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David Scudder
DaveBethel at gmail dot com Sr. Pastor of Bethel Chapel Church
Derick Scudder > Misc. comments from Bethel's youth leader
Doug Scudder > Current political perspectives
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Bethel's Youth Group > Musings from Bethel's young people Kensington Neighorhood House > Our Outreach to Kensington |
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If you had to sum up the theme of the recent presidential election in one word, it would undoubtedly be CHANGE. Both candidates promised that if they were elected, they could bring significant change to our country. Even MSNBC joined the chorus when they selected “The Power of Change” as their newest slogan.
The reason, I believe, that the promise of change attracts us is because we instinctively know that life here on earth isn’t right. We all live on a fallen, ruined planet, and we long for someone to make things better. We know this world isn’t what it should be, and we know that we’re not what we should be either. We want things to change and to get better. Most of us look for change in the wrong places. If you think about it, real change in our own everyday lives doesn’t even depend much on politics. Our lives are much more affected by things that happen very close to us—a fire, a serious illness, a marriage, a birth, or an accident. New presidents can’t heal our relationships or make us more content. . I’ve found that most people don’t realize that the Bible is a very practical handbook for change on a personal level. It tells about people who have been dramatically changed. For example, Paul hated and hunted down Christians until he met Jesus. Then he became the greatest evangelist for the Gospel of Jesus Christ that this world has ever seen (see Acts Chapter 9). It also tells us how we can be changed and made better. I personally know people who have been changed just that completely by God’s Word and His power. I am friends with a man who spent years dealing drugs at Hopkinson Middle School. One day someone opened the Bible and showed him what Jesus had done for him, and his life was forever changed. He now attends our church and spends much of his free time sharing Christ’s Gospel with others. The life of Jesus Christ was all about change, even though He didn’t use that word. His public ministry began by changing water into wine. He didn’t just improve the water—He changed it completely. That’s the kind of change we need. We need a miraculous change on a personal level. The end of Christ’s ministry on earth opened the door for ongoing, powerful change for all of us—regardless of our political party. By dying on the Cross and then raising Himself from the dead, Jesus was able to promise a revolutionary change to those who really want it. He said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Yes, Jesus can deliver a change that satisfies our deepest longings. We don’t need a change we can believe in—we need a change we can experience! Paul experienced it and was so excited about it that he said, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me,… even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all” (1 Timothy 1:12-15). If you are longing for real lasting change in your life, contact me (DaveBethel@gmail.com), and I’ll send you a free booklet that explains more.
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I think you would agree that there is no better feeling than knowing that you are being useful. When I visit people who are lying in a hospital bed, they often tell me that their greatest frustration comes from not feeling useful. When they were healthy, they got a lot accomplished, took care of themselves, and took care of others as well. Now they have to let others care for them. That is not an easy thing to do. As a Christian, I sometimes have a similar concern because there is no greater thrill than the experience of being useful to God in some way. I have often wondered, though, how I could be useful to God because I have so many flaws.
As I was reading the Old Testament book of Judges, I continued to think about usefulness.. When the book was written, the Jews—God’s chosen people--had become a very “un-useful” to God. They were in a constant, downward spiral. They would turn their backs on God. God would allow an enemy to make their lives miserable. The people would cry out to God for help, and then God would raise up a leader to deliver them. After their freedom was restored, they would soon forget God and the cycle would start all over again. How depressing! As I studied the different men that God used to deliver the Jews, I noticed one unmistakable fact. Almost every leader was deeply flawed. Barak was so scared that he refused to go to battle without a woman’s help (see Judges, Chapter 4). Gideon was so full of fear that God had to reassure him over and over again before he was willing to fight the enemy (see Judges, Chapters 6-7). Jephthah was the son of a harlot (see Judges, Chapters 11-12). Sampson had a weakness for women, which included moral failures (see Judges, Chapters 14-16). What an unlikely group of leaders God chose to use to deliver His people! The men and women that God chose to use to deliver the Jews should be an encouragement to all of us. In spite of their flaws, in spite of their failures, God used each of those leaders in many might ways. That means He can use you and I, in spite of our weaknesses or the problems in our backgrounds. The book of Judges proves that God can use anybody. We cannot forget the one positive trait, though, that every leader in the book of Judges had. Each one those men and women were surrendered to God and His will. Every single one was willing to follow God’s leading. That teaches us that the only requirement to be useful to God is to be surrendered to Him. This is why Jesus told His disciples “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). All we have to do is follow Christ and then He will “make” us useful. Not a bad deal. As Paul said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Is your life useful to God and to His kingdom? It doesn’t matter if you are not talented, well-educated, or wealthy. God can and will use your life in service to Him if you follow Him completely. “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
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It’s been fun watching the new homes being built on the corner of Castor and Wingohocking Streets. What has been a mostly vacant lot is now full of brand-new, beautiful homes. I hope their new owners will keep them looking great.
