https://youtu.be/5OoKN3T73WA?si=-mYTTC93MhtC-_WN

A SCIENTIFIC STUDY REVEALS WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU READ THE BIBLE

You always hear people say that it’s important to read the Bible. But do you know why? A scientific study reveals the answer.

What Happens When You Read The Bible

Makayla Andrus shared the impact of reading the Bible 4 times a week.

“I recently heard of a scientific study of what actually happens to you when you read the Bible. The study was done on people ages 8 to 80.On days one and two, there wasn’t much of a difference but on day three, they started noticing a change. Here are the stats of what actually happened when the people read the Bible four times a week or more,” she said.

“Loneliness went down 30%.
Bitterness went down 43%.
Anger went down 32%.
Alcoholism went down 42%.
And watching pornography went down 60%.”

Testimony

One of the many testimonies shared prove that the word of God is alive. It changes hearts and minds, and transforms from within.

Jerry Devoe loved committing crimes because of the sense of power it gave him. He got involved in different crimes because he loved victimizing people. The criminal lifestyle became his identity for more than 25 years. Until one day, he read a Bible inside the jail out of boredom and curiosity.

“What is this Jesus have for me?” he said back then.

Jerry tried to change, but he struggled to break his felonious behaviors. However, Jerry started to feel guilt and shame whenever he committed them. So, he turned to the Bible to find hope.

“Lord, if You’re real, if You have a will for my life, help me to understand it,” he prayed.

Then finally, at 42 years old, Jerry gave his life to Jesus and left the life of crime.

Verses To Inspire You To Read The Bible

To help you better, here are few verses that will inspire you to read the Bible:

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). source

Bible Benefits According To Scientific Research

In this episode of More To The Story, Lucas Kitchen digs into some scientific research on the benefits of Bible engagement, prayer, and church attendance. You’ll be encouraged by the results. He also looks at 2 Timothy 3:16-17 which predates the research by thousands of years, but agrees with its findings.

Today we’re going to talk about some scientific research concerning Bible reading, and other spiritual practices, right after this.

Do you read you’re Bible? A study conducted a few years ago suggests you should. At least four times a week is the prescribed amount suggested. Let’s see how Bible reading and study might make a difference in your life in a segment I’m calling, Bible Benefits.

BIBLE BENEFITS

I don’t know if you’ve heard this or not, but I often have heard people say Christians are the biggest hypocrites of all. They claim Jesus but there’s no difference in their lives. Some recent research from CBE challenges that statement. Here’s how.

Not long ago CBE released some research that helps us understand the effects of Bible engagement and other spiritual habits on modern people. They divided their respondents into groups according to how often they attend church, and if they pray daily, and the amount they engaged with their Bible. Bible engagement includes listening to Bible based sermons, audio versions of the Bible, or just going old school and reading it.

They wanted to see if there is any measurable difference in the lives of people who interact with Scripture and take part in these other practices. They identified a few destructive habits that could be measured. Among them were Getting drunk, non-marital sex, gambling, pornography, and destructive thoughts. In the church world we call those risk activities, sins. The research wanted to find out if any of the habits were reduced in correlation to Bible engagement, prayer, and church attendance.

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES CHART

I have a graph here. If you’re listening on podcast you can see the graph by going to freegrace.in/Biblebenefits all one word. but I’ll give you the run down. The graph shows that there is a consistent drop in these destructive habits for those who engage with the Bible, pray, and attend church.

On average someone who attends church at least once per month looks to be ten to fifteen percent less likely to be involved in these destructive habits over those who don’t go.

Prayer plays a role too. It seems like prayer has the greatest effect on drunkeness, non-marital sex, and especially pornography, with nearly a 20 percent decline in those sins if someone prays at least once per day.

The final column on the chart breaks down different levels of Bible engagement and the affects they have. It seems that getting drunk, non-marital sex, and pornography have the sharpest decline for those who engage with Scripture four or more times a week.

Some overall findings show If a person engages with the Bible at least four times a week they’re 228% more likely to share their faith, 59% less likely to view porn, 30% less likely to struggle with loneliness.

It’s really pretty incredible. I love research. This is what church leadership has been telling us for 2000 years, but now research methods make it possible to corroborate those claims.

So are Christians the biggest hypocrites. Well, it depends on what you mean by Christian. It turns out that there are many self-identified Christians in the study, but being a Christian doesn’t mean that people were automatically different. For instance, if someone engages with their Bible only one time a week or less, they are statistically indistinguishable from non-Christians in terms of sin reduction. They have the same level of those destructive habits, and sins as non-believers.

So Christians who don’t take part in Christian activities might be struggling with hypocrisy, but there’s no doubt that Christians who engage with scripture, attend church, and pray regularly are different. Regular Bible engagement correlate to less risk activities.

CORRELATION ISN’T CAUSATION

Now, we should note, that correlation doesn’t always mean causation. That means that sometimes in data sets we notice that two criteria are correlated. Sometimes there are false correlations. I saw some great examples of this recently.

If you chart the number of people who drowned in a pool per year next to the amount of films Nicolas Cage appeared in each year from 99’ – 09’ the graph lines look very similar. Is there a correlation between pool drownings and Nick Cage movies? Uh… maybe, I mean I could see there being… but no… probably not. I’ve included a link to a bunch of hilarious false correlations done by Tyler Vigen.

So there you have a false correlation. However, when you have aspects that are interconnected and adjusting the amount of one affects the amount of another, we call that correlation. It’s a mutual relationship between two things. For instance, research has shown there is a correlation between poverty and property crime. That’s a provable correlation. However, is it crime that causes poverty, or is it poverty that causes crime? Or is it another factor outside these that interacts with both? It can be difficult to tell. So, that’s why we say correlation isn’t the same things as causation. Just because we recognize a correlation doesn’t mean we know exactly why it’s happening. It can be an interplay multiple factors.

WIth Bible reading I suspect that the correlation is not just affected by this habit, but by other factors. If you engage with the Bible, you’re more likely to pray. If you’re open to the Bible and prayer, then you’re more likely to find yourself fellowshipping with other’s who do the same, and those types of people often value lower levels of destructive habits and sin. It’s very hard to disentangle which of these is the “cause” if there is even a single cause.

The thing is, it might not matter. As an example, There’s a highway near my house. You can get on the high way in Dallas, or you can get on it in Hawkins, TX, or many other places, but however you get on, you’re on the highway and you’re going somewhere.

Salvation is like the ignition of your car. It’s a one time event that takes place the moment you believe in Jesus for eternal life. But after that point…

Discipleship is a highway, and you can get on it by Bible engagement, or you can get on it by fellowship. You can get on it by prayer. When you do, though, it’s going to take you places. Which ever one of those spiritual activities that brought you to the highway will inevitably lead to others. Before long you’re passing the onramp for the others as well. Discipleship is movement. It will change you.

This study shows, however, that there are lots of people who have believed in Jesus, but they aren’t taking advantage of the amazing benefits of Bible engagement, prayer, and church attendance.

INSPIRED BY GOD

I had an idea of a different verse I wanted to share with you today on this topic, but once again the verse of the day that popped up on Biblegateway just fit too well. It says:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Do you want to have a life marked by good work? Do you want to have a great life. Bible engagement, prayer, and church attendance is part of a balanced fulfilling life. I hope you’ll take advantage of these incredible tools Our Lord Jesus gave us.  source

source

Why should we read the Bible / study the Bible?

We should read and study the Bible because it is God’s Word to us. The Bible is literally “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). In other words, it is God’s very words to us. There are so many questions that philosophers have asked that God answers for us in Scripture. What is the purpose to life? Where did I come from? Is there life after death? How do I get to heaven? Why is the world full of evil? Why do I struggle to do good? In addition to these “big” questions, the Bible gives much practical advice in areas such as: What do I look for in a mate? How can I have a successful marriage? How can I be a good friend? How can I be a good parent? What is success and how do I achieve it? How can I change? What really matters in life? How can I live so that I do not look back with regret? How can I handle the unfair circumstances and bad events of life victoriously?

We should read and study the Bible because it is totally reliable and without error. The Bible is unique among so-called “holy” books in that it does not merely give moral teaching and say, “Trust me.” Rather, we have the ability to test it by checking the hundreds of detailed prophecies that it makes, by checking the historical accounts it records, and by checking the scientific facts it relates. Those who say the Bible has errors have their ears closed to the truth. Jesus once asked which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven you,” or “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” Then He proved He had the ability to forgive sins (something we cannot see with our eyes) by healing the paralytic (something those around Him could test with their eyes). Similarly, we are given assurance that God’s Word is true when it discusses spiritual areas that we cannot test with our senses by showing itself true in those areas that we can test, such as historical accuracy, scientific accuracy, and prophetic accuracy.

We should read and study the Bible because God does not change and because mankind’s nature does not change; it is as relevant for us as it was when it was written. While technology changes, mankind’s nature and desires do not change. We find, as we read the pages of biblical history, that whether we are talking about one-on-one relationships or societies, “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). And while mankind as a whole continues to seek love and satisfaction in all of the wrong places, God—our good and gracious Creator—tells us what will bring us lasting joy. His revealed Word, the Bible, is so important that Jesus said of it, “Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). In other words, if we want to live life to the fullest, as God intended, we must listen to and heed God’s written Word.

We should read and study the Bible because there is so much false teaching. The Bible gives us the measuring stick by which we can distinguish truth from error. It tells us what God is like. To have a wrong impression of God is to worship an idol or false god. We are worshiping something that He is not. The Bible tells us how one truly gets to heaven, and it is not by being good or by being baptized or by anything else we do (John 14:6; Ephesians 2:1-10; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:10-18, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-13). Along this line, God’s Word shows us just how much God loves us (Romans 5:6-8; John 3:16). And it is in learning this that we are drawn to love Him in return (1 John 4:19).

The Bible equips us to serve God (2 Timothy 3:17; Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12). It helps us know how to be saved from our sin and its ultimate consequence (2 Timothy 3:15). Meditating on God’s Word and obeying its teachings will bring success in life (Joshua 1:8; James 1:25). God’s Word helps us see sin in our lives and helps us get rid of it (Psalm 119:9, 11). It gives us guidance in life, making us wiser than our teachers (Psalm 32:8, 119:99; Proverbs 1:6). The Bible keeps us from wasting years of our lives on that which does not matter and will not last (Matthew 7:24-27).

Reading and studying the Bible helps us see beyond the attractive “bait” to the painful “hook” in sinful temptations, so that we can learn from others’ mistakes rather than making them ourselves. Experience is a great teacher, but when it comes to learning from sin, it is a terribly hard teacher. It is so much better to learn from others’ mistakes. There are so many Bible characters to learn from, some of whom can serve as both positive and negative role models at different times in their lives. For example, David, in his defeat of Goliath, teaches us that God is greater than anything He asks us to face (1 Samuel 17), while his giving in to the temptation to commit adultery with Bathsheba reveals just how long-lasting and terrible the consequences of a moment’s sinful pleasure can be (2 Samuel 11).

The Bible is a book that is not merely for reading. It is a book for studying so that it can be applied. Otherwise, it is like swallowing food without chewing and then spitting it back out again—no nutritional value is gained by it. The Bible is God’s Word. As such, it is as binding as the laws of nature. We can ignore it, but we do so to our own detriment, just as we would if we ignored the law of gravity. It cannot be emphasized strongly enough just how important the Bible is to our lives. Studying the Bible can be compared to mining for gold. If we make little effort and merely “sift through the pebbles in a stream,” we will only find a little gold dust. But the more we make an effort to really dig into it, the more reward we will gain for our effort. source

9 Tangible Benefits of Bible Reading

The more often Christians engage the Bible at least four times a week, the more bold they will be in sharing and growing in their faith.

By Jeff Martin

The Center of Bible Engagement compiled extensive research findings by Arnold Cole, Ed.D. & Pamela Caudill Ovwigho, Ph.D. into a document titled “Understanding the Bible Engagement Challenge: Scientific Evidence for the Power of 4.”

In the study, they polled 40,000 people ages 8 to 80. They wanted to see how people were engaging in Scripture.  As they compiled the results, they made a profound discovery they were not even looking for when they originally planned the survey.

The study indicated that when people engaged in the Scripture one time a week, which could include a pastor instructing the congregation to “open your Bibles…”, there was negligible effect on some key areas of their life. The same result was true if people engaged in the Scriptures two times a week. The result equaled little to no effect.

Three times a week saw a small indication of life. There was a slight pulse, a faint heartbeat. Something moved in the behavior of the person engaging in Scripture.

The eye opener happened when Bible engagement reached at least four times a week.

