Standing up for Christ by championing Gay rights

1) "For over three decades the consensus of the mental health community has been that homosexuality is not an illness and therefore not in need of a cure,"

2) "The APA's concern about the positions espoused by NARTH and so-called conversion therapy is that they are not supported by the science. There is simply no sufficiently scientifically sound evidence that sexual orientation can be changed. Our further concern is that the positions espoused by NARTH and Focus on the Family create an environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish."

In Miami Beach, Florida, Guy Adams, Renew America’s Deputy National Grassroots Director, appeared on “The Right View,”. While discussing the recent Gay Game, he made a preposterous and offensive claim "The newest thing in Chicago, it's becoming a trend, and you're gonna find this hard to believe… sex with infants". If we have lived in the Old Testament and according to the laws, God would not have shown mercy to NARTH and Focus on Family. They have not only been merciless but have resorted to grossly distorted statements. They persecuted those who can hardly defend themselves.

The world outside of the Protestant church is seeing the church as an environment in which prejudice and discriminate against minority groups flourished. The Protestant Church has long condemned the Catholics for worshipping the Pope, but they too worshiped their leaders, the James Dobson, the Pat Robertson, the Rev Akinola, and in Singapore, the Bishop Solomon, the Rev. Kongs, etc, as if their word is the Word of God. When we represent God, we need to speak the truth with great responsibility and fear. If we speak falsely and caused great harm, we maligned the name of Jesus and bring harm to the ministry. For the last 30 years, despite strong scientific evidence that being Gay is just as natural as being straight, the church has been calling homosexuality a sin, hence denying God's love and salvation upto 10% of the world's population. Groups such as NARTH and Exodus went further and caused great psychological damage. Fortunately, the churches' remain true to the bible on their teaching on Jesus Christ and Salvation through Him alone. And for the last 25 years, this evangelical message of God's love has resulted in the formation of mega churches. Yet, for all the hype, the Singaporean mega churches add upto less than 100,000 in Singapore or 2.5% of the population. Singapore has some of the best preachers in Asia yet the growth and impact of the christian church on the nation as a whole remained 10% evangelical christians. The Rev. Ed Siloso at the recent Festival of Praise called for ministry in the work place, but the issue may be more fundamental. It has reached to the stage of what we are doing wrong that is impacting the church, and not what we did right.

Saturday afternoon, the Christian bookshop in the Suntec mall should be expected to be crowded as they are proclaiming the good news which is free of charge. Singaporeans are known to queue for long hours for a good offer. Yet, will they queue up when the shop prominently display "How to prevent your child from being a homosexual", or "What God says about Homosexuality". Granted that the other 99.9% of the bookstore was on other subject, how does the church rejection of gays which only forms 5% of the population impact their ministry to the remaining 90 to 95% of the population. McKinsey famous study on Gays as being 10% of the population. Did God put or make 10% of the population Gay?. Just as we should tithe 10% of our income so that God will bless the remaining 90% our income, we need to honour Gays being the 10% of the community that God has called us to minister. As we minister to this most rejected outcasts, as if Christ to them and affirming God' creation in them as who they are, God will bless the remaining 90% of the straight audiences that we minister to. Instead of affirming their sexuality, we have become their greatest antagonist and fuelling public sentiment against Gays. They send them back to their closest as if they do not exist and create ex-gay organizations. In doing so, we have made the Church slowly becoming irrelevant not because we are teaching the wrong doctrine 99% of the time but because we have not paid the 10% tithe to honor the Gay people that God has put into the community. At the Sunday New Life Service, at the Anglican Cathedral at the City Centre, the messages are very well preached. Thousands in the vicity of the church could have heard the messages, yet less than 20% of the church was full. We have a most self righteous zeal against gays thinking that it is the greatest treat against the church and moral laws, yet God's ways are not straight as man would have imagined and God's ways are strangely opposite to man. What has God created, let no man deny. It is God's grace and mercy that we are blessed by great mega churches even though we never did tithe correctly.

