Well Anchored....

I became a believer in Jesus Christ during my freshman year of college. I grew in the faith through an amazing collegiate ministry committed to discipleship and multiplication. I have many a friends that I consider great brothers and sisters in Christ that I am not as close to now because of the progression of life and where God has lead all of us with jobs, families, etc.

I remember reading through Hebrews 6 with friends and close guys in my discipleship group and thinking how scary it is that some can fall away from the faith to the point of not being able to be restored.  I also remember thinking that none of those I have come to know through our ministry and church would be regarded as those that fall away.

It did not take but a couple of years to see this actually manifest itself. I wont go into details as to how all of that happened. The point is that over the last 10 years I have seen friends from college ministry, church, and seminary that I considered rock solid suddenly turn 180 and catch me by crazy surprise.

I am afraid that this is becoming more and more rampant in the church today and I can only hope that I am just one hand trying to raise a red flag for the Church today.  I can only hope that pastors and church leaders and cognizant of this troubling fact.

What frustrates me most about the church climate today is that there is such a political view of Christianity.  There is a "left", grace heavy, progressive, inclusive side. There is a conservative, traditional "right" that is truth heavy, to the extent that it appears to be bigotry and exclusiveness.  The unfortunate result is that there has now become a rather active shouting match between the two extremes...but let's be real that how people think that all things can be solved nowadays.

Those who try to navigate the middle of the two extremes with wisdom and holding to a "let me see the world through the lens of Scripture" have words that will not be heard because it does not fall into the "partisan" sides of Christianity.

Thus I offer a mental image to set the stage for my point. Imagine a buoy in the midst of the ocean.

 

This buoy represents Truth (Biblical/Scriptural truth) and this buoy is well anchored by none other than Christ Himself (Heb.6). This buoy can never be uprooted, however it can be tossed "to and fro" due to storms, both weak and hurricane alike. Yet, it will never change. The tension is held tight and will remain unbreakable.

The life of the Christian is to cling to this buoy/this truth, for in this dependence and obedience the greatest joy and fulfillment may be found. For we would be connected to the Truth and the Anchor.

In this image the ocean represents the world. The ocean is ever changing. In a reference to Heraclitus, a river is never the same twice for the water is always moving. Currents fluctuate, storms brew, and the waters can become choppy. However, there are times when the water is calm. What I submit is that the Church that should cling to the buoy has at times let go and swam a mere short distance from the buoy.  What harm could come from swimming five feet away?

Well, I think that in the midst of some playing near to the buoy a great current shift has occurred and there are many who have began to drift further away. And as laborious it is to swim against the current many have chose the easier way of flowing with the current.

In the past few days a group of evangelical pastors met and published the Nashville Statement. This Nashville Statement has suffered great ridicule from many. This is, of course, no surprise. There are many activists groups for the LGBTQ community that obviously take issues with the affirmations and denials in the Nashville Statement.

What was dreadfully surprising to me, however, was the response of those that I have come to know well through seminary and church that have met the Nashville Statement with equal resentment. I am reminded again of the danger of falling away.

The Accurate Nashville Statement was released in a believed "correction" and rebuttal of the Nashville Statement. Having read both of these statements I will confess that I wholly and unashamedly agree with the Nashville Statement published by John Piper and members of the CBMW and ERLC.  I will not be naive to think that some who just read that have not already judged or labeled me. I hope that is not the case, but then there is reality.

There are some points that I can, in some degree validate from the Accurate Nashville Statement. I do believe that all of humanity, every individual is fearfully and wonderfully made.  I affirm that God is love. I affirm the desire to come alongside those in the LGBTQ community (clarification to follow). I agree that LBGTQ folks do not need the approval or affirmation of other people. I affirm not claiming righteous or moral authority.

Points that I believe must be clarified:

- All of humanity is fearfully and wonderfully made...and yet are subject to the fallen nature and brokenness of a world in sin. Sexual orientation and gender identity is prescribed by God as seen in His Word. We cannot be dismayed to believe that sin cannot reach as far as to distort even genetics. But God's redemptive power goes further still.

