House of Hope Online

7/16/2023

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Lately, the Lord has been impressing upon me that Jesus is the Word of God, and the Word of God is Jesus.  They are One and the same.  To fully understand this, it helps to review John 1.

John 1:

 1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 2 He was in the beginning with God.

 3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

 5 ¶ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Some search only the recorded words of Jesus, and the absence of His condemnation of an action is used as license to approve a behavior.  But the truth is Jesus is One with the entirety of the Bible, and as we will see in the coming scriptures, the Bible is inspired by God, and is therefore inspired by Jesus, who is One with the Father.

John 1:

 9 There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.

 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, [even] to those who believe in His name,

 13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

A few points to emphasize:

Verse 12 – Only those who receive Christ have the right to become children of God.

Verse 13 – Children of God are born not by the will of man, but by the will of God.  Therefore, those who would say, I was born a male but desire to be a female, or vice versa, are speaking against the will of God, or denying they were born of God or created by Him.  We were born not by our own will, but by the will of God.  There is no hatred or malice in that statement.  In fact, there is love.  If you love someone, you tell them the truth of God’s Word.

Verse 14 – The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  This is a clear reference to Jesus and equates Jesus with the entire Word of God.  Therefore, if it is in the Bible, Jesus agrees with it because the Bible is inspired by God and Jesus is One with God.

2^nd Timothy 3:

 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

 17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (NASB)

Hebrews 4:

 12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The Word of God is living and active, and able to judge the intentions of the heart.  It is not out of date and no longer applicable.  It lives and is active for today.  Jesus is alive and active and able to judge the intentions of the heart.  They are One and the same.  The Bible is more than a set of rules, doctrines, oracles, and principles.  It is the basis that Jesus will use to judge our hearts in the Final Judgment.

In John 17, we find Jesus praying for His disciples and for us, and He makes an interesting point about the words that His disciples wrote in the Bible.

John 17:

 17 ¶ “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.

 18 “As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

 19 “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

 20 ¶ “I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;

 21 that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, [art] in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.

Jesus prayed that the disciples would be sanctified in the truth, i.e., in God’s word.  He also prays for those of us who receive God’s word from the disciples.  Therefore, the New Testament, which was inspired by God and written through the disciples and apostles of our Lord, are to be accepted by us as if penned by Jesus Himself.  This is fundamental to our Christian faith.

Does Jesus Abolish or Nullify the Old Testament Law?

The short answer is no.  These are Jesus’ own words:

Matthew 5:

 17 ¶ “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

 18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.

 19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches [them,] he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus quoted the Old Testament when He spoke in the synagogue:

Luke 4:

 16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

 17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,

 18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE DOWNTRODDEN,

 19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

 20 And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him.

 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

And so, Jesus read from the Old Testament and in fact stood before the people as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.  He did not come to abolish, but to fulfill, and to set us free from bondage.

What Does the Word of God Say?

Genesis 1:

 27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

 28 And God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 2:

 24 For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

Clearly, God creates us as male or female, and any attempt by the medical industry to change that is contrary to the Word of God.  This is why the tree of knowledge of good and evil was the forbidden fruit.  God clearly wants us to seek that knowledge from Him.  He does not want us to decide things regarding creation.  We are born of the will of God, not by the will of man.  Further, God intends for men and women to marry and to multiply, fill the earth, and subdue the earth.

And it is interesting that Jesus repeated these words in talking to the Pharisees:

Matthew 19:

 4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read, that He who created [them] from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE,

 5 and said, ‘FOR THIS CAUSE A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND SHALL CLEAVE TO HIS WIFE; AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’?

 6 “Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

Here are some other scriptures that spell out what Jesus (the Word) has to say about things:

Deuteronomy 22:

 5 ¶ “A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.

The Hebrew word for “abomination” means morally disgusting.

Leviticus 18:

 22 ‘You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.

Romans 1:

 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,

 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,

1^st Corinthians 6:

 9 ¶ Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,

 10 nor thieves, nor [the] covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

 11 And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God. (NASB)

The word “effeminate” in verse 9 is defined by Miriam-Webster as having feminine qualities, not manly in appearance or manner, but the Greek word for “effeminate” in that verse refers to a “catamite” which is defined as boy or youth in a sexual relationship with a man. 

Note also in verse 11 that all these sins are forgivable.  Only the sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is an unforgiveable sin.  So, the truth of God’s word is that the sin of homosexuality, while an abomination, is forgivable when there is acceptance of Jesus (the Word) and repentance.

What Did Jesus and Peter Say?

Jesus and His disciple, Peter, had some things to say in the New Testament about homosexuality.  Before getting into their words, let us go through the story of Lot and the city of Sodom in Genesis 19.

Genesis 19:

 1 ¶ Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw [them,] he rose to meet them and bowed down [with his] face to the ground.

 2 And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” They said however, “No, but we shall spend the night in the square.”

 3 Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

 4 ¶ Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter;

 5 and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.”

 6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him,

 7 and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly.

 8 “Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.”

 9 But they said, “Stand aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door.

 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.

 11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied [themselves trying] to find the doorway.

 12 ¶ Then the men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring [them] out of the place;

 13 for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it.”

