Response to a homosexual friend

Below is a response to the question he posed to me: "Do you think I'm going to hell because I am gay?"

No, I didn’t say that the body is evil, just as you said about technology, but we, being born into sin, tend that way (read Gen. 3:1-15).

Because you’re gay, no, because you’re a sinner, yes. I believe that the Bible says things about the way we live and so I tend to listen to it and when it is obvious about what it says then we should be obeying fully. So, my love for your soul being no less diminished I would say that, yes, homosexuality is against biblical teaching. It is a worship of yourself, your own image. (see Rom. 1) My sin is no less before a holy God but the crux of the matter is, am I denying sin and so disagreeing with what the Bible says about it?



I’m not saying this to bash you over the head, please hear me, my heart is to love God and love others, in that order. If God says that something is wrong, is it loving of me to deny that and suppress it because I want someone say, to like me more, or not to cause a stir? If I was in adultery I would say that you would have proper ground to come and confront me with the Word of God and say things that are hard but if they were true then that would give you reason to say it. If I went and celebrated my adultery, flaunted it in my wife’s face, then started a church that celebrated my adultery and judged people that didn’t celebrate my adultery with me then you would think I was a loony. Why? Because adultery is wrong, the bible is clear about it. Now, if I repented, turned from my sin, heeded counsel, struggled with putting the sin away, i.e., did not practice it but like any other human struggled with longing for it, but loved God more than my sin, then I would be considered a Psalm 1 man.



Again, please let me properly align myself under the same banner with you. We are both sinners that are susceptible to all of the same sins, when I write something like this I want to make it painstakingly clear that I’m under the same judgment as a human being.



Now, why do I think it is wrong? I would argue from design as well as from our own sinfulness. Please pay attention as I have written some things after some of the bold sections in parentheses.



Sinfulness:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (you and me in the same boat), who by their (those who deny their sin) unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man (this is where I believe that you are worshiping yourself in a homosexual relationship.) and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

For this reason God gave them up (when the Bible says something once pay close attention, twice is like we’re insane, or just don’t believe the Bible, not to listen. If we do not believe it that is our problem, not God’s, and as it says, maybe the very reason we do what we do) to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another (this sounds consensual to me, does it not to you – so the argument that this is speaking to men who were trying to rape or otherwise have sex with other men that is unwanted doesn’t fit the context, it is a straw man), men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error (can it be any clearer what he is saying?).

(Romans 1:18-27 ESV)



Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

(1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV) (This addresses some of my sins as well and just like I argued above if I continued to practice them and even celebrate them I have no part of Christ.)



Design:

He [Jesus] answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female (see below, following God’s design, affirming it), and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? (this is a spiritual, as well as a sexual union that is again affirmed by the Son of God as the only legitimate union in the sexual arena before God.) So they are no longer two but one flesh (doesn’t happen outside of man/woman, marriage relationship). What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6) (Man/Woman, how it has always been, Jesus affirmed this loud and clear.)



But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called Woman,

because she was taken out of Man.”

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife (see context, God makes it as it should be and then affirms it as useful), and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. (Gen. 2:20b-25)



Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (how does this happen in a homosexual union?) and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

(Genesis 1:26-28 ESV)



My goal is to get you to see the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus, I cannot hate you as much as I could hate my son. I pray that you will go to the scripture and see the beauty of it and lay down all of your sin, as I would, and love the gospel more than my own sin.



Take care,



Tim

Foolishness

"lounge in the pool like it is your last afternoon on earth"

The above quote is from a Lexus commercial for an "end of the summer" sales event.  I thought what triviality that we see this time as.  No thought of eternity, what if hell is your destination?  According to theological thought that should be your last reaction.

But that is the nature of the written Word of God, it is counter cultural.  In a culture that wants comfort it says sacrifice.  In a culture that needs approval by what I drive it says lose your life so that you can gain it.  In a culture that has lost all moorings with any morality it says gouge out your right eye, lop off your arm to gain the kingdom.  Yes, these are all the words of Jesus.

No there isn't any drawn out discussion of something so insignificant as a commercial on radio but these thoughts struck me as I thought about this world and its trappings.  Someone actually had to come up with that and I pray for them to know the nature of the true gospel in all of its glory.

