Response to “On Complete LGBTQ+ Acceptance in the Church”

Ellen White told no lie when she wrote:

“We have far more to fear from within than from without. The hindrances to strength and success are far greater from the church itself than from the world. Unbelievers have a right to expect that those who profess to be keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, will do more than any other class to promote and honor, by their consistent lives, by their godly example and their active influence, the cause which they represent. But how often have the professed advocates of the truth proved the greatest obstacle to its advancement! The unbelief indulged, the doubts expressed, the darkness cherished, encourage the presence of evil angels, and open the way for the accomplishment of Satan’s devices.” (1SM 1:122)

I am sad to say this but Loren Seibold, an apparent SDA pastor (?!), is working from within Adventism to open the way for the accomplishment of satan’s devices. This can be seen in an article he recently published entitled “On Complete LGBTQ+ Acceptance in the Church“

As I see it this article is an open denial of the law of God when it comes to human sexuality. I’ll share a few snippets so that you can evaluate the matter for yourself:

“I see that to deny people’s self-identity is to war against something that God made them to be, and we cannot denounce those parts of them without attacking their essential personhood. [End Quote]

The problem here is that Mr. Seibold has made LGBTQ+ “self-identity” something that the church ought to accept by claiming that it is “something that God made them to be.” To put it in other words, he is parroting a popular worldly claim that same-sex attractions, etc,… are a naturally occurring phenomenon so they must therefore be intended by God. Thus he concludes that if the church should identify such attractions as contrary to God’s will and if she should assert that to cherish and/or act upon them is sin, well, that is an attack on a LGBTQ+ person’s “essential personhood.”

This is falsehood. We must still call sin by its right name. Even if were absolutely proven that such attractions are entirely the result of being born that way for every single person, it still does not change it from being wrong.

Has Mr. Seibold fail to account for the fact that mankind is fallen? Has he forgotten that the church is not called to promote people’s self-identity but rather to teach people that self must be “crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20) and that they “must be born again” (John 3:7)? Self and sin is something that must die.

Again we read from his article:

“I am here arguing—and please understand, this is offered on practical moral principles, not from a biblical text, for the Bible did not anticipate this question—that we people of faith need to acknowledge gender-identity divergences early, and not wait until people have suffered years of psychological pain. [End Quote]

Please notice where his counsel is derived from. It is “not from a biblical text” because he claims that “the Bible did not anticipate this question.“

In contradiction to this claim I believe the Bible is sufficient to deal with this issue and very well anticipated it. God’s Word openly informs us that we are all fallen and thus we can very easily understand and accept, as people of faith, that men and women experience same sex attractions, etc,…

As I see it, Mr. Soren’s “practical moral principles” are an erroneous guide. He is following a worldly script about gay identity and asking the church of Jesus Christ to accept that script.

I would suggest instead that the church openly acknowledge that men and women can and do experience a wide variety of sexual attractions, even from a very young age, but that we offer them an alternative idenity.

Instead of the church following the world’s script about gay identity we offer them instead the Biblical script about a different and better identity! That is an identity in Christ! This is the the “in Christ” motif so prevalent in the Scripture.

Another snippet from his article:

“So if we refuse to acknowledge that LGBTQ+ families can be happy and stable, and be wonderful contributors to both church and society, and insist that the only marriage a gay person can be in is a straight one—one that will probably be unhappy and end in a break-up—we betray that our real concern isn’t happy families, but following church rules. [End Quote]

Is that the church’s real concern? Happy families? Or is the church’s real concern that men, women, boys, and girls be saved from sin and live forevermore with God, Christ, unfallen angels and the saints of all ages? I would suggest to you, my friends, that happiness is not the church’s goal but holiness is! When we teach all to pursue holiness as it is in Jesus then joy and happiness will be a certain byproduct but our primary concern is not happy families. Our real concern is salvation for all in advancement of God’s kingdom.

Sadly, Mr. Seibold appears to be openly advocating that the SDA church disavow the law of God and redefine marriage as something other than a life long union between a man and a woman. He is further suggesting that those in LGBTQ+ families can be wonderful contributors to the church. I wonder if he is or will argue that the church start ordaining openly practicing homosexuals, lesbians, bi-sexuals as church overseers. To be honest I wouldn’t be surprised by this one bit.

“Don’t think, as have those who advocate women’s ordination, that the way to make progress is to wait for the General Conference to see the light. Ted Wilson’s denialism on LGBTQ+ issues has several times been paraded in front of the General Conference Executive Committee in the form of presentations by Wayne Blakely and his ilk. Some of these homophobic LGBTQ+ people teach celibacy, others that LGBTQ+ people should suppress their homosexuality, and some even marry and create a (dysfunctional) family with someone of the opposite sex. [End Quote]

What Mr. Seibold is advocating for is not making progress in God’s light, my friends. No, no, what he is promoting is darkness and the opening of the way for satan to accomplish his purposes in Adventism.

Ellen White warned that many in the ranks of Adventism “by uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit,…have come to view matters in nearly the same light” {GC 608.2}. Reading Mr. Seibold’s article reminded me of something that Anthony Venn-Brown wrote about Adventism:

“It’s time for the church to let go of outdated beliefs that homosexuality is a sin,…” (Anthony Venn-Brown, “Wayne Blakely – Not sure what to call him: ex-gay, post-gay or celibate-gay?”)

According to Mr. Seibold, calling people who exper
ience same sex and other types of sexual attractions to deny their flesh and live in harmony with God’s law, is the triumph of religious rules over pastoral care.

“This is the triumph of religious rules over pastoral care proceeding from the office of a top church minister…[End Quote]

Does this poor man believe that proper “pastoral care” would be tell all such to go ahead and not be celibate? Should the pastor negate the law of God? Is this all coming from a SDA pastor? Really?! May God spare us from this heaven daring apostasy and may he find repentance.

“I can say this without fear of contradiction: our denominational leaders have no desire for LGBTQ+ people to be members, on the terms that LGBTQ+ people can live with. None. They would like all LGBTQ+ people to disappear, unless LGBTQ+ people change in a way that LGBTQ+ people cannot change. [End Quote]

Our denominational leaders, if they are faithful men, will not be concerned with such terms. No, they will be concerned with the terms whereby God says we can live. If our LGBTQ+ friends want for the church to change what God says as their only acceptable terms for their joining with God’s people then, sadly, they must remain without. We will ever love them and plead for them to reconsider but we cannot change God’s definition of sin.

And LGBTQ+ people cannot change? Says who? There are many who have and many who yet will. They now identify as being “in Christ” and the attractions inherent in their flesh is not what they live according to. If Mr. Sorein really believes that LGBTQ+ people reallyc cannot change then he has denied the Word of God and the power of God and His Christ.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.(2 Cor 5:17)

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1 Cor 6:9-11)

Well brothers and sisters that is it. I know that some poor souls will think what I have shared is hate speech but God knows the truth.

May heaven help us to recognize the serpent’s speech within Adventism and resist it in the Name and power of Jesus.

And may God continue to give strength to all who experience same sex and other attractions that are contrary to His will. Their way is narrow and hard, in a way even more so than it is for other professed Christians. Thus we, as a church, must love and support such family members all the more in the good fight of faith. Let us ever encourage our brothers and sisters to keep putting on Christ and not making provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. All of us should not longer live the rest of our time in the flesh to the lusts of men but to the will of God. May Jesus ever give us His Spirit so that we might do so is my prayer.

PS: Here is a link to the article I am commenting on :

https://atoday.org/on-complete-lgbtq-acceptance-in-the…/