Loving Homosexuals (part 2) - [1 Corinthians 6:9-11]

Bethlehem Bible Church

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Grew up in the 60s and in our family There's a generational thing or my father was a

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Korean war vet. There's not a whole lot of I love you talk At best maybe if I'd go off to college or something

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I would hear from my father Love you, but that almost takes the edge off instead of looking at someone and saying

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I love you I know my father loved me because of all the things that he did But it was hard for me not to hear those words,

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I love you Think about how God loves us at the pinnacle of God's love for us is

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Calvary Where God demonstrates made conspicuous his love towards us that while we were yet enemies

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Christ died for us But in another very real way God loves us, and this is the way he tells us what he thinks in his revealed words

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Can you imagine to know the mind of God? Sometimes you know I might think about my wife or my kids or a friend

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And you know have you ever said this to a spouse or a friend or a kid? What are you thinking about right now and after a while?

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Maybe you begin to think a little bit like your spouse, or you know you're about like you're like your grandpa You know what he's thinking about But how would we as finite creatures

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Fallen creatures finite and fallen creatures Understand God We look at the stars and the moon and the sky and we can get a sense of God's eternal power and his nature

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But all the details, what's God like? What does he like? What does he not like all these details?

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How does the father relate to the son? Is there a Trinity all these kind of things? We don't know unless it was the condescending love of God that he would tell us in his word

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Aren't you glad that you have his word to tell you? Exactly what you need and of course there are some spots that are a little opaque remember

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Peter said Some of Paul's writings are a little difficult But so much of it is crystal clear, especially when you have the

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Spirit of God as your Illuminator the one who opens your eyes to the words, and you think this is just straightforward.

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I personally am glad Especially as a preacher to let you know what

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God thinks because otherwise it's just all made -up stuff What did he what if he didn't reveal himself to us in the word?

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false gods Idols You can see them

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But they don't talk They're dumb You go to a Chinese restaurant this afternoon or many other kinds of restaurants, and you'll see some little cat

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God like that You could put your ear to that little kitty God all you want for that there's gonna be no sounds coming out of that thing false gods

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You can see But they don't talk The one

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God of the universe as Paul would say the living God He's invisible, but he talks how great is that?

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He have Hutton when he speaks people what listen I Got asked by one of my children yesterday when you were growing up.

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Was there such thing as YouTube? You have a

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God who speaks he speaks plainly and He has spoken finally in his son and the sons apostolic messengers

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So today we come to a topic that picks up from last week What has God said about this timely?

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Relevant topic in 1st Corinthians Paul has been dealing with sin and immature

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Christians And then he says I want to lay before you a parade of people that you used to be like and he says

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This so that the people say I don't want to be what I used to be. I don't want to be that person anymore

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I'm no longer the person I used to be by the grace of God. I'm justified redeemed reconciled Pardoned forgiven acquitted

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I've been given a new nature and I don't want to be like the proverbial dog that goes back to its own what?

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Vomit as in 2nd Peter are to the cleaned Sow the clean pig that wallows right back into its own mire

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I don't want to be that way and so Paul says look you used to be this way. Don't be that way anymore

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But he talks about a particular group of people But I think it's important for us as Christians to think through because we can either think too harshly about or we can think too loosely about and that is the topic of Homosexuality, and so I've got a list of questions and answers underneath this banner thinking biblically about homosexuality

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Maybe the subtitle could be Loving homosexuals and we'll see today if you weren't here last week that the

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Bible is clear It's obvious and that we can Understand this in a way that honors

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God and loves our neighbor as ourself, so let me give you the first few in review number one Why would we single out this sin when there's lots of other sins to single out?

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We learned last week as I quoted a great reformer a dog barks when his master is attacked

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I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would be silent

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The point of attack here in America and all across the country all across the world has been this particular

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Beachhead this is the spiritual battle of the bulge Homosexuality when thieves are swindlers are revilers stand up and say we can be gay thieves gay revilers gay swindlers

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Gay drunkards, then we're gonna have to address that But the issue with gay marriage here in the

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States and in Massachusetts. This is the point of attack So that's why we're going to talk about it last week and this week

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And we will not call something that is unrighteous and God's clear word Righteous, but God God calls ungodly we won't call godly and of course it goes for this sin and all the other sins

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The other nine sins listed in first Corinthians chapter 6 and the other sins listed in math

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Galatians chapter 5 in the vice list in Revelation 21 the list goes on and on there's a holy

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God And he has told us plainly. This is what's right, and this is what's wrong So that's why we're focusing on this particular sin number two in review our

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Bible teachers homophobic Well, maybe some are but that's just usually a smokescreen, so we're not allowed to talk about it.

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You say something about Homosexuals and say that you know what this is a forgivable sin I encourage you to repent and believe in the gospel for your soul you will stand before God one day, then we're homophobic

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When somebody says you know I don't like Jesus and his Declaration that I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes the father, but through me

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I don't say to them you're Christ a phobic There's not some kind of irrational fear of Jesus Maybe they have it or not, but that just dulls the argument that just tries to get this out of the public square

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I Don't have an irrational fear I Actually like to be like Jesus who in Luke 15 says he receives sinners and eats with them

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Why? Yes, compassionate. He's generous. He's gracious, and he doesn't receive them to then celebrate their sin

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Doesn't receive them to applaud their sin doesn't receive them to say it's okay for you to be that way

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He receives sinners because he is on a mission to ransom sinners to seek and to save those who were

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Lost he's a great physician to then tell them the truth about forgiveness number three

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Why do people insist that homosexuals are born this way? Answer because it tries to alleviate guilt it tries to alleviate guilt turn with me if you would to Proverbs 2813

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I'm going to look at this a little deeper, and then we'll move on and get to some new questions

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But to set everything up again. I want to go back to these two verses in Proverbs 28 that talked about Mercy from God, and it should your be your desire if you're a

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Christian to want others to receive this mercy You want others to receive compassion from God grace from God?

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That's a sign of being a Christian by the way is when you want your God to do for others what he's done for you

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That's just a sign of love We're to love God and love our neighbor

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And what's the best thing the most loving thing you could tell someone caught in any sin enslaved to any sin?

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And that is this you take ownership for your sin agree with God that it is sin and ask for his mercy and look at Proverbs 2813 you ought to underline this verse and you ought to also say it's linked to verse 14

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Lots of times you just quote 13 without going to 14 These two

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Proverbs Verse 13 and 14

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Are crucial for any Christian or for anybody who is not a Christian who would like to be forgiven?

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Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper But he who confesses

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I agree with you God confesses and forsakes Turns from them will obtain mercy are as some translations say compassion

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Blessed don't you want the blessing of God the commendation of God? Blessed is the one who fears

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Yahweh always But whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity commentator

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Kidner said sin buried is sin kept Sin Buried is sin kept

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When we were in first Corinthians, did you notice? Paul was putting this list together of the people like fornicators idolaters adulterers

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Drunkards, did you notice that list? He was not saying if you've got the orientation to do these things then they're wrong

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He said the actions in and of themselves are wrong and so whether a person's orientation because of the fall or propensity because of the fall or their bent because the fall is hetero or homo both are unrighteous

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I Looked at gay church org this week and I could just as easily call it excuse church org our blame shifting org

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And this is the kind of reasoning that goes on In Exhibit one

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Could salvation be reserved for a select group of people? It may seem surprising but this is not a new idea

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The early Christians believed that salvation was only offered to those of Jewish heritage and not to the

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Gentiles Who were seen as an unclean abomination? Thankfully Paul and others wrote extensively on this issue and strongly refuted the notion that salvation is offered to a select few

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Jews consider Gentiles as unclean polluted idolatrous and sinful the same revulsion many church people feel for homosexuals today

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Unfortunately the gay and lesbians today are often asked to repent of being homosexual before being accepted like the

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Gentiles They do not need to repent of their God -created nature So you see the rationale see how the

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Jews were ostracizing Gentiles And so we homosexuals are now in the same class as any other minority whether it's female as a minority in the old days black different color non -white our

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Gentile exhibit to John described Best God's open invitation in John 3 16 when he wrote whosoever believes in Jesus will not perish

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Whosoever does not include exclude anyone Instead it includes everyone simply put it does not matter if you were gay or straight black or white male or female

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What matters is whether you believe in Jesus or not and have accepted him as your Lord and Savior Now if you have a kid and the kid does something breaks a window and comes to you

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If you're the father or you're the mother and the kid becomes Full of excuses riddled with all these, you know,

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Johnny made me do it. Somebody hypnotized me I mean the list could go on and on and on.

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I Particularly when I find that kind of attitude What I usually don't give his mercy what

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I usually don't give his compassion What I usually do is try to get to the bottom of it and then justice is given

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So same too as if the kid comes and says I took the rock I threw it the devil didn't make me buy this dress

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Anybody over 50 can laugh anybody under 50. It's pop culture Satan didn't make me do this.

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I did it. I accept full responsibility and whatever way I need discipline. I'm going to accept

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Thank you for loving me. And then how do you respond? So what a picture this is between a father and a son

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And even though the father's sinfully tainted and not perfect Son isn't either you think about the big picture what we do when it comes to confession in 1st

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John chapter 1 Proverbs chapter 28 or any place else is just say yes I made myself did it just like we learned in James last time

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Otherwise you run into this kind of gobbledygook exhibit 3 Jesus never taught for or against homosexuality

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This raises a question if homosexuality is truly a sin worthy of eternal damnation as some believe it is

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Then why didn't Jesus discuss it? He certainly preached at length concerning every other sin list in 1st

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Corinthians 6 Why did he leave this one out? God is not the author of confusions 1st

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Corinthians 14. Therefore. I cannot see him leaving out such a critical sin from his discussions So since Jesus didn't talk about it, it's okay to do even though his apostolic messenger

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Paul talked about it often For us as Christians even when we're entangled in a sin the best thing to do is what?

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blame Got a syndrome a disease. I've got some kind of thing wrong with me

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No, I'm wrong with me. I met the enemy and I'm the enemy God Would you please forgive me your word says that if you look to the

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Son for forgiveness if you ask for confession You're faithful, and I mean if you confess that he's faithful and just to what

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Forgive we want people to be forgiven number four Is it easy to be tricked when thinking about this topic?

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Is it easy to be deceived? Yes, the incessant barrage of the media our own hearts.

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We have friends I've even talked to this week where we say, you know what? We know some homosexual people that seem more friendly kind giving and outgoing than Christian people

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So you say well this person calls himself a Christian this person calls himself a homosexual This doesn't seem to add up and our hearts just don't know what to do with that.

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It's easy to be misled I'll read you the verses again, or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

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Do not be deceived either the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who practice homosexuality

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Nor thieves nor greedy nor drunkards nor revilers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God Paul says when it comes to they know the

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Christian language. They've had a Christian experience. They've been Baptized they can quote

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Bible verses. They go to the gay Church. Paul says do not be deceived

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I was born this way In first Corinthians 6

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Paul says there's no need to be deceived. I'm telling you. These are the facts. This is the issue well, as long as I I Understand that these are two consenting adults in the privacy of their own home that love each other who am

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I to judge? Do not be deceived Listen to the same word used

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Why don't you just turn there for we might as well turn but the first Timothy chapter 1 the same word for Homosexual in 1st

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Corinthians 6 is used in 1st Timothy chapter 1 as their

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Lexicon translates it a sodomite one who lies with the male as with a female

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First Timothy chapter 1 and by the way, all this homosexuality stuff was going on back in Paul's day as well

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It was a big issue then it's a big issue now Barclay said Socrates was a homosexual

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Plato wrote a book symposium on love that Applauded homosexuality

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Nero's and homosexual Paul writes in 1st Timothy 1 10 the sexually immoral

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Men who practice homosexuality in slavers liars purgers and whatever else is contrary to what?

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sound up Doesn't this how can this be a sin if God made me this way strike back to the very issue of did

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God really say Did God really say that right back to the garden I call this garden lies

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Number five, what if the government calls homosexuality a hate crime? What do we do answer?

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We have to be faithful to the gospel and keep preaching the Bible don't we? So if the government does something that changes the way we do something

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I don't think so First they'll take away our tax exemption then they'll find us then they'll put us in jail But we still have to say

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Christ forgives all kinds of sinners including homosexuality We must obey

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God rather than what did Peter say in Acts 5 Number six, we're almost done with review can homosexuals ever change.

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Let's go back to 1st Corinthians chapter 6 Absolutely by the grace of God, they can be new creatures in Christ.

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Jesus old has gone You know the homosexual community the aggressive ones at least will try to ride this issue like No other how can they change and ministries like Exodus and others where you try to think that you can really change.

