[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n recent times, liberal philosophers and advocates have been advancing a sexuality agenda that seeks to establish homosexuality and similar sexual lifestyles as a natural order of life that must be embraced, accepted and welcomed by the rest of society.
At the core of their message, they have preached equality amongst men as the overriding principle that should guide the attitude of society in the way it responds to deviant sexual behaviors. Equality, yes. All humans are equal regardless of who or what they chose to sleep with. No man or woman ought to be jailed, killed or discriminated against on the basis of their sexuality. But the attempt to legitimize and institutionalize homosexuality using the name of Jesus is nothing short of Satanic.
I have nothing against homosexuals. As a pastor, I welcome them to my church. I do this with the understanding of the principle that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. The Jesus of the Bible loved sinners. He loved the sinner so much to leave them in sin, and that was why He died to SAVE men from sin. His name was called Jesus because He will save men from sin. For indeed on the cross He became sin. To misrepresent the love Jesus had for sinners with his endorsement or acceptance of their sins implies a very shallow understanding of the mystery of redemption. We should not confuse Jesus’ love for the woman caught in sin to mean He endorsed a lifestyle of adultery. Indeed, He said to her: GO AND SIN NO MORE. I am yet to find anything in this scriptural text or subtext, connotatively or denotatively that shows Jesus accepting her adultery!
When Jesus went to Zacchaeus’ house, he went as a man on a mission. His mission was to save Zacchaeus, a ‘son of Abraham’ from his lifestyle of cheating. Indeed, Zacchaeus repented and Jesus said unto him, “This day is salvation come to this house.” If by simply visiting the house of Zacchaeus, it meant that Jesus accepted his lifestyle of cheating, then Zacchaeus would have no need for repentance. In essence, the argument that Jesus’ friendliness with sinners meant his acceptance of their sinful lifestyle, is an argument dead on arrival.
Another attempt to stand truth on its head has claimed that Jesus’ ministry on earth bears no documentation of Him speaking directly about homosexuality and as such, this means he had nothing against homosexuality. There are many sins Jesus did not directly address based on the biblical account that we have of his time here on earth. Does this mean they are no longer sins? John’s account of Jesus tells us that “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written”. Perhaps, this is something to ponder on.
But the point in all of this is clear. If you meet Jesus, He will not condemn you, but His light will expose the darkness in you. And by His grace He will empower you to live right. The Jesus of the Bible, knew no sin. He is the sinless son of God. To this standard all Christians are called. To state otherwise is heresy.
I do not begrudge the liberals of this world who believe that a man can have sexual intercourse with a snake, a tree, a dog, a donkey or with anyone they please. They are free to carry on with any lifestyle they want. But leave Jesus out if it. The attempt to drag the Jesus of the Bible into the endorsement of any deviant lifestyle using the theory of “acceptance” is simply madness!
Jesus loves sinners but hates their sins. He was able to separate the sin from the individual. And that’s why redemption is so powerful because it is an invitation to the individual to DEPART from sin, not a condemnation for living in sin. Redemption understands that a sinner today can be saint tomorrow. The parable of the prodigal son who departed from his reprobate lifestyle and returned home in repentance was written for a time like this. The conversion of Saul (Paul) is a classical example of the power of redemption. Paul’s encounter with light changed him forever. After his encounter with Jesus, he did not continue going about killing more Stephens or persecuting the Church. He changed. That is what the love of Jesus does. It invites us to His truth and changes us when we embrace that truth. To interpret that love as some disingenuous acceptance of sin, is to pervert it. What such arguments are simply saying is that if Jesus loves murderers, then he also accepts murder; if he loves adulterers, then he accepts adultery; if he loves thieves, then he accepts stealing… and if he loves homosexuals, then he accepts homosexuality. This is not the truth. It is a demonic agenda advanced from the pit of hell.
Education, civilization or evolution cannot change the truth. The truth does not change. It does not evolve. If it does it is not the truth.
Sunday Ogidigbo is Lead Pastor at Holyhill Church Abuja. He tweets via @SOgidigbo.
The opinions expressed in this article are soley those of the author.
