• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Hesed.com

Mobilizing God's People to Reach the Nations!

  • Home
  • Let’s Get Started!
  • Beyond Our Wildest Dreams
  • We Swear Allegiance
  • Our Hearts Aflame
  • Reshaping Our Wineskins
You are here: Home / Opinion / Should We Isolate Ourselves?

Should We Isolate Ourselves?

By David Arzouni on May 11, 2015 1

Gay Wedding
Photo courtesy of Stefano Bolognini. Used by permission.

It’s all over the news: Christians discriminating and refusing services to homosexuals/lesbians. One of the more recent controversies involves a religious pediatrician who allegedly refuses to treat the baby of a lesbian couple in Michigan. You can read about it in the Washington Post.

What are we to make of Christians who would refuse their services to gay people? Some would say that it depends on how the issue is framed. Is it a matter of personal freedom? Is it a matter of personal religious convictions? Is it both?

I am not so much interested in issues of personal rights and whether the government can tell us what we are free to do or not to do. The government already does plenty of that, and most of it is good to maintain justice and the preservation of good social order. Discrimination laws do curtail our freedom to select the “who-and-what” we would allow into the sphere of our activities, our business, our investments, and the use of our time, just as much as other laws curtail our actions when they could harm others.

It’s already the law of the land that we should not discriminate against homosexuals, no matter what.

Suggestions for How Christians Should Respond

Evaluate carefully what is being required of you. Can we agree that some decisions in these matters have more lasting, signficant impact than others? For example, I believe there is a big difference between refusing to be the florist or the baker or the photographer for a gay couple’s wedding and refusing to hire a homosexual to teach your children in your Christian school. Hiring a homosexual to teach your children in the Christian school they attend will have more far-reaching, more significant impact than being the florist for a gay couple’s wedding. Where on the scale of gravity do you place cases such as a florist refusing to cater to homosexuals or this pediatrician’s decision to recuse herself as the doctor to care for the Michigan lesbian couple and their baby?

Whatever the situation, be fully convinced of your position on a biblical basis (as distinct from a political basis) and decide from the platform of faith what you would do (Romans 14:23).

Study the Bible
Photo courtesy of Aaron Burden. Used by permission.

If you refuse to comply with this law on the basis of unwavering biblical convictions, then you should also be willing to accept the legal consequences that come with it. Unfortunately, too few Christians are willing to embrace this biblical teaching. We have no self-sacrificing and inspiring Martin Luther King for evangelicals or Catholics today. Imagine if our U.S. prisons became filled with hundreds of thousands of Christians willing to suffer for their convictions, what would the implications be nationally and internationally? What would happen spiritually? Or legally? Or electorally?

Where Do I Stand?

Where do I stand in the current debate, especially in light of the pediatrician’s alleged refusal to treat a baby on account that the parents are a lesbian couple?

I want to go on record and say that though I believe homosexuality of any kind is a sin, I do believe in some gay rights:

  • A person has the right to live a homosexual life, just as much as other people are free to engage in some other behavior that I believe to be sinful. They are free to choose.
  • A gay person has the right to be protected from persecution, just as much as any person committing some other sin or anyone who has a religious view contrary to mine. It is as terribly wrong to harass someone for their chosen sexual orientation as it is for punishing someone on account of their atheism.
  • I can already hear some objections such as, “What if pedophiles or drug users demanded rights?” Let them. It would be a good thing if our courts were flooded with thousands upon thousands of lawsuits from such people or, for example, those in the grip of alcoholism (it’s a sickness, isn’t it?) who demanded that any reproach or jeering of their drunkenness be prosecuted as hate speech. Perhaps this will give our lawmakers reason to pause and reflect on the madness of American society and culture.

I will also say that I do not believe that supporters of a gay lifestyle have the right to harass people whose religious convictions conflict with homosexuality. What gives homosexuals the right to insult me, call me a bigot, an intolerant fool, a homophobe, and other less flattering things, and not be prosecuted for their hate speech against me?

