Satan diligently worked to get Israel cursed and destroyed by God so that Jesus would never enter the world. He achieved a partial destruction on several occasions (even a Babylonian captivity), but ultimately he failed. When the Word became flesh and entered into the world, the devil devised a plan to destroy Him physically, but he failed. Then he labored diligently to contaminate the Lamb of God spiritually, but he failed yet again. When the Savior overcame death, the evil one knew he had lost, but he never relents or repents.
The sins of mankind are forgiven through the atoning blood of Jesus–to all who appropriate His blood according to God’s plan. But Satan has done his best to obscure the Gospel so that many well-intentioned people are listening to a false “gospel.” In the book of Galatians Jewish Christians advocated that something MORE than Christian doctrine be obeyed–namely the law of Moses and circumcision (Acts 15). Today, “Christendom” has the opposite problem.
Apparently, in an effort to condense and simplify the entire New Testament, some have determined that grace is all that is necessary for mankind to be saved. If so, then all people are saved, regardless of anything they do or fail to do. This is an extreme position, which results in universal salvation for everyone. Calvinism gets around this point by teaching that God has from eternity ordained some for salvation and appointed others for damnation. This allows for “grace only,” all right, but it makes Jesus look foolish and deceitful when He invites people to come to Him, knowing full well they do not have the power to do so (Matt. 11:28-30).
The gospel of “faith only” also removes elements from God’s plan of salvation–namely repentance and baptism, the two things Peter commanded on the day of Pentecost in answer to those who asked what they should do (Acts 2:37-38). So, while Satan knows that he has lost the war, he keeps fighting to win as many battles as he can along the way.
Altering the Gospel is just one assault that he makes upon things that are sacred. He also has managed to convince many that man-made denominations are equal to the church for which Jesus died. He has won over multitudes to his point of view about worship–doing whatever feels good. He must howl with laughter to see people worshipping God according to their own impulses and whims instead of adhering to the instructions He gave concerning correct worship. Many think they are on God’s side, but they offer up vain worship week after week (Matt. 15:9).
In another category are those who are not religious and probably have never studied the Bible seriously, but they judge that they know what religion ought to be. They know, for example, that the church should not attempt to teach morality publicly nor speak out against abortion, divorce, pornography, gambling, or any other sin that society now accepts. Churches should stay away from public displays of praying, teaching, or evangelism. Church folk should confine themselves to their buildings. If they have any public visibility, it should be for feeding the hungry and clothing the poor, or giving away money (of which everybody knows that they have unlimited resources).
Christians should, above all else, be tolerant–especially of sin. “After all, we’re all sinners, you know. Jesus told you not to judge. You wouldn’t want to cast the first stone, would you?” So goes the refrain, yada, yada, yada, ad infinitum (this is a Jewish-Latin expression). Many of those with this kind of mentality write religion columns for newspapers, which explains the reason for a lack of Scriptures in their articles.
The following title appeared in The Dallas Morning News on June 12th: “A Fourfold Answer to God’s Call.” The first two paragraphs confirm what this article just affirmed above:
Lillie Brock followed in her father’s footsteps Sunday and became a minister, completing a journey detoured by prejudice 22 years ago.
“When I was in college, I really felt the call to the ministry,” said the Rev. Brock, 43, moments after she and three other women were installed as clergy at an ordination ceremony at Oak Lawn’s Cathedral of Hope, a predominantly gay church (15A).
Ostensibly, this is a news story, but the writer, Terri Langford, knows that prejudice kept this woman out of the ministry. The reason could not have been that the Scriptures forbid practicing homosexuals from becoming Christians, let alone preachers and preacherettes. No, she has concluded that it was prejudice.
Has anyone bothered to look up the word prejudice in a dictionary lately? According to the first definition listed in he American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the word prejudice means: “1. a. An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. b. A preconceived preference or idea; bias.” Perhaps Terri Lang-ford can tell us who is in possession of the facts: those who abide by the Scriptures or those who ignore them? [God does not call women to preach (1 Tim. 2:12).]
Since there is not one reference to a Scripture in the entire article, we have no idea what the columnist knows or does not know. One might think that she is extremely knowledgable since she KNOWS that it was prejudice that kept Lillie Brock from being ordained. When Brock’s application to become a minister was rejected by the Southern Baptists, she:
eventually followed the example set by her father. At about the same time his daughter encountered prejudice in a Tennessee church, the Rev. Jimmy Brock announced his homosexuality [what great family values, gws] and left his Alabama Southern Baptist church to start over in Florida (19A).
She cites prejudice again; she must be confident that the New Testament teaches in favor of homosexuality. So perhaps Biblical scholar Langford can explain a few passages to us PREJUDICED folk.
When women exchange “the natural use for what is against nature,” why does the inspired apostle Paul call such behavior the result of “vile passions” (Rom. 1:26)?
Why does Paul also say that men who burn “in their lust for one another” commit “what is shameful” (Rom. 1:27)?
Why does Paul say that those who participate in such things “dishonor their bodies among themselves” (Rom. 1:24)?
Why does Paul say that these people first “exchanged the truth of God for a lie,” which then led to this perverted behavior (Rom. 1:25)?
