Originally Posted by
BradshawsHairdresser
I would invite y'all to read the New Testament. Yes, Jesus taught that we should be forgiving. But He never taught that we should be tolerant of sin. He often spoke against sin. In John 2, we read that He went into the Temple and drove out those who were sinning there. In the Gospels, we see many times when He rebuked people about their wrongs. He said, John 7:7, "The world...hates Me, because I testify of it that its works are evil." Yes, He said, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." But in the same story, He told the woman caught in adultery to "Go and sin no more" (John 8:11).
Everyone wants to quote "Judge not, lest you be judged," to try to tell us that we ought never say that anything is wrong, or that anyone's actions are wrong. But to interpret that statement in that way is to completely divorce it from the context of the rest of Scriptures, which teach over and over again that certain things, and certain behaviors, are wrong. If you read everything that Jesus said, it's pretty clear...He was not saying that we are never to judge anything as wrong. He was not saying that we are never to judge another person's actions as wrong. We are to help "take the speck" out of our brother's eye (Matthew 7). It's just that, before you do that, you need to be sure you've taken "the plank out of your own eye." In other words, don't get on your neighbor about the mess in his yard, unless you've first cleaned up the mess in your own yard.
"Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." That doesn't prohibit me from pointing out that something is wrong, but I have no business condemning the one who committed the sin. The Westboro Baptist people judge others with a condemning judgment. They miss the truth of the Bible that God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.
I would encourage you to read Romans 1:18-32, which says that homosexual behavior is the result of God’s judgment on people who reject Him—He “gives them over,” it says, to a “debased mind.” However, according to that passage, homosexual behavior is not the only sinful product of a debased mind. It also mentions sexual immorality, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, deceit, sinful pride, disobedience to parents, and being untrustworthy, unmerciful and unforgiving. Likewise, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 points out the sinfulness of homosexual behavior—but also of fornication (sex outside of marriage), idolatry, adultery, stealing, coveting, and drunkenness. It’s easy to isolate and condemn others who do the sins that I don’t do…but the truth is, there are plenty of sins that I struggle with. Rather than condemning others, or trying to justify, excuse, or accept any sin? I need to take for myself, and then share with others, the solution God has provided. God loves all sinners—no matter what we’ve done—and wants us all to come into a personal relationship with Him, and be forgiven and changed through Jesus Christ.
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