Results 1 - 7 of 7
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Is homosexuality actually forbidden? | Romans | DocTrinsograce | 170987 | ||
Dear Benito, I too, urge, caution. This "judging" objection gets thrown about with reckless abandon! There are three major meanings of "judge" in Scripture: (1) It may mean "discern;" (2) it may mean "decide;" and (3) it may mean "condemn." We are never commanded not to discern. Quite the contrary. Discernment -- i.e., approving or disapproving -- is required most specifically and especially in cases of morality and other aspects of pleasing God. A decision necessarily follows discernment. Condemnation is one kind of decision: a form of disapproval. You can't embrace one moral behavior without a tacit disapproval of its opposite. We all do and must discern, decide, and condemn. Our challenge is to do these things in harmony with the Scriptures to God's glory and by His grace. In Him, Doc |
||||||
2 | Is homosexuality actually forbidden? | Romans | benitosuave | 170990 | ||
We should never be afraid to discern what is the truth, nor should we be afraid to decide what is the right thing to do. But I believe that Romans 2 basically is saying (in my own words) "Do not condemn other people because in condemning other people you are condemning yourself since the both of you have sinned." I think it is important that we keep a compassionate, Godly love for unrightous people as people with the potential of repenting to Godliness. Not that we should ever approve of or participate with sin, but that we should remember Mark 2:17. "17 When Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." |
||||||
3 | Is homosexuality actually forbidden? | Romans | DocTrinsograce | 170993 | ||
Dear Benito, Romans 2 is discussing the guilt of the Jew in judging the gentile. Romans 1-3 is the universality of sin. It is not a passage seeking to admonish Christians to avoid hypocritical condemnation. I believe you can make your point elesewhere in Scripture, but not from Romans 2. Ours is a holy God. My sin is just as heinous as yours. The problem is not that we both sin, the problem is that God, the Creator, is infinitely holy and is deeply offended by our wickedness. Consequently, it is His final judgment of men that is really significant. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV) To construe that my argument is advocating a lack of compassion completely misses the point. We do no one any favors by diminishing the incredible danger they are in before the growing indignation of a perfectly holy God at the effrontery of man's sin. That is the purpose of the law, to show sin as being as black as it really is! Only when a man realizes that can the balm of the Gospel begin its work. In Him, Doc |
||||||
4 | Is homosexuality actually forbidden? | Romans | benitosuave | 171081 | ||
Romans 2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. Every man who judges, not just the Jew who judges. He uses the Jewish law as a means for demonstration (talking about circumcision being not physical). To make myself clear, I will repeat that homosexuality is a sin. I never put that up to question. What I mentioned was that we have no right to judge homosexuals. Judgement is to be left to God. What should be done instead, is to first find out whether or not the person is Christian. If they are not, then it profits them little to attempt to convince them to stop, if they will continue to live apart from Christ. Our efforts should be instead to love them like Christ does and show them Jesus with all his glory. If the person is a Christian then we should make sure they know the bible's standpoint, and then actively and lovingly encourage them to stop sinning. Overall, I am not here to argue. I have no interest in convincing someone else to believe what I do, because I would rather the person decide between them and God what they believe. My purpose in writing is to perhaps show a fresh perspective to meditate on. Take the things that I write at face value. I am not construing that you are advocating a lack of passion, nor am I constructing that we are doing people favors by undermining the serious nature and blackness of sin. (pardon lack of proof reading. It is too late at night for it to be effective or practical) |
||||||
5 | Is homosexuality actually forbidden? | Romans | DocTrinsograce | 171086 | ||
Dear Benito, Why would we ever mistake a practicing homosexual as being a Christian? We are able to determine that they are not believers by their behavior, "You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?" (Matthew 7:16 ESV) The internal reality always has an external manifestation. We already know from Romans 1 that homosexuality is a consequence of people having rejected the truth of God (see Romans 1:18-25). Christians do not reject the truth of God. Furthermore, we have the clear message of another of Paul's epistles, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV) Not one of the people mentioned here are Christians, for they have no part in the kingdom of God. In addition, the beloved apostle wrote, "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith." (1 John 5:4 ESV) After which he declares, "We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him." (1 John 5:18 ESV) We do grave disservice to anyone by assuring them of their salvation in full contradiction of the Scriptures. That is the kind of judgment that is forbidden in the Word: i.e., assuming the position of God and exonerating or condemning beyond what He has said. What hubris! This is presenting a false Gospel and a false hope. Instead, we need to assure the lost that they under the judgment of God, hopeless, and without recourse outside of the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him, Doc PS This is a Study Bible Forum. Wherever possible we support our positions with a sound exegesis of the Word of God. |
||||||
6 | Is homosexuality actually forbidden? | Romans | benitosuave | 171168 | ||
Homosexuality is not "the bad sin." All sin is evil and discusting. It is possible for any practicing sinner to be a Christian because if we were capable of being perfect there would be no need for Christ. Before a person can stop sinning, they need God's help. It is impossible to break the bonds of sin alone. Therefore it is futile to pressure a nonChristian homosexual to stop his evil practices. Instead we should worry about planting seeds and praying for the Holy Spirit to come on their hearts. Suppose they do. Are they barred from faith because of their sin? Of course not, it is by grace we are saved through faith. So since there is at least a period of time in which a homosexual can be a Christian, when we encounter Christian homosexuals, we should: 1. Be sure they know the scripture 2. Encourage them with kindness to repent and reject their temptations 3. Help them grow in their faith 4. Pray for them, and your own wisdom. |
||||||
7 | Is homosexuality actually forbidden? | Romans | DocTrinsograce | 171175 | ||
Dear Benito, You are still reasoning from the assumption that a person can be a practicing homosexual (or drunkard, or adulterer, or fornicator) and be regenerate at the same time. That assumption is not supported by Scripture. "If such grace cannot change our lives, how does it have the power to save us from hell?" --A. W. Tozer In Him, Doc |
||||||