Now that I’ve got your attention with the title, let me first say that if you don’t claim to be a Christian, what follows will probably offend you. Perhaps you should not even bother reading further. This will probably also offend some who do claim to be Christians. I’m referring to those who think certain sins are okay to tolerate and even promote.
In our walk as believers in Jesus Christ, we don’t get the option of redefining what the Bible calls sin. We can’t say that it’s okay to lie, but not okay to steal. Why? Because Scripture says both are wrong. Maybe it’s harder for us to call it sin when someone we love is struggling with it. And yet, this is letting emotion rule over truth. It doesn’t change what God said. Permitting sin doesn’t depend on how we (Christians) feel about it at any given time.
Would Jesus welcome anyone into the doors of the church? I believe He would, especially if their heart longs for Him. He knows every thought and intention. He would want anyone to come who has a thirst for Him and a pure intention to know Him more and obey His Word.
We can’t have it both ways, though. We can’t openly sin and still expect God’s blessing. God gave us the Holy Spirit and His Word to guide us in daily living, to convict us when we’re doing wrong. We can’t pick and choose what to obey when His Word is clear. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Paul says the following:
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Follow the logic of these examples of sin. Let’s say a man comes to your church on Sunday and brings an open bottle of alcohol. He is already drunk and continues to throw it back throughout the whole service. Would the people sitting around him encourage him to continue? What if your pastor were to show up in the pulpit with his mistress? Would the congregation stand up and applaud? What if a thief paraded around the sanctuary with your belongings and no one cared? We could continue going through all the examples on this list. And if we are honest with ourselves, we have struggled or still struggle with some or many of these – and more.
Let me now zero in on one sin listed in this passage. The fictitious church stories in the above paragraph may sound crazy, but this is exactly what those outside (and some inside) the Body of Christ are asking us to do with those practicing homosexuality. To not embrace homosexuality is to be labeled a bigot and discriminatory. Homosexuality doesn’t deserve the special recognition or condemnation it is currently receiving.
In the passage above, God is telling us through Paul that these actions, these choices, these sins should be in our past. They should be a “were”, not an “are”. If our heart’s desire is to follow and serve the Lord, we should be seeking victory against sin, not promoting it and in so doing contradict what the Bible clearly says. It’s not being judgmental, old-fashioned, or narrow-minded. It is simply obeying God’s Word.
God loves the whole world so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins. He doesn’t desire that anyone die without knowing Him. Yet by embracing our sins while trying to embrace God at the same time, we can’t have true fellowship with Him. This has been true ever since Adam and Eve. So I encourage you and me to examine our hearts. What sin within ourselves are we turning a blind eye to? What wrongdoing are we rationalizing, and in today’s society, even flaunting?
Ask God to forgive you and for the Holy Spirit to give you the strength to resist the temptation to do it again.
