The Issue of Homosexuality and How I Interpret the Bible

You knew this was coming. And so I have a few things to point out myself only from a different view.

It took me until the age of 40 to find Him (Jesus) and 10+ years of searching for a purpose and an awful lot of crap in between to find what I considered the  REAL truth in my own opinion. But I’ve been waiting for some modern day Pharisee or what I would term “religious” person to attack this decision. I don’t doubt for a minute his sincerity and that in his own heart he feels he represents or is speaking on behalf of God based on his indoctrination.  

This is how he interprets what the Bible has to say about homosexuality. Not having been raised in a religious household or having been indoctrinated has been a blessing to me. That said I have still been greatly influenced by the general Western fundamentalist worldview of how the Bible should be interpreted. Thankfully through, my own study of the Bible and trusting that, as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit would lead me into all understanding and truth this is my response to the article itself.

 Let's break this article down section by section.

 BTW as stated I am a believer in Jesus, the Bible and its message, a God/Creator and what the Bible says/stands for...taken in context. What I AM NOT is religious, dogmatic, fundamental and I do not take every single verse of the Bible literally like most fundamentalists would. Jesus taught in parables, using examples in the natural world to show us how things work in the spiritual realm. The Bible is littered with allegory, metaphors and foreshadowing.  My views will almost certainly get me in trouble with religious people, but I’m okay with that. Jesus said to expect to be attacked for trying to put forth truth. I’m not trying to convert anyone’s opinion just expressing my own and how I see it. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day  didn’t like what he had to say even though it was the truth and nothing has really changed in the past 2,000+ years. He came to save us, show us the heart of the Father and as stated taught us through natural examples how to operate in the spiritual realm where God resides. God is Spirit Jesus said in John 4 and we are spirit beings with that spirit being contained in a fleshly earthly body that is imperfect at times.

 So....what does the Bible actually say about Homosexuality as I just spent some time studying and meditating on this recently having had other religious people condemning homosexuality. Love the person hate the sin is how it’s always phrased when one brings up the Love aspect. There's only one problem with that statement. It's not in the Bible as I recently pointed out to another believer. He thought it was.

And just to clarify...I am not gay and do not have any gay friends so do not have an agenda aside from Jesus' command to love, honor and respect all people. I have been married for 30+ years to the same amazing women that has portrayed more Godly characteristics to me than any other human being I have ever known and We've been together for more than 35 years. It was Jesus and God that saved our marriage and me at 20 years into our marriage. I personally can't wrap my head around two men or women being in love and wanting a relationship. BUT, I am not wired that way. So does that give me the self-righteous RIGHT to condemn that person or their lifestyle and say unequivocally that it is a sin in the eyes of a loving God?

So the first point of the writer of the article is; "everyone is tempted with sin" and temptation is not a sin but giving in to it is. Is it? I suppose it is, but, there is one scripture that stands out for me regarding the word "sin" in the eyes of God. Romans 14: 22 “and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” In the Old Testament the Jews where under the Mosaic Law of Moses, while Gentiles had no such law at the time. After Jesus came and fulfilled that Law in the eyes of God and became the ultimate sacrifice that Law became obsolete. Hebrew 8:13

 They were to put off the old and put on the new and the gentiles were just supposed to put on the new. The issue in the article is one of sin and his argument that homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God. An abomination according to the Old Covenant, but,  in my study of the Bible Jesus, I’m pretty sure, dealt with ALL sin when He sacrificed Himself on the Cross at Calvary? 

 The writer says; "It is when we stop wrestling against temptation (and give in) that we sin." Hang on a minute...That maybe so, but, doesn’t the Bible say that if we have received Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and as the atoning sacrifice for our sins we are forgiven……..period, or are we suddenly "unforgiven" and doomed to hell every-time we blow it? Where do you draw the line? If I have a sudden urge to covet something that someone else has and I don’t that is a sin and as a believer does that mean that God just suddenly no longer forgives me? Or am I covered by the blood of Jesus?  Did or did not Jesus deal with the sin issue.

