Answer: Joh 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
2.) Why are they condemned foe their nature?
Answer: The second one is easy to explain because it’s the reason of the fall. Man fell because he sinned and thus sin separated him from God. God said that they would die which is restated in the book Romans “The wages of sin is death”. Thus for their rebellion man receives death and is condemned. Also why would we need the remedy of salvation if our sin didn’t condemn us?
Also an example in scripture is: Rev 21:8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."
So those who said one or the other could you defend your position from scripture?
As I ask this question please keep in mind a few things: 1.) Jesus is King, Sovereign God!! 2.) Don't let this question sway you from your pursuit of God because it does have an answer.
Is a person condemned to hell for their essence for who they are at the core of their being(dead in sin rebels against God) or for their unbelief in Jesus Christ as their savior and only way to heaven?
By giving the following answer I am attempting to combat the idea which says You can be a christian and still live however you want. So I believe the answer is No, a Homosexual cannot be a Christian. But a Homosexual can become a Christian. The reason for this impossibility is shown in the identity of the person or what the person is identifying with. For when someone calls themselves a homosexual they are saying that their greatest joy is found in same sex relationships. They are placing their whole identity under the domain of that lifestyle. And in a biblical sense when someone was called a Christian of follower of Christ what they were saying was that their greatest joy was found in Jesus Christ.
So how could there be two greatest joys in one’s life? Or how could one really say that they are a follower of Christ and yet live a life not identified with Him? You can’t, It’s impossible. This is like saying "can an elephant be a mouse at the same time, or an apple an orange, or a light bulb a radio." It’s a matter of the identity of these objects as it is a matter of identity with a person. In this taking of Identity you are choosing to submit to that particular title in your life and thus it shapes the rest of your life.
The Christian life is to be about submission to God and in turn finding one identity with God. But in a Homosexuals life they are choosing to be wed to the identity of passions and love towards people of the same sex. This shapes their drives, motivations, thoughts, friends, hobbies, etc. And in comparison when a Christian takes on the identity of a follower of Christ he is to love God by obeying his commands, find rest in God and hope and pleasure, He is to love his neighbors who are made in the image of God.
But sadly to make a disclaimer not all Christians submit to this truth and even in my own life if I had to be totally honest I don’t always pursue God and submit to him and obey Him. But this is the idea of grace, that God draws us in and love us based off of the sacrifice of this son. God’s Grace or God giving us what we do not deserve in the sacrifice of his perfect sinless son Jesus for our sin is what draws us into a pursuit of Him. For we are not perfect but our God is and desires to draws us closer and change us to be more like Him.
But hear me out before you stone me. What I’m not saying is that a person who is a follower of Jesus doesn’t struggle with attractions to a person of the same sex. But if they were once a homosexual and now are a follower of Christ they will struggle with these desires. But ultimately their identity is not in submission to the lifestyle characterize by homosexuality but to be characterized by a lifestyle in the pursuit of God which leads to a love of Him and obedience to what He commands.
Some might ask: why is Homosexuality a sin and opposite of the bible?
1.)In Genesis God makes man & woman and all throughout scripture marriage is defined,as between by a man & a women.( Genesis 1, Matthew 19:4, Mark 10:6 Ephesians 5:22-33,6:2, Colossians 3:18-19) the two passages from Matthew and Mark are straight from Jesus’ mouth.
2.)Some would say well what if they don’t get married? Well then that is adultery and is condemned all throughout the scriptures. Even to lust after a women or person in your heart is sin.( Matthew 5, Matthew 19:9, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20, Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:19, James 2:11) Its also fornication and you can look it up in http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/ it will show you how it is condemned by God.
3.)God’s way is Marriage and sex inside of marriage. Anything else is sin and not his way. It will breed problems in your life and cannot be tolerated if you are to follow Jesus.
4.)Also Homosexuality is outright condemned in the bible. ( 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 timothy 1:10, Romans 1, Revelation 21)
Clearly God has set up sex to be only in marriage. This clears up any other arguments which would stem. And clearly He had shown us that to identify with Homosexuality is just like identifying with any other sin of Choice. They are equally sinful as shown in my past blog. One must Trust Christ to save him from the coming wrath due to our rebellion and sin and trust in His death on the cross to cover our sins and restore us back to God.
