Andy Stanley's Unbiblical Views on Homosexuality

In my previous article, I wrote about Andy Stanley's Disconnect from the Old Testament, which I recommend reading in conjunction with this present article. Unfortunately, things seem to have gotten worse in terms of his beliefs in that now he is affirming the views of the LGBTQ community. For those of you who don't know who Andy Stanley is, he is the son of the famous Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries and former President of the Southern Baptist Convention. His son, Andy, is pastoring a mega church in Atlanta, Georgia, called North Point Community Church.

The following allegations have been reported by another pastor regarding Andy Stanley:

• He has directly advised gay men to get married. 

• He has said that homosexuals cannot change.

• He has called homosexuality a disability.

• He has said that maybe one day he would do a gay marriage. He is not sure, but said maybe he would.

• He said pastors should make space for gay people to marry.

According to the pastor who publicized these allegations, pastors Luke Simmons (Ironwood Church, metro Phoenix) and Brian Kruckenberg (New City Church, metro Phoenix) were both present when Andy Stanley disclosed these things, and they have publicly corroborated that story.

Upon being asked if these allegations were true, Ryan Visconti, pastor of Generation Church in the Phoenix metro area, verified that unfortunately all these things are true about Andy Stanley. He confirmed that Andy Stanley said these things in a private dinner with fifteen other pastors at a church in Gilbert, Arizona. Visconti had originally tweeted about this on September 19, 2019.

Furthermore, a conference, called Unconditional, was hosted at North Point Community Church in Atlanta from September 28-29, 2023 with Andy Stanley as one of the keynote speakers there at the church he pastors. The stated purpose for the conference was: "for parents of LGBTQ+ children and for ministry leaders looking to discover ways to support parents and LGBTQ+ children in their churches." The Unconditional conference was part of a ministry called Embracing the Journey (ETJ).

Greg and Lynn McDonald, who founded ETJ, were among the speakers at the Unconditional conference held at North Point. According to The Aquila Report's Overview of Embracing the Journey, "Greg McDonald sits on the board of Renovus, another faith-based non-profit that does assert that homosexuality and transgenderism are compatible with Christianity. The two organizations are closely linked." The overview goes on to say that Renovus exists to “[reclaim] faith for LGBTQ+ Christians,” and its vision is “a world where no one has to choose between their faith and sexual orientation or gender identity.” McDonald states in his Renovus bio, “It simply breaks my heart when people are told they can’t be a Christian and LGBTQ.”

The vast majority of ETJ's recommended resources are all affirming of the LBGTQ lifestyle, and include authors like Justin Lee and David Gushee, who were also speakers at North Point's Unconditional conference in September. These authors, according to the Aquila Report, are "well known for rejecting biblical orthodoxy on homosexuality and transgenderism in favor of full LGBTQ inclusion in the church."

The Eternal Word of God

Now that we have seen what Andy and his friends say, who are embracing the sin, let's compare that to what the Bible says about homosexuality:

"Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” (Gen 18:20-21).

The Lord said their sin was grievous. In case there is any question in your mind as to what the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was, it was the sin of homosexuality. The men of Sodom wanted to rape the two angels that had come to rescue Lot and destroy the cities (Gen 19:1-5). In fact, the term sodomy originates from that place. The original meaning of sodomy is any sexual act involving the genitals of one person and the mouth or anus of another person. The Lord says that sin is grievous, according to Genesis 18:20.

"The two men said to Lot, 'Do you have anyone else here–sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.'" (Gen 19:12-13)

"Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah–from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities–and also the vegetation in the land. (Gen 19:24-25)

This really happened and is not fictitious. God sent burning sulfur down from heaven to destroy those cities and the people living in them, burning them to ashes, and there is evidence of this today that has been discovered to prove it.

“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." (Lev 18:22)

The Lord says that it is detestable for a man to lie with a man as one lies with a woman.

