Monday, November 29, 2010
The Encouraging Word - 11/28/10
Have you ever listened to the testimony of a person who has no home, no family, and no transportation? If not, here's your chance. Meet John Ford. God is doing an awesome work in his life and our church has been blessed just to get to know him. Listen to his powerful testimony here. God has literally taken this man off the streets and is using him for His glory. Hallelujah - what a Savior!
Monday, November 22, 2010
The Encouraging Word - 11/21/10
This week's Encouraging Word asks the following question: How do you respond to the truth? Few people seem to want to tell the truth, far fewer seem to want to hear it, and even fewer respond to truth in the appropriate way. I hope we'll all learn a lesson from King Jeroboam and receive the truth with all humility. Have a great week.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Are People Born Gay? (Part 4)
It's hard to bring this discussion to an end. There is so much more I'd like to say, but it's time to bring these posts to a conclusion. In doing so, I'd like to share with you three things the church needs to realize concerning this issue of homosexuality.
First, the world (and even some churches) are going to continue to promote the lie that people are born gay, despite the fact that Scripture, good science, and even philosophy teaches us otherwise. For that reason, we can expect the media (TV, internet, music, etc.), retailers, and even our government to continue to push the homosexual agenda. For the past two years, the current administration has declared June to be "Gay Pride Month" in the United States. And as I mentioned, some churches have even gotten in on the act. Entire denominations are now proclaiming the merits of the homosexual lifestyle. Where those denominations once denounced homosexuality as sin, they are now celebrating it as an alternate lifestyle. These types of things will only grow worse if our Lord continues to tarry in His coming. It's for good reason we say, "Even so, come Lord Jesus!" (Rev. 22:20).
Second, if you faithfully teach and share what the Bible has to say about homosexuality, you will be despised by many. You will be called narrow-minded, mean-spirited, and just plain ignorant. You will be marginalized as a mind-numbing neanderthal who hasn't made his way out of the caves and into the light quite yet. But didn't Jesus tell us to expect such things: "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you...if they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:19, 20). Paul echoed the words of our Savior in his second letter to Timothy: "The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Tim. 4:3-4). We must decide if we are going to cave in to political correctness, or if we're going to stand with the Savior and "preach the Word" (2 Tim. 4:2).
Finally, as the Body of Christ we've got to do much more to share the truth with homosexuals and love them to the Savior. This is where I have to take a long look in the mirror. I have to confess that I've made fun of homosexuals and said some very hurtful things about them. But how much time have I spent trying to reach them for Christ? Didn't Jesus die for homosexuals too? I hope we'll all remember that Christ spent a great deal of His ministry around those whom the religious right had excommunicated - the lepers, the harlots, the tax collectors, the demon-possessed, etc. It's time to ask ourselves some hard questions. Would homosexuals feel welcome in our churches? Do our houses of worship feel more like hotels for saints or hospitals for sinners? God help us to reach reach men, women, boys, and girls of every status and lifestyle with the life-changing Gospel of our Savior (Rom. 1:16).
First, the world (and even some churches) are going to continue to promote the lie that people are born gay, despite the fact that Scripture, good science, and even philosophy teaches us otherwise. For that reason, we can expect the media (TV, internet, music, etc.), retailers, and even our government to continue to push the homosexual agenda. For the past two years, the current administration has declared June to be "Gay Pride Month" in the United States. And as I mentioned, some churches have even gotten in on the act. Entire denominations are now proclaiming the merits of the homosexual lifestyle. Where those denominations once denounced homosexuality as sin, they are now celebrating it as an alternate lifestyle. These types of things will only grow worse if our Lord continues to tarry in His coming. It's for good reason we say, "Even so, come Lord Jesus!" (Rev. 22:20).
Second, if you faithfully teach and share what the Bible has to say about homosexuality, you will be despised by many. You will be called narrow-minded, mean-spirited, and just plain ignorant. You will be marginalized as a mind-numbing neanderthal who hasn't made his way out of the caves and into the light quite yet. But didn't Jesus tell us to expect such things: "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you...if they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:19, 20). Paul echoed the words of our Savior in his second letter to Timothy: "The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Tim. 4:3-4). We must decide if we are going to cave in to political correctness, or if we're going to stand with the Savior and "preach the Word" (2 Tim. 4:2).
