The Ungodly? All of us!

THE UNGODLY? ALL OF US!

 

So much of the church loves to excoriate certain sinners and to condemn certain sins with an effervescence they do not seem to have for their own sins. The gay community receives more than their share of righteous indignation. And the sin of homosexuality is openly used to make heterosexual sins seem normal and somehow within the realm of acceptable sins, doctrinally speaking. You see, heterosexual sins come redemptive ready while homosexual sins must be completely eradicated and forsaken before God can even deal with you.

But if we see things without a specific sin bias, then what I take away is the spectacular fallen nature of man. Jeffrey Dahmer would go to a gay men’s bar and seduce some unsuspecting gay man to come back to his apartment. Dahmer would drug that man, strangle him to death, and spend the night with the corpse and do things to it. In the morning he would dismember it including slicing of his genitals and beheading it and after consuming some of those “delicacies” he would save them inside his refrigerator for later use.

Can it get any worse? And yet here is the part which juxtaposes the unvarnished fallen nature of man against the glory of Christ’s redemption. That same man, Jeffrey Dahmer, came to faith in Jesus Christ and was gloriously saved. Repulsive, disgusting, abhorrent, abominable, foul, and even creepy. And yet Jesus loved Him and drew that man to Himself and by faith made Him His own child.

Many people would say such a monster did not deserve God’s salvation and love. Yes, I would say the same thing. The monster known as Rick Frueh did not deserve it either.

Rom.5: ⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

⁸ But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

The Homophobic Gospel

THE HOMOPHOBIC GOSPEL

Rom.3: - ²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Since the fall of Adam sin has always existed and been practiced upon the earth. There are ebbs and flows as it pertains to certain kinds of sin, but sin itself continues its long and effervescent legacy. From the killings of the Inquisition, to the death and destruction left by Alexander the Great, to the humanistic Greek philosophers, to the Holocaust of Hitler’s Germany, and now with millions upon millions of abortions every year around the world, sin leaves its mark without embarrassment. The world is literally teeming with sin in all its forms and ways.

Since Jesus spoke in the first chapter of Acts about a worldwide gospel mission, and since the Day of Pentecost fulfilled His prophetic words of a coming power from on high, the church has been commissioned to spread the good news and to live lives which substantiate our gospel witness. We are called to be active and to “GO!” rather than be reactive according to the present dictates of the fallen culture. There is a vital and unmistakable difference between those two scenarios. In fact, one negates the gospel and expends much energy attempting to clean the outside of the cultural cup while the other spreads the gospel of redemption which is the only remedy for that same culture.

We live in an informationally drenched culture which disseminates all kinds of reports and information on a moment by moment basis and through a variety of media sources. Most of it, even though it is true, is clouded and shaded by the source through words and pictures and many levels of hyperbole. What we receive through the secular media has been processed through the perspectives of the men and women who manage that particular news source. So the focus and the tenor by which it is presented is slanted toward the opinion of the source. And it is no secret that our minds are easily affected by those kinds of commercialized news reports. And when they add the insights of “experts” millions are deeply affected in the way the news source has designed it.

And, sadly, the church has fallen prey to the wiles of the ever expanding informational age and the technology which places a variety of media receptacles in every room in our homes, in our automobiles, and in the palm of our hands. In effect we are walking antennas whose ears and eyes and minds are wide open waiting for the next piece of opinionated news or even blatant gossip. And when our ears and eyes and minds receive such things, it eventually makes its way into our hearts. Yes, we have been subtly manipulated by the fallen culture. And when the weight of that manipulation and deception is multiplied by the great numbers of professing believers being deceived, the church collectively falls into that same deception.

And instead of faithful shepherds warning the flock about this present evil age, these ministers are complicit and deceived as well. And instead of passionately speaking words of deliverance derived from God’s Word, these ministers use their oratorical prowess to fortify and even build upon the deception that has captured their flocks. Yes, they are blind guides who are not content with their own personal blindness. They must speak lies to their listeners and harden their hearts even further. It is an astonishing thing to behold for us who have been rescued from such deception by God’s grace, so we can only imagine how God Himself views this unfolding horror.

