Harshness Is Not Necessary

[Guest lovinghim4ever]

I expect I'll catch a great deal of grief over this, but my heart and my motives are pure . . .

I am just so tired of all the condescending threads concerning homosexuals (and not just on this forum).

A person's convictions are, well, PERSONAL! I don't believe that every conviction I experience is meant for every person in the whole world.

When other Christians aren't quite living the convictions we think they should be living we immediately quote them all sorts of scripture in an attempt to get them back on the right track. However, when we aren't quite living the convictions other Christians think we should be living we can always somehow justify our actions with the same scripture we used against their convictions.

Double-standard? Sounds like it, but SIN is SIN; no matter what.

First Corinthians 6:9-10 says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."

God is a God of order, so please notice the order of things in this scripture. He mentions the adulterer before He mentions the homosexual. Significant? Probably, but I'm just not sure how!

In Matthew 5:32 Jesus Himself says, "Whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery."

Then, He says again in Matthew 19:9, "Whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."

So, if marrying an unfaithful divorced person causes us to commit adultery, does that mean we are living a sinful life as long as we stay married to that divorced person? And, does that mean we will go to hell if we are married to that divorced person when we die? I'm talking about Christians who marry and divorce AFTER becoming Christians.

I have always been taught that there is no one sin greater than another. Sin is sin in the eyes of God. So, if sin is sin, how can so many Christians justify adultery through divorce, but condemn love through homosexuality? And, yes, I believe some homosexuals are truly in love with one another because true love is not a feeling; it is a commitment.

Too many heterosexual Christians today enter marriage with the idea that if things don't work out they'll just get a divorce and move on to the next person. They somehow explain away the scriptures about divorce in an attempt to justify themselves before God. The general Christian society has accepted irreconcilable differences as an appropriate cause for divorce, but according to Jesus the only acceptable cause for divorce is adultery!

Many married heterosexual Christians cannot stay in a committed, loving relationship, but they condemn the homosexual who can. There goes that double standard again. We don't always have to agree, but we must always let others live their own convictions without taking offense, being harsh, or passing judgment.

Yes, if we love someone we tell them the truth, but we do it without harshness or harsh words.

No, I do not condone sin, but I do condone loving the sinner; no matter what their sin is. That's what God does!

His love is UNCONDITIONAL. It is not harsh, judgmental, or condescending. We as Christians must do the same.

***************************

harsh words . . . by Wayne Myers

harsh words betray their author

by themselves

no help required

each barb loops back

to wound the hand

that holds the pen

reopen scars

and deepen them

harsh thoughts condemn their host

a prison cage

no bars no lock

each insult brings more self-destruction

harms the soul

that holds them in

creates the space

where lies begin

harsh truths and sleepless nights

the poison

must be used to heal

selectively

with utmost care

distinguishing between the pain

you need

and that you don't

if you would break the chain

harsh worlds are ugly daughters

sour faced

unwelcoming

by seven roads you enter in

one only leads away

so kneeling, clothes torn,

ashes on my head

i pray

and pray

and pray...

[wyguy]

No, I do not condone sin, but I do condone loving the sinner; no matter what their sin is. That's what God does!

God never separates the sin from the sinner - ever. God doesn't throw the sin into Hell, He throws the sinner.

His love is UNCONDITIONAL. It is not harsh, judgmental, or condescending

Are you saying God is not judgemental? If He wasn't, there would be no Hell.

So, if marrying an unfaithful divorced person causes us to commit adultery, does that mean we are living a sinful life as long as we stay married to that divorced person? And, does that mean we will go to hell if we are married to that divorced person when we die? I'm talking about Christians who marry and divorce AFTER becoming Christians.

Jesus takes it one step further - He said you are guilty of adultery if you even look at a person with lust.

[Isaiah 6:8]

??? are you saying that if your in love then homosexuality is not a sin???

[peaches]

??? are you saying that if your in love then homosexuality is not a sin???

She is saying harshness in not necessary. She's also saying to not be hypocrites, to stop casting the first stone (we all have planks in our eyes!), to practice the biblical definition of Love.

[Isaiah 6:8]

thats fine, here is where my confusion is

And, yes, I believe some homosexuals are truly in love with one another because true love is not a feeling; it is a commitment.

I don't fully agree with this statement, also I would live to know what Lovinghim4ever thinks on that statement. I do not endorse judgement, but then again I do not defend sinful lifestyles however that comes about. I call outright sin what it is, Sin.

[Fez]

??? are you saying that if your in love then homosexuality is not a sin???

She is saying harshness in not necessary. She's also saying to not be hypocrites, to stop casting the first stone (we all have planks in our eyes!), to practice the biblical definition of Love.

I agree, I see the post as searching for answers, and writing the thoughts down. I often do that, it helps me think. We are all sinners, and there is no sin worse than another. If we grade sin, we live unde law, not grace. We are to practice grace, even though we can never live up to, even remotely, the Grace shown us by the Lord.

And yes, we do tend to place one sin above the other, and we all have "pet" sins. We should not. We are told to strive towards perfection, and we cannot do that if we cast the first stone.

I like this example.

We have a woman about to be stoned for adultry.

Jesus starts writing in the sand. What was He writing I wonder? The sins of those assembled?

He says, those without sin, cast the first stone.

Who among them was without sin?

Jesus was. He was without sin.

He could have cast the first stone, and under the law, which He had not yet fulfilled by His death, He would have had every right.

But He did not.

Why?

Because of Grace.

A grace we would be well advised to practice......

[Guest man]

It's easier to look at someone else's sin than it is to look at our own.

[Isaiah 6:8]

hey okay I think I understand better now

[Guest man]

but i don't think i've ever heard anyone say homosexuality is a worse sin.

I've seen it many times on these boards.

[e lansing]

Sin is sin, this is true. Should Christians judge? If it is there own opinion, no. If they are quoting scripture, then its not the person who is judging but the Word of God. Christianss are sinners and so because we are does this mean we should not quote scripture because we are not without sin? If this was the case how would we know that we are sinners and are in need of Gods forgiveness? Would God bless a homosexual relationship because they are faithful to each other? If He did He would have to bless all perversions, such as grown-ups with children, people with animals ect. We can never justify sin, no matter how innocent we may think it is. God wrote the book, these are His standards, if we have a issue with His Word, then we have a issue with God and if we have an issue with God we are more then likely wrong in our issue. Would it be more acceptable to you if only married people who have never been divorced quote scripture to the homosexual because they have not divorced and remarried? I believe that a lot of Christians will have a lot to answer for when they stand before God because they disregarded His will for marriage. The homosexual has no ground to stand on before God.

e