The Sin of Condoning Sinful Acts

As a Christian I am often erroneously criticized as a hate-monger because of my beliefs on subjects such as homosexuality. "How can you call yourself a Christian when you hate homosexuals?" - a question that has been put before me more than once. My simple reply is that I don't hate homosexuals, I hate the sexual act that is homosexuality and as a Christian I love all men and women. In God's eyes any sexual act outside the bonds of marriage between a man and a woman is a sin. So trying to be like Jesus, I hate the sin and love the sinner, be it heterosexual affairs or homosexual affairs.
In fact, you can not be a true Christian and stand idle or condone those who are practicing homosexuals or those who engage in any sexual relation outside the bonds of marriage.
Paul, in the book of Romans, instructs Christians to not condone or approve of those involved in any sinful practice, including homosexuality. In Romans 1:26-27 Paul exposes those who are homosexuals - both men and women - as engaging in unnatural relations, the result of "shameful lusts." In verses 28-31 he goes as far as to group homosexuals with a bevy of other wicked and evil sins such as deceit, murder, gossip, slander, God-haters, arrogance, and even those who simply disobey their parents to name but a few.
For faithful Christians though God has given warning concerning condoning or tolerating sinful acts. Romans 1:32 explains that they know what God has said concerning those sins and that simply approving of those who do them are worthy of death. The verse is principally speaking to those who are engaged in those sins, and by extrapolation it is applied to those who are faithful Christians as well.
But this story doesn't end there. God is about love. The theme of the Bible is love. In fact Mark 12:30-31 puts it very plainly:

[30] "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. [31] The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

So while we are not to condone the sinful actions of others, we ARE to love all mankind - even our enemies and those that persecute us (Matthew 5:43).
Remember, none of us are perfect for ALL have sinned (Romans 3:23) and while we are not to condone the sins of others we ourselves must always look to correct our own sins too (Luke 6:42).

Comments

What's in a Name

Sometime ago I made an entry in my Handprints blog about my name. At the time I had intended to make a second entry about names in relation to Christianity. So, once again I ask, "What's in a name?" Just as a name is important because it gives us an identity, it helps others to know who we are. In the religious world names are even more important. In a very broad sense a name identifies a religion in general terms and encompasses many varied beliefs. For instance, in the Muslim world there are many different sects or religious factions but all have Mohammed at their core. So it is in Christianity. There are many religous sects that have Jesus at it's core. In a specific sense people take on the name of their sect - Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, Protestants, etc., etc.. But where do they get the authority to call themselves such? The Bible certainly doesn't justify a religious body to name themselves whatever they want anymore than it justifies naming the...

Is Worship Entertaining?

Recently I had a discussion with a friend about the music where I attend worship services. “I could never go there,” she said “without a band or choir it just wouldn’t be entertaining.” I believe persons who make such statements have completely missed the point of attending “church.” While we should be edified and uplifted by our worship, it is not our purpose to be entertained in church. When we are entertained we reduce God to nothing more than an excuse to listen to a performance. God never intended his house to be an entertainment venue. He intended his church to be a place of worship and reverence to him. The New Testament instructs us to gather every Sunday (Acts 20:7) to worship him in prayer ( I Cor. 14:15, Acts 2:42; 12:5), singing songs and psalms and spiritual psalms one to another (Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16), to remember the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ by partaking of the Lord’s Supper (I Cor. 11:23-29), to give to the church ((I Cor. 1...

When are we to go to church?

I was asked the other day why I go to church so much. My initial response was “first, because I want to and secondly because God has directed his people to assemble to worship him on the first day of every week (Sunday).” The writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews points out that some of the early Christians had made a habit of not assembling together (Hebrews 10:25), indicating that coming together as a group of like-minded persons was an essential element of having a good Christian life. It stands to reason then that not assembling together to worship is not beneficial to those who desire a strong Christian life. But how often are we to come together as a group to worship? Acts 20:7 says “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.” First let us note that this verse clearly tells us that ...

Alētheia

Search This Blog