Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Sexual Ethics”

Our Bible verse for today: “In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Shine the light and show the love of Jesus.”

In the course of this study I’ve made reference to some books which were instrumental in shaping the thinking and establishing the strategies which have led the gay community to achieve their goals. Similarly, today the Christian community has a wealth of good literature available which is helpful and informative. But in terms of approach and strategy, two of the most helpful that I have discovered are “Love into Light” by Peter Hubbard, and “Same-Sex Marriage” by Sean McDowell and John Stonestreet. These two books provide a roadmap forward for the Christian community similar to what the other books did for the gay community.

As we conclude, I want to offer a few insights shared by Hubbard in his book and by McDowell and Stonestreet in theirs. First of all, culture is shaped, formed, and moved from the bottom up, not from the top down. Cultural elites can make suggestions and promote ideas, but it is average people like you and me who ultimately form and move culture. As the Church our job is to model and promote healthy and happy traditional marriages. Each of our individual examples will make a difference, and collectively we can move culture and change society.

Also, Peter Hubbard urges us to remember that gay people are in fact people. He writes, “We often forget that the vast majority of our fellow citizens who identify as homosexual … are everyday people with jobs, hobbies, family and to-do lists. What they want may be wrong and more harmful than they know, but our tendency to overlook their humanity has hampered our ability to communicate with them effectively and to convey the love of Christ.”

In 2012 Dan Cathy, the CEO of Chick-fil-A, caused a nationwide controversy when he commented to a reporter that he believes marriage is between a man and a woman only. In response Shane Windmeyer, a well-known leader in the Gay and Lesbian community organized a nationwide boycott of Chick-fil-A. He staged protests, “Eat-ins” and “Kiss-ins” at Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country.

Dan responded to all of this calmly and with great grace. At every opportunity and in every interview he affirmed his position without apology or compromise, but he also expressed his genuine concern for gays as people. Dan also called Shane on the phone and they spoke for over an hour. Then Dan invited Shane to be his personal guest, all expenses paid, to the Chick-fil-A college football bowl game. Shane sat with Dan in his private corporate box seats.

Later Shane wrote a magazine article entitled, “Dan Cathy and Me: My Coming Out as a Friend of Dan Cathy and Chick-fil-A”. In the article Shane described his encounter with Dan. He wrote that Dan shared stories of his own life and family, and he asked many questions about Shane’s life and family, including about Shane’s husband Tommy.

Dan and Shane ended up spending many hours together just getting to know each other and enjoying each others company. Neither of them ever changed their views about sexual ethics or gay marriage. But they did gain a new respect for each other and they agreed that they could disagree on this issue without vilifying each other. Shane then called off the protests and the entire controversy faded away.

As we the Church move forward into this new cultural setting which is developing all around us, let us not lose sight of the fact that gays are people who are not very different from us, and we gain nothing by being unkind or insensitive. We must remember that our real battle is spiritual and the real enemy is Satan. We must resolve to simply be the Church, we must speak the truth with hesitation and without compromise, and we must love people (all people) in the Name of Jesus and in the power of His Holy Spirit.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Sexual Ethics”

Our Bible verse for today: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “We must take actions to protect ourselves and our churches.”

It’s a tough world out there and so Jesus instructed His followers to be smart and to protect themselves. We are to be pure and holy, innocent of wrong doing and wrong motives, but we are not to be doormats or punching bags, allowing culture and society to unload on us or to take unfair advantage of us. Even the apostle Paul used the protections available to him as a result of being a Roman citizen (Acts 25:11)

As the moral revolution of sexual ethics continues to unfold in our nation, Christians and churches will likely find themselves increasingly at odds with society; and we will perhaps find ourselves facing the necessity of engaging in civil disobedience for the sake of Biblical principles. Dr. Jim Garlow, a well-known pastor and author recently wrote,

“A time is coming when the government will demand that churches accept and promote an understanding of sexuality and gender that directly opposes God’s Word.”

That time is here. It is already happening. Yesterday I mentioned the case where pastors in Houston were ordered to turn over their sermons, Bible studies, and private communications with church members. Here’s another example. Chai Feldblum serves as a Commissioner on the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He was recently quoted as saying,

“There can be a conflict between religious liberty and sexual liberty, but in almost all cases sexual liberty should win …”

That comes from a high ranking Federal official who has great influence over what happens in workplaces all across this country. We are already seeing the impact that kind of thinking is having on Christian businesses and ministries. Soon attempts will probably be made to apply it to churches as well.

We have all heard much talk in recent years about the Constitutional guarantee of the “separation of church and state”. We commonly think of it as a guarantee that the church has a right to function in the public sector, outside the walls of the church building. That is true, but the original intent of the provision was actually more focused on keeping the state out of the church. It’s about preventing the state from getting inside and intruding into church affairs. We have now come to the point in this country where churches must erect strong walls of separation to keep the state out of the church. There are still legal protections that exist which we must ensure we are taking full advantage of.

