Perhaps you’ve heard about it by now. On a radio interview, the host asked Christian singer Lauren Daigle about her opinion on the sinfulness of homosexuality since she had recently performed on The Ellen Show. Lauren’s response?
I can’t honestly answer on that. In a sense, I have too many people that I love that they are homosexual. I don’t know. I actually had a conversation with someone last night about it. I can’t say one way or the other. I’m not God. So when people ask questions like that…that’s what my go to is. I just say read the Bible and find out for yourself. And when you find out let me know, because I’m learning too.
Sure, it was a wishy-washy non-answer. But now the Evangelical community is up in arms because this Christian pop singer didn’t confront their #1 go-to sin (well, maybe tied with abortion) head on.
You see, that’s what the Evangelical community (my community, folks – I’m not an outsider) has become. We look at specific sin-indicators – SINDICATORS, if you will, as single-issue make-or-break support-or-shun dilemmas. I’ve seen people online rail against Ms. Daigle. I’m sure some are calling for a boycott.
But I’ve got a couple problems with this. First, Ms. Daigle is a pop singer. She’s not an evangelist. She’s not a preacher. She’s not a theologian. She’s a pop singer. Is it her place to take a nuanced public theological position about every issue we believe?
No.
Second, our SINDICATORS are not good data points for gauging salvation. The Bible says that belief in the Lord Jesus Christ is the prerequisite for salvation. After that, God’s working on all of us in our spiritual journeys.
Or do we not REALLY believe in grace?
‘Cause if we DO, that means heaven will be filled with saved people who are drunkards, adulterers, slanderers, and those who have same-sex attraction. Yes, I know the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Many Christians use this passage to beat up on sinners who fall into these categories. But Paul doesn’t give a black and white cut-off. In fact, he clearly indicates that coming to Jesus results in a transformation away from sinful behavior. But he doesn’t give a timeline of how fast the transformation takes.
It’s easier to live in a black and white world where we condemn everyone who isn’t like us and we shun all artists who disagree with our theology. But there are far too many stones being thrown – not just at the sinners, but at Christians like Lauren Daigle – and I know that you stone-throwers are not without sin.
Chris Linzey 
Hardline? Tell that to the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. It’s God’s hardline as well.
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I believe it is not for me to find and judge the presence of sin in my fellow humans.I I believe that is God’s territory. My responsibility is to love my neighbor and to encourage and support them when they are troubled.
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I don’t agree that she is not an evangelist as she is in a career where she is singing songs about our Lord and Savior, and to what purpose if not to reach hearts. All Christians are called to be evangelists; the great commission. I’m an electrician and I strive to share Gods Love, does that not make me an evangelist? I believe everyone who does as God has commanded, “Go and Tell” is an evangelist. Second I believe we are all called to have an answer to questions we are asked about the Bible. ( 1peter3:15).
Not saying she should know everything, but when we don’t have a straight answer, our answer should not be to tell them to go read and find the answer for themselves then come and let me know. We should be letting them know “I don’t have an answer right now but I will get back to you on that”.
I do believe the Bible speaks clearly about homosexuality. I also believe you are right as it’s not the only sin that is talked about in the verse you brought up. I believe all of them should be brought up as sin and talked about that way. You cannot see your need for grace until you have acknowledged your sin first. Yes, all sin can be forgiven, and yes bearing fruit is a process requiring patience. That being said, sin is sin. We are forgiven and we are being refined, but we are never called to ignor the poison that sin causes to penetrate deep into our lives.
I have friends too who are in that life style, and I will continue to love them, but loving them doesn’t mean that I get wishy washy with the Word. I am no longer doing what Christ has called me to do if I allow society and not Christ to dictate truth. It is unfortunate that we live in a world where if someone is offended the world says we should change our idea of what’s right. Truth is not individual and it is often inconvenient and uncomfortable.
I will continue to be a friend whether someone is homeosexal or not. I will continue to speak truth as God’s word defines it and speak against sin when a professing believer is actively living in it. Just as I hope a friend would let me know if they see something in my life.
I’m not going to try to police the world, but one of the most loving things a Christian can do is to point others toward God. We all struggle, but making excuses about sin or saying I can do anything I want is not in keeping with having a repentant servants heart before God. Lauren has a powerful platform and I have a hard time believing God has blessed her with so much just so she can sing a few catchy songs and bring glory to herself. Do we boycott her? No, but neither should we excuse her. We should help her learn. We should gently remind her that she has the Holy Spirit and she has the means to educate herself with regard to God’s truth.
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