I believe that I have the right to speak up and object to the ongoing calculated push of the gay movement to infiltrate politics and educational institutions or any other venue where they preach their agenda to everyone, especially young minds, without gays and lesbians accusing me of hate speech (I will revisit this matter in a separate discussion of what the gay movement is presenting to our children through television cartoons these days on channels such as TBS).

Biblical Principles

Whenever I evaluate a situation having to do with discrimination laws or homosexuality, here are the biblical principles that guide me.

We are to be salt and light in the world. This implies that even as I separate myself from the world in terms of refusing to behave like the world, I am not allowed to cut myself off from the world (John 17:15-18). So as a florist, and even more so as a doctor, I would not isolate myself from those I am called to bless with the light and love of God.

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 is instructive on this point. “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

In those verses, we are told that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” This does not refer only to believers. He was reconciling the world to Himself. He was not counting the world’s trespasses against them. Does that include homosexuals? Yes! God was in Christ, reconciling homosexuals to Himself. He does not count the homosexual’s sin against him/her.

Does that mean that homosexuals (as well as all unbelievers) are automatically part of God’s family? No, because although God has reconciled the world to Himself, not all of the world has reconciled themselves to God. That is why 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 goes on to give us our mission in the world – “He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Our mission is to bring the word of reconciliation to all people, including homosexuals. The message of our life, lived out through actions, attitudes, and words in the midst of an unbelieving world (including homosexuals), is “God has reconciled Himself to you. He does not count your sins against you. Come, be reconciled to Him!”

Our mission is to bring the word of reconciliation to all people, including homosexuals. #evangelism

Tweet This

It is not our mission to condemn homosexuals. Rather, it is our mission to invite them – to beg them on behalf of Christ to accept and embrace the action that God took in Christ (to reconcile Himself to them) and to be reconciled to God. Our mission is not one of condemnation, but of invitation.

This raises an important question for our consideration. How can we fulfil our God-given mission to invite homosexuals to be reconciled to God if we boycott their life activities? Who will persuade them of the deep love God has for them if not us?

Jesus spent so much time with people whose lifestyle completely conflicted with His own that the religious establishment of His day labeled Him as “a friend to tax collectors and sinners.” (Luke 7:34). He did not embrace their sinful lifestyle, but He did not disengage from them. Dare we do less?

Jesus did not embrace the sinful life of those around him, but He did not disengage from them either. #evangelism

Tweet This

Are We at War?

Some in the Christian community would say that the homosexual movement is at war with Christianity and that since we are at war, the rules of engagement should be different. But God is not at war with the homosexual movement (He has reconciled Himself to all sinners, including homosexuals). So why would we believe we as Christians are at war with the homosexual movement?

Even if the homosexual movement considers themselves to be at war with us, what did Jesus say about the way we engage the one who has made himself our enemy? The answer is clearly given in Luke 6:27-28 – “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

In verses 32-26 of the same chapter, what Jesus taught and His life exemplified is made clear: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:32-36)

If we are to conduct a “war” against the homosexual movement (if we must call it that), here are the “weapons” of our warfare:

  • doing good to those who oppose us;
  • blessing them instead of cursing them; and
  • praying for them.

Are We Giving Tacit Approval to Gay Marriage?

Others may say that by agreeing to “participate” in a gay wedding by delivering flowers or a wedding cake and helping set up the event, a florist or baker would be giving tacit approval to gay marriage.

But Matthew 5:44-45 tells us this: “I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

If we claim to be sons and daughters of the Most High Father, we do not have the option of changing the rules He has set down for us in how we engage others. The Father Himself set the example by making His sun to rise on both the good and bad people and His rain to refresh and supply both of them. So when God makes the sun rise on homosexuals and His rain to refresh and supply them, does it mean He gives His tacit approval to them? Of course not!

In light of these passages, what did that pediatrician do? I don’t think there’s a biblical basis for refusing to serve the two lesbians, to say nothing of the innocent baby. Indeed, if we extend kindness and service only to those who are like ourselves and shun those whose morality is not biblical, how can we claim to be like our Savior? The Most High is kind to those who disagree with His standards. Again, dare we do less and still claim Him as our Father?

