As Kevin DeYoung, one of my favorite bloggers, attests, the question of whether a believer should attend a homosexual wedding is now frequently asked. (I’ve addressed the question previously in a video, and also shared some ideas for how someone could lovingly decline attending such a wedding.)

I’m well aware that my response to this issue will not only offend unbelievers, but also many believers. I’ve received pushback before and will again. But for what it’s worth, I have honestly tried to find a biblical way to conclude that love and grace, which I feel in my heart toward the people seeking to be married, means it is good to demonstrate friendship by joining in the celebration. But partly because love needs some reference point in truth to be true love, I’ve simply been unable to come to this conclusion.

I have talked with a number of people, including some pastors from good churches, who advocate saying yes to attending homosexual weddings. Their argument centers on the fact that Jesus was and is a friend of sinners and is full of grace. So true. But I have never seen a single wedding invitation that doesn’t request people’s presence to join in celebrating the couple’s union.

When you attend a gay person’s birthday party, you’re joining in celebrating their birthday, right? That’s great. When you invite your gay or lesbian friend over for dinner, you’re celebrating friendship and life—no problem. When you toast to good health, great. But when you raise your glass and toast to a wedding that you are convinced dishonors God, or is not a true wedding at all,  isn’t that radically different?

There are countless ways you can love those who identify as homosexuals without joining them to celebrate their marriage, which in God’s sight is not a marriage, and not to be celebrated. Let’s love them in the other ways, but not feel we must join them in celebrating what God’s Word shows us is not to be celebrated. (For more on that subject, I highly recommend Kevin’s book What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?)

Is it possible to attend a wedding without sending the message of participating in the celebration? I honestly don’t see how. Loving unbelievers doesn’t mean endorsing their beliefs about what constitutes a true marital union when those beliefs are contrary to God’s Word. My loyalty to Christ and to the welfare of people means that I should not encourage or celebrate their sins any more than they should encourage or celebrate my sins (which are many). Of course, that will come across as judgmental and unloving to many people. But is there a time when we need to be willing to accept such condemnation because of our commitment to God and what He says is true? If it incurs God’s judgment to commit homosexual sin, just as it incurs his judgment to commit heterosexual sin, is it really “loving” of us to encourage and celebrate such sins?

Yet because I know sincere brothers and sisters in Christ, who love Jesus and believe His Word, see it differently, I do not want to point an accusing finger. I can only say how I think Christians should approach this issue. While I’ve tried to see it differently, I haven’t found a biblical basis for it. Jesus ate and drank with sinners, of course. But in doing so He did not celebrate gluttony or drunkenness. He didn’t attend a feast dedicated to the purpose of applauding what dishonors God and brings harm to people.

I can’t believe that weddings are not celebrations, nor can I believe that celebrating sin can honor God. That’s why I’ve not gone to heterosexual weddings where a believer is marrying an unbeliever. Yes, I want the marriage to last once it takes place, and yes, I will later gladly do what I can to help the marriage stay together. But I can’t join in the laughter and toasts and feasting and dancing, which are a celebration of what Scripture, in my opinion, makes clear is wrong.  

I can wish that the unequally yoked man and woman will stay together because God recognizes their marriage and wants them to remain married, even though they shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place. But this isn’t true of a homosexual marriage. Can I really hope and pray in good conscience that the couple will continue to live together? No. It isn’t God’s will, nor is it in their best interests.

In fact, if I believe their union dishonors God and is bad for them, as all sin is bad for all of us, don’t I need to pray they’ll come to faith in Christ and as their minds are renewed and the eyes of their hearts are opened, God will convict them of sin, including the sinfulness of their union, which in fact is not a true marriage? So I’m praying not that they’ll stay together, but that they will separate (I don’t believe divorce is the right word here). How can I participate in the celebration of a union that is not a true marriage, and that I hope for their sake will not last?

Regardless of people’s individual opinions, one thing is certain: this is an issue that will NOT go away. While there is a strong trend toward evangelicals attending gay weddings in the name of Christ’s love, I have to say I believe it is more loving to God and to the participants to not encourage them to think their union is good and healthy, when God’s Word shows otherwise.

Before I hand this over to Kevin, I encourage Christ-followers not to believe the propaganda that says sexual orientation can never be changed or redirected. Here’s Jackie Hill Perry’s “Love Letter to a Lesbian” in which she tells her story. On the other hand, I know people who’ve never experienced any attraction to the opposite sex, but who live fulfilled and faithful lives of celibacy, just as every single and divorced and widowed heterosexual is called upon to do, for the rest of their lives, unless and until they marry. And there are any number of heterosexuals who never marry. Their road is not easy, but there are advantages to it, as Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 7.

Anyway, here’s what Kevin has to say:

Should I Attend a Homosexual Wedding If the Service Is Completely Secular?

In speaking about homosexuality in my church and in different venues around the country (and sometimes around the world), the most common question I’ve received (by far) is whether a Christian who believes homosexual behavior is wrong should attend a gay wedding.

The question is often a painful one. It’s one thing to hold to biblical views on marriage and sexuality in a culture that increasingly hates those views. That’s hard enough. But to tell your son or daughter or brother or sister or mom or dad or cousin or buddy from college that you won’t attend their (ideally) once-in-a-lifetime event feels like too much offense to give and too much of a burden to bear. I sympathize with sincere believers who really want to honor God and communicate love to their friends and family at the same time. These are difficult days to be Christians with convictions about marriage.

And yet, as much as we can feel the weight and the heartache of the question, the answer should be no.