A steady climb of impact would have been expected, but that was not the case. The level was basically stagnant over days one and two, with a small bump on day three. But when day four was reached, the effects spiked in an astounding way. The stunning findings included the following:

1. Feeling lonely drops 30%
2. Anger issues drop 32%
3. Bitterness in relationships drops 40%
4. Alcoholism drops 57%
5. Sex outside of marriage drops 68%
6. Feeling spiritually stagnant drops 60%
7. Viewing pornography drops 61%
8. Sharing your faith jumps 200%
9. Discipling others jumps 230%

The research literally leaps off the charts. The findings hammer home the truth that there are profound differences between people who engage the Scripture at least four times a week and those who engage with the Scripture less often. This data is extremely revealing. There is a full-blown effort to keep the followers of Christ from consistently reading the Bible on a daily basis.

Integral to these findings is that people who engage the Bible one to three days a week indicate basically the same effect on their personal lives as those who do not engage at all. The deceptive reality is that they can feel good about their activities without any sustainable results. They think they’re being “good Christians,” but their lives are no different than people who aren’t Christians at all.

---

Study: Trauma-Informed Bible Reading Reduces Depression, Anxiety, Anger

Research in Virginia jail could help churches deal with emotional impact of the pandemic.

One day soon the pandemic may be past, and COVID-19, a memory. But the trauma—from the isolation, seeing people die, facing financial stress, and living with loss and the anxiety of the unknown—will continue for a long time to come.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of American adults with recent symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders increased more than 5 points between the summer of 2020 and the spring of 2021. One out of every 10 people reports having an unmet mental health care need.

“We’re going to see this level of trauma for many years,” said Nicole Martin, executive director of trauma healing at the American Bible Society (ABS). “It’s not just going to go away when everyone is vaccinated and everyone is allowed inside.”

Martin and the American Bible Society want to meet that need with trauma-informed Bible reading, teaching people about healing from trauma using Scripture.

A recent ABS-commissioned study by Baylor University researchers found that combining education about mental health best practices with Bible reading can have a significant benefit. In their study, this reduced the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and increased forgiveness, compassion, and sense of purpose. source

How Does Reading the Bible Affect Your Brain

How Reading the Bible Affects the Brain 

Reading the Bible has a strong emotional and spiritual impact on its readers for a lot of reasons. And reading the Bible imparts a strong influence on your faith and religious beliefs. But what impact does the Bible have on your brain?

In this article, we’ll be going in-depth into how exactly the Bible can affect your brain. As well as your thought patterns and beliefs. If you’re interested in learning about this topic, keep on reading.

What’s Happening Inside Your Brain When Reading the Bible?

When you’re reading your Bible, you may have a strong emotional reaction to scripture along with the stories. My heart pounds when Pharaoh is chasing the Israelites from the rear and the red sea is in front of them. Or when Esther states “I was born for such a time as this.” Even the dynamic between siblings, Rachel and Leah rivalry over Jacob. And their feud carries on to the next generation, after all it’s his step brothers who sell Joseph into slavery.

According to a study, your brain is reacting and responding in numerous ways when you read the Bible.

Dr. Michael Feguson performed a study, Where the researchers scanned and studied the brains of religious individuals. While they were practicing spiritual activities, such as prayer and reading scripture.

In this study, it was found that there were three regions of the brain that were the most active during these times. Areas such as the frontal attention lobe, the medial prefrontal cortex, and the nucleus accumbens all experience significant increases of activity and responsiveness during religious activities.

It was found that high amounts of

How Reading the Bible Affects Your Behavior 

Changes in our behavior begin with changes occurring in our brains. Here are a few of the ways reading the Bible can affect our behaviors:

 -It Encourages Goal-Oriented Behaviors

As we stated above, reading the Bible affects neural pathways within your brain. One of these neural pathways, in particular, is called the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, or ML-DA.

This system is also known as the brain reward pathway, and the activation of this pathway comes with a lot of benefits. Functional theories have credited the ML-DA with enforcing goal-oriented behaviors.

When this system is activated by reading the Bible, it can have multiple effects on the way you behave in your day to day life. For one, reading the Bible can encourage and inspire behaviors such as praying.

This is due to the fact that when the mesolimbic dopaminergic system begins working. It causes our brains and bodies to experience a strong emotional response, which in turn will affect our behavior. The more positive emotions you feel while reading the Bible. The stronger the effects are that occur within your brain.

-It Encourages Partaking in Community Activities

Not only can the Bible encourage you to begin spiritual practices such as praying. But it also motivates you to find a community of like-minded people to surround yourself with.

When you read and discuss the Bible in a large group setting, the emotional reaction is magnified. Since what you and others may experience is bound to be far stronger in a group as opposed to reading the Bible alone.

The Bible can have a strong effect on our brains. Which in turn can change our behaviors. Behaviors such as involving yourself in spiritual practices such as praying and being involved in a religious community stem from the emotional reaction you get from reading the Bible.

How Reading the Bible Affects Your Thoughts 

As we discussed earlier, when you read the Bible, emotional reactions occur within your brain that can have many effects.

But these chemical reactions that your brain experiences can also affect your thoughts. The more you focus on a particular belief or idea, the stronger your belief in that system will be. When you really begin focusing on these ideals, they become a part of your thoughts.

Your thoughts can differ depending on how you perceive the Bible or God. For instance, if you read the Bible and focus on God as a loving entity, you increase the amount of love and compassion in your body. That’s pretty amazing!

However, if you subscribe to the depiction of God in the Bible as vengeful, you may increase more negative emotions within your brain. Which will, in turn, affect your thoughts and actions. The more you draw your attention to certain ideas, the stronger your belief in these ideas become.

The Bible itself also speaks many times about the power of thought. So it’s clear to see how important it is to be mindful of what you’re constantly consuming and how you’re interpreting it.  As shown, your thoughts are very powerful.

In the video below, you can learn more about another study. That was done in terms of the connection between spirituality, brain chemistry, and how your thoughts are affected.

Your Brain on God: How faith Affect Your Brain Chemistry on YouTube is interesting.

Other Benefits from Reading the Bible

Not only does reading scripture have numerous benefits, but reading, in general, holds a lot of power and has many positive effects on the mind. Below we’ll explore some more ways reading the Bible can positively impact you.

For one, reading the Bible can heighten brain connectivity. When you read, you are using several brain functions at a time, including visual, auditory, comprehension, and more.

You are using multiple parts of your brain to decode the words on the page, and when you pair those functions with the other parts of your brain that are releasing chemicals like dopamine, you are sure to have a strong and emotional reaction to what you’re consuming.

It’s also proven that you can improve your concentration if you dedicate just as little as 30 minutes a day to reading your Bible.

If you already struggle with concentration, this is a great practice tool for you. Setting aside a time of day for yourself to read the Bible is great for creating healthy patterns and schedules for yourself. Patterns are built over time, and they all begin inside your brain.

Your brain is responsible for noticing patterns and helping you create structure. Not only will these patterns enable you to set time aside to read your Bible, but this time will also help with your concentration.

The Bible can have a strong and lasting impact on a lot of different factors within your life, including your brain. It’s fascinating to see just how much goes on internally when you’re reading scripture.

Conclusion 

We explored how the Bible can affect different areas of your brain, as well as your thoughts and actions. When reading scripture, chemicals are released within the brain that are caused by a strong emotional reaction on your end. 

We also discussed while our brains are experiencing change, our thoughts and actions will change as well. Depending on how we receive and decode messages within the Bible we can think and feel either positive or negative emotions.

Lastly, we discussed other ways reading your Bible can positively affect your brain and the ways you form patterns. So next time you open up your Bible, remember there’s a lot happening inside your brain. Which all contribute to keeping you and your faith strong.

 were released through the body, while reading the Bible. When dopamine is released, you are likely to be more focused, motivated, and happy.

It’s clear to see there are numerous chemical reactions and systems at play here. Many of which can positively affect your brain and make a lasting impact on your thoughts and behaviors.

Reading the Bible can affect neural pathways in the brain. These pathways  are in charge of cognitive thinking and behavior. As you read, dopamine releases and affects the thoughts you have while reading the Bible. These factors contribute to changing your ideals and key beliefs. 

Reading the Bible can do a lot more than just affect the brain, though. Once certain parts of the brain are activated, emotional responses begin to show not only inward, but outward in the form of behavioral changes as well.

---

9 Tangible Benefits of Bible Reading for Your Church

The more often Christians engage the Bible at least four times a week, the more bold they will be in sharing and growing in their faith.

By Jeff Martin

The Center of Bible Engagement compiled extensive research findings by Arnold Cole, Ed.D. & Pamela Caudill Ovwigho, Ph.D. into a document titled “Understanding the Bible Engagement Challenge: Scientific Evidence for the Power of 4.”

In the study, they polled 40,000 people ages 8 to 80. They wanted to see how people were engaging in Scripture.  As they compiled the results, they made a profound discovery they were not even looking for when they originally planned the survey.

The study indicated that when people engaged in the Scripture one time a week, which could include a pastor instructing the congregation to “open your Bibles…”, there was negligible effect on some key areas of their life. The same result was true if people engaged in the Scriptures two times a week. The result equaled little to no effect.

Three times a week saw a small indication of life. There was a slight pulse, a faint heartbeat. Something moved in the behavior of the person engaging in Scripture.

The eye opener happened when Bible engagement reached at least four times a week.

A steady climb of impact would have been expected, but that was not the case. The level was basically stagnant over days one and two, with a small bump on day three. But when day four was reached, the effects spiked in an astounding way. The stunning findings included the following:

1. Feeling lonely drops 30%
2. Anger issues drop 32%
3. Bitterness in relationships drops 40%
4. Alcoholism drops 57%
5. Sex outside of marriage drops 68%
6. Feeling spiritually stagnant drops 60%
7. Viewing pornography drops 61%
8. Sharing your faith jumps 200%
9. Discipling others jumps 230%

The research literally leaps off the charts. The findings hammer home the truth that there are profound differences between people who engage the Scripture at least four times a week and those who engage with the Scripture less often. This data is extremely revealing. There is a full-blown effort to keep the followers of Christ from consistently reading the Bible on a daily basis.

Integral to these findings is that people who engage the Bible one to three days a week indicate basically the same effect on their personal lives as those who do not engage at all. The deceptive reality is that they can feel good about their activities without any sustainable results. They think they’re being “good Christians,” but their lives are no different than people who aren’t Christians at all.

See also  Does Online Church Attendance ‘Count’?

This can be devastating to a movement. Limited activity is elevated to the same effect as consistent activity, when it is actually the same as no activity.

The reality is that with a lack of consistent Bible engagement defined as at least four times a week, Christians have less confidence in sharing their faith with others and are more vulnerable to falling prey to false teachings, as well as a lethargy and apathy in consistently living out their faith in their circle of influence. The studies show that the best spiritually based predictor among 13- to 17-year-old teenagers was their engagement in Scripture.

The other side of the coin is equally conclusive and encouraging. The more Christians read or listen to the Scriptures at least four times a week, the more bold they will be in sharing their faith and growing in their faith. Their lives will begin to have a profound impact on those immediately around them. There will also be fewer times of stagnation in their spiritual growth. They will become viral in their faith.

This mounting evidence of the impact of Scripture on not only the individuals in a society but on the actual underpinnings of an entire society can lead to the findings being discouraging when you find out that most people are not communicating to their center of gravity and are cut off, making them vulnerable to invasion. But the power of simplicity goes both ways. When a critical node is identified and reengaged, the entire system can be reinvigorated with astonishing and rapid effect.  source

---

More Benefits of Reading the Bible Daily

The Bible is our Heavenly Manna. It is the Bread of Life. However, most of us often hurry to get through the hustle and bustle of life without even eating our morning meal– the Word of God.

Moreover, we continue throughout the day without even compensating for it at noontime or nighttime.

I learned throughout my Christian life that you never waste the time you spend with God. Reading the Word, just like any other activity, has its advantages.

To enlist some, here are ten benefits of daily Bible reading:

1. It quickens the mind.

• The Bible as an educational material.

Psalms 119:130 says, “The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.”

The Bible, like any book, is a type of educational material. We learn from it not only Bible trivia but also principles which are useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

When we open and read through the pages of God’s Words, we connect ourselves to the ultimate source of knowledge and wisdom.

2. It makes one awesomely abundant!

• The best investment in life.

Reading the Bible is the best investment in life. According to Psalms 1:2-3, “Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, and whatever they do prospers.”

• Does God compensate people for reading the Bible?

This verse is similar to God’s charge to Joshua upon his succession of Moses’ leadership. The Lord says that if he keeps everything written in the law, he will succeed and prosper.

Well, of course, the act of reading the Bible is not what makes man prosperous. We are not compensated for reading the Bible. Instead, what makes him prosper is his obedience to what “thus saith Lord.”

3. It serves as our guide.

• It’s undoubtedly not blind leading the blind.

The Bible is the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path (Psalms 119:105). It means that it serves as our guide throughout life. And although it doesn’t explicitly tell us what to choose, it gives us principles to follow to help us in our decision-making, whether big or small.