If we extend kindness only to those who are like us, how can we claim to be like our Savior? #evangelism

Tweet This

Going the Extra Mile

Finally, for those who might argue that the above is not an issue with them, but they resent the government’s imposition of rules that are an affront to their personal freedom, I answer that unless the rule actually causes you to participate in what is morally objectionable, there is more to be gained by embracing the unjust imposition than by bucking it. Why? Because Jesus taught: “…If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” (Matthew 5:41-42). Going the extra mile gives the opportunity to fully live the Gospel, to be genuine children of our Father in heaven (verse 45) and to be perfect as our heavenly Father is (verse 48).

So, we can isolate ourselves and preach about the woes of homosexuality, or we can speak to homosexuals, just as we would do with any other human being in need of God’s love and grace.

What do you want to do?

COUNTRIES IN THIS ARTICLE: United States

Related Resources

In her late 30s, Rosaria encountered something that turned her world upside down with — the idea that Christianity, a religion that she had regarded as problematic and sometimes downright damaging, might be right about who God was, an idea that flew in the face of the people and causes that she most loved. What follows is a story of what she describes as a “train wreck” at the hand of the supernatural.


Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Tweet
Share
Pin
Share

Join Our Tribe

We invite you to become a part of the Hesed.com community and join us in our passion to reach the unreached.


Get Started Here

About David Arzouni

David, also known as Faouzi, is a Lebanese-American, born and raised as a Shi’ite Muslim in Dakar, Senegal, West Africa. Visit this page to watch a video which describes the circumstances surrounding David's conversion to Christ. Together with his wife Linda, David has brought the message of the gospel to West Africa as an Assemblies of God missionary since 1976.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mara says

    January 11, 2016 at 1:30 AM

    I have just began exploring your website and am finding your content interesting and thoughtful. I have read the Bible study about Muslim refugees, the prodigal son, and the one about isolating ourselves from the homosexual community. Since the hour is very late I look forward to reading more on another day. There is such absence of love developing in our culture and, on the other hand, such a blind love (or acceptance) of anything and everything with no discernment in many American Christian churches. I’m enjoying the ideas of you both very much.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

FIRST TIME HERE?

If this is your first time visiting our website, first of all, we're glad you're here! Secondly, we offer these recommendations for where to start so that you will get the most benefit from this (and hopefully future!) visits:

01 Set A Foundation

Before you read any articles, watch any videos, etc., we strongly encourage you to read our five pillar articles. These pillar articles provide the foundation for all of our content.

Let's Get Started
We would be thrilled if you would join us in our passion, be persuaded by our conviction, and embrace our vision!

Beyond Our Wildest Dreams
Deep in our hearts is a desire to come home to the love we were created for, to be reconciled to our Creator.

We Swear Allegiance
God has reconciled Himself to us. What does it mean for us to reconcile ourselves to God?

Our Hearts Aflame
Our hearts are aflame with the urgency to make Christ known because we have been granted stewardship of the message of reconciliation.

Reshaping Our Wineskins
How does effective strategy in outreach help us to be faithful in our stewardship of the message of reconciliation?

02 Join Our Tribe

We invite you to become a part of the Hesed community and join us in our passion to reach the unreached.

03 Come Hang Out With Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The resources which appear here and at the end of articles provide you with opportunities to further explore the topics we address in our content (these links will launch in new tabs/windows and will load content from other websites).

04 Use Tools To Pray

  • Ten Ways to Pray About Europe (Christian Action, Research, and Education)
  • Leading the Way: Christian Living — Pray for the Western World

05 Read Books

How can biblical authority be a reality for those shaped by the modern world? This book treats the First World as a mission field, offering a unique perspective on the relationship between the gospel and current society by presenting an outsider's view of contemporary Western culture.

What does it take to be a cross-cultural messenger of the Gospel? What was true about the spiritual climate of Europe 75 years ago? What is true today? And what is always true? This book explores two extraordinary lives that God has used to impact France: Bob Evans and Jazz Jones.

