Pride Month: Christians in a Rainbow World
Pride Month: Christians in a Rainbow World
The origin of the Rainbow, which has now become the central image of the June Pride Month warrants investigation. Its origin is buried in early history, back to the days of Noah, in Genesis 9, where God established a covenant with man, and used the Rainbow as a token and testament to the same covenant.
Genesis 9:12-16 God continued, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I’m putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth.”
How come that this same rainbow that should serve as a token for Christians, a reminder of a godly covenant, has now being reduced to a symbol of sexuality and so called “Pride”? How should Christians approach the issue of “Pride month” and how can we stand our ground in the midst of the world’s push to foster an ideology and concept that is alien to our shared faith and an attempt to corrupt what has hitherto being an image representing God’s promise to man.
As someone who has spent over a decade interrogating this topic from a Christian perspective, I am happy to share five key insights that I have gained on the matter from studying the scriptures and from interacting with this issue over the years:
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Know what scripture says about the issue and settle that in your heart: The bible teaches and affirms that sex is reserved for a lifelong marriage relationship between one man and one woman. That is unchanging and immutable (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:31)
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Safe spaces, God spaces: While we have a duty of care to be compassionate in our interaction with people who identify as LGBTQ, we must not shy away from our responsibility to call to repentance. Jesus taught us to be compassionate while ALSO directly addressing sin and telling people God’s truth, as it is His mission (-and ours to call sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). Jesus spoke to the woman at the well due to compassion, as it was very unlike Him to speak with a woman alone in public, let alone for a Jew to engage a Samaritan. But He also told her, in no uncertain terms, that she was living in sin, patiently corrected her theological inaccuracies, and He went on to reveal to her who He truly is (John 4:18-26). He didn’t create a safe space for sin or push it down the line. He lovingly told her the truth during that encounter and as Christians we cannot but do the same. Our message is “Go and Sin no more”, but we cannot fail to separate what is sin from what is not. There is no safe spaces for sin in God’s church.
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Love and compassion not endorsement: The approach to this is to show love and compassion, however, we are not compelled by scripture to endorse any lifestyle. People’s sexuality are their personal choices and should be limited to their bedroom (-or wherever else), and not become an item of discussion or requirement for me to endorse the same. As Christians, we can show love and compassion to members of this community, without endorsing their lifestyle or engage in so called ally-ship. Therefore, one must not feel compelled to wear PRIDE flags, rainbow-coloured memorabilia or take part in marches. One must not also shy away from standing for the truth – and we should do it when we have the opportunity.
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Cancel culture and the modern-day Christian: Irish teacher, Enoch Burke is a timely example of what is to come down the line for Christians in terms of persecution for refusing to call a pupil by their pronouns. 2Ti 3:12 says “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Every June should bring every Christian to their knees and make us more sober as we realise that very soon, we risk being cancelled or even face jail time for holding on to our beliefs. These are signs of the End Times.
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Opinions may change but the Word of God remains unchanged: Someone reading this may think this is absolutely archaic thinking and not fit to modern ideals. However, God’s word is eternal, immutable and unchanging.
1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 (The living Bible) Don’t you know that those doing such things have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who live immoral lives, who are idol worshipers, adulterers or homosexuals—will have no share in his Kingdom. Neither will thieves or greedy people, drunkards, slanderers, or robbers. 11 There was a time when some of you were just like that but now your sins are washed away, and you are set apart for God; and he has accepted you because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you.
From the scripture above, many of us were sinners like this in the past but now our sins are washed away. Not by any personal righteousness, act or deed of ours, but God accepted us based on what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. Would you like to take this step with me and accept Jesus into your life? He can totally transform you and give you something to be proud about – Salvation and assurance of eternal life.
If you want to accept Jesus into your life, please say the prayer below with me:
Lord Jesus, I come to you today;
I confess that I am a sinner and I cannot help myself;
I accept you as my Lord and Personal Savior, and receive your forgiveness of sins and your Holy Spirit;
Come into my heart, and be the Lord over my thoughts and desires;
I believe that I am now saved and my name is written in the Book of Life;
Jesus is now Lord of my life and I am accepted in the beloved. Amen!
If you made it this far, I am glad to tell you that you are now a part of God’s family. You will feel a sense of peace and joy overflowing in your heart. To learn more or to join a body of believers within your local area, please contact chapeloflightlongford@gmail.com
Summary: Christians are commanded to love and be compassionate to everyone, irrespective of their gender or sexual orientation, however, we are not mandated to endorse everything or forced to adopt the same. While we are tolerant, we must not fail to take our stand in alignment with scriptures and our shared beliefs. Our overall commitment is to the True One who gave the sign of the Rainbow, God, and who will hold every man and woman to account on the last day.
God bless you.
Your brother in Christ,
Segun Seriki