May 8, 2012

Well .......... I said I was going to address this somewhat 'sensitive' subject .... so here goes .........  Remembering back to last week's commentary where I discussed Joel Osteen's statement concerning the presidential candidates, Romney & Obama, and in the Obama segment, I used the subject of homosexuality and his support  of that lifestyle as a 'no-no' concerning his claim to being a christian  I went on to say that this position was, in essence, 'exhibiting blatant disdain and hostility to God and biblical truth.' ... I still hold to the same truth right now! ... Well, needless to say, this subject is one of great focus and concern in our society and churches today.  As a result, many comments have come in many forms and the opinions are 'all over the map.'  .... I will specifically define my position scripturally in this commentary, but first I want to tell of another incident that has helped trigger my desire to take this 'monster' on. 
About two weeks ago, while in a meeting with my pastor, he proceeded to tell me a story told to him by a mutual friend's teenage daughter, who is a student in our local high school. She went on to tell him that, in fact, April 20th was 'Marijuana Day' and some kids came to school 'loaded' ..... but in addition to this, there were booths set up in the halls displaying 'GLBT' (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) rights. The students were then asked, if in fact they supported this position, to wear a piece of red duct tape over their mouths, this to indicate their 'silent support' of this movement.  .... Now, my pastor, being a man who takes the Holy Scriptures literally, was very upset when he heard this. ... Then, to add insult to injury, this same school has a christian group of kids who meet on a regular basis, and, sad to say, a couple of them wore the tape in support ...  

Here I go again, but where are the churches today?! ... and I know I've said this a lot and will continue to do so ...  and that is, hardly any churches left in America are focusing on the hard truth of the scriptures ... no one wants to offend or upset anyone. ... In most pulpits, there is no teachings on 'the consequences of a sinful lifestyle.'  Nowadays we mostly see 'motivational speakers' or 'get rich by giving your money to me' types .. you know, the ones that show up in their Learjet's and live in million-dollar homes ... or how about guys like Rob Bell who says that "there is no hell ... therefore, there is no consequences for a sinful lifestyle." ... And, of course, there's the 'emergent Church' leader (Tony Jones) who says, and I quote, "gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and queer individuals can and should live out their sexuality in --- and blessed by --- the christian church."  .... and we wonder what's wrong with our kids and our nation?  ... I do know that some people get upset when we blame the church for our nations problems ... but hey ... who else is going to tell them?  It IS our responsibility and we had better own up to it and get going .... there's a lot of 'lost souls' out there who are being led down a path that runs straight to the gates of hell .........

OK ... so let's now talk about the subject in question  ... that is, homosexuality.  Like we saw in the 'emergent church' statement, many today believe that homosexuality no longer falls under the category of perversion or sexual immorality.  In fact, many main-line christian denominations such as the United Presbyterian, the United Methodist and the Episcopalians endorse it as an acceptable lifestyle ... even to the level of their clergy.  ..... So, for the sake of clarity, let's turn to the 'inspired' word of God, the Bible, and review what it says about it.  ..... Let's start in Genesis, chapter 19:1-29.  Here we see where the men of Sodom surrounded Lot's house and demanded that he hand over the "two angels" that had entered his home earlier that day. Their stated desire was that he release them so that they could "have sex with them." As these scriptures unfold, we see that God became so angry with this wickedness that He destroyed the entire cities of Sodom & Gomorrah. ..... Continuing in the Old Testament for a minute, Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13 say that 'men lying with men is "detestable" (NIV) and the punishment is death. The King James translation says that it is an abomination.

But what do we hear today from these 'seeker friendly', motivational speakers?  They say that the Old Testament is out-dated and that the New Testament is much more tolerant to these issues of preference. ... Oh really? ... I want to start with two separate scriptures that pretty much leave 'no wiggle room' on this issue.  The first one is Romans 1:26-27 which says, ".... God gave them over to sinful lusts.  Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.  27) 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." .... The next one is 1 Corinthians 6:9 that says it plainly, "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived:  Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor HOMOSEXUAL offenders (emphasis mine) .......".    So now, I think that these verses say it as CLEARLY as it can be said.  They plainly say that homosexuality is sexual immorality and a perversion.  Having established this, the rest of the verses I'm listing here only support this truth. They are as follows"


I want to close out the scriptural support with this passage from Revelation 22:12-16.  This is very near the end of the entire Bible and is Jesus' own words, in 'red letters' .......... "Behold, I am coming soon!  My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.  13) I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.  14) Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.  15) Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.  16) I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.  I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright morning star."   ..... That's Jesus Himself, and he can't be much plainer than that!!!!

Now, even after all this, we will still hear some feeble challenges and rationalizations concerning the Bible as it relates to our modern times.  ... Here's just one that comes to mind ... A number of years back, while engaged in a theology discussion with a Lutheran pastor, He said to me .. and he was serious .. "I believe that a lot of Paul's teachings have become irrelevant in today's world." ... Now I know I don't have the credentials for 'pastorhood', but I asked him a simple question - "If this were to be true, where do we draw the line? ... Who then decides what is .. and what isn't? ...... After several moments of quiet contemplation, he admitted that he had no answer for it.  .... The real danger is that there are many church leaders today that feel exactly the way he does ... if it feels good, do it ... make it up as you go ....  You know what I think?   Since we already have booths advocating homosexuality in our schools,  we might as well set up some other ones ... like an 'adultery' booth... or maybe a table for literature on 'blasphemy' ... a 'debauchery' kiosk would be great!!!   ... Anyway, enough of this ................

Finally, I will leave you to your own thoughts on this.  Please remember that, as Christ teaches us, we are to love everyone ... but we are to NOT love or condone their sinful lifestyles.  If you've studied the New Testament at all, you will see that Jesus Himself, along with all the early church leaders, were very harsh when it came to sin. ... Who authorized this to change? Who gave us permission to justify sin?   ....   Titus 1:16 says, "They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him."

I want us all to take a hard look at how we are walking through our lives right now.  ...    Is there something that is causing you to stumble?  Is there something that's causing you to lose the joy of the kingdom that is promised? ... Like so many others, are you rationalizing a sinful habit? ... I pray that you give it to Jesus RIGHT NOW!!! ................ It's amazing how it will transform your life.

Until next time,

Red

Note:  To hear an inspired & truthful sermon on the subject of homosexuality, go to the link on this website entitled "Chehalem Valley Baptist Church" (or click here) and click on the April 29 sermon.
You will find it enlightening.

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