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Lines, Circles, and the Priority of Scripture

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There has been a back and forth going on in evangelical circles over the last week or so, and it has been causing quite a debate in those circles. What's it all about? Can we determine who's right?


First, we have to understand the two sides. Especially since the two notable figures are extremely influential in the modern evangelical movement.


On one hand, there is Andy Stanley. Not only was his father, Charles Stanley, who recently went to be with Jesus, one of America's most well-respected pastors over the last half century, but Andy has also carved for himself a strong position as a pastor who can connect with people on how to understand Scripture. The church he founded, North Point, has reached many people, and he has spoken at multiple conferences over the past 25 years or so, to powerful effect.


On the other hand is Albert Mohler. Mohler rose to prominence in the church during a crucial point in modern church history, as Southern Baptists were largely straying from the ideas of inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture, in the late 1970s. Mohler took over as president of Southern Baptist Seminary, and used the influence he had from his office to steer the denomination back toward the trust of Scripture as its primary foundation. Since that time, he has often played the role of defending the power of Scripture when it has come under attack.



So what's the issue?


Stanley hosted a conference at his church recently, specifically designed to reach and help LBGTQ parents. Sounds like an important topic. The problem wasn't that he tried to tackle what might be an uncomfortable topic in his church. It's who he put on the platform - two different openly homosexual men who are each in their own homosexual marriages, among other speakers with seemingly like-minded opinions to those men on the subject. According to Stanley, this conference was supposed to take a middle ground stance, but seeing as the list of speakers notably did not include anyone who had taken a biblical stance on the sinfulness of homosexual actions, that caused a bit of a backlash.


Enter Mohler. Now if this was a one-off, Mohler may not have started in on the issue, at least not as strongly as he did. But, over the past decade, Stanley has made some interesting comments about not preaching from the Old Testament or not openly acknowledging biblical authority. So, under that background, Mohler wrote an article questioning if Stanley has truly begun to leave biblical Christianity behind, seeing this conference as a basis to believe that possibly he has.


Stanley then pushed back. Preaching a non-live-streamed sermon for the first time in a very long time this past Sunday, Stanley directly responded to Mohler's critique. He made the point that he aligns personally with the biblical understanding of sex, that it is designed by God to be done in the context of marriage, which God created to be between one man and one woman. He says he knows that he was not in agreement with the position held by people on the stage, but his point was that that's what Jesus would do. Saying that he's never held to Mohler's brand of biblical Christianity (a huge statement, if I may say so), he believes that Mohler errs when drawing lines in the sand, saying that Jesus didn't draw lines separating people but instead drew circles around people welcoming them in. He also noted that his position on sexual matters was driven by pragmatism (which, I might add, God's way IS the most pragmatic way) as much as anything, and that therefore we must have grace for people who simply cannot keep up with God's commands in their own lives.


Mohler then responded in kind on Monday, saying that Jesus drew both lines and circles, giving grace but still calling to repentance and righteousness. But more importantly, the Bible is clear on both the issue of homosexuality AND on who we allow to teach and lead our church bodies. And ultimately, he noted that Stanley's response answered his question of whether or not he had left biblical Christianity behind - it appeared to be affirmative.

 

Before we dig into who's right here, I must first start by dealing with a reality. Most Christians I have seen respond to this controversy have taken the stance that the whole debate is unnecessary. That we are called to unity. That if non-Christians see our infighting, it will cause them to stay away from the church with more vigor than they had previously had. To that I would say, I feel you, I do - but it's wrong. Arguably the most dealt-with issue in both the Pauline and General epistles is the subject of false teachings. And the writers of those letters never shy away from airing those critiques very publicly. Why? Because if the Church got issues of the Gospel wrong, including our understanding of sin and thus why a Gospel is even needed in the first place, who else was going to get it right? This debate, as uncomfortable as it is, has to be had. Because someone is getting God's truth wrong here.

 

So who's getting it wrong?


When I read what Stanley said in his sermon on Sunday, I was reminded of a political debate I watched in 2004 between George Bush and John Kerry. Kerry, a lifelong member of the Catholic Church, which has been historically the most staunch opponent of abortion, made a statement that would go on to become a pro-abortion talking point in years to come. He said that he was personally opposed to abortion, but since so many were not, it was not his job to decide for them, to keep them from doing something they wanted to do and felt was best for them. Bush ultimately didn't respond to Kerry's point, but I was yelling at my tv when I heard that. Why? Because it didn't make any sense. There's only one reason to be personally opposed to abortion - because you know it's the intentional and premeditated killing of an innocent human being, and that you take that to be the express definition of murder. At which point, it really shouldn't matter if people don't agree with your stance, because if you think it's murder, then it would only follow that you think it should be illegal - unless you don't believe murder should be illegal, at which point we're having a whole different conversation.


