Truth Magazine

The issue of separation of church and state is a fundamental principle of our Constitution. The First Amendment forbade Congress to make any laws establishing or prohibiting the free exercise of religion. Watching how this amendment to the Constitution is applied is sometimes comical.

Campaigning in the Churches

A certain group of American politicians is allowed to campaign in churches; another group is not allowed. Every election the Democrats campaign heavily in Black churches without a word being said by media watchdogs about the separation of church and state. President Clinton and Jesse Jackson are common speakers in Black churches and their message is not “faith in Christ.” The message is “get out and vote” for our party. However, when Evangelicals pass out literature as a voter’s guide or a conservative Republican speaks in Evangelical churches, the news media howl in protest of their actions being a violation of the separation of church and state.

Left-wing religious groups can organize and propagandize this country without protest. Right-wing religious groups who organize and propagandize are watched like a fox in the hen house. TV portrays them as religious extremists trying to get control of the Republican party. Were the stakes for our children not so serious, watching this scenario play itself out would be humorous.

Election Day

On election day, separation of church and state is relatively meaning- less. A few years ago, the Danville congregation received a call from those in charge of finding a place to hold elections to see if the church would be willing to let them use our building for election purposes. We explained that we did not use our building for such things so they went elsewhere.

In the last election, my place to vote was the Christian Church. As I drove to the polling place, the yard was littered with campaign signs until we got within a certain number of feet of the polling place, at which point the signs were not allowed. But, there was no separation of church and state here. The state is perfectly willing to use the church’s buildings without charge as a polling site. The politicians are willing to place their campaign signs on the premises.

The result was pathetic. On the premises of a church that would be adamantly opposed to such things as abortion, gambling, and other immoral practices, politicians who campaign to legalize such things post their signs to persuade voters.

What Separation of Church and State Really Means Today

In the minds of far too many, separation of church and state means that those religious leaders who have some- what to say about moral issues facing our nation should “keep their noses out of the state’s business, unless you are willing to say what we want to hear.” Separation of church and state means that preachers should not try to talk to voters about abortion (partial birth or earlier in the pregnancy), the impact of the immorality of the President on our country as a reason not to vote for those who will keep him in office, homosexuality as a transgression of God’s will, and other such issues.

John the Baptist did not hesitate to comment on the immorality of King Herod Antipas. When Antipas went to Rome and seduced his half-brother Philip’s wife to leave Philip and marry him, John the Baptist preached, “It is not lawful for you to have her” (Matt. 14:4). The verb elegen is in the imperfect tense of lego, indicating that John did not preach this just one time but that he kept on saying, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” That would be like one today going into the pulpit and saying, “It is not lawful for President Clinton to have oral sex with Monica Lewinski, to lie under oath about his affair, and to orchestrate a campaign to destroy those who investigate his immorality.” Our national media does not want to hear what Evangelicals have to say about such subjects. And, to intimidate Evangelicals from preaching on such issues, they hypocritically chastise preachers for violating the separation of church and state. I say “hypocritical” because when liberal preachers want to go into print saying, “We should just put this af- fair behind us because God is a forgiving God,” they will provide a forum for them to speak, commend what they say, and honor them as highly respected moral leaders in our society. Such preachers are the same kind of “spiritual leaders” who curried Herod’s favor.

A Church Not Silenced by the State

When the State tried to squelch the voice of the church in the New Testament, the Apostles boldly asserted their determination to keep on preaching. Peter said, “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye” (Acts 4:19). Again, he said, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

The time may come when our state tries to stop the mouths of those who preach God’s truth about moral issues such as homosexuality and abortion. In the latest incident when some radical shot an abortion doctor in the northeast with a high-powered rifle, the news media quickly tried to place the blame for this incident on those religious groups who oppose the woman’s legal right to an abortion. Such rhetoric certainly lays the political groundwork for stamping out those who preach against abortion. When a homosexual boy was robbed and hideously murdered in the west, the right wing religious groups were described as hate mongers who are ultimately responsible for his death.

If we are correct in assessing the trend that is developing in our country, we must prepare the minds of our brothers and sisters to stand for the truth without regard to what standing for the truth costs us. Jesus said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Again, he said, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matt. 10:37-39). My prayer is that this trend not develop in our country, but should it occur, we must be prepared to give our lives in service to God.

