Part 9: Values In Conflict
Our boast is that we are one nation under God. If we are one nation under God, why aren't we doing better? We have heard the Gospel and accepted it. Why aren't we making a stand? We must, as a nation, become praying people staying in the presence and will of God. Who decided, all things being otherwise equal, that he or she would embrace a lifestyle that incites hatred and ostracization from family, friends, community and even God? Nobody just does this. It simply doesn't happen, they make choices.
by
Jeff Martin
Bottom Line: I am for God and for hating sin, because God
commands it. I believe that homosexuality is a sin. I teach and
preach God's word. God says we are to hate sin. I don't single
out one sin over another.
I don't believe that gays and lesbians are born that way, but I
am not 100% sure. I don't think drug addicts woke up one morning
and decided to throw their lives away, either: they made a series
of choices. The same could be said of alcoholics, who, by the
way, also say that they are born with a propensity to drink.
Gamblers claim they are diseased as well. Some science says
sexual predators can't be cured, that they are born that
way.
And so, in the history of my life, I have never met a man nor
woman who just woke up one day and decided to be gay, a drug
addict, alcoholic, gambling addict, sexual addict or predator.
Who decided, all things being otherwise equal, that he or she
would embrace a lifestyle that incites hatred and ostracization
from family, friends, community and even God. You are right,
nobody just does this. It simply doesn't happen, they make
choices.
I cannot take a scientific stance, for I am often at odds with
what is considered credible science. I do not subscribe to the
theory of evolution. I am very much aware that medical science
is often flawed. What, in one year, is taken as fact, two years
later is thrown out as inaccurate.
But I do know that the word of God is not flawed, and so I must
take a biblical stance as opposed to a scientific one.
I am aware of the gay agenda. It is against God and the church.
Some of it is because of reactions to mistreatment from the
church but most of it is that no one wants to be told what they
are doing is wrong and that they need to change. I have seen
many people who have left the church (who weren't gay but living
a sinful lifestyle) when faced with the doctrine of change, of
repenting, turning away from the sin that they are currently
embracing and living a different way.
I cannot embrace gay marriage. It is not a lofty goal, God is
not going to bless sin. Sin does not evoke God's blessings but
His wrath. I would not want that for anyone. Regardless of what
you call yourself (calling myself gay is not a sin), whether you
believe you are born that way or have made a choice, it is the
physical intimate act that is the sin, and one of the rights of
marriage is intimacy.
I believe that one of Satan's greatest weapons in our country is
to defile God's original plan of marriage. And so I will
actively fight for God's intended plan. In our society divorce
is rampant, and I believe that is one of the largest reasons we
are slipping into moral decay.
God says he hates divorce, and as believers we should, too. So
there is a time and place for believers to hate. That does not
mean that I am to hate people. But God has commanded me to hate
sin, not embrace it.
I don't believe that someone who is born with a birth defect is
living a life of sin. Sure, imperfection is the result of sin
entering the world, but Jesus taught against birth defects being
sin.
So what do we do with all of this?
Well we can sit back and rage against the church. There are
always those who want to point out all of the problems but never
want to help find the solution. We can throw stones and talk
about how badly the church has handled this issue, or we can use
our gift of time, energy, and intellect to prayerfully seek ways
to do things better. In doing so we must stick with the word of
God. We can't call a right a wrong or a wrong a right. Our job
is to lovingly tell the truth. If I were to know of someone
within the church who was committing adultery, I would lovingly
confront them. If they did not repent from their sin I would
bring a couple people with me and confront them again. If they
still did not repent, then they would have to chose between
their lifestyle or the church. I would do the same for anyone
who is sinning.