 1 John 2:2 says; "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

 Huh..not only my sins as a believer but for the sins of the WHOLE world believer or not

 Then he goes on to say that Homosexuality is a sin making reference to some "Old Testament" scriptures in Genesis 19 and that old favorite in Leviticus 18.

 Let me ask those that want to quote the Old Covenant this,  "So as a believer are you living under the Old Covenant and it's 600 + rules, regulations and laws, given only to the nation of Israel BTW, OR, are you living under the New Covenant of grace and forgiveness as a result of the sacrifice of Jesus? Because if you want to quote and live by the Law of the Old Covenant, than friend, you best be prepared to be judged by that same Law.

 Galatians 1:6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.”

 Galatians 2:15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, BECAUSE BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW NO ONE WILL BE JUSTIFIED.”

 So dear article writer you should pay particular attention to this scripture if you claim the Bible as YOUR truth and want to take it literally and completely out of context.

Galatians 3:10 “FOR ALL WHO RELY ON THE WORKS OF THE LAW ARE UNDER A CURSE, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”

 If you are going to quote and use Old Covenant scriptures in your argument against homosexuality then you are saying that you are still trying to live by the works of the law. Better be careful with that because friend, you are still under the curse according to the scripture above and you will be judged by that same law.

Then he points to all of three references regarding  Homosexuality under the new covenant and all from the Apostle Paul

Romans 1:26-27 “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature, and men likewise gave up natural relations with woman and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”

Okay so if I just took his scripture reference at face value it’s definitely talking about men and woman lusting for one another, but, and this is what I find is truly disingenuous, is the cherry picking. If you are going to use a scripture to back up your agenda please do it on the context that it is meant to be applied.

The first thing that jumps out at me is; “For this reason” what reason? God gave them up….gave who up….for their women….whose women? It is very obvious Paul is talking about someone or some group specifically, so let’s go back a bit to see specifically who or what  Paul is talking about.  

Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

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!

Now we have some context and so who is Paul talking about…all homosexuals, believing homosexuals that love God, whether in a monogamous long term relation or not? In the proper context it says that God gave them…who’s them? Those people, according to Paul, that exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images and those that exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. That sounds like a far cry from all homosexuals.

His next reference is in 1 Corinthians where he quotes this in 1 Corinthians 6:9 

“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."

The unrighteous will NOT inherit the kingdom of God which of course included a lot more people according to the above than just homosexuals, but again, they just cherry pick the reference to Homosexuals in the verses to suit their agenda. Because my question is, are there any sexually immoral, adulterers, idolaters, thieves, any greedy or drunkards? The world is full of people like this and many would call themselves believers/Christians. Two things that stand out here for me, first, the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Are there any righteous? Aside from Christ?   Paul tackles this issue in Romans 3:

No One Is Righteous

⁹ What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, ¹⁰ as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
¹¹     no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
¹² All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
    no one does good,
    not even one.”
¹³ “Their throat is an open grave;
    they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
¹⁴   “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶     in their paths are ruin and misery,
¹⁷ and the way of peace they have not known.”
¹⁸     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Of course Paul is making reference to several Old Testament scriptures in the above text, all of which are now obsolete as I; at least, consider myself to be under the New Covenant. It has amazed me though just how many Christians and usually lifetime Christians, those brought up from childhood in a Christian environment, continue to want to dogmatically mix old wine with new or bits and pieces the Old Covenant  as well as the new to once again suit a specific agenda while completely ignoring other parts which I will address further on.

This comes from the Bible Knowledge Commentary;

Romans 3:10-12 

To validate his accusation that everybody is “under sin” Paul quoted in Rom_3:10-18 from six Old Testament passages. Rom_3:10-12, taken from Psa_14:1-3, makes the point that all people without exception are not righteous (cf. Rom_1:18, Rom_1:29-31), do not understand God (cf. Rom_1:18, Rom_1:28) nor seek (lit., “seek out”) Him, have turned away from Him (cf. Rom_2:5; Isa_53:5), are worthless (from achreioō, “become useless,” used only here in the NT), and do not do good (chrēstotēta, “kindness,” or “benevolence in action”; cf. 2Co_6:6; Gal_5:22; and comments on Rom_2:4). Apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit people cannot exhibit this fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). They have no inner spiritual capacity whereby they can normally and automatically exercise genuine kindness toward others. Instead sin causes them to be selfish and self-centered.