Imagine the Bible as God’s voice stirring you where to go. He who sees the beginning and the end will never fail you.

He will allow you to see great signs and wonders. He will make you get through the fiery furnace of your life. He will even part the Red Sea, or calm the storm for His children, as you journey home to the heavenly abode.

3. It changes you.

• It has the power to stir the hearts to action.

Hebrews 4: 12 says, For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart.

One of the hallmarks of good literature is its ability to stir its viewers’ hearts to action. The Bible is a powerful book that changed the lives of billions of people from generation to generation.

• By beholding we become changed.

The Bible says, “By beholding, we become changed” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Thus, by constant meditation on God’s love letter, we become reflectors of God’s love and image, which is a powerful witness to the people around us.

4. It equips you for good work.

• A missionaries manual

The Bible equips us for righteousness as written in 2 Timothy 3: 16. In the preceding verse, however, we are charged to present ourselves to God as one approved, a worker does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth

The bare study of the Scriptures is enough to make a man equip for service. It is the missionary’s manual. He who receives a Biblical education gets the highest training the world could afford.

And although the study of sciences, literature, and other fields is beneficial, the Bible is still the best material to prepare man to work for God’s vineyard. Just think about Peter, James, and John?

5. It strengthens the faith.

• Our only safeguard for faith.

Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (KJV).

The Bible, along with prayer and ministry, is our only safeguard for faith. If the Christian is not rooted in good soil, he will wither. Daily Bible study allows us to grow healthy and fruitful.

Without daily Bible study, our visions of eternity will grow dim. Remember that we are all afflicted by sin, and without constant meditation of the Words of God, our strength will diminish, and our hopes will die.

6. It protects you from temptation.

• A Biblical life is a life of  active Bible study.

Psalm 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (KJV).

The Bible, according to Ephesians, is the sword of the spirit. When Jesus was on earth, He was able to defeat Satan’s temptations because of God’s Word.

• Jesus is our example.

Remember his famous line, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4)? Jesus was our example in all things. His life is our standard. And if we want to live a Biblical life, daily Bible study must be our guard.

7. It gives us joy.

• The answer to our live’s whys.

“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, LORD God Almighty” (Jeremiah 15:16).

The Bible does give us joy. It has the answers to all our lives’ whys; it encourages us when we are down; and it satisfies our souls with the abundance of love, joy, and peace.

I believe that there is a God-size hole in every human heart that He is longing to fill. No material wealth or possession can fill a place that only Jesus can.

8. It sanctifies us.

• The divine filter– God’s words.

In John 17:17, it says, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

Having faith won’t change the fact that our conditions are still imperfect. The Bible allows us to have a change of heart. It refines us to be more and more like Jesus.

When we read the Scriptures, we become aware of God’s holy precepts, laws, and standards. It leads us to repentance and a desire to live a righteous life. When we humbly receive the reprimands of Scriptures, we allow the spirit’s sanctifying power to affect us.

9. It reminds us of God’s wondrous deeds.

• It reminds us of past victories and gives security for the future.

“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 11: 8, 9).

The history of people in the past gives us the strength to carry forward to the unknown future. It is pleasant and fulfilling to know that this same earth was once the perfect world God created.

It is the world that experienced the great flood, ten plagues, and the parting of the sea. Do you know what the common theme is in these events? Deliverance. Daily Bible reading allows us not to forget how God delivered his children in the past and how He can deliver His children at present and in the future.

10. It leads us to salvation.

• The Way, the Truth, and the Life which became flesh…

Lastly, in James 1:21, it says, “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”

The Lord wants to have a personal encounter with us through the Scriptures so He can save us.

Jesus said He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the Word of God that became flesh. And it is only through Him that we can have salvation.

Indeed, if we study the Bible and feast on God’s words daily, we may take advantage of all these ten things and a lot more!

Reading the Bible is a spiritual commitment that yields spiritual and mental, social, emotional, financial, and physical results. The question is, why ask for snacks when God can give you a full meal? Munch and now the Word of God and be full!

source

---

More Benifits of How Reading the Bible, will change your life!

One of the best ways, in committing to your faith and learning the gospel is reading the Bible, consistently. But many people may not be aware of all the benefits of reading scripture. Therefore, this article provides eleven benefits of reading the bible and how bible reading will positively benefit your life.

Benefits of Reading Your Bible Daily

 The following is a brief list of benefits of reading the Bible: gaining wisdom, increase feelings of joy and hope, and encouragement by being reminded of God’s promises. Additional benefits include discovering the multitude of emotional, physical, and spiritual benefits that will make you and your faith stronger. All these factors can contribute to long term happiness and health.  Continue to read, if you would like to discover even more benefits to reading your bible. 

Honestly, I didn’t read a Bible until I was forty. Since reading my Bible on a consistent basis, I’ve transformed in so numerous ways. For instance, I went from a constant complainer to have a grateful heart. Another example, I didn’t feel the need to get the last word in which contributes to maintaining peace in my home. Therefore, the next section will detail the importance of reading your Bible daily to receive wisdom.

1 Reading the Bible Daily Increases Wisdom

An additional benefit of reading your Bible is gaining a wide range of wisdom. From financial wisdom to relationships and everything in between.

Not only do you gain knowledge of the historical content of the Bible, but you will gain wisdom for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Many Christians refer to the Bible as the “essential wisdom” as it is the simple message of the gospel in God’s word. Father God loved the world that He sent His only Son to die for our sins. And through Jesus Christ, we are reconciled to Father God. That’s the Gospel in the most simplest form.

Jesus is also referred to as “wisdom” in the Bible, as stated in of Colossians 2:3 “is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Wisdom Scriptures

According to Proverbs 2.6,  The Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge” An additional benefit or reading God’s biblical wisdom is it help you navigate through life, by steering you on the right path while being obedient to the Lord.

Components of Wisdom

Wisdom is known to have three main components, those being knowledge, understanding, and application. The first step towards gaining wisdom is arming yourself with knowledge and actively seeking out that information.

Knowledge of the Lord increases while Reading your Bible

Proverbs 1:7 states, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

In the passage above, fear also means revering the Lord. Those who fear and honor God will seek the His advice through reading the Bible. “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

Understanding

The next component of wisdom is understanding, in other words, grasping the biblical knowledge you have read. Understanding the Word of God is an important step to becoming wiser. Once you’ve filled the God’s word in mind and it sprouts like a seed in your heart, you will begin to see to fruition of the benefits of reading the bible.

You can ask God to give you understanding. God will always confirm His word to you, especially while reading the bible. I find when I ask God something, I stumble on it during my daily Bible reading. Sometimes, God will led me to the exact passage that I need to hear for that day.

“If any of your lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault.” James 1:5

You can dig deep in the word, through word studies, commentaries, and even find sermons on-line to further explain any topics. Mediate on specific verses throughout the day.

Additional wisdom will come as you read through the lives of biblical figures. Notice the key points and takeaway from their lives will encourage you.

Reading Proverbs daily will contribute to understanding wisdom. After all, there are thirty-one proverbs in the Bible, one of each day of the month.

Application

The last component to achieving wisdom is to begin applying what you have learned by implementing these ideas and practices into your life.

Gaining wisdom is definitely a benefit that automatically comes with reading the Bible. Not only are you gaining wisdom about God’s word, but you gain wisdom to apply to your everyday life. When you encounter struggles in your life, the Holy Spirit will bring into remembrance God’s word, the exact word that you need at the time.

2 Strengthening Your Faith

In addition to wisdom, the Bible is saturated with faith scriptures. Not to mention, all the faith-filled stories of God helping His people. Consistently reading your Bible will strengthen your faith in God and His word.

As you read through the Bible with a faith-filled heart, the words on the page and the biblical stories will bring your comfort, motivation, and direction. Studying the biblical stories we become emotionally invested. All these factors will explode your genuine faith.

Above all, God’s word provides a firm foundation. That is to say when you have Holy Spirit and other supernatural encounters you can line these experiences with God’s word which in turn will strengthen your faith.

As a result, your faith will naturally become stronger each day as you read the Bible. You can’t help spiritually mature by injecting consuming and implementing God’s word into all areas of your life.  As is stated in Romans 10:17, “ So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message of Jesus Christ.”

Reading your Bible opens your heart and mind to the Spirit and the Word of God. Coupled together, they will contribute to growing your faith every time you refer to the holy text. This is definitely another benefit to reading your Bible keeping you and your belief system indestructible against the storms of life.

3 Joyful Is Another Excellent Benefit or Reading the Bible

Similar to the other themes we have discussed, the Bible also emphasizes joy and pleasure. When you read your Bible and seek positive and joyful verses, you are bound to feel more joyful.

Also, every time you open up your Bible and begin reading, you are allowing yourself to become closer to God and his message. Which can’t help make you feel joyful. It is even said in the Bible that being joyful is not an option, but a command.

“Rejoice in the Lord always, Again I will say Rejoice!” 1 Thess 5:16

When you feel joyful, it shows in all aspects of your life, internally and externally. Not only will your mindset improve, but the way you treat others and yourself will change as well.

Reading your Bible will allow you to feel joy for a lot of reasons. Not only are you strengthening your relationship with your faith and with God, but your feelings of joy will improve many aspects of your life.

As the Bible said, joy should be experienced and prioritized. Reading your Bible will allow you to feel just that, which is a pretty big benefit for you at the end of the day.

4 It Gives You Hope By Reading the Bible

If you’ve ever felt lost, anxious, or confused, it’s likely you’ve turned to your Bible for some kind of guidance. The Bible helps us feel hopeful and positive when we are at our wit’s end. As you can find messages of inspiration and hope on every page.

But the hope you feel and receive when reading the Bible doesn’t solely come from inspirational verses. Hope stems from worshiping a God who will not desert you when you feel hopeless.

Reading the Bible consistently when you are feeling down is a great way to restore hope and joyful feelings back into your life. But if you’re looking for verses that speak of hope to look to in times of need. There are plenty of Bible verses that will give you the strength and motivation you’re looking for.

It’s harder on some days than others to feel hopeful. But the Bible aims to not only educate you on the Lord’s word but to guide you in times of need. This is definitely another benefit of reading your Bible and consuming the lessons inside, as it will drastically improve how you feel on a bad day.

5 It Reminds You of God’s Promises Is A Wonderful Benefit

Another benefit to reading the Bible is being reminded of all the promises God has made to you. Your faith continues to grow stronger when you count all the promises God has made to His followers.

It’s continually shown, within the stories of the Bible that God will follow through on the promises. God can not lie, and He will fulfill His promises to those that love Him. Seeing all the promises God has for you, while you read the Bible builds your faith. And allows you to connect with your faith and your Savior on a whole new level.

Similar to the ways we discussed how focusing your attention on verses that speak of joy help you when you feel lost and confused. Directing your attention to what God has promised can lift you up as well.

There are promises of God’s goodness and compassion everywhere within scripture. In Psalm 145:9, it says, “The Lord is good to all, he has compassion on all that he has made.” Reading scriptures like this, reminds you of the goodness of your Father. And additionally, it reminds you of the promises that have been made to you.

Reminding yourself of these promises benefits you and your faith in the long run. By continually, leaving you feeling stronger and the Lord is by your side and protecting you, 24/7.

6 You’ll Learn To Fall in Love with Jesus

When you read the Bible, you read stories about Jesus while on Earth. This will give you a whole new appreciation for your faith. Reading the words Jesus spoke, as well as the actions he took while he was here.

As a Christian, when you read the Bible, you don’t just learn about Jesus, but you get to know him personally by consuming the stories and lessons. This is a huge benefit for you, as your appreciation for your faith will grow when learning more about God’s son.

One of the best ways to truly learn about Jesus is returning to the actual, original source, meaning the Bible. Many Christians compared their evolving relationship with Jesus to beginning a relationship with a new friend.

In order to get to know a new friend, and learn to love and care for them, you have to spend a good amount of time with them. Spending time with Jesus through scripture is key to building a loving relationship with your faith, as well as Jesus.

7 You’ll Build Habit Is A Huge Benefit

Setting aside time each day to read your Bible is beneficial to you in a spiritual way. But what about in other ways?

Not only does reading the Bible draw you closer to your faith in God, but it allows you to build habits with yourself that become healthy lifestyle practices. When you begin to set habits with yourself, the more natural the action you wish to take becomes. It also becomes less of a chore after a while, and more of an enjoyable activity you look forward to.

Not only that, but when you invest time in reading your Bible every day, you’re not only investing in yourself, but you’re investing in your relationship with the Lord. Building habits is key to staying consistent within your religious practices, and it makes it easier to begin building other healthy habits as well.

8 You’ll Get to Know Yourself Better

Not only will you get to know God better through reading the Bible, but you’ll get to know yourself as well. Many Christians speak of finding themselves through scripture, and not only finding a loving and healthy relationship with Christ but with themselves as well.