“If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." (Lev 20:13)

Under the Law of Moses in the Old Covenant, such people were put to death. To affirm this or any sin is to completely contradict the Word of God, which is our eternal standard. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest stroke of a pen to disappear from the Law.

In the New Testament, Peter the apostle wrote: "If He [God] condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;" (2 Pet 2:6).

The apostle Paul wrote: "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator–who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." (Rom 1:24-27).

Paul said that homosexuality comes from the sinful desires of their hearts -- shameful lusts, resulting in sexual impurity, indecent acts, and the degrading of their bodies with one another. Specifically woman had sexual relations with women and men had had sexual relations with other men. He calls this "perversion".

And here is what the Bible says about false prophets and false teachers like Andy and his cohorts, such as those mentioned in this article, who condone such sinful perversion:

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." (Mt 7:15)

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (1 Tim 4:1)

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." (2 Tim 4:3)

Closing Words

The Lord warned us there would be wolves in sheep's clothing that we should beware of (Mt 7:15). His holy apostles warned us of the same about these false teachers (2 Pet 2; Jude 1), who would come and teach the doctrines of demons that people's itching ears want to hear (1 Tim 4:1; 2 Tim 4:3). 

It's quite evident that Andy Stanley is one of those, and that he is affirming of the LBGTQ lifestyle, thereby helping such people fulfill their agenda. That's what happens when you disconnect from the Word of God as he has done, and rely on experiences to dictate what you believe, since the Word clearly defines these perversions as sin (Rom 1:18-32; Gen 18:20-21; 19:12-13, 24-25; Lev 18:22; 20:13; 2 Pet 2:6). This is all part of the end time apostasy in fulfilment of what is written in Scripture. 

Let those who love the LORD hate evil (Ps 97:10).

Disclaimer: I do not agree with the LBGTQ lifestyle, but that doesn't mean I hate anyone. As Christians we are called to love everyone -- even our enemies. But we have reached a dangerous point in society that if we disagree with something, because of our religious beliefs, it is wrongly viewed as hate speech. I believe marriage is between a man and a woman, and that homosexual behaviors are sinful. I love members of the LBGTQ community, and so does Jesus. I am not gay bashing at all. I am just writing about my sincerely-held religious beliefs based on Scripture. The message of every Christian to every LGBTQ person is that God loves you so much that He would sacrifice His own Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for your sake. If any one of you would be willing to change through repentance and believing in Jesus Christ, the Christian community would be more than willing to help you.  

Attribution notice: Image may be subject to copyright and are used per the Fair Use Act for commentary and education purposes only.

Author's note:  I also recommend reading Andy Stanley's Disconnect from the Old Testament, Pope Francis Supports Homosexuality, The Forgotten Sin of Worldliness, Separated from the World, The Bible is the Word of God, Scripture Alone (Sola Fide), Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, The Top Ten Things Jesus Taught, Ask for the Ancient Paths, Holding Fast the Faithful Word, Avoid Becoming a Corrupted Christian, and Exposing Heresy. I also recommend my daughter's poem, The Dazzling Wine of Deception. You can access the Home page of this blog for more articles on Truth and heresy, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org

Andy Stanley's Disconnect from the Old Testament

Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point

Dr. Charles Stanley's son Andy is the pastor of perhaps the second or third largest church in America. As a mega church pastor in Atlanta, he has a great deal of influence. Yet he has been teaching people incorrectly that they should "unhitch" from the Old Testament. Here are some of his heretical statements:

Unhitched
“(First Century) Church leaders unhitched the church from the worldview, value system, and regulations of the Jewish scriptures. Peter, James, Paul elected to unhitch the Christian faith from their Jewish scriptures, and my friends, we must as well.”

“When the Church launched, the foundation of the faith of the early Christians was not a book (they didn’t have one), it wasn’t the Bible (there wasn’t one), and it wasn’t the Old Testament – what they called the Law and the Prophets – because that didn’t tell the story of Jesus. The foundation of the early church was an event – the resurrection.”

