There’s been a lot of talk as of late about the Equality Act, which was introduced in the house by Democrat lawmakers on February 23rd. Now, on the one hand, this isn’t a new legislation. In fact, the bill came up in Congress during Donald Trump’s presidency, and it even passed in the lower chamber of Congress. Ultimately, though, it lost momentum after it failed to pass the Republican-controlled Senate, and would have faced further resistance from Trump, who vowed that he would not sign it. But it’s a new day, there’s a new president, and there’s also a new Congress—one that is Democratically controlled in both chambers, and so the Equality Act was bound to return. This time, the likelihood of its passing is astronomically greater than it was just a few short years ago. Not only are Democrat lawmakers strategically maneuvering it forward in Congress, but President Biden himself has articulated his eager support for the bill and stressed that it is one of the first goals of his administration. The only potential obstacle facing the Equality Act now is getting a super-majority in the Senate, which means that Democrats need to find at least ten Republican senators who can be influenced towards voting for it. While it seems unlikely right now that those ten senators can be found, it’s not impossible, and there are many on the Republican side of the aisle who see the Equality Act as the writing on the wall and would rather have it pass and be behind us. All of that to say that the Equality Act, if not passed now, is a reality that drifts inexorably closer. It is not farfetched to think that it will eventually become law here in our country.

What does all this mean? Well, to put it simply, the Equality Act represents a broad amendment and expansion of civil rights laws like those in the fair housing act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The new criteria, however, has nothing to do with race or ethnicity, and everything to do with LGBTQ+ issues. The act would essentially make it illegal to discriminate against LGBTQ+ individuals in areas such as the workforce, housing, education, credit, jury service, and “other areas of American life.” Now, this isn’t the first of this type of anti-discrimination legislation we’ve seen. In fact, the Anchorage Municipality passed an ordinance a few years ago called AO-96 which had very similar language. What makes the Equality Act different is that, first, it represents universal federal legislation, and second and more important, it contains virtually no religious liberty exemptions. There is, then, an immediate threat posed by this legislation to Christian business owners who desire to conduct their businesses according to biblical convictions and their Christian conscience. Additionally, Christian educational institutions, which were once seen as protected under the umbrella of religious liberty, appear to be left out in the rain. Christian schools, colleges, and seminaries who refuse enrollment to LGBTQ students, or who refuse to hire LGBTQ staff or faculty, are at risk or losing accreditation or even being shut down. The act, as it stands now, marks an unprecedented boldness in its legislative coercive power and reach.

Now, my goal in writing all of this is not to get everyone to grab their hair and shout, “Woe, woe to us! We’re undone!” In fact, that’s the opposite of my goal. If that’s your first reaction, then not only do you need to bone up on your biblical theology, but you also need to reorient yourself to the God you serve. None of this is surprising to God. In fact, if we were to ask him, he’s probably say, “Why in the world are you surprised that this is happening?” Paul, in his death-row letter, wrote to his spiritual son Timothy about the times that were ahead: “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (2 Tim 3:1-5). That list pretty-much sums up the spiritual and moral tenor of our time. What the Equality Act does is simply legislate the moral reversal that has been occurring in our country for the past half-century. Theo Hobson defined a moral revolution in this way: “That which was repudiated must be celebrated. That which was celebrated must be repudiated. And those who will not celebrate must themselves be repudiated.” That is the essence of the Equality Act, and it aligns perfectly with the biblical metanarrative.

Really, the Equality Act is a litmus test for Christ’s church, and I say that for two reasons. First, Christian institutions, businesses, schools, and also churches, are going to have to make a decision about how they will respond to the ever-increasing pressures of the culture when it comes to sexual morality. The Equality Act simply represents everything that is encapsulated in the culture of “expressive individualism”—to borrow from Carl Trueman in his book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self—only now that morality comes with political teeth like never before. Those teeth bite hard, and some institutions just won’t want to take it. We’ve already seen this play out recently in the decision of Bethany Christian Services, one of the nation’s largest adoption and foster care agencies, which announced that they will now place children in same-sex and other LGBTQ+ homes (you can read more about that here). And that decision came before the passing of the Equality Act. You can bet there will be more equivocation to come as each business owner, each college board, each church elder team, is going to have to count the cost of living by biblical convictions in a time when doing so comes with punitive consequences.

Second, those Christians and leaders who decide to hold the line regarding biblical morality in the face of the Equality Act, or even push back against it, are going to have to decide what exactly that looks like. Many, I presume, are going to see a political fight and a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court as the church’s only hope for stemming off this moral tide. Some may even feel that, should the Equality Act somehow pass the Senate and be signed into law by the President, then we are “in big trouble,” as one prominent evangelical leader has put it. I have to admit that when I read those words, written by a man I deeply admire and respect as a biblical leader and thinker, my heart sank a little bit because it demonstrates how much hope and trust Christians are willing to put into the political process.

I admit that there are huge wisdom issues that govern how Christians respond to things like the Equality Act. The book of Acts gives examples of times when Christ’s apostles defied government out of faithfulness to God and his word, embraced the consequences for that defiance, and even rejoiced for suffering for Christ’s name (Acts 5:29-42)! The book also recounts how Paul utilized his status as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar so that he might take his case, and thus his message, to the highest court of the land. Like I said, there are complex issues of wisdom that must be considered, and it wasn’t above or below Paul to use the political process available to him in order to further the message of the gospel. 

But what I don’t accept is the notion that politics and political lobbying is the biggest gun the church can pull in this fight. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh,” Paul said, “but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Cor 10:4), and there is no greater weapon the church wields than the truth of God’s word, because it comes with Holy Spirit conviction and authority. If there’s one thing to put our trust in, more than any other, it is the power of the word unleased. Political avenues for pushback against a sexually-rampant culture can be a legitimate means to stemming a moral tide for a time. But let’s also be real about the limited spiritual impact of that kind of strategy. If we truly believe that all hope is lost if religious liberty crumbles in America, then I can only quote Jesus (admittedly slightly out of context to make the point), “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?” (Mark 12:24).

You want to know what anchors me? It should anchor all of us in the face of a threat like the Equality Act. It’s this short, definitive statement:

“I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, AND THE GATES OF HELL WILL NOT OVERCOME IT”

This statement has everything we need to understand in order to have our heads on straight as we think about things like this. Whenever you start to worry about the times to come, or the threats to your freedom or to religious liberty, remember this statement. This is Christ’s church, purchased by his own blood, gifted to him by a loving father who chose us from before the foundation of the world to give to his son as a love gift. Do you think there is anything in this world or this culture or this government that can foil God’s love gift to his son? Do you think the existence of the church is at risk should its political freedoms be stripped from it? If it is, then it appears that the American government is more powerful than the gates of hell.

No, I’m not worried about the Equality Act. Should it be passed—and I’m not quite convinced we’re there yet—I don’t believe that we’re “in big trouble.” Perhaps “Christendom” is in big trouble, but not the church. That’s not to say that the way the church works and operates in this country won’t change. In fact, I’m sure there will be profound shifts in what Christians are going to have to do to educate their children, conduct their businesses, and worship together while staying faithful to biblical convictions. There will be a price to pay, and some are willing to pay it. Others are not. And perhaps the biggest impact such a change would have would be to see who is a part of American Christendom, and who truly belongs to Christ’s church.