Finally, as the Body of Christ we've got to do much more to share the truth with homosexuals and love them to the Savior. This is where I have to take a long look in the mirror. I have to confess that I've made fun of homosexuals and said some very hurtful things about them. But how much time have I spent trying to reach them for Christ? Didn't Jesus die for homosexuals too? I hope we'll all remember that Christ spent a great deal of His ministry around those whom the religious right had excommunicated - the lepers, the harlots, the tax collectors, the demon-possessed, etc. It's time to ask ourselves some hard questions. Would homosexuals feel welcome in our churches? Do our houses of worship feel more like hotels for saints or hospitals for sinners? God help us to reach reach men, women, boys, and girls of every status and lifestyle with the life-changing Gospel of our Savior (Rom. 1:16).
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Are People Born Gay? (Part 3)
Having considered the biblical and theological references to homosexuality, I'd like to turn some attention to the scientific and philosophical aspects of this issue. Let's consider science first. A friend of mine called my attention to a recent article that appeared in the Knoxville News-Sentinel. It can be accessed by clicking here. The writer of the guest column, Lucille Griffo, shares the story of the time when her son told her that he was gay. In the midst of telling her story, Ms. Griffo sets forth this statement as an undeniable scientific fact: "(Homosexuality) is a biological reality."
Is Ms. Griffo right? Do the findings of science back up her claim? Consider this: In 2003, Dr. Francis Collins worked with many others in completing what is now known as the Human Genome Project. Afterwards, Collins wrote a book about the project entitled "The Language of God." Here's what he had to say about the possibility of homosexuality being an unavoidable, predetermined condition: "An area of particularly strong interest is the genetic basis of homosexuality. Evidence from twin studies does in fact support the conclusion that heritable factors play a role in male homosexuality. However, the likelihood that the identical twin of a homosexual male will also be gay is about 20% (compared with 2-4 percent of males in the general population), indicating that sexual orientation is genetically influenced but not hardwired by DNA, and that whatever genes are involved represent predispositions, not predeterminations" (p. 260, "The Language of God").
In other words, one of the world's most renowned scientists does NOT believe that homosexuality is a predetermined condition someone is born with. He chooses to say rather that a person might be born with a predisposition to homosexuality, just as some people are born with a predisposition towards alcoholism or drug abuse - most likely due to exposure to those substances prior to birth. But notice the key difference though - a predisposition is NOT a predetermination. In other words, just because someone might be born with a predisposition towards alcohol or drugs doesn't mean that the person is completely incapable of avoiding the life of an alcoholic or a drug abuser. A person with a predisposition towards alcohol or drugs must still choose to be an alcoholic or a drug user. Likewise, while a person might have some sort of predisposition to homosexuality (and the jury is still out on that), that person still must choose to be a homosexual. So then, Ms. Griffo's statement of "biological fact" is really no fact at all. No wonder she didn't bother backing up her claim with any sort of credible scientific evidence.
Now I'd like to consider some of the philosophical issues surrounding God, humans, and homosexuality. Many people (such as Bishop Swiley) have said, "God made me this way. He made me homosexual." Just think about this: Would God create a person homosexual and then deny him/her the opportunity to enjoy the lifestyle He created them for? And yet, that's what some would have us to believe. If God created some people homosexual, then why would he go to such great pains to prohibit the homosexual lifestyle in His Word? What kind of god would do such a thing? Clearly not the righteous, holy, and loving God of the Bible. That's almost like saying God created some people simply so He could damn them into an eternity in hell, apart from any volitional act on their part. Again I ask, what kind of god would do that? Not any kind of God I would desire to serve, and clearly not the God of Scripture who says that He "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4).
One final thought for you and I to consider: Did you know that the average life expectancy of a homosexual is typically many years shorter than that of a heterosexual? Not convinced? Read this article. It will provide you with links to several studies that have produced similar findings. That begs the question: If God does indeed create homosexuals and celebrates their lifestyle, then why are their life expectancies substantially shorter than that of their heterosexual counterparts? Just food for thought.
At this point, I trust you will join me in concluding that Scripture, science, and philosophy all stand in clear opposition to homosexuality. Having resolved that, I'd like to share some practical considerations we should all be thinking about as part of the Body of Christ. Stay tuned for Part 4 - the final post in this series.
