How Often Should We Voice Our Views on Homosexuality Online?
00:00:00.000 | [Music]
00:00:05.000 | A group of Christian women in Australia write in to ask this.
00:00:09.000 | Dear Pastor John, we were discussing this topic in our small group tonight.
00:00:13.000 | When is it harmful for Christians to share their opinion on homosexuality on social media?
00:00:19.000 | How should we Christians navigate this issue on Facebook specifically?
00:00:23.000 | Is there a benefit to expressing our opinions?
00:00:26.000 | It seems like when Christians do share opinions, there seems little, if any, benefit,
00:00:31.000 | and it actually stirs up much negative responses.
00:00:34.000 | What do you think is our prerogative as Christians? Is it worth it?
00:00:38.000 | Maybe the most helpful thing I can say is to draw attention to the word "opinion."
00:00:43.000 | The woman who asked the question may not mean, probably does not mean what I'm hearing in the word "opinion."
00:00:51.000 | So please don't feel this out of criticism because this may just be a language problem, a culture problem, an assumption problem.
00:00:59.000 | But it does give me a helpful way forward. I can't read her mind.
00:01:03.000 | When I hear the word "opinion," can Christians give their opinion?
00:01:07.000 | I hear connotations of superficiality, quickness, arbitrariness, lack of heart or passion, unreasoned, and I doubt that she meant any of that.
00:01:18.000 | But my answer demands that I get that on the table because my answer is mere expressing of opinions probably does little good.
00:01:30.000 | Opinions are, in most people's minds, a dime a dozen.
00:01:34.000 | Everybody has an opinion, and they're so common that they have little worth.
00:01:39.000 | So I'm not eager to encourage Christians to go online and just let all their thoughts and feelings hang out with their opinions.
00:01:47.000 | We are stewards of God's grace and truth.
00:01:51.000 | I just read that this morning in 1 Peter 4.
00:01:54.000 | We're stewards of God's grace, and stewards are to be found faithful.
00:01:59.000 | They're not careless with truth and with grace.
00:02:03.000 | They manage their master's wisdom.
00:02:06.000 | They manage their master's grace and truth with great concern for integrity, his and theirs.
00:02:12.000 | Peter says, 1 Peter 4, verse 10, "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace.
00:02:25.000 | Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God."
00:02:30.000 | In other words, when we open our mouths to speak for the glory of God, which should be always, there should be a concern to steward our mouths, our tongues, to steward the gift of truth and the gift of grace.
00:02:47.000 | Let it sober us that Christians represent God.
00:02:53.000 | We are Christians.
00:02:56.000 | We are walking representatives of Christ.
00:03:00.000 | We shouldn't be just slinging around opinions without some sense of sobriety and responsibility for why we hold them and what effects they're going to have and what truth they might encourage or discourage.
00:03:14.000 | Therefore, it's different to have a merely personal opinion that's not rooted in God's Word and to have a—what I would call a conviction that we believe is deeply and truly rooted in God's Word.
00:03:31.000 | So my answer to this group of women who have this rightful concern, my answer is, no, don't just spread opinions.
00:03:40.000 | But yes, do give careful, well-reasoned, biblically saturated, well-informed, compassionate, Christ-exalting, humble convictions about the issues of our day.
00:03:57.000 | There's not enough of that.
00:03:59.000 | There's plenty of opinion, and there's not enough of that.
00:04:03.000 | Then let the chips fall where they will.
00:04:06.000 | If you get criticized, you get criticized.
00:04:08.000 | If we stop speaking because we're afraid of criticism or stirring up people, slandering us, we will never communicate in public in any public forum.
00:04:20.000 | Don't be intimidated by negative feedback.
00:04:24.000 | One of the reasons not to be intimidated is also from 1 Peter.
00:04:29.000 | He says, chapter 2, verse 12, "Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers"—so there it is, he knows it's coming, right?
00:04:40.000 | He knows it's coming.
00:04:42.000 | Even when you speak or act honorably, they are going to speak against you as evildoers, the opposite of what you are.
00:04:51.000 | So he says this, "Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation."
00:05:05.000 | That means that what starts with slander ends in worship.
00:05:10.000 | Don't assume that the criticism of those who are hearing what you say or seeing what you do and criticizing you as hateful or whatever they might say, don't assume that's their last word.
00:05:23.000 | Because Peter says it may start with that kind of slander, but it also may end in worship.
00:05:30.000 | He says almost the same thing again in chapter 3, verse 16, "Having a good conscience so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame."
00:05:43.000 | We never know. We never know when our careful, reasoned defense of truth—and I say it that way because 1 Peter 3:15 calls us to give a reasonable answer for the hope that is in us.
00:05:54.000 | We never know when that reasoned answer, supported by a long-term life of integrity and love and holiness, we never know when that may lead our critics first to shame and then to worship.
00:06:10.000 | So my answer is, don't stop speaking and living the truth.
00:06:18.000 | Do stop the buckshot of opinion scattering, but don't stop the well-aimed rifle bullet of truth at the stronghold of error.
00:06:31.000 | Wonderful counsel. Thank you, Pastor John, for that.
00:06:34.000 | Well, next week we will be joined by a special guest, a theologian who will help us think about idolatry and identity in our iPhones, to continue the discussions we've been having about the place of technology in our lives,
00:06:47.000 | and to go deep on a couple of ways technology reshapes our identity as Christians.
00:06:52.000 | I think this is going to be an important conversation.
00:06:54.000 | And Monday we're going to start off by talking about why we can never find our identity from within ourselves.
00:07:01.000 | You won't want to miss it.
00:07:02.000 | I'm your host Tony Reinke. I'll see you on Monday.
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