Guest post from Mark King
After reading the newspaper article by the local Methodist pastor, I wanted to write a rebuttal that could be added into the editorial section. It was to be an effort to counter the blatant misinterpretation of God’s Word. Thankfully, I remembered that for those outside the grace of God, His Word is foolishness. So, rebutting this misleading article would only be throwing perils to swine. I was corrected in my thinking to understand that this rebuttal must go to the saints for the purpose of edification, teaching, and for the saints to know how to teach their families how to think rightly from God’s Word. So, may the Lord use what he has shown me, to do just that for my brothers and sisters at Eastside Baptist Church.
The Methodist pastor draws upon the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Centurion in healing the Centurion’s servant (Luke 7:1-10):
1 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a Centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well. (ESV)
The pastor uses this text to say:
1) It was well known that many Roman soldiers had male servants which were many times male concubines.
2) The fact that Jesus did not address the Centurion’s sin of homosexuality, that it applies that Jesus had no issue with such sin.
3) Jesus’ affirmation of the Centurion’s faith, proves that Jesus considered him a faithful (saved) person. Therefore, a person in a lifestyle of homosexuality can have such faith that they are under God’s grace of salvation.
When I read the pastor’s article, I want to address the following areas:
1) The occasion of homosexuality in culture.
2) The assumption that if Jesus does not address sin, sin must not exist.
3) The presumption that only the actions of Jesus should be considered outside the full counsel of God.
So, …
1) The occasion of homosexuality in culture.
Did homosexuality exist? Of course, it did. From Sodom and Gomorrah to today, there is nothing new under the sun. During the Roman period, sexual pleasures were a highlight of Roman culture and flaunted in the temples of worship. It was well known that soldier’s servants would accompany them into battles, during which time away from home, the servant would provide for the soldier’s sexual desires. There is no debate here regarding the possibility that this was also true of the Centurion in this story.
What we need to take away from this blatant flaunting of sexual liberty is this: Not all sin is equal. It’s actually not true to say, “sin is sin”. 1 Corinthians 6:18/ESV – “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” For the true believer in Christ, sexual sin unequally unites our spiritual nature with the unspiritual.
Parents, teach your children that sex outside marriage before the Lord is not just the loss of intimately knowing only the person you have committed the rest of your life to, but is defiling the real presence of God within us through the Holy Spirit. What does light have to do with darkness.
2) The assumption that if Jesus does not address sin, sin must not exist.
To take a single story or event from scripture and attempt to define a complete doctrinal position on any matter is a terrible practice. Since this story is associated with Jesus’ healing grace, with the assumption that such healing infers Jesus’ approval of the person’s lifestyle, then we will review other healing stories.
In Luke 10, when Jesus heals the 10 lepers, does Jesus speak at all to the leper’s sin? No. Does this infer that the lepers were then sin free? Absolutely not. Jesus does not speak to their faithfulness either; but, he still heals them.
In Mark 3, Jesus, while in the synagogue, heals a man with a lame hand. Jesus never addresses the man’s sin or his faithfulness prior to healing him.
In John 9, Jesus heals the man blind from birth. The disciples ask about the sin which caused the blindness, to which Jesus answers that sin had nothing to do with the blindness, but only that God would receive the glory. Again, sin did not cause the blindness and sinlessness was not needed to receive the grace of healing.
In Luke 4, Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law with no reference to sin or sinlessness. Then God’s Word records that Jesus stays in the area healing them all. Again, no mention of addressing the sin of the people to receive such blessings.
In Matthew 8, Jesus heals a leper, and the scripture tells us that Jesus did so, “because He willed to do so”. The healing took place not because of the sinlessness or Jesus’ willingness to ignore the leper’s sin, but only that Jesus willed to heal him.
In Mark 2, we find an account where sin, forgiveness, and healing are in the story. Jesus is presented a paralytic that was lowered down from a hole in the roof. Jesus forgives the man of his sin and then heals him from his condition. In this story, as all have sinned, Jesus knew the greatest need was forgiveness of sin, which Jesus provides. But to prove to the crowd that He had the authority to forgive sins, He healed the man’s paralysis. But here too, the healing was not related to the sin, or the forgiven state of the man, but only to the will of Jesus to heal him that God would be glorified. The real lesson here was that Jesus was proving that He was in fact God with the authority to heal and then forgive sin. So, what do we learn from all these testimonies of Jesus’ healing? We clearly see that the healing of the Centurion’s servant does not infer that Jesus was ignorant of, or complacent with the sin of the Centurion or those of the servant. It was only due to the willingness of Jesus to heal the servant that the servant received such a blessing. The grace of God falls on the righteous and the unrighteous guided only by the will of God. The pastor was wrong in assuming that because Jesus did not address the sin, that sin did not exist.
3) The presumption that only the actions of Jesus should be considered outside the full counsel of God.
To take the words of Jesus while ignoring the full counsel of God denies the deity of Jesus. The Word is Jesus. The Word is Jesus’ story of God the Father. “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” Jesus’ silence on some topics does not infer that we can ignore the law, prophets, or spirit-led teachings of the authors of the new testament epistles.
The whole of God’s revelation of Himself must be considered in its fullness. Not one jot or tittle will pass away until the completeness of God’s willful plan. To alter His word is to alter Jesus Himself. Remember, the world will never understand God’s word. It truly is foolishness. For the saint, it is the non-changing standard that we must live by and must teach our children to live by.
May God lead us to understanding and boldness.
God Bless!
