Love Your Neighbor
In endorsing laws based solely on the secular liberal-libertarian conception of freedom (at least those that produce no obvious self-harm), they are doing the very opposite of what Jesus called them to do: They are hating their neighbors, including their gay and lesbian neighbors. You do not love your neighbor by encouraging them to engage in actions that invoke God's wrath (Psalm 5:4-5; Romans 1:18). As Christians we may be required to tolerate ungodly behavior, but the moment we begin to endorse the same then we too have become suppressors of the truth. You cannot love your neighbor and want to see them excluded from the kingdom of Christ (Eph. 5:5).
What is needed is courage in speaking the truth: We cannot love our neighbor and tolerate idolatry and unrepentant rebellion against God. We cannot continue with the "go along to get along" mentality that is leading those we love to destruction. We must speak the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31) and accept the fact that those who have fallen away may not ever return. We must choose this day whom we will serve. Will we stand with the only wise God or with the foolish idol-makers of same-sex marriage?
-Quoted from Joe Carter an editor for The Gospel Coalition
Christians are often accused of being unloving because they tell others that what they are doing is wrong; it's a sin. We don't do this (or shouldn't) with an attitude of hate. It is because we love others that we tell them they are living outside of God's will. We love them so much, that we want to see them enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that will give them the future hope of heaven.
Because I see God as my Father, I think in terms of parenting. If our children want to stick their fingers in the light socket, eat handfuls of sand, run out into the street when a car is coming or play with a knife, do I let them because they "want to"? If my child is born with a food allergy, do I still let them eat the food they are allergic to knowing that it could harm or even kill them? No, I will keep them from doing that which will hurt them.
God's Word is meant to give us guidelines for living that are for our good. But because we are born with a sin nature, we want to do what pleases ourselves instead of what pleases God. We see His ways as constrictive and those who promote them as the "right" way bigots.
I loved the quote above because it gets to the heart of why Christians take a stand for what the Bible has to say on many social issues - it's because we LOVE others and want to see them INCLUDED in the kingdom of Christ.
May the body of Christ continue to be bold and courageous for the sake of the lost.
What is needed is courage in speaking the truth: We cannot love our neighbor and tolerate idolatry and unrepentant rebellion against God. We cannot continue with the "go along to get along" mentality that is leading those we love to destruction. We must speak the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31) and accept the fact that those who have fallen away may not ever return. We must choose this day whom we will serve. Will we stand with the only wise God or with the foolish idol-makers of same-sex marriage?
-Quoted from Joe Carter an editor for The Gospel Coalition
Christians are often accused of being unloving because they tell others that what they are doing is wrong; it's a sin. We don't do this (or shouldn't) with an attitude of hate. It is because we love others that we tell them they are living outside of God's will. We love them so much, that we want to see them enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that will give them the future hope of heaven.
Because I see God as my Father, I think in terms of parenting. If our children want to stick their fingers in the light socket, eat handfuls of sand, run out into the street when a car is coming or play with a knife, do I let them because they "want to"? If my child is born with a food allergy, do I still let them eat the food they are allergic to knowing that it could harm or even kill them? No, I will keep them from doing that which will hurt them.
God's Word is meant to give us guidelines for living that are for our good. But because we are born with a sin nature, we want to do what pleases ourselves instead of what pleases God. We see His ways as constrictive and those who promote them as the "right" way bigots.
I loved the quote above because it gets to the heart of why Christians take a stand for what the Bible has to say on many social issues - it's because we LOVE others and want to see them INCLUDED in the kingdom of Christ.
May the body of Christ continue to be bold and courageous for the sake of the lost.
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