I thoroughly enjoyed this article. I have a question, though. I left my Methodist church that joined reconciliation and thoroughly embraces homosexuality and transgenderism. I know Christ loves them, but according to scripture, he would forgive and "to sin no more." I believe that by accepting this sinful behavior, they are not following Christ. Am I being too judgmental, or are they not following scripture? A comment from one of the congregants was that "times change" and my thought was that the word of God does not. How can I find unity with that?
This such a great question and one I want to answer as best I can. Therefore, I need to wait and answer when I’m at a computer with a keyboard. A thoughtful question deserves a well thought out answer. So give me a day or so to respond.
Okay, finally have a few moments to reply to your question, Lenore. Long story short, no…you’re not being too judgmental at all. You’re being true to Scripture and honoring God’s word. You are correct. God LOVES those who commit sexual sin. However, he hates the sin itself. For a church to not call sin a sin is a church that preaches a gospel other than the truth. The Bible gives explicit guidelines regarding church discipline for individuals who participate in a perpetual state of sin. While it doesn’t give similar guidelines on how to discipline an entire local church or denomination in a similar manner, time and again, we see references to apostate churches and the fact we should have nothing to do with them. Just a couple of weeks ago, I talked about the church at Pergamum from Revelation 2 and how they had begun to accept the culture of sexual immorality as prescribed by Balaam. We saw in that passage that Jesus threatened to come to them with a sword if they didn’t repent from this. While it would be best if we could help bring repentance to our church from within, sometimes a church is so apostate there’s nothing that can be done for them. And you owe it to yourself and your walk with Christ to find a church that faithfully honors God. You’re right…while ‘times change’, God does not. He did not just arbitrarily decide homosexuality was a sin. There was a reason for it. That reason is twofold: 1) it’s the order of creation that man and woman should be given into marriage in order to be fruitful and multiply and 2) marriage between a man and woman is a symbol/metaphor for Christ and His bride, the Church. Anything other than that is a mockery of God’s plan of redemption and we all know where such mockery would come from. From the devil, who can only mock and destroy. So, stick to your convictions! It’s far better to displease people and honor God than the other way around. I hope this helps!
I thoroughly enjoyed this article. I have a question, though. I left my Methodist church that joined reconciliation and thoroughly embraces homosexuality and transgenderism. I know Christ loves them, but according to scripture, he would forgive and "to sin no more." I believe that by accepting this sinful behavior, they are not following Christ. Am I being too judgmental, or are they not following scripture? A comment from one of the congregants was that "times change" and my thought was that the word of God does not. How can I find unity with that?
This such a great question and one I want to answer as best I can. Therefore, I need to wait and answer when I’m at a computer with a keyboard. A thoughtful question deserves a well thought out answer. So give me a day or so to respond.
Okay, finally have a few moments to reply to your question, Lenore. Long story short, no…you’re not being too judgmental at all. You’re being true to Scripture and honoring God’s word. You are correct. God LOVES those who commit sexual sin. However, he hates the sin itself. For a church to not call sin a sin is a church that preaches a gospel other than the truth. The Bible gives explicit guidelines regarding church discipline for individuals who participate in a perpetual state of sin. While it doesn’t give similar guidelines on how to discipline an entire local church or denomination in a similar manner, time and again, we see references to apostate churches and the fact we should have nothing to do with them. Just a couple of weeks ago, I talked about the church at Pergamum from Revelation 2 and how they had begun to accept the culture of sexual immorality as prescribed by Balaam. We saw in that passage that Jesus threatened to come to them with a sword if they didn’t repent from this. While it would be best if we could help bring repentance to our church from within, sometimes a church is so apostate there’s nothing that can be done for them. And you owe it to yourself and your walk with Christ to find a church that faithfully honors God. You’re right…while ‘times change’, God does not. He did not just arbitrarily decide homosexuality was a sin. There was a reason for it. That reason is twofold: 1) it’s the order of creation that man and woman should be given into marriage in order to be fruitful and multiply and 2) marriage between a man and woman is a symbol/metaphor for Christ and His bride, the Church. Anything other than that is a mockery of God’s plan of redemption and we all know where such mockery would come from. From the devil, who can only mock and destroy. So, stick to your convictions! It’s far better to displease people and honor God than the other way around. I hope this helps!
Thank you so much. I enjoy your lessons and your books, particularly Ezekiel Crane.