What Should Be the Christian’s Attitude Toward Homosexuality?

This is core Christianity, where answering your questions about the Christian life Monday through Friday. Your hosts are author and seminary professor Dr. Michael Horton and Pastor atrial Sanchez call right now with your question.

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The core that's 1-833-843-2673 and now here's atrial Sanchez hello and welcome to another episode of the entity were so excited to be together.

I'm with Prof. Michael Horton, and where answering your questions about the faith. One thing we struggle with this Christians forgiveness.

According to Barna, 38% of Christians say they have not received unconditional forgiveness from someone else. 27% say they can identify someone they don't want to forgive 23% say they can identify someone they simply can't forgive and 22% say they struggle to receive forgiveness for something. Forgiveness is at the heart of the Christian gospel and the church plays a really important role when it comes to communicating that gospel to the world, will James reached out to us with the question about the relationship between the church and forgiveness.

He asked us on Facebook. How do you understand John 2023 if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness for many it is withheld is Jesus saying that the church can either deny people forgiveness or forgive in the place of God.

Yeah, thank you James. Great question was no somebody who reads their Bible well when they ask a question like this is counterintuitive.

We can only get this from the Bible right so Jesus says if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.

If you withhold forgiveness for many it is withheld. In Matthew 16 and again in Matthew's 18 Jesus further tells his disciples that whatever they bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever they loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. And that's in the context of church discipline. He's talking to the apostles and he's talking to them about basically about the guidelines for exercising church discipline.

If there's a dispute among the believers. Jesus says, and they can't settle it between themselves. Then tell it to the church where the elders are given the authority. This is what we call the keys of the kingdom. That's what Jesus called church discipline. The keys of the kingdom.

If somebody rejects that authority. There rejecting Christ's authority there there to be cast out of the church there to be excommunicated now. The goal is never excommunication the goals reconciliation and forgiveness. But if they refuse that if they refuse to go along that process and be admonished by the church. Then they are to be treated like an outsider. Jesus says, but the main way that this ministerial authority is exercised in the church is by the preaching of the word baptism and the Lord's supper right. This is the great commission going to all the world preaching the gospel making disciples of all nations by preaching the gospel, baptizing them in the name of the father the son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe everything that I've commanded you by the proclamation of the gospel. Dungeon doors are opened and sinners are forgiven, baptized and admitted to holy Communion. Those of the keys of the kingdom. That's how the kingdom of God. The doors are opened up so that that we can walk safely through them in the kingdom of God.

Paul, in fact calls this the ministry of reconciliation. In second Corinthians 518 so we proclaim the law, whether in public or private, as God's ambassadors.

We are binding people's consciences when we proclaim the gospel were freeing their conscience from the fear of death and hell. This is really serious business. When it is why we say we have to be part of a local church.

Christ has entrusted his authority to his ministers to speak in his name. That's what these passages all point to. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld so the church has what we call a ministerial authority under Christ, not the magisterial authority as if the church could determine who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.

But we from our side of things must assume that if the church as Christ's ambassador on earth binds us. Basically, under the censures of excommunication that we are excommunicated from the kingdom of heaven, and if the church announces to us the free forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ and we embrace that. Then we are loosed from our sins that happens every Lord's day. That's why, in our churches. Many of our churches. We have what's called the public absolution or declaration of forgiveness where the minister says in the name of Christ and on the authority of his words, not me here. I'm I miss ambassador on just you know, a messenger, but in the name of Christ and on the authority of his word.

I declare to you that your sins are forgiven you are loosed from your sins. What a wonderful thing to hear is your sitting there having confess your sins to the Lord you you know how you offended him and thought, word and deed, not only by what you've done, but failed to do. Here he is in, through the lips of the minister, a fellow sinner through the lips of a fallible, sinful man, Jesus Christ himself is saying I absolve you go and sin no more. If you are listening right now and your your thinking is you hear all of this or what have never heard any of the me because I think this idea of that authority that the church has ministerial authority given to her by Christ whereby through the preaching of the gospel. The preaching of the law. The church is binding and loosing the minister is an ambassador of Christ is declaring the forgiveness of our sins that is so foreign to so many Christians today mean I think you read a verse like that in John chapter 20. Many people do. They just have no idea where to put that in radiology in their understanding of the church and that's why we need to go back to the Scriptures over and over and over again to say okay what is this saying and what is it mean for me and certainly I think one of the big takeaways for us and for many people is God loves his church and he uses his church in powerful ways in our lives.

So much so that he's given to the church the keys of the kingdom of heaven through the preaching of the gospel, and we take that seriously. Yeah, we swing like a pendulum. Don't wait. We either have a tyrannical church that confuses its authority with Christ's and basically says that what ever the church says Christ says and abuses that power or are we swing to the other end and say the church has no authority and church doesn't even matter church the same amount I go to church but I certainly don't have to receive forgiveness as if Christ gives it through the lips of this menace.

What are you talking about here. I certainly don't have to respond to the elders if they call and ask me about something going on in my life.

