Saturday, June 25, 2011

No Response

Yesterday, Friday, June 24, 2011 the Sate of New York passed a law for same-sex marriage becoming the largest state in the union making same-sex marriage legal. While viewing the New York Times website I saw no evidence or rebuttal from any affiliation of the Roman Catholic Church. Then I went to the Southern Baptist Convention website. There again I found absolutely no response or rebuttal on the recent event. The Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention represent the two largest Christian organizations on the planet. Yet, they remain silent on the matter.

Homosexuality is deemed a political hot potato. Same in our pulpits as more and more preachers are threatened with being accused of promoting “Hate Crimes.” It seems our First Amendment rights from the Constitution of the United States continues to take a back seat to organized political machines.

Years ago when I lived in California I worked in an office where several of the employees were Gay. Even the boss was a lesbian. Not once was any sexual slur or any inappropriate action was ever taken against me or anyone else in the office. In fact those who were Gay were some of the hardest working employees there. I cannot say the same for any Christians. Based on that experience, the Gay community has my respect. Which I must say does not sit well with my Christian beliefs.

Homosexuality is a sin. That does not give us the right to persecute individuals for we ourselves as Christians have been persecuted and still are throughout world-wide. Today in our century.

What a political hot potato this is! If we as Christians do nothing then thousands of brothers and sisters will be going straight to Hell for their sin. If we make a stand we are looked upon as no better than the Romans who mercilessly slaughtered millions of Christians.

It is the sin and not the sinner we should be against. Hard to separate the two. As Christians we should be the first ones to step up and freely admit that we are sinners. Making us no different. Yet, Christianity does not stop there. After giving ourselves to Christ we must follow and obey. This means giving up our sinful life and/or lifestyle. This is the problem all of us Christians face each day. Do we obey God or not? This question stands in front of each Christian every second of our life once saved by grace through Jesus Christ.

So what do we do? We cannot condone it. We cannot ignore it. We cannot persecute and condemn them.

A homosexual couple is not welcome in a church. Yet, one of the first things we offer is to come to church. The very place, ground zero, of persecution in their eyes. What alternative can we offer? Their eternal salvation for one, but that is hard to see shaded by us Christians standing in the way of the will of God.

As Christians we do not speak with one voice. With nearly 80% of the population of the United States claiming to be Christian we cannot even vote Christians into positions of political power. In the book of John, chapter 17 is the longest prayer ever recorded of Jesus. A prayer of unity. As Christians we are no closer to that unity as we were 2,000 years ago when Christ first made that prayer. How sad a thought.

If we had boldly given our lives to Christ then we would fully admit that we are no longer calling the shots in our lives. That we are no longer truly in control of our lives. Jesus, not me is in control of my life. This goes against worldly thinking. It we truly have given our lives over to Christ we would support our pastors, preachers and evangelists around the world to freely preach and proclaim God's Word. No matter who it might offend. The very souls of our brothers and sisters as well as our own are at stake here. We fail to realize it. Too busy with our day-to-day activities. Working at a job. Paying bills and living for the weekend.

Solution:

We need to publicly proclaim God's Word no matter what the consequences. If the law threatens our pastors, preachers and evangelists then we must go with them. Insisting that we be jailed too. We need to learn to witness as Jesus did. See Luke 18 beginning with verse 18. Convincing others that we are all guilty in God's eyes. That we have sinned against God. Heart convicted as we kneel at the cross and not a promise of prosperity as many of the modern gospel preach. God centered preaching and not a man centered message. Not offering an alternative lifestyle. The offering of an eternal salvation through Christ and Christ only. 


Teach, Preach and Reach. 

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