"He [the Wicked One] will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth." (2 Thess 2:10-12 NLT)
I think y'all are used to the OP movement where people preach against everything specifically.
These churches preach against sin but never get specific. And there's nothing wrong with being compassionate.
It's like some of you want them to scream, "You're going to hell because you're gay."
That is not the gospel.
Paul was very specific in his catalogs of sin (Ro 1:24-31; 1Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21), and had no problem telling others that if they engaged in these behaviors, they would not inherit the Kingdom of God.
I believe it IS necessary to be specific when preaching about sin (without being lewd, of course), because people need to know what is acceptable behavior to God and what is not. And to be specific, we need not look any further than to Paul's writings (above).
Yes, we preach in love, but love does not dilute the message. On at least two occasions we know Jesus himself had compassion on individuals (Jn 5:14; 8:11), but then followed up with the statement "go and sin no more!".
Megachurches that don't adapt won't be mega much longer. That's not a commentary on whether Hillson is right or wrong, nor whether you guys are right or wrong, about the issue of homosexuality, nor the "correct" way to deal with and preach about it. I'm just saying.
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Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
In 2013, the Hillsong College Student Handbook removed Homosexuality from a list of sexual sins. Where it used to have "premarital sex, pornography, adultery and homosexuality" listed, now it has "premarital sex, pornography and adultery."
I think y'all are used to the OP movement where people preach against everything specifically.
These churches preach against sin but never get specific. And there's nothing wrong with being compassionate.
It's like some of you want them to scream, "You're going to hell because you're gay."
That is not the gospel.
I agree there's nothing wrong with being compassionate. And I'm not looking for them to scream gays are going to hell.
What I do expect every Bible-believing Christian to do, especially those who claim to be Pentecostal, is to make a stand when asked a simple question. Don't try to be coy or hipster or mysterious about what you believe based on the Bible.
But again, Hillsong Church is a brand. They are a massive organization which makes well over $100 Million dollars a year. They will do what's best for the brand. And if that means using the excuse that society's changed, so the Bible is somehow behind the times and the church should be influenced by the times and society instead of the other way around....then that's what they'll do.
Megachurches that don't adapt won't be mega much longer. That's not a commentary on whether Hillson is right or wrong, nor whether you guys are right or wrong, about the issue of homosexuality, nor the "correct" way to deal with and preach about it. I'm just saying.
Right. Sooner or later something has to give. Either you change the message for the brand or you trade popularity for the truth.
If you aren't specific about sin how do you know sin is? Salvation comes through Jesus Christ and obedience to the faith we have in Him. I believe most churches teach that you will go to hell without Jesus and specific sins that are named are not meant to offend. The goal is to get people to acknowledge their sins and turn to Him. The problem is that most people don't want to be responsible enough to acknowledge their sins and repent of them.
If we are participating in fornication (generic word for sexual sin) along with any other sinful acts and think we are part of the body of Christ, then we are mistaken. It is true we are saved by grace, but the same grace that keeps us from hell will also give us authority over the vices we have in this life. There is no such thing as a homosexual christian only a christian.
There may be Christians who struggle with homosexual desires, but they aren't homosexuals. Sin is the activity and not the desire. We should never ostracize someone for their desires but we should pray for them and support them as long as they are not condoning the sinful lifestyle.
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