Based on current events.....
Let me start by saying that homosexuality is a sin –plain and simple. If one cannot see the social and political homosexual agenda being pushed upon the American people, then one is ignorant.
I have about a dozen former students who have come out of the closet. It breaks my heart. Most of their lifestyles have shocked me upon learning of it, but a small handful – well, I could have told you they were homosexuals when they were in first grade. And that’s another topic altogether. I’ve seen homosexuality in about 4 other adults in my social circle. It never ceases to make me angry, sad, and defeated.
The reaction of a Christian should be one of admitting that the homosexual is in a sinful lifestyle, letting them know that you love them and are praying for them, and then pray like mad. It’s also the responsibility of the Christian to contact their politicians and to let them know of your personal convictions against homosexual marriage. Mostly importantly, it's the responsibility of the Christian to teach their children that homosexual behavior is immoral and not God's plan.
But what's next for the Christian? Is there anything else?
The Christian AND the church needs to also recognize that the homosexual agenda is only a small portion of Sin’s Agenda and to seek God for a spiritual rescue from their own sin. There will be no revival in the land or the church until this happens.
There has been an immoral heterosexual agenda for centuries – especially and concretely observable over the past 50 years in America specifically. I’m not sure why today’s conservative Christian wants to pretend that somehow homosexuality is a worse sin.
Have we ever stopped to wonder why the church is not very effective at stamping out evils like abortion, pornography, and homosexuality? I’m not being flippant here, but it probably has something to do with the fact that the church is beset with many women who have had abortions, flooded with men who regularly consume pornography, and are plagued with those who have experimented with immoral heterosexual behavior. The church doesn't talk about sins in its own camp. We like to pretend that we are all "just fine" when we enter the sanctuary. We put on our "holy face" and fill the sanctuary with pretense.
[Joshua 7]When the people of Israel crossed over the Jordan River and defeated the town of Jericho, the Lord had won a great victory. These were the adults who had been children in the wilderness and God’s provision was all that they had ever known. Their parents were the ones who rebelled against God and Moses and were not allowed to cross over, but THESE people were the cream of the crop. They were the ones who swore allegiance to God and to Joshua and told him to “be strong and of good courage” and that they would follow him and obey him just like they have obeyed Moses.
These were strong people of faith.
Yet something happened. First of all, they got a little bit cocky. For their next battle, Joshua sent some spies into Ai to check things out. That’s how God had always led them to do things, but the spies came back with a report that this was going to be “too easy” and that they didn’t need all of their soldiers. It shocked them when they came back running with their tail between their legs carrying their dead with them.
Joshua did the right thing. He fell before God’s face and cried out to God. But he cried out the WRONG thing. He said, “God, why have You allowed this?!?!?”
God told Joshua in stern terms to “GET UP OFF OF THE GROUND AND STAND UP!!”
God proceeded to tell Joshua that this loss was NOT His (God's) fault. He told Joshua that there was sin in the camp. You see, when they fought against Jericho, God told them to destroy every single thing there. But one man – named Achan– saw a really beautiful robe, a sack of silver, and a bar of gold. And he took it and buried it on his property.
God told Joshua, “I WILL NOT BE WITH YOU ANYMORE UNLESS YOU DESTROY WHATEVER IS DEVOTED TO DESTRUCTION.”
And God revealed to the whole nation that Achan was the man who brought the evil into the camp. Now – to Achan’s credit – he confessed and repented. He outlined exactly what he did, what he stole, and WHY he did it. He said that covetousness overwhelmed him. He was dreadfully sorry.
But he was stoned nonetheless. So were his children and his animals. And everything he owned was burned. I can only think that as he watched his children being stoned and burned that he said to himself – “this is happening for a robe and for pieces of metal.”
Thank God that today, for the Christian, it is never too late to confess sin and repent, and to be forgiven and restored!
I believe with all of my heart that this is why the church is not effective today. We want to point the finger at the evils of the world, but, like Achan, we bury the existence of evil in our own homes and churches in the ground.
Just a few examples and I will close. I sit in judgment of no one. This is merely food for thought and meditation.
[1] In the South, when a young couple lives together before marriage, or gets pregnant before marriage, or has sex with multiple partners before marriage – it’s the tacit agreement in Southern society that as long as one walks down the aisle in a white dress and says a few man-made vows that one is absolved from sexual immorality. The only true absolution from any sin is confession and repentance before God. I wonder how many good and decent married couples never actually confessed or repented of their premarital sin – thinking that getting married washed their sins clean. It’s never too late to go back and say a prayer of repentance to God. It is N
NE’s business but your own and God’s.
[2] I have to wonder based on the Christian research that I’ve read – just how many Christian men who are deacons in their churches and Sunday School teachers and AWANA workers and leaders there are who regularly consume pornography. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 5 that the church in Corinth has “sexual sins” that even the Gentiles would have never thought of. He also shamed them and said, “..And you are puffed up about it and have NOT mourned.”When was the last time we "mourned" over our OWN sin.
[3] What is in our own personal lives, homes, and churches that is, as God said, “dedicated to destruction”? Are there books on our shelves, files on our computers, movies on our TV’s, music that we listen to, practices in our homes and churches and more that are part of Sin’s Agenda. Is God not “with us” in the battle against the homosexual agenda and the abortion agenda and the pornography agenda because we have buried - or pretended that these agendas doesn’t exist or don’t touch us?
The list could continue, but I’ve talked too much already. There is a battle without and within. We have to fight offensively and defensively.
I just don’t see many Christian people getting up in arms about Sin’s Agenda – except when it is someone else’s sin.
My criticism of Christians and the church does not take the stench away from the evil of the world.
How can we bring others to know the LORD and to come to repentance when we don't even acknowledge or confess our own personal and collective sins.
What are we going to do about this?