“If you were raised on a version of Christianity that relied on the Bible as the foundation of faith, a version that was eventually dismantled by academia or the realities of life, maybe it’s time for you to change your mind about Jesus. Maybe it’s time for you to consider the version of Christianity that relies on the event of the resurrection of Jesus as its foundation. If you gave up your faith because of something about or in the Bible, maybe you gave up unnecessarily. His message for them is simple: 'Start with Jesus! He came to introduce something totally new.'”

“What Jesus meant when He said He had not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17) was that He came to 'replace it.'" Stanley's interpretation of that verse is: “I am in fact replacing. I’m not going to change what you’ve always been taught. I’m going to challenge you to abandon what you have been taught.”

“The Law and the Prophets, the old covenant, had an expiration date.”

The Gospel of Jesus “is completely detached … from everything that came before."

Every one of these statements made by Stanley is refuted by Scripture. Jesus, who is the Word of God (Joh 1:1,14), quoted the Hebrew Scriptures extensively during His ministry; in fact He quoted from a total of twenty-four different books of the Hebrew Bible, and He is the foundation of the Church. "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Cor 3:11, NIV). The only Scriptures they initially had in the first-century Church were the Hebrew Scriptures. And as the apostles and their companions wrote the Gospels, Acts, and the epistles, they quoted extensively from those Scriptures. In fact, they quoted from all but five books of the Hebrew Bible (for a full list of all Old Testament Scriptures cited in the New Testament, see here).

When the apostle Paul preached to the Bereans, they searched the Hebrew Scriptures to verify that everything he said was true. "Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Ac 17:11, NIV). This practice of the Bereans was considered noble, since they checked to see if everything the apostle preached agreed with the Hebrew Scriptures, especially the ones he was quoting. It was Paul who wrote that God's household is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone." (Eph 2:20, NIV). Let me quote to you from three different men commenting on this passage.

Matthew Henry stated: "In Ephesian 2:20 the church is compared to a building. The apostles and prophets are the foundation of that building. They may be so called in a secondary sense, Christ himself being the primary foundation; but we are rather to understand it of the doctrine delivered by the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New. It follows, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone."

John Wesley stated: "As the foundation sustains the building, so the word of God, declared by the apostles and prophets, sustains the faith of all believers. God laid the foundation by them; but Christ himself is the chief corner - stone of the foundation."

Albert Barnes stated that when the apostle Paul wrote "...And prophets..." in Ephesians 2:20, he was referring to "The prophets of the Old Testament, using the word, probably, to denote the Old Testament in general. That is, the doctrines of divine revelation, whether communicated by prophets or apostles, were laid at the foundation of the Christian church."

Therefore, when Stanley says that "the foundation of the faith of the early Christians...wasn’t the Bible...and it wasn’t the Old Testament...the Law and the Prophets," he is contradicting the Word of God itself. They most certainly had the Scriptures in the first century. There can be no doubt that the apostles of the New Covenant and prophets of the Old Covenant are the foundation of the Church.

Unleashed
Stanley’s new book is called, “Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World." In it he writes: “Participants in the new covenant (that’s Christians) are not required to obey any of the commandments found in the first part of their Bibles. Participants in the new covenant are expected to obey the single command Jesus issued as part of his new covenant: as I have loved you, so you must love one another." Moreover, in the final part of a 2018 sermon series, Stanley explained that while he believes that the Old Testament is "divinely inspired," it should not be "the go-to source regarding any behavior in the Church."

However, contrary to what Andy teaches, Scriptures like "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex 20:2) are still valid and applicable to us today as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Obedience to God's commandments is clearly taught throughout the New Testament by Christ and His apostles (Mt 5:17-20; Lk 8:21; Jn 14:15-31; 1 Cor 7:19; 1 Jn 3:4). To deny that is to deny the very foundation upon which the Church is built. Yet that is precisely what Stanley is doing. He is not preaching the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus and His apostles preached. He is preaching another gospel -- a replacement theology.