And with all the media outlets I have referenced, it offers many opportunities to publicize the heresies and the spiritual blindness entrenched within the evangelical community. Which brings me to the point of my post. Let me provide a link from which I will speak about what I now refer to as the homophobic gospel. As you read it please remember that the man doing the interviewing is a vicious individual who has called President Obama a real life demon. And the man being interviewed is the President of the largest protestant denomination in the world, the Southern Baptist Convention.  

HERE is that interview.

Ok, when I read that interview I was immediately reminded of the saying “Stupid is as stupid does”. Can it get any more bizarre and ridiculous? Let me rant for a minute before I come down from the ledge and deal with a serious principle. It is astounding to me that this man represents a leader in the evangelical community. And if you google the interviewer named Rick Wiles you will see some unbelievable quotes that are even crazy in a secular setting to say nothing of a setting which supposedly follows Jesus. And Pastor Fred Luter suggested that the world needs more men like Wiles. And when Wiles suggests that the nuclear threat coming from North Korea could be God punishing America for its stand on gay marriage, Pastor Luter admitted he was not real proficient in prophecy but that could well be a possibility. (Ok, at this point my breathing has become more pronounced.)

But there is an underlying principle that openly ignores our gospel commission and makes the church a reactionary moral institution rather than a place of redemption and humility. How and where did the church buy into their own moral superiority and ignore the many sins from which we were forgiven including the ones we commit today? And how can we present our orthodox doctrine which states that unconverted sinners cannot even know Biblical truth and are dead in their sins, and then we turn around and become obsessed with their sins? Homosexual behavior is a sin, but given how scarce the New Testament deals with that specific sin, how is it we have made it the pinnacle of all sins?

And men who look at women every day with lust in their hearts can climb a self righteous pedestal and speak volatile words about men who have same sex attractions including the unsaved? And now God is so mad about it He might use nuclear weapons from a godless culture? What kind of madness is this? This is not some unsaved Baptist conversing with an unsaved Catholic over a beer in a bar. This is the so called leader of a Christian denomination speaking insanity! It wasn’t too long ago that preachers like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson said that AIDs was God’s punishment for homosexuals. I guess God is still experimenting with a disease for adulterers and pedophiles.

Hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, economic collapse, unexpected deaths, and the events of 9/11 have all been assigned divine design centering upon same sex attractions.

But being obsessed with homosexual behavior does provide camouflage for the rampant sins within the church. I mean divorce has become an Olympic sport among believers. Greed and avarice are considered Biblical. Prayerlessness is pervasive. And how the kingdom of darkness operates is an obsession which replaces a passionate sharing of the gospel. And now the gay thing has become a replacement for the gospel.

Mary Griffith was a devout Christian in a conservative Presbyterian church in the 1970s and into the early 1980s. One of her sons. Bobby, had a secret. He felt same sex attractions since he was a child, and since he heard how people like him were going to hell, and since he heard many derisive remarks about gay people from his family and friends, he struggled to keep his feelings to himself. He had even heard his grandmother suggest they line up all the gays and shoot them. He even dated girls. But after confiding to his sister about his issue, his secret soon became know to his family. His mother especially tried counseling and prayer and strong admonitions to have him “cured”, but to no avail.

All the while Bobby was tortured inside because of his feelings. He desperately desired to be free and the condemnation he suffered from others was unbearable. He became seriously depressed and lived daily with a self loathing that most people never dream could even be possible. One day Bobby could no longer endure himself. He walked to a highway overpass and jumped in front of an eighteen wheel tractor trailer and was killed immediately. There are many believers who strongly and ignorantly suggest that all same sex attractions are a matter of choice. In Bobby Griffith’s case that was some choice. Suicide is prevalent among gay people with a self loathing being a common component.  

But this kind of personal tragedy elicits very little sympathy or compassion from the evangelical community. It seems very clear that our heterosexual credentials mean more to us than the souls of men. Moralism, which is a form of self righteousness, has overtaken the church. Content and satisfied with our doctrine and our ecclesiastical activities and our high tech Sunday services, the church literally has become insulated from the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the message of the cross. And in an amazing display of self serving motives, the gay community has been singled out as sinners above all the rest. And to be perfectly honest it isn’t the souls of gay people which motivates the church; it’s the political perspective and the affect they might have on the already fallen culture.

