House of Hope Online

July 23,2023

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Last time we discussed John 1 and the fact that Jesus is the Word of God, and the Word of God is Jesus.  The Word became flesh (Jesus) and dwelt among us.  We also looked at 2^nd Timothy 3:16 which says: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”  Since Jesus is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the inspiration for each word of the Book is from Jesus.  Therefore, those who limit themselves to New Testament scripture or the quotes from Jesus are dismissing the fact that Jesus is the entire Word, including Old Testament Law.

Jesus said in 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.”  And Hebrews 4: 12 teaches us “For the word of God is living and active…”

Therefore, we must pay attention to the entire Bible when it comes to discussing certain hot topics of today.  But how should we react to those around us who discount the Word in forming opinions about right and wrong.? 

We talked last week about homosexuality and transgenderism, and we pointed out in love that these things are in violation of the Word and therefore constitute sin.  Here are two passages that make that clear:

Matthew 19 (Jesus’ words):

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

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)

In Matthew 19, Jesus makes clear that the Father created us male and female.  Therefore, to claim that we should be the other gender is obviously a variance from the Word of God, which constitutes sin.  1^st Corinthians 6 includes homosexuality in a lengthy list of unrighteousness that will prevent one from inheriting the Kingdom of God.

Some claim they are Christians but believe that homosexuality and being transgender are okay, but Jesus said in Luke 6:46 “And why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

If we accept Him as Lord and Savior, we must believe the Word of God as it pertains to these and all matters.  Jesus is the Word, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Where Do We Go with This?

Having reviewed the Word of God and determining that these things are sin in God’s eyes, how do we deal with someone who not only believes otherwise but also advocates for acceptance of homosexuality and transgenderism in our society?  Are we to condemn them or accept them?  Should we become angry at the school board meetings or just raise up our child in the way they should go?  Should we fight the fight against unrighteousness, or just live and let live?

We pointed out last time that we tend to get exercised about homosexuality, when in fact it is a forgivable sin, just as the other sins listed in 1^st Corinthians 6, such as fornication, idolatry, adultery, thievery, covetousness, drunkenness, reviling, and swindling (fraud or deceit regarding money).  We know all these things are forgivable because verse 11 says “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.”

When we acknowledge that some of our own sin is on that same list with homosexuality, it puts the matter in a different context.  We should proceed with compassion, recognizing that we are all capable of sin.  But if we love someone, we should want to help them deal with sin according to the word of God.

In John 8, Jesus drew a distinction between condemning the sin and condemning the sinner.  The Pharisees brought Him a woman caught in adultery and asked Him about the Old Testament Law that required she be stoned.

John 8:

  2 And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and [began] to teach them.

 3 And the scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the midst,

 4 they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.

 5 “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”

 6 And they were saying this, testing Him, in order that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground.

 7 But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him [be the] first to throw a stone at her.”

 8 And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

 9 And when they heard it, they [began] to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the midst.

 10 And straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”

 11 And she said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more.”]

The Pharisees were correct in quoting the Book.  Here is the Law from Leviticus:

Leviticus 20:

 10 ¶ ‘If [there is] a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

So, is Jesus abolishing the Old Testament Law concerning adultery? We saw earlier in Matthew 5:17 that Jesus Himself answered that question: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.”

Is He saying adultery is not a sin?  He is not. He told the woman to “…go your way. From now on sin no more.”  Without condemning her, He acknowledged that adultery was sin, but He forgave her and told her to sin no more.  Jesus’ issue was with the Pharisees’ judgment, and with the vindictiveness in their heart as they tested Him.  They were coming against forgiveness which is what Jesus stood for.  They were not to judge the woman because they were in sin themselves.  Judgment and condemnation are the jobs of Jesus, and there will come a day when that righteous judgement will be exercised (and it will be worse than stoning).  But that judgement is His call, not the Pharisees’ and certainly not ours.

It is interesting that Leviticus goes on to issue a similar statute regarding homosexual activity:

Leviticus 20:

 13 ‘If [there is] a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

Just as Jesus instructed the woman that her activity was sin, He is saying the same to the homosexual – go and sin no more.  And He is telling us, only he who is without sin may throw a stone.

All of this is to say while we should not condemn the homosexual or transgender, we should not accept the sin because sin comes with consequences.

There Are Consequences When We Sin

King David was in the blood line of Jesus, yet he committed two grave sins that were forgiven but had dire consequences.  He committed adultery with Bathsheba, got her pregnant, and then murdered her husband Uriah.  David became remorseful, repentant, and begged God for forgiveness:

Psalms 51:

 9 Hide Thy face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.

 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

 11 Do not cast me away from Thy presence, And do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me.

 12 Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, And sustain me with a willing spirit.

 13 [Then] I will teach transgressors Thy ways, And sinners will be converted to Thee.

God forgave the sin but required that the son that Bathsheba bore would die.  This is consistent with Old Testament Law.

Numbers 14:

 18 ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear [the guilty,] visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth [generations.]’

I can agree that the consequences of the Old Testament Law are severe by today’s standards – death by stoning to sexual sinners and curses to future generations resulting from the iniquity of the fathers.  Those penalties still exist for those who do not receive the fullness of the Gospel and ask Jesus into their hearts.  Jesus did not abolish this part of the Law but by His death on the cross, He redeemed us and took on Himself the curse of our sin and the curse stemming from the iniquity of our fathers in generations past.

Galatians 3:

 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us–for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”–

 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Psalms 103 also describes the compassion and graciousness of Almighty God, who sent Jesus to lift us from the due penalty of our sin.

Psalms 103:

 8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.

 9 He will not always strive [with us]; Nor will He keep [His anger] forever.

 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.

 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

 13 Just as a father has compassion on [his] children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.

So, while we are entitled to death under the Law, God has not dealt with those of us who choose Jesus according to our sins.  Instead, He exhibits forbearance and gives us all the opportunity for forgiveness in the form of Jesus.  The penalty of the Law awaits us if we do not accept Jesus in our hearts.

To avoid the consequences of sin then, the homosexual, the transgender person, and the rest of us who fall short of the Glory of God, must:

1. Accept Jesus Christ into our hearts. Confess with our mouths that He is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead.
2. Confess our sin, which means we must agree with Jesus that we have sinned.  We must agree that what the Bible calls sin is in fact sin.  This is a stumbling block for many of us, including the LGBTQ+ community.  Our fleshly nature does not want to humble itself and acknowledge sin.
3. Repent of the sin, which means, after confessing it, we must turn away from it, not toward it, as Lot’s wife did.  We cannot accommodate sin in any way.
4. Accept His forgiveness.  We must believe that He has removed our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west.  If we do not believe we are forgiven, then we are denying Jesus’ power as much as the antichrist spirit is.

In closing, let us ask God, as David did, to create in us a clean heart, that we might deal with the issues of our day, not as a Pharisee, but according to His will, and with the lovingkindness in His heart. 

Father God, thank You for our Lord and Savior Jesus, and for not dealing with us according to our sin.  Thank You for being slow to anger and thank You that Jesus has borne our curse from prior generational sin. We pray for Your wisdom and patience in dealing with those who would advocate for principles that oppose Your Word.  Create in us a clean heart of compassion and a steadfast spirit to intercede for salvations.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.