Those new homes reminded me about the two kinds of homes that Jesus talked about. I mentioned them here in my column last week. Jesus used homes to represent our individual lives. He talked about one home built on sand that didn’t hold up during a storm. The home built on solid rock, on the other hand, survived the storm. (See Matthew 7:24-27). How can you and I be sure that our lives will survive the storms of life? We have to build our lives on the right foundation. The Bible says, “For no man can lay a foundation other than . . . Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). In 1978 a religious group thought that their lives were being built on a good foundation. We all know now how tragically mistaken they were. They had moved to Jamestown colony, Guyana, and were members of the Peoples Temple. On November 18th, 913 of them died in a mass murder-suicide. They died because they built their lives on the teachings of Jim Jones, the charming, self-appointed founder of their cult. Jones started out as a pastor in a mainstream Christian denomination, but he turned his back on what he was taught and declared that he was the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Those who looked up to Jim Jones killed themselves because they did not build their lives on the Christ of Scripture. They focused on a man instead. How can you be sure that your life is resting securely on Jesus Christ, the incarnation of the true God, and not on your own opinions or some else’s? Your beliefs about God have to be based solely on who God Himself says He is. Remember the name God used to reveal Himself: “I AM WHO I AM.” We can know who He is by reading and studying the Book He has given us—the Bible. God inspired thirty-nine different people over a period of 4,000 years to write 66 different books about who He is and what He is doing in our world. Miraculously, those books describe a God that is unified and complete and awesome. How do you view God? Does thinking about Him bring you a sense of holy awe? Notice how the Bible describes God in Psalm 89:6-7: “For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord, a God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all those who are around Him?” When we are beginning to understand who God really is, we will be in awe of Him. Remember how Isaiah responded when he saw a vision of God? “And one called out to another and said, “’Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.’ And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then [Isaiah] said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts’” (Isaiah 6:3-5). The prophet Isaiah had a correct view of God. He knew that God was holy and awesome in power. What do you know about God? Are you trying to find out about Him? Are you reading and studying the Book He has written about Himself or are you just comfortable with your own ideas? The difference between those two things is crucial. As Jesus put it: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). Jesus can make your life like a solid and beautiful new home—even better than the ones going up in Juniata. Learn who God says He is and respond to that with love and adoration. When Jesus was talking to His Father He said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).
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I’m still getting used to not having Daylight Savings Time. When I leave my study for home, it is usually dark, but before the time change and winter’s shorter days, it would still be light. Thankfully, through the miracle of electricity, I can flip a switch when I get home and have light again. Physical darkness can be scary and depressing – but so is emotional darkness.
Are you experiencing a dark time in your life right now? Do you have a child who is really trying your patience? Are you struggling with your finances? Has someone broken your heart? Are you having trouble making sense out of what is happening in your life? When we start asking “Why?” a lot, it is a sure thing that darkness is creeping up on us. Maybe you have asked questions like, “Why did my child have to die?” “Why did my husband or wife turn away from me?” “Why did God allow sickness to invade my home?” “Why did God heal someone else but not heal me?” Why? Why? Why? In times like these we need someone to turn on the light so we can escape the darkness. Where can we find a light that will brighten up our path through this life? Let me point to the One who promises to be that light and tell you how to experience it. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12). Jesus made it clear that giving us light was the main reason why He came to this world. “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness” (John 12:46). Jesus has promised to give light to those who trust Him and follow Him. Anytime we sense a need for light in our lives, we should ask ourselves, “Am I trusting and following Christ in my life right now?” He is the only true light. Common sense tells us that anyone would rather have a life filled with light rather than a life filled with darkness. Strangely, though, that isn’t the way it is. Experience has shown me that very few are willing to have Christ’s light. Why would anyone not want to have the light that Jesus can give? Jesus answered that puzzling question for us. He said, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed” (John 3:19-20). You see, when Jesus shines His light on us it exposes who we really are. That makes most people uncomfortable, and they turn away. Jesus wants to give us this light so we can see how much we need His love and forgiveness. I hope you won’t turn away. Following our natural inclination to walk away from Christ’s light is dangerous. When Christ walked this earth He proved who He was by performing many miracles, but most people still did not want to follow Him. Notice how the Scripture describes it, “But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, ‛He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them’” (John 12:37, 39-40). When we learn about Christ’s light and then refuse it, we risk never being able to see His light. Darkness is an awful thing, both in this life and the next. Receiving Christ’s light, on the other hand, is a glorious thing. It dispels the darkness from our lives because we know that a good and loving God is leading and protecting us. God’s joy so fills and transforms our lives, that we can’t help but want to share His light with others. Jesus told His followers, “You are the light of the world. . . . Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14,16). Nothing would bring me greater joy than to help you find the Light. Let me know if I help you find that spiritual “light switch” for your life. Comments are welcomed.
