Yes we are in need of grace. But we cannot have grace if we do not believe we need to repent due to refusing to accept that we have in fact committed sins, whether it be fornication, adultery, homosexuality, lust and the rest of the litany of sins.
Having a “pridefest”, celebrating ours sins is hardly repentant. That’s the point. RG3 didn’t say anything of that nature. He seemed to accommodate the state of people living in an ongoing lifestyle of sin.
“Having a “pridefest”, celebrating ours sins is hardly repentant.”
Correct, and that is addressed in Romans 1:32:
“who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”
Everyone sins, but that doesn’t mean sin should be condoned.
Bingo, publius.
We don’t get the option of redefining sin into being “not sin”. God says it’s sin...all of those things to include homosexuality.
We can’t say, “Grace...grace...grace...and that means nothing gets to be defined as sin anymore, so dude, keep doing what you’re doing, it’s just fine.”
The message is “repent and believe the gospel.” That means to admit that sin is sin, that it is harmful, that it violates God’s rules on how he wants this world to operate, and that WE are to admit it’s wrong and stop doing it.
That’s a whole world different than saying it’s A-OK and we can keep doing it.
I suppose we could debate the theological niceties of when grace occurs and whether it is dependent on our repentance (and I expect we would agree more than disagree), but I do agree that repentance is necessary.
To be honest, I found RGIII's statement disappointing, but I am continually disappointed by the number of people (not you publius) who speak as though the Bible was written for the sole purpose of warning people about homosexuality, when, in truth, we are all guilty of equivalent sin.