But I digress. I bring that debate up, because the same logical fallacy was at play here with Andy Stanley. You cannot say you are for God's design for sex - even if your primary reasoning for taking that stance is mostly pragmatic and not so much biblical - and at the same time support putting people on your stage who not only take the opposite stance but who are encouraging people to support and affirm their family members in living out that opposite stance. If it's wrong, it's wrong. But much like Kerry and his abortion comment, it's not what you say you believe but what you accept as okay that determines where you heart truly lies.


So who's getting it right?


The fact is, Mohler here is right. For two reasons:


1) The Bible is abundantly clear on this issue (it is - I know there are deceivers out there trying to act like it isn't, but it is; I might do a blogpost going into a deep dive on it later, but it is simply the case that homosexual sexual behavior is quite clearly understood in Scripture as sinful). But more importantly, it's not the homosexual issue itself that's the problem. True, Jesus called people to come in His grace, and what an amazing grace it is, seeing as we had no hope for salvation otherwise. But He also called people who came to "sin no more" and to "deny (themselves), take up (their) cross, and follow (Him)." The reason He did so was to remind us that sin is a disastrously huge deal, much bigger than any one of us wants to acknowledge, and that His going to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins wasn't in order for us to keep on intentionally living in that disastrously awful lifestyle in spite of it. He died to free us from sin, so that that we could truly follow after Him. Which is the best way to live life, the way we were designed to live. Oh, yes, we will all unfortunately stumble since we're all still living with a sinful nature. But there's a difference between people who are struggling to discard the sins in their lives versus those who accept it as both natural and unavoidable, therefore thinking it should be affirmed as opposed to called out as wrong. The latter basically makes the grace of Jesus extraordinarily weak. The former makes the grace of Jesus powerfully life-changing. That's the grace I trust to save me.


2) If the Bible is abundantly clear (once again, it is - even Stanley admits that), then accepting teaching that undermines and/or openly disputes the teaching of Scripture calls into question whether or not we can or should trust God's Word at all. And if we can't or shouldn't trust God's Word, where does that leave us? How do we know about Jesus? The Bible. How do we know about sin? The Bible. How do we know about the Gospel? The Bible. How do we know about the purpose of the Church? The Bible. How do we know about God, His divine nature, His creative power, and His daily newly-minted mercies? The Bible. I could go on. Simply put, if I can look at God's Word and say that I've got a better idea about truth than it clearly posits, then what exactly as a Christian am I saying I believe? Where is the authority? It certainly is not in God and His divine and holy Word. No, it's in me, and my mind.


So why does it even matter?


I certainly hope most of my blogs will neither be this long nor dealing with this controversial a topic. But I felt the need to weigh in. Why? Because the larger matter is needing to be heard.


God's grace and our redemption only make sense if we recognize the depravity and inescapability of our sin and the call to come to Him in humility and repentance. God's grace and our redemption only make sense when we acknowledge that He is Lord, the Sovereign Creator who alone can provide hope and salvation. Otherwise, His grace and our redemption are ultimately meaningless.


The point is, I don't have a problem with Christian parents learning how to deal with the topic of LBGTQ issues; it is pervasive in our culture, and it needs to be dealt with in a loving and compassionate way but in a way that still upholds the power and beauty of God's standards. But the moment we stop that last sentence with "loving and compassionate way", that's the moment we have a problem. Because the moment we give up God's standards, God's sovereignty, God's Word, is the moment we lose the power of the Gospel. That's the moment that we no longer are coming to Him in humility and repentance, but instead we come with an expectation that He will subvert His Word and His plan in favor of our designs. And sadly, I believe this is the place where Stanley is right now, and his only way out will be to recognize his error, give up the certainty of his own understanding, and just like every one of us must do, come to God in humility and repentance.


In the end, I said a lot, but the truth is very simple. Jesus does draw circles. His grace opens the door to salvation to the worst of sinners. But He also draws lines. He makes clear delineations between sin and righteousness, and He calls us/commands us to follow Him into His righteousness. But the best part is, we don't have to figure it out on our own. He's given us the Holy Spirit, and He's given us His Word. And we are simply called to preach the Word, in and out of season. And trust that it's good enough. Good enough to save lost family members. Good enough to heal a broken world. Good enough to provide hope and peace where there is none otherwise. We don't need to be worried about lines or circles; God's already figured that out. We simply need to trust His Word in everything - and He will show us how powerful, how faithful, He truly is.


If we as a Church at large can land on that, these debates will go away, and we'll see God glorify His name in mighty ways in His Church!

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LMEC is a nondenominational church in Chapin, SC.  Our mission is evangelize and disciple followers of Christ unto spiritual maturity.  We exist purely to worship and glorify God!

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