God changes not (Mal 3:6). Jesus is God, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8). He doesn't need to repeat Himself in order for us to know that what He has said is true. What was evil in the days of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Moses, Saul, David, Solomon, Ahab, Elijah, and the prophets is still evil today. What was pleasing to God then is pleasing to Him now, although we are under a New Covenant and are not bound by the specific terms and regulations of the Mosaic Covenant.

The Bible is not just "a collection of ancient documents," as Andy calls them. The sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired Word of God. "ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Ti 3:16). We must declare the whole counsel of God (Ac 20:27), not only the things that Jesus reiterated in the Gospels. Andy says that nothing in the Old Testament should have any bearing on the behavior of a Christian, but since it is all the inspired Word of God useful for training us so we might be thoroughly equipped for every good work, then obviously ALL Scripture including the Old Testament has relevance to our behavior.

Rather than rewrite all my previous articles about the importance and significance of obedience to God's commandments, including those found in the Law and the Prophets, I would like to provide links to those here for you to read. They provide ample proof from Scripture that Stanley is teaching heresy. If you really care about this and want to get to the truth of the matter that is found in God's Word, then I recommend taking the time to read all of these articles, in order to get the full and balanced message that I am teaching as found in the Bible. I challenge you to do as the Bereans did with the apostle's teaching and search the Scriptures to see if these things are really so.

Is Obedience Optional? The Law of Christ  The Law Fulfilled in Us The Law Established Through Faith The Cost of Discipleship Faith Works! Deleted Scriptures in the Bible? Did Jesus Nail the Law to the Cross? The Obedience of Faith Righteousness by Faith not Law Listen to Jesus, Who Upholds Moses and the Prophets  The Spirit's Law of Life

The Law of Love in the New Testament Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God Wesley and Henry on the Gospel Law Righteous Deeds and White Robes Doing What is Right Partaking of the Divine Nature Walking in the Perfect Will of God Obedience by the Spirit The Law is Good if Used Lawfully What Then Must We Observe? Remember the Eternal Law of God The Flesh vs. the Spirit

The Bible De-emphasized 
Andy Stanley says that if he were an evangelical Pope, who had the authority to issue a decree that all evangelical Christians must obey, he "would ask preachers and pastors and student pastors in their communications to take the spotlight off the Bible." Apparently he undervalues the Word of God, since he would use his papal authority to de-emphasize it. This man-made rule of his essentially nullifies the Word of God (Mk 7:13), which instructs the Lord's messengers to preach the Word (2 Tim 4:2). Through His inspired apostle, the Holy Spirit clearly charged Timothy -- and effectively all men of God -- to devote ourselves to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching (1 Tim 4:13). Jesus also warned us, "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him, when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." (Lk 9:26).

In addition, Andy disparages expository preaching through the Scriptures one verse at a time. He says, "Guys that preach verse-by-verse through books of the Bible -- that is just cheating. It's cheating because that would be easy. First of all, that isn't how you grow people." This preposterous statement of his proves that the enemy hates expository preaching from the Bible, explaining it one verse at a time. Andy says this doesn't grow people, perhaps because he is interested in growing the numbers of people. But while expository preaching may not draw huge crowds, it has the potential to grow individuals into disciples of Christ and eventually result in the multiplication of disciples, like what happened in the first century Church. "The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith." (Ac 6:7).

What preachers need to do is preach the Word exactly as it is written, drawing out the meaning that is already in Scripture, which is a practice called exegesis, rather than reading their own meaning into it, which is known as eisogesis. When preachers take license to practice eisogesis, they are free to twist the Scriptures, which they do to their own destruction (2 Pe 3:16). If we had more Spirit-filled, expository preaching today, we would have fewer people taking Scriptures out of context and making them say whatever they want them to say. Instead they would have to explain what the Scripture means when it is understood in its proper context, and people would receive the undiluted, unadulterated message of God's Word. Their faith would grow, since faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of God (Rom 10:17).