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What is the solution to the current wave of violence in our city? Based on what I have seen in human history, when crime gets uncontrollable, people usually make one of two choices. Either the citizens will call for the government to impose a police-state or they will call on God for His help. Historically we have been a nation that chose to call on God for His help. This Thanksgiving season is a good time for us to remember not only how blessed we have been as a nation, but also why we have experienced so much blessing.
I think we can trace it back to November 11,1620. On that date a group of pilgrims did something that had never been done before in all of human history. They freely agreed to start a new government of their own. They did this when they signed the Mayflower Compact. Sadly, the words of this ground-breaking document are rarely quoted today and have been left out of most public school textbooks. Because of this, few know that Christ was the reason why that first official government was organized on American soil. The Mayflower Compact says, in part: “Having undertaken, for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and honor of our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic. . . .” Now, 387 years later, we have forgotten that our present government also began with a focus on Almighty God. Patrick Henry, one of our nation’s founding fathers said, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.” James Madison, the fourth president of the United States declared, “We have staked the whole future of America’s civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions ... upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” In 1781 Thomas Jefferson, our nation’s third president and author of the Declaration of Independence, warned us: “Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the mind of the people that these liberties are a gift of God?” It wasn’t just the early leaders of our country who believed that submission to God was vital to our well-being. A newspaper editor and New York congressman Horace Greeley said in 1852, “It is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a Bible-reading people.” In 1917 our twenty-sixth president Theodore Roosevelt predicted what would happen if we turned away from God, “In this actual world, a churchless community, a community where men have abandoned and scoffed at, or ignored their Christian duties, is a community on the rapid down-grade.” I think that this Thanksgiving season is a good time to turn back to what made our nation great – submission to God’s sovereign will. In 1954 Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren spoke to a group of political leaders including the President, the Vice-President, Cabinet members, Congressmen, diplomats, and businessmen. "I believe no one can read the history of our country," he said, "without realizing that the Good Book and the spirit of the Saviour have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses . . . Whether we look to the first Charter of Virginia . . . or to the Charter of New England . . . or to the Charter of Massachusetts Bay . . . or to the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut . . . the same objective is present: a Christian land governed by Christian principles . . . "I believe the entire Bill of Rights came into being because of the knowledge our forefathers had of the Bible and their belief in it: freedom of belief, of expression, of assembly, of petition, the dignity of the individual, the sanctity of the home, equal justice under law, and the reservation of powers to the people . . . "I like to believe we are living today in the spirit of the Christian religion. I like also to believe that as long as we do so, no great harm can come to our country." We not only have the words of some great Americans, but we also have the Word of God. God has told us that, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12). As more Americans seek the God of Scripture, the closer our nation – and our city – will be to His blessing and protection.
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This afternoon I read a front page article in The Philadelphia Inquirer entitled “Street’s Gay About-Face.” The subtitle was “Once a foe, he will lead a same-sex wedding,” and the article began with the sentence: “Eight years ago, it would have been unimaginable.” The article is an open declaration of a huge change in the public values of our city.
