Posted on 06/15/2015 6:44:40 AM PDT by xzins
If the view of the “converts” to same-sex marriage and the acceptance of homosexual partnerships is “ultimately destructive to society, to the church, and to relations between men and women,” how can that distance be avoided?
The reality is that it cannot. This is a moment of decision, and every evangelical believer, congregation, denomination, and institution will have to answer. There will be no place to hide. The forces driving this revolution in morality will not allow evasion or equivocation. Every pastor, every church, and every Christian organization will soon be forced to declare an allegiance to the Scriptures and to the Bible’s teachings on marriage and sexual morality, or to affirm loyalty to the sexual revolution. That revolution did not start with same-sex marriage, and it will not end there. But marriage is the most urgent issue of the day, and the moment of decision has arrived.
In this season of testing, Christians committed to the gospel of Christ are called upon to muster the greatest display of compassion and conviction of our lives. But true compassion will never lead to an abandonment of biblical authority or a redefinition of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I was contacted yesterday by Sarah Pulliam Bailey of The Washington Post. She asked about these very developments. As I told her, this issue will eventually break relationships — personally, congregationally, and institutionally. This is the sad reality and there is simply no way around it. No one, especially in a position of leadership, will be able to fly under the radar on this issue.
The last two days have been very revealing. The present moment is very demanding. The issues before us are compelling and urgent. The Bible is clear. Are you ready to give an answer?
(Excerpt) Read more at christianheadlines.com ...
While I make a distinction in post #1 between soft persecution and hard persecution (Krysallnacht, Iraq, Syria), I do no equivocate on meeting force with force when persecution turns the corner from soft persecution to hard persecution.
If I’m approved by God to fight and kill Iraqis in a Just War, then Just War applies to terror caused by my own ‘fellow’ citizens if this turns to hard persecution.
Othewise, how could the colonists have fought the British? After all, they were ‘countrymen’ one of the other.
Romans 1 destroys any argument of any special pleaders for homosexual marriage or homosexual behavior. There simply is no way around the Apostle Paul specifically detailing the behavior he had in mind. Even the most liberal of bible critics have recognized the Book of Romans as one of the unassailably certified books of the early Church. So, they can’t even use that favorite argument of ‘this isn’t really to be considered part of holy scripture...’
Romans 1 boxes them in, they know it, and that is why they have had to claim new revelation, reimaginings, and ‘spirit’ inspirations.
Lately, they’ve just given up, and said we have to ‘get past’ the bible.
So, you are right. Anyone who claims they can continue in a God identified sin, and say it is not a sin, and that their behavior is just fine, is one who has rejected God’s revelation.
Good points....there’s really nothing new under the sun...even in our churches!
“Othewise, how could the colonists have fought the British? After all, they were ‘countrymen’ one of the other.”
The American Revolution was a political fight based on a declaration of independence. Now, if Texas were to leave the Union, I’d walk there if need be, gun in hand and ready to join them. If Arizona did, I’d man Arizona’s borders with a smile.
But when cops come to shut down your business after a court ordered them to take your property due to your being unwilling to support homosexuality, shooting the cops will NOT be the way to proclaim Jesus Christ. Shooting the bank teller after the bank transfers funds in your account to pay your fine won’t proclaim Jesus to a lost world either.
I agree, and I think it will come to that here.
There needs to be a clear distinction demonstrated between how the civil authorities determine the state’s definition of civil marriage and how people’s faith determine their definition of marriage. Most of the reason we are in this mess now is because so many have simply been conditioned to believe the state defines marriage. It’s to the point those faiths that actually accept ‘gay marriage’ won’t perform a ceremony for their gay members unless the state they happen to be in also accepts ‘gay marriage.’ That might be more ridiculous than accepting ‘gay marriage’ in the first place.
FReegards
I keep reminding myself of that considering the source of that bit of wisdom.
The definition of ‘hard persecution’ definitely includes depriving you of your “life, liberty, or property without due process of law”. So, can you defend yourself and your family against the cops coming to seize your property due to your religious faith?
I say that you can. In fact, you must. That means the government has become what the 2d amendment was intended for.
Finally, the political and religious have converged.
See #28
Most of the churches are not willing to take a stand on fornication or divorce. They will not take a long stand on homosexuality.
“I think that the Republican Party, in order to get bigger, will have to agree to disagree on social issues,” Paul advised. “The Republican Party is not going to give up on having quite a few people who do believe in traditional marriage. But the Republican Party also has to find a place for young people and others who don’t want to be festooned by those issues.”
Why? It is only important to some individuals if their marriage is religious, whether Muslim, or Christian, or Mormon, or gay religions, or whatever, but to society, the only issue is whether the marriage is legal or not.
When a Navy SEAL wants to move his family on post for protection and school, and medical, then he needs to be able to show that his marriage is legal, not that it fits his religion, or lack of it.
The republicans, in general, are unworthy of leadership. Paul’s ideas here disqualify him from leading a moral people.
Many Christian’s don’t realize the sin problem in everyone’s life including their own. Christ made that abundantly clear in the sermon on the mount where he expanded the meaning of the Law. Nobody can live in accordance with Law, God knew this and solved it with the new covenant. We all need a Savior. Paul, the Law scholar, had the revelation by Jesus himself, but we have Paul’s writings and God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to access.
Our sin will be forgiven by faith in Jesus, but while on earth our sin problem won’t go away. Paul in Romans 6 thru 8 addresses our situation on many levels. Jesus spelled it out with the woman at the well - you are forgiven but go and sin no more.
“...depriving you of your “life, liberty, or property without due process of law””
If the court orders it, in response to a law passed by the legislature, you have HAD due process.
So, it’s impossible for a court and a judge to be wrong, unethical, bought, etc.?
bump for later
“So, it’s impossible for a court and a judge to be wrong, unethical, bought, etc.?”
Due process doesn’t mean the court will never make a mistake. It means you get a reasonable shot at being judged by the law of the land.
In many states, it is against the law to refuse a business request by a homosexual that would be done for a heterosexual. The problem is that ‘homosexual rights’ and ‘religious rights’ conflict, and the courts often come down against religious belief. The state legislatures COULD fix it, but they refuse - which is good evidence that Christians are not anything like a majority. In popular opinion in America, homosexuals are admired more than “judgmental evangelicals”.
So we will lose, with increasing frequency, in the legislatures and courts. When you are fined, will you kill a banker who has transferred the money IAW the law? Will you kill the cop who arrests you? Will you be a martyr, or a murderer? What example did the Apostles set? What example did Jesus give?
Our Southern Baptist Church confronted it head on. In the last business meeting they adopted to their constitution and by-laws clear language that defined marriage between a man and a woman and made it clear there would be no gay marriages and open homosexuals would not be allowed in positions of authority or instruction.
There was minor blow back from a couple of members who are extremely liberal, the result they stopped coming, but then again they always have their nose out of joint about something but otherwise it passed overwhelmingly 99.9% range.
Good to hear, but I hope that your Church went much further than stating the obvious in their constitution and by-laws.
What is preached from the pulpit? THIS is the defining action that elicits the most acrid venom from the homosexual left. If word gets out, it will often result in obscene demonstrations outside, and sometimes inside, the church property.
Is your church ready for this?
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