Why does Paul say that people resort to these vile passions when God has given them up (Rom. 1:26)?
Why does Paul say that these people conduct themselves so dishonorably because “they did not like to retain God in their knowledge” (Rom. 1:28)? Tell us, o impartial staff writer.
Why does Jude, the brother of Jesus, say that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had “gone after strange flesh” and “are set forth an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 7)?
All of these verses (and others) are reasons that Christians oppose the sin of homosexuality. This in not prejudice; it is the Word of God. Those who think that Jesus is going to save people IN their sins instead of FROM their sins when they repent are only deluding themselves. Christians have not prejudged at all. We study the Word of God to see what it says. Nothing could be clearer than that God regards homosexuality a heinous sin. His attitude is set forth early in the Scriptures with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19), which is cited in the New Testament. God has never changed His attitude toward this sin. He has not suddenly pronounced it acceptable, regardless of what newspaper columnists think.
Now why hammer this point home? The reason is that this homosexual church claims to be following Jesus, which is absurd. They are no more Christians than the perpetual adulterer, thief, or drunkard. Repentance is a key element of becoming a Christian.
John, who prepared the way for Jesus made this concept the heart of his preaching:
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt. 3:1-2).
A few verses later he taught, “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matt. 3:8). Everything he said had to do with people changing their sinful behavior.
When Jesus began to preach, His message was: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). Furthermore, “repentance and remission of sins” is the message that is to be preached to the whole world (Luke 24:47). Without repentance, a person can not be forgiven of sins, cannot become a Christian, and cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Some would erroneously conclude that we are saying that homosexuals cannot be forgiven of their sins. The Bible teaches that every sin can be forgiven–that men repent of.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 6:9-11).
Homosexuals can be forgiven right along with thieves and drunkards. However, none of them will ever be forgiven unless they repent and give up the sins that are an offense to a holy God.
If the world were deciding on the salvation of any of these people, they would undoubtedly vote to admit into heaven all who participate in these various iniquities. Most people have never repented of their sins, yet they regard themselves as Christians and are sure that eternal life will not be denied them. The fallacy is in thinking that the standards and the requirements for heaven are determined by men rather than God.
“But what about the grace of God? Doesn’t God’s grace cause Him to overlook these things and accept us the way we are?” If God overlooks sin, then why did He send Jesus to die on the cross? If God overlooks sin, then why is there such an emphasis upon repentance? The fact is that many have misunderstood the grace of God. The grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age (Titus 2:11-12). Notice: we are to deny ungodliness, not defend it.
Those who advocate homosexuality are wrong, and it has nothing to do with prejudice; it has everything to do with the objective Word of God. A homosexual “minister” has already proclaimed to all, in effect: “I don’t believe the Scriptures on this point, and I will not repent of my sins. But let me teach you the will of God anyway.” People have no more obligation to listen to these “preachers” than they do to Jimmy Swaggart. They have disqualified themselves from leading God’s people or teaching God’s Word–until there is a willingness to give up the sin. All such are sacrilegious.
One of the homosexuals ordained by the Cathedral of Hope was quoted as saying:
I couldn’t find a straight church which wasn’t either dead in the water or preaching things I couldn’t stand. This church worships a God of love, joy, inclusiveness, and that’s a God I want to know (19A).
Two fallacies stand out. First, this person has made SELF the measure of all things. Notice, the complaint is not, “I couldn’t find any group teaching and following the Bible.” No, the criticism is that “I” couldn’t stand it. All of us have a responsibility to judge whether or not something is Biblical (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1), but we do not have the right to create Christianity in our own image. God is the one being worshipped; He has the right to determine what pleases Him. Whenever man usurps that role, he has departed from the authority of the Scriptures and exalted himself.
The second error is to portray God as inclusive in the sense that this article uses the term. God is inclusive in the sense that every race and nationality (both men and women) are all invited into the kingdom. But He is exclusive regarding those who refuse to repent.
Jesus did not make a plea for unity among the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and others; all of those were welcomed into the kingdom–even tax collectors and harlots. The difference in who is accepted and who is rejected lies in one’s willingness to repent of sins. Jesus told the woman taken in adultery, “Go, and sin no more.” He did not set up an ordination ceremony for her and say, “This woman is a harlot. She can’t help it; she was born into a family that raised her that way, and it’s all she knows. If it weren’t for her harlotry, she could not have made a living all these years. My church is full of love, and we want to include everyone; so we’re ordaining her as a preacher. She’s still going to practice harlotry, and I want all of you to accept her. She is very courageous to want to preach now that you all know what she is. Give her all the support you can against all the people who are prejudiced against harlots.”
Of course, most people would see the incongruity of such a situation. Most people know that a practicing harlot could not effectively “minister” to people, but for some strange reason, people (even staff writers of newspapers) think that practicing homosexuals can. How far removed from the New Testament and the Spirit of Christ can one get! Heaven will not be populated by those who openly flaunt their sins and accuse others of being prejudiced. Many a once-sinful person will be there, but for love of God they repented of their sins. Former harlots and former homosexuals will be there, but there is one thing God will not forgive–the person who continues in his sin, defends it, and refuses to give it up.