Elton John, famed musician and outspoken homosexual activist, informed us this weekend that “if Jesus Christ was alive today, I cannot see him, as the Christian person that he was and the great person that he was, saying this could not happen.” John is speaking of legislation which would permit homosexual couples to be married in the same way as heterosexual couples. Biblically, Elton John is just wrong.
Most glaringly, he misses the point that Jesus is alive today. The resurrection of Jesus and the empty tomb are centerpieces of the Christian faith which John claims to know so well.
But as far as his claim that homosexuality should be accepted today because the “times have changed,” he is still in error. There are multiple clearly understood prohibitions against homosexuality in the Bible and there is not even a single instance of an approved homosexual relationship found anywhere in Scripture.
Elton John’s reasoning, that Scripture must change to meet modern times is an old and tired attempt to break free of Biblical commands someone does not like. Logically, if Scripture cannot stand the test of time then truth does not exist. Jesus said that God’s word is truth (John 17:17). Truth doesn’t change.
The entertainer also fails in his understanding of what God desires for mankind. In the Guardian article, John is quoted as saying, “He was all about love and compassion and forgiveness and trying to bring people together and that is what the church should be about.” Jesus is about love, compassion and forgiveness and the church should also pursue the same goals. But that love, compassion and forgiveness must be the same kind of love, compassion and forgiveness that Jesus has. Jesus’ goal was stated simply by the Lord himself, “For the son of Man came to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
First, Jesus is about redemption. He is about rejoining man to his previous relationship with God. A relationship that had been marred by sin. Jesus does desire our happiness, but our eternal happiness is the goal, not some temporary earthbound happiness. Elton John doesn’t like the idea that his sexuality is somehow restricted or contained by God’s Word. What he fails to understand is that everyone’s sexuality is constrained in some way. All of our behaviors are limited. But those restraints serve to bring us into holiness together with our Lord.
No Christian should be found “bashing” or abusing people in any sin. We are all sinners. I daily speak for God as a preacher of his word. It is an enormous responsibility which I humbly accept. So when someone else claims to speak for Jesus, as Elton John has done, he must also bear that same responsibility. We have no permission to err. We have no right to presume. When someone speaks wrongly they should be challenged.
