We said it in our column last week, and we say again today: It’s important to bring clarity in the midst of cultural confusion. This week, another story surfaced that calls for more clarity.
The Washington Post and WND ran stories on Trey Pearson, the Christian rock star who recently came out as gay in a public letter to fans and friends. In his letter, Pearson talked about how he, a professing Christian, husband and father, will now pursue a homosexual relationship rather than continue in his marriage to his wife.
Trey said this was a defining moment for him – a moment when he finally found himself.
Unfortunately, he now defines himself by what he feels on the inside instead of what his faith demands of him. We pray he remembers Christ’s words: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
Denial of self is central to the Christian faith. It’s a rejection of our stubborn sinful nature that seeks dominion in our lives. And it’s a daily dying, too; trust us! Yet through Christ, we have the victory – but we must deny self.
Trey wrote, “In sharing this publicly, I’m taking another step into health and wholeness by accepting myself, and every part of me.”
When Trey chooses feelings over faith, it doesn’t mean God doesn’t love him or value him highly. Quite the contrary is true. But refusing to deny himself by accepting his sinful nature is a denial of the cross of Christ.
Our hearts break for him – as well as for his wife and kids.
True identity comes from a point outside ourselves, never from what we feel inside. This is why true, biblical Christianity is so powerful – because Christ changes us from the inside out and gives us a new identity in Him (a fixed point outside ourselves).
When a professing Christian leader defines himself through his sexual attractions rather than his Christian convictions and uses the Bible to justify it, the flaws are obvious.
Suppose a Christian musician, who happens to be married with kids, performs at your church and concludes his concert by standing center stage and saying, “Guys, I have to be true to myself. I really like the woman in the front row and would enjoy a romantic relationship with her. I just can’t deny these feelings any longer. I already spoke with my wife backstage, and she fully supports me in this.”
Crazy, right?
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There’s no difference in Trey’s situation – only the sex of the new partner has been switched in our hypothetical story.
Trey continues in his letter, “I’m still the same guy, with the same heart, who wants to love God.”
Well, it’s easy to love God – our way – but it’s much more difficult to love God His way.
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words” (John 14:23-24a).
Loving God means listening to Him. And if we haven’t listened to Him, we simply need to confess – or repeat what He says about – our sin. This is the first step toward healing.
Trey says he’s been “blocking out and not dealing with real feelings going on inside of me.” Well, we all struggle with feelings that aren’t God’s best for us. It’s sin living inside of us.
The Apostle Paul even struggled with this, saying, “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:18-20).
Trey says he’s “progressed so much in (his) faith over these last several years,” and yet he’s booked a gig at his first gay-pride festival. Does he not realize “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6)?
Our hearts truly break for this young guy. He’s got some great music and a fantastic stage presence. God has clearly gifted him. But he’s publicly surrendering to a sinful struggle that will lead him and many others astray.
It’s important to see clearly in the midst of the confusion, especially when a Christian leader deliberately chooses the path of sin.
The opposite of homosexuality is not heterosexuality. It’s holiness.
And for any Christian who professes Christ, this is our call. Faithful believers must deny themselves and pick up their cross. This is our personal prayer as well as for Trey.
For those who struggle with sinful attractions – regardless of what particular kind of sin – hope is found only in Christ, who has the power to change us from the inside out:
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
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