Open Homosexual Baptized at Northpoint

In a video posted on Youtube, an open homosexual proudly announced that he was going to be water baptized at Northpoint Church. Your can see the video at this link. Let me remind you that Scripture clearly teaches against the sin of homosexuality in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. To cite just one of them, the apostle Paul stated:

"Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." (1Co 6:9-10)

For more a more complete discussion on this topic, see Pope Frances Supports Homosexuality.

The Fruit Test Reveals Apostasy
As I explained in my previous article, Testing the Spirits of False Prophets, we are supposed to test men's fruit to determine whether or not they are false. When we do a fruit test on the North Point Community Church that Andy Stanley pastors in Atlanta, we find that there is apostasy. That church of around 38,000 people is engrossed in worldliness, rather than being separated from the world as the Scriptures teach that we should be. The following video is just one piece of evidence that reveals their worldly practices. The video is titled The Andy Stanley Show: North Point Ministries Worldly Satanic Synagogues Fully Exposed!!!. It shows, among other things, rock bands in the church singing secular rock music like Journey's song Don't Stop Believing with it's lyrics about seedy nightlife in the big city. Another example is a group on stage during a Sunday service singing, "Baby, love the way you turn me on," while several men perform a choreographed break dance. In yet another service the band is singing a medley of Michael Jackson's hit songs including Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, which has been criticized for its sexual references. Take a look at this and see for yourself:



Closing Words
Be careful whom you listen to, because if they are in error on important issues like this, then your very soul could be in danger. We live in the days when men do not put up with sound doctrine, but instead, to suit their own desires, they surround themselves with a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear (2 Tim 4:3). We live in the days of great apostasy in the Church, which some call the Laodicean Church age (Rev 3:14-21). These are the days of mega churches like Stanley's North Point Community Church in Atlanta, where people flock in large numbers to be entertained by the abundance of worldliness that takes place there, and to listen to another gospel (Gal 1:8-9). They prefer a pop-culture, Christianity-lite message like the ones Andy preaches, and they are itching to unhitch from our Scriptural foundations.

We the Church are not "unhitched" from the Hebrew Scriptures, the gospel is not "detached" from them, and we are not unleashed from obeying God's sacred commandments. On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and obey it (Lk 11:28). Jesus' mother and brothers are still those who hear the Word of God and put it into practice (Lk 8:21). The Word of God is still the seed that we must receive in order to produce fruit (Lk 8:11). The Bible is still our sole rule of faith in Christ. It is still not desirable for us to neglect the Word of God (Ac 6:2). Indeed, we must still speak the Word of God with boldness (Ac 4:31), and continue to declare the whole counsel of God (Ac 20:27), because all Scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). Therefore, let us not be moved off of our Scriptural foundation, but let us continue holding fast the faithful Word (Tit 1:9). Beware of Andy Stanley. He is a false teacher. As I have written elsewhere, just because a church is large and prominent, that doesn't mean they are preaching the truth. The way of life is narrow and few are they who find it (Mat 7:14).

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Other Scriptures from The Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Image may be subject to copyright and are used per the Fair Use Act for commentary and education purposes only.

Author's note:  I also recommend reading Andy Stanley's Unbiblical Views on Homosexuality, The Forgotten Sin of Worldliness, Separated from the World, The Bible is the Word of God, Scripture Alone (Sola Fide), The Ways of Life, Avoiding Worldly Worship, Is Secular Music for Christians?, Rock, Rap, and Reggae Music - Five Divine Revelations, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, The Top Ten Things Jesus Taught, Ask for the Ancient Paths, Holding Fast the Faithful Word, Avoid Becoming a Corrupted Christian, Exposing Heresy, and Popularity of the Gospel. I also recommend my daughter's poem, The Dazzling Wine of Deception. You can access the Home page of this blog for more articles on Truth and heresy, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org