February 03, 2015
Partially Inclusive
I’ve attended a few churches
who are proud of being all inclusive and on two separate occasions I’ve heard comments
that gave me pause. One man joked, “Everyone is welcome here. He,
she, them, or it!” In another situation a woman attempted humor, “Bring
your spouses — whatever their sex is!” It strikes me as odd that people of
faith purport to love homosexuals and extend to them the right hand of
fellowship, but yet they make them the brunt of jokes and poke fun at their
life style. “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is
good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor
one another above yourselves” (Ro 12:9-10 NIV).
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----People are errant either because they do not think deeply enough into a situation, or because they disagree with elements of the situation no matter how deeply they think. Everyone does some of both, and the Bible warns against becoming trapped in foolishness by either process. I believe the former is more of innocent mistaking, and the latter is more passively hostile. I notice most of my difficult situations and most of those of my friends are of the former reason. Contemporary Americans are a full action people, not highly indulgent in contemplation, and weak in the knowledge and skills of reason and logic. So we make mistakes like these you illustrate.
-----The Bible nowhere sets down a technical definition of love. But it does lay out a very practical definition in I Corinthians 13, and a very complete expose of it throughout. In saying love is not arrogant, Paul is saying it is humble. Humility deals with what is. Arrogance deals with what is wanted. Religious people can be super arrogant because eternal, blissful life is a thing super wanted. Of course, that such life is so wanted does not make it arrogance. Not dealing with what is does. Then, super wanting life serves also humility which holds hope in the face of a seemingly empty reality.
-----The Bible strongly exhorts us to gain knowledge, wisdom, and understanding and to deal with our situations from what of these we have gained. We do not proceed far into the new life before we have come to the knowledge and awareness that eternal life hereafter and life in Christ now are to be desired and are gained by humble submission to Christ. This is good according to both reasonable acknowledgement and scriptural teaching. Love does not desire destruction and anguish upon its objects. It desires only good for them. So, in desiring good for them, it does not necessarily desire what its object wants. For often what people want is destructive.
Then, the Bible proclaiming homosexuality to be a sin, and any practitioner of sin to be a nemesis of God and eventually left eternally without God or good, how can one bless the practicing homosexual with fellowship acknowledgement and be loving him at the same time?
-----Rather, I offer that to love the homosexual is to tell him the truth, not to lie. It is not that the practicing homosexual has no place in the church. That just does not think into the situation deep enough Scripturaly. Outsiders do have some presence in the church, otherwise Paul would not have addressed their difficulty in understanding the church communications if they were done in tongues (I Cor 14:23.) The homosexual contemplating surrender to the Lord has a place in the church. The one not contemplating surrender, yet even harboring animosity against the Lord has no place in even an inch of the church as neither do the unrepentant murderers, thieves, liars, whisperers, and bubble gum pilferers. The disciple of Christ truly loving these will tell any of them that their repentance is the first order of business in bringing them to the communion table from being a fly on the wall. Fellowship in the church is the place of the repentant, but not of the unrepentant
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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