“The Alliance Defending Freedom” is a Christian legal association which assists individual Christians, Christian business owners, and churches in defending religious freedoms. They provide guidance, resources, and legal representation. Recently they published a very helpful guidebook entitled “Protecting Your Ministry from Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Lawsuits.” The book addresses everything from Church Constitutions and By-laws, to statements of faith, to marriage and wedding contracts, to facilities use agreements, and much more. Every church should have a copy of this book and should modify their existing governing documents to ensure the church is fully protected under existing law.

Tomorrow we will conclude our study of sexual ethics with the story of a high-profile Christian whose name you will probably recognize. This person found himself immersed in a national scandal as a result of defending Biblical principles and he handled it very well.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Sexual Ethics”

Our Bible verse for today: “But Peter and the apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Sometimes we have to engage in civil disobedience.”

The Bible is clear that Christians are to be good, law-abiding citizens in whatever society they live in. The “laws of the land” differ greatly depending on “the land” that you live in. No matter, Christians are still to be the best citizens of whatever society they’re part of and we are to obey the laws whatever they are – unless those laws conflict with Biblical principles. Then we are to engage in civil disobedience. That’s what Peter was saying in Acts 5:29.

With respect to sexual ethics and the associated cultural issues, Christians in the USA are increasingly finding themselves faced with the prospect of engaging in civil disobedience for the sake of Biblical principles. But that disobedience always comes with a cost. Christian pharmacists have been fired for refusing to dispense abortion-inducing drugs. Christian medical students have been dismissed from medical school for declining to be trained in abortion procedures. Christian business owners have been sued for refusing to photograph or bake cakes for a same-sex wedding. Christian pastors were ordered to turn over to government authorities any sermons, Bible studies, and private communications with church members that had anything to do with gay and lesbian issues or which made reference to that city’s lesbian mayor. Those pastors faced the potential of going to jail for failure to comply.

This is nothing new in Christian history and in fact, is rather mild compared to what other Christians in other places have endured in the past, and continue to endure today. In China pastors aren’t considered to be fully qualified or fully trained for the ministry until they’ve spent at least three years in prison for their faith.

As the cultural shift in America continues, Christians can expect to experience more opposition, and perhaps even penalties for being faithful to Biblical principles. While we aren’t inviting or seeking the persecution, we should not fear it or shy away from it either. They opposed Jesus in His day and He assured us that they will likewise oppose us in our day.

The answer for Christians today in the USA is the same as it has always been for Christians everywhere in every age – we are to faithfully stand for Biblical principles. If that means we have to take our lumps, then we take our lumps. God is faithful and He will get us through it. We have read the last chapter of the last book, so we know how this ends. Just be faithful and trust God.

But we are not to be doormats either and we are not to simply roll over in the face of opposition and persecution. Tomorrow we will discuss some specific steps churches need to take to protect themselves as things continue to change in our society.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Sexual Ethics”

Our Bible verse for today: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” Isaiah 5:20 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “They have reversed society’s understanding of good and bad, of right and wrong.”

In America the cultural norms for acceptable sexual ethics were pretty stable for most of our history. From the days of the pilgrims right up through the 1950’s, the Biblical standard for sexual behavior was overwhelming accepted and mostly unquestioned. The sexual revolution of the hippie years initiated the beginnings of a cultural shift, but it has only been in the last twenty-five years that the Biblical standard has been directly challenged on the national level.

Dr. Albert Mohler, the President of Southern Seminary, helps us to understand what has happened. He refers to the work of British philosopher Theo Hobson who developed a theory regarding how to initiate a moral revolution within a culture. Dr. Hobson taught that in order to bring about a moral revolution in a culture there are three basic steps or phases which must be deliberately passed through. First, the moral beliefs and behaviors which used to be condemned must now be celebrated. Second, the moral beliefs and behaviors that used to be celebrated must now be condemned. And third, those who refuse to celebrate the new moral standards and behaviors must also be condemned. This is exactly what has happened in our society with respect to sexual ethics.

Dr. Mohler explains that moral revolutions of the kind described by Theo Hobson have occurred at various times in different societies throughout history, but never at the speed with which it is occurring in our society today.

Also, this didn’t happen by accident. As we will see tomorrow, the architects of this seismic cultural shift were extremely thoughtful and intentional. Their approach was exactly what Theo Hobson’s theory described. Fortunately, their strategy was thoroughly documented and widely published. We should thank them for their openness and transparency because their strategies, which worked so well and which brought all of us to where we are today, actually provide an excellent roadmap for us, the Christian church, as we develop our own strategies for dealing with this going forward.

Again I want to encourage you to not lose heart. All is not lost, the last word on the issue has not been spoken, and the outcome is not a foregone conclusion. As time passes, societies go through cultural shifts. The changes come, they stay for a while, and then things change again. But when it’s all said and done Jesus is still on the Throne and it is His Kingdom that remains and which continues to grow. In the long run, God always wins.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim