[CS-FSLUG] God Didn't Say That

[Stephen J. McCracken]

Interesting thread.  I would like to reiterate a couple of comments:

Leon Brooks wrote:
> Practitioners of homosexuality are as thoroughly and explicitly excluded 
> from Heaven as are thieves and murderers. No more, and no less. As much 
> as we are called on to love and convert thieves and murderers to God's 
> side, so we are called on to love and convert those who choose to 
> practice sexual abberations.
> 

K Montgomery wrote:
 > But unfortunately, Christians and non-Christians alike continue to
 > miss the "big picture" by willfully isolating homosexuality as an
 > issue.
 > Christians do it to point a finger (or maybe just because they don't
 > know better).  Non-Christians do it to evade the real issue: Jesus
 > Christ.
 >

It is a hot point to pick out homosexuality as a big issue, but, as God 
has said:

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23, NIV)

and

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually 
immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all 
liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is 
the second death.” (Revelation 21:8, NIV)


We **all** need a savior, period.  If we start thinking otherwise, we 
will look a lot like the Pharisees of Jesus' day:

You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “ ‘These 
people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They 
worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’” 
(Matthew 15:7-9, NIV)

“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue 
and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the 
love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the 
former undone. (Luke 11:42, NIV)

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a 
doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but 
sinners.” (Mark 2:17, NIV)

I would hope that we would want to be known to be like Jesus who was 
called a friend of sinners:

    While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax 
collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When 
the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher 
eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
    On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a 
doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, 
not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 
  (Matthew 9:10-13, NIV)

My thoughts.

sjm