Building a connection with someone relies on knowing who they are, as well as who you are as well. You can’t build a real relationship with anyone if you aren’t honest.

If you can show up to your relationship with God with honesty and love in your heart, you’ll strengthen that relationship, as well as the one you have with yourself.

For any relationship to work, both parties must approach it with honesty and love, as well as the knowledge of what they and the other person bring to the table. When you truly know yourself, you’ll get to know God.

Reading the Bible allows you to get to know yourself better through the different stories and lessons you might see yourself represented in through scripture. This is a huge benefit to you and your happiness in the long run.

9 It Gives You Instructions for Life Benefit

If you want to live your life fully, according to what God has in mind for you. Reading the Bible is the first step in learning about what you should be doing. The Bible is basically the original instruction manual and will assist you in how to be a good follower and believer as well as discover God’s nature.

Second, Timothy 3:17 says, “The scriptures are the compressive equipment of the man of God and fit him fully for all branches of his work.” It’s clear to see the Bible was specifically written to offer guidance and advice for you to follow.

As is stated above, the Bible is laced together to offer the followers of God a guide to turn to when they are in need. If you are currently facing a problem that has you feeling confused or scared, don’t be afraid to open up your Bible to see what God will communicate to you during this time of uncertainty.

Whether you are a new follower of the gospel, or you’re a Christian who doesn’t know where to turn, the Bible will give you the answers and instructions you need to live a happy and fulfilled life.

This is probably one of the biggest benefits reading the Bible has to offer, as you’ll always know where to turn when you’re in need of answers.

10 It Turns You Into a Role Model/Leader, Making you a benefit to others

Reading scripture can allow you to become a spiritual leader and role model within your family and your community. Using tools like the Bible allows you to spread these messages to your loved ones, as well as educate them on the contents of your scripture.

This is definitely beneficial to you if you wish to be the spiritual leader in your household, especially if you have kids. Educating yourself on the Bible and the messages within allow you to teach your children important lessons they can understand, and you can all discuss together.

You can also become a prominent figure within your community or your church. Knowing and understanding the wisdom that the Bible speaks allows you to reach out to others who may want to discuss these things with you.

Being a religious figure in your own household and community gives you and others so many opportunities to discuss spirituality, while also strengthening everyone’s faith in the process.

11 You’ll Become a Better Listener

When you fully understand and know the contents of the Bible, as well as your relationship with God, self, and spiritually, it’s easier to become a listener to others.

Good listening goes hand in hand with the teachings of Jesus. Active listening and empathizing with others is a large part of what Jesus was about. Implementing Jesus’s teachings into how you listen to others allows you to make real connections with others when you are actively listening.

When you fully understand the teachings of Jesus, you’ll be able to follow his methods by listening to others, as opposed to just hearing them. Also, it’s important to mention that when you listen to people’s questions and comments, you can respond correctly and fully understand where others are coming from.

This is highly beneficial to you and to others as well, as this causes you to make more genuine connections with others, as well as practice the teachings of Jesus correctly.

Conclusion

From spiritual to emotional factors, the Bible can allow you and your community to grow and evolve in different ways when you read scripture.

We discussed how the Bible aims to inspire you and make you feel joy in your time of need. It also allows you to make stronger and more genuine connections with God, as well as yourself.

Reading the Bible also gives you the opportunity to educate yourself on exactly what God has intended for you, as this scripture is seen as God’s instruction manual for you. You also have the chance to get closer to God and grow stronger in your faith when you read the Bible.

Prayer

Lord in Jesus name I pray God’s word will come alive in your life, you will see a breakthrough in all areas of your life. And that you will reap each and every one of these eleven benefits be magnified each time you read your Bible. May God Bless you! source

Once upon a time, in a small town nestled in the rolling hills of the countryside, lived a young boy named Tommy. Tommy was a bright and curious child who loved spending time outdoors, exploring nature and playing with his friends.

One day, as Tommy was playing in the park with his best friend, Sarah, he noticed a group of people wearing strange T-shirts with slogans like “Woke is the way!” and “Equality for all!” They were marching and chanting loudly, waving banners and flags. Intrigued, Tommy approached them to find out what was going on.

As Tommy got closer, he saw that the group called themselves the Woke Warriors. They claimed to be fighting for social justice and equality for everyone, regardless of their background or beliefs. Tommy listened carefully as the leader of the group, a woman named Ms. Smith, spoke passionately about their cause.

“Being woke means being aware of the injustices in our society and taking action to make things right,” Ms. Smith proclaimed. “We fight against discrimination, inequality, and prejudice in all its forms. Join us, and together, we can create a better world for everyone!”

Tommy was intrigued by Ms. Smith’s words and decided to join the Woke Warriors. He was excited to be part of a movement that fought for what he believed was right. He attended their meetings, participated in their protests, and even helped spread their message on social media.

But as time went on, Tommy began to notice some things that didn’t sit right with him. He saw that the Woke Warriors often attacked and bullied those who didn’t share their views. They labeled anyone who disagreed with them as “bigots” or “haters,” without even trying to understand their perspective. Tommy also noticed that some members of the group seemed more interested in seeking attention and gaining social media followers than actually making a positive change in the world.

One day, during a protest organized by the Woke Warriors, Tommy witnessed a disturbing incident. A peaceful counter-protester was expressing a different opinion, and instead of engaging in respectful dialogue, some members of the Woke Warriors started yelling and hurling insults. Tommy realized that this behavior went against everything he had been taught about kindness, empathy, and understanding.

Feeling conflicted, Tommy decided to speak to Ms. Smith about his concerns. But when he approached her, she brushed him off and accused him of being “ignorant” and “privileged” for daring to question the Woke Warriors’ methods. Tommy was hurt and confused. He had thought that the Woke Warriors were about inclusivity and respect for all, but now he wasn’t so sure.

One day, while Tommy was deep in thought, he heard a faint voice coming from a nearby grove of trees. He followed the sound and discovered a small, wise owl named Oliver. Oliver had seen Tommy’s inner turmoil and offered to be his guide.

“Tommy, my boy,” said Oliver in a soothing voice. “It seems like you’ve been caught up in a movement that has lost its way. Being ‘woke’ is not about tearing others down or silencing dissenting voices. It’s about being open-minded, respectful, and seeking genuine understanding. The true spirit of social justice is about building bridges, not burning them.”

Tommy nodded, realizing that Oliver was right. He had been swept up in the passion and excitement of the Woke Warriors, but he had lost sight of their original ideals. He thanked Oliver for his wisdom and set out to make things right.

Tommy decided to start his own movement, one that would embody the true spirit of Love which is belief in the creator not social justice. He called it “BIBLE STUDY” and invited others who shared his vision to join where we all learn the 10 commandments and how to treat others. We must follow the original meaning of “WOKE” prior to the anti-religion meaning that has disguised itself as good but morphed into attacking and bullying non followers of their version of “WOKE”. This is anything but what God teaches in his Bible

Bible = Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

Being “WOKE” in the bible means being awake to God’s rules his commandments to us his people, his children. As our creator he does want us to love each other as he as loved us. He does want us to be nice, kind and genuine withing the confines of his commandments and Bible not outside of it. Therefore some behaviors are not considered good in our creators eyes, and he has given us instructions on this matters.  We are not to use anger and evil to convince but peace, love and his words of his bible to guide our lost sheep.

God rejoices for the 1 lost sheep that finds it way back to the flock. He rejoices at the 1 that returns, for the one that has left and returned knows a different travel than those that never left. The one that returns knows of the true evil’s and dangers out there and returns back where he remembers true love, comfort and safety.  Those that never left although loyal to safety did not have to fight the temptations and dangers for they were in the comfort of their shepherd the entire time. To return after leaving is an example of wisdom that was obtained and a righteous choice has been made to turn away from traveling without directions and accepting the discipline and guidance as a form of TRUE LOVE!

1. What is the Biblical position on Homosexuality?

All teaching and practice must align itself with the Bible, since it is God’s Word. (II Timothy 3:16) There are a multitude of opinions based on “tradition,” “reason” and “experience.” The Church, however, subordinates tradition, reason and experience to Scripture. From a Christian perspective, all “truth” is valid, only to the extent that it conforms to the Word of God. Let’s look at what the Scripture states regarding homosexual behavior.

A. Leviticus 18:22
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”

A1 “Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants,” (Leviticus 18:34-25).

B. Leviticus 20:10-16
10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11 If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them. 13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 14 If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you. 15 If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

Among the sexual sins punishable by death, incest, adultery, bestiality and homosexuality are all placed in the same category. Judaism unambiguously prohibited homosexuality based on the “holiness code” given by the LORD in Leviticus. Judaism was unequivocal in its stance toward homosexual relations; they were an abomination.  There is not one syllable in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation that condones homosexual practice.  On the contrary it is universally and unambiguously condemned.

This is a valid point. For example Leviticus 19:19 states, “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.”

Which commandments remain valid for the Church today and which are obsolete? Attempts have been made to distinguish “ritual laws” from “moral laws” in the Old Testament. Ritual laws (dietary, circumcision, and a number of “outward” laws) were those laws which served the purpose to distinguish Israel from her pagan neighbors in appearance and form.  These were laws that were specific to Israel and not to the nations.  Moral laws-such as sexual sins were said to be timeless (and applied to Israel and the nations) and therefore applied to the new covenant as well. There is substantial weight in these distinctions, however, there is no clear systematization and distinction of “ritual” vs. “moral.” For this reason the New Testament must be analyzed.

C. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

As seen from the above text, the New Testament explicitly upholds the sexual laws that were mandated for God’s people in the Old Testament. This removes the apparent ambiguity regarding which Levitical sexual laws remain valid for the Church today. The New Testament consistently affirms the sexual laws found in the Torah. The above text explicitly demonstrates the Biblical teaching that homosexuality is considered sinful, in both old and new covenants.
This is repeated in 1 Timothy 1:9-10, “understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.”

The Greek words “malakoi” and “arsenokoitai” are translated “men who practice homosexuality” in the above texts. It has been convincingly demonstrated by New Testament Pauline scholars such as Richard Hays (Hays 1996, 382) and Robin Scroggs (Scroggs 1983, 106-108) that these words are direct derivatives of Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13 above (see mishkav zakur – “lying with a male.” (The Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) of Lev. 20:13 states, “Whoever lies with a man as with a woman (meta arsenoskoiten gynaikos), they have both done an abomination. “This the idiom from which the noun arsenokoitai was coined. Therefore, Paul’s use of the term presupposes and reaffirms the Holiness Code’s condemnation of homosexual acts. Richard Hays, 1994, 7)

Modern translations (ESV, NIV, NKJV, NASB, HCSB, NLT, RSV (1952)) translate these words accordingly. The NRSV translates the Greek words as “male prostitutes” for “malakoi,” and “sodomites” for “arsenokoitai.”

Furthermore in these passages the Greek word “porneia” translated “sexually immoral” includes all forms of sexually deviant behavior. The frame of reference for sexually deviant behavior was the Scripture, where “sexual immorality” consisted of all sexual relationships outside of the marriage between a husband (man) and wife (woman). (Leviticus 18:6-30) Prohibitions against “porneia” (sexual immorality or fornication) appear in the New Testament at least 25 times, often from the mouth of Jesus. (Mark 7:21)

In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 or 1 Timothy 1:10 Paul is not debating whether homosexuality is sinful behavior, anymore than he is debating whether idolatry, drunkenness, thievery or adultery are sinful. Paul is simply stating that such behavior (which unequivocally includes homosexuality) is inconsistent with the new life in the Messiah Jesus. He warns the church that people who practice such behavior will not enter the Kingdom of God. It is also clear that some in the church had practiced homosexuality in their former lives ie., before entering the new life in Christ. Therefore all persons can potentially be redeemed from homosexuality, as they can from any number of spiritual vices.

D. Romans 1:18-27. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

In this passage Paul demonstrates the consequences of God (1:24,26,28) permitting mankind to follow his own desires and passions.

Mankind’s unchecked desires are “para physin” or “contrary to nature.” Therefore God’s punishment is essentially letting mankind’s “unnatural” desires run their course. That both women and men would exchange natural (kata physin) relationships for those contrary to nature (para physin) is ample evidence for Paul that “God’s wrath is revealed.” (1:18)

Thankfully, the “gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16) God’s wrath can be averted by the power of the cross which has the ability to replace our “debased mind” (Romans 1:28) with the “mind of Christ,” (Philippians 2:5) whose desires conform to the will and purpose of God-kata physin.

D1. Counter Argument to Romans 1.24-26 – Homosexuality is ‘natural’ for some.

