With Barack Obama announcing his support of homosexual marriage, and the people of the state of North Carolina voting to change the state constitution to say that the only valid
"domestic legal partnership" in the state is marriage between a man and a
woman, I thought I would comment on this controversial subject.
I've never been one to back down from a controversial conversation. And I believe that this conversation is an important one, for several reasons. First, because Christians are being deceived by the lie that homosexual marriage is honoring to God. Homosexuality is no longer seen as sinful in this culture and is becoming more and more prevalent in the younger generations. And at the core of all of this, I see 2 reasons why this has happened, and why this will continue to happen, along with more and more sin being not only acceptable, but encouraged:
1) We live in a culture where tolerance is the highest virtue.
2) We no longer believe in a God who does not tolerate sin.
Here's the way I said it in a recent conversation on Facebook, talking with a Wheaton College grad who claims that God is glorified through homosexual marriage:
"Tolerance has become the defining theme of our culture today. It seems like we must tolerate and cater to everyone, even when it seems utterly ridiculous. And this, I argue, is taking away my freedom. Because you see, we can talk about sin all day long and it's totally acceptable. TV shows are now showing the gay lifestyle in great detail (Glee, Smash, just to name a few). But when I start presenting the God of the Bible, the One Who created the universe, the One Who created us male and female, the One Who holds all things together, the One Who we will stand before one day and give an account for our lives, I often times feel like people just want me to shut up. To be nicer to those who are living in direct disobedience to the King. To keep my views to myself because I'm offending certain people. People seem tolerant of just about anything these days, except for when we start talking about Jesus. Nobody wants to hear what God has to say anymore...and certainly not the God of the Bible. And so we've created a new god. A god who is just as tolerant of sin as we are, because after all, tolerance is our defining characteristic. So why take the time to get to know the real God, when I can just put words in His mouth, ideas in His brain, and change the plot of the greatest story ever told? Why not start believing that He is totally accepting of the homosexual lifestyle and any other sin? Why not start insisting that those in the LBGT community can bring glory to Him through their sinful relationships? People have cried just from reading some of these posts! That's how tolerant we are of this! Christians, who claim to know and love Jesus, are giving approval and even defending this sin in our culture. In our great quest for total tolerance, we've become intolerant of the Word of God."
I believe that this is an issue that we as believers must not back down from. We are commanded to love sinners, not to love sin. So this is directed to those who claim to know and love Jesus, yet are either living outside the guidelines that God has set for us, or are giving approval to those who are. Homosexual relationships are not, and have never been acceptable to God. I wanted to post one more interaction from my conversation on Facebook. The first is from a girl who chimed in with her opinion, followed by my response. Hopefully, you see my heart in this matter:
"Robbie- why is it everybody else's business on what someone chooses to do? If a man wants to sleep with a man... according to the Bible he's going to Hell right? So let him go to Hell. The government has NO RIGHT to say no gay marriage. It's not their business nor their bodies. And from what I remember... homosexuals pay their taxes every April 17th just like all the straight people. So why shouldn't they get the same benefits? Why can't we all just worry about bettering ourselves and not give a damn what strangers do nor where they'll end up in the afterlife?"
My Response:
"My statements are intended for Bible believing Christians who I feel are ignoring truth in the Bible. And here's why I can't just worry about bettering myself and not give a damn what strangers do nor where they'll end up in the afterlife. Because love demands that people know the truth. How much would I have to hate someone, to believe in an eternal lake of fire, and not tell them that they're headed for it unless they change their ways? Yet this is what so many Christians do. We don't tell people. Yet those Christians are seen as "nice" and "respectable" by the world. But I don't want to stand before God on the last day and know that I was seen as nice and respectable by the world. I'm not living for the approval of man. I'm living for the approval of God, and He has commanded us to go into the world and tell people that His Son is the only way to heaven, that He has standards, and that unforgiven sin is the only thing that can keep us out of heaven. My beliefs, lived out, demand that I live honestly. If not, I'm living in hatred towards those who don't know God. So when I call sin out and tell people that they need Jesus, I don't think I'm being mean or overstepping my bounds. I think it's the most loving thing I can possibly do for someone, to tell them how they can have a relationship with Jesus and spend eternity with Him. While there may be greater issues that the government could focus on than homosexual marriage, there is no greater issue in all of life, than whether or not we know Jesus."
Romans 1:16-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Ephesians 5
I feel like I could write a book on this, but at the end of the day, God's Word speaks for itself. I'm so excited that I get to spend a summer with Jr. High and High School students from all over America. I'm excited that I get to talk about the righteous, glorious, holy God of the Bible. I think having a right perspective of who God is, and even talking about Him in a way that demonstrates our total awe for Him, helps shape the way we see the world around us. As A.W. Tozer said, "What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us."
To close, we're all sinners. Each person has their unique struggles. I don't think I'm any better than a homosexual. I just don't share that struggle. But I'm a sinner, just like them. The playing ground is level. We've all fallen short of God's glory. Recognizing how and where we've fallen short, is the first step towards radical obedience.