(Micah 6:8,9 NKJV) He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? The Lord's voice cries to the city; Wisdom shall see Your name: "Hear the Rod! Who has appointed it?

We become an irrelevant church not because we make ourselves relevant to the peoples by our social services and church without walls, but on account of our wisdom to discren the core foundation and principals of what God requires of the church as it minister Christ to the community. If we want revival, the three "to do" items must be paramount:-

1) To do justice

This is an unjust world where there is the rich, and the poor, the majority oppress the minority. There is no justice. The rich is becoming richer, and the poor becoming poorer. Every means including deception, corruption, cheating, abuse, stealing, manipulation, treats, persecution, is used to succeed in the rat race of our materialistic life. It does not matter who we trampled over to get the funds and name for our Christian ministries. Gay bashing and imagined gay treats are fair play whenever we need funds.

We have an unjust world, but we need not be part of the problem. We are supposed to be the solution, to bring justice on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves, the outcasts, the poor, the sick, the rejected. We have great building funds for our large cathedrals (in the past), and titanium church buildings whilst outside we have a community in need, people dying due to HIV because they do not have drugs, gay youths committing suicides because we as a church that has demonised gays, suffering and rejected people who lived in hiding such as gays whom we will never meet whilst we trampled at them in our sermons. The church is not only part of the problem, but a major cause of perpetuating injustice being the riches and the most powerful in the land.

How can God bless those who do not do justly, surely because of Jesus Christ whose death and resurrection brings us grace and mercy. The way to do justice, is not trying to do justice for soon our self rigteousness against gays and our materialism will take over. Rather, it is a much greater appreciation of God's grace and mercy through Christ Jesus. We forgive when we realized that we are forgiven much. We give when we realized not only in our minds but in the depths of our soul and spirit, the measure and goodness of God.

2) To Love Mercy

This is a merciless world. We have the law, we claimed to have justice. But this justice falls far short of true justice. The commandments does not allow for any mitigating circumstances. The church have been the institution that instead of giving mercy have been the guardians of law and judgement. We have dutifully followed the law and meted out "justice" even when it is wrong and unjust. In year 2000, Britain’s Home Office on July 26, unveiled an official consultation paper recommending major reforms of the criminal codes relating to sex, most of which were established in 1885 including laws specifically targeting gay men should be eliminated. So for the last 120 years, we have used the law even though it is incorrect to persecute Gays and send them to prison. Oscar Wilde the famous author was imprisoned by such laws. In year 2000, we have at last repealed the law not because of the church acting upon true justice and God's mercy rather because a non Christian liberal groups have convinced the Government to do so. On the contrary, the church has been the main stmbling block against changing the law to correctly reflect justice and to have mercy.

When we have justice alone which based on men's justice is profoundly unjust where the rich and powerful are seemingly above the law they created for the masses and keep the outcasts in check, the church, the church of Jesus Christ was meant to be a voice for reflection, a voice to proclaim mercy when we meat out justice. The church of Jesus Christ have been frequent in calling judgement and have been slow to cry for mercy because we do not appreciate God's mercy in our lives. We have forgotten, that mercy triumps over judgement. The church is deserving of judgement because we have forgotten and have shown no mercy.

(James 2:13 NKJV) For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

The church needs to be led back to the centrality of the cross instead of medling and being part of the wordly affairs. It is at the cross, where we see God' mercy. Instead of we receiving punishment at the cross of calvary, Jesus Christ, God himself, stood in our behalf. O such mercy, not to give us what we thorougly deserved by God' law. Yet, in man's inperfect laws, we show no mercy.

(1 Pet 1:3 NKJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

We are called to lived a Christ centered lives where mercy abounds and we are slow to judge because of Jesus Christ. God is calling us to return to mercy and is using our treatment of gays are a avenue to get us back on track. We are not called to do mercy, but to love mercy so that we always are slow to judge but quick to give mercy and the benefit of doubt when we do not know everything.