Is Ms. Griffo right? Do the findings of science back up her claim? Consider this: In 2003, Dr. Francis Collins worked with many others in completing what is now known as the Human Genome Project. Afterwards, Collins wrote a book about the project entitled "The Language of God." Here's what he had to say about the possibility of homosexuality being an unavoidable, predetermined condition: "An area of particularly strong interest is the genetic basis of homosexuality. Evidence from twin studies does in fact support the conclusion that heritable factors play a role in male homosexuality. However, the likelihood that the identical twin of a homosexual male will also be gay is about 20% (compared with 2-4 percent of males in the general population), indicating that sexual orientation is genetically influenced but not hardwired by DNA, and that whatever genes are involved represent predispositions, not predeterminations" (p. 260, "The Language of God").
In other words, one of the world's most renowned scientists does NOT believe that homosexuality is a predetermined condition someone is born with. He chooses to say rather that a person might be born with a predisposition to homosexuality, just as some people are born with a predisposition towards alcoholism or drug abuse - most likely due to exposure to those substances prior to birth. But notice the key difference though - a predisposition is NOT a predetermination. In other words, just because someone might be born with a predisposition towards alcohol or drugs doesn't mean that the person is completely incapable of avoiding the life of an alcoholic or a drug abuser. A person with a predisposition towards alcohol or drugs must still choose to be an alcoholic or a drug user. Likewise, while a person might have some sort of predisposition to homosexuality (and the jury is still out on that), that person still must choose to be a homosexual. So then, Ms. Griffo's statement of "biological fact" is really no fact at all. No wonder she didn't bother backing up her claim with any sort of credible scientific evidence.
Now I'd like to consider some of the philosophical issues surrounding God, humans, and homosexuality. Many people (such as Bishop Swiley) have said, "God made me this way. He made me homosexual." Just think about this: Would God create a person homosexual and then deny him/her the opportunity to enjoy the lifestyle He created them for? And yet, that's what some would have us to believe. If God created some people homosexual, then why would he go to such great pains to prohibit the homosexual lifestyle in His Word? What kind of god would do such a thing? Clearly not the righteous, holy, and loving God of the Bible. That's almost like saying God created some people simply so He could damn them into an eternity in hell, apart from any volitional act on their part. Again I ask, what kind of god would do that? Not any kind of God I would desire to serve, and clearly not the God of Scripture who says that He "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4).
One final thought for you and I to consider: Did you know that the average life expectancy of a homosexual is typically many years shorter than that of a heterosexual? Not convinced? Read this article. It will provide you with links to several studies that have produced similar findings. That begs the question: If God does indeed create homosexuals and celebrates their lifestyle, then why are their life expectancies substantially shorter than that of their heterosexual counterparts? Just food for thought.
At this point, I trust you will join me in concluding that Scripture, science, and philosophy all stand in clear opposition to homosexuality. Having resolved that, I'd like to share some practical considerations we should all be thinking about as part of the Body of Christ. Stay tuned for Part 4 - the final post in this series.
Are People Born Gay? (Part 2)
In my last post, I considered most of what Bishop Swiley had to say about homosexuality in the OT. The only other OT figures he mentioned in his statements were David and Jonathan (about the 31:00 mark). With no biblical justification, the Bishop simply states that while David probably wasn't gay, "I'm sure Jonathan was gay." No explanation of how he arrived at that conclusion, but apparently no explanation is required. It should be enough for us to accept it just because the Bishop believes it. Forgive me if I'm not so apt to accept everything the Bishop believes.
I have a pastor friend who has said on many occasions, "It's not just what false teachers say that gets them in trouble - often it's what they fail to tell you that really derails them." The same is true in this case. I wonder why the Bishop didn't deal with other OT texts such as Deut. 23:17, 1 Kings 14:24, 22:46, and 2 Kings 23:7. My guess would be one of two reasons: Either he doesn't know those passages exist, or he has no acceptable interpretation of them. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he doesn't know that texts are in God's Word.
Moving now to the Bishop's thoughts on the New Testament. For starters, he doesn't even mention what Christ had to say about Sodom and Gomorrah (S & G). Our Lord actually mentions S & G five times in the Gospels (Matt. 10:15, 11:23-24, Mark 6:11, Luke 10:12, 17:29). While some of those may be parallel passages, it doesn't change the fact Christ used S & G as an example of God's wrath against human sin. Again, I found it interesting that the Bishop couldn't bring himself to mention these passages.