Let me start by saying that homosexuality is a sin –plain and simple. If one cannot see the social and political homosexual agenda being pushed upon the American people, then one is ignorant.
I have about a dozen former students who have come out of the closet. It breaks my heart. Most of their lifestyles have shocked me upon learning of it, but a small handful – well, I could have told you they were homosexuals when they were in first grade. And that’s another topic altogether. I’ve seen homosexuality in about 4 other adults in my social circle. It never ceases to make me angry, sad, and defeated.
The reaction of a Christian should be one of admitting that the homosexual is in a sinful lifestyle, letting them know that you love them and are praying for them, and then pray like mad. It’s also the responsibility of the Christian to contact their politicians and to let them know of your personal convictions against homosexual marriage. Mostly importantly, it's the responsibility of the Christian to teach their children that homosexual behavior is immoral and not God's plan.
But what's next for the Christian? Is there anything else?
The Christian AND the church needs to also recognize that the homosexual agenda is only a small portion of Sin’s Agenda and to seek God for a spiritual rescue from their own sin. There will be no revival in the land or the church until this happens.
There has been an immoral heterosexual agenda for centuries – especially and concretely observable over the past 50 years in America specifically. I’m not sure why today’s conservative Christian wants to pretend that somehow homosexuality is a worse sin.
Have we ever stopped to wonder why the church is not very effective at stamping out evils like abortion, pornography, and homosexuality? I’m not being flippant here, but it probably has something to do with the fact that the church is beset with many women who have had abortions, flooded with men who regularly consume pornography, and are plagued with those who have experimented with immoral heterosexual behavior. The church doesn't talk about sins in its own camp. We like to pretend that we are all "just fine" when we enter the sanctuary. We put on our "holy face" and fill the sanctuary with pretense.
[Joshua 7]When the people of Israel crossed over the Jordan River and defeated the town of Jericho, the Lord had won a great victory. These were the adults who had been children in the wilderness and God’s provision was all that they had ever known. Their parents were the ones who rebelled against God and Moses and were not allowed to cross over, but THESE people were the cream of the crop. They were the ones who swore allegiance to God and to Joshua and told him to “be strong and of good courage” and that they would follow him and obey him just like they have obeyed Moses.
These were strong people of faith.
Yet something happened. First of all, they got a little bit cocky. For their next battle, Joshua sent some spies into Ai to check things out. That’s how God had always led them to do things, but the spies came back with a report that this was going to be “too easy” and that they didn’t need all of their soldiers. It shocked them when they came back running with their tail between their legs carrying their dead with them.
Joshua did the right thing. He fell before God’s face and cried out to God. But he cried out the WRONG thing. He said, “God, why have You allowed this?!?!?”
God told Joshua in stern terms to “GET UP OFF OF THE GROUND AND STAND UP!!”
God proceeded to tell Joshua that this loss was NOT His (God's) fault. He told Joshua that there was sin in the camp. You see, when they fought against Jericho, God told them to destroy every single thing there. But one man – named Achan– saw a really beautiful robe, a sack of silver, and a bar of gold. And he took it and buried it on his property.
God told Joshua, “I WILL NOT BE WITH YOU ANYMORE UNLESS YOU DESTROY WHATEVER IS DEVOTED TO DESTRUCTION.”
And God revealed to the whole nation that Achan was the man who brought the evil into the camp. Now – to Achan’s credit – he confessed and repented. He outlined exactly what he did, what he stole, and WHY he did it. He said that covetousness overwhelmed him. He was dreadfully sorry.
But he was stoned nonetheless. So were his children and his animals. And everything he owned was burned. I can only think that as he watched his children being stoned and burned that he said to himself – “this is happening for a robe and for pieces of metal.”
Thank God that today, for the Christian, it is never too late to confess sin and repent, and to be forgiven and restored!
I believe with all of my heart that this is why the church is not effective today. We want to point the finger at the evils of the world, but, like Achan, we bury the existence of evil in our own homes and churches in the ground.
Just a few examples and I will close. I sit in judgment of no one. This is merely food for thought and meditation.
[1] In the South, when a young couple lives together before marriage, or gets pregnant before marriage, or has sex with multiple partners before marriage – it’s the tacit agreement in Southern society that as long as one walks down the aisle in a white dress and says a few man-made vows that one is absolved from sexual immorality. The only true absolution from any sin is confession and repentance before God. I wonder how many good and decent married couples never actually confessed or repented of their premarital sin – thinking that getting married washed their sins clean. It’s never too late to go back and say a prayer of repentance to God. It is N
NE’s business but your own and God’s.[2] I have to wonder based on the Christian research that I’ve read – just how many Christian men who are deacons in their churches and Sunday School teachers and AWANA workers and leaders there are who regularly consume pornography. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 5 that the church in Corinth has “sexual sins” that even the Gentiles would have never thought of. He also shamed them and said, “..And you are puffed up about it and have NOT mourned.”When was the last time we "mourned" over our OWN sin.
[3] What is in our own personal lives, homes, and churches that is, as God said, “dedicated to destruction”? Are there books on our shelves, files on our computers, movies on our TV’s, music that we listen to, practices in our homes and churches and more that are part of Sin’s Agenda. Is God not “with us” in the battle against the homosexual agenda and the abortion agenda and the pornography agenda because we have buried - or pretended that these agendas doesn’t exist or don’t touch us?
The list could continue, but I’ve talked too much already. There is a battle without and within. We have to fight offensively and defensively.
I just don’t see many Christian people getting up in arms about Sin’s Agenda – except when it is someone else’s sin.
My criticism of Christians and the church does not take the stench away from the evil of the world.
How can we bring others to know the LORD and to come to repentance when we don't even acknowledge or confess our own personal and collective sins.
What are we going to do about this?
