Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In this month's letter we will be addressing an issue that is uncomfortable for many of
us. Homosexuality and abortion and the Church.
THE SIN - 1CO 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?
Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor
abusers of themselves with mankind,
1CO 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall
inherit the kingdom of God.
THE SINNER - JOH 8:10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he
said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
JOH 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go,
and sin no more.
There is an old Christian adage, "Love the sinner and hate the sin." Most of us
who call ourselves by the Name of Christ profess to agree with this concept (it is
Biblical after all); however, as often as not I see quite something different in our lives
and attitudes towards others. Especially so towards those involved in the more
"evil" sins like Homosexuality and Abortion. Make no mistake, the Gay and
Lesbian lifestyle is indeed serious sin and terribly destructive to all involved in it,
and abortion is murder. However, before God, sin is sin, and "If we confess [repent
of] our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins..." (1 John 1:9). Yes,
Christians are to hate sin, but no matter how evil we perceive a particular sin, it is no
excuse for Christians to dehumanize/demonize and attack the persons involved.
I was truly blessed to read of Dr. Jerry Falwell's conference at Liberty University last
month. While I do not agree with Dr. Falwell's approach to many issues, it is times like
this that I am indeed proud to call him brother. Dr. Falwell put his faith into action by
first repenting of much of his former speech and behavior that had been aimed not at the
sin but at the individual sinners. He then, without compromising the truth of the Word,
opened a true loving dialogue intended to heal the hatred on both sides, while exposing
the truth of the Gospel to the homosexual community. May each of us go and do likewise.
Bible believing Christians must follow Dr. Falwell's example and stop hating homosexuals
and abortionists just because of the particular sin they are practicing. We do not hate
our children because/when they live together in sexual immorality. Nor do we hate the
drunk or the drug user. While we should rightfully hate these sins, we do not even
consider hating the sinner. Instead we do all we can to express Christ's love to them and
to help them give up the sinful behavior. The church must begin approaching the more
"evil" sins of homosexuality and abortion in the same manner.
When was the last time you invited a "gay" acquaintance or co-worker to church?
Do you bake cookies and take them to your local abortion clinic with simple Gospel (not
anti-abortion) tracts? God's loving truth will conquer sin much more quickly then
militancy and hatred (1 Peter 3:9). Think about it.
It is true that believers must NEVER condone, or worse, endorse or affirm sin. However,
while we must unashamedly oppose all sin, including the current militant homosexual and
pro-abortion social/political agendas with our total beings, we are not called to condemn
sinners. We are called to love them (the sinners) in Christ and to point them to Jesus
that they may be saved from that sin.
Until next month, keep on lifting up the Name of Jesus!
God Bless you and yours
|
Welcome
to The Pastor's Study. Here you will find our monthly pastoral letters containing
observations and teachings regarding not only doctrinal issues but also social and
philosophical issues of importance to Biblical Christians in today's rapidly changing
world. We will be posting a new letter each month and will be offering the past messages
in the archives linked below. Be sure to let us know your thoughts on these issues also.
Your input is important.