"The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10, NASB). [Jesus came for the riffraff, the scum, the outcast, the ragamuffin, and even the flagrant public sinners!]
"This man receives sinners, and eats with them" (Luke 15:2, NASB).
Some Christians give Christ a bad rap by their homophobia and hatred of the LGBT community. They believe these people are "perverts" and their sins should be outlawed. I do not believe in legislating morality or criminalizing people with "sin laws." Laws are only what the general public believes is wrong and we must not forget that legality is not morality. The big issue confronting the public today is of transgender people using the restroom of their inclination, whether it is the same as their birth sex or not. Imposing Christian "Shari'ah law" on the unbeliever is a violation of rights as equal citizens. This is not a "Christian" nation (it is secular) and we cannot usher in the millennium by legislation, executive order, or court order--Jesus will when He comes in glory. We live in a multicultural nation with many religions that all have equal protection under the law to worship according to their own conscience as long as it doesn't break established law. It is true that many of our forefathers were Christian, but the "times, they are a-changin'," according to Bob Dylan.
This type of bias affects other areas of our culture as well: Some people refuse to accept mentally ill, handicapped, or disabled individuals. It seems like they believe it will rub off on them, like the Pharisees wondering why Jesus ate with publicans and sinners and touched the unclean lepers. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was only allowed to minister to the "untouchables" of the Indian caste system. We are called to reach out to people and build bridges, not tear them down. It doesn't mean you share in their sin because you associate with them (guilt by association).
The problem with some Christians is that they are legalists: They see sins, and not sin! The problem is not that people drink, lie, steal, cheat, fornicate, or gamble, but that they have a sin nature that Christ can deliver them from. We all must repent of our sins and be restored to a relationship with God so we can overcome our sins. We all have a dark side that is exposed to no one like the moon and all our righteousness is as filthy rags (cf. Isa. 64:6). We are in no position to judge because we all have "feet of clay" and must say: "There but for the grace of God, go I," as George Whitefield said when he saw a man go to the gallows. Soli Deo Gloria!
"This man receives sinners, and eats with them" (Luke 15:2, NASB).
Some Christians give Christ a bad rap by their homophobia and hatred of the LGBT community. They believe these people are "perverts" and their sins should be outlawed. I do not believe in legislating morality or criminalizing people with "sin laws." Laws are only what the general public believes is wrong and we must not forget that legality is not morality. The big issue confronting the public today is of transgender people using the restroom of their inclination, whether it is the same as their birth sex or not. Imposing Christian "Shari'ah law" on the unbeliever is a violation of rights as equal citizens. This is not a "Christian" nation (it is secular) and we cannot usher in the millennium by legislation, executive order, or court order--Jesus will when He comes in glory. We live in a multicultural nation with many religions that all have equal protection under the law to worship according to their own conscience as long as it doesn't break established law. It is true that many of our forefathers were Christian, but the "times, they are a-changin'," according to Bob Dylan.
This type of bias affects other areas of our culture as well: Some people refuse to accept mentally ill, handicapped, or disabled individuals. It seems like they believe it will rub off on them, like the Pharisees wondering why Jesus ate with publicans and sinners and touched the unclean lepers. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was only allowed to minister to the "untouchables" of the Indian caste system. We are called to reach out to people and build bridges, not tear them down. It doesn't mean you share in their sin because you associate with them (guilt by association).
The problem with some Christians is that they are legalists: They see sins, and not sin! The problem is not that people drink, lie, steal, cheat, fornicate, or gamble, but that they have a sin nature that Christ can deliver them from. We all must repent of our sins and be restored to a relationship with God so we can overcome our sins. We all have a dark side that is exposed to no one like the moon and all our righteousness is as filthy rags (cf. Isa. 64:6). We are in no position to judge because we all have "feet of clay" and must say: "There but for the grace of God, go I," as George Whitefield said when he saw a man go to the gallows. Soli Deo Gloria!