Current Events & Trends: Christians shifting on illicit lifestyles
Western nations have witnessed a pronounced shift to acceptance of same-sex marriage as a legitimate lifestyle. This has been coming for a while. As nations changed their laws to legalize homosexual behavior, what has followed became inevitable.
Biblical laws that have held sway for millennia have been carelessly cast aside by people who think they know better than God. This overall movement has even started to spread to nominal Christianity.
Christian ministries previously devoted to helping homosexuals to abandon their lifestyles are giving up the fight. For instance, Exodus International has closed its doors after nearly 40 years and even half-apologized for its previous efforts. A few even appear to misrepresent biblical teaching on the matter.
A USA Today column points out that Christian opposition to homosexual lifestyles "has based its position on an authoritative text that has not undergone any revisions of late—the Bible, aka the word of God" ("Some Christians Shift on Gays," July 17, 2013). But it then argues that following the Bible's message of tolerance and acceptance rather than denouncing sinful behavior should be the way forward.
Of course, we must have love and kindness toward all people. But part of love is informing people they need to repent of sin!
Because God does not change (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17; Hebrews 13:8), neither does His Word. Nor does it allow exalting principles of living peaceably and kindly do away with people's need to stop disobeying God and start obeying Him—or with His Church's need to proclaim that to everyone. God says of those who give in to such thinking, "You have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way" (Ezekiel 13:22).
The law God gave through Moses explicitly condemned homosexual behavior. And Jesus Christ did not come to abrogate God's law (Matthew 5:17; Luke 16:17). Moreover, He commanded people to repent of disobedience and told His followers to continue this call to repentance—though striving with God's help to make progress in reforming themselves first. The apostle Paul upheld the biblical teaching on homosexual behavior in three different New Testament books.
Of course, approaching others in this regard should be as kind as possible. But the mere suggestion that others are doing wrong is often taken by them as judgmental, mean-spirited or even hateful. Furthermore, it's often necessary to give a serious warning to shake people enough to even care. That is what God does in the Bible—though His mercy is vast.
A major themes of Psalm 103 is God's merciful forgiveness (Psalm 103:3-4, Psalm 103:8-14). That is one reason Jesus Christ died for our sins, making forgiveness and reconciliation to the Father possible. If God's intent was to abrogate His law and by fiat cast it aside, then Jesus Christ would not have needed to die!
Christians who obey God's laws are facing a time of great trial and persecution. Nonetheless, God says that Jesus Christ will rescue His own by bringing a new world of unparalleled peace. But in the meantime, we have to both contend for and hold fast to the original faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3-4). This is what God requires! (Source: USA Today.)
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Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
