In an era marked by increasing ideological fragmentation, the discussion around how Christians should engage with LGBTQ individuals is not exempt from polarizing viewpoints. A recently uncovered video clip from the Acts 29 Network, represented by Justin Anderson and Mike Sullivan, illuminates a perspective that is often embraced in contemporary Christian circles but poses serious theological concerns for Bible-believing Christians.

To be sure, the impulse for compassionate ministry is laudable and entirely biblical. After all, Jesus Himself spent time with tax collectors and sinners, not to affirm them in their sin, but to call them to repentance (Matthew 9:11-13). However, the viewpoint presented by Acts 29 muddies these clear biblical waters, advocating an approach that minimizes the gravity of this particular sin and the need for repentance.

The most glaring issue with the perspective offered by Acts 29 is its suggestion that Christians should view LGBTQ individuals primarily through the lens of victimhood. Sullivan posits that one of the first things Christians ought to do is to “mourn with those who mourn” in the LGBTQ community, suggesting that their primary identity is as victims of societal “marginalization” or “ostracization.”

This framing is fundamentally flawed from a biblical standpoint. According to Scripture, the primary issue for all humans is their rebellion against God—a sin that warrants divine judgment (Romans 3:23; 6:23). And the endpoint to which that judgment extends is most often seen in the giving of one over to sexual sin. The Apostle Paul doesn’t mince words in describing the dire spiritual state of those who engage in homosexual acts (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). To portray individuals primarily as victims rather than as moral agents accountable to God is to misrepresent the words of God Himself.

Further, the idea of “welcoming them into your lives” as suggested by these men sidesteps the crucial biblical command to call sinners to repentance. The home, for a Christian, is not just a place of blind acceptance, but a venue where the truths of the Gospel are lived out and proclaimed. Inviting individuals into our homes without ever confronting the sin in their lives amounts to a shallow form of superficial love. Genuine love, as modeled by Jesus and mandated by Scripture, is to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

The Acts 29 Network’s perspective also offers a view of ministry marked more by human wisdom than biblical guidance. It encourages us to be “listeners and learners with a posture of compassion,” but it fails to assert that our primary role as Christians is to be proclaimers of God’s Word. “Compassion” without the call to repentance is not biblical compassion at all—it is a concession to the culture. Would these same men make the same concessions for other sins they find to be vile, such as “racism” or “white supremacy”—all sins that Acts 29 leader, Matt Chandler, has repeatedly asserted that he has zero tolerance for? Doubtful.

And the notion that we should “walk with Jesus among them,” as if Jesus is already affirmatively at work in the LGBTQ community apart from repentance and faith, stretches the Gospel narrative beyond its biblical confines. While God is certainly at work in the world drawing people to Himself (John 6:44), the Bible is clear that one cannot have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ without repentance (Acts 17:30; 2 Peter 3:9).

While the Acts 29 Network’s approach is draped in the language of love, compassion, and inclusivity, it fails to uphold the weightier matters of the law—justice, holiness, and fidelity to God’s revealed will. The most compassionate thing Christians can do for the LGBTQ movement, or any rebellious movement against God for that matter, is to share the life-saving message of the Gospel, calling them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Anything less is not just unbiblical—it’s eternally unloving.