As I have friends and family with close ties to the United Methodist Church, I continue to be prayerful yet distraught over the worldliness to which this denomination and many others increasingly fall prey.
The message of “A Way Forward” indicates that the authors/signers do not affirm the authority and sufficiency of Scripture to address homosexuality as moral sin that the Christian is to abandoned. Further, public polling research favors treating immorality as normative—now there’s a headline for you! Moral sin does not fall within the the ranks of those things about which “each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Sin is sin—cease and desist from all the foolish equivocation. Is it not glaringly obvious whose voice is being headed? “Did God really say...?”
As for the right response of the Body of Christ to a sinful world—we are to make disciples, proclaiming the true Gospel—truly loving both God and neighbor. Only the enemy of our souls would declare that sin isn’t sin or simply that sinful behavior doesn’t need to be avoided and abandoned. That’s not love or truth or the good news—that’s hatred and deceit! Jesus response to those bringing the woman caught in adultery to Him is often referenced when actions or words are identified as sinful—“neither do I condemn you”—yet the rest of His statement is ignored—“go…and sin no more."
“A Way Forward” simply resolves to plant one foot in the narrow way and the other in the broad way—and the UMC as a denomination is somehow to survive this? This amounts to nothing more than a froward way—a wayward way—that will lead to destruction.
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gospel. Show all posts
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
No--Sin is Not Ok
It is a perversion of the Gospel to continually proclaim “love, don’t judge!” Seriously? Does it have to be explained that even to love involves judgment? Furthermore, Jesus never looked at sin and denied that it was sin. To the woman caught in adultery, His lovingly compassionate response to her concluded with, “Go and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:11) Not, “It’s ok, I know you just can’t help that you are [fill in the blank whatever the excuse of the day is]."
Were you born with a proclivity or tendency to sin? Yes—we all are! Are some more tempted to one sin over another? Yes. Are some weaker in one area than another? Yes. Are there influences (negative and positive) on our weaknesses due to people and circumstances? Yes. Are there spiritual forces at work oppressing different people in different ways and at different times? Yes.
Whether you are rebellious, immoral, unholy, profane, homosexual, murderous, deceitful, slanderous, covetous, idolatrous, drunken, abusive ...
NO MORE EXCUSES! In earnest prayer... Confess your sin. Mourn and repent of your sin. Receive forgiveness for your sin. Go and sin no more!
Excuses do nothing more than to deny the effectual, victorious, perfectly complete work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Sin and death have been defeated! We proclaim that victory by confessing and repenting and receiving forgiveness and being empowered by the Holy Spirit indwelling and cleansing us by the Word and in His blood—continually—until the day we are transformed and "the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality.” (1 Co 15:54)
But be warned, just as we proclaim Jesus' victory in our confession, we deny His victory on the cross when we ignore or hide or deny our sin by failing to confess it. And in that denial we are proclaiming Satan victorious. Hear the words spoken by the prophet Isaiah (5:20-21): “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!"
Were you born with a proclivity or tendency to sin? Yes—we all are! Are some more tempted to one sin over another? Yes. Are some weaker in one area than another? Yes. Are there influences (negative and positive) on our weaknesses due to people and circumstances? Yes. Are there spiritual forces at work oppressing different people in different ways and at different times? Yes.
Whether you are rebellious, immoral, unholy, profane, homosexual, murderous, deceitful, slanderous, covetous, idolatrous, drunken, abusive ...
NO MORE EXCUSES! In earnest prayer... Confess your sin. Mourn and repent of your sin. Receive forgiveness for your sin. Go and sin no more!
Excuses do nothing more than to deny the effectual, victorious, perfectly complete work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Sin and death have been defeated! We proclaim that victory by confessing and repenting and receiving forgiveness and being empowered by the Holy Spirit indwelling and cleansing us by the Word and in His blood—continually—until the day we are transformed and "the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality.” (1 Co 15:54)
But be warned, just as we proclaim Jesus' victory in our confession, we deny His victory on the cross when we ignore or hide or deny our sin by failing to confess it. And in that denial we are proclaiming Satan victorious. Hear the words spoken by the prophet Isaiah (5:20-21): “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!"
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