Tolerance vs. Righteousness

There has been a controversy recently at the Christian university at which I teach. One of our coaches was suddenly removed from her position. A rumor got started (I don't know whether it is true or false) that she was removed because she is a homosexual. She and the university have both said that they had reached a mutual agreement for her removal. She has not officially said it had anything to do with her homosexuality, although in my opinion she has implied it. The university president made an official statement that homosexuality is not used in university personnel decisions.

As the rumor circulated on campus and also in the local media (it also got some attention in the national media) that she was removed because of her homosexuality, there was a great outcry from some of the university financial supporters, a large number of students, and some of the faculty. These people believe that at a Christian university, the ideals of love, forgiveness and tolerance should be applied and therefore we should be accepting and she should not be removed from her position because of her choice of life partner.

This, of course, got me to pondering. What is right? Should a Christian university allow homosexual faculty? (Incidentally, our university has no requirements on our students relating to sexual orientation, gender, race, nationality, or even religion.)

The first thing I always consider: What does the Bible say?

"Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done." -Romans 1:24-28

"Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable." -Leviticus 18:22

So, it is pretty clear that the Biblical writers considered homosexuality wrong.

But, are those statements commands from God which he intends for us to follow today? That's not an easy question to answer, and would take a lot longer than a single blog post to address. A quick statement of my own view is that if we only believe part of the Bible and not all of it, then we're really making up our own religion, and there is, of course, no reason to believe that a made-up religion has any truth or validity. The Bible is the only source we have for determining God's will.

So, at least my viewpoint is that since the Bible says homosexuality is wrong, then God does not want us to practice it in the 21st century. I don't mean to speak for God - rather, I'm stating what I believe God wants us to do based on the available evidence. I can't say for certain what God wants - only God can do that.

It then follows that at a Christian university, in which faculty members are to provide Christian examples to the students, the faculty members should not be practicing homosexuals. Note that I said practicing, because I think someone who has homosexual urges and doesn't follow them is not sinning.

But, what about love, forgiveness and tolerance? They are important, VERY important! But, we have to be careful to follow the teachings of God and not the teachings of man. God has warned us of this many times:

"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight." -1 Corinthians 3:19

"If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing." -1 Timothy 6:3

"Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires." - 2 Peter 3:3

"But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, 'In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.' These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit." -Jude 17-19

"For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him." -2 Peter 2:18-19

"The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.' " -Isaiah 29:13-14

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." -Matthew 7:15

Issues relating to homosexuality are coming often to the forefront in our society, and each of us needs to ponder these issues with prayer, humility and study.

How to Be Happy!

We all seem to have a natural tendency to try to grab what is most pleasing to ourselves. How can I get more money? How can I get more stuff? How can I get nicer stuff? How can I get a nicer house? How can I get a better car? How can I be better looking? How can I live longer? How can I get more friends? How can I get cooler friends? How can I find something fun to do? How can I get to go on the vacation I want? How can I get a better job? I'm sure you can find some personal favorites to add here.

But, doing these things is the surest way to make yourself unhappy. If you take the attitude in the previous paragraph, you'll never be satisfied. You'll always want more, and you'll feel depressed, frustrated and mistreated that you can't get it.

It's really ironic. The quickest way to get unhappy is to try to find things/ways to make yourself happy.

There's only one path to happiness and contentment: Surrender your will to God! Think outwardly, not inwardly. How can I please God? How can I do what God wants me to do? How can I have the faith God wants me to have? How can I love and serve others? What is God's will for my life? How can I make prayer a bigger part of my life? How can I contribute to my church? How can I spend more time with the Bible?

Living your life for God frees yourself from the frustrating and pointless task of chasing the world's pursuits.

"Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' " -John 8:31-33

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." -Philippians 4:11-13

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want...But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." -Galatians 5:16-17, 22-24

Hand your life completely and fully over to the Good Lord Almighty, and you'll be setting your foot on the path to contentment!

Television

I'd like to add yet another voice to those who say that television shows are becoming more and more immoral over the last __ years. (Fill in the blank as you see fit: 5, 10, 20, 40 years.)

The show "Two and a Half Men" makes constant sexual references including nitty-gritty details. "Big Bang Theory" is mostly about the pursuit and capture of casual sex. "Friends" doesn't have quite as much casual sex, but it has a good bit, and the characters routinely lie and mislead each other. Through some inexplicable quirk, I was watching "That 70's Show" with my mother-in-law recently. (I still can't remember how that happened...) Up to then I had not realized how bad this show was. And, don't even get me started on "Family Guy," which makes the shows above look like choir practice.

Now, don't jump to conclusions about me. I'm not a fundamentalist, hang 'em high, Pat Robertson-hugging conservative. I'm not a prude. But, these types of shows, and similar cultural influences, gradually and almost unnoticeably eat away at the fabric of society.

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." -I Timothy 4:1-2

"For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you." -I Peter 4:3-4

"Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." -Romans 1:28-32

I remember a sermon in which the preacher said that our consciences are like an alarm. The first time we commit a certain sin, the alarm goes off loudly. The next time, it goes off, but a little less loudly. If we continue the sin, eventually the alarm will no longer go off. At that point, we begin believing the sin is no longer wrong, but acceptable. And in time, some people go on to believe that it is not only acceptable, but favorable, and they must enlighten others to do the same.

