Posted on 06/29/2016 9:53:10 AM PDT by Kaslin
Im quite aware that we will be branded haters and bigots if we simply teach that marriage is the union of one man and one woman or if we believe that kids deserve a mom and a dad. And I know only too well that if we hold to historic Judeo-Christian sexual morals, we will be vilified in the ugliest imaginable terms.
No matter how gracious and respectful we are, no matter how carefully we present our views, we will be attacked, and theres nothing we can do about that other than continuing to speak the truth in love.
Some of those reacting in anger have been deeply hurt and feel personally wounded by our words, believing that we are dehumanizing and condemning them. And so, rather than calling them hypersensitive, we should be as sensitive as possible when sharing the gospel with them.
Others simply respond with, Hater! Bigot! Homophobe! the moment we present the truth. Its reflex as much as it is rhetoric, and we cant be discouraged or disheartened in the least when treated like this. Jesus told us to expect as much (see John 15:18-20).
Unfortunately, there is a real stream of homo-hatred in the Church, even if it represents the tiniest, fringe minority of the Body. It is there, and it must be rebuked in the clearest possible terms, especially since the secular media will focus on the very few hateful voices and ignore the vast multitude of loving voices.
For the record, I have been in numerous, closed-door meetings with conservative Christian leaders, and not once have I heard a disparaging, mocking comment about gays and lesbians. We have strongly differed with their talking points; we have refused to capitulate to their agenda; but we have never sat around and mocked the people or wished for their harm or rejoiced in their suffering.
God forbid. That is not what Christians do.
I wish I could say that sentiment was embraced universally, but it is not. And just as the Church has always had its significant flaws and shortcomings in the past, it continues to do so today.
What disturbs me most is not that there are a handful (literally) of pastors rejoicing publicly in the Orlando massacre or that the vile Westboro Baptist group is celebrating the slaughter. Given that there are hundreds of thousands of ministers and church groups in America, the fact that several (again, I mean that literally) have a perverse reaction to the deaths of 49 gays and lesbians is hardly a surprise.
When my namesake, Michael Brown, was killed last year in Ferguson, some LGBTs expressed disappointment that I was not the one shot down by the police. I get death wishes sent my way on an almost daily basis, and some gay leaders have made horrific statements about me.
There are bad apples on all sides of every issue, and the existence of a few bad apples proves nothing, be it in the Church or the LGBT community.
Its just disturbing to see more bad apples than we should on the Christian side of things.
All the more then should those of us who really know the Lord denounce this ugly rhetoric whenever we see it, determining more than ever to speak the truth in love.
What prompted me to address this problem was the response that I received to my YouTube video renouncing the comments of Arizona pastor Steven Anderson.
After the first 16,615 views, there were 476 thumbs up and 74 thumbs down. In contrast, among some of my recent videos, the initial response to Why Isnt the Book of Enoch in the Bible? was 151 to 7; the response to my Open Letter to Megyn Kelly regarding her transgender comments was 233 to 14; and the response to I Was Wrong: Three Words That Could Change Donald Trumps Life was 109 to 22.
I would have expected the response to the Anderson video to have been something like 550 thumbs up to 5 thumbs down based on my own experience over the last decade plus as I have addressed these issues. Instead, I received comments like: Dr brown is a false prophet! Doesn't believe in Jesus Christ he believes in people's money and calls God a liar because he doesn't believe the record that God gave of his son! (Remember: This was for renouncing Andersons comment that the massacre was good news, while effectively branding all gays pedophiles.)
Another chimed in with: micheal brown is a hypocrite of the first order, soft on sin, worldly and compromised pelagian heretic. the usa is awash in sin, and God punished those in Orlando, God is sovereign, HIS WILL UNFOLDS . stop coddling the wicked in their sin, The bible is two third on Gods wrath and hatred, stop perverting th bible mr jew zionist , instead of tryin to appear moderate to ur haters by bashing a good man like anderson go and bash abortionists, u hypocrite u, jesus came with a sword, how bout this verse has evil not come to the city and God not done it... Im a french phd student too, and challenge u liar to a debate, phony reprobate.
Others added: Youre a FALSE PROPHET. Jude 1!!! And, He said nothing wrong. Maybe it is you who is backwards. And, By your own words you Dr. Brown just said to God and to all people that you are as one of them hating God by living in wickedness. Why you should die as a lover of LGBT and be with them in Hell fire. Repent of your own wickedness and be Born Again that you may stop sinning and see the truth! Shame on you carnal / foolish man.
Still others wrote, The fact this guy calls himself Doctor, is all I need to know about this prideful individual, only an actual MD should be called Doctor! How can you read The Bible and get that sodomites are anything but disgusting, vile, reprobates? Oh yeah, you read the NIV! This Doc, is apostate! And, Dr. Brown is not a Christian. He is a liberal progressive who interprets the Bible according to what he feels comfortable in believing.
And there was this comment on Twitter from a woman whose bio simply cited Romans 8:28 (all things work together for good for those who love God). She wrote: Pastor Anderson represents my thoughts exactly. Are you a faggot or something?