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It's impossible Well, I only can go by what the Word of God is I'm not gonna base my theology on experience

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I'm not gonna base my theology on what I see or what I hear Peter can be standing at the Mount of Transfiguration He hears

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God the Father. He sees Jesus the Son and he says we have a word made what more sure

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And I love this Here's Paul saying look at what God does these

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Transactions they're all about grace. They're all about what God does for you. There's none of this Man -centered salvation three grace passives and if you're a

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Christian this has happened to you This is good news for prostitutes moralists pastors kids homosexuals, too

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You are washed See that in verse 11. There's a whole list of things that you used to be but in Verse 11 it says and such were some of you but you were washed you were sanctified you were justified

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Cleansed on the inside set apart for God's work declared acquitted declared a righteous declared pleasing in God's sight number seven

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Is there such thing as gay? Christian clergy Is there such a thing as gay clergy?

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Well, it's a free country you can call yourself that but in God's eyes There's no such thing as a clergyman or clergywoman who is practicing homosexual

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Turn your vitals to Titus chapter one, please Everywhere you go. You have apostate dominant denominations saying this is okay

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Anglicans you've got the Church of England and what do they say in their issue in human sexuality statement same -sex

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Partnerships are acceptable for laypersons, but gay clergy are expected to be abstinent.

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That's interesting 2003 right here in New England in the Episcopalian Church Gene Robinson is now approved.

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It was approved as the bishop the Diocese of New Hampshire Reformed churches in Europe many of them.

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It's okay to have a pastor who's in a same -sex relationship as long as he or she is

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Monogamous Boston Church in the Netherlands United Protestant Church in Belgium Danish National Church Church of Sweden Church of Iceland Church of Norway And the list goes on.

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I grew up a Lutheran Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 2009

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August 21st voted 559 to 451 559 to 451 in favor of allowing non -celibate gays to become ordained ministers

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Friends mark this by the way when in a denomination ask the question we've got to revisit what we think about this

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It's over The second you ask the question, what do we believe about homosexuality?

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Friends is over because what you believe is what the scriptures clearly teach

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You want to know how this doctrine comes in? What's the Trojan horse that gets this doctrine into the church? every single time

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Should women be pastors That's the Trojan horse Because if you can make first Timothy 2 which says

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I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man Local church elder pastor if you can take

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I do not allow and turn it into I Do allow you can make the Bible to say anything you'd like it to say at least in your heart

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Presbyterian Church USA 2010 July 8th

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General Assembly 373 to 323 vote to approve the ordination of partnered homosexuals

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Ratification pending you think they'll ratify it United Church of Christ General Senate 1985 a

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Resolution entitled doesn't this sound nice Calling on United Church of Christ congregations to declare themselves open and affirming

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In 2003 it officially added transgender persons to this declaration for full inclusion of life and leadership in the church

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It's sad it's sick and it's sinful This has nothing to do friends as I said last week with being unloving to homosexuals are

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Uncompassionate or unneighborly it has everything to do with if God says that we're gonna look at first Chapter of Titus if he says this is what qualifies a person to be a leader in my church that I bought with my

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Own blood then what's our option? well, I don't really like that as one

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Senate said we need to engage in serious respectful and prayerful Discussion of the covenantal relationship of marriage and equal marriage right for couples regardless of gender.

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I Don't need to pray about it. I don't need to talk about it I could certainly be respectful, but the day that the elders of this church get together and we say, you know

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Could you pray please pray for us? We're gonna have a major powwow and we want to discuss really Should women be pastors and is it okay for us to be practicing homosexuals as pastors?

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That is the day what that is a day You should say I've changed the sign outside the door pastor to Ichabod Bible Church the glory of God has departed

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Titus chapter 1 the qualifications are crystal clear. I mean how easy can this be?

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For us we want to submit to the Bible even if we don't like it Titus 1 5 this is why

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I left you in Crete so that you might put what remained in order Point elders in every town as I directed you

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If anyone is above reproach the husband of one wife

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The inner the man we translated husband of one wife

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Greek word for woman What does that mean I want a man who has one wife and he's faithfully committed to her sexual fidelity to her

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Moral fidelity man and woman pure in his sexual life

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Turn back to books, please to first Timothy. It's the same thing This does not say if anyone's above reproach

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Monogamous and loves one another One of the things that drives me crazy if people say well

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We're part you can cohabitate as long as you love each other. So that means Let's say

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I wasn't married and I just had a girlfriend and I lived with her then I could be her pastor, too That would be their logic.