A common modern argument in favor of homosexual behavior is that it is indeed ‘natural’ for some, i.e. some people are born with a homosexual predisposition. This logic produces a morality based on personal predisposition or what is personally ‘natural.’ If am ‘naturally’ attracted to the same sex it must therefore be good. Christian teaching is not at variance with humankind being ‘naturally’ predisposed toward attitudes and behaviors which are inherently wrong. So what if I am naturally selfish, violent or predisposed to addiction or adultery or pedophilia? Does that ‘natural inclination’ therefore make it a ‘good’ thing? The Bible teaches that every person’s nature is corrupt and must be regenerated by God. Therefore Christ. Thus all men are born naturally into a multitude of vice ~ as Christians we trust God to produce in us a NEW ‘natural’ which is a product of the New Birth in Christ. “If any man be in Christ he is a new creation. The old is passed, behold the new is come.” (2 Cor. 5.17) This is why Jesus says that to enter the Kingdom of God a person must be “born again.” (John 3:3)

2. Jesus never spoke about Homosexuality directly.

Some people have argued that since Jesus never directly confronted the topic of homosexuality he therefore tacitly condoned it. This is an argument from silence. There are at least 3 objections to this rationale.

A. Jesus never directly addresses bestiality or pedophilia. This absence does not argue for their tacit inclusion into the lifestyle of the redeemed.

B. Jesus directly confronts “porneia” (Matthew 15:19) (often translated either fornication or sexual immorality) which included all sexual behavior outside of the bond of marriage between one man and one woman.  So in fact Jesus does speak to homosexual practice directly. Please bear in mind that first century Judaism universally acknowledged homosexual behavior to be sinful as it did adultery and all other relationships outside of the bond of heterosexual marriage.

C. Jesus’ purpose is not to set aside the Law of Moses.

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-20

“The Law of Christ” was in many regards more “difficult” than the Law of Moses since Jesus commanded obedience to the Law’s original intent. Whereas murder was “liable for judgment” (Matthew 5:21) in the Law, now “anger is liable for judgment.” (Matthew 5:22) and “hell-fire.” Whereas adultery was prohibited in the Law, now “lustful intent” is condemned, since it is indeed the source of adulterous behavior. In sum, the Messiah did not come to lay aside the Law, but to fulfill its original purpose.

3. “Homosexual is “natural” for some. God wouldn’t want to prohibit a person’s “natural inclination.”

First, in our discussion of Romans 1:24-26 above, we saw that homosexual behavior was not natural, but was in fact, “contrary to nature.” At the same time, because God has permitted man to follow his “debased” inclinations-homosexual behavior may appear “natural” in our fallen world. This is precisely why the current conventional wisdom to follow one’s own prescription for happiness is a recipe for destruction. Oftentimes our “natural” inclinations for happiness are in fact inclinations for corruption. Scripture teaches that we are not free to sin, but are in fact “slaves to sin.” (Romans 6:17)

Regardless of one’s inclinations, our guide to what is “natural” and “good” is Scripture. It is worth noting, that God’s aversion to “evil” behavior flows from the knowledge that sin is a force that destroys the creatures of God. God’s desire is that his creatures not be destroyed by sin but set free from its corrupting power.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

3.a  “If Paul had encountered monogamous, consensual same-sex relationships he would have endorsed them.  Paul only condemns exploitative relationships.”

First of all if you read Romans 1:27 Paul states unequivocally that the relationship in question is between two consenting men, “men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another.”  Paul does not have in mind exploitation of any kind.  Second, there were contemporary, 1st Century examples of non-exploitative homosexual relationships that were well known in Greco-Roman culture.  Robert Gagnon, the preeminent scholar on homosexual practice and the Bible, in his essay, A Book Not To Be Embraced cites Aristophanes’ speech in Plato’s Symposium and the speech of Callicratidas in the pseudo-Lucianic Affairs of the Heart as two worthy examples that were known in the 1st Century Greco-Roman world, which depict consensual homosexual practice. Philo of Alexandria (25BC-50AD) comments on Plato’s Symposium – which was well known in the 1st Century . Gagnon cites other primary source materials (including Plutarch – AD 45-120) which demonstrate that homosexuality existed in a consensual context in the Apostle Paul’s contemporary context.

In sum, Paul in Romans 1:27 clearly refers to homosexual practice between two consenting individuals. Second, as one would expect, there were examples of consensual non-exploitative homosexual relationships in Paul’s time and culture. Therefore Paul was aware of consensual homosexual practice – and he clearly forbids it – in all of its forms.

4. Christians are prohibited from “judging others.”

“He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:7)

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2)

Some Christians believe that to declare homosexual behavior as sinful amounts to Pharisaical judgmentalism. The two texts above are often cited to support this idea.

First, In John 8:7, Pharisees (Religious leaders) bring a woman caught in the act of adultery. When Jesus said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her,” Do we believe Jesus was promoting a type of amoralism- “To each his own,” as we might say? Was Jesus indifferent toward sin? Did Jesus permit such behavior since, “no-one is perfect”? The answer to this question is found in the last verse of this narrative, which is less often cited, “and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:11b) Jesus addressed two problems in this narrative, the error of adultery as well as that of hypocrisy. Jesus clearly was not advocating a “laissez faire” approach to Christianity. Jesus didn’t condone either the hypocrisy of the Pharisees or the adultery of the woman. Jesus confronted both issues.

It is true that Jesus warns of the natural human temptation to be unduly concerned with the sins of others, without having the same concern for one’s own vices. Indeed we are warned against hypocritical judgment. It is for this reason that Jesus says, “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:4-5. In sum, the above passages do not present a Jesus indifferent to sinful behavior. Neither do they present a mandate for Christians to remain silent in the face of sin. Jesus plainly confronts both sin and sinner, but warns against hypocrisy in doing so.

5. Jesus accepted the social outcast of his day (lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors, etc) Jesus therefore accepts the Homosexual lifestyle.

Jesus’ ministry gives us the correct definition of “acceptance.” First, Jesus did spend a significant amount of time with “social outcasts.” This is evident to anyone who reads the gospels.

“The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Luke 7:34

Jesus was often criticized for his close association with “sinners.” The question for the Church is, “What was the purpose of the association?” Did Jesus touch the leper and leave him leprous? Did Jesus visit the adulterer, prostitute, greedy, self-righteous and tax-collector and affirm their respective captivity? No. In each case Jesus confronted the bondage issue, and invited freedom. The results were varied. In some cases the “sinners” recognized their captivity and were set free (Samaritan Woman, John 4; Zacchaeus, Luke 19). In other cases the sinner left carrying his chains (Rich Young Man, Mark 10:17-31). The point is clear: Jesus’ association with “sinners” was motivated out of a desire to see redemption; it was not an association that affirmed vice.

6.  Can I be ‘Gay’ and Christian?

There are many people who sincerely believe that their human identity is inextricably bound up in their sexuality. Scripture challenges that idea.  Our primary identity as Christians is in our union with Christ (Ephesians 2:6).  “Christ is your life.”  (Colossians 3:4) As followers, we are all required to lay down our ‘self’ at the cross and ‘follow.’ (Mark 8:34) Our sexual attractions do not form the basis of our human identity – Christ forms that basis and all must be subject to him.  Our identity is a product of what God says about us in His Word.  That is not deny or to hide from our attractions – especially those that are clearly not a part of the Kingdom. All Christians have attractions and desires which do not conform to our new nature in Christ. Scripture calls these “deceitful desires,” which form part of our old nature. (Ephesians 4:22) These are the sins that “beset” or “entangle;” sins which we are admonished to “lay aside.” (Hebrews 12:1)  If you are a Christian and have same sex attraction first you need to agree with God’s Word that this is not an attraction from the Father.  Do not be tempted (as many have unfortunately and unwisely done) to create a ‘god’ who will condone your feelings, thoughts, attractions and actions.  Agree with God and His Word – which is given to us to redeem us from bondage. Only God can define reality. Temptation is a part of the life of the disciple (Matthew 6:13) and can be resisted through God’s faithfulness to His children (1 Corinthians 10:13)  Acting out on our temptations is a different story.  1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (above) makes it clear, however, that people can be deceived into thinking that practicing homosexual behavior is compatible with the Christian life.  It is not (in any form), and people who practice homosexual behavior (like heterosexual promiscuity) will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Scripture simply doesn’t conceive of any possible scenario for homosexual behavior or identity.

7.  Conclusion

In sum, the canon of Scripture is unequivocal in its presentation of homosexual behavior as a part of human depravity. There can be no honest biblical interpretation that affirms this behavior in any form.  There is not one syllable of Scripture that condones or supports homosexual behavior. Homosexual practice like any other deviant behavior is not irreversible. Though the Scripture teaches that we are all born into iniquity-the Scripture equally teaches that the power of the gospel is mightier than the power of sin and its multitude of manifestations.

The church would do well to have a closer association with “sinners.” Too often Churches have not become salt and light to their respective communities, but have become social clubs of like minded “religious people.” If Christians are not socializing with the lepers and tax-collectors of the 21st Century, then we have lost our calling. The body of Christ should seek out and love homosexuals, listening carefully to their pain, struggles and same sex attractions, and lead them to freedom that comes through faith and repentance in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.”
Charles Wesley, 1739
(to commemorate the first anniversary of his conversion)

source

OLD TESTAMENT

Leviticus 20:13

The Bible

The Bible generally teaches against any sexual relations except between husband and wife. The Bible specifically mentions sexual intercourse between persons of the same sex as among the forbidden acts. Homosexual acts are mentioned in seven Bible passages: ¹

• 2 refer to rape (Genesis 19:5, Judges 19:22)
• 3 refer to intercourse between men (Leviticus 18:21-22, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:27)
• 1 refers to intercourse between women (Romans 1:26)
• 1 refers to prostitution and possibly pederasty (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
• 1 is general in nature (1 Timothy 1:8-10)

Old Testament

The first mention in the Bible is in Genesis 19:1-13. The wicked men of Sodom attempted a homosexual rape of two messengers from God who had come to visit Lot. As a result of this and other widespread wickedness, God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in a storm of fire and brimstone.

The next two mentions are in Leviticus

You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. (NKJ, Leviticus 18:22)

If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. (NKJ, Leviticus 20:13)

Life was harsh in early Old Testament times. The Old Testament prescribed the death penalty for the crimes of murder, attacking or cursing a parent, kidnapping, failure to confine a dangerous animal resulting in death, witchcraft and sorcery, sex with an animal, doing work on the Sabbath, incest, adultery, homosexual acts, prostitution by a priest’s daughter, blasphemy, false prophecy, perjury in capital cases and false claim of a woman’s virginity at the time of marriage.

Related article: What Does the Bible Say About Capital Punishment and the Death Penalty?

It must be emphasized that, according to the New Testament, we are no longer under the harsh Old Testament Law (John 1:16-17, Romans 8:1-3, 1 Corinthians 9:20-21). The concern with punishment is now secondary to Jesus’ message of repentance and redemption. Both reward and punishment are seen as properly taking place in eternity, rather than in this life.

In the Old Testament, homosexual activity was strongly associated with the idolatrous practices of the pagan nations surrounding Israel. In fact, the word “abomination,” used in both mentions of homosexual acts in Leviticus, is a translation of the Hebrew word tow’ ebah which means something morally disgusting, but it also has a strong implication of idolatry². Thus, some Bible scholars believe the condemnations in Leviticus are more a condemnation of the idolatry than of the homosexual acts themselves^3,4. However, that interpretation is not certain.

Related article: What Does the Bible Say About the Old Testament Law?

New Testament

Jesus never mentioned homosexuality, but He did condemn all forms of sexual immorality:

What comes out of you is what defiles you. For from within, out of your hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile you. (TNIV, Mark 7:20-23)

The apostle Paul, in one of his letters to the Corinthians, wrote the verses most often quoted on this subject:

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (NIV, 1st Corinthians 6:9-11)

These verses have been translated in many different ways. The word translated here as “male prostitute” is the Greek word malakos which literally means “soft to the touch.” However, it was used metaphorically to refer to a catamite (a boy kept for sexual relations with a man) or to a male prostitute in general. The word translated here as “homosexual offender” is the Greek word arsenokoites which means a sodomite, a person who engages in any kind of unnatural sex, but especially homosexual intercourse⁵. Some believe this use of arsenokoites referred specifically to the men who kept catamites⁶, but that is not certain.

There are two other New Testament mentions of homosexual acts, in Romans 1:25-27 and 1 Timothy 1:8-10. In this passage from Romans, again in the context of idolatry, Paul mentions women who “exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.” This is the only mention of lesbian acts:

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator– who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. (NIV, Romans 1:25-27)

Interpretation and Questions

Perspective

As with many Bible topics, there are uncertainties and different opinions about how the Biblical evidence should be interpreted. The challenge of accurate interpretation is to determine what message was originally intended, how it was understood by people of that time, and how the lesson should be applied in our own time. That involves a lot of specialized knowledge of the original Biblical languages as well as the culture and issues of those times. The Bible often speaks of sexual matters in euphemistic and vague terms, and there is a lack of understanding of how Biblical-era people used and understood those terms.