Of course, LGBT activists would be quick to say: That proves our point. Homophobia is the natural result of your biased interpretation of the Bible, and until you renounce that, you will have this hatred in the Church.
The reverse is actually true, and I can personally attest that the vast majority of Christians I have worked with around the world (meaning, well over 99%) believe homosexual practice is sinful and have real love for LGBT individuals. Plus, as I wrote earlier this week, were not about to renounce biblical teaching on sexuality.
But I wrote this article to say that we cannot minimize this ugly strain in the Body and we must confront it and rebuke it at every turn.
More than that, we must put out the positive truth of the Scriptures regarding Gods love for a sinning world which includes gay and straight and everything in between and His desire that none should perish.
We do believe in divine judgment; we do believe in heaven and hell; we do believe there are consequences for sin; and we do not rejoice in the cold-blooded murder of gays and lesbians by a radical Muslim, period.
When we really walk with the Lord, we share His heart.
Truth will always offends those who despise it, no matter how sugarcoated.
So spare the sugar. Speak plainly. The intent isnt to offend but you cant control others reactions.
Add to that...
Renouncing your fear of confronting and fighting against the gay agenda which end game, BTW, is the prohibition of Christianity and the Bible.
A few years ago saying the destruction of Christianity and banning the Bible was the end game and final objective of the gay agenda was considered ludicrous. But it is now starting to come into focus for the more short-sighted among us.
Speaking the truth in love no matter how you say it is going to bring a negative reaction. Once that truth has been conveyed to someone it is up to them to reject or accept what is being said. They will then be accountable for what happens to them.
We Christians like to beat up on ourselves for the actions of a miniscule minority.
Out of 100 Christian friends I speak with, 100 have hearts of love and compassion, while most also recognize the maladies of human condition which Progressives want to celebrate.
The Crusades, btw, is another area where Christians like to beat up on themselves undeservedly.
The Allinsky tactic is when the Left demands we be held to a perfect standard.
Do not rebuke a fool, or he will hate you.
Yep. Christians are demanded to perfectly conform to PC, Marxist standards. But an Islamist can preach hate and destruction against gays and the left will treat the Islamist like a hero.
The author was named after Michael Brown??? How old is he?
Agree.
One of the things I agreed with and admired that Ben Shapiro said (before he went all goo-goo eyed over Michelle Fields) was “The truth doesn’t care about your feelings”. I said it in response to a strawman that a lefties was trying to apply against him in a debate over phag “marriage”.
If one must chip away at the edges of truth in order to make it more palatable, what is lost is truth over expedience.
I,personally,am not certain if homosexuality is a serious psychiatric disorder or a serious morality disorder...or both.But it is *at least* one of the two.
Heck, the gaystapo won’t even let the truth about homosexuality go without calling it homophobic. Fact. AIDS is still mainly a gay disease. FACT. Gay men have higher rates of suicide and depression. FACT. Gays have the highest rates of STDs. State these facts and you’ll still be branded a hater.
No, AIDS is not a happy disease. Cheerful men do not have higher rates of suicide and depression. I really don’t know if jolly people have the highest rates of STDs, but I doubt it.
All those statements are true of homosexuals though.
Genesis 18:20-21
20. Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21. that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
Genesis 19:4-7
4. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house.
5. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
6. Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him
7. and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing.
Leviticus niv
18:22 Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.
20:13 If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
Isaiah 3:9 The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.
2 Peter 2:13b Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
Ezekiel 16:49-50
49. "`Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
50. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
1. But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
3. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
4. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;
5. if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
6. if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
7. and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men
8. (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)--
9. if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
10. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;
11. yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.
12. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.
13. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
But there IS hope!!!
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
10. nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
If you could NOT change, you would be in most pitiful shape...
Perhaps they'd like to 'interpret' the above...
Proverbs 26:4-5 King James Version (KJV)
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.
I rejoice when enemies of the Cross are made a footstool for His feet.
The author reminds us of love, but fails to concurrently emphasize how and when God forgives, the consequences of those who have already tasted the fruit of the Spirit and still reject Him, and what happens to those who have rejected the truth once they knew it, so as not to crucify Christ again.
The violence of evil is only overcome by the violence of righteousness, justice, truth and grace. Human good when added to sin results in evil. When evil saturates the mind, violence is a natural consequence. Violence isn’t evil, but when evil exercises violence, it must be overcome for good to prevail.
I don't know.
The bible tells the tale of the Israelites being told to WIPE OUT the folks when they came into the land; not love on them and understand them.
And the Jews did pretty much do this until they fell for the DECEPTION of the Gibeonites!
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua+9&version=NIV
Guess who the Gibeonites are today??..??
I don't know.
The bible tells the tale of the Israelites being told to WIPE OUT the folks when they came into the land; not love on them and understand them.
And the Jews did pretty much do this until they fell for the DECEPTION of the Gibeonites!
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua+9&version=NIV
Guess who the Gibeonites are today??..??
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.