Your boasting friend,

Tim

Come as you are - a gospel call

Listening to Geoff Moore's song and just celebrating that He called me, me a prodigal and one who would rather sell my Father's inheritence to eat with the pigs.  May I celebrate my Father's call to me!  Is he calling you?  Are you listening?

[The Parable of the Prodigal Son]



[11 ] And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. [12 ] And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. [13 ] Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. [14 ] And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. [15 ] So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. [16 ] And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.


[17 ] “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! [18 ] I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. [19 ] I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ [20 ] And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. [21 ] And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ [22 ] But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. [23 ] And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. [24 ] For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

The Gospel calls to you and says come, come with your broken heart, shame of sin, the dark blackness of the existence that you sometimes call joy and come to him.  Don't let the sin drown out His call to you, please listen to him.  Cling to Him in faith admitting your sin, he said this to the tax collectors and the Pharisees looking on, he is not a respecter of persons, don't look at your education, your filthiness, your weaknesses, your looks, your money, your connections that contiue to plague you.  Look to the Cross and be saved, look, look, look...


Come as you are
Open hands, broken heart
As you are
Come with your joy
And your pain
With your doubt and your shame
As you are




Prodigal daughters and sons, everyone
All will be forgiven
No matter what you’ve done
And when the Father sees you he will run
No matter how far
Come as you are




Come, please don’t wait
There’s still time
It’s not too late
To come as you are

Christian lyrics - COME AS YOU ARE LYRICS - GEOFF MOORE

Evangelism and the Manti Pageant; FAIL

Manti, UT is a place of gathering for the Mormon faith to gather and play out the foundations of their faith as portrayed through the Book of Mormon.  This Pageant draws 7,000-10,000 per night, in this little town of about 4,000, during about 6 days in the summer.  It is also a place where, Christians, who love Mormons, come to confront the false gospel of those same Mormons.  According to many of the testimonies, that I've heard, there has been respectable dialogue between the attendees and the evangelists there to share the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

But this is now being threatened.

The Town Council of Manti is considering a proposal which would shut down the main street going to the pageant location thus inhibiting our brothers and sisters from doing the work of the gospel where it has been unobstructed before.  They would turn the street into a park but with special "rules".  Basically this would inhibit those coming to Manti from a public venue that they can, as I said, lovingly confront the false gospel that the Mormons hold to.  It seems as if there is not a lot of debate on this but we need to get the message out.  There is a proposal from John Kauer of thinkabouteternity.org that would allow the City and LDS to buy the property but maintain the civil liberties that any public park would have. 

The Gospel is not at all affected or offended, they will still go and there will still be the evangel in Manti but this is an assault. There would be signs of prohibition against proselytizing, can you imagine?  I know that I've seen, "pick up after your dog", "no alcohol", "no parking after dark", "don't litter".  But, "don't talk about the true gospel"? :)

Please pray:

• 
  
  for the town council of Manti.
• 
  
  for the ministries that are seeking to minister there.
• 
  
  that the gospel would continue to go out w/o hinderance from those opposed to it.

Your boasting friend,

Tim

*here is the real sign that is out there, of course it is not as good as my sign above, being truthful...:)

Could there be anything worse?

This an excerpt from Justin Taylor's blog:

"We need to realize that those who are in hell desire nothing more than the absence of God. They didn’t want to be in God’s presence during their earthly lives, and they certainly don’t want Him near when they’re in hell. The worst thing about hell is the presence of God there."

—R. C. Sproul, The Truth of the Cross (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2007), pp. 157-158; my emphasis.


What a gift we have in this faith that but for the grace of God we would be with those who deny God and live in rebellion to him.  May God continue to grant us eyes to see.

A few months ago I posted here regarding hell and the actualities of it.
 
Your boasting friend,
 
Tim

Learning the Gospel via Jerry Jones

Not quite him teaching it intentionally but this is what I get everytime there is a Cowboy's game and I'm coming home on I30. Instead of starting the "I hate Jerry Jones" Facebook page I instead think of the gospel applied to my own heart.

Jerry Jones may never know how much he is contributing to my sanctification through the activity of the Holy Sprirt that He gets each time that I have to wait in traffic. So may the gospel come to Mr. Jones in a tangible way and may my life be more of an example as I sit in the mess of I-30. :)

Your boasting friend,

Tim