So will you identify with God or your sin? Will you choose Death or Life? Sin or God? God promises life thru him and loves us so much to come and die that we might have true life in Him and forgiveness or sins and a relationship with Him. This is what he promises, Life in Him and thru him, True joy not just temporary pleasures that fleet away, Forgiveness of Sin, And eternal life with Him who loves us.
Colossians 1: 20-23 “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister”.
As Christian we are Children of the most high, The Bride of Christ, His Beloved, His Redeemed, Friends of God, Lovers of God, Rescued and so much more. God has came in the form of the man, Jesus, 2000 years ago, to live a sinless and perfect life in Obedience to God the Father, that he might die a humiliating death on the cross, from which wood he created and was spit upon by man whom he created and was holding together at that very moment. That on that cross he might take All of Our sin and shame and rise again on the third day to prove he had defeated Death and was the author of Salvation. That now we who trust in Him should not die but live forever more with Him!!
So we claim these things as truth. That God was the reconciler of the rebellious even when they didn’t was him.
Col 1:19-23 “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
O what a Great God we have that even though we were Hostile towards Him he brought us into His home to be His Children! Have you ever had anyone blow up with hostility towards you? I know I have and I didn’t exactly overflow or even feel remotely love towards them. But if only I would seen it from Gods perspective that All are or were once hostile towards Him then my love would flow towards them. When I meditate on this what he has done for me I can help but share!
2Co 5:11-19 “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. “
My Point is that now since we have been reconciled to God He has given us this ministry. Every Christian is entrusted with this ministry! Meditate on what he has done. Do you truly believe it? If you do you will share is. Let the Love of God control you and compel you!!
God has been convicting me more and more about this. Thru not only witnessing but also restoring sinning brothers if you will read my note on Confrontation it will explain it more. See my generation makes fun of “track boomers” and people who stand out with signs, yet we do nothing ourselves. Who are to judge them if we aren’t doing anything ourselves? I do agree that just passing out tracks to get it out there is missing the point of the person and letting love compel us. But let’s look at Jesus:
1.)With the woman at the well he took time to talk and know where she was coming from, cross cultural barriers and dialogue with her. John 4
2.)He Spent time with “Sinners” eating and drink and sharing the truth. Imagine if we got this idea that Jesus had of not only talking with unbelievers but eating and building relationships with them. He also wasn’t afraid of his reputation because of the accusations of the Pharisees towards him. Jesus came for the sinner not the righteous. Matt. 11:19
3.)Also one of the keys of church leaders in the book of Titus was Hospitality which is inviting unbelievers into your house. Also in Romans 12:13, Hebrew 13:2, 1 Peter 4:9
4.)Jesus shows us continuously about his love and patience with all of the people around them. He told the truth even when it diminished the crowd. John 6:53
So my challenge to you is this Be Intentional in your witness and love of non-believers, find a group or talk with your group of fellow believers to keep each other accountable and spur each other on. This is something I need desperately more and I hope you will wrestle with it in your heart and pray and search the scriptures of how God can use you. We need to be compelled by His love and desire to reconcile others to the God he love and claim as Truth!! Let the Love of God Compel you to Him and him ministry of Reconciliation!!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Here is some better explainations of why the shack is heresy:
I love homosexual people. I have a good friend who is one and an aunt. They are just like everyone else because they are made in the image of God. All peoples are made in the image of God no matter who you are and should be treated with value.Thus also from a Christian perspective All of us share the same heritage coming from our father Adam.
Not even a full blown evolutionist can make this claim because in the system of evolution: the strong prevail over the weak and what doesn’t allow for the furtherance of a race is allowed to die of.
So this brings me to my next point concerning our Father Adam. In beginning or the book of Genesis God makes man from the dust of the earth and breathes life into him and makes male and female in his image.