I will give the Bishop some credit though. At least he did mention Romans 1 in his discussion of the issue. His statements concerning this text are among the most eye-opening of all (about the 32:00 mark). In essence, he says that while Paul may have been "dead on" concerning the doctrine of Christ, he was dead wrong about relationships and human sexuality. After butchering what Paul taught about Christian marriage, he then says that if a person follows Paul's teaching to its conclusion then he'll be led to believe that "if you don't worship you turn gay." In passing, he also surmises that "most worship leaders are gay." I didn't know the Apostle Paul was talking about music ministers in Romans 1.
Then comes his most telling admission of all: "While the Bible may be inspired, it is not infallible." In other words, we simply can't trust everything the Bible teaches. This is the heart of the issue. Either we believe the Bible is God's Word or we don't. Listening to the Bishop, it's clear that he can't successfully explain away what the Bible has to say about homosexuality. So then, when he can't win his argument on the grounds of sound biblical interpretation, he is left with one final resort - charge the Bible with being a book of errors. I'd like to say that I've had this discussion/debate with many liberal thinkers, but this is the first time someone has actually come out and said that the Bible simply can't be trusted. This is by far the most telling revelation of all the Bishop's remarks. The statement really speaks for itself.
Before I conclude this second post, allow me to briefly mention two NT passages that the Bishop must've overlooked (and who can blame him if he believes the Bible is really a book of errors). 1 Timothy 1:10 clearly condemns the practice of sodomy. And 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 couldn't be any more plain: "Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites...will inherit the kingdom of God." So the Bible is very clear that homosexuality is sin. Either we can receive what God has said as being truth, or we can explain it away by putting it in the category of error. I choose to receive Scripture as the divinely inspired and inerrant truth of Almighty God (2 Tim. 3:16).
Up to now, I've simply dealt with the question of this post from a biblical/theological perspective. In the upcoming posts, I'll be dealing with the issue from a philosophical and scientific perspective. I hope you'll "stay tuned" and share these thoughts with others.
I have a pastor friend who has said on many occasions, "It's not just what false teachers say that gets them in trouble - often it's what they fail to tell you that really derails them." The same is true in this case. I wonder why the Bishop didn't deal with other OT texts such as Deut. 23:17, 1 Kings 14:24, 22:46, and 2 Kings 23:7. My guess would be one of two reasons: Either he doesn't know those passages exist, or he has no acceptable interpretation of them. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he doesn't know that texts are in God's Word.
Moving now to the Bishop's thoughts on the New Testament. For starters, he doesn't even mention what Christ had to say about Sodom and Gomorrah (S & G). Our Lord actually mentions S & G five times in the Gospels (Matt. 10:15, 11:23-24, Mark 6:11, Luke 10:12, 17:29). While some of those may be parallel passages, it doesn't change the fact Christ used S & G as an example of God's wrath against human sin. Again, I found it interesting that the Bishop couldn't bring himself to mention these passages.
I will give the Bishop some credit though. At least he did mention Romans 1 in his discussion of the issue. His statements concerning this text are among the most eye-opening of all (about the 32:00 mark). In essence, he says that while Paul may have been "dead on" concerning the doctrine of Christ, he was dead wrong about relationships and human sexuality. After butchering what Paul taught about Christian marriage, he then says that if a person follows Paul's teaching to its conclusion then he'll be led to believe that "if you don't worship you turn gay." In passing, he also surmises that "most worship leaders are gay." I didn't know the Apostle Paul was talking about music ministers in Romans 1.
Then comes his most telling admission of all: "While the Bible may be inspired, it is not infallible." In other words, we simply can't trust everything the Bible teaches. This is the heart of the issue. Either we believe the Bible is God's Word or we don't. Listening to the Bishop, it's clear that he can't successfully explain away what the Bible has to say about homosexuality. So then, when he can't win his argument on the grounds of sound biblical interpretation, he is left with one final resort - charge the Bible with being a book of errors. I'd like to say that I've had this discussion/debate with many liberal thinkers, but this is the first time someone has actually come out and said that the Bible simply can't be trusted. This is by far the most telling revelation of all the Bishop's remarks. The statement really speaks for itself.
