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Showing posts with the label Paul the Apostle

The same sex controversy is over the authority and interpretation of the Bible

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The clamor for the acceptability of homosexuality, which is heard even in the church, is not without a stated authoritative base. The people making this claim appeal to the Bible and assert that a homosexual lifestyle is perfectly compatible with its teaching. The same-sex controversy is, at its core, a controversy over the authority and interpretation of the Bible. Throughout the history of the church, and revealed in the historical understanding of Scripture,5 homosexuality has been seen as contrary to the morality set forth in the pages of the Bible. Today, however, we are being told that the moral opposition to homosexuality, based in and upon Scripture, is actually a rather recent phenomenon. We are being “informed” that the Bible nowhere condemns homosexuality as it is predominantly known and practiced today and that, as a matter of fact, a lifestyle of committed homosexuality is consistent with biblical morality. Ironically, this makes for a remarkable case of selectivity in...

Is Homosexuality - “Against Nature” in Romans 1

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Homosexuality as “Against Nature” in Romans 1 Is Paul making a blanket pronouncement that homosexuality is sin against God in Romans 1:26–27 when he speaks of a behavior (“men with men” and “women with women”) that is “against nature”? The Revisionist Answer It is not possible to read here a reference to a crime against nature or a so-called “natural law” because such a concept is Greek and was unknown to Paul. The Biblical Answe r Natural law was known to Philo and Josephus, contemporaries with the apostle Paul , and it is reflected in literature contemporary with, or antecedent to, Paul. For Jews , it represented creation and God’s law brought into harmony The Revisionist Claim In Romans 1, Paul condemns men and women who leave their natural state. He does not condemn those who are born homosexual, who have the homosexual condition, for that is their natural state. Ancient peoples did not know of the modern ideas of a mutual, permanent homosexual union and homosex...

The problem with homosexuality - Double lives and lying to Christians

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While Ms. Beattie enjoyed her job, she knew being a lesbian didn't exactly fit the religious ethos of her workplace. She also knew that the longer she stayed, the harder it would get. She also lied on her application. The turning point came soon after she became pregnant through IVF with her lesbian partner. Sadly, she miscarried ; that's when she decided it was time to leave. So instead of repenting of her sin and deception and seeking grace from her Christian employer instead she chose to continue to live her immoral lifestyle and leave.  "I couldn't turn to anyone because I knew there would be questions: What support did I have at home? Do I have a husband? That's when I realised I couldn't conceal it anymore. The whole thing really ground me down, actually. It's hard to go to work and not be able to talk about your partner, or what you're doing on the weekends. I'm a very open person, so I was embarrassed telling my friends I had to li...

Culture bombards us with heterosexual and homosexual sex

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Our culture bombards us with sexualized images — Facebook ads, magazines, YouTube clips, television, catalogues, Netflix , and just about every other possible medium. That’s a truth so obvious you can’t miss it. But here’s a not-so-obvious truth: not only does our culture  show  us sex; it also  speaks  to us about sex. Right or wrong, our culture teaches us about sex. The media conducts sex education all the time. Two thousand years ago, the apostle Paul warned, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things [for example, sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness] the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” ( Ephesians 5:6). Apparently, the culture of Paul’s day was speaking deceitful words concerning sexual immorality, tantalizing and seductive words empty of truth, wisdom, and godliness. What Does the Box Say? What lies does our culture tell us about sex? I once conducted an informal experiment, watching ten ...

Archbishop Morgan supports homosexual marriage - except Bible says no!

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Christians who support same-sex marriage are not “abandoning the Bible ” the Archbishop of Wales has insisted, as he told leading Anglicans that sex in a committed gay or lesbian relationship is perfectly “proper”. Dr Barry Morgan used his final address to the governing body of the Church in Wales , ahead of his retirement, to urge members to rethink traditional beliefs about homosexual relationships as being sinful. Even Biblical texts often cited as condemning homosexuality, such as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone, could be “interpreted in more than one way”, he said.  The 'hospitality argument' is a well known liberal failed tactic written by Bailey and used by the Metropolitan Gay Churches.  Morgan should not be seeking to confuse and divert people away from the correct teaching of scripture. Dr Morgan, a prominent liberal figure in the church, is stepping down in early 2017 after 14 years as Archbishop, the longest serving primat...