I've never been one to back down from a controversial conversation. And I believe that this conversation is an important one, for several reasons. First, because Christians are being deceived by the lie that homosexual marriage is honoring to God. Homosexuality is no longer seen as sinful in this culture and is becoming more and more prevalent in the younger generations. And at the core of all of this, I see 2 reasons why this has happened, and why this will continue to happen, along with more and more sin being not only acceptable, but encouraged:
1) We live in a culture where tolerance is the highest virtue.
2) We no longer believe in a God who does not tolerate sin.
Here's the way I said it in a recent conversation on Facebook, talking with a Wheaton College grad who claims that God is glorified through homosexual marriage:
"Tolerance has become the defining theme of our culture today. It seems like we must tolerate and cater to everyone, even when it seems utterly ridiculous. And this, I argue, is taking away my freedom. Because you see, we can talk about sin all day long and it's totally acceptable. TV shows are now showing the gay lifestyle in great detail (Glee, Smash, just to name a few). But when I start presenting the God of the Bible, the One Who created the universe, the One Who created us male and female, the One Who holds all things together, the One Who we will stand before one day and give an account for our lives, I often times feel like people just want me to shut up. To be nicer to those who are living in direct disobedience to the King. To keep my views to myself because I'm offending certain people. People seem tolerant of just about anything these days, except for when we start talking about Jesus. Nobody wants to hear what God has to say anymore...and certainly not the God of the Bible. And so we've created a new god. A god who is just as tolerant of sin as we are, because after all, tolerance is our defining characteristic. So why take the time to get to know the real God, when I can just put words in His mouth, ideas in His brain, and change the plot of the greatest story ever told? Why not start believing that He is totally accepting of the homosexual lifestyle and any other sin? Why not start insisting that those in the LBGT community can bring glory to Him through their sinful relationships? People have cried just from reading some of these posts! That's how tolerant we are of this! Christians, who claim to know and love Jesus, are giving approval and even defending this sin in our culture. In our great quest for total tolerance, we've become intolerant of the Word of God."
I believe that this is an issue that we as believers must not back down from. We are commanded to love sinners, not to love sin. So this is directed to those who claim to know and love Jesus, yet are either living outside the guidelines that God has set for us, or are giving approval to those who are. Homosexual relationships are not, and have never been acceptable to God. I wanted to post one more interaction from my conversation on Facebook. The first is from a girl who chimed in with her opinion, followed by my response. Hopefully, you see my heart in this matter:
"Robbie- why is it everybody else's business on what someone chooses to do? If a man wants to sleep with a man... according to the Bible he's going to Hell right? So let him go to Hell. The government has NO RIGHT to say no gay marriage. It's not their business nor their bodies. And from what I remember... homosexuals pay their taxes every April 17th just like all the straight people. So why shouldn't they get the same benefits? Why can't we all just worry about bettering ourselves and not give a damn what strangers do nor where they'll end up in the afterlife?"
My Response:
"My statements are intended for Bible believing Christians who I feel are ignoring truth in the Bible. And here's why I can't just worry about bettering myself and not give a damn what strangers do nor where they'll end up in the afterlife. Because love demands that people know the truth. How much would I have to hate someone, to believe in an eternal lake of fire, and not tell them that they're headed for it unless they change their ways? Yet this is what so many Christians do. We don't tell people. Yet those Christians are seen as "nice" and "respectable" by the world. But I don't want to stand before God on the last day and know that I was seen as nice and respectable by the world. I'm not living for the approval of man. I'm living for the approval of God, and He has commanded us to go into the world and tell people that His Son is the only way to heaven, that He has standards, and that unforgiven sin is the only thing that can keep us out of heaven. My beliefs, lived out, demand that I live honestly. If not, I'm living in hatred towards those who don't know God. So when I call sin out and tell people that they need Jesus, I don't think I'm being mean or overstepping my bounds. I think it's the most loving thing I can possibly do for someone, to tell them how they can have a relationship with Jesus and spend eternity with Him. While there may be greater issues that the government could focus on than homosexual marriage, there is no greater issue in all of life, than whether or not we know Jesus."
Romans 1:16-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Ephesians 5
I feel like I could write a book on this, but at the end of the day, God's Word speaks for itself. I'm so excited that I get to spend a summer with Jr. High and High School students from all over America. I'm excited that I get to talk about the righteous, glorious, holy God of the Bible. I think having a right perspective of who God is, and even talking about Him in a way that demonstrates our total awe for Him, helps shape the way we see the world around us. As A.W. Tozer said, "What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us."
To close, we're all sinners. Each person has their unique struggles. I don't think I'm any better than a homosexual. I just don't share that struggle. But I'm a sinner, just like them. The playing ground is level. We've all fallen short of God's glory. Recognizing how and where we've fallen short, is the first step towards radical obedience.