But the question you might ask is: why aren’t we all perfect if God is perfect and we are made in His image? Well God is a just God and is not a dictator who forces people to love Him but gives them a choice. Thus he set a tree in the garden which he commanded them not to eat from. But they ate and then because God is perfect and His person demands in and of itself perfection man was cursed for his disobedience and sent out from the Garden.
Thus “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All peoples were thus born separated from God and sinful. No one sin was greater than another. And so the sin of lusting after or having sex with a person of the same sex is just as sinful as lying, stealing, having sex outside of marriage, and many other. Sin is the opposite of God’s character and thus since we sinned we were all marred. If I lust after a women in my heart it is no different than another person lusting after someone of the same sex. Before God we all stand equally guilty and there is no way to pay God off with works because God’s person demands perfection.
All persons are left hopeless if we are left to try to please God on our own. But God loved us so much that He came in the form of a man and died for us!! Salvation then come when we believe that the only way he can stand before God is based solely off of the death Jesus and not our own works as:
Ephesians 2: 8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
So its by Grace which is defined as “God giving us something freely that we don’t deserve”. We trust in God to save us, not by our own Works or effort, But solely based on God’s Gift we are be saved and brought back to God.
So all are equal before God and should be treated as so. It is no harder for a person who struggles with same sex issues to be saved then is a man who struggles with chronic masturbation. They both have to deal with their lifestyles as sin. So I don’t believe I should call people who struggle with Homosexuality Homosexuals or gays anymore because that is like calling a man who masturbates a Masturbator or labeling a person who lies as a liar.
For we are all sinners before God. But God loves us so much that he calls us into a relationship with him. And instead of labeling us Homosexual or Liar or Thief He wants to call us Sons and Daughters of the Most High God. He calls us thus into a relationship with him who is Creator, All-powerful- All-knowing, love and holy. He will meet all of our true needs that the things of this earth can’t. Trust in Him for He is perfect and knows best and loves you, for he made you to dance in his presence and to enjoy him and his creation. And the real reason He has these standards is because it lines up with who He is and the way He wired the Universe. So will you embrace this loving God who desires to call you His Sons and Daughters?
These are all words that we in American especially dislike. We dislike them because since we come out of the womb we have been told that life is all about us. From Fast food, to Televisions, to Ads, etc. We are driven by freedom or power. We want power and control over our own lives. All of us, me included. That’s why we complain so much if things don’t go our way. And whenever we have bosses, parents, teachers etc, telling us what to do us we try to duck them every chance we get.
This mindset is no different in the heart of many Christians. And honestly it is in my heart in so many ways. The reason for this is that we have taken our examples of Authority and placed them as labels upon God. And when God commands something we begin to question it and try to duck it. What we are really saying is that God is wicked and has no idea what you need. But isn’t that insane that We think the God of the universe who holds all things together with His hands and yet came down in the form of man to die for us, doesn’t know what we need? How can this be?
So when I came to a scripture in first John I too began to question my initial reaction to this verse: 1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.“
My initial reaction was a wow, How can this be? Because you see in my own life I have so many times done what is contrary to what God has commanded. In essence I have called Him wicked. See when someone commands something it is a direct expression of who they are. Take for example Adolf Hitler. He commanded the thousands to be killed yet never did it with his own hands. But in his commands he shows his heart. Thus in God commands he shows his Person and Heart.
This then leads me to a claim that the apostle John makes in First John about who God is, that “God is Love”. Thus if God is love then anything he tells us to do will be out of love and for our good. Let’s take for example the one of the Ten Commandments. “Thou shalt not commit adultery” which Jesus takes even further “Do not lust after a woman in your heart”. We could see this command as God being Authoritarian and not letting us have sex. Really what He is saying is Lust/Sex outside of marriage is not the way I made things to be and if you go against it things will be bad. This has been proven by millions of experiences of hurt and pain from sex outside of marriage and how it keeps you in its cords. But what God is also saying is that the things he commands against are opposite of His Person and thus sin. See sin is just the opposite of God’s person and God must punish it. That is why Jesus came to take our punishment for sin and reconcile us to God! That when we trust in Christ alone to save us He will and as Christians we continue to come back to who God is, and Submit to His Ruling in our lives.