Obviously we are all sinners. But this principal applies to
those who refuse to try to change. It is not my job to determine
science as I am not a scientist, but to preach and teach the
word of God, to the people of God, and to call those that are
lost unto salvation, because God desires that no one should
perish. I wish everyone would accept Christ, but sadly some
won't. Some will choose to love the things of this world and
live a life of UN-repentance. I wish I could change it but I
can't. God has ordained that we must all choose for ourselves,
individually. Like it or not, Creator God sets the rules, He
sets the standards and whether they chose Christ or not, I
cannot water down the message to try and make it more appealing
or appetizing to some or more condemning to others.
I believe that the biblical purpose of the church is for
fellowship, discipleship, evangelism, ministry, and worship. Not
in any particular order but all five constantly taking place. In
the context of doing these things we must find a way to lovingly
accept all people and bring them into a place where they have a
biblical worldview and lifestyle, to see the world the way God would see it, and to live a life
that God would approve of.
Jefferson Martin, Jr., Pastor
Open Bible Baptist Church
June 18 2005
by Dr. Henry F. Johnson
It is time that I must speak out. I have sat back and watched a moral and spiritual decline in our nation and remained quiet like far too many in the Christian community. Our moral and spiritual decline in America concerns me. We have sat idly by and allowed Satan to have his way. I have come to the point that every time someone says “God Bless America,” I counter the statement with this question, “Can God Bless America?" My focus in this essay is to wake up the sleeping giants and call them to action. Who are the sleeping giants? The members of the Christian Community are the sleeping giants. We are a majority in America, but we are taking the position of ease like Lot did in Sodom.
The most devastating effect on our future is the nightmare of
abortion, as the death toll from legalized abortion reached 40
million. The civil rights of the unborn remain violated, in
spite of public opinion and the visualization of the baby in the
mother by ultrasound. With 40 million Americans missing 30 years
of age and under, this group comprises the new American
minority!
These are some lines from the petition to remove “In God We
Trust” from our currency: It is our firm belief that it is
unconstitutional to force one's thoughts of God, or a god upon
another American. We have the right to religious freedom, as
well as the right of freedom from religion. For those who are
not believers in God, or a god should not have to feel as though
it is a wrong belief due to the symbolism on our money. Nor
should they be made to feel out of place due to the forcing of
the idea of a god onto them. The American society has more
faiths then Christianity and other deity-based beliefs, so the
American citizens shouldn't be forced or stereotyped as being
one.
On Aug. 5, 2003, a federal judge ruled that a Ten Commandments
monument prominently located in the rotunda of the Alabama
Judicial Building had to be removed. On August 5, U. S. District
Court Judge Myron Thompson issued an injunction that called for
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore to have the 5,280-pound granite
sculpture removed within 15 days. His opinion suggested that the
court could order substantial fines against Judge Moore should
he fail to obey the injunction.
On Wednesday, February 4, 2004, The Massachusetts Supreme
Judicial Court cleared the way for lesbian and gay couples in
the state to marry, ruling, on February 3, 2004, that government
attorneys “failed to identify any constitutionally adequate
reason” to deny them the right. In a 4-3 ruling, the court gave
the Massachusetts state Legislature six months to rewrite the
state's marriage laws for the benefit of gay couples. The ruling
by the court on the Massachusetts Constitution could set new
legal ground, and drew quick reaction from advocates on both
sides of the issue. Massachusetts' governor immediately
denounced Tuesday's decision and said he would work for a
constitutional amendment to overturn it. But an openly gay U.S.
congressman from the state said the amendment couldn't come
before the voters before 2006, and by that time same-sex
marriages will be law. On February 12, 2004 in San Francisco,
California, couples flocked to City Hall. Officials issued 95
marriage licenses to same-sex couples before closing for the
day. The Associated Press reported that 87 couples were married
on the spot. Officials told the remaining couples to come back
Friday (February 13, 2004), according to the AP. As of Friday
afternoon, 489 couples had gotten married, the AP reported. The
first to be married Thursday were Phyllis Lyon, 80, and Dorothy
Martin, 83, who have been together 51 years.
