If you have your baloney-meter properly working, you can spot a load of baloney a light-year away. And this has got to be the biggest load of baloney I have encountered in quite some time. It is mind-boggling stuff, but of course we live in a mind-boggling age.
OK, so check this one out for size: “Four in ten same-sex couples are Christians, according to a detailed snapshot of the nation’s gay community based on the latest census data.”
Hey I couldn’t be stupid enough to say this; it comes from the Sydney Morning Herald – where else? Yep, there we have it folks. And while we are at it, let me offer you a few more: try these out for size will ya?
-Four in ten adulterous couples are Christians, according to a detailed snapshot of the nation’s gay community based on the latest census data.
-Four in ten fornicating couples are Christians, according to a detailed snapshot of the nation’s gay community based on the latest census data.
-Four in ten bank-robbing couples are Christians, according to a detailed snapshot of the nation’s gay community based on the latest census data.
-Four in ten lying couples are Christians, according to a detailed snapshot of the nation’s gay community based on the latest census data.
-Four in ten arsonist couples are Christians, according to a detailed snapshot of the nation’s gay community based on the latest census data.
-Four in ten drug-dealing couples are Christians, according to a detailed snapshot of the nation’s gay community based on the latest census data.
Yeah right… Tell me about it. We expect the SMH to throw out such foolishness, but if any of these so-called Christians believe this, they are worse than kidding themselves – they are completely deceived, and headed for quite a rude awakening on judgment day.
I will take the Word of God any day over what these deceived and deceiving folks are pushing: “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
A much more accurate and realistic line from this story is this one: “Same-sex partners are more likely to report no religion (48 per cent) than heterosexual partners (21 per cent), according to a paper released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.”
Well of course – how in the world can anyone call himself Christian while living in known, unconfessed sin? Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, said above that such persons will not inherit the Kingdom – that means they are not Christians, they are not saved, they are not part of the redeemed, and they are none of His.
The good news is this however: there were all sorts of homosexuals and thieves and drunkards and idolaters and adulterers in Paul’s day who repented of their sinful lifestyles, renounced them, and came to faith in Christ and became new creations in Christ.
They could proudly proclaim: “yep, I used to be an adulterer” or “Yep, I used to be a homosexual”. But they agreed with God and decided to renounce their lives of sin, rebellion and degradation, and they allowed Jesus to come into their lives and cleanse them from the inside out.
That is the biblical position – indeed it is the only biblical position. If a person claims to be a Christian but is still living in an adulterous relationship, or is still robbing banks, or is still doing other clearly identified sins, and has no problems in doing so, then they simply are not Christians – end of story.
Sure, it is an altogether different matter if a believer is struggling with temptations in various areas, knows they are wrong, wants to change, and repents when disobedient. But what we are talking about here are people who think that what they are doing is just peachy keen, and they can call themselves Christians at the same time.
They are deliberately, knowingly, defiantly and wilfully clinging on to what Scripture clearly and unambiguously identifies as sin – sin which will exclude one from the Kingdom of God. Of course all sin does this, but repented of and forsaken sin is what makes all the difference.
If you know it is wrong, and you agree with God about it, and seek his help to overcome, that is one thing. But to claim it is quite alright and you have no plans at all to renounce this activity or lifestyle, and no plans to agree with God about it, then you are simply deceived – and you are simply still lost, unsaved.
Jesus made this crystal clear when he said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21). It all comes down to who you are going to believe: Jesus or the SMH. So you better pick carefully: your eternal destiny depends on it.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/40-of-gay-couples-christian-20120628-2157d.html
[894 words]