I have no obligation to them well. These passages are are are right in your face. I mean we have to deal with these passages that very clearly say otherwise. The church is not the master Christ is, but the master has given the authority to his church to speak in his name. Thanks for that question. Hope that response is helpful for you, and encouraging is an email from Robert who asked what should be the Christians attitude toward homosexuality in general and particularly in positions of leadership in the church.

Robert, this is a very relevant question today into the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States in the middle of a split right now over this very question. I think our attitude toward homosexuality should be in line with what the Scripture says about it. It's a heinous sin.

It's a deviation from what God designed for human sexuality and persons who are gay or lesbian should not hold positions of leadership in the church.

Paul outlines very clearly the qualifications for leadership in the church in first Timothy three and Titus chapter 1 what are the qualifications he gives is that a person must be above reproach, sexual sin, that homosexuality is disqualify someone from holding office in the church like adultery or exactly here's a fear that I have.

I'm afraid that in our zeal to stand up for the biblical definition of marriage and the Christian sexual ethic will forget the call of Jesus on our lives, to love and pursue our neighbors. Even the ones who are gay and lesbian you don't have to agree with someone to be good to them. I think sometimes we can so demonize people that we dehumanize them and then justify why it is that we don't have to love them.

Jesus calls you to love gay and lesbian people. That doesn't mean you celebrate homosexuality or affirm their sexual preferences. I actually think that wouldn't be loved on other that would be a very unloving thing to do that yet firm them in there in no that would not be there in and sadly that's it. Some professing Christians are doing today but it does mean that you don't stick your nose up at them.

So here's what your attitude should be one that is grace filled and biblically-based typically based means you don't shy away from calling sin. What the Bible calls sin, but grace filled means like Jesus you love sinners you don't hide from them.

You pursue them you give your time or energy for their good showing hospitality and so I think we have to have a really clear stand on this as we as we approach the Scriptures and the Scriptures are clear on this issue, but that doesn't mean we don't have a responsibility to love our neighbors and that's just as important out the gospel does not do away with the law.

Try we are still obligated to God's commands, even if we aren't saved by those commands. A manual cynical Christianity and I'm with Prof. Michael Horton were answering your questions about the faith. If you have a question give us a call at 1-833-843-2673. That's 1833 the court.

You can also email us at questions at core, Christianity.com Christianity actually started off based off of a book that you wrote Mike and it's the special offer for today that we want to let you know about. Yeah, thanks a drill core Christianity is new set of book I wrote a couple of years ago and we built a study program out of that and then this radio program and a lot of Christians of have shared with me over the years how tough it is sometimes to see how the Bible holds together as one book and to see how the Bible is relevant for our lives today what's really important about the Christian faith and why do we believe the central doctrines that we hold dear.

I wrote this book to focus on the essential Christian beliefs, not just those of you particular churches and tradition. I belong to, but of the whole Christian family that what we all share in common is our treasure and show why they matter for us today so I think this book will really help you discover who God is and all he's done for you. It could also be a good thing to go through the group with your family or something that you give to an unbelieving relative or neighbor to take advantage of this offer. Just head on over to core Christianity.com/offers or give us a call at 833 the core and on behalf of the whole team here at core Christianity. Thanks so much for listing. Go get your copy of core Christianity today. Thanks Mike. Again, you can call us at 833-843-2673 for help receiving any of our offers us to call now from Jan there are Korean are coming, our cracker line at the Scripture Mexican-American. Thank you Jan God that had never gotten that question before having a program so Kabbalah is a form of Jewish mysticism that became popular among some Christians in the Middle Ages, especially through the New Age movement. Kabbalah has attracted a new audience today for help from theologians like Juergen Waldman to entertainers like Madonna. Frankly Jan there are lots of problems with Kabbalah isn't Christianity is impossible to merge Kabbalah with Christianity is really closely tied to the ancient heresy of Gnosticism which contradicts the Bible's doctrine of God, creation and salvation. The whole storyline from creation to how were reconciled to God. The nature of the self, and Re: are we divine will. Kabbalah says in her innermost being.

Your divine so you don't really need a Savior to rescue you there. There really is no point in the Christian message at which Kabbalah can be combined with the Christian faith.

If he asks I'd tell your friend gently that Christianity Kabbalah are just two completely different religions. Not that point.

You don't have to attack Kabbalah had on you could just say that there two different religions like Christianity and Islam or Grisanti in Buddhism, but more importantly I'd try to initiate a positive conversation about Christ, who is Jesus Christ.

Help her to see that only in Christ is there an answer to the guilt and domination of sin in the hope of resurrection is not patentable. Unlike the gospel Kabbalah has no historical grounding it is based purely on speculation and subjective feelings. It is just it's the invention of man over various centuries reflecting on their inner light, supposedly, but it's really inner darkness.

People often say well it works for me and it gives me empowerment in life. It's my thing.

But you know there's just no reason to entrust your everlasting destiny do something that's built in midair. That's what I would Savior. Your friend Jan I just tell her where you go at night when you put your head ahead on your pillow and you know that you're not divine inside you know that your center you know that you're helpless you know that you don't have the answers you know that you don't have the holiness to approach a holy God. What you do without. Do you have a Savior and you have a Savior whose proved that he is the Savior of the world by being raised on the third day yeah you know Jan Paul in second Corinthians chapter 11. He talked about the concern he had for the Corinthian church and one of the concerns that he had is that someone would come along and preach a different gospel in different Jesus to them. He says you you might you might listen to them later.

