It's a Spiritual Battle, Not Just Casual Debate

I have visited the blog of a pastor named DL Foster many times since finding him via Stephen Bennett's blog. He describes himself as "an ordinary man serving an extraordinary God." I just love that! That, in fact, is what we all are..."ordinary men and women serving our extraordinary Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

DL is not afraid to "tell it like it is." He's not into the "politically correct" type of evangelism that often tends to stress ONLY the grace, hope, and love of God (ALL VERY IMPORTANT, OF COURSE). As most born-again, Bible believing Christians know, we must share the "bad news" of sin's effect upon our souls before we can come to the Good News of the Gospel. This is just a fact my friends. And I'll tell you why.

In previous posts, I have discussed our need to avoid the heresy of preaching the "cross-less Gospel." While reading DL's blogpost dated June 14th, 2006, I followed through to the links posted. The title of his post reiterated what I have been saying all along about the homosexual activism going on in our schools, churches and society in general. It is not just a casual debate.

Unfortunately, I have met many Christians who would rather keep their heads in the sand, avoid the ridicule and bashing that ultimately gets hurled at anyone who opposes gay activists as they secretly wish that the turmoil over "gay" themed issues (e.g. "their" special "rights", "gay" marriage, adding sexual orientation as a specialized form of "hate" crimes laws etc.) would just go away.

People, it's not going to just go away! It's not going to just "resolve itself." The Lord has given us the Great Commission; to go out and preach the gospel to all the world. This includes people trapped in sinful homosexual behavior and extends much further to the evil realm of indoctrination currently going on in America. The goal? To get people's minds converted into the "pro-gay behavior affirming thinking matrix."

Of course, we know that anyone who opposes them (especially ex-gay Christian evangelists, pastors or ministers) are called hateful, bigoted, intolerant, non-Christian (plus some expletives that I can't list here) and this is one of their greatest "weapons" to try and silence our voices.

Well, if they want to call me a BIGOT, I say let them! I will wear that badge for the sake of Jesus Christ and the gospel message. However, the term "BIGOT" is being used here in the context of an acronym for what I truly believe.

Bible
Is
God's
Only
Truth

What is the main message of the Bible? It all points to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross as our Substitute for our sins. In eternity, when we come face to face with the Living, Holy, Righteous Judge of the universe, we either choose to face Him with our own sins still upon our souls or with that sin debt paid in full through Jesus Christ's death on the cross and resurrection to life everlasting. He is the ONLY Mediator who enables us to cross over from eternal death (the second death) to eternal life with God in heaven.

Jesus told us that "in this world you will have trouble; but take heart! for I have overcome the world." He is the only "religious" leader, so to speak, that can make that claim. No other leader of any other religion ever claimed to die for the sins of others. Only Jesus sets the captives free from the grip of Satan who comes to kill, steal, and destroy us through the weapon of unrepentance for sin.

You can go to this blogpost and read about why the Cross is essential to Christian belief. You can read about the Cross of Christ from God's perspective. You can also read about the Cross of Christ from our perspective. Here, I want to concentrate on the Cross from Satan's perspective.

Here's a portion of my former post:

THE CROSS FROM SATAN'S PERSPECTIVE

The Bible calls Satan "the accuser" in Revelation 12:10. He whispers, "You cannot possibly expect God to accept you. You have a disgusting imagination. Look at those things you've done - your deceitfulness, your hatred and bitterness. You call yourself a child of God? " And to God, Satan says, in effect, "If You are just at all, You cannot possibly forgive his/her sins and accept him/her. Your justice demands that he/she be punished."

But John tells us how such accusations are dealt with: "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1, KJV). Generally, an advocate will stand up before a judge and plead on behalf of the accused something like this, "My lord, yes, he is not perfect - he has failed- but he is now a kind and helpful citizen, and I am bringing witnesses to testify to his good character." In so doing, the advocate pleads for the judge to be lenient.

Jesus, as our Advocate, doesn't work that way. When Satan accuses, Jesus says to His Father, "Everything You said about him is true. He is wicked; he is sinful. There is not one good thing about him. But, Father, You cannot punish him because the punishment already has been paid - by Me."

