I see posts online like Brandon’s (below) floating around once in a while. The gist? “Jesus never explicitly condemned LGBTQ behavior, so it must not matter.”

Brandon’s FaceBook Post:

If Jesus was so obsessed with condemning LGBTQ people, you’d expect it to show up somewhere in the Gospels.

It doesn’t.

Not once.
Not indirectly.
Not even in a footnote.

And that absence isn’t accidental—
it’s revealing.

So if we’re going to be serious about biblical faithfulness, maybe we should start with the sins Jesus actually confronted—repeatedly, directly, clearly and without apology:

• Greed (Luke 12:15)
• Love of money (Matthew 6:24)
• Religious hypocrisy (Matthew 23:13)
• Judging others (Matthew 7:1)
• Spiritual pride (Luke 14:11)
• Neglecting the poor (Luke 12:33)
• Ignoring the hungry, sick, and imprisoned (Matt 25:45)
• Violence and revenge (Matthew 26:52)
• Lust for power (Matthew 23:11)
• Nationalistic thinking — “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36)
• Self-righteousness (Luke 5:32)
• Performative faith (Matthew 6:1)
• Exploiting the vulnerable (Luke 20:47)
• Refusing to forgive (Matthew 6:15)
• Hard-heartedness (Matthew 13:13–15)
• Looking down on ‘sinners’ (Matthew 9:12)
• Putting tradition above compassion (Matthew 15:6)
• Using religion to gain status or control (Matthew 23:5–6)
• Refusing to welcome the outsider (Matthew 25:43)

That’s not selective reading.
That’s a red-letter Christianity
disregarded by red-hatted Christianity.

And before anyone reaches for the word porneia:
Jesus never defined it,
never aimed it at a group,
and never used it to justify exclusion—
only self-examination.

So yes—
once we’ve done the hard, humbling work of reckoning with the sins Jesus actually named, then we can sit down for a thoughtful, honest conversation about Romans 1, Leviticus 18, 1 Corinthians 6, and all the verses some Christians love to quote loudly…
…while ignoring most everything Jesus said clearly.

Following Jesus means letting His priorities disrupt ours.

And if that feels threatening,
it might be worth asking why.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Ghik1xWPg/

Let’s slow down and think about this.

Jesus Didn’t Name Every Sin… And That’s the Point

Some argue that if Jesus didn’t explicitly call out a sin, it doesn’t matter. But let’s be honest—Jesus never said you shouldn’t sexually abuse children, He never said you shouldn’t beat your wife, He never said you shouldn’t enslave or mistreat your employees. Those are huge moral issues, right? Yet you won’t find them in red letters.

Why? Because the red letters aren’t a list of every sin. They’re a window into God’s priorities and the condition of the human heart. Jesus didn’t need to name every sin because the Bible as a whole makes the root of sin clear: our hearts are fallen, self-centered, and in need of transformation.

The principle here is simple: sin begins in the heart. Lust, anger, pride, and greed all flow from the inner life, not just outward actions. That’s why Jesus condemned anger in the heart and lust in thought.

The Whole Counsel of God

The Bible isn’t a collection of ethical advice or quotes to cherry-pick. It’s God-breathed, authoritative, and consistent. Every part works together to reveal God’s design for human life. Jesus, as God, confirms, interprets, and inspires the rest of Scripture.

You can’t take red letters in isolation and ignore the rest. That’s like holding a single paragraph of a law book and saying you understand the entire legal system.

God’s Design and Sexuality

The Bible teaches that sexual activity is meant for marriage between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4–6, talking about red letters!). Lust, sexual immorality, and same-sex rebellion are distortions of that design. They are not neutral, and they are not compatible with the new life in Christ.

This isn’t about “hate” or “shaming”—it’s about recognizing that God’s standards shape what it means to be human and what it means to live in a new creation. Fleeing temptation, repenting, and pursuing holiness are not optional; they are biblical commands.

Flee Sin, Pursue Holiness

The Bible is clear about fleeing sin. Paul tells Timothy: “Flee the evil desires of youth” (2 Timothy 2:22). James reminds us that temptation comes from our own desires, and unchecked, it leads to death (James 1:14–15). Sexual desire, greed, pride, or lust are all to be renounced and resisted, not renamed or celebrated.

Some argue: “I’m justified, I’m a new creation, so my sinful patterns don’t matter.” But the Bible is clear: being a new creation means transformation. However, sanctification changes our desires, thoughts, and behaviors. If that is not happening, something is massively wrong!

Galatians 5:19–21 and 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 call out sexual sin, greed, idolatry, and other patterns of rebellion, warning that those who persist in such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. And notice this: Paul says this in the context of Christians. These are patterns that are not meant to continue after conversion. That means fleeing sexual sin, lust, greed, envy, or rebellion is part of what it looks like to live as a Christian.

We are called to examine the heart, take sin seriously, and not continue in old patterns. Identity matters because our hearts are formed around desires, and God calls us to flee temptation, not merely rename it.

Calling Evil Good and Good Evil

One of the clearest patterns in Scripture is this: God calls those who twist truth and call evil good and good evil. Isaiah 5:20 isn’t optional: calling rebellion righteous or obedience sinful is dangerous. Part of living as a new creation is learning to see sin clearly, even when culture tells us otherwise.

Jude warns that one of the most dangerous distortions of the faith comes from people who quietly slip in and twist grace into permission to keep sinning. He says they “pervert the grace of our God into sensuality” and, in doing so, deny the very Lord they claim to follow. The issue is not that grace is insufficient, but that it is being abused. Grace is meant to rescue, transform, and free a person from slavery to sin, not to baptize it with religious language. Jude’s point is blunt: when grace is used to excuse what Christ came to redeem us from, it stops being grace at all and becomes a counterfeit that leaves people unchanged and unrepentant.

Love Without Compromise

Following Jesus doesn’t mean ignoring sin. It means confronting it with mercy. Luke 17:3–4 tells us to restore the repentant sinner with care. Galatians 6:1–2 shows us how correction can be an act of love. Love is never served by denying God’s truth.

Red Letters Alone Don’t Give You License

Some scream: “it’s my identity, I’m following my heart, I’m following my feelings.” True faithfulness starts with the heart, not social comfort. If your heart clings to rebellion and calls it identity, you are not walking as a new creation.

Jesus’ red letters are important, but they are part of the larger, God-inspired story of Scripture. And Jesus is God, by the way. They don’t replace the whole Bible, they are part of the whole Bible.

The Takeaway

• Sin begins in the heart; desire matters as much as action.
• All Christians are called to flee sin and pursue holiness.
• The Bible is authoritative; Jesus, as God, confirms it.
• Identity is not neutral. Patterns of rebellion are incompatible with new life in Christ.
• Love like Jesus always includes truth, mercy, and a call to transformation.
• Cultural comfort is never a substitute for God’s standards.

Following Jesus isn’t about cherry-picking the red letters or feeling “okay” in rebellion. It’s about a surrendered heart, obedience, and the daily work of living as a new creation.

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