Prejudices, fears and misconceptions about homosexuality are deeply rooted in our culture. The subject evokes strong emotions which may hinder understanding it from a Biblical perspective. Many common beliefs and attitudes about homosexuality actually have their origins in our cultural traditions rather than in the Bible. The Bible prohibits homosexual intercourse but does not treat it as one of the major sins. There are only 7 Bible passages on this topic, and it is not one of the major sins mentioned in the Ten Commandments or by Jesus. (In comparison, the sin of hatred is mentioned 21 times, lying and false testimony 30, greed, avarice and covetousness 40, theft 42, adultery 52, murder 57, self-righteousness 79, and idolatry 169 times.) When read in context, a majority of the Bible passages refer to specific homosexual practices which violate other important Bible prohibitions such as idolatry, rape, prostitution or pederasty.

Interpretation

The traditional interpretation of Bible teachings is that homosexual acts of all kinds are serious sins. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary has a concise statement of traditional views:⁷

Homosexual behavior is prohibited in Scripture (Leviticus 20:13) and was a major cause of the divine judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:4-5, 12-13). The apostle Paul listed homosexuals among “the unrighteous” who would not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9), and declared that God’s wrath stands against such behavior, whether practiced by men or women (Romans 1:26-27).

D. H. Field, writing in the New Bible Dictionary, has a more detailed and nuanced analysis:⁴

The Bible says nothing specifically about the homosexual condition (despite the rather misleading RSV translation of 1 Corinthians 6:9), but its condemnations of homosexual conduct are explicit. The scope of these strictures must, however, be carefully determined. Too often they have been used as tools of a homophobic polemic which has claimed too much.

The exegesis of the Sodom and Gibeah stories (Genesis19, Judges 19) is a good case in point. … On both occasions the sin condemned was attempted homosexual rape, not a caring homosexual relationship between consenting partners.

The force of the other OT references to homosexuality is similarly limited by the context in which they are set. … Viewed strictly within their context, then, these OT condemnations apply to homosexual activity conducted in the course of idolatry, but not necessarily more widely than that

Regarding New Testament passages about homosexuality, all of which are attributed to the apostle Paul, Field writes:

It seems beyond reasonable doubt that Paul intended to condemn homosexual conduct (but not homosexual people) in the most general and theologically broad terms he knew. His three scattered references fit together in an impressive way as an expression of God’s will as he saw it.

But in recent years, a number of questions and issues have been raised which challenge traditional interpretations. For example, Presbyterian theologian Mark Achtemeier argues against the traditional view of homosexuality in his book, The Bible’s Yes to Same-Sex Marriage, An Evangelical’s Change of Heart:⁸

This book is the story of a change of heart. In the middle 1990s, I was a conservative church activist working hard to defend the “traditional” teaching of my own Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that was condemning homosexual practice. In the fall of 1996, I published an article supporting traditionalist efforts to keep openly gay and lesbian people from serving in positions of ordained church leadership. Those efforts proved successful, and the result was a constitutional ban on gay ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), beginning in the summer of 1997. The passage of fourteen years found me working to repeal the ban on gay ordination I had once helped put in place.

Achtemeier uses the story of a young seminarian named Kristi (not her real name) to illustrate the problems with traditional interpretations:

What kind of God were we dealing with, I wondered, if the traditional condemnations of homosexuality were faithful and accurate reflections of the divine will? That would mean that God places Kristi and others like her in a situation from which there is no escape. They have absolutely no ability to wish or pray or choose their way out of their same-sex attraction, yet God condemns them unless they can change it. God further adds to the difficulty of the situation by withholding the gifts and calling that would make lifelong celibacy a realistic possibility.

… That was a distressing picture to contemplate, but fortunately I realized it was a picture that stood in utter contradiction to the portrait of God painted by Scripture. If the Bible and Christian proclamation are true and if Jesus really is God-with-us, then the clearest picture we have of what God is really like is Jesus himself. And there was absolutely nothing in Jesus’ life or ministry that even remotely resembled the kind of gratuitous cruelty that would bring someone into existence only for the purpose of breaking or condemning them. To the contrary: Jesus’ love and compassion broke through all the traditional barriers of his age, reaching out to embrace even his own enemies (Luke 23:34). Jesus spoke about God’s heart rejoicing when the wandering find their way home (Luke 15) and about God’s desire that no one be lost (Matt. 18:14). None of this fit with the picture of a God who would cruelly leave no path to grace for people like Kristi.

Achtemeier concludes that traditional condemnations of homosexual acts are based on a fragmentary reading of the Bible that is inconsistent with overall Bible teachings:

At the beginning of this journey, described in chapter 1, I had found strong reasons for doubting whether the church’s traditional condemnations of homosexuality were in line with the will of God. Now I found myself considering how it was possible for those teachings to be mistaken, even though they seemed to be based on a reasonably straightforward reading of individual passages taken from the Bible. I found strong evidence, both in the history of the church and in the testimony of the New Testament, supporting the conclusion that this fragment approach to interpreting biblical Law is unreliable and highly prone to error. These findings lent further credibility to my initial strong suspicions that the traditional condemnations were contrary to the will and plan of God.

… The predecessor denominations of my own Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) split over the issue of slavery in the mid 1800s. Going back and reading about that history, one discovers that the pro-slavery churches were defending their positions by appeal to the Bible! Isolated fragments, pulled out and interpreted apart from the overall witness of the Scripture, led those devout southern Presbyterians to conclude that their pro-slavery cause was blessed by God. Another such episode, which extends into more recent times, saw well-intentioned Christians appealing to isolated scriptural fragments as they argued to keep women in subordinate roles within both church and society. The fragment method clearly has a long and sad history of providing “biblical” justification for teachings that we can recognize in hindsight  as contrary to the will of God. SOURCE

Where does the Bible say that Homosexuality is a sin?

The Bible establishes upfront God’s basic design for marriage and human sexuality, and the biblical authors make clear that anything outside of that God-designed union of man and woman in permanent matrimony is sinful. Thus, even if homosexuality went entirely unmentioned in the Bible, the clear sexual ethic that runs through the Scriptures from beginning to end would exclude homosexual practice and make it clear that such acts are sinful. The Bible does go further and explicitly identifies homosexuality as a sin in several places, so this is not merely an inference or deduction, but the focus throughout Scripture is on a positive picture of a specific design for sex between a man and a woman within a committed marriage as God’s design which we cannot step outside without sin.

Sexual morality is an important topic throughout the Bible, and its basis was established in creation itself. At the beginning of Genesis we are told:

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth,’” (Genesis 1:26-28).

So, God made humanity uniquely in His own image. He granted them a special purpose and position of governance, giving them dominion over the earth and all its fullness. He made them male and female and bid them to be fruitful and multiply, thus ordaining and blessing sexuality as a positive good, a procreative act between men and women. This theme is developed more in the second chapter:

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed,” (Genesis 2:24-25).

Father and mother. Husband and wife. Two becoming one flesh. Naked without shame. This is God’s beautiful design for marriage and sexuality. Indeed, the very story of Genesis 2 communicates this wonderfully. Eve made from the rib of Adam, bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. A woman and man literally a part of one another. Man is incomplete and imperfect without woman. The woman is made from man as is God’s ultimate gift to man. The two are equally made in the image of God and share dominion over creation, yet each is distinct and completes the other. Together they can make life and complete the purpose God has for humanity. This is God’s design, and it is a masterpiece of beauty. To reject it and conceive of our own sexual vision is to blaspheme the designer and profane the gift. This is the standard that runs through all of Scripture and the foundation for biblical sexual morality.

Jesus Himself reminded people of this. When they challenged Him on divorce, He did more than just tell them the right answer to the question. He reminded them that God established sex and marriage long before Moses and that the standard goes back to the beginning.

“Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?’ And He answered and said, ‘Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate,’” (Matthew 19:3-6).

Some try to object that since Jesus was addressing a question about divorce, the logic He uses here must, therefore, be restricted only to that question. That somehow the overtly stated supremacy and standard of what God designed in marriage from the beginning can have no other implications, but this is absurd. If a mother warns her son not to touch the stove because it is way too hot and things that hot will burn you, it is perfectly legitimate for him to deduce that he should also keep his hands back from fire for the same reason. If things that hot burn you, then it doesn’t apply only to stoves. If the basis of Marriage and sexuality is what God joined together in the beginning, the implications are clear and broad. A man, if he is to be sexually active, must marry a woman and be sacredly devoted to her. The conclusion of the conversation is telling:

“The disciples said to Him, ‘If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.’ But He said to them, ‘Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it,” (Matthew 19:10-12).

Wholly devoted marriage to a woman or complete chastity is the only options a man has. Anything else is sin. As Paul notes:

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God,” (1 Thessalonians 4).

All of this, of necessity, rules out homosexuality.

In the law of Moses, there are very explicit statements about the immorality and sinfulness of homosexuality. For example, we read:

“You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination,” (Leviticus 18:22).

This is not simply one of the distinctive holiness commands by which Israel was to set themselves apart from other nations as a special people, like dietary laws and such. This is a moral law by which all nations are judged before God. The list of primarily sexual sins in Leviticus 18 that contains this command ends with the statement:

“Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants,” (Leviticus 18:34-25).

The nations were not punished for eating pork, wearing mixed fabric, or even working on the Sabbath. Such commands were distinctive to maintaining Israel as a sacred people. The nations were judged, however, for breaking universal moral laws of God like sexual immorality, including homosexuality. Now, some have suggested that this is meant specifically to address ancient homosexual temple prostitution as it related to the worship of false gods, but that is not how Leviticus treats it. Note in chapter 20 we read again:

“If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them,” (Leviticus 20:13).

But this is not in a section about cultic practices. Note the verses just before:

“If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. If there is a man who lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death, their bloodguiltiness is upon them. If there is a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed incest, their bloodguiltiness is upon them,” (Leviticus 20:10-12)

And just after:

“If there is a man who marries a woman and her mother, it is immorality; both he and they shall be burned with fire, so that there will be no immorality in your midst,” (Leviticus 20:14).

This is about consensual, interpersonal, sexual acts. It’s not about idolatry. A man is not to have sex with another man for the same reason he is not to commit adultery or incest. And again, we are told that the other nations were judged for these very things and that this is why God abhorred the Canaanite nations, (Leviticus 20:22-23). Thus, the precepts against homosexuality (and all sexual immorality) are not limited to Old Testament Israel. They are a standard by which God judges all the peoples of the world.

The standard does not change in the New Testament. The New Covenant writings uphold the same clear sexual morality for the same reasons, and they explicitly point out Homosexuality as a sinful deviation from it. To the church in Rome, Paul takes the issue, again, right back to the beginning.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen,” (Romans 1:18-25).

Creation, the fall, the dawn of human sinfulness, and the origin of our idolatries and immorality are all first summarized. What is the result?

“For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,” (Romans 1:26-28).

Homosexuality is cited as an example of the depths of human sinfulness when we reject God and His standard. Indeed, part of what makes homosexuality sinful is that it is “unnatural,” i.e. opposed to the obvious design of men and women. God has a purpose for human sexuality, and this is not it! Elsewhere in the New Testament, homosexuality is listed among other sins from which Christians are to repent and turn from in coming to Christ:

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God,” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

“But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted,” (1 Timothy 1:8-11).

So, while homosexuality is not a primary focus for most of the Bible, it is plainly identified in several places as a sin. What’s more, it is a clear violation of the specific, positive sexual ethic that is a major focus throughout Scripture. SOURCE

What about Transvestites, Transgender and Transsexual People?

Proverbs 8:36 ESV – Transsexual

But he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

Philippians 3:2 ESV – Transsexual

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV – Transsexual

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

Genesis 1:27 ESV – You are perfect, just the way you are without mutilating yourself

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Deuteronomy 22:5 NIB  – Transvestites

woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this. (NIV,)

TEMPTATION AND STRENGTH AND CONTROL OF ONESELF, THOUGHT MIND SPIRIT AND BODY

Psalm 109:2-5 ESV 

For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause. In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer. So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

Psalm 6:8-9 ESV 

Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.

Pope Francis said homosexuality is ‘a sin’ but ‘not a crime’

By Lawrence Richard | Fox News

Leviticus 20:13

Pope Francis said during an interview Tuesday homosexual relations are “not a crime” and called laws that penalize homosexuality “unjust.”

At the Vatican, the Pontiff said that God loves everyone as they are and called on Catholics to do more to welcome people from the LGBTQ community into the church. He also encouraged them to support laws allowing homosexual practices.

“Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” Francis told The Associated Press.

Amid his remarks, Francis said there needed to be a distinction between a legal crime and a religious sin with regard to homosexual practices: “It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin. Fine, but first, let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”

Pope Francis speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Vatican, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023.  (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The Pope added: “It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another.”