The Father looks to the sacrifice of the Son to see that the punishment was paid in full. Atonement made, acceptance guaranteed - and we are free. This is what is meant by Jesus being our Substitute.

"Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God, the Just, is satisfied,
To look on Him and pardon me." *

Jesus provided for our greatest need - the forgiveness of sin. Apart from Him it could never happen. That is why the cross must be at the heart of our evangelism.

* From "Before the Throne of God Above," by Charitie Lee Bancroft

Next, I'd like to apply this portion to the current raging battle going on between secular society and evangelical Christians regarding homosexuality.

You see, Satan WANTS YOUR SOUL! He is the enemy of our souls and he will do ANYTHING to keep us away from the saving grace of God through the power of the Cross of Jesus Christ!

In Genesis, Satan was the tempter of Eve and then Adam. In Revelation, he is labeled the "accuser." Satan had the gall to even tempt Jesus, (several times during his 3 year earthly ministry) the Son of God, away from His mission on earth. He even accuses God of not being just!

And to God, Satan says, in effect, "If You are just at all, You cannot possibly forgive his/her sins and accept him/her. Your justice demands that he/she be punished."

Satan is so good at half-truths, isn't he? It is true that justice demands punishment for our sins. But he falsely lumps into the mix the lie that true justice does not allow any possibility for forgiveness of sins. Did you notice that? So, doesn't it logically follow that Satan would want to keep man in the grip of his sins in order for that person to not even think he needs to confess, repent, and come to the foot of the cross of Christ as our Divine Mediator to God the Father? Sure! Satan is like that philosophical author (Maxwell Maltz?) who wrote that book, "I'm O.K., you're O.K." Remember in the Garden of Eden when Satan asked the leading question, "Did God really say....if you eat from the tree of good and evil you would die?" His career on this earth is in trying to get people to doubt God's Word and get them to think, "you will not surely die."

Satan wants to keep you and your soul in the grip of death. He will use anything (and anyone) as a means to that end. Remember, he is our accuser:

He whispers, "You cannot possible expect God to accept you. You have a
disgusting imagination. Look at those things you've done - your deceitfulness,
your hatred and bitterness. You call yourself a child of God? "

Notice again, no chance for reconciliation in those words...only accusation. Isn't this the very tool that is often used by non-Christians against us to get us to doubt our worth FOR salvation and worth TO God?

Take a moment to read the post and then the comments at this blog. I will warn you now, it includes a lot of hate-filled diatribes against ex-gay people.

It is a blogpost that is in direct opposition to a billboard that stated:

"Hate Crime Laws Say We Were More Valuable As Homosexuals Than We Are Now As Former Homosexuals."

Secularly speaking, we could view this as a deliberate action to exclude former homosexuals from the "hate crimes" law legislation.

That is true.

But if you look at it with spiritual eyes, you will see that we can also hear Satan whispering in our ears the idea that agrees with atheist, secular humanist Wayne Besen's way of thinking. If you read about Besen's hatred (directed specifically at ex-gays) can't you see Besen actually agreeing that yes, homosexuals are more valuable and deserve these special hate crimes laws for"protection."

Ask yourself this question. Doesn't Satan desire for us to remain in the grip of sin (in this case, homosexual behavior) and away from confession, repentance, and the gift of unmerited grace through Jesus Christ?

The following two paragraphs and points shows the contrast between man's wisdom and God's wisdom.

But John tells us how such accusations are dealt with: "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1, KJV). Generally, an advocate will stand up before a judge and plead on behalf of the accused something like this, "My lord, yes, he is not perfect - he has failed- but he is now a kind and helpful citizen, and I am bringing witnesses to testify to his good character." In so doing, the advocate pleads for the judge to be lenient.

The portion in bold represents man's wisdom as to what is considered "justice, mercy and grace." But notice this next paragraph:

Jesus, as our Advocate, doesn't work that way. When Satan accuses, Jesus says to His Father, "Everything You said about him is true. He is
wicked; he is sinful. There is not one good thing about him. But, Father, You cannot punish him because the punishment already has been paid - by Me."

This demonstrate's that God's Wisdom is ultimately superior to man's. The sinner needs to agree with God about his/her sinfulness, acknowledge it before God, confess, REPENT and come to the foot of the cross of Jesus for forgiveness and reconciliation.