3) To walk humbly before God

All said and done, we are to walk humbly before God. Why? because as compared to God, we are just but sand. Without Him, we are nothing. Therefore, we boast not of ourselves, nor our achievements, but Christ in us, the Hope of Glory. i.e. we boast of Christ finish work at the cross by wich we receive God's grace and mercy to do great works.

Wihtout humility, without realising that without Giod our works will have no lasting impact, we would be stuborn and unable to change reliving our past glories and constantly deluding ourselves by reminding that this is what works best for us with human recognition and rewards to boast. God is looking for a humble heart, a heart that will not let past successes come inthe way of following God' ways. And God's ways is for the church to be champions of equality, justice, and mercy.

It is so much easier to love justice, to be the judge what is right and wrong, to proclaim our morale outrage at the gay community for their sexual indiscretion. However, we are not called to love Justice, rather to do it because at times it is necesarry to declare what is right and what is wrong. In the biblical context however, it is not about judging, it is about ensuring justice which not not exist and not using our position for the exploitation and perpetuate an inequality against gays. We are called to look away from our rights, to walk humbly and be champion for the rights of others that there may be justice. How can we walk humbly when we focus but on our own rights. The majority of us are straight and therefore need not care about inequality.

(Micah 6:9 NKJV) The Lord's voice cries to the city; Wisdom shall see Your name: "Hear the Rod! Who has appointed it?

(Micah 6:10 NKJV) Are there yet the treasures of wickedness In the house of the wicked, And the short measure that is an abomination?

In Singapore, we have every reason to be happy with the mega churches and seemingly new move of God. But everything has a limit, a boundary, when we mixed the grace of God with man's effort, when we mixed yeast in our bread. In Micah 6:9. the rod represents rulership and chastening. If we do not hear God's cry to the cities to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly, instead focus on ourselves and the treasures we gather at the expense of others, the blessings of God for Singapore and our revival in our land will not be as great as it should be. Instead we deserved a rod, a canning for the injustice and lack of mercy we have shown towards gays. God is waiting, for His grace and mercy through His son Jesus Christ endureth forever. God has worked mightily in spite of our evil heart and cruelty, but there comes a time when the measuring rod is set and we go no further. At the Festival of Praise, materialism and immorality (adultery in particular) was highlighted as chalenges to the church in Singapore. But the real challenge is not to the congregation, it is to the leaders to set the right spiritual environment. We have great leaders in Singapore, who has sacrificed much with a heart for revival and the move of God. But attitude is seldom enough to overcome our carnal nature, our prejudice. Instead of using the bible is a tool of blessing and relevation of Christ, we used it for condemnation not accordance to the truth that it is written but to justify our pre-conceived prejudice.

There is revival in Singapore, but only within our churches. The great churches of City Harvest and New Creation reported double digit growth. However, there is no revival outside the church. God has not moved out from the church to greatly impact the community and the nation. We have made our churches exclusive by inadvertantly including only straight people. We have closed the door to 5-10% of the population, not realising that it is by the same door that 90% of the community will be blessed. Singapore need God. We have prayed earnestly for revival, and have chosen to believe there is one. The structure for growth through cell groups have been well developed. How long we ask God? The answer is right in front of us - there is just no one like Jonah willing to do God has told him/her to do - to be the champion for Gays and their rights. Will you be a champion for their rights that the church may be relevant and that revival may come. God is calling us to do justice and love mercy. There is an old hymn to stand up, to stand up for Jesus. When we stand up for Gays, we have stood up for the least in the community that could not defend themselves, to be their champions, to bring Christ to them, to bring justice through equality, to bring the mercy of God to their lives that they may be able to accept how God created them as gays. Then, we would have stood up high for Jesus and reach not only to this community but to the remaining 90% for true revival to come.