I’ve written on this subject before, but my response assumed in part that the wedding ceremony would have some religious component to it:

A wedding ceremony, in the Christian tradition, is first of all a worship service. So if the union being celebrated in the service cannot be biblically sanctioned as an act of worship, we believe the service lends credence to a lie. We cannot in good conscience participate in a service of false worship. I understand that does not sound very nice, but the conclusion follows from the premise, namely, that the “marriage” being celebrated is not in fact a marriage and should not be celebrated.

That was the gist of my argument. I went on in the article to address a number popular objections (e.g., Jesus hung out with sinners; we should fear being contaminated by the world; we don’t want to turn people off to God’s love), and at the end I made a passing reference to ceremonies that were not religious in nature. But I didn’t deal head on with the question posed in the title of this post: What if the wedding is thoroughly secular, does that change the moral calculus?

You may be thinking, “I get your point about a Christian wedding ceremony. But my friend doesn’t claim to be a Christian. He and his partner are total agnostics. Their service won’t be religious in the least. I’m not going to worship God. I’m just going so my friend knows I care about him.” I’ve heard conservative Christians make similar arguments several times. I see their appeal. I don’t, however, find them intellectually or spiritually compelling.

In short, as personally painful as it may be, and as much as the world will call us names and castigate our motives, those who believe marriage is between a man and a woman should not attend a ceremony that purports to be the marrying of a man and a man or a woman and a woman, even if that ceremony is completely secular in nature.

Why such a “hard line” stance? Here are three reasons.

1. The purpose of a wedding ceremony is to celebrate and solemnize. No matter the formal liturgy or no liturgy at all, the reason a couple puts together a wedding ceremony is so that others can join in celebrating with them. Isn’t this why invitations speak of “honoring us with your presence” or “join us as we celebrate”? Isn’t this why at a reception the couple invariably takes time to thank all their friends and family for coming? Isn’t this why we throw rice or blow bubbles or release balloons? Isn’t this why we wait in line to give the newlyweds a hug?

Two (unmarried, of age) people can fill out the necessary paperwork and get married at the courthouse or on a beach or in the basement without any planning, any fanfare, or any guests. But hardly anyone gets married in this way. Instead they plan a party. They line up food and drink and music and invite their friends. There is nothing in the secular nature of a wedding ceremony that makes it less of a celebration. And there’s the rub: how can we celebrate what we deem to be a serious moral transgression and an definitional impossibility?

2. Wedding ceremonies are almost always public in nature. Many Christians are quick to parse out their support: “They know where I stand. They know what I believe. I’m not coming to support the marriage. I’m coming to support my son and let him know that I still love him.” Again, I sympathize with this reasoning and do not dismiss lightly. But in addition to minimizing the previous point about celebration and solemnization, this line of thinking ignores the public aspect of a wedding (and no matter how small the event, if you are being invited to attend it is a public ceremony).

Attendees at a wedding bear witness to the exchanging vows and the making of promises. In a Christian understanding, they do so before God and man. In a secular environment, they still do so before a watching world. Why do we go to the trouble of having ceremonies for graduation or retirement or Super Bowl champions? Because the occasion calls for celebration, solemnization, and public recognition. Whatever beliefs we may espouse privately, when we attend a wedding we state publicly that the union, which the event creates and commemorates, is legitimate and deserving of honor.

Consider an analogy. Suppose your friend was an avowed racist. You’ve known this friend for a long time. You’ve told him before that you don’t agree with his racist views. He finds those conversations offensive and hurtful, but the friendship endures. One day he invites you to his white robe and hood ceremony at the local chapter of the Klan (I have no idea if they have such a thing, but let’s imagine they do). There will be a small event at the local park to bestow this rank upon your friend. He would love for you to attend. Will you? I doubt any of us would. (1) We’d be too embarrassed to be seen in public at such an event, no matter what we’ve said in private about it. And (2) however much we care for our friend, we can’t have anything to do with an event that is so repugnant to the beliefs we hold dear.

Yes, I understand analogies are imperfect. No, I am not suggesting that racism and attending a gay wedding are the same thing. The point of a negative analogy like this is to get you to reconsider one position you do like by comparing it with one you don’t like. Why would we normalize what would be better stigmatized? How can we publicly endorse what we claim to privately condemn?

3. The stark either/or options are not of our making. The emotional plea is strongly felt by friends and family members who want to maintain biblical fidelity without burning bridges: “If you really loved me, you would be there. You say you care about me, but you don’t care to show up on the most important day of my life. If you can’t be happy for me, how can we have a real relationship?” Most evangelicals don’t wake up in the morning looking for ways to compromise. It happens with a tug here and a pull there, often with the best of intentions, usually because of people we love. Who wants to burn bridges? Who wants to be a hater? Who likes upsetting people we care about?

But this is where we need to remember that the either/or options were not (I trust) our idea. Not supporting a child’s decision in one area does not mean you are no longer interested in supporting him or her in other areas. Loving across our differences is a two way street. If traditional Christians have to learn to love gay and lesbian friends and family members despite decisions they disagree with, then gays and lesbians should learn to love their Christian friends and families despite decisions they disagree with. We should take time to hear why our attendance means so much to them. And then, hopefully, they will take time to hear why our faith in Christ and obedience to the Bible mean so much to us. We won’t agree. But maybe we can begin to almost, possibly, just a little bit, agree that we are going to be in this for the long haul so we better find out how to care for each other, even when we think the other person is living according to convictions that we can’t support.

“I can’t say yes to your wedding invitation, but I’d love to have you over for dinner.” Give that a shot.

Also see: Is Attending a Wedding an Endorsement?

Photo: Pixabay