Outstanding post. Thank you.
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I’m sorry, but I found very little “outstanding” words written in this article. I sometimes wish I had gone to siminary in any church so that I could speak with some authority but, alas, I have not. My words are only my words, my beliefs and what I have learned after many years with the scriptures in front of me. If you believe different than me fine. If you and God are good with each other then who am I to judge. But these words represent many years of time on this earth and just may contain some wisdom.
Did God create Homosexuals? Of course He did. Did God create wife abusers? Of Course He did. Did God create bank robbers, gang bangers, rapists or any other vile despicable sinner? Of course He did. We all have the desire for sin built into us. When we find Christ, for His sake we deny ourselves that sin which so horribly wants to come out of us. Can we be vile sinners and know The Lord? Yes of course we can. Knowing the Lord though and following Him and being His are possibly two different things.
We are ALL sinners. None of us are perfect and none of us become perfect in this life. We will all continue to sin. The Bible teaches that no imperfect thing can abide with God. In Christ we can be made perfect. The opportunity to live with God is indeed a gift but it is not given against our will. Not only must we want it we must qualify for it. Does that mean we earn it? No, of course not, nobody can earn the wonderful gift The Lord has given us except he pay what The Lord paid for it and we, not being God, don’t qualify for being able to pay the price.
Jesus paid the price and gives us the gift if we want it and are willing to pay the price He sets. There is a price, it is not a free gift. The gift only applies if we bring our own sacrifices to The Lord. What is the sacrifice? It is simply to give up our sins, to give up the natural man and try our best to become like The Lord. We are told to be like Christ, to in fact be one with Him just like He is one with His Father, even God.
Can a homosexual give up his sin and qualify for the grace that The Lord gives? Yes he and the rest of us can also qualify if we are willing to bring our own gift of sacrifice to The Lord. Does that mean the homosexual stops being a homosexual? No. It does mean though that he does his best to stop the practice. If after bringing his sacrifice he slips and sins again does that mean he no longer qualifies for the gift? Maybe. But because we are all sinners and The Lord knows us he gave us the possibility of repenting of our sins. It is possible to repent even after we have repented for the same sin in the past. The anguish may be much worse the second, third, forth etc, time but the gift is still available. It is a simple thing to do but simple does not mean easy.
The gate is narrow and few there be that find it because sometimes people enjoy their sin more than they enjoy The Lord.
My problem is with the extreme Gracers who think and even declare that as long as you utter the right words of belief, you are guaranteed a reserved seat in heaven even if you go on to murder, pillage, lie and commit any combination of reprehensible acts.
IOW, God expects you to do what you reasonably can do even if your good works are only 0.0001% of the equation. James 2:14-20 is every much as part of the Bible as John 3:16.
Accordingly, people who blame God for the sins of a sinner are copping out, just as much as the so-called Christians who used their faith as an excuse to kill Native Americans, justify slavery or expel or marginalize believers who didn't buy into their particular brand of Christianity. Rev. Wright and the Taliban Gracers are prime examples of the later.
I was replying to post #10 by Vigilanteman. I thought he had an excellent response. In particular, I like these sentences:
“But none that I know of, save the most corrupt tribal leaders and hardcore Democrats (but I repeat myself) proclaim “accept us as a bunch of drunkards and winos and just keep giving us money to reinforce the habit.”...
...The sewer pipe from Hollywood and the gay culture, however, takes the position that nobody but idiots would take with Native Americans and alcohol. They demand that society accept the most extreme forms of homosexuality, avoid even counseling much less legislating limits and that taxpayers pick up the tab for enabling it in its most destructive forms.”
Everyone has some sins that are extra tempting. Some gamble. I have zero temptation there, but I’m weaker in others. That cannot become an excuse for sin, however. A big guy is probably tempted to bully more than a runt, but that doesn’t excuse bullying.