I sit and listen to various newscasts and hear the words of those who want to make sure they are not offensive in any way to anyone. A journalistic council member, one who helps set standards for the printed media, has said we should no longer call those here unlawfully illegal immigrants, but undocumented immigrants. The fact of the matter is they are here illegally so why not just call them what they are?!
The same standard has been applied to those who practice homosexuality. If we say anything at all against that lifestyle we will be called homophobes, or bigots, or narrow minded, or worse. However if they say something it seems to be okay. So what would Jesus say?
In Romans 1:28, those who practice homosexuality have been given over to a depraved mind, since they choose to do things not proper. If one looks up the word 'depraved' in the dictionary, it will carry a definition of one who practices perverse things. But we dare not call them perverted. Yet who is it that practices perverse things but those who are perverted?
Why this becomes important is that we believe the Bible is God's inspired word and is therefore, inerrant. If we truly believe this then we must conclude that God has called these people depraved, or perverted. However the world in which we live no longer wants to acknowledge such. This includes so-called Christians who have clearly said they see nothing morally wrong with the homosexual lifestyle.
Just because one goes to church every Sunday doesn't mean we are faithful to God. When Jesus met the woman at the well, He told her the one she was with was not her husband. She acknowledges this. Most see this as Jesus being non-judgmental. Jesus also said to the woman caught in adultery He would not condemn her. This lack of condemnation stems from the fact those who had caught her in the act, so they say, did not bring the man who should have been caught with her. Jesus then told those who were going to stone her, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (Jn. 8:7) The one who should have cast the first stone may well be the one caught in adultery, and yet would have to be knowledgeable of his sin and the law. Yet people refuse to acknowledge the words of Jesus to this woman when He said, "Go your way and sin no more." (Jn. 8:11)
Jesus did not tolerate sin but He did uphold the Law thus again living life perfectly while showing God's mercy and justness. Jesus would call any ungodly conduct sin, and man must do the same. We can't love people with the love of the Lord and not stand against sinful conduct. Jesus would love the homosexual but He would also demand a departure from the sinful, and yes, perverted, lifestyle. I wonder if people today would dare call Jesus a homophobe, or try to charge him with a hate crime if He spoke out against sin? Just because people call us names doesn't make it so, and as the church we must reach out to the lost.
To be a mirror image of Jesus is to recognize we live in a sinful world, and also to recognize we must hate sin while loving the sinner, regardless of what the sin may be. Rodger
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