Jesus told us in Matthew 5 that He did not come to replace the law of the Old Testament, but instead, to complete it. He went so far as to say that not one word of the Law will pass away... that we will be accountable to the Old Testament until the end of time.
He also said that our righteousness must surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees. In other words, those who simply obey the OT law don't have enough righteousness. They must obey the law and go beyond the law, led by the Spirit of Truth. And so God's grace empowers us to not only follow the Old Testament law as our foundation, but to honor God at an even higher, even stricter level. The New Testament is actually stricter than the Old Testament. The new covenant we have in Jesus requires more of us than the old covenant. Jesus gave us examples. Here's a really good one:
Matthew 5:27-28 (NIV)
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
What Jesus said is that the Old Testament only required that you cannot actually physically engage in sex outside of marriage. But according to the New Testament, it is already sinful just to fantasize about having sex outside of marriage. The Holy Spirit empowers us to be able to live according to the higher standards of the new covenant. A personal relationship with Jesus is the key to living a life pleasing to Him.
This is true grace.
John 1:17 (NIV)
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Why Homosexuality is Such a Big Deal: An Answer to Many with Questions
In the past few days, I have had many well meaning people ask me what the big deal is about the same sex marriage ruling by the US Supreme Court. Most asking me are young people from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia... a few from America and even Australia. Most of them are horrified at how Christians are reacting to this news and are making statements about how we can come against true love and more. These are Christians who are saying these things and in many of these cases, they are practicing Born Again believers who love Jesus, but they did not grow up with a strong understanding of the Bible. They are not angry, but they are asking sincerely. Some of them have been asking on Facebook and such and are getting blasted as if they are infidels but in reality, they need an explanation. If those with a deeper understanding of God's Word will actually explain, it would be great!
This simple post I am writing is what I am referring to the people asking me about the issue simply because I am overwhelmed in answering everyone individually and more questions are coming more rapidly. There are already many good, detailed explanations out on the net but I'm writing this one specifically to the kinds of questions I'm getting. I pray this helps.
Firstly, I need to explain that any person who is going to be a life long believer in Christ, a person who will enter into eternal life with Jesus, will believe the Word of God completely and will not stray from it. They will not accept any train of thought that is contrary to what God's Word says. It is the Bible which defines my life and my beliefs and it is the basis for my values. Not only the basis, the Bible is my set of values.
I'll only give one scripture in this explanation today, though there are others.
In the final part of Romans chapter 1, the Bible speaks very strongly about God's wrath regarding sexual immorality. It speaks of many sins and then at a pinnacle of speaking of these sins in a progressive way that shows how sinful behavior lead to deeper sin and bondage come verses 26 to 27.
Romans 1:26-27 (NIV)
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual 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 shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
The number one reason that we are concerned about people who get involved in homosexual activity is that we love them and we do not want them to break God's law. People who willfully break God's commandments end up with penalty's in this life and more importantly they will be separated from God for eternity. To put it bluntly, they don't go to heaven, but they go to hell.
It doesn't matter if in our eyes they are a good, loving and a caring person or not, what matters is that God only allows people to go to heaven who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which means they have repented of their sins (anything they do which is against the Bible) and that they love Jesus actively. Jesus said you only love Him if you obey His Word, the Bible.
Regarding the Christian reaction to the court decision, I am, just like other American Christians, very disturbed by it, not so much because it allows gay and lesbian couples to marry, but because I know that it means things will go downhill faster from here. The agenda of the homosexual community and those who support it is much more than to only allow them to marry. It is to force other things in government and society including but not limited to things like forcing the hiring of homosexuals, forcing Christian owned businesses to serve homosexuals though it is against our beliefs and so much more. It normalizes things in society that are contrary to God's Word and entangles them in a deep way.
I have no problem understanding that the Supreme Court is not using God's Word to make decisions and that America should be a land of liberty. But the problem is that this is anther large step in the direction of taking the Christian communities liberties away. It is only a land of liberties if everyone has freedom including the Christians.
In the church in which I serve in Manila, almost half of the males have had a homosexual experience in their past and some are still struggling. We love them so much and they know we love them. But we do not compromise regarding the Word of God and we speak the truth in love and help them to overcome the bondage of being attracted to a person of the same sex. They get set free on a regular basis and now many of our leaders, even, are former homosexuals. In my ministry over the last 20 years, I have lost count of the number of former homosexuals who came to Christ and were also healed of HIV and other diseases. Dozens are now married and have families. God can do it!
Regarding the argument that a person is "born that way," meaning they were born to be a boy liking boys or a girl liking girls, I have no doubt that in many cases, there is some truth to that inner desire. Science has proven that there are people who are literally "wired" that way. But read closely. Science has also proven that there are people who were born with strong "wiring" to lie, to murder, to steal, to use drugs & alcohol, to be violent and more. But their compulsions that they were born with do no make those behaviors right. A murderer cannot tell a judge that it's ok because they were born that way. If a judge is good, then the judge will condemn the murderer. God is good in the same way. God would literally not be good if He did not judge sin. If we are attached to the sin, we get judged. If we dis-attach from the sin through repentance in Jesus, we are saved.
