Colbert Misreports

If Stephen Colbert is your favorite theologian, I’m about to burst your bubble. Colbert is absolutely wrong on this statement and this can be explained through three very important biblical truths from the old and new testaments.

Firstly, people that make this claim don’t know who Jesus is (John 8:58, John 10:30, John 1:1, Isaiah 9:6, etc, etc, etc). Jesus has always existed in perfect harmony with the Father. Perfect harmony means both Jesus and the Holy Spirit saw it just when the Father destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

Secondly, Jesus affirmed what the definition of marriage is when He was questioned about divorce. “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,  and said,‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? Where’s the variance? Where’s the apology for burning the aforementioned places to the ground? Where does He say the rules have changed? He doesn’t. In fact, He says that you shouldn’t even begin to think the rules have changed.

The third and last point is this: Jesus said plainly that He did not intend to do away with the law, which were the commandments given mostly throughout Leviticus and Deuteronomy (Matthew 5:17). According to the law, acting on same-sex attraction sexually is toebah, an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. In that single statement, He addressed homosexuality, murder, rape, and everything sinful in the world. He did not come to do away with the law, but to fulfill it. Lastly, I’d ask anyone that challenges this to present scripture the supports any sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage. I’ll just go ahead and tell you that it’s not there. During the great commission, Jesus told the apostles to make children of all nations, teaching them all that He commanded. What did those men say about homosexuality? Take a look at the first chapter of Romans in the New Testament. You’ll see that God has not changed His mind (He doesn’t do that).

 

If you experience same-sex attraction and you’re reading this, know that I and anyone else reading this, we all are just as sinful as you. We all fall short of the glory of God. None of us deserve His mercy, yet He loved us first. Yet, He died for us. You are free to turn away from your sin. You don’t need to fix yourself and somehow put a stop to your attraction. Indeed, you can’t. In our sins, we are slaves to our sin.

The good news is God changes us. God gives us a heart willing to obey Him. God grants us repentance and fights sin with us and abides in us. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Isn’t that wonderful? He’ll be with us even until the end of the age throughout all struggles with sin. God loves you. Your true identity, like mine, is within Him and not in your sexuality. True freedom is in Christ and not sex. True harmoniousness will not be found outside of Christ, as hard as you may try.

Also, take comfort in knowing that you have always been invited to join the church. Paul mentions members of the early Christian church that turned away from their sins to follow Christ and homosexuals are among them. The love of Christ is for you too. All you have to do is follow Him. He will do the rest for and in you.

Pursuing Pure Sex

Are you or someone you love fighting a battle with lust? Do you struggle with the temptation to watch porn? Do you have sexual cravings that you know are self-destructive and/or harmful to your relationship? We don’t talk about this in church, but you’re not alone. We must not be silent about this. There is help and there is hope even if you feel like you can’t stop what you’re doing. Here’s an excerpt from Craig Gross, the founder of XXXChurch.

“My name is Craig Gross and I started this website in 2002 just a few short years into marriage with Jeanette. I wanted to help those struggling with porn addiction and sex addiction. Yes, that’s right: 13 years ago. Some of you weren’t born yet and the rest of you were on AOL. Since then, we’ve been offering free pornography addiction help to those who need it. We do this through blogs, videos, and other resources. Anyway, watch this video to find out what this website is all about.”

There’s lots of wonderful help for those that need it. It has resources to help in all the awkward situations we don’t typically bring to the light. From catching your kid watching porn to battling masturbation addiction, it’s all there and it’s gospel centered, the way it should be. Church, God did not open your eyes to the truth to leave you helplessly waning in your sin. He will finish the work He started in you!! That’s Phillipians 1:6, y’all.

Prostitutes, strippers, porn stars, sex addicts, porn addicts, adulterers, perverts, all of you that have sexual thoughts that deviate from God’s good intention for sex, He loves you!! He will help you! If you are too ashamed to reach out to someone you know, I plead with you to give this resource or one of the (I can’t stress this enough) gospel centered resources similar to this a chance to help you.

I won’t beat you over the head with scripture about sexual immorality. You don’t even have to be a Christian to know just how deplorable God finds these acts. But, there is hope. There is the gospel of Christ.

Their website here.
Facebook here.

Love and Empathy

“How have we as a church hurt you?”, I asked. This was a moment I had been anticipating for a while. There I was sitting with a friend I can sincerely say I both admire and love. A conversation wasn’t necessary for me to understand that at some point, there was some pain caused by the church that’s supposed to spreading truth and love. By extending this invitation to share whatever grievances there were against the church that I love, I hoped that I could learn how to better love and serve those that have a different worldview than I. This conversation was completely impromptu to ensure that all the answers were heartfelt and true. I was blessed by the suffering of others in this exchange. This is a summary of things said to me, in my own words.

We Christians are great preachers of the realities of the sins of others. We’re experts on scripture about homosexuality and marriage, but there is just as much infidelity and divorce inside the church as there is on the outside. When it comes to sexuality, the way we present scripture makes homosexuals feel undeserving of love. They feel dehumanized and that God could not possibly love them no matter what they do because their very essence is wrong. I am someone that has personally experienced acceptance issues, so that resonated very strongly in me.

As stories of harsh judgment, emasculation, and condemnation were told, I searched my heart for a scripture I could think of that speaks into the feelings being shared with me. What did Jesus say about this? “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” is the question He asks in Matthew 7:3. I agreed with the description of the church. There’s as much unrepentant infidelity and promiscuity in the church as there is outside of it. I, myself, did not remain pure until marriage. One of the very reasons I haven’t made much of an effort to find a bride is because of the hypocrisy being brought to my attention.

A fair portion of our discussion was about hypocrisy. There was an admission to the fact that we all make our own choices regardless of someone else’s sin. That was the mindset I had initially as well, but I changed my mind about that as we were talking. We Christians, we’re called to be salt and light to the world (Matthew 5:13-16). We’re supposed to be setting the example Christ showed to us to the rest of world. How are we supposed to do that if our homes remain broken? We don’t even love our own spouses, let alone trying to love the rest of the world.

Lastly, there was the talk about condemnation. The way I interpret it was the revelation of the reality of sin with no compassion. We have a habit of quoting 1 Corinthians 6:9 & 10, but we fail to follow up with the very next verse. Truth without compassion isn’t loving at all. If we aren’t displaying all three of those things, why do we profess Christ? In what way am I guilty individually of these charges against us collectively? I am not really sure, but our talk sure did inspire me to take a hard look into the mirror, to pray, and to give thanks that there are people in my life that are willing to be candid with me about my own sins.

The invitation was well received and we’re both optimistic about continuing our discussion at a later date. Understanding another’s suffering and sharing that grief is what Christ did for us. I’ve felt for myself how moving it can be to put myself aside and follow Him in that way. I’m looking forward to doing it again.