Let me say something that may seem confusing at first, but please stick with me. This change in values is not the only change we’ve seen in Philadelphia. We have also all been shocked by the rising wave of violence against citizens and police alike. On the surface there is no direct connection between these two things, but I’d like to encourage you to see a bigger picture. My column last week was entitled, “Can God Solve the Violence?” [You can read it at www.JuniataBlog.com] In it I made what I hope was a strong case showing that our country was founded on a firm belief in Almighty God. He could stop the violence in our city. As a city, we are united against the sin of murder. We want it stopped. So far, we have not been able to do that on our own. Our only lasting solution is to turn to the One who can keep the darkness of the human heart from overrunning our city and our civilization. Do you see the connection yet? On one side we have murder – which God calls a sin – that we are trying unsuccessfully to eliminate from our city. On the other side, we have homosexuality – which God also calls a sin – that we are now welcoming and seeing as something to be celebrated and promoted. Please stay with me. Make sure you understand what I am NOT saying. I am NOT saying that homosexuals have anything to do with the increase in our city’s rate of violent crime. I am NOT saying that homosexuality is more terrible than many other sins. Let me be clear, God calls us to show love and kindness to everyone regardless of what sin they are struggling with. I cringe, though, when our elected officials publicly approve of sin because it offends God who made all of us. I do not define what is and is not sin, you understand. God’s Word the Bible does that. Actually, God forbids all sexual activity outside of the sacred marriage that He initiated in the Garden of Eden between a man and a woman. For example, adultery is wrong because it opposes the good plan that God has for us. Couples living together before they are married is wrong because it also opposes the good plan that God has for us. Many of these things are becoming more accepted today, but that does not change how God feels about them, and He is the one we ultimately answer to. He calls them sin, just as He calls homosexuality sin throughout the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments. [See Leviticus 18:22, 1Corinthians 6:9-10, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Timothy 1:8-11] If our mayor was giving his public blessing on the committing of adultery, I would be just as concerned. I would want to say to him, “Please do not publicly approve of that which God hates. We need God’s protection of our city. We need His blessing. Do not openly approve of sin because all sin is destructive. We don’t want any part of it. As a nation and as a city we need to walk in God’s light.” “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). As our first President George Washington said, “...it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of God, to obey His will...and humbly implore His protection and favor.” We need God’s protection. This is not just my opinion. No one invented God. God’s name is I AM WHO I AM (from where we get the name Jehovah). God is not “I am who you want me to be” or “I am who you imagine” or “I am whatever will get you elected.” He is I AM WHO I AM. This same God who hates sin has the solution to sin. He has a message of help and hope and healing for all of us. God can forgive all sin just like He has forgiven mine. God will lead anyone who follows Him into paths of righteousness and blessing, just as He has for so many others. Our church, Bethel Chapel, is made up of sinners – sinners who have repented and have been forgiven and are striving to walk in the light. We are helping each other to grow in our ability to please the One who made us and also paid the penalty for our sin through Christ. The topic of sin is controversial, but I just wanted to point you to what the Bible says. I am praying that as a city we will do what pleases our Creator and then elect officials who believe in publicly promoting what is right.
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We live in a world that is looking for love. It is talked about in songs and movies and endless paperback romances. Far all the talk, though, there are few of us who feel safe and secure in our love lives. Few people have a love they can rest in, a love that never lets go.
In spite of all the talk about love in the world, the most important love of all is seldom mentioned. Few of those songs and moves and romance books talk about God’s love. Maybe that’s because we have trouble understanding God’s love. The Apostle Paul knew about that problem, and he prayed that the believers in Ephesus would “be able to comprehend with all [Christians] what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19). Why can’t we understand God’s love? Don’t we all long for someone to really love us? Yes, but all our thoughts about love center on ourselves, what we want, what we need. To understand God’s love we have to turn our thoughts to Him. We have to understand the love He has shown us. The Bible explains it this way: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son [to satisfy God’s wrath] for our sins” (I John 4:10). In fact, John goes so far as to say, “God is love” (I John 4:8). You cannot know real, genuine love apart from knowing God. God’s love is so completely different from our love! Think about it. How many couples stand at an altar and promise to love each other until “death do us part?” A few years later, how many of them divorce because they “don’t love each other any more”? God’s love, on the other hand, never changes. “Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting” (Psalm 106:1). “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting” (Psalm 118:29). Let me tell you about a man who hung on to God’s everlasting love. George Matheson was only fifteen when a doctor told him he would lose what little eyesight he had. Matheson did not give up. He went ahead with his plans to attend the University of Glasgow. He worked hard and graduated at age nineteen. After he made plans to continue his education so he could become a pastor, he became completely blind. His sisters assisted him by learning Greek and Hebrew so they could help him with his studies. He followed God, kept working, kept learning and graduated. Then something happened that crushed his heart. His fiancée broke their engagement and returned his ring. She said she didn’t want to be married to a blind man. Matheson never married. The hurt he felt never completely went away, but he did not give up. He kept following God and pastored a church in Scotland for many years. One day his sister came to him to share some good news. She had gotten engaged and was going to be married. Matheson was happy for her, but he couldn’t help remembering his own heartache. He found comfort, though, in knowing that God’s love for him was never conditional, would never end, and had no limits. As he compared God’s love with his fiancée’s love, he wrote a song that is in most Christian hymnals today: O love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, That in thine ocean depths it flow May richer, fuller be. George Matheson owned a love that was more satisfying than any other kind of love. He knew that God has proved His love to all of us. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus paid the awful price for the sin that separates us from God’s love. God’s love is not just something that He has for the world. We must realize that God’s love is something that he has for each of us personally. I know that love. The apostle Paul knew that love. He was a great sinner, but when he came to know Christ and he could say that Jesus, “. . . loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). Human love usually disappoints. God’s love never does. Have you surrendered your dreams of being loved by others and submitted to Christ’s unchanging love for you? God’s love is found in Christ, and Christ is found in the Bible. I hope you will find that love that will never let you go. I’ll send you a free Bible study if you are interested in learning about God’s love.
