Daily Encouragement Net
“Encourage one another daily” (Hebrews 3:13).
****************************************
Standing up for God’s Truth and Righteousness!
When we lived in New England my wife Brooksyne took a strong and well-reasoned stands in a letter to the to the Editor in our local paper in regard to a blasphemous cartoon that the paper used. A writer responded who was obviously an unbeliever and scripturally illiterate, yet sadly his view is very typical and considered virtuous by many who have been dumbed down by the twin gods of entertainment and so much in public education. Consider the following verses from Holy Scripture and find strength and encouragement!!! Let’s all continue to stand up for God’s truth and righteousness!
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11,12 NIV) "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. (John 15:18,19) Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. (Ephesians 5:11,12)
The writer’s letter expresses views so commonly held:
He refers to "obsolete Scripture" - No Scripture is obsolete! "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16,17)
He uses the word "homophobic" repeatably - This word is not even in Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language © 1989 which is virtually the standard next to Oxfords. This newly coined word is defined in the Webster’s New World Dictionary © 1994 as an "irrational hatred or fear of homosexuals or homosexuality". This definition is clearly contrived by the homosexual community and is politically motivated. Historically phobias have been used to describe fears (indeed irrational) of inanimate objects such as water (hydrophobia), close spaces (claustrophobia), etc. or perhaps of animals (zoophobia). What an etymological leap to use the word for a deviate moral condition. Shame on the politically correct editors of Webster’s Dictionary! Notice also, careful students of language; that the new definition includes the word "hatred" which has absolutely nothing to do with phobia! However it does fit what they want the word to connote. In fact in the same dictionary hatred is never used in the definitions of the other phobias! The officially stated homosexual agenda provokes anything but an "irrational" fear to any with even the slightest regard for Biblical morality and civilization. This immoral agenda is speeding us to the new dark ages.
For the record Christians do indeed oppose the sin of homosexuality as they do other sins that God hates (Leviticus 18:22). However God loves those caught up in this sin and many have been delivered including some members of the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). We should not hate homosexuals as people but we certainly should oppose their immoral behavior as we do other forms of sin.
Why does it seem we make such a big deal about this matter when there are many sins that oppose God? Even in our unbelieving age many sins are still recognized as wrong and destructive. For instance drunkenness is recognized even by the world as wrong and destructive as is stealing and a host of other sins. We do not have a powerful movement in our land to declare that drunkenness is good and virtuous!
However many voices are now declaring that what God calls an abomination (KJV) or detestable (NIV) is good and normal. The Hebrew word for abomination is tow'ebah and is defined in Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary as something disgusting, i.e. an abhorrence. God through the prophet Isaiah declares "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. (Isaiah 5:20) This exactly what is happening. Dear friends, the forces of evil are screaming in your ears that evil is good and good is evil. Yet when I or other Bible-believing ministers speak forth the truth we are considered hateful. If I referenced the subject each Sunday morning (which I don’t) it would not even begin to equal the voices of destruction.
The two issues in which we are most often accused of being intolerant or narrow-minded happen to be abortion and homosexuality. One is a direct assault on the sanctity (sacredness) of life, the other the sanctity of sex.
This view and agenda strikes at the very heart of God’s design for the family as the fundamental building block of civilization. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24) "He created them male and female and blessed them." (Genesis 5:2)
Earnestly contending,
Stephen C. Weber
For further Reading:
"The War Against the Family" by William Gardner,
"Twighlight of Liberty - The Legacy of the ACLU" by William A. Donahue
"Who’s Afraid of the Religious Right" by Don Feder,
"Legislating Immorality - The Homosexual Movement Comes Out Of The Closet" by George Grant and Mark A. Horne