Here is some fantastic video of John Macarthur lovingly confronting the homosexual mayor of San Francisco along with a mixed bag of false teachers on Larry King. I wish every preacher that goes on TV for an interview would watch this and use it as a blueprint for how to address the fallen world around us. You go Dr. Macarthur!!!
Homosexuals, like all sinners, can repent and receive forgiveness in Christ and eternal life. Please watch this:
Some of you will remember the "Ted Haggard scandal" of more than three years ago. He was the pastor of one of the largest mega churches in America and the leader of the powerful National Alliance of Evangelicals. He was a spokesman for conservative Christian America and even had the ear of George Bush. But the dreadful secret of his double life came to the surface when a male prostitute decided to blow the whistle on Haggard's secret homosexual life. Haggard disappeared off the radar after "resigning" from all of his positions. I was hopeful that he would find true repentance and live the rest of his days in obscurity.
Unfortunately that was not the case. Last year, Haggard emerged from obscurity and generated a media circus doing a lot of interviews and giving "his side of the story". Today I have posted two videos. The first one is of Ted Haggard being interviewed by Larry King. The second video is of another person who has struggled with the same area of sin as Haggard. The point here is not sin nor do I wish to focus on this. I have one hand wrapped around the giant redwood tree protruding from my eye as I write this post. The real issue here is true repentance. An extension of that is the issue about God being glorified through our brokenness. Watch these two videos and see if you can "spot the repentance" and decide for yourself which video is most God glorifying.
What makes the Gospel so glorious is the contrast between God's Holiness and our utter depravity. Rationalising behavior only serves to blur that gulf and deprives God of the glory He can get out of changing someone's life.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules (Ezekiel 36:25-27).
And for the record, the guy in the second video is my hero! That is a big part of what being a real man is all about. Glorifying God in human weakness, taking the full blown blame for sinful actions rather than painting yourself as a victim, and renouncing sin as insidiously evil rather than taking the edges off it. Good on ya Jason - amen and amen!
Postscript
Just recently (July 24, 2010) Haggard was quoted in the Wall Street Journal where he:
acknowledged grave lapses of judgment in the episode he refers to as "my crisis." But Mr. Haggard also said that in his sorrow and shame, he accepted too much guilt after the scandal broke. "I over-repented," he said.
Haggard's innovations don't seem to end with re-inventing himself as a victim. He is also using his time inventing new words like "over-repented". What that means or how it is possible completely eludes me. I know some people will call for my blood over my "insensitive" and "uncaring" comments. Let me be clear, I am not trying to position myself as better than anyone else. What I am saying is that true repentance comes from godly sorrow over sin, not therapeutic excuses. Haggard presses on however and has even planted a new church in Colorado Springs (of all the places to choose) repositioning himself as a victimized pastor ministering to hurting people. Portraying ourselves as victims when we have sinned may court the favor of the media but it does not capture God's merciful attention:
But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Isaiah 66:2)
At the end of my last post I spoke about good preachers/teachers and how they are crystal clear when it comes to fundamental truths of the Christian faith. I also spoke about NT Wright's expertise in cutting a short story long. NT Wright has become somewhat of a modern day evangelical hero, but can he give a straight answer to a straight question . . .
Like is there a hell?
I thought a yes would have sufficed!
How about whether homosexual behavior is sinful?
Yes we should have a debate, if by debate he means something like this:
What does the Bible say about homosexual behavior?
Leviticus 20:13 says it is an abomination.
Abomination is bad isn't it?
Ok lets move on to the next subject on the agenda!
How about an easy question like is evolution compatible with Christianity? (Hint - the answer begins with "n" and ends with "o").
Maybe NT Wright thinks his beard is a transitional form!
I guess that's enough fog for one day. I would encourage any layman to feed on teachers who are explicitly clear about things that the Bible is explicitly clear about. Someone like John Macarthur . . .
And when you have a bunch of confused liberal theologians talking to Larry King, you can always count on John Macarthur to clear up the fog . . .
Joel Osteen should get a spot on "Dancing With The Stars" based on his now famous tap dancing routines . . . .
Steve Lawson gives his verdict . . .
"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. "Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them (Ezekiel 34:2-10).