Now, think about people who refuse to repent. Where does that leave them? Let's examine Wayne Besen, his terrible bashing of ex-gays, and discover the reason(s) behind it all.

Who is Besen's anger really directed at? God? Jesus Christ? The Bible? Any and all born-again Christians who have repented and turned away from former homosexual lusts and behaviors? All four of these?

People, there is a spiritual battle raging here. It's not just about the physical aspects of sin that encompass homosexuality. It's the spiritual aspect of placing oneself on the throne of you life instead of reserving that space for God, our Creator!

In John 3:5-8 Jesus said:

5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

We Receive Christ By Personal Invitation -

[Christ speaking]

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the
door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).

Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive us of our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of our will.

Picture in your mind two circles with a throne in the middle which represent two kinds of lives:

The self-directed life has "self" on the throne, Christ is outside the life and interests are directed by self, often resulting in discord and frustration.

The Christ-directed life has Christ in the center of the life and on the throne. Self is yielding to Christ (at the foot of the cross). Interests are directed by Christ, resulting in harmony with God's plan.

Which circle best represents your life?

Which circle would you like to have represent your life?

People like gay activist Wayne Besen have "self" on the throne of their lives. Thus, the cross of Christ is a "stumbling block" to those who are perishing.

The Bible says that the cross is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:23). The central point of the gospel is that apart from Jesus, we will never find forgiveness of sins.

Those who refuse to acknowledge, confess, and repent of their sin (any kind of sin) cannot be forgiven for it!

Jesus doesn't want a portion of us...he wants the entirety of our being! We can then claim to be His and He is ours! He's an awesome God and Savior of our souls! He then puts into us (through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit) a new heart and new mind. The old has passed away and we have become new creatures in Christ!

This is what the non-believing reprobate mind cannot stand! All they can do is ridicule, debase, mock and attempt to demoralize those who have been successful at changing their behavior and lifestyle for the sake of Christ and their love for Him! Like Satan, they have that accusatory mind, soul, heart and body. They cannot stand the things of God because their hearts are so hardened against Him!

It is ultimately God who they reject.

As Christian believers, we are just additional objects of their hate and rejection.

I want to say something that might be considered controversial, but it needs to be said. There are Christians who have the mindset that we are never to "judge" and that we shouldn't actively point out someone elses sin. My question is, if we don't share the "bad news" of sin, how can we help people realize their need for the Savior, Jesus Christ, bring them to the Cross of forgiveness to ultimately be reconciled back to God?

As Christians we know and acknowledge that we have already been under the judgment of God. By the grace of God, there go I! Because we (as Christians) already realize that we have been judged and found guilty of our sins, shouldn't we be actively sharing the need for reconciliation through the cross of Christ? Aren't we to share the entirety of the Gospel which includes the "bad news" of our sinful natures; not just the Good News?

When we look at the Cross through God's perspective, this becomes clear to us:

But it is precisely because God loves us that He had to deal with our sin - and
it is on the basis of this that we are accepted. Jesus could die a thousand deaths and yet not achieve salvation for us unless God were satisfied with the sacrifice. Yet the question remains: How can God be both the One who provides the sacrifice that makes Him propitious and be the One who receives the sacrifice?

The simple answer is that God's holiness demands propitiation.

God is blisteringly angry about our every single sin. You can see the awfulness of sin only by seeing what it did to His one and only lovely Son. If God looked at a sin and said, "Well, I'm not too bothered about that one," there would be injustice in His character. God retains His honor by giving His Son.

God unfolded a plan that both showed His unbelievably strong anger at sin and His infinitely strong love for us. He sent His Son and punished Him on our behalf. "The Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world" (1 John 4:14, NIV). No other message beside the cross is able to deal with the root problem of man's sin in relation to the justice and holiness of God.

HT: Perspectives in Motion

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Update: WOW! Almost missed this post! Wayne Besen's Final Solution

Late Update: Goody! Now I don't need to suffer through reading any of Besen's book. There is an article that entirely refutes his vitriole and venom: ANYTHING BUT STRAIGHTFORWARD
A Rebuttal to Wayne Besen