We often get this accusation thrown at us, and seldom can we defend ourselves without losing temper and staying polite. The latest episode of that nature happened today, and I simply have to clarify some things in order to be straightforward and as clear as possible.
A whole group of good students got classified as intolerant because of their Christian convictions. I am not sure whether 16-year old people are able to defend Christian faith well enough to make themselves perfectly understood. I hope they can. But I think it is necessary to point out some aspects of our beliefs that may be perceived in a certain way and that should not be perceived as hate, despise, bullying.
Let me be blunt: we believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, is God-breathed, "theopneustos", and completely infallible in the matters of faith. This Bible teaches us that people are sinners, and therefore commit sins. We all do, without exception, and the only Man who was sinless was Lord Jesus, God incarnate. Every sin is a law breaker and separates us from God. Sin of theft, sin of lying, sin of covetousness, sin of adultery, sin of idolatry, sin of homosexuality. Every sin has to be paid for, and the only payment is death. By no means do we treat homosexuality as somehow special in the register of sins. For every sin there is a punishment. Every sinner will pay. Unless...
Unless a sinner trusts in Jesus and His forensic payment for our sins, unless the sinner repents from his ways and becomes the follower of Jesus, it will be the sinner who is going to pay. A thief, a liar, an adulterer, a homosexual. What we, Christians, want more than anything, is for the sinners to repent and run to the cross. We are compelled to loving all people, because of the love God showed us while we were yet lost sinners.
We love sinners, we are sinners too, but we are the forgiven ones, and desire all people to beg God for forgiveness. But love does not mean shutting our eyes to sin and calling it good. Sin is evil, and it has to be said. Therefore we do say it. We say it out of love, though, and NOT out of hate. This is the huge difference.
6 comments:
But how do we know what God thinks today about homosexuality? The Bible? The text is two thousands years old and God has changed his mind before. From "An eye for an eye" to "Turn the other cheak" for instance.
Jesus him self never said anything about homosexuals and the apostles decided that we shouldn´t follow the old jewish laws. So what do God think about homosexuals today?
I´m Christian and I can honestly say that I don´t know. I can´t see love as a sin though. It´s more or less proven that it is a geneticly variation and would God do so to a person and then punish the person afterwords? That doesn´t sound like the good God I belive in.
My englis isn´t good enough to continue this.
Have a great day now!
By reading the Bible as a whole. God doesn't change, and in the New Testament we find many a confirmation about the sin of homosexuality.
We are sinners, therefore we sin. Do we expect a punishment for that? Yes! Who can save us from this punishment? Jesus. To repent and believe is what He taught. Genetic variations? Not proven. And even if so - this way we can explain murder, pedophilia, everything - shall we then let the criminals walk free because theirs is the genetic problem?
Thanks for commenting :)
I live in Mullsjö :)
Perhaps I should write this in swedish then :-) I see Your point, but still I mean that God has changed his mind when Jesus came. Since we shouldn´t bother about the old jewish laws, how much should we then care about the old testament? I know there are a couple of places even in the new testament that are against homosexuality, but how much of that is their own personal feelings and how much comes from God?
I do know that it´s not my job to judge anyone, as You say we are all sinners.
Christer.
Well, I never agreed on "not needing to bother about the old Jewish laws". The Law of God was the teacher pointing us to Christ, and those who do not obey the law and claim to be Christians, are not Christians in reality. Our obedience to law confirms our salvation. The Bible is a unit, and we certainly have no authority to pick and choose from it, right?
By telling people that the Bible calls them sinners we are not judging them, we are only providing the judgment of the Scriptures. One either accepts the whole counsel of God, or nothing of it. Hence, out of love and concern we are trying to tell everybody about the Good News, but there is no Good News if it is not preceded by the bad news of our sin.
But since all sins, all but one can be forgiven, who are we christians to tell anyone that they will have to pay with deth for their sins? We don´t know how God will judge when that day come. We don´t have the whole picture so to speak.
Even Jesus broke the law by working on the sabbath, still we see him as without sin. If we should follow the old laws we should still be forbiddeb to eat some of the things we eat today, we should still circumsise all boys and so forth.
Have a great day now!
Christer.
http://www.gotquestions.org/gay-marriage.html
http://www.gotquestions.org/gay-Christian.html
http://www.gotquestions.org/God-hates-fags.html
http://www.gotquestions.org/homosexuality-Bible.html
will answer better than I.
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