Are Christians Homophobic?
In this bonus episode of All of Life for God, Dr. Paul Smalley responds to a common accusation— that Christians are homophobic— with truth and love.
Christians have sometimes been charged with homophobia. Now, the word homophobia— coined about 50 years ago— was intended to communicate the idea of an intense and irrational fear of homosexual people that produces prejudice against them. According to this line of thought, this prejudice may even lead to acts of violence against homosexual people.
It is not uncommon today for Christians to be charged with homophobia. The question before us is not whether some professing Christians have indeed had irrational fears and prejudices or have even committed acts of violence. The sad truth is that there are people who claim to be Christians but are actually hypocrites and, consequently, commit some of the most atrocious crimes. We also must acknowledge the reality that true Christians, that is, those whom God has given a new heart of faith and love, have sometimes done things because of their remaining sins that they have later come to recognize are wrong. And they've needed to repent of those things. We acknowledge this, and we do so with grief. But the question before us is whether biblical Christianity itself is homophobic. And this, we deny.
I remember one time when I was driving home and happened to go past one of my neighbor's properties. As I drove by, I saw that their detached garage was an inferno— completely engulfed in flames. With a pounding heart, I pulled into their driveway and ran up to their house, which had its lights on. I beat on the door, calling out to them. Well, thankfully, nobody was home and in immediate danger, so I was able to call the fire department. They came and extinguished the fire, but I ask you: Was my calling out to my neighbors an act of hatred? Of course not!
I did it because they are my friends. I loved them. I wanted them to escape the danger. In the same way, when Christians call on homosexuals to turn away from their sins and to trust in Jesus Christ, it's not an act of hatred or prejudice— it is an act of love.
You see, the Bible teaches us that we are all one human family because we have one father, Adam. But the Bible also teaches us that Adam's sin plunged our entire race into sin so that our very hearts have become corrupt. Homosexuality is one among many kinds of sins that we commit against God's law, and because of our proud and foolish behavior, we have set our house on fire with the judgment of God. But the good news is that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
So, the Bible's message to all people is that we have discovered that Jesus Christ is the door out of this burning house. He is the only door out of eternal death and into eternal life. We are escaping, and we want you to join us and escape as well. And that is not homophobia.
It’s hope.