I really do believe that these cultural influences are gradually pulling our nation down. And they are especially deceptive, because most of these shows are funny and "cute." Might these influences be the reason for the behavior of people like Lindsey Lohan, who went from being a talented, beautiful, young actress and singer to a disaster? I don't think there's much doubt.

I'm a strong enough believer in free speech that such shows have the right to be on air, as long as the censors don't stop them. But, we Christians should not support and approve them by watching.

True Christianity?

There is a trend among Christians that I have been noticing in recent years that I think is harmful. I've been seeing it even more lately, and I've even been observing it at the Christian university at which I teach.

The trend is to deny the central importance of Jesus. A lot of it tends to emphasize some very important things, such as love, tolerance and service to our fellow humans. You hear Christians quoting Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist sources to make their religious points. They say things like there are many paths to God and each one must find his or her own way. They talk about the brotherhood of man.

But, this is missing the whole point of Christianity. The basis of Christianity is that humankind chose sin over God, thus separating ourselves from the fellowship of God. No matter how hard we try, we cannot earn our way back. We had to have someone stronger and better than us to pay the price, namely Jesus. And, if we accept this free gift, we are back in fellowship with God - God has wiped the slate clean.

Of course, love, tolerance, service to our fellow humans, compassion and forgiveness are very important, and Christians should do those things in response to the free gift of salvation and in devotion, love and obedience to God.

But, Jesus is pretty clear:

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' " -John 14:6

and

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." -John 3:18

Paul wrote:

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel - which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!" -Galatians 1:6-8

Another passage:

"The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.' " -Acts 16:29-31

As Christians, we should not be afraid to assert and defend the truth of Christianity!

Easter!

Christmas is a big time of celebration for Christians. And why not? The gift of Jesus is the greatest gift humankind has ever received.

But, I always thought Easter was somewhat overlooked. Of course, it does get some attention. The church service on Easter is usually well-attended and bigger than usual, and we all love the festivity of the Easter egg hunts and Easter baskets. Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are getting more attention these days from more Christians and Christian denominations.

Easter should be a really big deal. This is when we celebrate The Event, The Big Event, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. As the Bible says:

"If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." -I Corinthians 15:13-14

But, Jesus was raised from the dead - it's a real, historical fact which has been documented carefully in the Bible and witnessed by many people. Jesus has reconciled God and humankind, despite humankind's choice of sin and rejection of God.

" 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." -I Corinthians 15:55-57

Jesus has paid the price, and became the first to be raised from the dead. And so we will be raised from the dead also, to join God and the other believers in eternal happiness in Heaven.

Easter is a really big deal!

small group studies

This isn't my usual kind of post, but I thought some of you might find this helpful. We've been studying starting a small group ministry at my church, and here is a summary of what we've learned so far. I feel like the first five are the most important points.

SOME LESSONS LEARNED FOR GROUP LEADERS

Each group should include prayer, fellowship, Bible reading and service in some way. Your group might choose to emphasize one or more of these features.

Stress the importance of attendance and making the group’s activities a priority.

Give each person in your group a sense of ownership. Allow them input into your group’s activities and direction - listen to their suggestions and complaints and make changes where needed. Rotate responsibilities for managing the group’s activities (leading in prayer, Bible reading, etc.).

Have a regular meeting time, day and place. Give reminders by telephone or e-mail, even if you’re “sure” they know.

The group members should pray for each other, and provide care where needed.

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Clarify to yourself and to your group members what your group’s mission is. You might want to consider a written covenant.

Identify the specific talents and skills of your group’s members, and make use of them.

Make sure everyone in your group is involved. For example, if someone seems left out of the discussion, pull them in by asking them a question or asking for their opinion.

Follow up with people who miss an activity. Make sure they feel missed, but not chastised.

Don’t be upset if things don’t go as you plan – make plans and then just go with the flow.

You don’t need to be the group’s “teacher,” unless you consider that a particular skill or interest of yours. Your job is to organize the group, keep it going and with the group members’ input, set the direction for the group.

Create an environment in which everyone feels free to be themselves and feels they can voice their opinions and feelings without being criticized or ridiculed.

If you try something that doesn’t work, don’t get discouraged - learn from it and move on. Not everything you try is going to work well.

Be reasonable in your demands on your group members’ time commitments.

Food always encourages fellowship!

dealing with death

Recently, I received the surprising and shocking news that a friend of mine had been murdered. She was just an ordinary person and wasn't involved in drugs or any kind of crime. She lived in a very safe small town and was not out late at night. From what we can tell, it was a random killing and particularly brutal.

An event like this can be faith shaking. Couldn't an all powerful God have prevented this? Wouldn't a good God have taken action? I did quite a bit of soul searching and pondered this carefully. Of course, these two questions are always before us, but this particular incident so close to home (both literally and figuratively) really caused me to ponder anew these issues.

The bottom line is that this is not heaven. God never promised it was. Humankind brought sin into the world by choice. Now, we live in a battlefield between good and evil. And in a battle zone, sometimes innocent people are caught in the crossfire. My friend was caught in the crossfire.

Shouldn't a good God step in and stop all of this suffering? Of course. And he will! Not in the time we choose, but in his time. And that's a good thing - God is infinitely knowledgeable and infinitely wise, and we are not. So, we must be patient for his perfect timing, and not foolishly think we know better than he does.

We can take comfort that my friend is now in a better place, a land of peace and good - not a battle zone. And when God steps in and puts a stop to all suffering, we will join her!