The Supreme Court,"Gay Marriage" and the Church

     First, we must recognize that the Supreme Court of the United States does not speak for God. It speaks for the society in which we live, which changes constantly. As do the rulings of the Supreme Court. But God does not change, and His will is not changed by what the courts of the land declare is the "law of the land." In the long ago, God spoke at length about homo-sexuality. And His word has not changed.
     Angels of God, in the forms of men, came to Sodom to the house of Lot (Gen.19). It quickly became clear what the "morals" of the city were: "The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 'My lords,' he said, 'please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.' 'No', they answered, 'we will spend the night in the square.'  But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom - both young and old -surrounded the house. They called to Lot, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.' Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, 'No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof" (Gen.19-1-8, NIV).
     Notice the depravity of the Sodomites. They refused the virgin daughters of Lot, and instead wanted the "men" for sex. This was the reason for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. "Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground" (Gen. 19:24-25). That is pretty severe punishment, but it shows what God thinks of what people now call "gay". God hasn't changed His mind about that, the Bible still reads the same.
     In God's law to Israel, it was written, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination"  (Lev. 18:22). If God has changed His attitude toward homo-sexual actions, let someone find the passage in the Bible where He changed it! In the writing of the apostle Paul, he wrote of this practice, "Law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and unruly, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for man slayers , for fornicators, for abusers of themselves with men, for men stealers, for liars" (1 Tim. 1:9-10).
     In their attempts to "make respectable" the sexual perverts, many claim that "they can't help it." Others declare they have a "right" to live as they please, as long as they are not hurting other people. Some will blame "society" or even "mom" for the perversion. Nut all this ignores God and His will for man. And it also the responsibility of each of us to live accountable before God. When people refuse God's will for their lives, God "gives them up."  Note Rom. 1:26-27, "For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions: for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due."
     Modern folk may cloak such perversion with a measure of respectability by calling it "Gay." But God calls it SIN. And what some call an alternative lifestyle, God calls an abomination. And He leaves no question as to His judgement, and the eternal destiny, of those who practice such. The Scriptures clearly teach that rebellious sinners (including perverts who call themselves "gay) do not have any rights in the sight of God until they repent. When they repent,God will forgive and accept them. But when "gay" people persist in their perversion, God will not accept them. And those who are intent on serving God cannot approve them. And the Supreme Court does not have the authority to over-rule God in the matter. God has spoken!

by Clem Thurman (Gospel Minutes)       
  

Can we ignore the true meaning of words?

Sometimes we read through the Bible without giving much thought to the meaning of the words that are written.  We somehow assume that God's message will shine through and benefit us even though we fail to carefully and humbly examine the specific terms and grammar of that message.  However, the very words of scripture are inspired and God intends for us to take them seriously, examine them carefully, and understand them accurately.  We are not to take a liberal attitude toward the Word of God, nor a cavalier approach to what is written.  We are to accept it as written and not by how loosely it can be interpreted.

Again and again God tells us to hear, read, believe, and obey His divine revelation, a revelation given by means of inspired words.  "Every word of God is tested" (Proverbs 30:5).  We must neither add to nor take from His authoritative words (Rev. 22:18-19).  We must approach them with awesome fear and respect (Isaiah 66:2) since we will meet them in Judgment (John 12:48). In truth, the words of Christ will never pass away (Matthew 24:35).  With  these thoughts in mind, no topic should be seen as minor and no issue as unimportant.  Simply put, a willingness to disregard the true meaning of a scripture or biblical concept in order to push a peculiar view is a symptom of  disrespect for the truth and the authority of scripture.

The Bible is full of examples of man being given instructions on the proper way to fulfill His commands.  In Leviticus 10, the details of the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron are recorded. It was not their desire to follow the commands of God but the cavalier approach they took to doing it.  God expects His commands to be followed as given and it is unwise to "think of a better way" to do it.  This same attitude was seen by King Saul when he chose to "tweak" God's plan for the Amalekites in 1st Samuel 15. Both examples my seem harsh to us today, but God is not to be mocked or taken lightly.  The point of this post is not to point out a certain issue but to warn Christians, especially leaders to hold the scriptures in high regard and always "err on the side of caution" when deciding on the direction to lead the body.

Yes means yes, not maybe, Stop means stop, not slow down. Now means now, not later. All means all, not most. Words have meanings, they are not "silly putty", to be stretched and molded to fit our current moods or sensibilities.