NewDayvotional

From the pastor for the people

Jesus and Homosexuality, Part 1 of 2

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I received an email this week that stated the following:

“Although in your eyes, it may not be right to be gay…in God’s and Jesus’s eyes, they are accepting and loving of it.” 

If you received such an email…or if a family member, friend or co-worker said something along these lines…how would you respond? I’d like to share what I believe is a biblical response and would encourage you, as God provides the opportunity, to share this response “…with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

1. Jesus forbid “sexual immorality” which included homosexual behavior. 

Jesus said in Mark 7:21-23, “For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’” [that is, morally unclean] “Sexual immorality” in this context refers to “sexual acts that are morally objectionable.” Since Jesus said these things to his disciples, who were Jews, we must look to the Mosaic Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy) as the standard for right and wrong. In the law of Moses, forbidden sexual sins include (but are not limited to) incest, adultery, homosexuality and bestiality (see Leviticus 18:6,20,22,23).

So: 1) Jesus said that “sexual immorality,” a catchphrase for all sexual sin forbidden in the Mosaic law, was evil and made a person morally unclean. 2) Homosexuality is listed as a forbidden sexual practice within the Mosaic law. 3) Therefore, it is grossly misleading to imply in anyway that Jesus supported the homosexual lifestyle. He wasn’t silent on the subject and what he said explicitly categorized homosexual behavior as immoral. 

Imagine with me a parent grounding his kid from “technology” for a week. Within that time frame the kid is caught using his phone. He tries to justify his actions saying “You never said anything specifically about using my phone!” Would the parent accept his justification? Of course not! The punishment was “no technology.” Technology is a catchall phrase that encompasses phone usage. 

In the same way, Jesus forbid “sexual immorality.” For the homosexual to try and justify homosexual acts saying “Jesus never said anything specifically about homosexuality” is just as dishonest as the kid saying to his parents “You never said anything specifically about my phone.” It doesn’t matter if it’s mentioned specifically or not. “Sexual immorality” is a catchall phrase for all sexual sin that encompasses the homosexual lifestyle. 

2. Jesus taught that God’s created intent for human sexuality was heterosexuality.  

Jesus said in Mark 10:6-9, “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

Jesus makes clear here that God’s created intent for human sexuality is heterosexuality. By explicitly pointing to heterosexuality as God’s standard, Jesus implicitly condemns any lifestyle that falls short of that standard – which includes, but is not limited to, the homosexual lifestyle. 

It may be helpful to think of it this way…If the speed limit says 35mph, then 35mph is the standard. Any speed over that standard is breaking the law.

3. Jesus affirmed the Old Testament law, which clearly does not affirm the homosexual lifestyle.  

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

Jesus accepted and affirmed the law – the law that forbids homosexual practice (see Leviticus 18:22, 20:13). One of the reasons why proponents of same-sex intercourse think that they can enlist Jesus in their cause is that they labor under a popular misconception; namely, that Jesus was far more tolerant on sexual matters than his Jewish contemporaries. But precisely the opposite is true. On matters relating to sexual ethics Jesus adopted stricter, not more lenient, demands that most other Jews of his time. For example, in Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus said “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Jesus here takes the baseline standard of the Mosaic Law (don’t commit adultery) and then raises it (don’t even lust). So we see that Jesus’ expectations regarding sexual purity exceeded the expectations both of the Mosaic Law and of the traditions prevailing in Jesus’ day. And so we see that Jesus did not overturn any prohibitions against immoral sexual behavior in Leviticus or anywhere else in the Mosaic Law. 

CONCLUSION: The idea that Jesus was, or might have been, personally neutral or even affirming of homosexual conduct is revisionist history at its worst. The portrayal of a Jesus as a first-century Palestinian Jew who was open to homosexual practice is simply ahistorical. All the evidence leads in the opposite direction. In light of the clear teaching of Jesus we can only conclude that those who find in the Gospels a Jesus who is a prophet of tolerance, who forgives and accepts all, regardless of behavioral change, have distorted the historical reality of what Jesus actually taught.

Five Time Management Tips Part 3

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The Bible gives us at least five tips for how we can manage our time in a God-honoring way. In this post we’ll at the third.

Tip #3: Learn to say no. 

Once you start budgeting your time and fixing your priorities, Satan will start working overtime to derail your prioritized time budget, because Satan knows that someone who takes their time seriously is going to make a serious impact on this world for Jesus. So he’s going to throw activity after activity and opportunity after opportunity your way in an attempt to derail your prioritized time budget. And he will succeed, unless you learn, as Jesus did, how to say “no.” Let me explain…

We read in Mark 1:35-38, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” [in other words – come on Jesus, come give them some of your time] 38 [But] Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” In other words, Jesus said: No.

Here’s what usually happens to people. They say “yes” to the wrong things and then as a result they have to say “no” to the right things.

  • Someone says yes to an extravagant lifestyle, then they have to say no to the special annual Christmas offering (or to tithing).
  • Someone says yes to a traveling sports team, then they have to say no to serving at church.
  • Someone says yes to four hours of TV in the evening, then they have to say no to spending time with God in the morning.
  • Someone says yes to the Parent Teacher Organization or to serving on the School Board, then they have to say no to being in a growth group.

We need to learn to say “no” to the wrong things so that we can say “yes” to the right things! Jesus said no to Simon Peter’s request in order to say yes to something more important (preaching in the other villages). Like Jesus we have to learn say “no” to the wrong things so that we can say “yes” to the right things. The word “no” is such an easy word to learn but such a hard word to say. But friends, the best time management tool is “no.” I read somewhere that “God does not give people more than they can handle, but people regularly assume responsibility for things they should not be doing.” So if you have to say to something good that you know God wants for your life, know that it’s not because you’re too busy, it’s because you’ve said yes to something you shouldn’t have.

