God hates sin. What is sin? I'll start with my own: gossip, self-pity, gluttony, pride, and laziness. I'm headstrong, I want to run ahead with my own plans instead of waiting on God.
Some other sins? Lying, theft, slander, hatred, fornication.
Yup. I'm going there. God doesn't hate the person committing the sin, he hates the sin itself, because the sin separates that person from him.
So, my premarital sex (with Ron) was just as offensive to God, as a gay orgy, because it separated me from him. I chose what I wanted, over His will for my life.
That hurts God. God is a just God, and He cannot have sin in Heaven. Therefore, sinners, who die in their sin, are going to hell (I can just hear the commentary already, but you read me because I am frank).
That means, ANYONE who dies in sin, without Jesus, will go to hell. It doesn't matter if you are gay, or a heterosexual gossip. It doesn't matter if you're a lesbian, or an embezzler. All sin is equal in God's eyes.
And, as Christians, we can't endorse people who are sinning. "Oh, we love you and support you. You will go to heaven when you die". LIAR.
How is that person going to feel when they wake up in hell? Pissed. You lied to me, to make yourself and me, feel better. If you had warned me I might have changed, gotten the sin out of my life, met Jesus, and gone to Heaven instead.
Did I just say a gay person is going to hell? Yes, they are, if they are "practicing". I have known a couple of lovely, Christian, ex-gay men. They chose to remain celibate, battle the urges, and life a holy life. I have nothing but respect for them.
Let me be absolutely clear: Any sin will separate you from God. If you die without Jesus in your life, you will go to hell.
I always go back to a quote I heard. A famous atheist lived in a town with pastors from 3 different Christian faiths. One day he called them all over to his house, for tea.
They sat down and he asked them a question "Do you believe I will go to hell when I die". They hemmed and hawed. He interrupted "You do. You think I will go to hell when I die, without Jesus. WHY THEN HAVE YOU NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT HIM?"
So, that's what I see as my job. A herald if you will. You can tell me to go to hell, have unnatural relations with the animal of your choice, etc... but I'm going to say it "Without salvation through Jesus, any sinner will go to hell when they die. You must repent (turn from) your sins, apologize to God for them, and ask Jesus to be the boss of your life. Then, study your Bible. Pray daily. Try to live a moral life".
I cannot endorse the "gay lifestyle". I don't hate you. I can't tell you black is white, and your sin isn't really sin because "You love each other".
The Bible has a quote on that:
Isaiah 5:20 HCSB
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
Or, as my husband says "Ain't nothing going in my mouth but food."
6 comments:
Frank back at you. Heather no one who is gay needs your endorsement! LoL! They need support, we all need support for equal rights. How a very few words on a very old book written by men, yes men, divinely inspired or not, can be so misconstrued especially when it comes to gay folks is beyond me!
Seriously. You are so bright that when I read posts like this I just have to stop and say something, knowing a gay man who fought his natural instincts , yes I believe in science and that some people are born gay biologically and if you believe God has a reason for everything, well you believe then god created gay people for a reason, it is NOT a choice, so why not afford them the same rights to a marital lifestyle so they are not " fornicators" what a horrid word that is.
I believe even if the bible was/ is divinely inspired, men in an effort to control others choose words very carefully . Over the years and through various interpretations those words and the meanings there in have changed in order to support arguments like gay marriage. While I see you as a bright beautiful person. I see your biblical allegiance quite flawed. But then you have ruled people like me as just being " unreached" and if I did not understand both mental illness and religion, I would find this all very insulting. But I do understand, empathize and am glad you have what you have in life.
I will not " wake up in hell" sorry or otherwise. I am happy Obama spoke up for gay marriage, I think Christianity has been bastardized to the point that individuals are so concerned with how others behave they are not watching how much judgement they spew themselves. Take care be well
Thank you for being so civil! (((hugs)))
It has been my experience, with the gays and lesbians I have met; that they are very desperate for my approval. It was well-known in the family that my husband was not a supporter of the gay lifestyle. After his accident, a distant family member, who KNEW this, brought his gay lover to "visit" Ron, while Ron lay in the trauma ICU.
Ron was at a stage in his recovery where he occasionally, inadvertently, exposed himself. He was also in a coma. I knew he didn't want ANYONE to see him like that, much less a complete stranger. Yet this guy brought his lover (they did not go upstairs because I'd taken one of the passes when I'd come in). It was apparent he wanted family approval of his "relationship" and that was the REAL reason he had come to visit. I was sitting off to the side, they totally ignored me. The lover finally came over and asked what I was reading. I held up my Bible and he literally ran off. When Ron recovered, I told him about the "visit" and he was disgusted and outraged that he was used like that.
Every gay or lesbian I have met, seems to have a desperate need for my approval of their lifestyle choices. I am kind and considerate. I recently spent over an hour talking to a lesbian friend of ours who'd had a bad breakup. In her exact words "I want someone to love me the way you love Ron". She knows I'm evangelical, and I know she knows my perspective. At the time, she just needed a shoulder to cry on, someone to listen, and I did that. I don't, and won't hate anyone. The Bible is very clear, every human being is a child of God and I'd better treat them that way.
I also do not believe that the gay proclivity is genetic. I believe it is a result of sexual abuse, (it may not be recalled). I know of one woman who "went gay" after a sexual assault. That's a tragedy.
