by the biological structure of the body when the organs are developed in the womb and not the inner thoughts, emotions, and feelings of the individual. God makes no errors in creating us. We are whom God designs us to be. The church, His body, has to remain in a position that maintains these truths. The church must be able to biblically substantiate these truths and stand by them, regardless of how times fluctuate.

It is easy to accept what is popular and doesn’t cause resistance or remove us from our comfort zones. No one wants confrontation. In fact, we should avoid it, if we can. Yet, the church should be ready to stand against anything that is against what God’s Word says, even if it is unpopular. Are we standing as a body, as His body? Are we lifting up holiness as a standard of lifestyle, or have we redefined the Word to fit our comfort levels? Lift up truth! Keep standing on biblical truths. Build your foundations on a solid rock and keep living your life according to God’s Word. Heaven and earth will absolutely pass away, but God’s Word will always remain. Don’t give up, because if we don’t give up, we will win the battle!

Janet Boynes founded Janet Boynes Ministries in Maple Grove, Minnesota, in 2006. She authored the books Called Out: A Former Lesbian’s Discovery of Freedom, God & Sexuality, and her latest: God & The LGBT Community. Janet is an ordained minister under the Assemblies of God and travels the U.S. and overseas sharing a message of redemption and hope through the power of Jesus Christ.