These seven condemnatory phrases end with the words not even one, which are also in Rom_3:10. This repetition stresses that.

While this comes from Gill’s Commentary;

Romans 3:10  As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. The several passages cited here, and in some following verses, are taken out of the Psalms and Isaiah; and are brought to prove, not only that the Jews are no better than the Gentiles, being equally corrupt and depraved as they; but also to show the corrupt state and condition of mankind in general: and the words are not always literally expressed, but the sense is attended to, as in this passage; for in the original text of Psa_14:1, it is, "there is none that doth good"; from whence the apostle rightly infers, "there is none righteous"; for he that does not do good, is not righteous; and therefore if there is none on earth that does good and does not sin, there is none righteous upon earth, "no, not one" single person. The Jews allegorizing that passage in Gen_19:31, "there is not a man in the earth to come into us", remark (u) on it thus,

"Urab qydu vya Nya, "there is not a righteous man in the earth"; and there is not a man that rules over his imagination.''

There is none righteous as Adam was, in a state of innocence; for all have sinned, and are filled with unrighteousness, and are enemies to righteousness; none are righteous by their obedience to the law of works; nor are there any righteous in the sight of God, upon the foot of their own righteousness, however they may appear in their own eyes, and in the sight of others; nor are any inherently righteous, for there is none without sin, sanctification is imperfect; nor is it, either in whole or in part, a saint's justifying righteousness; indeed there is none righteous, no, not one, but those who are justified by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them.

(u) Midrash Haneelam in Zohar in Gen. fol. 68. 1.

In other words when the author uses 1 Corinthians 6 to justify his false belief that homosexuality is a sin that is unforgivable he completely neglects or ignores the litany of others in the same verse. He is once again being disingenuous because as the verse opens up with there are none righteous. But praise be to God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord who lived a perfect life fully and completely fulfilling the whole of the Law in the eyes of God so that WE could become righteous by faith before God in Christ Jesus.  For as it is written; “The righteous shall live by Faith” Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38.

This is what this writer completely fails to realize in his argument.

 The second key is that it says that they will not inherit the kingdom of God. How many Christians confuse the Kingdom of God with some place out "there" called heaven? I think this author does. There is a difference according to Jesus.

The Coming of the Kingdom

Luke17: ²⁰ Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; ²¹ nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Many translations use the word “in your midst” the word used here is the Greek word 1787 – entos which Strong’s and Thayer’s define as; inside or within or in the midst of you.

So don’t confuse Kingdom of God with Heaven, there is a distinct difference according to the Bible and Jesus.

His final reference to Homosexuality is in Jude 7 which is another reference to the Old Testament story of Sodom and Gomorrah. The main point in this long winded explanation and as the writer rightly points out is that “All sin will keep a person out of heaven - One cannot continue in sin and expect God’s Grace to save him (Rom. 6:1-2). A practicing homosexual cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven so long as he is practicing and embracing homosexuality.”

So the implication I get from the writer is that he is somehow without sin? He is perfect and never fails? Lives up to the law perfectly? It is that very self-righteous, pompous, pious, arrogant attitude that kept me away from Jesus, God and the church until the age of 40.

As he points out; “The remedy to sin is the blood of Jesus Christ.”  

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9English Standard Version (ESV)

So why is this gift okay for him but not a believing Homosexual?

No One Is Born A Homosexual

“God never created a ‘gay’ baby. Since homosexuality is a sin (see above), it would be contradictory to God’s nature to cause someone to be born with that sexual orientation”

Genesis says that God created the heavens and the earth and all that was in and then said it was good. Yet we know that since the Fall the earth according to scripture has been perverted, hence the need for Jesus to come and deal with the sin issue and allow us to be restored in our relationship to the Father.

