I understand, Rob.
I'm just telling you that my passion is for God - and in natural progression from that godly passion come my ministry and my relationship, because both of those point back to God.
Thanks for your post
God bless! Praise God for seeking the Lord! =)
So that means heterosexuality is a sin too?
Thanks for clearing that up.
Seriously though, to assume all homosexuals focus only on the last part of that word is rather, well, wrong. A homosexual can have a same sex partner but still be more passionate for God.
No problem =)
God bless FatherDaughter
Hetrosexuality has so many sinful issues! I can feel the spiritual battle going on all the time over this issue within me. My soul cries out to God, my heart and my mind are always in conflict with each other over issues and I feel the outside and inner forces always trying to work against me, while the Holy Spirit pushes me in one direction and convicts me of sin and teaches me things as well.
You don't have any direct correlation back to same sex love. I could use the same passage to condemn all forms of heterosexual sex, with your same formula.
Yes. I agree with you on this issue. I don't have any correlative passages that parallel the parables and teachings about same-sex relations. But I do believe in how Scripture reveals the way of thinking of the people in the old and new testament. Through reasoning, I look at how Jesus, Paul, and Peter, and God the Father spoke throughout scripture on those issues of relationships. I believe it reflects their thinking and the kind of relationships that were considered to be "normal" back then.
You are right on one issue: Times have changed and perhaps there is a need for homosexuals to have the right to marry and love one another. But I have the belief that this isn't inline with the kind of relationships we should have when we follow God.
But the issue isn't about condemning things, because as Christians we don't condemn people for what they do but point out things to further their Spiritual relationship with God. After all, Christianity isn't a religion about systems and God telling you what to do this and that but about a spiritual relationship with God. And when you are in a relationship, there is an exchange of love and respect. The New covenant is about the heart, while the Law is about the externals. There is a big difference. We observe God's heart, not a law. If I wanted to observe laws over God's heart, I would convert to Islam, or Judaism, or something along those lines. God doesn't care how much mascara a person wears, or how many times they pray, or whether your Jew, Gentile, man or women. He cares where a person's heart is and what is clean and unclean within that heart, according to His own heart. For example, prostitution may be a good and bad thing for people, depending on who does it and how they do it, but nonetheless, it is wrong in God's eyes no matter how legal and right that Man makes it out to be.
We all fall short of the glory of God, but as we are convicted by the Holy Spirit that works within us, we change and put on new selves, and work towards how God wants us to be and not what we want to be. But we shouldn't be pointing out condemnations against others, but encouraging others in love and doing our best to further their spiritual relationship with God. Love never fails and God is love. God loves you Davedjy---he sent himself in the flesh, his only begotton Son, Jesus, to die for you on the cross, in excruciating pain! The prophets and the apostles died for you so that the message of the gospel could be preached to the World. There is nothing better than to lay down ones life for another in love.
Dave, I believe that a lot of people reap what they sow. A lot of people are self condemning and slander the name of God by doing what they do, but that is the case with a lot of things. Evidence of this is how people look at Scripture and then look at Christian marriage and use that to point out that God is a god of hypocrites, which isn't the case.
Do you remember the parable Jesus spoke about on saltiness? We may call ourselves Christians, but if we do what is contrary to what we've been taught, especially if we are deceived, then we are led astray and lose our saltiness, though we are still salt.
If you want to condemn hetrosexual relationships, go ahead. Use what I said to condemn it. And I will agree with you, because this world is a sick and distorted place based on homo and hetrosexuality, distorted by the works of Satan, who is our enemy.
But you cannot condemn any kind of hetrosexual marriage within the bible because we both know that God, according to the Scriptures, sanctifies it, if done according to His will.