You’ve Been Warned

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13)

As a follow up to my short piece entitled The Effeminate Church and as a corollary to The Pilgrim’s article called Militant homosexuals bring the persecution I believe it’s both important and timely for the Body of Christ to spiritually face down the growing apostate contention that unrepentant sinners of every variety – including practicing homosexuals – can simultaneously be regenerate, born-again Christians.  This concept is a Biblical impossibility.

One of the big issues is homosexuality in the emerging church; they don’t want to take a position on homosexuality… A homosexual will not inherit the Kingdom of God (see-1 Corinthians 6:9-10); that’s pretty clear – John MacArthur

Let’s be clear at the outset here, true Christians ARE to reach out with the truth in love to practicing homosexuals just as we are to reach out to all those who are outside the family of God and without hope being dead in their trespasses and sins. 

Brannon Howse of Christian Worldview Network picked up Tony Jones’ unsurprising revelation at his own emergent blog:

With that in mind, I always responded, “I’m holding that issue in abeyance.  I haven’t made up my mind yet, and I’m in no hurry to.  Homosexuality,” I would say, “I one issue that I don’t want to get wrong.” – Tony Jones

And yet, all the time I could feel myself drifting toward acceptance that gay persons are fully human persons and should be afforded all of the cultural and ecclesial benefits that I am.  (“Aha!” my critics will laugh derisively, “I knew he and his ilk were on a continuous leftward slide!”)

In any case, I now believe that GLBTQ can live lives in accord with biblical Christianity (at least as much as any of us can!) and that their monogamy can and should be sanctioned and blessed by church and state.

Let’s not be confused here nor be too hasty to dismiss Tony Jones’ influence not only within the emergent church, but within the broader professing church itself.  It’s easy to think; “Well, he’s only one guy and there is a lot of bad teaching out there”, but if you’re a discerning Christian you will have noticed by now that the post-modern vain philosophies of the emergent/emerging church are deeply infecting the Biblically illiterate youth of our day who are being fed a steady diet of spiritual poison while sitting under the teaching of hirelings.  Men like Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Rob Bell, Dan Kimball and Brian McLaren are influencing an entire generation to embrace vain traditions and a re-imagined theology that runs contrary to the historic, orthodox tenets which are fundamental to the Christian faith itself!  This is nothing less than a Counter-Reformation!  Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries weighs in on this issue in his piece entitled EMERGENT CHURCH THEOLOGIAN TONY JONES AND HIS UNREPENTANT HOMOSEXUAL CHRISTIANS.

Along these same lines DefCon reader Caleb left an honest and saddening comment in response to “Militant homosexuals bring the persecution“.  Caleb said:

This is the reason why I’m totally baffled at how some Christians, even some within my own family, still believe that these homosexual activist groups only want “equality” and “civil rights” when their actions clearly show otherwise.

I think we all know people in our own lives who express the same kinds of sentiments as Caleb bemoans in his comment.  Expressions such as these ought to trouble us, even as we recognize and take advantage of such error-filled musings as opportunities to share the truth about Jesus Christ and His eternal Gospel of grace.

Dear friends and readers, the broader worldly culture has bought into a pernicious lie that one’s personal, deviant sexual preferences deserve special legal protections from the government due to an imagined “persecution” or lack of “rights”.  If the pro-homosexual lobby is really so concerned with persecution then why aren’t they demonstrating equal concern about the “persecution” of polygamists, polyamorists, pedophiles, necrophiles and every other sort of sexually deviant practitioner?  The reality is that there is no love of truth in this cause, there’s just the love of the cause itself and of their own personal brand of sinful sexual choice.

Due to the many years of rampant indoctrination of the masses by ”Political Correctness” - which is in truth an insidious form of intellectual/cultural Marxism - a system of lies has been relentlessly reinforced by the government educational system (public school), academia (college), the media (the devil’s little helpers), and even within the broader professing church (hirelings and wolves in sheep’s clothing) the result being that untold numbers of ill-informed and Biblically ignorant persons have believed the Satanic lie that rebellious, unrepentant sinners of every stripe – including practicing homosexuals - can actually inherit the kingdom of heaven!  Their mantra?  “I’m okay, you’re okay.”  But let it be known that the God of the Holy Bible utterly rejects such nonsense!