His premise is that people are conditioned to have homosexual tendencies yet we know that many people realize at a very young age that there is something different about them.  That for whatever reason they are attracted to the same sex. And why is it that many men display very feminine characteristics and women display very male characteristics. Could it not be something genetic? I personally know of a person that was born with both male and female genitals (hermaphrodite). The parents decided that he should be a boy so they had the female aspect of him removed. As he grew he displayed and related more predominately as female and displayed very feminine qualities. So what happened here in God’s perfect creation? I suppose the whole Fall analogy, right? And I am sure this is just one example of many. So your argument again is faulty and disingenuous and your ignorance shines through.

“Perhaps they were abused as children. Perhaps they had a dad who did not demonstrate fatherly affection. Perhaps they grew up in a one-parent home, or a homosexual home. Perhaps they were made to think they were homosexual because of peer pressure at school. Or maybe they made a conscious decision to experiment with homosexuality.”

Like I said your ignorance shines through! What about the man that was raised in a loving God fearing home that was never abused, having a loving Father and Mother, was taught that homosexuality was a sin yet knew deep down inside from as young as they could remember that they were not attracted to girls, but rather men. Your arguments just do not stand up in the light of all the evidence we have today.

"Jesus Taught That Marriage Is Between A Man And A Woman

One sometimes hears the objection, “Jesus never talked about homosexuality.” Actually, He did when He defined a God-approved marriage as being between a man and a woman. Consider His words,

[Jesus] answered, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast 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 not man separate.” (Matt. 19:4-6, ESV)"

So once again here is an example of cherry picking and taking scripture out of context. If we go back just one verse we can get the context and we discover that the Pharisee’s (the religious leaders of Jesus’ day) were asking; “³ And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?””

So Jesus responding referenced the original creation of man, and to the first institution of marriage, previous to the Law of Moses. And said; “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Yet that is exactly what Moses did as God’s representative. Moses goes directly AGAINST what God had instituted. And why?

⁷ They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” ⁸ He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

Yet the Church today is filled with divorced men and women, including church leaders that according to Jesus are committing adultery and if so, I guess, will be condemned to hell. No? This is a prime example of the hypocrisy of his argument condemning homosexuality while completely ignoring divorce and its acceptance in the church and Body of Christ. Why do we accept that but not the other?

“Man can legalize any sin he wants. Since Satan is deeply involved with the affairs of this world “

Apparently he can and that includes Moses regarding God’s plan for marriage and divorce. So in the above statement are you suggesting that Moses was influenced by satan when he instituted divorce contrary to God’s original plan regarding marriage?

To Approve Of Homosexuality Is To Be Guilty Of Homosexuality"

"It is very upsetting to see people who wear Christ’s name come out in support of so-called “marriage equality.” What they are saying, in essence, is, “It is okay to embrace your homosexual desires. You don’t have to fight temptation anymore. Don’t pay any attention to what the Bible says. It is outdated and irrelevant to today’s culture anyway.”

"First, the Bible is not a ‘living document’ in that it changes with culture. It never becomes ‘outdated.’ Jesus Christ and His New Testament are just as relevant today as they were 2,000 years ago. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). The Bible is God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:21). How can our Almighty Creator take a back seat to our petty human culture?"

What an ignorant pompous statement. Because I may question or disagree with his argument I now am somehow guilty of Homosexuality. My goodness how can people be so self-righteous and arrogant in speaking on behalf of the God of the Universe?

“First, the Bible is not a ‘living document’ in that it changes with culture.”

 Really? It may not be but apparently we, as so called believers pick and choose, what changes and what doesn’t. As stated above regarding divorce as an example or how about allowing women to lead, preach and teach in the church today even though Paul explicitly addresses this issue when he states that women.

For a look at this I refer to Ray Steadman’s take on it.

Perhaps no question would ever have arisen about the propriety of women's ministry were it not for two passages from Paul's hand which seem to lay severe restriction upon them. In First Corinthians 14 he says,
"As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church." (1 Corinthians 14:33b-35 NIV)
While in First Timothy 2 he says,
"A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent." (1 Timothy 2:11-12 NIV)
Taken by themselves, apart from their contexts, these two passages do seem to prohibit any kind of teaching ministry for women, especially in any public way, within the church.

 http://www.raystedman.org/thematic-studies/questions-and-answers/should-a-woman-teach-in-church

It always comes back to the context of the whole of scripture, not the cherry picking that these religious fundamentalists like to do. And more so to the greater fact that we are no longer under the Law for as Romans 10 declares; “² For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. ³ For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. ⁴ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

And Galatians 3 further explains exactly what the purpose of the Law was; "²⁴ Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith."