I hope you understood my use of the word "fornicator". That's anyone who has sex outside of marriage, gay, straight, or bi. I was a "fornicator" for over 10 years. I think it is important to be open about my own sin. I went against God's will for 10 years and suffered quite a bit (I'll do a blog on that). So, someone who commits adultery: fornicator. Me: fornicator (although I'm married now). Premarital sex: extramarital sex; all bad in God's eyes. I wanted to be clear that my previous sin is no better, or worse, than any other sexual sin. God hates all of it, just like he hates all sin.
If I see you in danger, I have a compulsion to reach out to you. You can decline the offer, but I have to reach out. If I know your house is on fire, and you're asleep in bed, I have to bang on your door and try to wake you up! Shame on me, if I didn't!
That's how I see any sin lifestyle, not just the gay one. I see you in danger. I will warn you. I will offer you a Bible. I will pray.
But that's all I can do! You can bet, I pray for everyone who reads my blog. I pray for them daily. I pretty much pray for everyone breathing on a daily basis.
My religious outlook has sustained me for decades. I see God as my Rock, an unshakable foundation. I said this recently on a message boards: Once I got a good antipsychotic, the hallucinations went away. The paranoia went away. The delusions went away. God did not go away.
I respect your right to disagree, but I do hurt for you, and pray for you.
And, isn't "unreached" a lot better than "lost"?
UGH.
Heather,
As a bisexual female who has been bisexual my whole life I feel the need to address some of the assertions you've made here.
First of all, I'm not looking for your approval or that of any other. I don't need permission or approval to be myself.
Second, you're assertion that anyone who is LGBT was abused as a child carries with it the condescending air of "Oh, you must be damaged in some way and that's why you are the way you are!". Heather, I'm not damaged. That sort of thought process is no different than someone displaying the attitude "Oh, you're black (or Christian, or Muslim or whatever). You must have had some horrible experience that made you that way." I'm disappointed, after having read some of your posts, that you would take on that view of LGBT people. It's apparent that you have never taken the time to research the issue of biological evidence for homosexuality. In regards to repressed memories of abuse, much of that has been debunked also.
Of COURSE the family member who brought his partner to see Ron was wanting acceptance and love from family. Perhaps he shouldn't have done it at the time or place he did, but wanting love and acceptance from family is a human trait, not one to be derisive about, even if it's approached in a less than perfect manner. Did it ever occur to you that this family member simply wanted to show that he was compassionately caring like anyone else? Perhaps your already preconceived notions about LGBT persons clouds your judgement in such a way that you really do think that every gay person you meet is "desperately seeking your approval", but I highly doubt that this is the case.
When someone says they will pray for me I view it no differently than someone saying they are thinking of me. I appreciate kind thoughts. As a LGBT person, I can assure you that you do not need to hurt for me, however because I am fine. I also am a former Christian, so I am not lost or unreached.
I'm glad that you were able to be there for your friend who needed a shoulder to cry on after her breakup. That was very kind of you.
I like your posts on RR because you are one of the few positive people that I see there and in spite of all the cognitive problems that you have spoken of having as a result of your mother's alcohol use and abuse, you are the most logical, levelheaded person on that forum. From what I have seen and read of you, you seem to be a genuinely kind and caring person. It is very insulting however when my sexuality, which encompasses a part of who I am as a human being as much as your heterosexuality, is seen as being the result of being damaged as a child. And while I realize that this post had absolutely nothing to do with me personally, it is just indicative of the kind of misjudgments and myths that the individuals of the LGBT community, myself included, face on a daily basis so in that respect it certainly struck a nerve. You are far, far smarter than this, Heather.
I'm sorry you feel disappointed.
My opinion is just that - an opinion, based on some anecdotal evidence.
I read an interesting passage in a book, that showed how 2 opposing groups could take the same study and "prove" very different things.
((((hugs))) Remember, I don't hate anyone. I worry for you. I want you to have the confidence I have in my relationship with God - knowing no matter what happens, He is always with me.
(((Hugs, Heather!))
You know me from a couple places, but I will remain anon. here due to the nature of my post.
Sexuality, in the Christian view, is a great gift from God, for creation and for husband and wife. The problem comes that the definition of sexuality has become more and more distorted through a secular society, and the farther we as a society go from God, the farther "divorced" these great gifts become. We can see the sad evidence all around us.
I was someone that, during my time away from Christ and the Church, I indulged in far too many things that were not good for me, including improper use of sexuality. The word "indulgence" implies that it is fun and good, like eating birthday cake, but just like eating birthday cake has a time and a place, so does sexuality. Otherwise, too much at the wrong time just turns out badly, to use a small example.
I believe that SOME people are truly hard-wired to be homosexual. But, I also believe that how this is acted upon is up to the individual. The same way straight, unmarried people are called to chastity, then perhaps that is the best course of action for those that are biologically homosexual, also. The sin is not in what they are born as, but what they choose to do with it.
I also think that some people are confused about their sexual identity and what they "are" sexually. Some people experiment or are sexual in many ways in the name of freedom. I know that I myself was once involved in homosexual activity but am no way homosexual. It can happen. It was part of an experimental lifestyle I was living at the time and an identity "try out". Some people, especially young people, do go through that.
Sexuality is natural and beautiful, but as God intended it to be. It IS fun, it IS good, but between a husband and wife. As someone who has been there, done that,repented and come out the other side, I can tell you that I hold no judgements about anyone, but I do believe that we need to look at sexuality as a gift from God and to be used in that way, not as something we "own" ourselves. Once we see sexuality as something we ourselves own, that is where the secular, permissive attitudes come in.
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