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I love her First Timothy 3, it's the same thing

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What are the words? No debate about the words. This is saying is trustworthy if anyone aspires to the work an office of an overseer

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He desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be sounds just like Titus doesn't above reproach you can

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Say there's things about him that aren't Right, but they don't stick the husband

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Different word for man there, but still masculine Andra of one wife and then the list goes on number eight

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Number eight. What is the best way to evangelize homosexuals? answer The same way you evangelize any other sinner

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There's no special gospel. There's no Gnostic gospel. There's no I've got this is a special I've got five spiritual laws for these people.

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I have a friend and She's a homosexual

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She said to me Mike I'm going to the hospital and I'm gonna have a knee surgery.

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Would you come and visit me? I Said I'd love to come and visit you but I'm a pastor and so when

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I go visit people in hospital I read a psalm and then I pray Kim and I went to the hospital.

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I knocked on the door like any other pastoral call with my Bible Her partner was there partner doesn't want to hear anything that I want to say although she's kind of me and I'm kind of her

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She's okay. I'm gonna go now They kissed Said goodbye We talked

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And I said you have any particular psalm that you'd like me to read She said

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I really like that one psalm Psalm 22 the Lord is my shepherd. I like that I said

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I Think you mean Psalm 23, but I'd like to read to you just one verse from one

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Psalm Psalm 22 verse 1 My God my

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God Why have you forsaken? So, can you imagine the sins that we have committed?

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Against God the Creator are so bad that he's gonna judge every one of our sins So bad that they deserve eternal torture forever in a place called hell

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And yet God in his his goodness Kindness, you didn't have to do it for the angels.

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He just judged. No no plan of redemption No, no salvation plan God the

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Father poured out his wrath not on us, but on his son and The son drank the cup of God's wrath all the way down I Doubt the bloodshed.

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There's no forgiveness of sins and Christ shed his blood and it was raised from the dead God confirmed that She said to me that must have been horrible

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That the son had to receive all that wrath and he didn't even deserve How do we evangelize?

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compassionately kindly regularly the gospel about our great God our

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Sin the difference that the need we have we've broken God's law We show them their sin

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Everett said no man can enter heaven until he is first convinced he deserves hell

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Horatio Bonar said in all unbelief there are two things a good opinion of self and a bad opinion of God So long as these things exist it is impossible for an inquirer to find rest his good opinion of himself

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Of himself makes him think it quite possible to win God's favor by his own religious performances the object of the

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Holy Spirit's work in convicting of sin is to alter the sinners opinion of himself and So to reduce his estimate of his own character that he shall think of himself as God does

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What gospel do we preach to any sinner if you've got a sinner this big in your house You've got a sinner who's 90 years old you preach to them the gospel the good news the declaration of what happened 2 ,000 years ago

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You're talking about the attributes of God talk about their salvation and no one else Acts chapter 4

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Talk about how Christ would clothe himself in Philippians 2 with with human flesh

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So what Thomas Watson said That Christ should so clothe himself with our flesh a piece of earth that we tread upon Oh infinite humility

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Christ taking our flesh was one of the lowest steps of his humiliation He humbled himself more and lying in the

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Virgin's womb than in hanging on the cross It was not so much for a man to die, but for God to become a man was the wonder of humility

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Philippians 2 says he was made in the likeness of men First John chapter 1 verse 7 the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sins number 9

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What does it say about a society when it embraces? Homosexuality and celebrates it answer.

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Let's go to Romans chapter 1 Romans chapter 1 Okay, what does it say about a society

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What it says about the society is this It says that judgment is here

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It doesn't say judgments coming if you keep it up. It says no we're getting judged now Oh if America doesn't turn her back and and all that stuff and and I mean turn back to God and if they don't

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America doesn't turn her back on all these things God's going to judge us Friends look at the newspapers today look at the world today look at this issue of homosexuality

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And you can say to yourself with crystal clarity with Paul and Romans 1 God is judging

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America And it is super scary if I wasn't a Christian believing in the sovereignty of God.

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I would be very very frightened Romans chapter 1

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Verse 18 Romans 1 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men

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Who suppress the truth and unrighteousness? It's just very very critical because the gospel found in verse 16

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The gospel found in verse 16 about how God's righteousness is revealed in verse 17

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I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It's the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes that you first and also the

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Gentile The gospel is important because there is such a thing as the wrath of God The unmitigated a holy anger of God, that's true, and we need deliverance we need the gospel of grace

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People say well, I'm not really mad at God Unbelievers say that Well, how could you be after all the lavish gifts he gives you as an unbeliever?