Jesus did not affirm a gay lifestyle

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It is one thing to not believe the Bible, and another to misreport what the Bible says; the Bible does not say that Jesus was fine with or indifferent on homosexuality . Jesus also doesn't talk about cars. Those who fought to make homosexual marriage legal rebutted the objection of conservative Christians by invoking the separation between church and state allegedly imposed by the First Amendment to the Constitution . But that is irrelevant to what the church believes and what the state believes and neither can interfere or the state cant start its own church. Irrelevant! Now that such rights have been secured, that separation is being blurred as many LGBTQ people seek to find affirmation inside the church as well as outside. But it is not there. They will find affirmation in liberal non Bible believing churches led by false prophets and false teachers according to 2 Peter. An example of a modern false prophet, such as Pastor John Pavlowvitz of North Raleigh Community Ch...

Christians react to Supreme Court on gay marriage

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Now that we Christians have had two weeks to cool our jets a bit, we can reposition and recalibrate ourselves. Events like those transpiring last Friday provide opportune times of reminder for God’s people of our mission. When some of the more powerful human courts in the world express their fallenness, and the grandstands of culture erupt in praise, Christians are handed an occasion to be reminded of what we’re doing here on earth. Humanity is still fallen. Jesus is still risen. Christians are still commissioned. Being bestowed with every spiritual blessing from heaven means we have a responsibility to be a blessing on earth. One helpful place to go for biblical instruction on the matter is the Apostle Paul ’s exhortation to the Colossian church. These believers lived in a culture which clashed with the biblical worldview. Things like homosexuality and unfriendly political stances were the norm. So, how did God , through the pen of the Apostle, shepherd his people to respond? “W...

Matthew Vines on 1 Timothy 1:10 are homosexual self abusers?

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English: folio 150 recto of the codex, with the beginning of the 1. Epistle to the Corrinthians (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers 10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching." (1 Tim. 1:9-10, NASB). Mr. Vines says, "In the final passage, 1 Timothy 1:10, the first word--“abusers of themselves with mankind”--reappears in a list of people Paul says the law was written against. Here, the translation is “them that defile themselves with mankind.” The translation issues and debates here are the same as those from 1 Corinthians . Again, the strongest inference that can be drawn from other uses of this term is that it referred to economic exploitation through sexual coercion--po...

Marriage Equality is abnormal offensive sin

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Some people like Prime Minister Kevin Rudd tout homosexuality as an “orientation” equal in virtue to heterosexuality. That the Bible is wrong and that we have moved on. They appeal to the “love” shared between two persons of the same gender, and on that basis, contend that equality and public acceptance must be guaranteed. To some, these sexual passions are so strong as to appear innate. Moreover, we are told that homosexual desires are private, harmless to others, and beyond the censure of society. But if that is true, what are we to think of a passage like Romans 1:26–27 ? The Bible defines homosexual desires as “contrary to nature,” not an equal alternative orientation. Homosexuality is a “dishonorable passion” that “consumes” men and women, leading to shameless behavior. The strong emotional pull of lust and the affections shared between persons in a homosexual relationship — whatever those affections may be called — cannot properly be called “love.” After all, love “does not ...

Boycott Starbucks supporters of homosexual marriage

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I was asked that question last week, as a result of some controversial statements made last month by the coffee company’s CEO in which he publicly supported gay marriage. But what about Glle, The Family Man, Ellen and other immoral shows? If I were a coffee snob, I probably would have answered that we should boycott Starbucks because they burn their beans. But I’m not a coffee snob. And I knew that wasn’t really the heart behind the question. My actual response went something like this: If your conscience is pricked by drinking Starbucks coffee , then you should not drink Starbucks coffee. That is a decision that you ought to make in your own heart before the Lord. But if other believers choose not to join you in your boycott (because they don’t share that same personal conviction), you should not judge them for responding differently than you do. While it is not an exact parallel, the situation regarding food offered to idols (addressed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 8-9) provides us...