Before I conclude this second post, allow me to briefly mention two NT passages that the Bishop must've overlooked (and who can blame him if he believes the Bible is really a book of errors). 1 Timothy 1:10 clearly condemns the practice of sodomy. And 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 couldn't be any more plain: "Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites...will inherit the kingdom of God." So the Bible is very clear that homosexuality is sin. Either we can receive what God has said as being truth, or we can explain it away by putting it in the category of error. I choose to receive Scripture as the divinely inspired and inerrant truth of Almighty God (2 Tim. 3:16).
Up to now, I've simply dealt with the question of this post from a biblical/theological perspective. In the upcoming posts, I'll be dealing with the issue from a philosophical and scientific perspective. I hope you'll "stay tuned" and share these thoughts with others.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Are People Born Gay? (Part 1)
This is a huge question that many people are asking today. It's a question I was confronted with once again the other day as I read the recent story of an Atlanta-area megachurch pastor. The pastor's name is Bishop Jim Swiley and he leads The Church in the Now. You can read the full NPR story by clicking here.
I strongly encourage you to visit the NPR website and read the story for yourself. Not only can you read a brief story about Biship Swiley, but they've actually included the church service video in which the Bishop affirms his homosexuality. I also encourage you to watch the video. I've taken many statements and included them for discussion within this post.
I'll have to admit, this is one of the most fascinating things I've ever watched. After a few preliminary remarks, the Bishop states that there are two things in his life that are absolute: his call to ministry and his sexual orientation (about 6:15 mark). If you were to watch the Bishop's entire statement, you would find that he says over and over that his homosexuality was not something that he chose. He states emphatically that God made him that way. To prove his point he uses a number of comparisons, such as: race, pregnancy, a woman's menstrual cycle, eye color, and even heterosexuality. The idea is that just as he didn't choose to be white, neither did he choose to be homosexual - it was unavoidable.
As if all this were not eye-opening enough, things really get interesting when he shares what he believes the Bible to teach concerning homosexuality (roughly the 28:00 mark). He takes the Bible passages (that he cares to mention) in chronological order. First among them is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (S & G) found in Genesis 18:16-19:29. The Bishop argues that S & G had nothing to do with homosexuality. It is really a story that teaches the evils of "gang rape" and thus S & G can't be used as a standard when speaking to the issue of homosexuality. For that reason he suggests that the biblical story of S & G should be "taken out of the mix" when addressing the subject.
The Bishop's interpretation of S & G lacks a knowledge of the Scriptures, though it is the charge of biblical ignorance that the Bishop later goes on to lay at the feet of any who would challenge his position. Had the Bishop read Ezekiel 16:49-50, perhaps he would've recognized that his interpretation of the S & G situation is just plain wrong: "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me: therefore I took them away as a I saw fit." I'll be the first to agree that Sodom's sin was not just homosexuality, but to act as though homosexuality wasn't a part of it is just flat dishonest with the text. The "abomination" Ezekiel speaks of is clearly that of homosexuality because Jude would go on to say that S & G had "given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh" (Jude 7). So, while the Bishop may want to take Gen. 18-19 out of the mix, the whole of Scripture won't allow him to do so.
The Bishop then goes on to mention the passages dealing with homosexuality in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. The former passage clearly says: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination." Once again, the Bishop says we can't bring those passages into the mix. He tells his listeners that they "don't want to play the Leviticus card" (roughly 30:20). Basically, he argues that since the rest of the Levitical laws don't all apply to New Testament believers, neither should these. Is he right? Clearly the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament no longer apply to New Testament believers. Christ perfectly fulfilled every requirement of the Law (Matt. 5:17), so that now through faith in Him we can be fully justified (Rom. 5:1). So while Christ may have removed the necessity of keeping the OT ceremonial laws, in no way did he remove the moral precepts of the OT. If that were so, why not discard the Ten Commandments? Is the Bishop suggesting that we scrap the whole of the OT? The ceremonial laws of the OT were grounded in the moral precepts of God, and in this case that includes the fact that homosexuality has always been and will always be sin.
That's enough for now. I'll address more of the Bishop's theology later and speak to the heart of the issue at that time.
I strongly encourage you to visit the NPR website and read the story for yourself. Not only can you read a brief story about Biship Swiley, but they've actually included the church service video in which the Bishop affirms his homosexuality. I also encourage you to watch the video. I've taken many statements and included them for discussion within this post.