He says that even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and sometimes as is. Mike was just saying there.

You know, we can hear about these kind of new AG movements. Whatever it is to be Kabbalah been a number of things and will sell which seems like there's some real spiritual power there, and it works for me.

The truth is there are surgical powers at work affair but often times will every time when it's not from the Scriptures. It's another Jesus and so we have to be really careful and I really I think Mike was right.

I don't want to scare your friend away, but you want to focus on Jesus on his gospel, and on some of the dangers in in these other movements that are leading people away from the true gospel and in the end, the uniqueness of Jesus. This is the think is your friend will probably tell you Jan we talk about Jesus is there's a place for Jesus.

Well, yeah, there's a place in Kabbalah for Jesus. The way there's a place for Jesus in and Islam is a great prophet up a place for Jesus. Mormonism in Buddhism that says what he was one of the avatars. One of one of the bodhisattvas incarnations that were of the Buddha you find that in lots of religions where we have a place for Jesus.

He was one of the great� No, he wasn't one of the great� He is the second person of the Godhead of the holy Trinity who only solely ever became incarnate became a human being, not a God but the God who became incarnate not appear to be man as Kabbalah teaches, he actually became fully human. It's so important would say this to our you mentioned Mormonism adore Latter Day Saints friends listen. It matters Jehovah's Witnesses. Anybody who even professes to be a Christian who nevertheless embraces a Jesus Christ who is anything short of God in the flesh. The only the only incarnation of God the only Savior any faith that has a place for Jesus. Other than that place is not only different from but is hostile to the Christian gospel so important I can show to talk about this for the rest of the program. We have another question here from Jacob on Instagram.

He writes I'm confused about the passage in the Bible it says do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Is this really mean that I as a Christian cannot marry an unbeliever or is this passage talking about something else.

Yeah, thanks, Jacob sounds like you already know the biblical answer since you allude to being unequally yoked here and that second Corinthians 6 beginning at at verse 14 do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness.

What Accord has Christ with glial or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever.

What agreement has the temple of God with idols I mean is that the litany there of contrasts. Isn't it sounds awfully exclusive know what if people are of different religions and they get married they should be able to get along just fine will not at the deepest level, it all depends on what your treasure is, if your treasure is Christ, then of course you can't be united to somebody who doesn't share that treasure the thing that you value most as a human being the person you value most as a human being is not your spouse, but Jesus Christ, you can't share him together. Well, then you have no reason being married and so there is no longer any division between Jew and Gentile, as there was in the Old Testament, but the clean, unclean division still remains between those who are united to Christ and those who are not now.

Paul goes on to say that we shouldn't separate if we become a Christian.

After we got married and are our spouses and unbeliever, we shouldn't separate from her spouse, but instead live godly lives of love and support and graciousness before them, but we certainly shouldn't enter into marriage as believers with unbelievers.

Amen. Text referring to their later Mike first Corinthians 7. Paul also says you know believers are free to marry only in the Lord hated. I don't have all these we don't have a lot of restrictions in terms of the NAFTA look like this and they have to do this or that they have to be in the Lord, are they united to Christ if they are well. Believers are free to marry and so that that's the that's the Arboretum.

Yes, you listen to the core and we're answering your questions about the faith that we have time for one more question. Here's a call we received from Nathan and Pedro Nathan Brown, Washington.

There's a question about circuit both audience to 11 work talk about God giving them a great delusion. What does it actually say about God's character who is a transfer. Hope to hear from you soon thanks yeah thanks Nathan glad yes this one. This is, I think something that could really throw us for a loop.

If we don't see the whole context here. Second Thessalonians 2 beginning at verse nine the coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all the wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false in order that they may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Don't notice he says here Nathan that those who follow the lawless one are voluntarily deceived by his power and false signs and wonders, so here somebody this lawless one is a pretender. He's like an antichrist figure he comes along.

He says hey I'm I'm like Jesus were even better than Jesus. I'm a better profit.

Paul says there perishing because they refused to love the truth and so be saved or not perishing because God sent them a strong delusion there perishing because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in righteousness, so they're not in a neutral position here. And then God comes along and sends them a deception. Rather, they've already rejected the truth which is open them up to Satan's deception and God merely confirms them in this but don't forget the encouragement with the good news that follows in the very next verse, verse 13, but we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, loved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth to this, he called you through our gospel so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ is the wonderful that is, God confirms people in their rejection of the gospel and yet he reminds believers that it's only because God has chosen them that we aren't among those who are strongly diluted and that's the only way to be absolutely sure that the voice we hear is the shepherd who speaks a clear word to his people rather than the deceiving words that are all around us. Thanks for listening to core Christianity to request your copy of today's special offer. Visit us@corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu for or call us at 1-833-843-2673 that's a 33 core when you contact us.

Please let us know how you been encouraged by this podcast and be sure to join us next time. As we explore the truth of God's word together