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Breath and life and food and family and enjoyment and all that how could you be mad at God? But friends if you're not a

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Christian having peace with God through the reconciliation done at Calvary by Jesus for you

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He's angry with you You will say well, you know what God's just kind of passive when it comes to sin

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They expect every time that someone sins a lightning bolt to come down and kill the person if you're really there

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God You know and this is really bad and kill me with a light lightning bolt Well, this passage talks about the anger and the wrath of God who is opposed always and forever

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Actively, this isn't passive. This is active And look at where it comes from from where for the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven This is not from society.

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This is not for the Supreme Court. This is God's wrath from heaven where he is. It's divine activity And in a very very real sense, isn't this to true

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Christians you need to be saved Not primarily from sin

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Satan are the world you primarily need to be saved by God From God himself

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You need to be safe from God because it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of living

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God, isn't it? and You know what maybe maybe

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God will just let a couple of those sins go Maybe just one or two will get by against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men

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Are there exceptions? No, does anything get by God? No some kind of you know, you're gonna fake a

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Passover here in basketball But you'll look that way and you go that one kind of got by me a little bit Everything he sees

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And one of the things about God that people hate if they're an unbeliever is that God is immutably holy

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He's immutably just Immutably means he never changes, you know It'd be one thing if God was holy almost all the time but a couple times he just wasn't

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If he was just almost all the times with a few times Especially the few times when I want to do my sin and get by with it

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But you know the problem with God is he's always holy forever holy and immutably holy and so what do people do

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Men by their unrighteousness suppress the truth Who can live like that God is angry with the wicked every day

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I can't deal with that I've got to suppress that truth. I want it out of my life I've got to try to deflect that who wants to live with a mind mind honed in on God is going to get me

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So what does our society do it has to get rid of every remnant of God? We want it out of schools out of the courtroom out of the public arena

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We can't stand any of this God stuff because it impinges on our conscience when we want to sin

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Society at best will say religion can be in the public square But will create this kind of Westboro Baptist kind of Christian where it says hellfire and brimstone caricature verse 19

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Nobody can say I'm not sure about this God. I didn't have the facts. I didn't have sufficient data I didn't know

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I can't be blamed because verse 19 says That which is known about God is evident within them for God made it evident to them

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What's a substantiation verse 20 for since the creation of the world his invisible attributes

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His Eternal different word for eternal there the alwaysness power and divine nature have been clearly seen

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Being understood through what has been made so that they are what? without excuse

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By what has been made? By what has been made? Not by what has been evolved not by what has been

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Theolist Theologically of theistically evolved by what has been made just like in 2nd

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Peter The same word that created everything is the same word that's going to destroy things by what has been made by God And if there's a great

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God who made something what's the response of the human? Now Michelangelo was dead when

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I went to forums to see David the sculpture But when I looked at David the sculpture by Michelangelo, I thought

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And that is awesome How can you see some kind of bit? I don't know what it's made out of marble or whatever

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Here's a big chunk of marble over in the mountain and you go. I see David in that and Then to sculpt it in the put up there people are just like this art students stairs

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You know writing doing stuff people are just there in all look at David Are you maybe you're into paintings you say, you know

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Renoir what can Renoir do and you sit and look? Are you listening to music and you just think who could put that together?

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How could Mozart do that? I just amazing There's just something in he wants to go That is awesome.

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And here God has made the universe with a word and what's the response to the revelation of God in the universe?

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What's the proper response the biblical response? Can you imagine that I Remember being in the room when my kids were born and you see natural revelation going on right there the wisdom and power and might of God and all of a sudden

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Out comes this baby And you just go oh

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You know what? Yeah It's a girl. I said every time well the last two times at least here in Worcester The California people were more sanctified.

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I mean my poor kids two of them having the birth certificate, California and to say

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Worcester And for everyone's kids What For every one of those kids you just think how could

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God do that? How could God knit this baby together in the womb of a woman?

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birth And I said the last one the last two kids out ain't evolution grand

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Meaning if evolution does it zips our lip and nothing happens God I love it when somebody has a newborn baby and they want to give all the verses out

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Psalm 139 Praise God fearfully and wonderfully made. What does a dad do?

