| A Message "How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:103 -105 |
Unconditional Love Without Judgement Romans 1:21-32 21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator–who is forever praised. Amen. 26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. 28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. Recently, I was looking over Webrings to see if there are any other rings we would like to associate with, either religious or fitness oriented. Under religion, I noticed that there were several "Gay" Christian site rings. At first, I have to say, that I was incensed. How could this be? I perused the sites reading the arguments presented and finally clicked off being called away to deal with something here at home. The argument continued to rage on in my mind as I went about my day. As always, I returned to my Dake’s reference bible to see what I could find on the subject. The first scripture above was given. It begins with the people being wise in their own eyes, unthankful and unglorifying to God. Then in verse 24, God gave them over to the lusts of their own hearts, in other words, He permitted them to give themselves over to their own hidden sins. Dake notes the two sins for which God gave men up to defile theirs souls are in verse 25. They changed the Truth of God into a lie and they worshiped created things rather than the creator. From there we move on to chapter 2 where the real paradox occurs. God's Righteous Judgment Romans 2:1-11 1You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6God "will give to each person according to what he has done." 7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11For God does not show favoritism. Do we pass judgment? Does it not say that these will receive God’s judgment? In verses 2:1-3 God says not to because we are mere man and not qualified to do so. Or do we continue as we have in the past, openly and bitterly opposing those who are obviously off track? How do we deal with these issues? Romans 2:2 clearly shows us that God’s judgment is against those who do such things based on truth. Do we wait and allow those caught in these sexual sins to go on their way believing in what they are and praying that God reveal His truth to them? Or do we join the picketers and the "righteous" haters, ridiculing, arguing and shouting? There are many besetting sins running rampant in the Christian Church; gambling, sexual addictions, pornography, fornication, adultery and the list runs on. Each sin deserving to be reviled and condemning for the soul. We can’t pick and chose which ones to hate. All are worthy of our hatred. But the sinner, those who are weighed down by the burden of their own choosing, are deserving of our love. We should emulate our Savior who ate with sinners, loved us while we all were still in sin, pointing the way to the Truth. Shouting and arguing have never won anyone over, not a husband or a child, not a friend and especially not an enemy. We do not need to compromise the scriptures, but know that God watches over His Word and we should be ready to answer when we are asked and urged by the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. This message is not to condemn any one sin for all are equal in the eyes of God. We are not to judge. Yes, homosexuality is a sin, so is adultery, drunkenness and so many others. The message is not to judge, that’s not our job. The message is to hate the sin, love the sinner, to stop shouting and accusing and let the love of God win over, to learn to wait and minister only as the Holy Spirit guides. |