So in conclusion, Will you see God’s rules as a Burden or will you see God behind them pleading to your heart to go His way and fall deeper in love with Him and not yourself and sin?
So now that I am Engaged things have begun to change. Some things hard but it has always been for the better as we have pushed thru the barriers of life. Many guys think of getting married as a loss of themselves and a loss of true happiness. You know how I know this? Because I have had a lot of discouraging comments from numerous men, such as “things are gonna change” (in a bad tone) “Just give her what she wants, she’s always gotta be right,” and many others. All of these statements have a root to them which I believe has been built into men’s minds by our culture.
Many men think also that they are just going to move into a house with their wife and they will just be roommates. Though they don’t always voice these things so obviously, they do come out it conversation.
One of the main reasons I believe this mindset has crept into so many men from the Christian to non-Christian, from the rich to the poor. Is because of porn and the massive amount of images shown to us every time we turn the corner. It has made women out to be objects which we are to use, whether used sexually, emotionally, for our image, or many other reasons. Our so called “Love” is not truly love at all but it is what Jesus says about the robber who comes “to steal, and pillage”. Deeply imbedded in our hearts is not love!! Its lust and overflowing of wickedness.
I know much of this because I am a man who has grown up in this culture experienced it all and is not too far in my walk with Jesus(about 3ish years) so I have been dealing with a lot of baggage. If you read my blog post “a serial Confessionist & the holiness of God” you will see part of the way I have overcome many of these mindsets.
But before I got engaged a dear friend and mentor Spencer Plumlee set me down and called me out. He brought my selfishness to the light and exposed much of this attitude that I have thus explained to you previously about using girls. Now don’t get me wrong I love Jennifer with my whole heart. But deep down inside I still had the stench of Selfishness growing. That day when Spencer sat me down we talked about my decision to die to self and serve Jennifer. And that day I made the decision and since then it has been hard but it has truly reaped a better reward in the long run and has brought me so much closer to Jen and God. Much of what we talked about came from this verse.
Ephesians 5:25-33 “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,So that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. “
I want to focus on the first part of this verse. God has been teaching me so much concerning my duties and my heart with this verse.
1.) He has shown me that if I humbly serve Jennifer and love her then I am following Christ.
2.) If I take responsibility as Christ did this is truly the way things are supposed to work.
First if I love her and serve her this is truly the way that God changes her not me calling her out and trying to change her. See if we both want our own ways and expect things our way we will always have disagreement and always be fighting over whose way we should follow. But if I consistently model an attitude of service to her this frees us both up to love for each other and makes her more willing to want to serve me. See Christ didn’t wait for us to come to Him but he came to us and was the initiator of Love towards us that “while we were still sinners Christ died for us” therefore we should love and serve even without the right response. And every time we don’t get the right response we should remember how we have done the same to Christ and yet he Responds with Love.
Second, This is a key thing I have been learning. A reason why we as males think it’s the end of our lives because of RESPONSIBILITY. We think that responsibility is the devil and the kill-joy of our free lives in where we can do whatever we want. See we get the desire to not take responsibility or not be committed from our first Father Adam. See when Adam and Eve sinned God came to Adam first as the Responsible one and asked what he had done and instead of taking responsibility he blame shifted and said “it was the woman” and since that day men have been blaming women for their lack of taking Responsibility!
But responsibility is not the kill-joy but it is a key which sets us free. See Christ was perfect and sinless yet he took responsibility for OUR sins on the cross. He also took responsibility for the Church and took her as his Bride. In the same way men when we get married we are to take responsibility for the woman and realize its following after Christ. Even when you fight and have done nothing wrong you still take the responsibility for the sin and ask her for forgiveness. I know this takes a lot of humility, something we as men lack. I will be honest this is not easy. But I will also be honest it is the most freeing thing ever and it brings me deeper into identity with Christ! I’m not always perfect, so don’t hear me say that. But God is working and I know this is the ways.
So before you get married men realize what you are called to. Don’t You Dare Get Married If You Haven’t Made Up Your Mind To Die To Self!! I know you won’t be perfect, but it’s the only way. If you think she is going to be your toy or your roommate you are in for some hurt. Truly love her as Christ did and take responsibility! And serve her! This is what True love is and it’s the way of Jesus.