Humans must fight their animalistic desires and discipline themselves. Homosexuality is wrong even if someone feels they were born that way. Practicing homosexuality separates people from the grace of God which is freely available to them and leads to eternal death! We do not have eternal life unless we embrace and follow God's Word.
And so we hurt. We are disappointed. We feel that we have lost ground. It is a sad day for America, but the answer is not to shout and complain. The answer is Jesus. It is evangelism. It is loving people with the love of Christ. This has happened because the Church has been asleep. May this be a wake up call to the American church and even the world-wide church!
If you are struggling with same sex attraction, know that Jesus loves you and that we, the true Christians love you too! We are here for you and the same power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead is able to work powerfully in you. There is freedom available! You don't have to live with guilt, shame and bondage. You don't need to suffer eternal punishment! But you do need to cooperate with Christ and come into alignment with His Word. He will help you and we will too!
Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.
This simple post I am writing is what I am referring to the people asking me about the issue simply because I am overwhelmed in answering everyone individually and more questions are coming more rapidly. There are already many good, detailed explanations out on the net but I'm writing this one specifically to the kinds of questions I'm getting. I pray this helps.
Firstly, I need to explain that any person who is going to be a life long believer in Christ, a person who will enter into eternal life with Jesus, will believe the Word of God completely and will not stray from it. They will not accept any train of thought that is contrary to what God's Word says. It is the Bible which defines my life and my beliefs and it is the basis for my values. Not only the basis, the Bible is my set of values.
I'll only give one scripture in this explanation today, though there are others.
In the final part of Romans chapter 1, the Bible speaks very strongly about God's wrath regarding sexual immorality. It speaks of many sins and then at a pinnacle of speaking of these sins in a progressive way that shows how sinful behavior lead to deeper sin and bondage come verses 26 to 27.
Romans 1:26-27 (NIV)
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual 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 shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
The number one reason that we are concerned about people who get involved in homosexual activity is that we love them and we do not want them to break God's law. People who willfully break God's commandments end up with penalty's in this life and more importantly they will be separated from God for eternity. To put it bluntly, they don't go to heaven, but they go to hell.
It doesn't matter if in our eyes they are a good, loving and a caring person or not, what matters is that God only allows people to go to heaven who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which means they have repented of their sins (anything they do which is against the Bible) and that they love Jesus actively. Jesus said you only love Him if you obey His Word, the Bible.
Regarding the Christian reaction to the court decision, I am, just like other American Christians, very disturbed by it, not so much because it allows gay and lesbian couples to marry, but because I know that it means things will go downhill faster from here. The agenda of the homosexual community and those who support it is much more than to only allow them to marry. It is to force other things in government and society including but not limited to things like forcing the hiring of homosexuals, forcing Christian owned businesses to serve homosexuals though it is against our beliefs and so much more. It normalizes things in society that are contrary to God's Word and entangles them in a deep way.
I have no problem understanding that the Supreme Court is not using God's Word to make decisions and that America should be a land of liberty. But the problem is that this is anther large step in the direction of taking the Christian communities liberties away. It is only a land of liberties if everyone has freedom including the Christians.
In the church in which I serve in Manila, almost half of the males have had a homosexual experience in their past and some are still struggling. We love them so much and they know we love them. But we do not compromise regarding the Word of God and we speak the truth in love and help them to overcome the bondage of being attracted to a person of the same sex. They get set free on a regular basis and now many of our leaders, even, are former homosexuals. In my ministry over the last 20 years, I have lost count of the number of former homosexuals who came to Christ and were also healed of HIV and other diseases. Dozens are now married and have families. God can do it!
Regarding the argument that a person is "born that way," meaning they were born to be a boy liking boys or a girl liking girls, I have no doubt that in many cases, there is some truth to that inner desire. Science has proven that there are people who are literally "wired" that way. But read closely. Science has also proven that there are people who were born with strong "wiring" to lie, to murder, to steal, to use drugs & alcohol, to be violent and more. But their compulsions that they were born with do no make those behaviors right. A murderer cannot tell a judge that it's ok because they were born that way. If a judge is good, then the judge will condemn the murderer. God is good in the same way. God would literally not be good if He did not judge sin. If we are attached to the sin, we get judged. If we dis-attach from the sin through repentance in Jesus, we are saved.
Humans must fight their animalistic desires and discipline themselves. Homosexuality is wrong even if someone feels they were born that way. Practicing homosexuality separates people from the grace of God which is freely available to them and leads to eternal death! We do not have eternal life unless we embrace and follow God's Word.
And so we hurt. We are disappointed. We feel that we have lost ground. It is a sad day for America, but the answer is not to shout and complain. The answer is Jesus. It is evangelism. It is loving people with the love of Christ. This has happened because the Church has been asleep. May this be a wake up call to the American church and even the world-wide church!
If you are struggling with same sex attraction, know that Jesus loves you and that we, the true Christians love you too! We are here for you and the same power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead is able to work powerfully in you. There is freedom available! You don't have to live with guilt, shame and bondage. You don't need to suffer eternal punishment! But you do need to cooperate with Christ and come into alignment with His Word. He will help you and we will too!
Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.
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