2022-01-27
A law banning “Conversion Therapy”passed unanimously by the Canadian Parliament on December 8, 2021 went into effect on January 6, 2022, meaning that Christians in Canada lost their freedom to persuade or oppose LGBTQ people.
https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-4/royal-assent
According to the law, conversion therapy means a practice, treatment, or service designed to
(a) change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual;
(b) change a person’s gender identity to cisgender;
(c) change a person’s gender expression so that it conforms to the sex assigned to the person at birth;
(d) repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behavior;
(e) repress a person’s non-cisgender gender identity; or
(f) repress or reduce a person’s gender expression that does not conform to the sex assigned to the person at birth.
The law provides that everyone who knowingly promotes or advertises conversion therapy is guilty of an indictable offense and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years, and that everyone who knowingly causes another person to undergo conversion therapy — including by providing conversion therapy to that other person, is guilty of an indictable offense and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years.
It is very unfair that while this law prohibits counseling or helping a person change from transgender to cisgender or from homosexual to heterosexual, it does not prohibit counseling or helping a person change from cisgender to transgender or from heterosexual to homosexual, calling it “the exploration or development of an integrated personal identity.
Any Christian in Canada, from pastors to lay people, who cites the Bible to express different views on gender and sexuality in public or even in private in the future will be considered to have committed practices or services aimed at “conversion therapy” and may face criminal prosecution and, if convicted, up to two or five years in prison. It is foreseeable that believers in Canada will face the difficult choice of speaking biblical truth in good conscience and being persecuted, or shutting up and remaining silent and in harmony with the world?
Three points must be clarified. First, God loves LGBTQ people equally, because God loves the world. (John 3:16) Second, although I am not LGBTQ, the sins committed by me are equally as bad as the sin of LGBTQ. Thus, morally, I am not nobler than LGBTQ. Third, the reason why this article is specifically directed at LGBTQ is that LGBTQ supporters want to pull down, weaken, or even reverse God’s standards, and want to mislead people into believing that LGBTQ is not a sin in God’s eyes, which is evil. (Jeremiah 2:13) Not only does the law call biblical views of gender and sexuality “myths” and “causes harm to society,” but even some churches are teaching that LGBTQ is not contrary to the Bible. Furthermore, manipulating the law to shut people up is bullying.
I believe that LGBTQ is contrary to God’s teaching on gender and sexuality in the Bible, but in order to save space, I will just list some scripture indexes at the end of this article, but I am looking forward to other brothers and sisters writing articles explaining this in detail.
The passing of such a law should not come as a surprise to Christians (1 Pet. 4:12), for the Bible has long foretold the end times. As described in the Bible, Satan’s power is increasing, the more the lawless people fall, the more they are justified, and the believers will face greater trials like fire, which is an indication that Christ’s footsteps are drawing near.
What should believers in other countries do at this moment? Can we sit back and wait for sin to increase and deepen so that Christ can come sooner? This idea is almost a repetition of Romans 6:1 (Romans 6:1 Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ESV). The answer lies in Romans 6:2: By no means! Christ expects his disciples to be persistent in prayer (2 Chronicles 7:14), bold in preaching the truth of the Bible (John 17:17), willing to suffer persecution for righteousness (1 John 2:2) and to resist evil (James 4:7). In this way, it seems that the collective efforts of Christians are indispensable. Without being too humble, I would like to share the following ideas in order to draw inspiration.
First of all, Christians who are not in Canada must realize that this is not just a matter for Christians in Canada, it is a matter for the universal church as a whole, including Chinese churches and non-Chinese churches. Christ is the bridegroom, the church is the bride, and the churches everywhere are the members of this bride. If a hand is injured and the foot says it’s none of my business, it only means that the foot has no perception of members and is numb. And the church is every believer who is united in Christ.
Secondly, this passing of this law in Canada is not the end of Satan’s attack, rather, his attack will fall on every believer in every part of the world. When Canada passed the law permitting same-sex marriage in 2005, it probably didn’t occur to people that this was far from satisfactory to the LGBTQ support community and that they were pushing on. Now that they have made a further legal breakthrough, no one can express dissent against LGBTQ people in Canada anymore. And the next plan of action for LGBTQ support groups should be to seek legislation in countries around the world. Perhaps LGBTQ support groups will further seek to remove the right to silence from non-supporters and force them to publicly express their support.
Third, by LGBTQ, Satan is not only attacking our generation, but also targeting our children, and their children in the future. If our generation does not act, then the burden of resisting evil will all fall on the shoulders of the next generation, and if they also do not act, it will be even more difficult for the next generation to turn the situation around.
Fourth, everyone who stands up to criticize LGBTQ is someone who is standing in the gap in the wall, who is protecting their brothers and sisters and their children within the wall, but who is also under attack from LGBTQ supporters. Take one example. There is a website dedicated to documenting critical statements about LGBTQ people, including pastors and prominent figures, as a way to intimidate others, and the name of Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, is high on the list.
https://www.glaad.org/gap/franklin-graham?response_type=embed
Fifth, Satan’s attack by LGBTQ will not go away naturally. When a person has an infection in his or her body, if the body’s resistance system stops responding, will the person’s infection automatically heal? Similarly, evil will not go away naturally without an effort to resist it. Examining the various difficult challenges the church faces, it is easy to see that many are left over from history that have not been dealt with thoroughly.
Sixth, reversing LGBTQ oppression is not the responsibility of pastors alone. on January 16 and 23, 2022, pastors in North America responded to the law banning “conversion therapy” by preaching collectively on Sunday about the biblical view of gender and sexuality. This demonstrates the faithfulness and courage to be a faithful servant of Jesus, but every believer is called to be a disciple of Christ, to be an elite soldier by Jesus, and to be a voice and witness for the truth in their respective settings.
Seventh, resisting LGBTQ oppressive momentum is a long-term thing. The LGBTQ website used as an example above was founded in 1985. They have been engaged in LGBTQ advocacy for nearly 37 years, which shows their dedication and hard work. Jokingly, their efforts pay and now is in the flowering stage.
https://www.glaad.org/gap/franklin-graham?response_type=embed
Finally, are LGBTQ sins? Should God’s standards be accepted? Such debates will continue, but there is at least a threefold significance in persisting in the debate: 1. that the world may know biblical truth; 2. that some LGBTQ practitioners may have the opportunity to repent and receive God’s grace with us; and 3. to be prepared for their God-assigned responsibilities in the eternal kingdom.
Attachment: Some Bible verses about sex and gender
In Mark 10:6-8, Jesus himself quotes Genesis 2:22-25 to clarify what marriage and gender are in the eyes of the Creator.
Genesis 19:1-11, the reason for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
Leviticus 18:22, 20:13 No homosexuality
Judges 19:16-24 Israel repeats the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah
1 Kings 14:24, 15:12, 2 Kings 23:7 male and female prostitutes in idolatry
Romans 1:18-32 condemns homosexuality
1 Cor. 6:9-11 and 1 Tim. 1:8-10 condemn sexual sins, including homosexuality
Jude 7 Don’t forget the lessons from Sodom and Gomorrah