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What does a mom do the mom's usually recuperating but the dad's on the computer typing away. God is so awesome

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Because that is the response of people to the creative work of God Thanks So if you're not thanking

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God And you're being ungrateful you slide into this kind of pattern here watch what happens verse 21

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For even though they knew God how they knew God because we just learned about that in verse 18 and 19 They did not honor him as God don't miss these three words or give

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Thanks, but they became futile in their speculations

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And their foolish heart was dark Do you really think

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God made the world and the universe Expecting praise and glory not to us but to thy name be the glory and then

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God just goes yeah But it's not that big a deal. You'll just skate off unscathed Not gonna experience anything bad

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What goes the mind The mind that was made to love God love the

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Lord your God with all your heart soul Mind and strength what God gave you to worship him with then he just turns dark

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People say I'm enlightened. I don't believe in sin anymore. No your mind has been darkened by the active nature of God what does a

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Mentally deformed person say verse 22. What does it say about their character rather professing to be wise?

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I've got a new life freed from God they became fools To quote a burgeoning theologian

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Mike Avendroth Sin makes stupid Sin makes you stupid

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Senseless To what degree are people stupid and senseless and foolish and moronic verse 23.

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Can you imagine? What's the degree exchange the glory of the incorruptible

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God for an image in the form of corruptible man and a birds

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There wasn't so sick. It'd be funny four -footed animals and crawling creatures

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And they did it deliberately They did it purposely Determined Substitution with sweat and toil and focus.

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We are worshippers. We can't worship that God. So we'll have to make up our own Now look at the consequence.

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Look at what happens to a society found in the next few verses 18 to where we are now 23 is the cause here's the consequence and You will not see

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God standing by as a spectator Theistically winds everything up just lets it go.

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You'll see God actively involved in Condemnation especially when you see these three words three times

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God gave them let's use four words. God gave them up verse 24 26 28 God gave them up.

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God gave them up. God gave them up God active God initiating. God is the one doing it The unalterable fact of the universe is sin leads to more sin and this is going to be called divine abandonment

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Punished by the thing that you love verse 24 First God gave them

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Down in verse 24. Therefore God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity Their bodies that they might be dishonored among them

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God didn't just say let's let nature take its course God willed it He removed the restraint and he does specific acts of judgment

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Reminds me of judges 10 you have forsaken me and served other gods Therefore I will deliver you no more go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen

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Let them deliver you in the time of your distress That's America crying out to our gods of self and money and success and no one can deliver

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Looking God gives him over to the lust of their hearts to impurity in uncleanness dirty matter

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With all the porn industry friends with benefits hooking up you can just see it all God punishes sin

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By abandoning the sinner to sin the way he wants to sin Judicial abandonment

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God says I'm going to give you over to what you love to do

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I'll let you have uninterrupted sin Kind of reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar, right?

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Nebuchadnezzar said everything in this Place is mine. I did it all me myself and I the unholy

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Trinity I did all this look at me and if you look at the world and say you did it all if you're a ruler and You look at the the realm that you have and you think you run it all.

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What is that? That's insanity That's madness

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That's straightjacket kind of thing And so God says the Nebuchadnezzar you want insanity your insanity is at a level 9 now now it's at a level 10

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Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled He was driven away from mankind and began to eat grass like cattle

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His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagle's feathers and his nails like birdclaws

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You want to act insanity? Then here's insanity for you Act like a cop That's insane

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Jesus talked to the false teachers in Matthew and he gave them three words that you never want to hear from God Let them alone

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So let him be It's one thing if God was chasing in them and disciplining them, but it's another one.

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He says, you know what Jesus said? Just let him go divine abandonment

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Israel in Hosea 14 for Hosea 4 Ephraim or Israel is joined to idols

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Let him alone So when God lets a nation alone You see the news, but now let me interpret it for you.

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Theologically Romans 125. We need to hurry up for the exchange the truth of God for the lie

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God doesn't exist and Worship and serve the creature rather than the

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Creator who is blessed forever They gave veneration to creatures

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For this reason verse 26 God gave them over there it is number two to degrading passions You want to know what a vile affection is something dishonorable or evil?