I think more than anything else for me personally it is this continual focus on sin and sin consciousness that much of the Christian Church continues to propagate to its members instead of the proclaiming the truth that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. A church that it continually confronted with sin and a mentality of sin consciousness will never or very likely ever escape their desire to sin. They are continually”conditioned” to use the writer’s terminology to believe that they are sinners saved by grace, rather than the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.  Someone conditioned to believe that they are a sinner will naturally be driven to sin vs a person that believes that they are righteous before God and forgiven “once for all”

Christ's Sacrifice Once for All

Hebrew 10: 

1For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. ² Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? ³ But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴ For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵ Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
    but a body have you prepared for me;
⁶ in burnt offerings and sin offerings
    you have taken no pleasure.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
    as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

⁸ When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), ⁹ then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

It is this continual focus on sin that has forced me to leave several Churches as I just cannot sit under that kind of teaching when I know that in the eyes of God according to His word He has dealt with sin forever and eternally. That is not to say that we still don’t sin and screw up every day and that there is still a sin issue, but, in the eyes of God Jesus paid the price for not only believers sins but for the sins of the whole world according to 1 John 2:2

The truth is I have NO righteousness within myself except the righteousness which is of Christ that I've received by faith. In claiming that YOU somehow know God's heart towards someone that has, for whatever reason, a desire for the same sex, yet in their heart loves God, is nothing more than arrogance. And constantly trying to keep people in a sin consciousness is to trample underfoot the precious sacrifice of Christ.

Hebrews 6

"6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.

4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."

I could go on and on as there are multiple scriptures that would put this writer to shame if he would only take the WHOLE bible (New Covenant) in its FULL context. So much mixing of Old and New as I said and what’s worse is that the Old Covenant was NEVER given to Gentiles but only the Jews and the nation of Israel yet many of today’s Church’s have taken on and preach the Old Covenant to their flock as if it has greater significance in the eyes of God. As I said I truly believe that these people are genuine and sincere in their conviction and belief. But as one of my favourite teaches, Charles Capps, always said; “They can be sincere and still be sincerely wrong.”

I think Hebrews sums it up.

Hebrews 8:

"7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,

when I will make a new covenant

with the people of Israel

and with the people of Judah.

9

It will not be like the covenant

I made with their ancestors

when I took them by the hand

to lead them out of Egypt,

because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,

and I turned away from them,

declares the Lord.

10

This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel

after that time, declares the Lord.

I will put my laws in their minds

and write them on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

11

No longer will they teach their neighbor,

or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest.

12

For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more.”

13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”

 Just tired of people claiming to represent the Jesus and the God of the Bible I know with their ignorant self righteous garbage. That very hypocritical self-righteous attitude probably cost me more than 10 years of my life from knowing the Jesus of the Bible vs the people in a Church claiming to represent Him.  And I know when I try to talk to unbeliever’s about Jesus and the Bible their response is often the same. You hear the word hypocrite A LOT! Please people read your Bible and let the Spirit of Truth that lives inside you influence your beliefs rather than the self righteous, religious, fundamental, dogmatic, crap that you hear every week from some pulpit or on Facebook. Sorry for the long post, but, I just CAN'T NOT respond to these people in light of what I feel the Spirit of God, the God of Love has shown me in His word and by His Spirit over the course of the past 12+ plus years of seeking Him and His truth.

Matthew 7 ;

“Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ 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? ⁵ 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."

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness."

Although this was initially written in June of 2015, as of December 2020 my stance hasn't changed much other than to add what I have further come to realize on this issue or any other sinful or evil condition that I am not called to point out someone's else's sin in light of my own failings. But rather we have been called as believers to proclaim the Gospel, to lead people to Christ and if that person is genuine and starts reading and meditating on the Word of God than the Word itself will convict them of their sin. After all is that not the purpose of the Holy Spirit. Teacher, guide, helper.