What is going to happen to this nation that pledges “One Nation
Under God” if we, the people of God, don't make a stand? We talk
the talk but we aren't walking the walk. These group who are
pushing God and the principles of His Word out of America will
quickly organize a rally and march for their purposes. Where are
we? Wouldn't it be great if thousands of Christians went to
Washington, D.C. to make a stand for the Lord? Have we gotten
too comfortable in Sodom ( I mean America)?
I believe we serve a God of a second chance. The stipulation
that comes with that chance is whether there are any righteous
in the nations. The Bible gives the account of Abraham's
questioning of God as He was preparing to go destroy Sodom and
Gomorrah in Genesis 18:16-33.
The sinfulness of the city is very clear.
these men wanted to violently rape the angels and wouldn't
accept anything less. The angels intervened by blinding the men
and pulled Lot into the house. They asked Lot about his family
in the city. I think this might have been their way of seeing if
there were even ten who were righteous in the city. They found
that only Lot, his two daughters, and Mrs. Lot were willing to
leave. They made their way out of the city but Mrs. Lot had to
look back. She was turned to a pillar of salt. In this city only
three seemed to be righteous. Surely in America, there are some
righteous. We have freedom of religion. We have numerous
churches in every city of this nation. We have para-church
ministries throughout the nation. We have great theologians. We
have great television evangelist and preachers like Bishop Eddie
Long, T.D. Jakes, Dr. Otis Moss Jr., Bishop Dennis Leonard, and
Bishop G.E. Patterson who are proclaiming the Gospel. Our boast
is that we are one nation under God. If we are one nation under
God, why aren't we doing better? We have heard the Gospel and
accepted it. Why aren't we making a stand?
I am sounding off from my heart in this essay because I am
concerned. America is a great nation. I served in the US Army
for twenty years to include a tour in Vietnam so I must love
this nation. My love is still great for our nation but my
concern is that we have allowed ourselves to be put into a
position where God can't bless our nation.
I tell you I am concerned about today as well as the future. Our
nation is drifting away from the very principles that made us
great. We are turning away from our God who has been faithful
and who has blessed us. We have turned away from His Word that
was a light unto our path. In some of our pulpits, we have
watered down the Gospel rather than preaching about sin and the
need for true repentance.
I am not sure that God can bless America in our current state.
There is hope! In 2 Chronicles 7:14, we find hope. It says, If
my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves,
and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways;
then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land. (KJV) If we want the blessings of God, we
must do as this verse says. We must humble ourselves. This means
from the President's house to our house. We must humble
ourselves before the Lord. We must pray.
I remember as a child the saying in the church was that a family
that stays together prays together. I believe that a nation that
will pray together will stay together. We must, as a nation,
become praying people staying in the presence and will of God.
We must pray! We must next seek God's face. This is simply
moving from moral bankruptcy to getting into God's will and
walking according to His ways.
The next step is to turn from our wicked ways. The Body of
Christ must get back to the basics. We must worship, study,
pray, praise, and not compromise. We must stand against the
wiles of the Devil. We must not let any more compromise come
into our nation. We must take back what the Devil has stolen in
this time of our sleeping. We need to repent as a nation for our
lack of action and relaxing of morals. We need to repent for our
softening of the Word of God. We need to get back in our pulpits
and preach like we have never preached before to call God's
people to action and to a higher level of commitment to the
Lord.
My dear friends, when we humble ourselves before the Lord, pray,
seek God, and repent, God promises that He will hear from heaven
and will forgive our sin and heal our land.
Can God bless America? He can't bless us right now because we
are living in a mess. He can, however, bless us once we get
right. We can only get right with God by applying the principles
given in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
I am awake now....what about you? I have invited God back into
America by rededicating my life and my ministry...What about
you? Are you ready to do the same?
Just Keeping It Real.
Rev. Dr. Henry F. Johnson
Pastor, Greater Tri-Rock MBC
15 February 2004
editor@praisenet.org
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