Instruction in Righteousness

2Ti 3:16
All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2Ti 3:17
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

I was recently accused of "beating other Christians (as they put it) over the head with the Bible" by two Christians who make the unsubstantiated claim that I am "driving people away from Christ."

Of course, they are entitled to their own opinions. However, we must consider the above verses in 2 Timothy to evaluate if they are correct in their opinions of me.

On second thought, it doesn't really matter what they think of me. What matters most is the gospel of Jesus Christ and what the Bible says about sanctification, holiness, righteousness and what it means to be following Christ and the will of God in our lives. As saved believers, we are called to emulate Jesus when he proclaimed to the Father "not my will, but Yours be done."

Today, there are wishy-washy movements, as well as very dangerous movements within the Christian faith community that do not involve just petty, insignificant denominational differences. The differences involve some very serious stuff, people!

One particular movement is, IMHO, most egregious. It is the gay christian reprobate theology movement. I have already linked to this post about Mel White, who is steeped in the heresy of this movement and is actively trying to get students at Christian college campuses to dismiss the Word of God on this issue and embrace his "Equality Riders" heresy.

I recall reading about the reactions of students at Biola University last year. They politely received the "Riders," conversed with them, entertained them, fed them, and stayed steadfast in their Biblical beliefs that homosexual behavior is a sin that needs to be repented of. So, what did the Equality Riders achieve? One thing that I read in the campus newspaper is that they had a much better opinion of the Bible-based Christian students than before they met with them on campus. At least that was a positive thing. Did they change their minds on the core issues regarding homosexual behavior and salvation? No. They didn't. So, where does that leave us?

Are we still divided on this issue?

Yes.

Were opinions about the people on the opposite side of the issue changed?

Yes. Some.

Was the steadfast, absolute truth of Scripture upheld by the Biola students who met with the Riders?

Yes.

Were any of the Equality Riders minds changed that perhaps they need to seek God's Word on this issue rather than Mel Whites?

I don't know. Probably not.

This is an issue about compromise. As gcmwatch stated in one of the comments in the Mel White article:

The angry treastise is on Mel White’s site. Why we cant wait.
In it, White declares and ORDERS those following him not to talk about homosexuality (in the Christian context) unless said Christian completely agrees with homosexual ideology. We have produced a mountain of biblical evidence that homosexual ideology/theology is completely at odds with foundational biblical truth. We should then abandon God’s declared, unchanging word to make Mel White happy?

In case there’s any doubt he says:

“I will sit down with anyone who comes to the table with certain basic positive assumptions about us: that we are here, millions of us, and have the right to be; that our sexual orientation, too, is a gift from our Creator who is pleased when we accept the gift with gratitude and pride; that on average we live productive and responsible lives; that we are perfectly capable of loving, committed relationships and are as equipped as heterosexuals to have families of our own; that uncounted millions of us are people of faith who serve our faith communities with creativity and commitment and patriotic Americans who serve our nation with courage and with honor; that we don’t seek “special rights” just the rights and protections guaranteed all Americans by the Constitution. Our dignity, our integrity, our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, our unqualified acceptance by our Creator are not up for debate.”

Our bold. What is there to discuss, when he demands 100% concession from us?

Next, a commenter named "Brian" came along and wrote the following in his post:

Mel White may be too personally exhausted to debate his humanity with certain Christians unwilling for real dialogue but that is certainly not the message of the Equality Ride.

And this:

Ignoring 1 Thessalonian’s call to “test everything and hold fast to that which is good” is not the Christian thing to do, but rather blatantly counter Biblical.

I just could not let such comments stand without questioning.

My replies:

What gay reprobate theology is trying to do is call “that which is good evil; and that which is evil, good.”

The Bible says homosexual behavior is sin. Period. Sin is evil in action.

Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

In addition, you took 1 Thessalonians out of context. The admonition to “test everything” is to test it(everything) against the absolute truth (in this case, the absolute moral truth that “a man should not lie with a man as with a woman. It is abomination,”) of God’s Word, not the words of a false teacher like White.

The second part of that verse tells us to “hold fast to that which is good.” Homosexual behavior is never mentioned as good in the Bible.

Brian had written:

“Mel White may be too personally exhausted to debate his humanity…”

My second comment:

Hold up right there. Debate his humanity? What is that? Reprobate theology “new-speak”?

Sorry Brian, but Mel is guilty of trying to take away the believer’s greatest weapon against temptation and falling into sin…God’s Word.

Ephesians chapter 6 gives us a list of various pieces of spiritual armor that believers are to “wear.” They are “pieces of armor” that provide powerful protection against the enemy’s devices. Most are defensive in nature, but the one offensive weapon is the sword of the Spirit. It is with the sword of the Spirit that we take offensive position against the enemy of our souls, driving him away as Jesus did when he countered each of Satan’s accusations with, “It is written…It is written etc.!” Because the Word was in Jesus, He was able to draw it out from memory and use it effectively against Satan.

We, as believers, are called to do the same thing! When the devil begins to tempt us and challenge us to believe anything except the infallibility of God’s Word, we must respond with, “It is written….It is written” just the way Jesus did!

The fact that Mel White desires to take that off the table in the challenge of debate and responses (to the current gay theology challenges of Scripture,) shows unequivocably in which direction he is leading people. That being, a downward spiral away from God’s truth!!

Without a working knowledge of Scripture, one is likely to be duped into deception.

And, what’s even worse, is that unsuspecting people can become a casualty in this spiritual battle that we are in. That is what it is, Brian. It’s not a battle between “this kind of Christian or that kind of sexual person” etc. It’s a battle for the hearts, minds, souls and spirits of people who proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior! The “fleshly stage” that this battle appears to be in is not the true battleground. The battleground is spiritual and eternity of every soul weighs in the balance!

Brian, everyone here is trying to reach you with the truth! We love you and care for you so much that we are willing to tell you that Satan is doing everything possible to distract you with every “weapon” he has in his arsenal! Do you understand what I’m telling you?

This is the bottom line. Jesus used the Word of God against the devil precisely because only the Word of God will put him (Satan) to flight!

Pastor Greg Laurie has been quoted as saying the following about the Bible,

“Sin will keep you from this book, and this book will keep you from sin.”

That just about covers it, doesn’t it?

We need to know the Bible. Don’t follow anyone who tells you otherwise!

Next, please read Jesus' parable about the wheat and the tares (notice that he is speaking about believers here, not the unsaved):

Mat 13:24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

Mat 13:25 "but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

Mat 13:26 "But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.

Mat 13:27 "So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'

Mat 13:28 "He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'

Mat 13:29 "But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.

Mat 13:30 'Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

Yes. It is God's job to separate the "wheat from the tares." However, based on 2 Timothy 3:16 & 17, shouldn't we at least warn, through the use of God's Word, those in danger of being in the tares at harvest time?

HT: gmcwatch