My Views on Current Hot Topics
However, I want to make my position clear on some topics.
These are my beliefs based on my interpretation of the Scriptures.
I first want to start with the topic of abortion. While
pro-abortion forces love to point out examples that are in the extreme and
represent less than 1% of all abortions performed, I think that anyone with
common sense will acknowledge that abortion has become yet another form of contraception
for those who fail to use proper contraception methods to prevent pregnancies.
While I certainly feel empathy with those who are raped or
others who experience certain extreme circumstances that result in pregnancies,
I am not here to debate what should or should not happen in those circumstances.
I have to go by what the Bible says, and I am convinced that the Bible
addresses this in no uncertain terms.
Here are some verses from the Old Testament:
Jeremiah 1:4-5 Now the
word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew
you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to
the nations.”
Isaiah 49:1 Listen to
me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from
afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my
mother he named my name… And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb
to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be
gathered to him—for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my
God has become my strength.
Psalms 22:9 Yet you are
he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s
breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb
you have been my God.
Psalms 51:5 Behold, I
was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Ps 139:13
13 For you created my inmost
being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
Genesis 25:22-26 The
children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is
this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. And the
LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within
you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall
serve the younger.” When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there
were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy
cloak, so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out with his
hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was
sixty years old when she bore them.
Judges 13:2-5 There was
a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was
Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the
LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have
not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be
careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold,
you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for
the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save
Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”
Now here are some from the New Testament:
Galatians 1:15 But when
he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace.
Luke 1:15-17 for
he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong
drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s
womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,
and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to
turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.
Matthew 1:20-21 But as
he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife,
for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear
a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from
their sins.”
These are not isolated proof verses but are part of a thread
that weaves through all of Scripture, both Old and New Testament. In all three
topics that I cover in this blog I will do the same.
I am not even including the various verses that point to the
sanctity of human life.
There is only one conclusion. The Bible is very clear that
life starts at conception and that it is precious to God. Abortion kills a
human life and is against the Word of God. I’m sorry but it is murder and any
country that sanctions the termination of unborn life is guilty of genocide.
Having said this, we need to pray for abortionists. I was
watching a video of several people that used to work in abortion clinics who
now have come out against abortion and reveal all the inside dirt on how Planned
Parenthood and abortion clinics dupe women into abortions and how the abortions
are actually carried out. Simply horrifying.
We also need to pray for the women who have had abortions.
While yes, they have sinned by killing their unborn children, they were victims
of the enemy and need the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ that is readily
available to them. Many of them regret what they did and wish they hadn’t done
it. They are racked with guilt, and they need mature Christians to love them in
Christ and share His message of grace and forgiveness.
Next, I will move on to the gender issue.
From the very beginning it is clear that there are two
genders: male and female.
Gen 5:2
2 He created them male and
female and blessed them.
Jesus Himself reiterates this in the Gospels. He also affirms
that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Matt 19:4-6
4 "Haven't you
read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male
and female,' 5 and said, 'For this
reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the
two will become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore
what God has joined together, let man not separate."
Peter affirms the two sexes when talking about the Holy
Spirit being poured out.
Acts 2:18
18 Even on my servants, both
men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in
those days,
The Apostle Paul joins the fray and affirms Jesus’ words
that marriage is between and man and a woman.
Eph 5:31
31 "For this reason a
man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two
will become one flesh."
Biologically, every scientist knows that there are only two
genders: male and female. Forgive me for being blunt but you are either born
with a penis and have the organs to produce sperm, or you are born with a vagina,
the organs that not only can produce eggs, and the womb that can grow and
develop a human life. No amount of cosmetic surgery can help a woman produce
sperm or a man to produce eggs or carry a child to term. It is physically
impossible.
You can say that you identify a certain way, and you want to
live your life a certain way. That is your right. What is not your right is to
impose your personal views on the rest of us by forcing us to recognize your
view of yourself, to use your pronouns, or to accuse us of hate crimes or being
bigots if we adhere to the Word of God and do not affirm the world view that
you have created.
Now, I realize that some people do experience body dysmorphia
and feel uncomfortable in their own bodies. This is a real condition. However,
rather than affirming them in their delusion, we should be loving them, counseling
them and helping them recognize who they are in Christ, so the can adapt to the
person that God created them to be.
The last topic that I want to address in this column goes a
long with the previous topic: homosexuality.
I have many friends who are homosexuals, and I have helped
several who have come out of the lifestyle. Homosexuality has its roots in many
diverse childhood traumas and experiences. Many had absentee fathers and
domineering mothers, others were raped or sexually abused. Some always felt as
outsiders and came to explain their feeling of isolation because of being the
wrong sex. Still others have had many failed relationships with those of the
opposite sex and have found comfort in someone of the same sex who for once
really understands them. There are many reasons, but it would be a fallacy to
think that there is any direct causality to why people are attracted to others
of the same sex. Sometimes they just are. We can’t help who we fall in love
with.
My aim here is not to cast blame or to condemn those who find
themselves attracted to someone of the same sex. My only goal is to be clear
that as far as the Bible is concerned homosexuality is a sin in God’s eyes. Now
let’s be clear. It is not a greater sin than other sins. A sin is a sin, is a sin. Any sin disqualifies
us from a relationship with God who is just and holy.
Rom 3:22-23
There is no difference, 23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Nevertheless, it is still a sin.
It is documented and condemned in the Old Testament.
Gen 19:5 (The sin of Sodom)
5 They called to Lot,
"Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that
we can have sex with them."
Lev 20:13 (God’s law as
dictated to Moses)
13 "'If a man lies with
a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.
It is likewise condemned in the New Testament.
1 Cor 6:9-10
Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually
immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual
offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor
swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Rom 1:26-27
26 Because of this, God gave
them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for
unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations
with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent
acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their
perversion.
While I can empathize with people who struggle with same sex
attraction, I cannot affirm or justify their actions.
I have friends who are homosexual. I love them dearly. Some
of them have been welcome in our home. One of them was so ostracized by his own
family that he calls us Mom and Dad. The thing is that they know that while we
love them, we are guided by the Word of God and acknowledge that it is a sin
and that we can’t condone their behavior. We hope to love them into the Kingdom
where the Spirit of God can transform their lives and free them from their sin.
Now, there are some that while they struggle with same sex
attraction, do not act on it because of their beliefs. I believe that God
honors that. We can’t help who we are attracted to. We can decide not to act on
it.
While these are my firm beliefs, I also believe that pointing
fingers and accusing the lost of sin doesn’t accomplish anything. They are
victims and captives of the lies of the enemies.
God has called us to lead people to Jesus so they can
experience His love, grace, mercy and freedom. It is the job of the Holy Spirit
to convict the lost of their sin. For the vast majority, they will come to
Jesus with all of their sins, weaknesses and foibles and only then will the
Holy Spirit begin to address the areas of their lives that need redeeming. We
can’t expect the lost to be won over by logic, or by saying “The Bible says”;
that doesn’t mean anything to them.
While we need to stand firm in our beliefs, it is not our
job to convince them that they are wrong, it is our job to love them into the
kingdom. Think of the woman caught in adultery. It wasn’t until after he saved
her from stoning and told her that He did not accuse her, that He said, “God
and sin no more”. By this point He had won her over.
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