A Too Familiar Problem

My first year in Havelock I was messaged by an old friend who had turned to a life of homosexuality.

His goal was to try and convince me that God didn’t care about homosexuality and that grace meant that a person could do whatever made them happy, and therefore the church need take no stand against this lifestyle.

When I confronted him with multiple scriptures that said the exact opposite of his position his response astounded me.

He did not try and manipulate scripture or deny that that is what it said. He simply said he no longer excepted scripture as a representative of God’s authority.

That isn’t how he worded it as such but that was the essence of it. What he told me was God had given him a divine revelation that these things were no longer bad, as the original purpose was to make sure the world was well populated but now that it is, it is no longer relevant.

This was his main theme, relevance. The bible was written by men with agendas, homophobic’s probably, who feared what they did not understand. Then more men selected what would and would not be included. That is referencing the canonical process , and therefore it is not to be taken at face value but can be selectively read.

I told him the flaw in his argument and defended the reliability of scripture. I assured him that sin was still wrong and grace was not a get out of jail free card but through repentance could be a get out of sin card.

That Jesus has no desire in forgiving our sins so we can freely and willingly keep committing them.

This conversation happened over 10 years ago and the problem has only gotten worse, since then.

We are living in a time when people want to change the line of morality as if they have the authority to do so. They claim to have new revelation which is contrary to The Word of God, and their argument is the Word is no longer relevant, because we are living in “2020” as if God’s Holy Standards change depending on the year.

So how do we respond to such blatant false teaching and direct attack of The Faith and of Scripture.

You might be surprised to find out this is not a new problem but actually a very old problem. Almost as old as time itself, relatively speaking.

In fact there is a book in the bible which sole deals with this exact problem, and we are going to read the whole book today.

Turn with me to

Jude 1 NLT

This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ.

Jude 1–25 NLT

This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love. Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. So I want to remind you, though you already know these things, that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful. And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment. And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment. In the same way, these people—who claim authority from their dreams—live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings. But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body.) But these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction. What sorrow awaits them! For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion. When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness. Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want. But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted. They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them. But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives. Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.

How do we respond to those who try and cheapen God’s Marvellous Grace?

Show Mercy with Great Caution

Me: video of man rescuing a moose.

Did you see how carefully the man rescuing the moose was?

Why do you suppose this was? Because the moose, which can normally be very dangerous, was stuck and worked up and may have seen the attempts to save it as an attack and so it may have hurt the rescuer.

We: What does that have to do with what we are talking about?

Simple working with people can be dangerous , and when those people believe a lie from the enemy so deeply and are stuck in sin so deeply any attempt to help them will most definitely look to them as an attack and they will lash out. More over they will try and convince us of the lies they believe and in so doing end up getting us stuck in the same mess they are.

So any attempt to show mercy like the man was showing to the bull moose should be done with great care, and Jude would go so far as to say hating the sins that contaminate their live.

Again why so we do not become contaminated by them ourselves.

God: There is so much good stuff in this book I could go on for hours but let me just hit on a couple highlights.

Jude 4 NLT

I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

verse 4

Jude 7 NLT

And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 88.279 ἀπέρχομαι ὀπίσω σαρκὸς ἑτέρας

ἀπέρχομαι ὀπίσω σαρκὸς ἑτέρας

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 88.279 ἀπέρχομαι ὀπίσω σαρκὸς ἑτέρας

(an idiom, literally ‘to go after strange flesh’) to engage in unnatural sexual intercourse—‘to have homosexual intercourse.’

Jude

Jude 23 NLT

Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

You: Have you come against this with people you love but do not love the things they are doing? What is you response. Show mercy but be careful and remember sin is not Good.

We: We can not see people saved if we leave them in the pit.

Next Step: Find the scriptures you will need to have such conversations.