If We Do Not Stand On The Word, What Do We Stand Upon?

Over the past week, a rather strange thing has happened; something, I believe, that deserves further attention. A major Christian organization that provides various services to families and children in third-world countries has made a very controversial statement: “Why we’re hiring gay Christians in same-sex marriages.” I, for one, took great offense and action regarding this statement for reasons I now feel compelled to explain. However, before I go on, let me say that they have now, two days later, reversed this decision. Now back to the issue at hand. In their statement, they referred to “gay Christians”; something that I believe simply cannot, according to the Word of God, be true. The Bible is very clear about salvation, what it takes to be saved, and who will and will not enter the kingdom of heaven; with three points that I will quickly review. Number one. What does the Bible say about salvation? Well, for one thing, it says that a man must repent; a word from the Greek metanoeo, which means “to think after, to make a decision that results in a change of mind, which, in turn, leads to a change of purpose and reaction.” See Matthew 3:2, Matthew 4:17, Luke 13:3–5, and Luke 17:3, just to name a few. Therefore, according to the Word of God, we see that a person, in order to be saved, must turn from sin and change. Now before you get all worked up, grace is another subject, but the bottom line is without repentance, there is no grace or forgiveness. Number two is to believe. Again, we look to the Greek language for original intent and meaning, and we find the word pisteuo or “to have faith in, upon, or with respect to, a person, or thing. To entrust, believe, believer, commit, to put trust in.” In order to trust in God and place your faith in Christ, you must first believe, and if you believe, you believe who He is and what He requires. In order to truly believe, we must surrender our will to the Father’s will. We must believe that He is God, that He created each one of us according to His will and His purpose. We must believe God does not err, and all other attributes of Him must now be a part of our belief system (see Matthew 9:28 and Mark 1:15) for just two of many references. Number three is love. We are to love both the unsaved and the saved, just as Jesus did; however, we are to first love Jesus! “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me" (John 14:23–24). Do we really need more explanation? If you love Jesus, if you believe in Jesus, you will avoid temptation, and when you fail you will repent. You cannot and will not be allowed to continue in an openly sinful lifestyle and be called a believer! Again, let us look to the Word in order to see the everlasting truth. “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissentions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19–21). And, if you’re still not convinced, read 1 Corinthians 6:9 where Paul mentions homosexuals by name as catamites: “those submitting to homosexuals.” Now the reality is, according to the Word of God, those who do not repent and believe and stop practicing sin (not those who occasionally fail) will not be saved. No, I am not judging. I am simply stating the truth according to the Word. If you have a problem with this, then your issue is with God, and you can take it up with Him. Now, why is it that if you speak the truth in love, it is all too often assumed that you hate people or you are judging them? The truth is, in my case, nothing could be further from the truth. I am a man who has committed his entire life as a believer over 36 years to serving the downtrodden, lost, confused, and hurting; yes, even homosexuals. Be not confused—I am not writing this to defend myself. I am, however, making a very important point. Those who are so quick to accuse others of judging are, in fact, judging those of us who are simply speaking the truth of the Word of God. Hence, if you have a problem with sin, then, again, your issue is with God, and my friends you will not win that argument, but go ahead and try, if you must. Finally, you ask: “Well, what business is it of yours what people do?” The reality is, it is not my business until one of the following things happen. First, when they make it my business. In the case of illegal drugs and homosexuality, many of those who practice such sin are attempting to make the church change God’s law and accept them and their lifestyle. They advertise, attack, lobby, and more to get us to change God’s law; not my job, nor will I ever go there. However, because you have come against my God and His laws, I will defend Him and my decision, and I will fight for the sanctity of the church because I am told to. Revelation 2 and 3 warn the churches against not doing so. Love is not agreeing with people. Love is knowing the truth and sharing it with those who you care about, and loving Jesus is our first commandment; then comes man. Secondly, when you force your beliefs upon my children, family, and church, while on this earth, I will fight for them through God's Word. So the bottom line is this. If you don’t like the requirements of being a Christian, stop trying to change those beliefs, and go enjoy your life as a nonbeliever. If you want to believe and be transformed, there are plenty of us out there who would love to help you do so. As for you believers who get mad at people like me who stand firmly on the Rock, on the Word of God, I truly don’t know what to tell you that I have not already done so. Read the Word, for after all, that is where the truth lies. Now back to the beginning and the statement made by this famous organization: “Why we’re hiring gay Christians in same-sex marriages.” I take issue because these people are trying to redefine Christianity, and if you think it will stop here, you are truly mistaken. I for one will not go down without a fight, and neither should any other true believer. This is not about hating gays or anyone else. That is simply foolish. It is about allowing the enemy of our souls to water down the blood of Jesus. It’s about compromise, and I love Jesus too much to stand by and watch anyone shame Him. Remember, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood; we wrestle against powers, principalities, and rulers in dark places (Ephesians 6:10–18). Pastor Gene Burroughs, Missio Dei Ministries, Navarre, FL