Gay Lutheran pastors to join the church roster???

An article on MSNBC.com caught my attention, and the realization that this horse had not yet been beaten to death came over me...
Am I reading an article out of the News of the Weird here??? Should I expect to see a story about a quadriplegic pole-vaulter next??? While I'm not going to cover the specific reasons why a "gay" person should not be considered a pastor in the Lutheran or any other professing Christian denomination, I would like to address the issue of homosexuality "in the Church."

The "Church" is an assembly of Believers who have been saved FROM their sins - it was never meant to be a place where people assembled to CELEBRATE their sin…

You've heard it before, and you're going to read it once more… God HATES sin… He... hates it so much He is willing to punish those of us who live our lives in and die in our sins, because He considers that to be rebellion against Him and His holy law. (Psalm 5:4-6) And for those He has set aside Hell as their eternal reward. (Rev 21:8)

But for those who are born again into the Body of Christ, He has promised forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting. (1 Peter 1:3-9) We were once living lives as slaves to sin, and we were saved by the power of Christ FROM the wrath that God the Father has reserved for those who would die in their sins. And saved INTO the righteousness given to those who will believe in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. (Hebrews 10:16-18)

So you can see that God delivers us FROM our sins, He does not free us to revel IN them.

The church was never meant to be a place where people would gather, and bring their sin WITH them. It was meant to be a place where they would gather to celebrate their sins having been forgiven OF them.

When Paul wrote his first letter to the Church at Corinth, the message he was sending is one that is applicable to all bodies of Believers, everywhere for all-time… His points were universal, there is no reason to believe that the sins that were being committed within the walls of that church would have been tolerated anywhere else, because He was referring to the God who saved us, and the sins which once separated us from the love of God. (1 Cor. 6:9-20) I read those verses and consider my own life - the time I spent in rebellion to God and His law which told me plainly, do not lie, do not steal, flee from idolatry, and sexual immorality, disobedience… Then I see the warning given "the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God."

If sinners are considered to be unrighteous, and Believers are considered to be righteous, then my desire is to be a Believer, to be righteous… And if thievery, dishonesty, disobedience, idolatry, and all of my venturing into the realm of sexual immorality was qualifying me for the camp of the unrighteous, then something needed to change.

When I heard the gospel's call to repent of my sins. To cry out to God for the forgiveness of my sins, and to put my trust in Christ and Believe in Him - that was the answer… However, I could no longer be the same person I once was. Jesus said that where the light shines, the darkness cannot overcome it, a tree cannot produce both good and bad fruit… (John 1:5 / Luke 6:43)

Which brings me to the bottom line of this commentary… While homosexuals are perfectly welcome within the doors of the church, their sin is not… Neither is the sin of the thief, or the murderer, the adulterer or idolator, the disobedient, and so on… Church is where we are built up in our faith, learn about our God, where we are encouraged to share the gospel with others, and where we are able to come together in fellowship and support with and for one another. It is not a place where "misery loves company" but rather where "shared adversity develops deeper friendships."

The members of the church help to keep one another accountable to the very spirit of the faith that we each profess. And if one member is suffering, we all suffer - if one member is struggling, we all struggle. Not that we cut off the hand in order to save the whole body without first trying to save it… However, if there are those who count themselves among the body, who are in sin, they cannot be allowed to remain in their sin, and remain a part of the body because the whole body will become corrupt. The same way, a diseased hand, if not treated and healed will kill the whole body. If they will not repent of their sins, they must be removed from the Body of Believers…

Which is why any group of professing Christians who are not aligned with Holy Biblical Scripture in their teaching and beliefs, are not Christian anymore than a white supremacist could or should be able to claim membership in the NAACP. It's not the tolerant standpoint to take, definitely not the popular one however, God is not tolerant of sin, and Jesus didn't come to be popular - He came to seek and to save those who are lost…

"The times of ignorance God overlooked, but NOW He commands ALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31)

Independence Day?

I really look forward to celebrating a holiday (with the exception of Labor Day) where people actually commemorate the real reason for the time given to observe.

On New Year's, it's about the glorification of drunkenness... Valentine's Day, giving a card to that one person you fight with every other day of the rest of the year... St. Patrick's Day, drunkenness again... Easter, it's bunnies and chocolate... Memorial Day, drunkenness and Indy 500... Thankfully my birth month is free of "day off" holidays... But who really celebrates Mother's Day or Father's Day anymore with anything more than a phone call and/or a card?

Then we come to July 4th, the remembrance of our nations independence... Say it with me, a celebration of drunkenness, and to mix it up a bit, there's explosives thrown into the mix... August is another month off, getting us ready for Labor Day, which I mentioned above - that is, ironically, the only holiday of the year actually celebrated properly, while it would be more accurately named "No Labor Day"...

Then there's Halloween, which has some measure of debate surrounding it, however, the celebration of candy isn't exactly glorifying death if those who believe the holiday is about ghouls and goblins are right, now is it?

Then, we come to Thanksgiving, which only has debate involved if you're willing to believe the revisionist historians who would rather recognize the revised Mayflower Compact than the original, and ignore the reason why the original settlers came to America in the first place... Hint, it wasn't for the turkey and stuffing OR the football games... (sorry Packers fans)

And we cannot forget Christmas, which is undoubtedly a celebration of all things materialistic, not only in America, but around the world... Families do gather to talk about peace on earth and goodwill toward men, but it has nothing to do with the birth, death and resurrection of the God-man Jesus Christ... Once again, another holiday is centered on us... How we can be happy, contented, fulfilled, loved... Without any thought of the sacrifice that was made to give us the right to act so selfishly...

This Independence Day, consider the men and women who have fought to defend your right to celebrate any day of the year, not just holidays, in any fashion you would choose... This is a freedom you have, that is certainly fleeting...

And consider the One who gave His life as a ransom for your own. Jesus Christ died and rose again to satisfy God's wrath for the sins you've committed... And unless you repent of those sins, and trust in Him for your salvation, you will spend eternity wishing you had redeemed those holidays with thanksgiving a praise for the One who gave you life and every good thing you have...

Personally, I cannot wait (figuratively speaking of course) what a beautiful day that will be...

Look to Him, not to yourself, for forgiveness... He is rich in mercy, not willing that any should perish... But the times of ignorance He has overlooked, and now commands that everyone everywhere repent of their sins.