06 Visit Websites

  • Lausanne Movement Content Library: Resources on Nominalism

07 Listen To Podcasts

  • How to Reach the West Again: Six Essential Elements of a Missionary Encounter (Timothy Keller and Redeemer City to City)
  • The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel in a Postmodern World (Tim Keller)
  • Postmodern Realities Podcast (Christian Research Institute)
  • The Secular Creed — Collin Hansen and Rebecca McLaughlin (The Gospel Coalition)

08 Review Articles

  • Faith and Truth in a Pluralistic, Globalized Society (Lausanne Content Library)
  • The Antimoderns: Six Postmodern Christians Discuss the Possibilities and Limits of Postmodernism
  • Witness to Christ in a Secular Culture (Lausanne Content Library)
  • Secularity: Dogma Meets Diversity in Europe (Lausanne Content Library)
  • Lausanne Occasional Paper: Modern, Postmodern and Christian
  • The Rise of Secularism (Premier Christianity Magazine)
  • The Christian and the Rise of Secularism (Christianity Today)
  • Understanding and Relating to the New World View: Is There Another Era After the Postmodern Era? (Ministry International Journal for Pastors)
  • Evangelism in a Postmodern World (Ken Boa), Part 1: The Significance of Evangelism, Part 2: Approaches, Part 3: Arenas
  • Lausanne Occasional Paper: The Uniqueness of Christ in a Postmodern World and the Challenge of World Religions
  • Lausanne Occasional Paper: Religious and Non-Religious Spirituality in the Western World

09 Watch Videos

  • Uniqueness of Christ in Europe — Stefan Gustavsson (The Lausanne Movement)
  • Christian Living in a Secular World | Garrett Sederholm (Cottonwood Church)

10 Take Courses

RAISE SUPPORT MORE EFFECTIVELY:

Fully Funded Academy

Fully Funded Academy is based around 7 core strategies for long-term support raising success and will help you develop a steady stream of recurring financial support with more stability and less stress so you can have greater impact in your mission to help fulfill the Great Commission.

Learn more ...

COMMUNICATE THROUGH A WEBSITE:

DIY Missionary Support Website Course

The DIY Missionary Support Website Course will walk you through creating a simple but stunning ministry website in days instead of months. Your guide Robby Fowler is a professional marketer and brand strategist. He was also a full-time pastor for 15 years, so he understands the online challenges you face. Use our link to receive a $50 discount on the price of the course!

Learn more ...

MISSIONS MOBILIZATION COURSES:

KAIROS is designed to educate, inspire and challenge Christians to meaningful participation in God’s heart for all the nations.

MomentumYes invites everyday people to rethink God’s mission, the call of the church, and their individual roles.

Perspectives is a fifteen week course designed around four vantage points or "perspectives" — Biblical, Historical, Cultural and Strategic. Each one highlights different aspects of God's global purpose.

The School of Missions Advocacy will affirm the mobilization activities you are already doing while helping you keep the most important mobilization priorities in place.

EXPLORE FURTHER

This content will allow you to explore related content and other topics on Hesed.com.

11 Browse More Categories

See Articles From All Categories

WHO WE ARE

Learn more about the people who bring you the content on Hesed.com — our background, our current ministry, and our passion.

12 Learn More About Us

Frank Johnson and David Arzouni were friends, brothers in Christ, and ministry partners for over 35 years.

frankjohnson_squareFrank describes himself as an online strategist who advocates for world missions through storytelling to spotlight the work of God throughout the nations.

dfa_squareWith his wife Linda, the late David Arzouni brought the message of the gospel to West Africa for 45 years. His legacy lives on through the countless lives he affected.

Read more about Frank and David

13 Join Us In Our Daily Declaration

Lord Jesus,

This day, we cast our souls upon Your sacrifice as our only hope for purpose, meaning, and fulfillment here on earth and for life in the age to come.

This day, we swear allegiance to You, our King.

This day, we pray that You would set our hearts aflame for Your cause and for the over 3 billion people in this world who have yet to hear Your name.