 14 And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the LORD will destroy the city.” But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

 15 ¶ And when morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters, who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.”

 16 But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD [was] upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city.

 17 And it came about when they had brought them outside, that one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, lest you be swept away.”

What was going on in Sodom was wicked, so much so that God decided to destroy the city.

Genesis 19:

 24 ¶ Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven,

 25 and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

 26 ¶ But his wife, from behind him, looked [back;] and she became a pillar of salt.

There is significance to Lot’s wife looking back on the evil of Sodom.  When God tells us to turn away or escape from evil, we are to run and not look back, not have a sympathetic ear to what God says is an abomination, and this is a lesson for us today.  While we are to love and have compassion for the sinner, we must have nothing to do with evil.  We intercede in love for those involved, but we cannot condone or give approval to it.

In 2^nd Peter 2, the disciple teaches that the condemnation of Sodom to destruction was done to make them an example for those who choose to live ungodly thereafter.

2^nd Peter 2:

 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;

 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

 6 and [if] He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing [them] to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter;

 7 ¶ and [if] He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men

 8 (for by what he saw and heard [that] righteous man, while living among them, felt [his] righteous soul tormented day after day with [their] lawless deeds),

 9 [then] the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,

The good news from Peter is that we need not worry about sharing the planet with the ungodly because God knows how to rescue the righteous from temptation, while keeping the unrighteous under punishment until judgment day.  But the key point is He destroyed Sodom as an example to those who want to live ungodly lives.  He condemned what was going on in Sodom.

Finally, let us turn to the recorded words of Jesus regarding this matter.

Matthew 10:

 14 “And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet.

 15 “Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for [the] land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.

We start with reference to the city of Sodom in verse 15.  While the context of His statement is describing the fate of any city or town who rejects the Gospel, Jesus is nevertheless using the condemnation of Sodom for comparative purposes here.  He is acknowledging the activities of Sodom, including the homosexual activity, is worthy of God’s punishment in the day of judgment.

We also find in Luke 17 a reference to Sodom from Jesus, as He describes the second coming:

Luke 17:

 26 “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it shall be also in the days of the Son of Man:

 27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

 28 “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;

 29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

 30 “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

 31 “On that day, let not the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house go down to take them away; and likewise let not the one who is in the field turn back.

 32 “Remember Lot’s wife.

 33 “Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses [his life] shall preserve it.

Interestingly, in verses 32-33, Jesus adds context to Lot’s wife’s disobedience. When she looked back, she was trying to keep her life, and she ended up losing it.  Perhaps she had friends there that she did not want to lose.  Again, this is a lesson for us about inclusion.  If we try to accommodate what God says is wrong, we run contrary to the Word (Jesus).  Repentance is about turning away from evil, not turning toward it.

Jesus also had a stern warning to those who cause children to stumble.

Matthew 18:

 5 “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;

 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.

 7 ¶ “Woe to the world because of [its] stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

We have in our society those who advocate for transgender rights among our children, in defiance of the word that God made us male and female.  Jesus is warning those who would groom children toward sex-change, and those who would take legal action against parents who stand up for their convictions concerning God’s word.  When you think about what I just said, how can you not think we are near the rapture and His second coming is imminent?

Matthew 19:

 13 ¶ Then [some] children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them.

 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Jesus is serious about our children.  He does not want them hindered from coming to Him, that is, to the Word of God.  Any influence over them that conflicts with the Word is in violation of this command.  Any seduction of a young person into a homosexual lifestyle is likewise hindering them from coming to the Word, to Jesus.

In closing, I pray that readers of this blog, and the listeners of this podcast, understand the intentions of my heart in laying out what the Bible says about these matters.  I believe in these end times that the Word of God is under attack by the antichrist spirit, and the churches are having to deal with issues such as these as they try to love and be inclusive. 

My purpose is not to hate, or condemn, or to single out the homosexual or the transgender person.  These matters are no different than any other variance from the Word of God.  I have no objection to these groups having equal rights under the secular laws of our country, nor should they be bullied or ridiculed.  But I do object to the agenda of the LGBTQ+ community, which strives to convince us and our children that the behavior should be considered acceptable by all, including those who believe in the inerrant Word of God.

My purpose here is to bring forth what the Word of God is regarding these matters.  All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.  It is living and active and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart in today’s world.

I pray my intentions here align with the heart of God regarding the purpose of His Word, as He articulated so beautifully in Isaiah 55:

Isaiah 55:

 6 ¶ Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.

 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.

 9 “For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

 10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

 11 So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding [in the matter] for which I sent it.

 12 “For you will go out with joy, And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap [their] hands.

 13 “Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up; And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up; And it will be a memorial to the LORD, For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.” (NASB)

Father God, thank You that Jesus is Your Word, and that Your Word will not return to You empty, without accomplishing the matter for which You sent it.  I pray that all will read Your words and heed them.  I pray for the wicked to forsake his or her way and for the unrighteous to forsake his or her thoughts, trusting Your promise of compassion and abundant pardon in Jesus.  We pray for the joy and peace that comes into our spirits when we embrace Your Word, in Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen.