Repentance and Victory

The Biblical instruction regarding walking in the relationship with Jesus that He intends involves recognizing the resurrection power that we have in order to experience His victory. Romans chapter 8 says:
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors--not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

The Bible is very clear about actions that glorify the flesh - it identifies sinful behavior, but it also provides the antidote. We are called to walk in holiness out of a right relationship with God, and that comes not from our own good works, but from the holiness that Jesus has given to us. In Him, we have the power to overcome sin.  We are not directed to accommodate sin, but to identify with the crucifixion of Christ and to accept His substitution for our sins, to accept His payment of the penalty.

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We have been given the opportunity to come into a love relationship with God through salvation by Jesus Christ. But, we have to guard against rebellion in our hearts that would turn us away from obedience to Him. Paul explores this in Romans chapter 1:
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,
30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;
32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Sometimes polling data can be used to influence or even rethink policy - that's my concern over the work of the Public Policy Research Institute, or PPRI, which seems to have a penchant for changing the perception of the Church by challenging traditional views and attempting to reframe the Church.

Consider this piece written by two "public fellows" at PPRI, who write at ReligionNews.com:

Contrary to popular belief, around half of all LGBTQ people in the United States identify with some faith tradition, though they do not attend religious services as frequently as members of the general public. Several mainline Protestant denominations accept LGBTQ people as members and clergy, and more affirming congregations are being founded by LGBTQ people.

The piece opens with this statistic:

Gallup recently found that a record percentage of Americans (7.1%) identify as LGBTQ. Young people are especially driving the increase, as more than 20% of Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2003) and 10% of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) identify as LGBTQ.

So much policy and so much accommodation in culture and the Church these days for the practice of less than 10% of the U.S. population.  And, yes, we should be concerned that younger people, especially 1/5 of Gen Z are embracing these erroneous ideas about sexuality.  But, we should never compromise Christian teaching about homosexuality in order to respond to a cultural trend.  The last time I checked - and the Scriptures have not changed - homosexuality is still a sin, and the practice of deviant sexuality is rebellion against God.  "Gay Christianity" is not a form of Christianity at all.

Not the Bee, a partner publication of The Babylon Bee, had an article recently from a major Southern Baptist church in which, as the article says, an associate pastor at the church was "bragging about having unrepentant sinners serving in the ranks of their church."  The article said:

This is far from an "all are welcomed here" message. It's an affirming people in their sin message.

It goes on to say: 

The speaker is Danny de Armas, Senior Associate Pastor of First Baptist Orlando, a megachurch led by Senior Pastor David Uth.

Uth served as the president of the 2020 SBC Pastors' Conference, so this isn't a small, unknown congregation.

De Armas says something you would hear at lots of churches across America any given week... except he adds a few very concerning flourishes.

We have transgender, LGBTQ, straight, single, married, divorced, and cohabitating people. These same people attend, listen, serve, grow and give.

So, according to Pastor de Armas, disagreements about music in church is the same as disagreements about what Scripture clearly teaches about sexuality and gender. He's not just referring to people visiting the church, but those who are members and actively serving as professed believers!

This is unfortunately, a point of view that is continuing to take root in even churches that would be considered "conservative."  

Yes, we should welcome sinners to the church - for we are all sinners.  But, to allow open homosexuals or others living in open sexual sin to serve in the Church, to me, is a bridge too far. 

But, the folks over at PPRI seemingly want the Church to be more tolerant, citing a study (not their own, but that seems to have come from the University of Nebraska) that says:

...young LGBTQ Americans are less likely than older LGBTQ Americans to identify as Christian, and many LGBTQ people view the largest organized religious traditions in the United States as unfriendly. Recent state laws censoring LGBTQ topics in public schools because they offend Christian sensibilities only enhance LGBTQ people’s distrust of many Christian denominations.

And, in response to that, you have Christian leaders who apologize to the LGBTQ community for being "mean."  I believe that we are to love all people, as Jesus did; but recognize that Jesus does not leave people in their sin and that He loves us so much that He died so that we might be victorious over the power of sin and death.  The "gay affirmation" crowd in the Church seems to be ignoring that message - Jesus does not accommodate our sin, but died to eradicate it.

United Methodists are scheduled to meet this summer to discuss the protocols that would result in the body separating into at least two new denominations. The central issue is the adherence to Scripture regarding homosexuality. However, according to a report at The Tennessean, a significant number of prospective delegates are calling for the meeting to be postponed due to COVID. A letter appealing the decision said:

"Because of the seriousness of the legislation that this General Conference will be debating, including the possibility of 'amicable separation,' it is important ... that no delegate, particularly those from Central Conferences, is precluded from full, in-person participation because of the ongoing COVID pandemic..."

Meanwhile, a local Montgomery church has decided that the time is now to separate: Frazer Church members voted recently to leave the United Methodist denomination and to affiliate with the Free Methodist Church. According to WSFA:

The church released a statement confirming its members voted on Jan. 30 “to seek disaffiliation from the United Methodist Church, and pursue affiliation with the Free Methodist Church, another long-standing branch of the worldwide Methodist movement.”

Frazer’s statement further said of the decision “[it] is not without sadness that we contemplate departing from our denominational ties with the UMC. The Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference of the UMC has been our home for many years, and we honor the connection we have shared and the work we have accomplished together. Nevertheless, we believe that the Free Methodist Church is a better fit for our present identity and future fruitfulness. We look forward to this new chapter in our history once this decision is ratified by the Annual Conference in June, in accordance with the guidelines of our UMC Book of Discipline.”

We can be reminded and embolden to continue to hold fast to the teachings of Scripture. As the Not the Bee article stated:

You want to reach out to the "transgender, LGBTQ, straight, single, married, divorced, and cohabitating" people in your community?

Preach and adhere to the Word of God.

It's been said that the most loving action you can take for a person who is in sin is to confront him or her with the truth.  Unfortunately, in the Church today, you have movements in which homosexuality is being tolerated and speakers being promoted who talk about their so-called "same sex attraction" as seemingly an essential part of their identity: sort of like a disability, rather than the accommodation of a sinful pattern.  It's funny, I don't seem to hear some of these folks talking about wanting to overcome those attractions, which would be the Biblical position.  

We also have to come to terms with our own vulnerabilities.  It's vital that we pay attention to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  As He exposes the sin in our own lives, we are to follow the Biblical model, confess our sins, receive forgiveness, and repent of our rebellion against God. In His love, we have been reconciled to God, but we have to make sure we walk in that.