We long for the day that we will stand before Your throne, surrounded by the most diverse community ever formed — from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation — those whom You have purchased with Your blood — as we cry out together "Worthy is the Lamb!"

Until that day, we commit ourselves to loving our brothers and sisters in Christ — no matter what their people group, no matter what their language, no matter what their race, no matter where they are from — and to living in community with them — that the world may know that the Father loves them and that He sent You to save them.

This day, we devote our lives — our time, our money, our passion, our mind, our strength, our everything — to see Your gospel proclaimed in every corner of this world.

And we thank You for the astounding privilege of playing a small part in carrying Your name to the nations!

Partner Profiles

News From The Nations

Thoughts On Strategy

Service Opportunities

Book Reviews

Opinion

See All

  • Home
  • What Is Hesed?
  • Who Are We?
  • Your Story
  • Join Our Content Team
  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy

What Does It Mean to Join a Missionary Team?

There are four basic ways to join a missionary team and participate in God's story of restoring the nations to Himself:

GO: You can physically join a missionary team "on the ground" in their geographical area of service. This can be in the form of a short-term trip (1-4 weeks), a longer stay (1-3 years), or a career commitment.

PRAY: You can subscribe to the missionary team's email or print newsletter, follow them in social media channels, join their private Facebook group, etc. and commit to praying for them and the needs they share on a regular basis.

GIVE: You can financially support the missionary team or their organization (either through cash gifts and/or monthly commitments).

SUPPORT: You can provide logistical support to the missionary team in the form of administrative help, website development, social media channel maintenance, newsletter processing, and a host of other tasks and projects - anything that will allow the missionary team to devote more time to their primary calling.

As you consider how the Lord would have you join missionary teams, please join us in our Daily Declaration!

Join Our Tribe

We invite you to become a part of the Hesed community and join us in our passion to reach the unreached.

Hang Out With Us

Hesed.com on Facebook

Hesed.com on Instagram

Hesed.com on Pinterest

Hesed.com on Twitter

Affiliate Disclosure

Please Note: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

© 1998 - 2020 Hesed.com

Our Daily Declaration

Lord Jesus,

This day, we cast our souls upon Your sacrifice as our only hope for purpose, meaning, and fulfillment here on earth and for life in the age to come.

This day, we swear allegiance to You, our King.

This day, we pray that You would set our hearts aflame for Your cause and for the over 3 billion people in this world who have yet to hear Your name.

We long for the day that we will stand before Your throne, surrounded by the most diverse community ever formed — from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation — those whom You have purchased with Your blood — as we cry out together “Worthy is the Lamb!”

Until that day, we commit ourselves to loving our brothers and sisters in Christ — no matter what their people group, no matter what their language, no matter what their race, no matter where they are from — and to living in community with them — that the world may know that the Father loves them and that He sent You to save them.

This day, we devote our lives — our time, our money, our passion, our mind, our strength, our everything — to see Your gospel proclaimed in every corner of this world.

And we thank You for the astounding privilege of playing a small part in carrying Your name to the nations!

Pray for the Tsukuba Express Church Planting Team

Tsukuba Express Line

  1. Please pray for the areas surrounding these twenty rail stations: Akihabara, Shin-Okachimachi, Asakusa, Minami-Senju, Kita-Senju, Aoi, Rokucho, Yashio, Misato-chuo, Minami-Nagareyama, Nagareyama-centralpark, Nagareyama-otakanomori, Kashiwanoha-campus, Kashiwa-Tanaka, Moriya, Miraidaira, Midorino, Bampaku-kinenkoen, Kenkyu-gakuen, and Tsukuba
  2. Pray that God would raise up church planters and send forth laborers into the harvest fields surrounding these stations (Luke 10:2-4).
  3. Pray that God would help these church planters identify persons of peace in the areas surrounding these stations (Luke 10:5-8).
  4. Pray that God would enable these church planters to speak the word of God with boldness in these areas (Luke 10:9b).
  5. Pray that the proclamation of God’s word in the areas surrounding these stations would be accompanied by demonstrations of God’s compassion and power (Luke 10:9a).