People who are behaving contrary to God’s way invent all types of ways to justify their sin in an attempt to prove that God loves them and couldn’t possibly see them any other way than the way they see themselves. Indeed, God does love everyone and the death of Jesus on the cross is proof of it when he died for the sins of all mankind, the payment for the price of sin.

 Since God doesn’t promote anything goes under the banner of love, it is important to study what the scriptures reveal about sin, salvation, and acceptable behavior after baptism. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul wrote, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. The meaning is simple. Whatever was the old behavior is now supposed to disappear and the believer now is to walk  in newness of life, Romans 6:4, Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. The verses leave no doubt that God expects the believer to clean up the behavior, engaging in the new godly behavior that will replace the old way of life.

In the previous lesson, the woman who was found in the act of adultery and brought to Jesus by the Pharisees was cited. Jesus told her to go and sin no more. John 8:11.  The issue was condemnation which she didn’t need since she stood condemned by her act and needed salvation. ... And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. The requirement of Jesus was to go and sin no more. He simply told her by his words that her conduct was sin and not to do it any more by conducting herself in ways that were pleasing to God. 

Homosexual sin was a problem in Corinth and Paul addressed it in I Corinthians 6:9-11, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (10) Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (11) And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. (There is no doubt that the phrase, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, refers to homosexual activity, no matter what or how much is said to disprove the truth.)  

Paul in the verses told them that God would not save those who engaged in the behavior he described and then said, such were some of you, which means that when they obeyed the gospel they were covered by the blood of Christ due to the faith showing act of baptism. They accepted the salvation that was made  available to them through the death and resurrection of Christ. The warning of Paul was not to go back to the old way of life since it had been cast it aside in the waters of baptism. 

The scriptures make it abundantly clear that homosexual behavior is sin and that those who continue in that way of life won’t be saved no matter how much they protest to the contrary and say that God loves them no matter what. God created us and made the rules for behavior in all things and set the requirements  for salvation. Walking in newness life as a new creation is the requirement after one expresses initial faith with the believer continuing to show faith in Jesus Christ by living the new redeemed life. Without that type of faith no one can be saved.

         © 10-19-2005 DEC

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