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by Charlie Wolcott

This is my final post in this series addressing Matthew Vines and his “10 Reasons why the Bible supports Homosexuality.” Here is a very brief reflection of what I have covered so far.

1) If we speak against homosexuals, that is bad fruit.
2) No one in Christian tradition spoke against a “loving, committed” homosexual relationship.
3) Celibacy is a gift, not a mandate.
4) Judgment on Sodom was not due to homosexuality.
5) Levitical laws on homosexuality do not apply to Christians.
6) Paul condemns homosexual lust, not love.
7) The very word “homosexuality” did not exist until 1892.
8) Marriage is not just about procreation; therefore, homosexuals should have access to it.
9) Sexuality is a core part of any relationship, so don’t deny homosexuals this part of humanity.
And today is #10: Look at the Christians who embrace homosexuality.

“From denominations like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterian Church (USA) to organizations like the Gay Christian Network and the Reformation Project, Christians across the country are already putting their commitment to LGBT equality in action. They’re showing their fellow believers what it looks like to be a faithful Christian who fully affirms LGBT Christians.”

This is the classic: “Everybody else is doing it” argument, except the sample size is rather small. I’m pretty sure Matthew Vines has compiled a longer list of those who embrace homosexuals. But this argument, like everyone before them, has nothing to do with actual Biblical support of homosexual marriage. Instead he points to others who claim to be Christian but not discerning if they are voices who should be heard. Westboro Baptist Church also claims to be Christian yet they resemble absolutely nothing about Christianity.

When the denominations who decided to embrace homosexuality did what they did, it was greatly frowned upon by the vast majority of the Bible-believing Body of Christ. Vines argues this is due to lack of tolerance for this “new identity,” however that is not the case at all. One of the jobs of the church is to hold back the tides of compromise and particularly that of evil.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the moral of society.”

The church as a whole the last 50 years has not done its job. In over 1900 years, those who called themselves by the name of Christ would die before allowing one alteration, one change to the Scripture. And today, in just one generation or two in America, the very term “Christianity” has become a term for a fluffy, wamby-pansy social group. The church was to be the bulwark that kept evil in society at bay. The church has since opened that door and is sleeping at the guard position. The church has removed the guard of the door and allowed the famed “Trojan Horse” into the church. Today, the church as a whole has been consumed from the inside out with self and with the world, and it does not resemble the light-bearing Christ at all any more. I heard Paul Washer once say that most churches outside America would excommunicate the vast majority of “American Christians” because our doctrine and our morality that reflects it shows nothing of God these days. As individual Christians, we need to have our guard up against the thoughts of sin, the thoughts of self, and the thoughts of the world. But the enemy has tricked us to thinking these things are good and because we have left the door open to those things and closed it when God wants in, the enemy has claimed stakes in our lives. If we as individuals do not keep sin out of our lives with the authority of Jesus Christ, how can we do the same in our church or in our nation? The American church has abdicated our responsibility to set the temperature of our culture and we have also ceased to even measure the temperature. We’ve let the world’s systems take over, and now we have reaped what we have sown. We have allowed sin to be accepted in the church instead of dealing with it. We’ve turned the church from being a hospital for the sick into a frat house and the sick never get well. They feel better, but only for an hour or two and by the time they get home they have no idea what happened in church. How can such a church be used as an example of a sound source of authority?

Matthew Vines cites churches that ceased preaching the truth and the Gospel of Christ a long time ago. They embrace homosexuals so they can look good in the secular eye, but there is only one eye that we need to worry for approval: God’s. The world can approve us and applaud us all day long and it will get us nothing. That approval is our reward and that is the best it will get

The truth is the truth no matter who believes it. If every person who claimed to be a Christian said homosexuality was fine, every person would be wrong because God said so. His word trumps every scholar and opinion you can muster. This is not a matter of interpretation. This is opening the door to a great evil that you cannot shut out once it is in. Matthew Vines has no intentions, from my understanding, of opening “Pandora’s Box.” He would not approve of the majority of the homosexual parading of their “pride.” He would just suggest that homosexuality should be practiced as regular marriage is. However, once he opens that door, he will not be able to stop the monster that comes with it. The world will not follow Vines’ recommendations for a homosexual relationship as is clearly shown. Some stats suggests homosexuals will have 500-1000 partners or more in cases. If Vines gets what he is asking for, what message does that send to those who live by the world’s standards? It sends a message that you can do whatever you want and God won’t be mad at you. Play with fire, and you will get burned, especially God’s fire.

The church is meant to be the light, the standard for what is true or not. When the church starts to embrace sin, it is a sign not merely that it is dying, but a sign it may already be dead. But as a Bible-believer, I cannot care what others say. I cannot care about if anyone else agrees with me or not. I must only care about what the Word of God says and to speak it, no matter what response I get. Sometimes I write to exhort and to build. Sometimes I write to warn about true and false teachings. Sometimes I write to express what God is working in me. But in all cases, I must write to speak the truth so that God be glorified. In all we do, let our light shine so that God may be honored in all areas of our lives. In our relationships, in our sexual activity, in our minds, in our jobs, in our day-to-day activities. In all areas, let God be glorified. I hope this series has helped you to see what is being put forth as “Christian” doctrine and how to discern what is true and what is false. When Jesus returns will he find faith? I pray he says, “Yes, I found faith in you” to me and to each of you reading my posts.

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