This week a group of evangelical pastors and theologians released a statement on what the Bible teaches about human sexuality called The Nashville Statement. This statement specifically addresses gender issues and homosexuality in light of Scripture. The statement is worth reading as it lays out the biblical teaching on these subjects by a series of statements Christians should affirm and deny. You can read it here.
I have read the statement and I agree wholeheartedly with its assertions. This statement reflects what Scripture has taught and what the Christian church has affirmed for two-thousand years. Thus I have added my name to this statement.
The responses from the secular world have been predictable, as have the responses been from those who fancy themselves progressive Christians. These rebuttals center around appealing to other authorities, which shows us this is not faith versus science. It is faith versus faith. They have an ultimate authority which they appeal to, they have their god they follow as well. Yet the question I want to address is why this is a good and necessary action at our present moment.
The Idol of the Sexual Revolution
Recently I preached on Judges 6 and the call of Gideon. In this chapter, God calls Gideon to be the instrument of deliverance for his rebellious people, but first Gideon must tear down the idol to Baal in his hometown. To do so was to declare war on what his society held most dear. While we do not have many people bowing their physical knee to carved images and offering sacrifices to them, idolatry is still a problem. Anything which stands in opposition to Christ, which is elevated above him, stands as an idol which must come down.
In our cultural moment, there is no bigger idol than the current sexual revolution. This is why the church had to respond. The false gospel which our age promotes is an idea of sexual freedom, which is really sexual perversion. This sexual ethic is the path to fulfillment, meaning, happiness, and salvation. You need to be who you are, and then life will be better.
Moreover, to be righteous in our world you must affirm the goodness of such actions. You are not allowed to be neutral, you too must praise and worship this ethic. This is the chief idol of our day, it is our Baal, and all faithful Christians must not only refuse to bend the knee to Baal, we must strive to tear that idol down. Why? Because we know who God is. If Christianity is true, then the idol of sexual freedom really only offers slavery and death. Life is found in Christ, not in sexual practices and identities. The choice is between life and death; salvation and damnation.
Much like Gideon in Judges 6, we must stand opposed to anything which stands opposed to God’s Word. As Christians, we believe the Bible to be God’s Word, and if he has spoken, then it carries his full authority. God is the highest authority in the universe. It follows then that anything which stands opposed to his Word also stands opposed to God himself. There is no middle ground; you cannot be in the middle of the true God and false gods. You are one side or the other.
Christian, this is the test of our time, we can either be faithful to God, or we can follow the Baals of our day. We cannot do both. We should expect opposition anytime we attempt to tear down someone’s idol. When Gideon destroyed the idol in his town, the townsfolk demanded his head. We should expect no less. People do not like it when you attack their gods.
This statement draws a line between life and death. You cannot worship the God of Scripture and the false gods of this age. Faithfulness requires us to stand in clear contrast with the false gods of our age. The Nashville Statement recognizes this reality, and for that all faithful Christians should be thankful.