On Friday, January 7th Bill C-4 which seeks to criminalize conversion therapy will be the official law of the land in Canada. (You can read the details of the law, how it was passed, and my initial reflections here. Also, when conversion therapy was banned in Calgary in 2020, I preached this sermon.) The question that many are wondering: How will churches respond?
There are two initiatives that I’ve been made aware of. The first is a letter put together and promoted by many different evangelical denominations and parachurch ministries. The goal of this initiative is to read the letter to the congregation on Sunday, January 9th. I was also advised not to publish the letter online or on our website, but you can read a copy of it online here.
The second initiative promoted by the Liberty Coalition Canada is to preach on the topic of biblical sexuality on January 16th. This initiative has also been promoted by prominent American pastors like John MacArthur, Doug Wilson, and James White who will also be preaching on that topic on January 16th in an effort to stand for truth and alongside their Canadian brethren.
Our church has partnered with the second initiative and I’ll be preaching on the 16th on The Beauty of Biblical Sexuality. Concerning the first initiative, I appreciate the desire to stand together as churches and even affirm a common statement. I will be joining these churches in making a statement to our church this Sunday, but I will not be reading the statement provided for the following reasons:
1. The core issue is not religious freedom. The passing of this law is not a threat to the church’s ability to speak on issues of sexuality. Any church that doesn’t preach the Bible because portions of it are outlawed or counter-cultural is not worthy of the name “church” (2 Timothy 4:2).
The core issue is truth—especially in the area of marriage, sexuality, and gender. People are being destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Men and women, young and old are being destroyed because of godless ideologies that promote sexual perversion and gender confusion and call God and his truth a myth. The young people of our nation are being harmed because falsehood is promoted. If the church doesn’t speak truth, then who will deliver these people from the grip of lies? Who will speak so that the young girl about to get her breasts surgically removed might hear the truth and in time enjoy the pleasure of nursing her child? Who will speak to the young men who dress as women and do not know the joy and design of true masculinity?
The issue at stake is not our freedom to speak, it is our duty to speak regardless of government permission for the glory of God and the goodness of our fellow man.
2. The audience is the nations of the world, not just the churched. The joint statement is a statement to the church. The instructions I received about not publishing it reveal that it is an “internal” statement. However, if churches today do not know (with clarity) what their pastors believe about biblical sexuality, homosexuality, or transgenderism, alarm bells should have gone off a long time ago. The biblical position on these issues should be well known in the church. It is at this point, that it needs to be clarified to the world, it needs to be preached among the nations.
Our mandate is to make disciples of all nations and to teach them to observe all that Jesus has commanded. The nations need to know the holiness of God, his creative power, his coming judgment, his design for marriage and sexuality, and how sin is dealt with through the sacrifice, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The world needs, especially in this moment, clarity and truth from the church as we speak of sin and salvation.
3. The goal is not conflict, nor a “cease fire”, but reconciliation. Some may think that preaching on the subject is only going to stir the pot. Likewise, the statement above could be seen as a way of carving out protections for Christians to have their beliefs in exchange for a promise to play nicely with those who disagree. Neither must be our goal.
My hope is that on the 16th, the beauty of God’s design in marriage, gender, and sexuality is set forth with clarity—not to divide or stir up controversy, but to reconcile sinners to a good, gracious, and merciful God who has so wonderfully created us for love and joy. It is time for a clear call that the only way to be reconciled as a society or to God is on his terms. There is no room for other views of sexuality, gender, or marriage besides God’s view. The church should call every person—every sinner—to see God’s way as the only way and to repent and be reconciled to him and one another.
Please pray for the churches in these coming weeks.
Tim Stephens