- All people have the ability, but not the autonomy, to do as they wish with their bodies and orientations. We have the freedom to make any choice we want. This includes the freedom to willingly chose to recognize what God prescribes about gender identity, roles, and orientations and go the other direction. Hebrews speaks of the Word of God being living and active (Christ), sharper than a double edged sword that pierces deep within us and can discern the thoughts and intentions, not just of our minds, but also of our hearts. And we are naked and exposed before Him who we must give an account to. We will have to give an account of our actions.

- God is love. But God's love is not love as we define love to be. God has displayed His love for humanity in the act of appointing His only Son to become our Great High Priest and die on the cross in our place. God's love is seen in that what we rightly and justly deserve, God's wrath, was placed on Christ who was both fully man and fully God and completely righteous. The Great High Priest also chose to be the Sacrificial Lamb so that wrath of God would be satisfied in Christ's death and thus the way of eternal salvation was made for all of humanity for those who would accept and follow Christ. God's love was not displayed in an effort to maneuver mankind's sin into another way of reconciliation. No, God's love was displayed in such a way that punishment for disobedience was satisfied and the way for salvation and a life of obedience to what God prescribes could be lived.

- Therefore, it is impossible to affirm that same-sex marriages, though legally permissible, are holy before God.

- Those in the Church who avoid the extreme of more "right-sided", fundamental, grace-less, pharisaical, legalistic, sending-people-to-hell-one-good-deed-at-a-time, ought to be those who live with both grace and truth. We ought to seek to come along side those of the LGBTQ community to not shame them but rather open their eyes to the life-abundant found in what God prescribes for salvation, gender, roles, and orientation and what the Truth says about their current state and choices.

I offer an apology to the LGBTQ community who have been burned and harassed by those who oppose them. I apologize to those who have sought to only shame you, condemn you, and minimize you to scum of the earth.

I plead with the LGBTQ community that you do not let your thoughts of all Christians who disagree with views consistent to the Accurate Nashville Statement be seen as bigots and persecutors. There are those who may view you as evil and to be eradiacted, but that is not consistent with the intentions of those who truly follow Christ.

I ask the LGBTQ to also understand that those who truly follow Christ, and strive to live a life that increasingly grows in obedience to what God prescribes so that He may be glorified in our lives, cannot support the choices of the LGBTQ community in regards to gender, roles, orientation, etc.
There is explanation that can be offered for the fine details and points that could be made in response to the previous statement that would require more than just one blog post.

What I wish to convey: I as a believer, a sinner saved by grace, am not righteous on my own accord. Any righteousness credited to me is that which has been supplied by Christ and his Spirit at work in my life. Left to my own devices I would be lost and have no desire for Christ or Godliness. I do not and will not ever agree with what is progressively trying to be persuaded as acceptable to God in regards to LGBTQ views. I confess beliefs that wholeheartedly supportive of heterosexual, monogamous, covenantal marriages.

However, my devotion to Christ and pursuit of life that glorifies Him will never lead me to hating those in the LGBTQ community or any other community, for that matter. We are called to a love that is much tougher to accomplish by human strength and can only be displayed by the strength of the Holy Spirit. That same level and strength of love leads true believers of Christ to not support that which contradicts what God prescribes, however.

In closing, there are believers that have continued to cling to the buoy in the ocean. The Bride of Christ is experiencing it own hurricane season, and I fear will continue to for a while. But the anchor, Christ Himself/Truth, will never change. It cannot be uprooted and altered. I pray that those who have been swept away by the current take up the fight and plead for the strength of the Spirit to repent and come back to the Truth.

I pray that those who are lost and floating as dead men, to the "left and right", in the ocean would be grasped by those who hold to Truth and brought to the source of Life. I pray that the reign of Christ would be witness and worship in this world, this life, and that all of humanity would lay aside who they are at this very moment (emotionally, physically, spiritually, sexually, relationally, etc) and follow the One who beckons "Follow Me and I will make your fishers of men".