They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Psalm 14:3)

Within the broader professing church the goal of homosexual acceptance has been largely achieved not through the outright, overt embracing or condoning of the abominable practice of homosexuality, but rather by watering down the hard truths of scripture and “softening up” the men of God who ought to be the virile, militant defenders (ambassador-soldiers) of the faith, but who are instead turned into mealy mouthed, embarrassed, weak, prating, prancing, delicate men-in-skirts spiritual sissies who stand in stark fear of man. I heartily encourage you to read this short article entitled” Feminization of the Evangelical Man: Men More Interested in Nice Than Truth .

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (1 Corinthians 6:9)

The true church of Jesus Christ is at war; this is a spiritual reality (Matthew 16:18).  She is at war with supernatural evil forces and personalities that are opposed to the One True and Living God and Christians are ambassador-soldiers for Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:8; 2 Corinthians 6:7; Romans 6:13; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5).  The true church is militant – yes she is loving, yes she is a family, and yes she is at war (Ephesians 6:12).  True believers must therefore be, by their very nature, spiritually militant Christians.

My brethren, it’s my well considered opinion that this singular issue - the outright acceptance of rebellious, unrepentant sinners including practicing homosexuals within the church and considering them as partakers in the benefits of salvation and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven – THIS ISSUE has become the outward manifestation of decades of inward decay not only within the broader society, but within the church herself.  It is a faithful saying that men shall always reap what they sow, more than they sow, and later than they sow.  By and large the church has forgotten about the absolute holiness of God Almighty – oh how far she has fallen!

Today and for the past several decades the disobedient, sinful world has been sowing seeds of sexual perversion and the celebration of debauchery and decadence on a scale that would without a doubt rival the very worst excesses of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Many so-called “churches” today celebrate steamy, hot, satisfying sex from the pulpit as though the subject were the very plumb-line of Biblical orthodoxy when in fact said celebrations are nothing but tawdry public displays of the shameful, reprobate, unholy impurity of the harlot bride!  Carnal, sinful humans don’t need more encouragement to feed their flesh!  The foolish harlot thinks the world is laughing with her – *sex…tee hee hee* – when in truth they’re laughing at her.  But God isn’t laughing, and even if He were He’d be laughing her to scorn.

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark (Matthew 24:37-28)

I for one am persuaded that God’s judgment is not only coming, but is come.  I believe that He is using the sword of the militant atheists, homosexuals, and cultural Marxists to chastise the rebellion of his foolish virgin bride.  It’s time for the true church of Jesus Christ, the church invisible, the blood-bought remnant purchased on a gory, bloody Roman cross to once again stand up and shine forth as a city on a hill that can not be hidden. 

Men of God, rise up!  Stand up!  Be as bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1), as harmless as a dove, and as wise as a serpent! (Matthew 10:16)

It won’t be easy.

You will suffer persecution.

You may lose your job.

You may lose your family.

You may lose your own life.

But it’s worth it.

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.  For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?  For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:22-26)

Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. (Matthew 19:27-29)

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (James 4:4)

Some might accuse me of being “unloving” or complain that I’m employing hyperbole but in truth it’s none of this.  On the contrary I’m persuaded that many foolish virgins need to be shaken from their slumber in the day of opportunity and grace in order that they might obtain oil for their lamps before the hour becomes too late.

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them; but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you; but go rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch, therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 25:13)

Late, late, so late! and dark the night and chill!
Late, late so late! but we can enter still.

Too late, too late! ye cannot enter now.

No light had we: for that we do repent;
And learning this, the bridegroom will relent.

Too late, too late! ye cannot enter now.

No light: so late! and dark and chill the night!
O let us in, that we may find the light!

Too late, too late: ye cannot enter now.

Have we not heard the bridegroom is so sweet?
O let us in, tho’ late, to kiss his feet!

No, no, too late! ye cannot enter now.

- Alfred Tennyson