Responding to the Wokeness View of Heteronormativity

Heteronormativity is the belief that heterosexuality is the default, preferred, or normal mode of sexual orientation. It assumes that there are only two distinct and opposite genders, and that sexual and marital relations are most fitting between people of opposite sex so that marriage is biblically defined as a monogamous, lifelong relationship between one man and one woman. In the marriage relationship, the husband is defined in Scripture as the head of the home who leads his wife in godliness, and the wife submits in godliness to the leadership of her husband. The heteronormative view, therefore, which is also the biblical view, involves alignment of biological sex, sexuality, gender identity, and gender roles. When fulfilled in the strength and grace of Christ, this biblical model of marriage is the foundation for both the family and society. Though done imperfectly, this is the complementarian view of men and women in covenant relationship. For those holding to the worldview of wokeness, however, this biblical heteronormativity is a pejorative term.

In the wokeness worldview, heteronormativity is often linked to heterosexism and homophobia. The effects of societal heteronormativity on homosexual, bisexual, and transsexual individuals are seen as heterosexual or straight privilege. More to the point, to insist upon the exclusivity of the biblical definition of sexuality in 21st century Western culture is to do violence to those who deny the veracity of biblical commands. Those who think that men sodomizing men, or women having sex with women, or someone having sex with both genders, or those in polyamorous relationships, or men and women who mutilate their genitalia surgically or change their biochemistry through treatment with the hormones of the sex opposite of their birth gender, are not merely practicing abominations before God whose commands they disregard and deny to their own destruction. Such rebels against divine imperatives also engage in trying to leverage culture, legislated public policy, and the judicial system, against the divine perspective of such sins. Indeed, biblical morality as it pertains to sexuality is rejected as oppressive to personal identity no matter how wicked or perverse the sexual sin. What then is a Christian to do when even some of those who profess to be Christians demonstrate an unmistakable departure from the Word of God in their support of the practice of such heinous sins in the name of tolerance and equality?

In the annals of human history, there has never been a shortage of those who would deny or try to pervert the Christian message to justify sin. More importantly, however, the Lord has always preserved a remnant of true believers whose doctrine and practice has not bowed in cowardice or carnality to the whims of cultural winds. And the kingdom of God has and will prevail over the wicked who will have to stand individually before the Lord our God in the great white throne judgment of unbelievers. Therefore, it is of critical importance that those who have been genuinely converted by saving faith in Jesus Christ continue to both live in holy obedience to the commands of Scripture and to bear witness of Christ's saving Gospel to those enslaved to sin. Not only will the true church never yield the truth of the Word of God to the wickedness of fallen men, neither will we yield the missional imperative of the church to the lie of a pseudo peace with the fallen world. 

Thus, in what seems to be a ground swell of wickedness that has come upon the United States, we would do well to realize that increasingly turning our collective back on the Lord as a nation for the past half a century is simply now bearing the fruit of godlessness. The consequences of our sins are coming home to roost. When seen through the lens of Scripture, and specifically the Great Commission, these dark days ought to do two things in our hearts: grieve us for the sins of our nation perpetrated against the Lord our God so that we are moved to intercede for the salvation of the lost among us, and subsequently excite and embolden us to missional faithfulness through verbal witness because we know that in such times of darkness our witness of the atoning work of Christ on the cross to save sinners, even sinners as wicked as we are, continues to the glory of Jesus Christ; and we have the honor and privilege of shining the light of Christ in these dark days. 

Let us be sure that we recognize that God is still a saving God and He is at work rescuing the wicked from among the deceived within the wokeness worldview. In His great mercy in Christ, God's Spirit is still opening the eyes of the blind, convicting sinners of their iniquity, and bringing them to godly sorrow and repentance that they might believe upon the Person and finished work of Jesus Christ. The wicked must not be the objects of our loathing, but rather the recipients of our passionate and surrendered intercession on their behalf. In so doing, we will be used by God to show many who are lost in the wokeness culture that biblical sexuality is not oppressive, but life-giving through Jesus Christ. In sum, fellow Christians, let us be found faithful to share the narrow road to the true freedom for which the human heart so desperately clamors.