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The holidays are upon us. These are supposed to be days filled with excitement and joy, aren't they? The Christmas decorations are up in the stores (do they go up earlier every year, or is that just me?), and the Christmas TV commercials have started. The television ads tell us that getting expensive gifts will ensure boundless joy. One TV ad I saw recently showed a series of people opening expensive gifts. Then the announcer said that this was happiness. Really? How long do expensive gifts make us happy? What about those who can't afford them?
The truth is that more people suffer from depression during the holidays than any other time of the year. As one person put it: "We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; more medicine, but less wellness. We read too little, watch TV too much and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. These are the times of tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes, but more divorce; of a fancier house, but broken homes. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years; we've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul." The solution I want to share with you isn't in the TV commercials or holiday celebrity shows. The key to happiness is God Himself! No, really, I mean it. The cure is having God. It isn't just having all those good things that God can give us. Let me use the Bible to explain this. In Hebrews 13:5 Scripture warns us against letting material things capture our affection, "Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have." When we are content with what we already have, we can be happy no matter how much more other people around us may have. The rest of that Bible passage (Hebrews 13:5b-6) shows us a kind of wealth that makes material things unimportant in comparison. God tells us here HOW we can be happy with the material things we already have: "for He Himself [God] has said, ‛I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,' so that we confidently say, ‛The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?'" In other words, if I have the all-powerful God as my personal helper, I cannot possibly need anything else. Jesus put it this way, "But seek first [God's] kingdom and [God's] righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33). We don't need the things that God can give us as much as we need a closeness to God Himself. Do you have a close relationship with Jesus Christ? If you do, then concentrate on loving Him more than on loving what He can give you. If you don't have a close relationship with Christ, then turn from your sin and trust His offer of forgiveness to be all you need. Then you will rejoice when you learn that, "the Lord longs to be gracious to you, . . . how blessed [happy!] are all those who long for Him" (Isaiah 30:18). Those who know the Christ of Christmas have the happiest holidays. Is that true in your life? Click on "Comments" and let me know.
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My wife, Diane, and I just returned from a week long conference for pastors and their wives in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. We had a wonderful time. The weather was beautiful, the Bible teaching was inspiring, and the time spent with other Christian workers was refreshing. On our seven hour drive home I tuned in a radio station that was carrying talk show host Michael Medved.
