over the past few weeks, we have been into some seriously heavy stuff. We have been going through Romans, and that is much akin to a bowling ball rolling right down the middle of a lane. Paul wrote this letter to a congregation he had yet to personally encounter. It was a congregation in the middle of a pagan, Gentile, pleasure-loving, entertainment driven culture. And then…the gospel. *bowling pins being hit rather loudly*
And yes, we went there. By there I mean homosexuality, since it is mentioned in the text. Paul mentions the wrath of God being revealed against all ungodliness. His wrath is volcanoes, earthquakes, ice-storms, and giving people over to their desires. When people are given that thing, the thing they think will fix them and make them eternally happy, that’s God’s wrath. What? Yes, any object we set our ultimate hopes, and dreams on, if it is not God Himself, will wind up disappointed us severely. We will grow bitter and angry because that created object is not keeping its end of the deal. It was never designed to.
With more care and concern, we discussed the reality of homosexuality. It is A sin but it’s not THE sin. Also worth noting:
- Just because you were born with a desire, does not mean you have to do all that you can to have that desire fulfilled. We are born broken from the original fall. We have desires that run contrary to how God would have us live. Some are born predisposed to seeking ultimate comfort, ultimate satisfaction via chemicals. Some are born with a desire to act in other ways of sexual immorality ie polygamy, beastiality, etc. The end is this : from a biblical perspective it can’t be denied that God does not approve of this, and at the same time, some will have to deal with this desire their entire life. We grieve with them. We really do. Far from the Westboro Baptist approach, we’d love to minister in these circumstances in the most loving way possible while at the same time not giving a thumbs up approval to something God says is a sin.
- It is my desire to see something like this (http://conservativepost.com/gay-and-lesbian-group-stops-protest-because-church-is-too-lovely/) happen.
On Sunday nights- it’s been all about Saul. Looking back, I should have called the series, ‘Better call Saul’. On second thought, don’t call him. The podcast can be found here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/new-covenant-student-ministry/id967737389?mt=2