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If invited by a gay Christian friend to attend their gay friendly denomination, should I attend or decline?
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Umm...no. Homosexuality is considered sin by a holy God. In the Old Testament, God judges homosexuality as sin worthy of death and in the New Testament, those who practice homosexuality will not enter heaven. It's an open and shut case for God and it should be for us as well. If a church affirms homosexuality then they are at odds with God and will be judged for their compromise.
I think it would depend on the circumstance. As a general rule of thumb, I would not attend a gay-affirming church because engaging in an active homosexual lifestyle is sin. Therefore, if I was looking for a church home, I would avoid one that was endorsing sin. However, as for visiting with my homosexual friend that is asking me, it's really going to depend on the situation. Is this a good friend? Is this a friend that you have been witnessing to and trying to help understand that Scripture clearly holds homosexual behavior as sinful? Why does he want you to attend? You may have a ministry opportunity by attending. Perhaps it could be something where you agree to attend with him one Sunday if he agrees to go out to lunch with you and your Pastor or something. People are quick here to throw out opinions, but I think it's something you need to pray through. Certainly you never want to attend on a regular basis, or even visit on your own a Church that endorses sinful behavior - but if we're talking about a close friend of yours, maybe going will give you a perfect opportunity afterwards to discuss it and show him the contrasting Biblical truth. Best answer - pray and see what the Lord wants you to do.
It would depend upon whose approval you are seeking? That of mortal man the cool kids or that of a Holy God, you must choose who you will serve this day. Galatians 1:10 Currently you still have a choice, choose wisely...Proverbs 10:14 In the Lord's freedom............warrior on
Jesus loves the church, and the Holy Spirit is grieved by churches claiming to be Christian and even inerrant Bible believing churches while welcoming the yeast of sin into the church. 1 Corinthians 5 says that the church must discipline and remove (yes, that is a must) and grieve that the sexually sinning person refuses to stop his/her behavior. In this case it is actually loving the person to turn them over to Satan, not ever eat a meal with them, and then pray that they will repent and be able to be restored to the church. In 2012, my church in Atlanta (one of the largest churches in America) preached an entire sermon on the new normal family with the two gay men and ex-wives and children all sitting in church in a row saved by the pastor. This leading pastor in America said that this was love. This is not love--not love of the ex-wives that were divorced by their immoral husbands, not loving the children who deserve to have the intact family that God joined together, and not loving the sinners. I don't understand why every one is so quick to repeat what Ghandi said (not Jesus) to love the sinner and hate the sin. The sin isn't what goes to hell. The sinner is the one that goes to hell. The sexually immoral go to hell. Churches have made up a different god that tells them what their itching ears want to hear. I had to leave that church. I grieve for those families that Satan has destroyed by rampant sin. Psalm 1 says blessed are those who don't stand around with sinners. Psalm 15 says that those who ascend to God's holy hill despise flagrant sinners and honor those who fear the Lord. 1 Corinthians 5 says that we must judge the sinner in the church (we do not judge those in the world so we shouldn't be out campaigning against homosexuals). Unfortunately these churches that are bragging about how they want the yeast of sin to come in are destroying the entire church with sin. The Holy Spirit cannot stay where there is such a cowardice to stand up for Jesus and water down His warnings about the being in the kingdom or being of the world. I am disappointed that entire churches are distorting Christ's message of love which is repent and have faith. God changes repentant people to walk in newness of life so that is what they were-- not accomodating willful, deliberate sin-- but delivering a believer from that sin by repentance, deeds in keeping with repentance and going an sin no more. There is also no difference in homosexual sin grieving the Holy Spirit and premarital sex, porn, masturbation, unbiblical divorce and beastiality. Jesus didn't condemn the woman caught in adultery, but He told her to go and sin no more. Only by receiving the love of Christ to want to obey Him to prove loving Him would she be able to do that. He rescues those from their sins who want to depend on Him to give it up. John 3 says that a person must be born again in order to be justified and sanctified. John 3:36 says that only those who obey the Son are really believers and so not obey the Son is to remain under God's angry judgment. God says that He hates the person who sows discord in a family or among the brethren (Proverbs 6). In Acts 5 God struck two people dead in the church for saying one lie. The feel-good, man-centered gospel and cheap grace is not the saving gospel. It makes big churches, but not Spirit-filled ones.
How we package homosexuality can never make it acceptable. It is an abomination like one sleeping with their parents, sleeping with beasts, and if we have accepted none of these, neither will we accept gay. Mark you, it is not us to deny or accept, the standard has already been set by God, gay is not only a sin, it is an abomination. Whatever we are discussing here or there is our business, not God's. On that note therefore, I can't attend a gay affirming "church" because to be gay is already non-Christian, for that reason I would be attending something else not a Christian Church, at least not one Jesus the CHRIST died for. I thank God for His Son Jesus the CHRIST, had it not been Him, at the right hand of God the Father, pleading for us day and night, in the hope that we will transform, this world would have already suffered the fate of of Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus stands between us and God the Father, otherwise, His wrath would have already finished us. Let us stop bragging about sin, more so abominations like gay, because if we don't, soon people will begin to demand to freely practice incest as it doesn't seem to affect others. Such a "church" wouldn't be a Christian Church, it would be something else not the Church that Jesus the CHRIST died for on the cross. It would be an imposter,not worthy a Christian Church. Let us only set a program to help these gay people forsake the practice and be transformed into heaven bound people. If we attend their gatherings with the notion of approving them, we will not have helped them. Let us only devise ways with the help of the Holy Spirit to get them away from the practice.
The beauty of our lives is that we've been given free will to prove our love to Jehovah God as an answer to Satan's charge against humanity in the book of Job. You can do whatever you so wish to do. However, bear strongly in mind the scriptures located at 1 Cor. 6:9, 10 about homosexuality. Also consider the Mosaic Law and its commandments about those who participate in homosexual acts. As Christians, we must temper a dogmatic approach to these sinful behaviors with the love the Christ showed for all by his sacrifice... hate the sin, but love the sinner. That is why, in the scriptures in 1st Corinthians, the apostle Paul states "... that is what some of you WERE..." Anyone can change, and it is God's expressed desire that everyone does.
According to Romans 1:27-32, it's obvious that those practising gay or homosexual have decided not to retain the knowledge of God. Bible says such things should not be heard among you (we Christians). So, I beg of you to please decline such invitation in that you will escape vs 28 and Hebrew 10:31
If by "gay-friendly", you mean "accepting the homosexual person", by all means, go and attend. The Catholic Church leads that list of churches that accept those people marginalized by secular society. If by "gay-friendly", you mean "accepting the homosexual act", refuse and stay away. Homosexual acts are sins. Any denomination that accepts and affirms these should consider sending their leaders back to bible schools.
I wouldn't accept such invitation. But I will always wish for them to change. Didn't the bible tell us that in the beginning God created them as man and woman? And the Lord said IT WAS GOOD! It least our good and holy book called them ADAM and EVE. I haven't seen or heard from anywhere that they were ADAM AND STEVE or better still MARIAM AND EVE. LET'S ALL PRAY FOR THEM.
My take and stance on this is one of 'reverence for God's Word'. Only a very, very few number of 'sins' does God describe or refer to them individually as "an ABOMINATION UNTO The LORD!" Now, Concerning the sin of homosexuality, He has made His stance known to His children to both know and follow His Word on such unspeakable disobedience. To live and do the homosexual lifestyle is abhorrent and unacceptable unto the Lord! As stated in a previous answer, 1 Corinthians 5 should be enacted by leaders of that congregation.
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