The Pope also addressed how some Catholic bishops support laws criminalizing homosexuality in some parts of the world. He, too, has referred to the issue in terms of “sin” but said bishops and others should undergo a process to change their thinking to recognize the dignity of all people.

“These bishops have to have a process of conversion,” he said, saying the bishops should observe the same “tenderness, as God has for each one of us.”

The Associated Press reported 67 countries or jurisdictions around the world have laws on the books criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity. Of these countries, 11 can or do impose the death penalty, according to The Human Dignity Trust.

Italian Arcigay gay rights association activists hold banners and flags during a demonstration in front of The Vatican, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009.  (AP Photo/Sandro Pace)

Such laws, even if not enforced, can contribute to harassment, violence or allow people to become stigmatization against LGBTQ people, according to the United Nations, which has repeatedly called for an end to such laws.

The UN also said such laws violate rights to privacy and freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. They are also a breach of international law to protect the human rights of all people, per the international body.

Francis called these laws “unjust,” and said the Catholic Church could and should work to put an end to them. “It must do this. It must do this,” he emphasized.

Francis also said gays must be welcomed and respected: “We are all children of God, and God loves us as we are and for the strength that each of us fights for our dignity.”

Pope Francis speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Vatican, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023.  (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The Pope has made embracing the LGBTQ community a hallmark of his papacy but he has not challenged or changed Catholic teachings, which say people must be treated with respect but homosexuality is “intrinsically disordered.”

Francis repeatedly and publicly ministered to the gay and trans community and once favored granting legal protections to same-sex couples without wholely endorsing gay marriage, which Catholic doctrine forbids.

Despite the appreciable remarks, the Pontiff has been careful not to use the Vatican’s doctrine office to support or bless same-sex unions “because God cannot bless sin,” he said in 2021.

Pope Francis acknowledged that Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws that criminalize homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community, and he himself referred to homosexuality in terms of “sin.”  (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Such laws that impose the death penalty for homosexuality are common in Africa and the Middle East, some of which are inspired by Islamic law.

Catholic bishops are somewhat torn on the issue as some maintain a literal interpretation of Scripture and do not recognize homosexual relations, while others call for laws against homosexuality to be overturned.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

By Mark Gray 7:26pm PST, Nov 28, 2022

Psalms 6:7-9      NLT My vision is blurred by grief;
my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.
Go away, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.
The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer.

Candace Cameron Bure calls herself the Queen of Christmas, but her recent comments aren’t bringing joy to everyone. In a November 2022 interview with the Wall Street Journal, the “Full House” alum spoke about her decision to leave the Hallmark Channel for the Great American Family network — where she’s a chief creative officer as well as an actress — indicating the network has no plans to feature same-sex couples. “I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core,” Candace told WSJ. The team at GAF, Candace said, are “Christians that love the Lord and wanted to promote faith programming and good family entertainment.” The comments didn’t sit well with everyone in Tinseltown, including one of her co-stars.

The Devil forces the weak to comply……….

Jodie Sweetin seemed to shade her “Full House” co-star as she backed JoJo Siwa. “You know I love you,” Jodie replied to JoJo’s criticism of Candace Cameron Bure on social media. Afterward, Candace unfollowed Jodie on Instagram.

As your read below the Ever-growing Acronym LGBTQIA+ Mental Illness Requires you to Agree with Their Satanic Rituals of Homosexuality and Gender Mutilation and Blurring of the Lines as clearly stated in the bible 

“Honestly, I can’t believe after everything that went down just a few months ago, that she would not only create a movie with intention of excluding LGBTQIA+, but then also talk about it in the press. This is rude and hurtful to a whole community of people,” tweeted JoJo Siwa, who previously called Candace Cameron Bure the “rudest” celebrity she’s ever met. JoJo added that Candace’s marriage comments are “genuinely embarrassing.”

The Weak Must Bow Down and Get On Their Knees Following Suit or They Will Be Ousted from Hollywood and $$$$$ to Eat too… Fear Not Says the Lord, Keep His Word Close, You Will Be Just Fine! He will give you everything you need to keep mind, body and spirit fed!

“Make DJ Gay Again,” Maren Morris said in an Instagram comment, referring to Candace Cameron Bure’s “Full House” character name.

“Bigot. I don’t remember Jesus liking hypocrites like Candy. But sure. Make your money, honey. You ride that prejudice wave all the way to the bank,” Hilarie Burton, a Hallmark Channel regular, tweeted to Candace Cameron Bure.

Bigot……..the word they love is the LEFTS TOOL devised by Satan as an Evil Plot to blur right from wrong. Meanwhile they separate themselves into THIS SHIT LGBTQIA+ plus WHITE, BLACK, MEXICAN, UKRAINIANS, IMMIGRANTS, ETC they GROUP PEOPLE which is BIGOTRY…. Speaking GODS WORD or CHOOSING NOT TO AGREE with ANTI-GOD BEHAVIOR is not BIGOTRY it’s TEACHING…. DONT RUN SINNERS, COME KNOCK …Jesus is here for ALL OF US!

“How’d I miss this twit?!” actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan — Hilarie Burton’s husband — chimed in below her reaction tweet. “Who the f*** is this person? Hey Hil? You’re awesome. We lucky to have ya. X.” The “Walking Dead” star later added, “‘Make your money honey.’ Lol… cooked kids dinner and was laughing whole time. Wife has words AND timing.”

“I love you @candacecbure for continuously choosing Christ before all. The media is an absolutely VILE space for negativity and I applaud you every time for how you handle yourself with the utmost grace. As they continuously twist the narrative to beat down on the Kingdom, you stand firm in faith and never let others dim your light for Him. No matter how out of context or warped the words may get, the enemy will not prevail. Society has gotten completely out of hand with believing every strategically worded headline broadcasted by the media…followed by cancel culture which is nothing but ugly. It is so incredibly sad to watch. I am lucky to get to view you from a lense closer than most, and see how you are truly the real deal. The Lord shines through you time and time again. The battle is HIS,” Candace Cameron Bure’s daughter, Natasha Bure, wrote on Instagram.

“Go off jojo!!!!!!! “Maddie Ziegler replied to JoJo’s criticism of Candace Cameron Bure.

Sick how they all bow down to the Evil Ways of LGBTQIA+ to GET $$$$ SHAME, by not stopping Evil, they let it prevail and God has a place for those who allow the twisting of minds against him, and the confusing of his young ones… To the point they self mutilate themselves.

The original article leaves out all the facts how the TRUTH that…. LGBTQIA+ is SPIRITUALLY & MENTALLY OFF

https://www.wonderwall.com/celebrity/celebrities-including-a-co-star-react-to-candance-cameron-bures-marriage-comments-670507.gallery?photoId=10001

What Does the Bible Say?

Psalms 6:7-9      NLT My vision is blurred by grief;
my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.
Go away, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.
The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer.

God will help you avoid temptation

– 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Rights To MURDER CHILDREN DONT MATTER!

Psalms 6:7-9      NLT My vision is blurred by grief;
my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.
Go away, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.
The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer.

Hold Fast To Good; Abstain From Evil

This is gotten from this specific verse:

But test all things carefully [so you can recognize what is good]. Hold firmly to that which is good. Abstain from every form of evil [withdraw and keep away from it].

– I Thessalonians 5:21-22 [AMP]

Key Point: When we are satisfied that anything is right and true, and good, we must hold it fast, and not let it go, no matter what opposition or persecution we meet with – MHC.

Why should we “hold fast”?

We’re advised to hold fast to good in order to build up our faith. We must not always be seekers, going to and fro, blown about by every wind of doctrine, double-minded. Rather, we must be firm in our faith, knowing what we believe. We also hold fast to good to help us get through the bad times.

Jesus, because of the joy set before Him, was able to endure the cross! He focused on the glory ahead to get Him through His painful experience on the cross. And we must do the same! In life, there will be ups and downs, but we can get through these periods by discerning what is good and holding on to it.

How do we know what is good?

Paul specifically states that we hold fast to that which is “good.” In this verse, “good” is from the word kalos, denoting a thing that is sound and in order – tested, proven, and authentic. God’s word and the promises therein have been tried, tested and proven authentic – we must hold fast to them, for they are good. We must not let the troubles of life seize them from us.

Remember the Old Testament characters who received prophetic words, such as Abraham or Joseph, they had to “hold fast” to these promises before their fulfilment! Likewise, you must clutch steadfastly to prophetic utterances spoken over your life that you have tested to be legitimate and biblical. These promises often test us — just as the word of the Lord tried Joseph (see Psalm 105:19). Scripture says,

O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.  

– Psalm 34:8 

Some of us have had experiences that left a “bad taste” in our mouth and lead us to conclude that everything relating to God is not good at all. However, taking this approach is illogical. It’s like someone saying, “You know, I ate food once and got food poisoning, so I’ve made the decision that food is bad and I’ll never eat food again.” How silly! Instead, we apply longsuffering in our walk with God and our experiences with His people. The hasty generalisation that all things pertaining to God, or the Church is bad because of one or two experiences is no way to live as a Christian.

How do we Hold Fast?

Like our heavenly father, we hold fast by taking possession, affirming and sustaining it, by embracing it and refusing to let go – this is how God holds fast to His elect whom He considered good upon creation. We too must discern a good thing, not by the standard of our flesh, but the standard of God’s will and intentionally hold fast to it the same way God holds fast to us with His love. Declare it out loud, just as God did when He declared that creation was good. Scripture says: out of the abundance of a man’s heart, his mouth speaks. Therefore, the very things we speak reveal the substance we hold on to in our hearts.

A few other bible verses which demonstrate ways in which we can hold fast  to good include:

– I Corinthians 15: 1-2: By welcoming, accepting, standing on and faithfully remembering it.

– John 15.10: By consistently practising it. 

With this final verse below I want to encourage you to discern the good, speak it out loud, focus on it, make it the subject of your thoughts and actions:

Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].

– Philippians 4:8 [AMP]

STEP 3: ABSTAINING FROM EVIL

Abstain From Evil.

The battle of Christian living is mainly to get our emotions changed, not just our behaviour. Scripture says God loves a “cheerful” giver – it’s not just about giving, it’s also about the emotional state of the giver. This shows that God’s requirements for Holy living extend beyond behaviour to include our emotions!

So when Paul says, “Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good,” we must remember he is commanding our emotions, not just our behaviour. We may abstain from fornication, but if our emotions linger on it then we are not fulfilling the true calling of this verse!

But wait! What if your heart loves evil and hates good? (one example is the person who loves pornography/fornication and hates sexual purity) How can such a person obey this command? The answer is that they must be born again. We can’t make ourselves immediately hate or abstain from what we love, only God can. Only by being born again can God give us new hearts and help us win the battle against evil in our lives.

See John 3:3-7; Romans 8:7-8; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16, Ezekiel 36:26.

Now, for those of us who have committed our lives unto God, abstaining from evil can be practised on two levels:

A. In our relationship with others

An important part of abstaining from evil is watching how we respond to offences which arise in the course of dealing with people, especially those who are in our family of believers. How many times have we held on to evil words and things that people have spoken or done to us? Not only do we hold on to them, we meditate on them, bury them deep in our hearts and regurgitate them as soon as we get the first opportunity!

Someone offends you, you bury it someplace safe in your heart, pretend you have forgiven them, only for it to resurface as gossip or a means to chastise the next time the same person does something wrong.

Beloved, God holds fast to our good, not our evil deeds and we who are made in His image ought to demonstrate the same in good measure to others! 3 John 11:

Do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.

B. In our relationship with God

When scripture speaks of abstaining from evil, we often imagine not doing bad things to other people i.e. wickedness, which is “action-based” and is committed by one person against another.

However, it is better to think of the general notion of evil in terms of sin.

All form of sin is evil. 

Therefore, to abstain from evil is to abstain from sin and maintain intimacy with God. He alone is good, and we must hold fast to Him and throw whatever threatens our hold on Him in the gutter. In Matthew 18:9 Jesus makes a very chilling statement:

If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

This begs the question, how serious are you about avoiding sin?

Are you serious enough about holding fast to God that you would cut off anything that prevents you from doing so? Are you serious enough about abstaining from every form of evil that you would go to great lengths to tear it out and throw it away?

These are questions worth thinking deeply about. How committed are you to holding fast to God and abstaining from evil? Will your hold be affected by life’s circumstances, internal/external forces or the opinions of people? As you ponder on these questions, I leave you with one last charge:

Abstain from sin, and whatever looks like sin, leads to it, and borders upon it. He who is not shy of the appearances of sin, who shuns not the occasions of it, and who avoids not the temptations and approaches to it, will not long keep from doing sin.

– Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Contributor to the Religion News ∗ SELAH ∗ https://gossipforjesus.com/2018/12/04/no-more-blurred-lines-hold-fast-to-good-abstain-from-evil/

Blurred Lines

Contributor to the Religion News Matt Slick

Jesus drew lines in the moral landscape of Israel.  He opposed the religious hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees and set a proper distinction between what is holy and what is hypocrisy (Matt. 23).  For this, he was killed.  But, the powerful testimony he left before his death and after his resurrection is recorded in the Bible.  His words and life are a beacon of light to all who want truth and desire to know the difference between right and wrong.  With Jesus, there were absolutes.  With Jesus, there really is such a thing as truth and error, right and wrong, eternal life and eternal death.

However, in today’s world, relativism, which is the bedfellow of the secular, is becoming the temptress of the sacred.  In the world of the secular, people are taught to avoid passing judgment, whether it be in regard to other peoples’ beliefs, or lifestyle preferences, sexual orientation, moral judgments, faithfulness, and personal ethics.  The secularists want tolerance shown to their ungodly lifestyles.  So, they consider sin to be an anachronistic and meaningless concept.  The world does not want the Christian to shine a holy light on its sin.  Instead, the world wants to have its sin without condemnation, without guilt, and without consequence.  The world offers a philosophy of “It is right if it is right for you,” and “What is wrong for you is not necessarily wrong for anyone else.”  In the secular realm of relativism, there are no absolutes.  There are no paradoxes.  There are no truth statements except to say that all views are acceptable — except the biblical one.  In Judges 17:6 it says, “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” When there is no King, when there is no God, then truth becomes a disposable opinion.  The secularists of today, like the kingless people of ancient Israel who have no direction, want to do what is right in their own eyes.

It doesn’t take long for any serious Bible student to recognize the problems of relativism aren’t only in the secular realm.  It is in the Christian church as well.  We see so-called Christian denominations and churches that approve of homosexuality, or couples living together, or who preach from how-to books and not the Bible, who water down the gospel, and teach a weak doctrine of God, sin, Christ, and salvation.  Unfortunately, these kinds of churches are in bed with their secular mistresses and are being seduced into further and further spiritual adulteries.  Their eyes are not on God’s word but on relativism.  That is why the lines that Jesus drew so sharply in the Gospels which separate the sacred from the secular are becoming more and more blurred by the relativism of today as it seeps into the Christian church.

The blunt truth is, however, that there is an absolute right and wrong.  We find it in the Bible which says that homosexuality is a sin.  It is not an “alternate lifestyle.”  It is a rebellious act of people who oppose the God-ordained institution of marriage between a man and a woman (Gen. 2:18-25).  The Bible says that living together is a sin.  It is wrong since it is the participation of the sexual union outside of the covenant establishment of marriage.  The Bible teaches us about husbands and wives, not about “significant others.”  The Bible teaches us to NOT bow to social norms if they contradict God’s word.  Therefore, it is always wrong to lie, always wrong to commit adultery, always wrong to steal, always wrong to bear false witness, etc.  It is wrong because God says it is wrong because what is right is based upon God’s holy character.

Furthermore, doctrine is important and there can be no compromise on the truth of what God has revealed.  There is only one God in all existence who has always been God (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; Psalm 90:2).  God is a trinity (three persons in the Godhead – Matt. 28:18-20; 2 Cor. 13:14).  Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:1,14).  Jesus is the ONLY way to salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).  If you do not believe and trust in Christ alone for salvation, then you are damned to eternal hell (John 3:17-18; Matt. 25:46).  These are only some of the many truths of the Bible that are under attack from the world, from the cults and other false religions.  As unpopular as they may be, they are still true.

We Christians are to sharpen the lines between truth and error.  But, to do this we must first know what the truth is.  We must know what the Bible actually says about right and wrong, about doctrine, about God, about ourselves, about judgment, and about Jesus.  And then, we must be willing to say, “That is sin,” when we see sin.  We must be willing to stand up for righteousness, even if it costs us.  Far too many Christians compromise and let the world take their truth and gospel in exchange for comfort and safety.  The manifestation of this compromise is found in churches with social agendas instead of biblical mandates, who do not condemn sin but practice it and who seek ways to appease the world instead of God.

Let me say it again:  The world wants to blur the lines that separate the absolutes of morality and truth from its lies and compromise.  The world wants Christian morality and absolutes removed.  It wants moral and truth grey areas to overshadow biblical truth.  By contrast, however, the Christian church is supposed to sharpen those lines by preaching, teaching, and standing up for the absolute truths of God’s word.

But, should we be a people that stand united in truth with fists raised in stern defiance against the world’s relativism and moral compromise?  Well, yes and no.  Yes, in that we are always to stand up for what is right.  No, in that if standing up for what is right is not done in love, then our message of truth cannot be heard.  Truth without love is hypocrisy.  Love without truth is a lie.  Both truth and love must be presented in harmony.  The Christian church should be true and it should also be beautiful.  In other words, it should teach what is right and it should LIVE what is right.  1 Tim. 1:5 says, “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

In your life, are you living both the truth and the love that Jesus presented to us?  Are you proclaiming truth at your job?  Are you teaching it at home?  Are you standing for truth in society?  Are you proclaiming truth in love?  Are you teaching truth by a loving example?  Are you living the truth?

Now, lest I risk teaching moralism and further the degradation of truth in the world, I must make it clear that both truth and love are based on the cross of Christ.  At the cross, we see the perfection of truth and love realized together on the hard lines of that bloodied tree.  It is true that Jesus died and rose again.  It is true that his love for us bought us our salvation.  It is true that the cross is the only hope for mankind.  It is true that people need to die to themselves.  It is true that love is sacrificial and that it can cost us our lives.  It is true that there is such a thing as sin and it is true that we can point out what is right and wrong in the world because Jesus lived what was right and wrong, died, and rose from the dead to prove that what he said was true.

The church that has lost its truth is a false church.  The church that has lost its love is a godless church.  The church that has lost Jesus is a church of the devil.  The more the lines are blurred between the sacred and the secular, the more we move towards apostasy.  May it never be!  We must firmly trace out the lines already drawn and lovingly point out that there is a right and a wrong.  We point this out by pointing to Jesus.  But pointing this out must be preceded by living the truth, not simply proclaiming it.

We need to make sure that the lines between the sacred and the secular do not become blurred.  We must make sure that they are sharp.  We must proclaim Christ and Him crucified and that He alone is the way, the truth, and the life.  Without Him, there is no truth.
https://carm.org/bible-devotions/blurred-lines/

What the Bible says about Blurring the Lines
(From Forerunner Commentary)

1 Corinthians 6:12

The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 14:23, “Whatever is not from faith is sin.” This indicates that there is more to Christian living than merely following rules. It is key for a Christian to understand the principles involved in God’s laws, not just the letter-of-the-law wording.

Those in the world argue that the law is done away altogether, and believing this, they find numerous gray areas. To support this belief they will use I Corinthians 6:12. However, just a few verses earlier, he seems to say something totally different! Notice verses 9-10:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

Paul does not intend for this list to encompass every sin possible, but he does cover a lot of ground. In addition, he begins verse 9 with “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom,” which casts a wide net. So if fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, the covetous, and drunkards will not enter the Kingdom of God, how then can all things be lawful?

Verse 12, we find, is a poor translation. Paul is paraphrasing what some people were saying—and still say today. Notice that he repeats “all things are lawful for me, but . . .,” following each phrase with an objection. The Contemporary English Version renders verse 12 as, “Some of you say, ‘We can do anything we want to.’ But I tell you that not everything is good for us. So I refuse to let anything have power over me.” The New International Version is similar: “’I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but I will not be mastered by anything.” Clearly, Paul is telling us what others have said and giving his response.

We are free-moral agents, in other words. We can make our own decisions. We can sin, if we wish to, but there are consequences. Paul says he refuses to let “anything have power over me.” He implies that he keeps a close watch on his thoughts and actions.

Notice verse 9, again from the Contemporary English Version:

Don’t you know that evil people won’t have a share in the blessings of God’s kingdom? Don’t fool yourselves! No one who is immoral or worships idols or is unfaithful in marriage or is a pervert or behaves like a homosexual . . . .

Are there gray areas here? Not to God, but our definition of “evil people” might be different. Certainly “immoral” is open to wide interpretation these days in the world. To “worship idols” can be looked at in different ways. Is “unfaithful in marriage” just an affair or is it more? Each of us knows exactly what these things mean to us, and that is as it should be. We do not need an exhaustive list, or we should not, of all the possibilities of each category. We should know the principle involved.

This is one reason we do not see many lawyers as members of the church. Lawyers are taught to see everything as a gray area. “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is,” as the lawyer Bill Clinton famously said. It seems that, as we grow in the faith, gray areas disappear, and the line becomes clearer. Satan and his world, on the other hand, are busy blurring the lines, trying to make us feel guilty or prudish if we judge something to be sin and choose not to participate.

I have known ministers who thought they were the town sheriff and had to be in on all decisions in our lives. Others, though, taught the principles involved and left it to church members to make decisions for themselves. Once our teachers have taught us God’s way, the burden is on us, not them, to know right from wrong. We must know where the lines are.

Mike Ford (1955-2021) https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/18414/Blurring-Lines.htm

Acts 17:10-11 King James Version (KJV)

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Your heart beats 100,000 times per day, its his choice it does! That’s 36,000,000 (36 Million Times PER YEAR) ALL HIM . That’s 2,880,000,000 (2.88 Trillion Times in the AVERAGE 80 YEAR LIFE SPAN) ALL HIM.. Now That’s Amazing!

Those Who Harm Children, What Does the Bible Say?

Thank the Man…..Jesus…. Who took a very painful death to save your sinning butt! Now that is a soldier… That’s Love… Thank God

Psalms 6:7-9      NLT My vision is blurred by grief;
my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.
Go away, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.
The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer.

Those Who Harm Children, What Does the Bible Say?

HERE IT IS B.I.B.L.E. – BASIC INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE LEAVING EARTH

Basic
Instructions
Before
Leaving
Earth

Matthew 18:6 But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Mark 9:42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

Luke 17:2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.

Psalm 91:9-16 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. …

Psalm 127:3-5 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

God will protect his children from their enemies. The evil ones may attempt to harass God’s children but they won’t prosper. The contrast of their imagination will actualize. The enemies will stumble! Meanwhile, God’s children will make positive advances and prosper; they will have every reason to praise.  God’s power is limitless. He will demonstrate it to favor his children and defeat their foes. God has both visible and invisible weapons that can be used to defeat the enemies and also protect his children.

Nahum 1:14 The Lord has issued a command concerning you: “Your name will no longer be perpetuated. I will cut off idol and image From the house of your gods. I will prepare your grave, For you are contemptible.”

2 Thessalonians 2:8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;”

1 John 3:8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

Deuteronomy 33:27 “The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms; And He drove out the enemy from before you, And said, ‘Destroy!’

Deuteronomy 33:27 “The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms; And He drove out the enemy from before you, And said, ‘Destroy!’

Proverbs 14:11 Verse Concepts The house of the wicked will be destroyed, But the tent of the upright will flourish.

Psalm 94:23 He has brought back their wickedness upon them And will destroy them in their evil; The Lord our God will destroy them.

Psalm 28:5  Because they do not regard the works of the Lord Nor the deeds of His hands, He will tear them down and not build them up.

Psalm 73:19 How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! Proverbs 10:29 Verse Concepts The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright, But ruin to the workers of iniquity.

Hosea 7:13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me.

1 Timothy 6:9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.

Philippians 1:2 in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.

Philippians 3:19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.

Psalm 34:21 Evil will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

We are living in a world where “evil” has become common place. 
No thought against it, just a constant moving forward with it. 
Oh, what a terrible place to be in your mind. In a battle with the enemy? 
Trouble on every hand? Does the enemy attack appears to be relentless
No need to fear, worry nor fight, but trust God instead, because power belongs to God! 
Believe it or not, but evildoers will eventually destroys themselves. 
The ungodly only need enough rope to hang themselves. 
Their own iniquities shall be their punishment. Yes, wickedness is it's own executioner. 
The evildoers wickedness, though designed against others, shall destroy him or herself.
Fear no evil for thou art with you says the Lord.

Exodus 23:24 You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their sacred pillars in pieces.

Gospel LK 19:41-44  As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace– but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Children are a precious gift from God. As adults, we have the privilege and responsibility to care for them, pray for all children’s protection and safety, and help children around us live the full and abundant life God desires for them.

If you do wrong be afraid,
God is not a myth
you will be corrected
because you do not believe or…
do not self correct…
and do not take up his word…

Psalms 6:7-9      NLT My vision is blurred by grief;
my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.
Go away, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.
The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer.

God will help you avoid temptation

– 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Low minded men care solely about appearances,
but a Christian holds his convictions at all times
Especially when no one else is watching!

• courage
• strength
• temperance
• humility
• patience
• mercy
• generosity
• nobility
• hope