I'll have to admit, this is one of the most fascinating things I've ever watched. After a few preliminary remarks, the Bishop states that there are two things in his life that are absolute: his call to ministry and his sexual orientation (about 6:15 mark). If you were to watch the Bishop's entire statement, you would find that he says over and over that his homosexuality was not something that he chose. He states emphatically that God made him that way. To prove his point he uses a number of comparisons, such as: race, pregnancy, a woman's menstrual cycle, eye color, and even heterosexuality. The idea is that just as he didn't choose to be white, neither did he choose to be homosexual - it was unavoidable.
As if all this were not eye-opening enough, things really get interesting when he shares what he believes the Bible to teach concerning homosexuality (roughly the 28:00 mark). He takes the Bible passages (that he cares to mention) in chronological order. First among them is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (S & G) found in Genesis 18:16-19:29. The Bishop argues that S & G had nothing to do with homosexuality. It is really a story that teaches the evils of "gang rape" and thus S & G can't be used as a standard when speaking to the issue of homosexuality. For that reason he suggests that the biblical story of S & G should be "taken out of the mix" when addressing the subject.
The Bishop's interpretation of S & G lacks a knowledge of the Scriptures, though it is the charge of biblical ignorance that the Bishop later goes on to lay at the feet of any who would challenge his position. Had the Bishop read Ezekiel 16:49-50, perhaps he would've recognized that his interpretation of the S & G situation is just plain wrong: "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me: therefore I took them away as a I saw fit." I'll be the first to agree that Sodom's sin was not just homosexuality, but to act as though homosexuality wasn't a part of it is just flat dishonest with the text. The "abomination" Ezekiel speaks of is clearly that of homosexuality because Jude would go on to say that S & G had "given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh" (Jude 7). So, while the Bishop may want to take Gen. 18-19 out of the mix, the whole of Scripture won't allow him to do so.
The Bishop then goes on to mention the passages dealing with homosexuality in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. The former passage clearly says: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination." Once again, the Bishop says we can't bring those passages into the mix. He tells his listeners that they "don't want to play the Leviticus card" (roughly 30:20). Basically, he argues that since the rest of the Levitical laws don't all apply to New Testament believers, neither should these. Is he right? Clearly the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament no longer apply to New Testament believers. Christ perfectly fulfilled every requirement of the Law (Matt. 5:17), so that now through faith in Him we can be fully justified (Rom. 5:1). So while Christ may have removed the necessity of keeping the OT ceremonial laws, in no way did he remove the moral precepts of the OT. If that were so, why not discard the Ten Commandments? Is the Bishop suggesting that we scrap the whole of the OT? The ceremonial laws of the OT were grounded in the moral precepts of God, and in this case that includes the fact that homosexuality has always been and will always be sin.
That's enough for now. I'll address more of the Bishop's theology later and speak to the heart of the issue at that time.
The Encouraging Word - 11/14/10
We live in a world filled with many modern conveniences. The days of carrying water are over thanks to indoor plumbing. No more need of lighting kerosene lamps as we have electricity in our homes. And aren't you thankful for disposable diapers? Yet, amid the world of conveniences we enjoy, I wonder if we've allowed our worship to become convenient as well. Check out this week's encouraging word by clicking here. Let's pray that our worship NEVER becomes convenient.
Monday, November 8, 2010
The Encouraging Word - 11/7/10
This week's Encouraging Word is taken from Luke 16:19-31. It can be accessed here. Do you believe hell is a literal place of fire and brimstone? Do you think unbelievers will have to suffer forever in a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth? What about heaven? Do you think there is a place of golden streets and crystal seas where people can spend their eternity when they die? The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus answers these questions for us. I hope you'll take the time to check it out. Have a great week!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The Encouraging Word - 10/31/10
What a great day to be alive. We have more opportunities to share the Gospel of our Lord than ever before. As we think about the possibilities of today and tomorrow, we should never forget about the legacy passed on to us by those of yester-year. This week's Encouraging Word takes a look back to the men of the Reformation. After all, October 31st is not just "All Hallows' Eve," it is Reformation Day. Check out the three battle cries of the Reformation by clicking here. Be sure to fast forward to 13:30 to hear the message. Have a great day in the Lord!
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