The Ironies of Gay Pride Month

Four strikingly sinister ironies define the secular celebration of gay pride month.

First, is the false advertising that says we are devoting merely a month to the celebration of homosexuality when, in truth, our culture demands the near-constant celebration of homosexuality every day and every month of every year.

Second, is waving the banner of “pride” over a lifestyle choice that is transparently sinful. God has the sovereign right to dictate the attitudes of our heart, and God’s own Word says that he opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

Third, is the insistence from our sinful culture that anyone who opposes the infinite manifestations of the LGBTQ+ lifestyle is on the “wrong side of history.” God has the exclusive right to determine the course of history, and he guarantees that any unrepentant homosexual will occupy a miserable eternity in a world of pain apart from him (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Finally, the LGBTQ+ movement has attempted to steal from God himself, one of the most significant demonstrations of redemptive love in the Bible. When most people in our culture see a rainbow, they do not think of God’s patient determination to extend salvation to a sinful humanity but instead recognize a symbol of destructive sexuality.

Do you see the irony?

Christians are living in days unprecedented since Sodom and Gomorrah celebrating what God condemns and condemning what God celebrates.

Our call in these upside-down days is to turn it all right-side up.

Gay Pride Month and Christian Responsibility

The Christian responsibility in a confused culture is not to whine, complain, rant, worry, or run. Our responsibility is to stand on the truth of the Word of God and on the grace of Jesus himself. We are to work so that all that has been corrupted is restored, to labor so that all that has been lost would be found, and to strive to clarify every instance of sexual confusion. This is exactly what Jesus has in mind when he calls us to be his witnesses throughout the world (Acts 1:8).

We will be Jesus’ witnesses in these days when we show up in front of our culture the way Jesus did. The Bible says that Jesus came into this sinful world full of grace and truth (John 1:14). We must present ourselves to this sinful world in the same way.

Gay pride month reminds Christians that we must respond with grace, love, and kindness to every person trapped in the deadly blindness of the LGBTQ+ lifestyle. Jesus says people will know we are Christians by our love (John 13:35). Our call as Christians is to be the kindest people homosexuals have ever met, to be the very definition of grace to any lesbian we encounter, and to demonstrate to all people struggling with transgenderism that we love them more than they love their sin. Love like this changes the world. It has changed us. That same love will change our sexually confused culture as well.

Gay pride month also reminds Christians that we must respond to sexual sin with truth, clarity, and conviction. Some people think that grace means not engaging this issue. They think we should just be quiet and focus on other things. But this is not the way of Christ. When Jesus came, he was full of grace and truth. There is no way to be kind and gracious while refusing to tell people the truth that the way of sin is the way of death (Luke 13:5). The path of sexual immorality that our culture insists is so wonderful is actually a path to destruction.

Rebellion, Rainbows, and Gay Pride Month

Our culture calls this gay pride month, but Christians know there is no pride in celebrating what God condemns. We know the example of Christ in embodying grace and truth demands that we must call our culture to repentance on this issue with hearts full of love. We can have this love because we know we stand in need of the same grace as any other sinner.

In the last book of the Bible, the Apostle John is given a glorious glimpse into heaven. What he sees is breathtaking. He sees a vision of God on his throne, where he reigns as sovereign king. He sees Jesus, the Lamb that was slain, to pay the penalty for every sin of every person who would ever believe in him. He sees the heavenly host praising God and promising that Jesus will come again (Revelation 4:1-8).

In the midst of that vision, John sees that the glorious throne of God is surrounded by a rainbow (Revelation 4:3). That reminds us that the rainbow belongs to God, not a sinful sexual culture. God is so committed to the salvation of lost men and women that you can’t even gaze at his throne without seeing a shining symbol of redemption. God has invited you, and me, and every sinner to lay hold of his redemption that is found in Jesus alone.

As hard as the Christian mission is to engage this sexually corrupt culture, it is one that will be successful. God who created the rainbow and is, at this moment surrounded by one, will bring his people into a perfect and sinless world surrounded with glory, wonder, and rainbows.

The rainbow is God’s. He is going to take it back. The truth is, he really never lost it. It is our job to point a confused culture to the God who calls them to find sexual purity in Christ alone. It is our job to help them find the path of humility that leads away from pride and towards the right side of history surrounded by rainbows of redemption in a world where Christ is King.

Click here to watch a recent conversation with Heath Lambert on this topic.