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It's clear as day sinful For their women exchange the natural function for that which is unnatural verse 26

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ESV says for their women exchange natural relations for those that are in contrary to nation lesbianism

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It's dishonorable verse 27 and In the same way also men

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Abandon the natural function of the woman First God abandons them now they abandon what they're supposed to do and burned in their desire toward one another men with men

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Committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error

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For their disgraceful passions God judges When the ultimate penalty we know what that is

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Verse 28 the final God gave them over and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge

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God any longer God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper a

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Mind that's disapproved a mind that does improper things fitting for wrath

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Deliberately a mind that doesn't pass the test and then he just gives a huge list Look at verse 29 being filled don't miss that being filled not 10 % not 50 % being filled

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Glutted satiated over -the -top with all unrighteousness wickedness greed evil full of envy murder strife deceit malice

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They're gossip slanders haters of God insolent arrogant boastful inventors of evil disobedient to parents without understanding untrustworthy unloving

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Unmerciful and to top it all off There are sinful people that clap others into hell

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They give them attaboys all the way to perdition and although they know the ordinance of God That those who practice such things are worthy of death

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They not only do the same But they give hearty approval to those who practice them and Over my dead body.

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Am I going to call sin? righteous I'm not going to be mean and vile and unfriendly and loving to homosexuals

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But I will be loving by saying this is sin and I will not applaud or celebrate any sins behavior

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That's the bad news The good news is when society is the darkest

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The gospel light is the brightest, isn't it? This is actually better to be in Massachusetts for all the times

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I blast Massachusetts kind of and you think after 14 years, I wouldn't do it any longer But now

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I have job stability able to If you were in the south

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Where everybody's a Christian it just becomes more difficult from the human perspective not from God He knows the energy general act he'll bring them to the preaching gospel

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But just everybody says they're a Christian at least in Massachusetts. We live in such a corrupt and vile and decaying society

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It's pretty easy to tell people who act like they're born again, isn't it? It's pretty easy to find people who say you know what?

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I'm a born -again Christian and I've been born from above Saved by the blood of the lamb and I'm here to try to live out my life as a sacrifice of thanks to this

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God And everybody else who doesn't act that way or talk that way or we might be Misunderstanding or we don't have full knowledge, but in general when

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I don't meet those kind of people do you know what they need? They need to know about the son who did everything well -pleasing to the father.

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Who's the perfect sinless sin bearer? I'm so thankful that God is sovereign and I'll never forget when

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I talked to MacArthur in 1999 He's here in Worcester preaching and I was kind of giving him the litany of how tough things were in,

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Massachusetts Coming out of Logan. He looked over at me and he said Mike, I think the gospel is powerful enough to save people in New England, don't you?

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There's another mic in the car Would you stop beating your wife? I mean what am I gonna say?

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When the church gets crushed The church prospers Persecution the real church prospers

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Russia when there's persecution the church Prospered now the doors are open all kinds of false teachers all kinds of one of these because why

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If you're an unbeliever and it costs you something to be in a church, you're out of that church I sometimes so wish we would start getting to be

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Taxed if you're a Christian and right outside the door today The IRS people are there for this year's taxes

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And if you call yourself a born -again Christian you give them your social security number and it's going to cost you five grand this year

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I'm not so sure we would need another building The martyrs blood is a seedbed of the church and God's in control

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We don't have to be worried Here's my focus on this is so you can analyze the society and say

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God I should have been that person I was the person who exchanged the lie and I was worshiping people sex kids money

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Power instead of you who the creator who's blessed forever and you saved me and now use me to preach the gospel to save other people

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Not Bad news the light that Jesus talked about you're the light of the world shines greatest in the darkest places

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Well next week, we'll get back to first Corinthians chapter 6 12 and following Let us pray

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Lord in heaven Living God maker of heaven and earth

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We are very very thankful. You've loved us enough to give us your word to tell us exactly specifically

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About my kids if I tell them To go do something without specific instructions.

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It just turns into frustration and yet you've specifically told us What is a church? How is a church to operate?

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What is our message? What is a Christian to say to unbelievers? What's the message to every kind of sinner that we ever meet?

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How great is the gospel for every person that would look to Christ they will live Starting off today

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Lord of the baptism. It's good to know that you're a God who saves For those in the congregation today who know homosexuals enslaved to that sin

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I pray that you'd use our people to love their friends and family With the gospel and father for those today

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Who look down upon homosexuals as somehow less than image bearers. I pray that you would grant them humility and repentance

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Father we are all sinners and we all are in need of the gospel of Christ.