{"id":2018,"date":"2024-01-11T14:03:09","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T14:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/?p=2018"},"modified":"2024-01-16T18:24:47","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T18:24:47","slug":"the-lgbtq-movement-is-winning-the-war-over-definitions-in-the-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/?p=2018","title":{"rendered":"The LGBTQ Movement is Winning the War over Definitions in the Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A recent article of January 9, 2024 by David Crary in Religion Hub entitled \u201cHow to deal with same-sex unions? It\u2019s a question fracturing major Christian denominations\u201d discusses the fracturing taking place in three major denominations over the issue of same-sex marriage (i.e., the LGBTQ agenda).  See https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2024\/01\/09\/how-to-deal-with-same-sex-unions-its-a-question-fracturing-major-christian-denominations\/<\/a>   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After reading the article, which seems to be representative, it is apparent that the LGBTQ movement is winning the argument over definitions as demonstrated by the words used to describe those who believe in a biblical position and those who ascribe to a non-biblical damning position (e.g., 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).  For example, those who take the biblical position are characterized as \u201cconservative\u201d and \u201copponents of LGBTQ-inclusion.\u201d  Those who take the non-biblical damning position are described as \u201csupports of LGBTQ-inclusion,\u201d \u201cprogressive,\u201d and those that \u201cembrace LGBTQ-inclusive policies.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homosexual practice is damning sin and for a church to affirm such behavior keeps the offenders on the road to hell (1 Cor. 6:9-10). The evangelical Christian church needs to step in and boldly proclaim the biblical message about sexual morality in the 21st<\/sup> Century and carry out the command of Ephesians 5:11\u201312 (NASB 2020) [emphasis added]:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

11<\/sup> Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12<\/sup> for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

IF YOU ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IF YOU ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN, what is today’s best course of action?  Allow today to be \u201cthe day of your salvation\u201d right now!  Please (1) read through \u201cGod\u2019s Plan of Salvation\u201d so you can understand what God did for you through His only unique Son, Jesus Christ, and (2), from the bottom of your heart, pray the \u201cSinner\u2019s Prayer\u201d meaning every word.  If you do, you will be reconciled to God \u2013 saved – through Jesus Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon your salvation, you must begin two basic practices.  First, you must read the Bible daily.  The Gospel of John is an excellent place to start reading. Also, you should learn how to study the Bible.  The book How to Study the Bible<\/em><\/strong> by Robert M. West (Barbour Books) is excellent.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, you must find a spiritually solid Bible-believing church that: (1) teaches that the sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, (2) believes in the doctrine of the Trinity, and (3) teaches that salvation is by grace through faith and not by works of any kind.  Contact me, and I will try to locate a solid Bible-believing church in your area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s Plan of Salvation<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the beginning, God, who is holy, created the entire universe.  As a part of His creative actions, He made humans (male and female) in His image to know Him.  For a while, everything was right between God and our ancestors, Adam and Eve.  But Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God, whereby Adam\u2019s sin was passed down to all of humanity, creating a separation between God and humanity.  We cannot do anything to bridge that separation so that without God\u2019s intervention, hell is our eternal destination.   Fortunately for us, in His great love and mercy, God provided us with the only<\/u><\/strong> means of salvation through Abraham\u2019s lineage by sending the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ, God\u2019s only unique Son.  While retaining His deity, God the Son became a man in Jesus, lived a perfect life, thereby fulfilling the Law, and died a substitutionary atoning death on the cross, taking on Himself the punishment for the sins of all people.  Jesus rose from the dead, showing that God the Father accepted Jesus\u2019 sacrifice on the cross, thereby exhausting God\u2019s wrath against humanity.  God now calls on every unbeliever to repent of their sins and completely trust in Christ alone that Jesus died for their sins and rose to life from the dead.  Every unbeliever who repents and trusts in Jesus Christ will be forgiven of all their sins (past, present, and future) and born again as a new creation in Christ, possessing guaranteed eternal life with God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture References: Genesis 1:1, 26, 31; Habakkuk 1:13; Genesis 2:7-25;  Genesis 3:1-7, 22-24; Isaiah 59:2; Romans 3:19-20, 23; 5:17-19; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 6:23; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Colossians 1:15; 2:9; Matthew 1:18, 20, 24-25; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews 2:17; 9:25-26; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 John 4:10; John 3:16-18; Mark 1:15; Acts 17:30; 26:20; Romans 1:4; 4:25; John 3:5-8; 1 Peter 1:3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cSinner\u2019s Prayer\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord, Jesus Christ, the only unique Son of God, thank You for Your free gift of eternal life.  I know I\u2019m a sinner who cannot save myself no matter what I do, and I deserve to spend eternity in hell.  But, I know that because You loved me so much, You voluntarily died on the cross for me taking my sins upon Yourself, and You physically bodily rose from the grave showing that Your sacrificial death was sufficient payment to give me eternal life in Heaven.  I now repent of my sins and completely trust alone in what You did for my eternal salvation.  Please take control of my life as I now receive You as my Lord and Savior.  Thank You so much for saving me.  I am now Yours forever!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Scripture references: John 1:1-4, 11-14; John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:21-26; Isaiah 53:4-6; Mark 1:15; Acts 16:31; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9-10, 13; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; John 10:27-29).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTICE OF PERMISSIONS<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am mindful of and respect the rights other authors and\/or publishers possess in their works.  I thus try my best to not violate any copyright rights other authors and\/or publishers possess in their works.  The below copyright permission statement is the result of my best efforts to understand that limited usage or “fair use” is available and\/or to secure direct permission for specific works.  The quotations from commentaries are considered to be “fair use.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture quotations marked “ESV” are from the ESV\u00ae Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture marked \u201cNASB95\u201d are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE\u00ae, Copyright \u00a9 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation.  Used by permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture marked \u201cNASB2020\u201d are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE\u00ae, Copyright \u00a9 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation.  Used by permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture marked “NCV” is taken from the New Century Version.  Copyright \u00a9 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.  All rights reserved.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Scriptures marked “NET” are quoted are from the NET Bible\u00ae  http:\/\/netbible.com copyright \u00a91996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.  All rights reserved”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright \u00a9 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture marked “GW” is taken from the God’s Word Bible that is a copyrighted work of God’s Word to the Nations.  Quotations are used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible\u00ae, Used by Permission HCSB \u00a91999,2000,2002,2003,2009 Holman Bible Publishers.  Holman Christian Standard Bible\u00ae, Holman CSB\u00ae, and HCSB\u00ae are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A recent article of January 9, 2024 by David Crary in Religion Hub entitled \u201cHow to deal with same-sex unions? It\u2019s a question fracturing major Christian denominations\u201d discusses the fracturing taking place in three major denominations over the issue of same-sex marriage (i.e., the LGBTQ agenda).  See https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2024\/01\/09\/how-to-deal-with-same-sex-unions-its-a-question-fracturing-major-christian-denominations\/    After reading the article, which seems […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[319],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lgbtq"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2018"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2019,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2018\/revisions\/2019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}