Mr. Medved was asking callers if they agreed with Sir Elton John's statement that, "organized religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate." Elton John's solution would be to "ban religion completely." Before long a man called in and asked Mr. Medved if he believed that God would send homosexuals to hell. Michael Medved (a practicing Jew) referred to Leviticus 18:22 where God said, "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." He then said that, although homosexuality is an abomination to God, this does not mean that gays as people are an abomination. Michael Medved's perspective was interesting, but he did not answer the man's question. Let's look at the Bible for an answer to that caller's question. First of all, the New Testament does teach that homosexuality is a sin. In Romans 1:26-31 and I Corinthians 6:9-10 God lists some of the sins that those who are bound for hell commit. Homosexual acts are listed there, but it is important to note that, in both of those passages, many other sins are named as being in the same category as homosexuality. Notice what some of them are: greed, envy, murder, strife, lying, gossiping, boasting, disobeying parents, and being unloving are in the same list as homosexuality in Romans 1:29-31. In I Corinthians 6:9-10, in addition to homosexuality, we find (among others) the sins of fornication, adultery, stealing, drunkenness, and swindling. The Bible, you notice, doesn't paint homosexuality as being any worse than many other sins – some of which we don't usually even think of as sinful. The truth is that we all deserve God's wrath: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness" (Romans 1:18). The reason we deserve God's wrath is that we don't give God the honor or the praise that He deserves (Romans 1:19-21). Gays deserve hell, right along with all the rest of us. We all have a self-centered focus that robs God of His glory. Only God can change that. All sin is cancerous and it destroys our peace and hope of eternal joy. This is not the end of the story. Christ came to destroy the power of all sin. He has the power to change who we are on the inside and forever wash away all of our sin. What a joy to know that our sin can actually be completely gone! After the Bible gives us a sample list of sins (mentioned above) it boldly says, "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11). We can be born again, changed into new people no matter what sin controlled our lives in the past. What a thrill to know that Christ's death on the Cross is enough to pay for any kind of sin when we turn from it and follow Him. "As a result of the anguish of His soul [Christ's death on the Cross], He [God the Father] will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge [by knowing intimately] the Righteous One [Christ], My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities [sins]" (Isaiah 53:11). Do you have any questions or comments about sin and Christ's forgiveness? Click of "Comments" and share them with me.
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In l880 James Garfield was elected president of the United States. After only six months in office, a crazed man with a revolver shot him in the back. He never lost consciousness. When they got him to a hospital, the doctor examined the wound with his little finger in an attempt to find the bullet. That didn't work. He then tried a silver-tipped probe. He still he couldn't locate the bullet. They took Garfield back to Washington, D.C. and tried to keep him comfortable in the midst of a summer heat wave. His condition was getting worse. Other doctors were called in who tried to find the bullet. In desperation they even asked Alexander Graham Bell, who was working on something he called a telephone, to try to get the bullet out of the president's body. Mr. Bell also failed to find the bullet. The president lived through July and August, but in September he finally died – not from the initial wound, but from an infection from the bullet that no one could remove.
Every one of us is actually in a similar situation. We have sin in our lives, just as President Garfield had a bullet in his body, and because of our sin, we feel guilty. If guilt is not removed from our lives, it will fester and cause untold havoc to our emotional, and even to our physical, health. Since we all struggle (or at least we should be struggling!) with the things in our lives that we know are wrong, how do we get rid of that "bullet" of sin and remove that guilt so we can be happy again? It is important, first of all, to understand the purpose for guilt. Actually, guilt can be good or bad for us. Let me put it this way. Guilt is a lot like physical pain. No one likes pain, but it does alert us to something that is wrong. For example, when we touch a really hot stove, pain warns us to pull our hand away. That is a good thing. It wouldn't be good to let our hand stay there and cook. Pain, like guilt, becomes harmful when it continues for a long time. Guilt is good when it alerts us to sin in our lives, ways that we are offending a holy God. Chronic guilt, however, is a dangerous burden to carry around. How can we get rid of our guilt? There are two natural reactions that don't help the problem at all. Sometimes we try to rationalize and tell ourselves that our sin isn't really all that bad – maybe someone or something else (we think) made us do wrong so we aren't responsible for our own actions. Also, some people just try to put their guilty feelings out of their minds and do their best to ignore them completely. Those tactics never work because God has warned us that, "He who conceals his transgressions [sins] will not prosper" (Proverbs 28:13). God made a way to remove sin from your life. He sent Jesus Christ to earth so that He could pay the penalty for your sin. The only real solution is to surrender yourself to the forgiveness that God has made available. Christ gave you the perfect solution for your guilt when He died in agony on the Cross. All of your sins were placed on Him, and Jesus paid the penalty for your sin when he suffered a type of hell for you on Calvary. "How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:14). This is the only way to really remove the guilt you experience because of the sin in your life. Get rid of it. Every person who humbles himself before God by repenting of his or her sin and who accepts the complete forgiveness that has already been offered through Christ can be guilt free. "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation" (Romans 10:9-10). There is nothing greater than knowing that the penalty for your sins have been forever taken away! The bullet of sin CAN be removed. Has that happened to you? Click on "Comments" and let's talk about it.
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