Thursday, April 22, 2021

The Law of Love

 The problem with basing public policy on public opinion is that the public changes its mind- sometimes with good reason and sometimes seemingly on a whim. This is why we need standards common to all that do not change- without that, we slide into chaos where everyone does what's right in their own eyes. (Judges 17:6 and 21:25) However, we have one Top 10 list that never changes and is not subjective but objective and is for all people- The Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5) God has set His standards and He never changes. (Malachi 4:6) But The Law calls for absolute perfection. (Leviticus 11:45) None of us can attain that. (Proverbs 20:9, Psalms 14:3) Thankfully, Jesus did that for us. (Matthew 5:17, Hebrews 4:14-15, Hebrews 10:10-23) Because Jesus met all the requirements of God's Law and died as the ultimate righteous sacrifice for our sins, we can go free while He pays the toll. Earthly comparisons pale in explaining, but it's like Jesus paid our bail so that we could get out of prison. Better still, it's like we were on death row and Jesus volunteered to take our place in the electric chair. And ever The Good Samaritan, Jesus did for those who considered Him as an enemy and who had no way of paying Him back- but Jesus doesn't want even our useless attempts. He wants our freely offered love. He died on the cross and rose again and now The Law that was our schoolmaster and showed us our need for Christ is no longer necessary because we are now under grace. (Galatians 3) And in this new covenant with Christ by faith, we receive His Holy Spirit when we ask Him in. And He Himself guides us into all Truth and to the good that we should do. (Romans 8:5-11) And His Word in The Bible guides us too. And now we desire to do right out of love and gratitude to Jesus. And as imitators of God, we walk in Love and grow up every way into Christ. (Ephesians 4:15-16 and 5:1-2) 

As Colossians 3:1-17 tell us, we have died and our lives are now hidden with Christ in God. And we seek to do everything in the Name of The Lord Jesus. And now following Jesus is all we need to do. As Romans 12:8-14 says, Love is the fulfilling of The Law. As Jesus told us, the summary of The Law is this: Love The Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:34-40) As Ephesians 4:15 reminds us, speak The Truth in Love. As Jesus tells us in John 14:6, He is The Way, The Truth and The Life. No man comes to The Father but by Him. (Any other leads to Hell; only Jesus leads to Heaven). 1 John 4:8 says that God is love. John 10:30-33 and many others affirm that Jesus is God. Thus, we must speak Jesus in Jesus/(Love) and have the same relationship Jesus had with His Father and be as Jesus to our neighbor. That's the only policy that changes all the public- Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of The Law and the embodiment of Love. :-)

       For those who seek to establish standards of "good" and "evil" and "right" and "wrong" outside of the authority of Christ- (and who deny the existence of any god and any moral standards upheld over all that apply to all)- this is the dilemma. God has taken care of this by setting firm moral standards that don't change. And best of all- He has kept all these standards perfectly Himself. When we recognize that we can never do this and we look to Jesus for our righteousness, we get His perfection imputed to us- and therein we ride into Heaven on His coattails.

What Would You Do? (In Responding to LGBTQ)

 (Note: This is written in response to a question from a LGBTQ study regarding the benefits and harms of conversion therapy which asked the question, "What would you do if someone you knew came out to you as LGBTQ?")


To answer the question posed here, I will tell you what I have done with those I know who have announced their LGBT inclinations- Love my neighbour as myself and speak the Truth in Love to them. (Matthew 22:34-40 and Ephesians 4:15)

    I would first want to ask what exactly is meant when they identify with any of the terms encompassed in that acronym. (i.e. I want to hear their story first of all- truly listen and try to understand.)

     I would assure them that they are loved no matter what- every person is made in God's image and eternally loved by Him- and they are infinitely important and eternally valuable and worthy of love and respect. Because of my faith in Christ and the love and forgiveness I have experienced from Him, I also love all people and seek to extend His grace to them. 

     I would also want to understand what their spiritual beliefs are regarding Jesus. If the person is not a Christ follower, I would tell them about the love God has for all of us and the sin in our lives that have separated us from Him. Adam and Eve sinned in the beginning and brought the curse of sin upon the planet and people. The wages of sin is death- spiritual death eternally separated from The Lord in Hell. God doesn't desire any to perish but for all to come to repentance. He loves us all so much He sent His Son to take the punishment we deserve by dying on the cross in our place. Jesus then rose again to prove He's God. If we will turn to Him in faith and trust Him for forgiveness of all our sins and follow Him in repentance, He will save us from the penalty of Hell we deserve and receive us into eternal joy in His presence in Heaven instead.

      And if the person already is a Christian or if not, the message is still the same. The Gospel is our greatest need and that's what we need to focus on first. No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian or transgendered- all bow to Christ on the last day so let's make Him Lord while there's time. (Philippians 2:9-11) 

    Yes, we all have our struggles in this life and we all deal with temptations to sin. And I do believe the question is not about what orientation one feels drawn towards- it's about what one does with it.

I can empathize with friends who have unwanted same sex attractions who also strive to serve and obey The Lord Jesus with everything, including their sexuality. I can empathize as a heterosexual single man who is celibate just like them because I know sex outside of marriage is a sin and God has defined marriage as the union of one man to one woman for life. (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19, Hebrews 13:4)

    And I know the community of those who hold to faith in Christ and also identify as LGBTQ+ veer to different paths on this issue. I have friends who affirm faith in Jesus yet some choose to engage in homosexual relations and others choose to be celibate in keeping with their convictions. For the former, I have had to gently and respectfully explain why I cannot agree with them that God permits homosexual relationships or lust. This doesn't mean I don't love them or respect them. I am still happy to do anything I can to help them but I can't enable them in perpetuating sin. I would not want them to do that for me, so this is just what Matthew 7:12 commands me to do in the Golden Rule.

   For the latter, I commiserate with them and try to encourage them in their walk with Christ and commitment to celibacy. And I pray for those in both camps. 

     Above all, I want to remind them that Love doesn't rejoice with evil but it rejoices with the Truth. And the Truth is Jesus- He's the Way, Truth and Life. And Jesus is better than sin. Jesus is better than lust. Jesus is better than sex. Jesus is better than any human relationship. Jesus is better than anything else I desire.  

I want to want Him and want nothing else. I confess I am certainly not all I should be but by the grace of God, I am not who I once was either. I am a sinner saved by God's grace and because I have been set free by His forgiveness and love, I can do no less than to love others and extend the same grace I have received. 

    And regardless of one's choice about Jesus, the love remains and the respect remains and the prayers remain. 

   I look forward to the day when Jesus will return and set everything wrong right again and all our desires will be rightly oriented for Him and His kingdom. He is our ultimate Hope as we look forward to Heaven where everything sad will come untrue and all the light and momentary troubles we go through here will not even compare to the glory to be revealed.

(Note: Here are a few articles that offer Christian perspectives on these ideas.

https://www.equip.org/article/whats-the-problem-with-conversion-therapy/

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-lgbt-movements-dangerous-hypocrisy-on-conversion-therapy/?amp

The Spiritual Friendship Web site is another great resource too. https://www.spiritualfriendship.org)