If you’re in this position, we’ll address what to do about it in tomorrow’s post, so be sure to check back then (Thursday).

 

How to Kill Pride Part 4: Serve Others Unselfishly

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In a previous post I’ve pointed out the destructive nature of pride in our lives. In this post I want to focus on the fourth of five ways we can practice humility and kill the pride in our lives.

4. Serve others unselfishly. 

Our culture says the way to be great is to have others serve you. Jesus says the way to be great is to serve others. Jesus said in Mark 10:43-44, “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” This is so hard for me to get through to people because of the culture we live in. Our culture in America has been sending the message year after year “It’s all about you.” And so many people – so many Christian people – have believed the lie. So in pride, they get so caught up in their activities and their agenda that they have no time to give to God. But God doesn’t just want you to offer up your talent and treasure to him, he also wants you to offer your time as well. Only humble people see the value in serving others. Proud people have no time to make others the focus of their attention and concern.

At the heart of pride is an attitude that says “I’m more important than you.” There was a season of my life (namely the first year of the church) where in pride I viewed my schedule as busier than everyone else’s (I had no staff and so few volunteers at that time) and whatever I was working on (working to lead people to Christ) as more important than what others were doing. So on my way home everyday I would pass the huge line of cars on Rt 5 that were waiting their turn to get onto Rt 57 in Agawam. It would be a quarter mile long and I would pass everyone and then cut in right at the exit. That was me saying “I’m more important than all of you.”

Now I use that illustration, because that same attitude can infiltrate a church. When you don’t serve you’re basically saying “I’m more important than everyone else.”

  • Some don’t serve because they say “I’m really busy.” Newsflash! Everyone is busy! And it’s so prideful to think that what you’re doing is so important than you can’t break away long enough to serve a bit. Before moving away we had an executive at Bay State Hospital attending New Day. He and his whole family served every week even though he worked crazy hours. Some years ago we had the manager of a car dealership working 100 hours a week that would come to set up every Sunday morning. It’s so prideful to think that you are the only one with a busy schedule.
  • When you don’t serve you’re saying that others should serve you, but you’re too important to serve others. When you let others greet you, prepare snacks and coffee for you, watch your kids, prepare worship for you, and prepare a message for you…all so you can sit back and enjoy it all without contributing in any way – that’s selfish. That’s the typical proud American consumer mentality, not the humble Christlike contributor mentality.

Now I hope you’ll serve on Sundays – but don’t just serve on Sundays. Serve throughout the week too! This is a lifestyle things we’re going for here:

  • Serve your family. My grandfather on my dad’s side served my grandmother by filling her car with gas. He did such a good job doing this, that when he died she had to be taught how to do it because she had never done it before. Find a way to serve your spouse – it’s a way to practice humility.
  • Serve the people you work with (especially if you’re the boss). When you’re the boss it’s easy to think you’re too important to serve. After all, you hired others to work for you, not so you could work for them. But I would remind you of Jesus’ example. In John 13:3-5 we see Jesus, the boss, washing his disciples feet. He served them. Ask if your co-workers need help unloading their car. Ask if you can get them a coffee or drink from the fridge. Ask them if you can pick up something while you’re out. These are ways to practice humility.
  • Serve strangers. A couple months back I was at Donut Dip in West Springfield picking up some food for New Day Crew (the setup & teardown ministry here at New Day). There were two ladies that asked for a ride up the way. I not only got to give them a ride but also got to share the gospel – the good news that there’s peace with God through Jesus.

Why should we serve? It’s the ultimate act of humility and it’s the way of Christ. Philippians 2:5-7 says, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus…he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant…”

Coming to Faith in Jesus is a Process

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In Mark 4:26-29 Jesus said “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

Through this parable Jesus teaches us what it’s like for someone who’s lost to enter the kingdom of God. And the lesson here is that it’s a process.

  1. First the seed sprouts.
  2. Then the stalk pokes through the dirt.
  3. Then a head forms on the stalk.
  4. Then a kernel forms on the head.
  5. Finally, after the first four stages are complete, the kernel ripens and is ready for harvest.

Coming to faith in Jesus is not an event, it’s a process. And this truth has far reaching implications for how we ought to go about trying to lead someone into the kingdom of God. Many of our approaches aim at bringing someone from perdition to salvation in five minutes or less, but this totally ignores Jesus’ teaching in the parable of the growing seed. This is lazy evangelism. A farmer would love to skip the investment of time and energy necessary to produce a crop, but that’s not how farming works. In the same way, some Christians would love to skip the investment of time and energy necessary to build trust, but Jesus says: This isn’t how it works.

Pray for your lost friends. Spend time with your lost friends. Work hard to find common ground. These three things will build the trust that needs to be present for effective evangelism to take place.

A Means to an End

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When you read the book of Exodus you learn that God saved and delivered the nation of Israel from their slavery and bondage in Egypt. Then He revealed to them the original purpose for which He created them through His prophets. He told them in Isaiah 49:3,6, “You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory…I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” So we see that God’s salvation and deliverance and redemption was a means to an end – not an end in and of itself.

Well the same is true for us! God has saved us and delivered us from our slavery and bondage to sin. And through His Word (the Bible) He has revealed to us the original purposes for which He created us. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 “…go and make disciples of all nations…” In Mark 16:15 He said it this way “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” We are saved and delivered and redeemed asa  means to an end – not as an end in and of itself.

Whether you’re an Old Testament Israelite or a New Testament Christian, the purpose of salvation is the same: To partner with God and God’s people to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.