Article by Cameron Spink

 

I suppose it has been building up to this for some time. The lines have been drawn and there is an all-out war brewing. This one will, hopefully, have no deaths but it will have victims. This week the federal Labor assembly are going to lean on Julia Gillard to change the Party's stance on same-sex marriage. And they're going to lean hard. It will be interesting to see whether Julia caves. Unfortunately, it feels very much like the dam wall is going to explode.

 

Yet I choose to stand before this forth-coming current and encourage others to stand with me. We face a fierce opposition. One with the deluded belief that they are fighting for what is right. Yet they are not the enemy. They are merely his "useful idiots". Doing his bidding and remaining oblivious to the damage they are causing. Or, even worse, rejoicing in their destruction.

 

One such organisation who have been causing mischief for some time now is GetUp!. This group is an ardent supporter of "marriage equality" and last week released this short clip:

 

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Amazingly it has had over 3 million views. Because of its influence something needs to be said to curtail the lies presented in this storyline. The general gist of this video is that homosexual couples are no different than heterosexual couples. This is an extremely false assertion.

 

"As both homosexual and non-homosexuals have admitted, and as has been thoroughly documented by scientific studies, the homosexual lifestyle is in many respects a very risky, even dangerous, lifestyle. It is associated with numerous illnesses and diseases and at higher levels than among non-homosexuals. Much of this is associated with the promiscuous and high-risk nature of homosexuality.

In general, homosexual relationships do not offer the same stability and permanence as do heterosexual relationships. A number of studies have been conducted over the past few decades to show that the average homosexual relationship is far from stable and monogamous. Indeed, it can instead be characterised as highly unstable and promiscuous."

Bill Muehlenberg - Strained Relations, pg 9

 

If you wish to delve into this evidence then you should purchase Bill's book. Many homosexual advocates know that the truth cannot bend itself to their cause. So instead they have been using guerrilla warfare tactics. This is achieved by convincing the everyday person that there is nothing wrong, or different, about homosexuality. And, of course, the best way to do this is to filter messages through the mainstream media. Preferably by using popular television fictional shows. This has been going on for many years now.

 

It is because of this phenomenon that we, as Christians, must stand in a world deprived of truth. Some people will say that all religious people talk about is homosexuality and there are some of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who say that they don't want to deal with this issue anymore. Eric Redmond and Kevin DeYoung have a sufficient reply for those who thing that:

 

"The issue of homosexuality should not be ignored or sidestepped in order to get on with "more important things." Of course, we would all rather focus on evangelism and discipleship. But perhaps our prayers for renewal will be answered by taking a courageous and crystal clear stance with regards to homosexuality. Much is at stake in this debate.

Grace is at stake in this debate over homosexuality. Will we offer people the grace to change or affirm them in behaviour that the Bible has said is inappropriate? And when we offer people grace in Jesus' name, will it be cheap grace that advocates mercy apart from justice, election without sanctification, and Christianity without discipleship?

Our approach to the Bible is at stake. Theologians have always recognized that God unfolds his truth in Scripture by means of progressive revelation. But does this mean we need to look for "new light" that contradicts the consistent witness of Scripture? Do we think God has changed his mind on this issue? How will we know? And what does this do to our confidence in the Bible? Are the Scriptures clear and complete, or might we need a better ethic than the New Testament?

Where we find the authority for our beliefs is at stake. Will we allow this issue to be settled by the back-and-forth debate in medical journals and psychological studies, or will we stand on the Bible alone and examine general revelation through the spectacles of Scripture?

Our pastoral approach to persons struggling with same-gender attraction is at stake. At our best, we who oppose homosexual behaviours do so motivated by love - love for the hurting, the struggling, the ostracized, and the confused. We want to minister, as Jesus did, with grace and truth...."

Kevin DeYoung & Eric Redmond - Don't Call It A Comeback, pgs 176-177

 

Another Christian commentator, Albert Mohler, made this powerful comment:

 

"Our churches must teach the basics of biblical morality to Christians who will otherwise never know that the Bible prescribes a model for sexual relationships. Young people must be told the truth about homosexuality-and taught to esteem marriage as God's intention for human sexual relatedness.

The times demand Christian courage. These days, courage means that preachers and Christian leaders must set an agenda for biblical confrontation, and not shrink from dealing with the full range of issues related to homosexuality. We must talk about what the Bible teaches about gender-what it means to be a man or a woman. We must talk about God's gift of sex and the covenant of marriage. And we must talk honestly about what homosexuality is, and why God has condemned this sin as an abomination in His sight.

Courage is far too rare in many Christian circles. This explains the surrender of so many denominations, seminaries, and churches to the homosexual agenda. But no surrender on this issue would have been possible, if the authority of Scripture had not already been undermined.

And yet, even as courage is required, the times call for another Christian virtue as well-compassion. The tragic fact is that every congregation is almost certain to include persons struggling with homosexual desire or even involved in homosexual acts. Outside the walls of the church, homosexuals are waiting to see if the Christian church has anything more to say, after we declare that homosexuality is a sin.

Liberal churches have redefined compassion to mean that the church changes its message to meet modern demands. They argue that to tell a homosexual he is a sinner is uncompassionate and intolerant. This is like arguing that a physician is intolerant because he tells a patient she has cancer. But, in the culture of political correctness, this argument holds a powerful attraction.

Biblical Christians know that compassion requires telling the truth, and refusing to call sin something sinless. To hide or deny the sinfulness of sin is to lie, and there is no compassion in such a deadly deception. True compassion demands speaking the truth in love-and there is the problem. Far too often, our courage is more evident than our compassion...."

Albert Mohler - Courage and Compassion on Homosexuality

If Christians were to listen to these wise words then we would be on the front foot. Instead we are surrounded by a clash of worldviews. The original intention of God did not include homosexual relationships. Yet those living in sin can still hear His call and the Holy Spirit is still working within their hearts. It is for them, for the truth and for the Gospel that we must STAND FIRM!!!!!