Preston Sprinkle, one of the original advisory board members of Revoice, the “gay Christian” movement within Evangelical churches, has been instrumental in shifting the church’s doctrinal stance on homosexuality and other aberrant sexualities. It is through Sprinkle’s extensive relationships with mainstream Evangelical leaders James Merritt, Matt Chandler, and even names like Beth Moore, that he has been able to popularize what was once denounced as forbidden fruit by Evangelicals.

In a video clip recently published by Q Ideas, a ministry that is dedicated to mainstreaming controversial theological takes within Evangelical churches, Preston Sprinkle suggests that “listening” has been the most important factor in earning the trust of the LGBTQ community when attempting to reach them.

Listen:

Before we address Sprinkle’s comments here, it is important to note that in the following video clip from the same session, one of the homosexuals in the panel discussion that Sprinkle says we should be listening to openly broadcasts that he “likes boys” but “loves Jesus.”

Now that we understand where Sprinkle is coming from when he tells us we need to listen, we’ll dismantle his absurd argument at its core. Of course, listening is vitally important, I tell people that all the time. Nothing will convince somebody quicker that you don’t care about them than if you are constantly interrupting them, or they can tell that you’re just waiting for them to stop so you can talk. However, that’s not what Sprinkle is suggesting. What Sprinkle is talking about is giving credence to somebody’s bondage to homosexuality.

What he means by “listening” is giving undue, unbiblical weight to the words of sin in order to more compassionately interact with somebody. That approach is diametrically opposed to the word of God. I need to communicate to them that the difference between them and me is the electing Grace of a merciful God—not that I am better, smarter, or wiser than they are. That said, I should also show no interest in legitimizing their perverted nature.

There are fine lines in here, but Sprinkle is a couple of hundred yards over them into the wrong side. I want to view everybody I see as my brother or sister in Adam, under the just condemnation of a holy God. I must never forget that without that electing Grace and the atoning blood of Jesus Christ I would be in the same lake of fire they are. It’s exactly for that reason that I dare not adjust God’s methods or message in preaching to them God’s truth. Which is the same for everybody.

There’s not a specially tailored message for sodomites and self-worshiping transgender idolaters. They need to be told that they are dead in the first man, Adam, and their perversion of God’s ancient covenant of marriage and sex is a prime manifestation of that death. The one-and-only solution is to repent of my own self-will, confess to God that I am lost in that sinful self-will, and that only the atoning blood of Jesus Christ and his imputed righteousness can make me clean and make me His child. Of necessity and by definition that will make Jesus the Lord of My Life, and He Himself said, “if you love me you will keep my commandments.” There are no clearer commandments in all of scripture than those surrounding God’s created order of male-female, marriage, sex, and childbearing.

Of course it’s not that they forsake their sin in order to be saved. But no one is raised from death in the first Adam into new and everlasting life in the last Adam, Jesus Christ, been made a new creature in Him and been given his mind, who then tries to justify their rank perversion of his created order of gender and sexuality. Sprinkle’s corruption of “listening” is nothing more than a component in his ongoing campaign of softening the Evangelical stance against this perversion.

(Parts of this article were contributed by Greg Smith)