September 22, 2015
What's Acceptable?
Romans 15:7
Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
I hope Christians don’t come away from this passage with the liberal idea that God is tolerant and accepts just about anything these days just because society does. Nope. Paul is a Jew who is a Christian, and he is also a missionary to Gentiles. He wants the Christian Jews and the Christian Gentiles to accept each other. The only thing we need to do to be saved is to confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). Whoever does that is saved, so there’s no sense in squabbling over cultures; one group is not “more saved” than the other since God readily embraces everyone who believes.
So can murderers be Christians? Yes. If they stop murdering. Adulterers who stop adultering, liars who stop lying, and thieves who stop thieving; they can all be saved.
Recently there was a gay couple on the tv show, Survivor. They were from New York and both had successful Broadway careers. They were kind, moral and likeable guys. They were also engaged to be married to each other and openly celibate until their wedding, and professed Christians. What about them?
Well, the Bible hasn’t changed with the times, sorry. 1 Corinthians 6:9 (and other passages) still teaches that homosexuality is a sin. And Hebrews 10:26 says Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. No matter how committed these two guys are to Jesus, no matter how celibate they are with each other before their wedding, they are technically pre-meditating sin. They intend to sin, and if they commit these sins over and over, there is no sacrifice that will cover those sins no matter how cool they think Jesus is. If they really want to follow Jesus, they should not marry each other and each should remain celibate if they don’t intend to marry a girl. It’s better for them to deny themselves if they really want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (see Matthew 18:7-9) than to live a scenario they think is acceptable to God when it is not acceptable to God at all. They’re fooling themselves; it’s sad.
Believers repent. Believers mess up and repent again. Immature Christians will struggle and repent multiple times for a sin that’s hard for them to relinquish. Mature Believers leave the old person behind. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. (Ephesians 4:21-24)
And Believers who believe that God has adjusted to their sin aren’t really Believers at all. We do not need to accept their behavior because they claim Jesus is their Lord because it’s a Jesus they have made up to suit their preferences. BUT if they ever truly decide to throw off their old sinful nature, they absolutely 100% will be saved and without discrimination!
Dear God,
I pray for my friends and family and strangers on tv who are misled and mistaken and mistakenly misleading others as well. I thank you that you do not discriminate against accepting people into your family, and I pray that real Christians will love people enough to tell them the truth. I thank you that everyone who is willing to throw off their old sinful nature will be with you forever no matter who they are or what they’ve done. That is the true definition of acceptance and tolerance and it only comes from really believing in the real you. I love you and thank you and pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
What's Acceptable?
Romans 15:7
Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
I hope Christians don’t come away from this passage with the liberal idea that God is tolerant and accepts just about anything these days just because society does. Nope. Paul is a Jew who is a Christian, and he is also a missionary to Gentiles. He wants the Christian Jews and the Christian Gentiles to accept each other. The only thing we need to do to be saved is to confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). Whoever does that is saved, so there’s no sense in squabbling over cultures; one group is not “more saved” than the other since God readily embraces everyone who believes.
So can murderers be Christians? Yes. If they stop murdering. Adulterers who stop adultering, liars who stop lying, and thieves who stop thieving; they can all be saved.
Recently there was a gay couple on the tv show, Survivor. They were from New York and both had successful Broadway careers. They were kind, moral and likeable guys. They were also engaged to be married to each other and openly celibate until their wedding, and professed Christians. What about them?
Well, the Bible hasn’t changed with the times, sorry. 1 Corinthians 6:9 (and other passages) still teaches that homosexuality is a sin. And Hebrews 10:26 says Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. No matter how committed these two guys are to Jesus, no matter how celibate they are with each other before their wedding, they are technically pre-meditating sin. They intend to sin, and if they commit these sins over and over, there is no sacrifice that will cover those sins no matter how cool they think Jesus is. If they really want to follow Jesus, they should not marry each other and each should remain celibate if they don’t intend to marry a girl. It’s better for them to deny themselves if they really want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (see Matthew 18:7-9) than to live a scenario they think is acceptable to God when it is not acceptable to God at all. They’re fooling themselves; it’s sad.
Believers repent. Believers mess up and repent again. Immature Christians will struggle and repent multiple times for a sin that’s hard for them to relinquish. Mature Believers leave the old person behind. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. (Ephesians 4:21-24)
And Believers who believe that God has adjusted to their sin aren’t really Believers at all. We do not need to accept their behavior because they claim Jesus is their Lord because it’s a Jesus they have made up to suit their preferences. BUT if they ever truly decide to throw off their old sinful nature, they absolutely 100% will be saved and without discrimination!
Dear God,
I pray for my friends and family and strangers on tv who are misled and mistaken and mistakenly misleading others as well. I thank you that you do not discriminate against accepting people into your family, and I pray that real Christians will love people enough to tell them the truth. I thank you that everyone who is willing to throw off their old sinful nature will be with you forever no matter who they are or what they’ve done. That is the true definition of acceptance and tolerance and it only comes from really believing in the real you. I love you and thank you and pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
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