Christian Brothers/Sisters don’t let other Christian Brothers/Sisters continue in sin.
Confrontation.
A word which most people hate and even think it to be sinfully wicked. But I have been persuaded otherwise by God’s words in scripture.
Our culture says that to truly love someone is to let them live their life and you live your life. So the individual has say over his own life and no one can say anything against his decisions or force their opinions upon others.
I believe this attitude has crept into our churches and has been dealt with in two main ways:
1.)People come to church and act like everything is okay so that no one has to deal with each other’s baggage.
2.)People call each other out to show spiritual superiority or to shame the other person and to get them to step back in line and act perfect again.
By God’s standard both of these responses are wrong/wicked and even sinful.
The first response is one which totally contradicts Gods ways for his followers and just neglects His word totally.Here is one we can examine:
Mat 18:12-20what do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
The reason I put verses 12-14 in as well was to give context and to show you that Jesus’ heart is for People, his desire is not for them to go astray into sin. Now when he starts talking about a brother, it is true that this passage specifically is talking about when a brother sins against you and not directly talking about confrontation in any other instance.
But one can see in the section that begins “truly”, that the power of people to overcome sin is stronger when more than one Christian is gathers to overcome it. If you look at the passage that way, to say that when you are confronting them you are desiring for that brother to be restored you can truly see how this passage shows that confrontation is really love and not hate and that love must be in Confrontation.
Another reason that I believe Confrontation is truly loving is shown in an example:
“Thoughts flooded the man’s mind as he walked down the musty road. Contemplating whether to just finish his life or not. His life had come crashing down the last couple of days and the weight had brought him to this point, where he thought he could never go again. See he had been through counseling and tried to help himself past this depression many times before. But now he was in this same familiar place again. He flashed back on his life and felt no worth in it. He saw no real reason to live.But yet his feet continued to walk down this back road. He was in a constant state of daze just walking with no real purpose and constantly fiddling with the knife in his pocket.
But suddenly, as he walked he snapped back into reality and realized he smelled smoke. He looked up and saw a trail in the sky and as he listened he heard people screaming for help. He wondered how a house could be out here in the middle of nowhere. But he couldn’t even help the screaming people if he wanted to. See he couldn’t even help himself how could he ever help those people?”
I believe most Christians are much like the suicidal man. They commit constant spiritual suicide and they have lost hope, they have tried to fix themselves to make themselves pleasing to God but all the time they have forgotten that Jesus is the only way and he paid it all and He is who they pursue. But they just wallow in self pity and guilt all the while Jesus is standing their waiting to take the chains off of them. Since a lot of Christians are like this they are also like the man in another way in that they see so much sin in their lives and see no hope so why should they call out anyone else? And I understand because there is a scripture that says:
Luke 6:39-42 He also told them a parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.
So you shouldn’t call out people’s sin if you aren’t dealing with your own. This is true. But why should we hesitate to deal with our own sin? Do we love our sin more than Jesus? Do we truly believe that Jesus dies to save us from them and he can give us victory over them? If we take sin seriously as Jesus did when he died on the Cross we will first take care of it in our own lives then we will lovingly take our brother aside and help him be restored to the freedom of the cross in a pursuit of the God.
So now that we have seen the reason why reaction 1 is wrong now we can examine reaction 2:
First let’s take a look at that verse in Luke above. In this verse we see that you shouldn’t arrogantly call someone out on anything. You should first look at the sin in your own life.
Second from the passage we also looked at before with the sheep and the shepherd, We see that we must confront in love and that isn’t shown in just confronting someone and leaving them their but leading the towards Christ and helping them!
I believe as we have looked at the word we see Jesus was serious about sin being taken care of first in our own lives and then lovingly in the lives of others. Jesus took sin so seriously to go on the cross for it and die to defeat it that we may live thru Him. Will you take sin seriously and live like Jesus? Or will you not truly love people and live an independent life away from God?
Here are some more verses for you to check out.1 Cor. 5,
Heb 3:13But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
