All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17, NASB)

The Christian Must Listen To God First; And After That To People

Yes, you read that right; I do believe the time has come to rethink how we’re handling the issue of homosexuality in the Body of Christ. But maybe not like you think. As a former Roman Catholic, and now pastor-teacher who adheres to the Biblical doctrines of grace, I am willingly bound—like Jesus Christ before me—to Sola Scriptura. Simply put, God’s Word in the Bible is the final authority on all matters touching faith and morals. And where it speaks clearly, I must also proclaim clearly; this, no matter the personal cost. Having been given a shepherd’s heart by God when He regenerated me I do happen to love people; but, that love also includes the willingness to tell them the truth.

My early, and informal, training in ministry circa 1988 came long before I was called as pastor while planting a mission church in 1994 or was ever given the Apprising Ministries website. Initially my labor in the Lord was studying Scripture for hours a day and then going around the city where I lived talking about Jesus and His Gospel with anyone who wished to discuss it with me. Being that my secular career, which began right out of high school, was as an on-air radio personality—back in the day that was called a disc jockey—it was always easy for me to begin discussions with people. And something the Lord taught me very early on was to really listen very carefully to what people were actually saying. 

Not only will people warm up much more readily to someone they see as willing to really listen to them, but you also will learn an awful lot, and in rapid order. Being that I felt called into apologetics and Comparative Religions it was always very interesting to me—and still is—to listen as people shared about what they believe concerning religious matters. Now mainly I have given the reader this background in order to make a critical point so often missed today: While everyone has every right to feel about and/or to believe whatever they want to (within reason), what someone feels and/or believes has exactly zero to do with the subject, in this particular case, Who God really is and what He has revealed to mankind.

For example, you can sincerely believe with all your heart and feel very strongly that you just “know” president-elect Barack Obama is god (not as far-fetched as you may think); but, it will never change the absolute fact that he is not. My point is, when it comes to matters of Who God is and how can one can come to know Him, all opinions, views, feelings, beliefs, etc. must be tested by Scripture and never the reverse. Which brings me now to why I said it’s time to rethink how we as Christians are attempting to handle the issue of those who are unrepentantly practicing homosexuality and then making the claim that while doing so they have become Christians.

But What Is There To Discuss; If You Actually Believe What The Bible Says

And before anyone wonders further, as a former professional musician once living in Los Angeles I have personally known many homosexual people; as a matter of fact a friend of mine, whom I also worked for, was quite open about his homosexuality. So that said, by now you may know Emerging Church theologian Tony Jones, who despite our differences I do respect for going on the record publicly, has recently confessed:

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. (Online source, bold theirs) 

To his credit Tony Jones is speaking candidly and clearly on his position and because of this I’m hoping that a certain popular Emergent Church figure affecting scores of younger people—and now through his Nooma DVDs in conservative mainstream evangelical churches as well—will also be man enough to go on the record with his view concerning this subject, which I discuss further in Will Rob Bell Now Follow Tony Jones Out Of The Closet? Here now we arrive at the very heart of the matter and what it is that I’m driving at in this article. In the video clip below Tony Jones makes another very telling admission when he says:

And neither am I going to deny the fact that- (pause) Where I’ve come to on my opinion on this issue [unrepentant practicing homosexuals becoming Christians] is affected, not purely by the philosophical and theological arguments, but also by attending to the movements of my own spirit.

And trying to pay attention to how I think—and listening to—gay people, gay Christians talk about how their-they’ve-how they’ve lived their lives in such a way so that—in their estimation—they’re in accord with Biblical Christianity. And so giving—I wanna give the philosophical its due; but for me, I’m also going to-I have to attend to the existential, for me, because I know that’s been a part of what I’ve come to… (2:54-3:46)

What Jones says above, while well-meaning, is a repudiation of Sola Scriptura and illustrates perfectly my central point above. The fact is Tony Jones has just told you that after all the philosophical and theological arguments, when all is said and done, he has come to his decision that “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” by “the existential”; in other words, by how he personally feels after “attending to the movements of my own spirit.” However, for the Christian in any issue relating to faith and morals our existential, highly subjective opinions, and/or notoriously fickle feelings are irrelevant.

The only question that actually matters is for those of us who are ambassadors for Jesus Christ is: What does the Bible say about the issue at hand; in this case the practice of homosexuality. And herein lies the bigger, issue within the issue, which God is laboring to bring out to His slumbering evangelical leaders: Protestant evangelicalism continues give its lip service to the Bible as being the final authority in matters of faith and morals, but when it really comes right down to it—in the end—a critical life issue such as homosexuality is now being decided by how one feels about it rather than what the Lord has already, and quite clearly, told us — “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22, NASB).

Those of you who are familiar with Christian apologist and cult expert Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989) know that circa 1985 he said:

We are more concerned in the United States about the rights of homosexuals than we are about Who Jesus Christ is and what He did. We’re more concerned with social issues in the United States in the Christian church denominationally than we are with those who are dying in their sins without the Gospel. We are very concerned about everything except the things that really matter.

Men and women, the truth is this stuff comprising the heart of the concerns of so many in the Emergent Church, with their reimagined social gospel of the original cult of liberal theology, is nothing new at all. No; now that this semi-pelagian and ecumenical Emerging Church is firmly established within the mainstream of evangelicalism, what is new is the open embrace of decidedly non-Protestant and egregiously existential Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM). And, as it relates to the subject of homosexuality, those of us familiar with Martin’s constant and consistent defense of Sola Scriptura also know what he’d say to men like Tony Jones and Rob Bell, each of whom practice this spurious CSM — “What really is there to discuss; if you actually believe what Bible says?”

But how very, very sad; at this late hour when she needs it most, there seems to be no voice like that of Dr. Walter Martin to be heard within the Bride of Christ:

…the only way you can deal with this is to bring it out in the open and let people see it for what it really is: It’s filth, because it is attacking at the very core the character and nature of Holy Scripture, and making the Scripture say what the Scripture does not say…

See also:

WALTER MARTIN SPEAKS TO THE EMERGING CHURCH THE CULT OF POSTLIBERAL THEOLOGY WITHIN THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION

BRIAN MCLAREN, THE EMERGING CHURCH, AND HOMOSEXUALITY: WHAT’S SO HARD ABOUT THAT?

TONY JONES AND THE EMERGENT CHURCH: “CHRISTIAN” GAY IS A-OK

EMERGENT CHURCH OPENLY ACCEPTS PRACTICING HOMOSEXUAL “CHRISTIANS”

PRACTICING HOMOSEXUAL BISHOP GENE ROBINSON: “THIS IS WHERE GOD IS LEADING THE WHOLE CHURCH”

EMERGING CHURCH: “GAY AFFIRMING PASTOR” JAY BAKKER ON A MISSION FROM GOD