And now not only does the gay community have to dodge the sling and arrows of the evangelical church, but now they better duck from the incoming North Korea nukes! I believe it’s time once again to search for Jesus. Of course He now seems to be calling the righteous and treating the unrighteous as political fodder. Correction: That is the Jesus of the church and not the Jesus as revealed by Scripture and the Holy Spirit.

Avoid this homophobic gospel and embrace the true gospel which call all sinners equally to repent and believe.

The Art of Deception

THE ART OF DECEPTION

 

 

This 25 year old woman mourns at the grave of her 28 year old brother who lost his life while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There was a recent documentary on television called “Hubris” which outlines the manipulation and sometimes out right lying which led America to war in Iraq. After ten years we still have a presence in Iraq and soldiers still die in Afghanistan. And before going in the lying tongues of politicians told the public that this would not be another Vietnam.

War breeds lying and manipulation and many people become wealthy. And war brings death and mutilation and misery. But the patriotic spirit many times covers up the reality and horror of war and provides a forum for well fed and hedonistic people to revel in a misguided nationalistic spirit. It happens oh so often among believers as well. Thousands of men and women have died and many thousands will live wounded and maimed for the rest of their lives. But let us be very clear, except for the initial attempt to bring justice to Osama Bin Laden, the rest was manipulated lies by the ruling political class in America.

Although President Obama presented a platform that was less aggressive than was President Bush’s, his policies are very close to that of his predecessor. I am not a part of any of it, but I continue to feel a strong sense of responsibility to inform and correct my brothers and sisters in Christ because so many of them are walking in a state of delusion. Nationalism, moralism, violence, and war in general are all at odds with the teachings of Jesus, if that even matters anymore.

This is not a contest between liberals and conservatives or between Democrats and Republicans. This, for us as believers, must be a reinforcing of what we know to be true as it pertains to Jesus, His gospel and His teachings to His followers. The world is a colossal mess, and America if measured by the teachings of Christ is no better than Russia or China. Just because a country has religious freedom does not in any way mean they are more or less moral than a country which does not.

In many ways this earthly freedom has built an unseen bridge which systematically transfers fallen ideas into the church as well as removing any deep spiritual commitment from within the church. It is in this clandestine way that the church has become a product of the culture and not a product of the Spirit. On the Day of Pentecost it wasn’t the Roman government which proclaimed Christianity as legitimate and produced a constitution which contained a “free exercise clause”. Those men and women in the upper room did not spill out into the streets to begin a Tea Party movement designed to protect their religious freedom.

No, the church was born of the Holy Spirit distinctly separated from and at odds with the fallen course of the world. In fact, for many, it would cost them their lives to follow Jesus. It still does cost many their lives today. But the church has become so blind and deaf that it does not see the vicious dangers connected with any earthly freedom. In fact the church revels in that which is killing her. Believers have bought into what the secular schools have taught them. And instead of a remarkable and separate thought process which makes it distinctly Biblical and diametrically opposed to this world, the church walks in lockstep with its national origin.

And now the church endorses killing and violence whenever America takes to the battlefield. And believers continue to drink the Kool Aid offered by the secular media. And in an astonishing and breathtaking spectacle, carnal and hate filled men like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and women like Ann Coulter are loved by millions of professing believers. That in and of itself is profound evidence concerning the depth of deception and how the Christian faith has been changed in order to fit in with conventional patriotic thought.

But violence covers the earth and permeates the culture. Headstones continue to be added to military graveyards. Tens of thousands return home wounded physically and emotionally. And the fallen world continues to manipulate the people into supporting what they say they believe to be true. The entire system is one of deceit and decay and all kinds of diabolical trickery. And money flows like a river. And in the midst of all this is the church…participating, supporting, and joining hands with the enemies of Christ. The young woman in the picture was mourning the death of her brother. But that picture could also be a metaphor for a believer mourning the spiritual death of the church. We as followers of Jesus should not even believe the words of unbelievers when they speak the truth since that is an unstable bridge which eventually leads to lies.