Hebrew Highlights 93 TOLERANCE

Shalom, this is Yuval Shomron, coming to you from Jerusalem.

I try to never speak out of reaction. It is not usually a good idea. However, just as I was about to begin work on this message, a news report caught my attention. A major American denomination appointed an openly “gay” pastor to the office of bishop.

Let me begin this treatise by saying that sin, in any form is forgivable. Our anger should always be directed at the sin, not the sinner. I also don’t want to elevate one sin above another. Over-eating or gossip could be just as damaging to ones spiritual health as a so-called “gay” lifestyle.

As I see it, the real problem here is the church’s professed “tolerance” of on-going transgression. In order to address this bigger issue, I need to first prove that we are definitely talking about wrongdoing in this particular case.

The world, and evidently parts of the church, has been duped by society’s ignorance of a basic truth. There is no such thing as “gay”. Let me repeat that. There is no such thing as “gay”. No one is born “gay”. God does not tolerate a “gay lifestyle”. “Gay tendencies” are not natural. In case you think I’m just guessing at these facts, let’s look at the word of God.

ROM 1:25-27 tells us, “they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”

Now, let’s return to our main subject, the church’s alleged “tolerance” of on-going sin.

Let’s start by reading EZE 3:17-19, "Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. "When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die'; and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet if you have warned the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself.”

Is it not clear in this passage that we are responsible for pointing out our brother’s sin? Please understand that I am not talking about judging someone. God does the judging, and all of us have blind spots and weaknesses we are still working on. However, if we see our brother continually sinning, it is our duty to speak to him personally, and frankly. Then we should stand with him in prayer until he finds repentance. God wants to give life, as we see in 1JO 5:16, “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death.”

I personally am free of certain sins today, because my brothers lovingly pointed them out to me, prayed with me, and witnessed my true repentance. Repentance in Hebrew is “chazra b’tshuva”, which means literally “returning with an answer.” In other words, finding a solution to our sin, and returning to God’s path.

We are allowed to make mistakes. PRO 24:16 says, “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of calamity.” However, we as believers face a stern warning in

HEB 10:26-31, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge His people." It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

I am really saddened today that in the name of “tolerance”, a church has not only condoned a brother’s sin, but has quite possibly condemned him to a burning Hell forever by not helping him turn back to God. Of course, the extremely distressing statement being made both to the denomination’s own members, and to the world as a whole, is that sin is not sin.

May God forgive the church for putting the world’s so-called wisdom above the truth of His word. Take time today to read all of Romans chapter one, and you will see what I mean.

God has given us each other as a gift. We need to be ready to help our brothers who have fallen into sin. We need to be ready to receive help as well.

Shalom, Shalom from Jerusalem.