Conclusion

I pray for our country daily. I pray that moral righteous- ness might be exalted in its borders and that those things contrary to God’s will may be defeated without regard to which political party holds office. But come what may, I pray that God will give me the strength to be faithful to him in whatever circumstances might exist.

A false doctrine is being taught in these words: “The Holy Scriptures teach the second coming of Christ, including the establishment of the eternal kingdom, the day of judgment, the end of the world and the resurrection of the dead, occurred with the fall of Judaism in 70 A.D.” Thus, we examine these false teachings:

• Christ Has Not Yet Come. John records, “Be- hold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him . . .” (Rev. 1:7). Those who believe Christ has already come should not partake of the Lord’s supper for the communion shows “the Lord’s death till he come” (1 Cor. l1:26). If Christ came in A.D. 70, then every person has already been eternally rewarded. “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works” (Matt. 16:27).

• The Establishment of the Kingdom Was Not in A.D. 70. The prophecy of Isaiah 2:2-3, Acts1:4, 8, Mark 9:1 was fulfilled in Acts 2 when Jews heard, believed, repented, and were baptized, “. . . and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). This occurred about forty years before A.D. 70.

• End of the World and the Resurrection Did Not Occur in A.D. 70. The end of the world and the resurrection will take place at the last day. Martha said concerning her brother, Lazarus, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24). To understand that the world did not end in A.D. 70, all one has to do is to look around and see that the world still turns! When the resurrection comes, “. . . all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28-29). Go to any graveyard, look around and you will soon see that the dead have not yet been resurrected!

“The Bible and Gays” is an article by Deb Price of The Detroit News reprinted in The Louisville Courier-Journal advocating the homosexual idea that the Bible does not address homosexuality as a sin. This is wishful thinking at best, but the liberal press runs these articles attempting to sway the thinking of their readers. They know that if a lie is repeated often enough, people will begin to believe it, and a biblically ignorant generation will eventually accept it.

Ms. Price uses a man named Peter Gomes and his recently published book The Good Book: Reading The Bible With Mind And Heart to promote her liberal views on homosexuality. She says of the book by Gomes that it is “a welcome testament to his faith that we all can raise our level of biblical understanding by seriously studying modern scholarship as well as the Bible itself.”

One other short paragraph from the article will demonstrate the thrust of the editorial, and the view of some homosexuals who search for approval from God’s Word: “And despite all the Bible-thumping hoopla these days condemning gay people, the Bible says little about homo- sexuality. The Ten Commandments didn’t mention it; neither did Jesus, Gomes points out. Sodom’s downfall, he adds, wasn’t homosexuality. Old Testament authors referred to Sodom’s sins as ‘pride and selfishness.’ Jesus himself is under the impression that Sodom was destroyed because it was a place lacking hospitality, Gomes concludes from reading Matthew 10:14-15 and Luke 10:10-12.”

Ms. Price’s closing remark is, “If we open our minds as well as our hearts, it’s never too late to be transformed.” The Courier-Journal is known in the Louisville area as a paper that promotes many liberal ideas, but it seems especially dedicated to the homosexual movement. They have published articles and editorials with pictures illustrating the “normal” life that homosexuals lead in the Louisville area. They ran a special on gay bars and the gay lifestyle in the Scene section of the paper complete with addresses of each of the establishments and pictures of lesbians and homosexual men dancing together. This editorial by Deb Price is just another attempt to soften the public’s view toward this abomination.

What Saith The Scripture?

What saith the Scripture? As always, we must look to God’s word for the truth (John 17:17). It is not to be found in modern scholarship, The Courier-Journal, or any other human receptacle.

Let’s notice first the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord told Abraham before he destroyed these cities that their “sin is very grave” (Gen. 18:20). Now, all sin is bad and any one sin will keep a person out of heaven, but where in the Bible do we get the thought that inhospitality is an especially grave sin?

When the two angels, that appeared as men, entered Sodom, Lot met them and invited them into his home not knowing that they were angels (Gen. 19:1-2). He brought them into his house, fed them, and provided beds for them (Gen. 19:3-4). These angels found a hospitable home in Sodom.

While the angels were enjoying the hospitality extended to them by Lot, the men of the city came and asked about them. They told Lot that they wanted to meet the men so they could “know them” (Gen. 19:5). Now, if the homosexuals of our day are right, then these men were far from being inhospitable. It would even seem, as if they went out of their way in order to meet these two visitors of their city. However, the context and a knowledge of the Bible phrase “know them” reveals their most glaring sin. Lot went outside to talk with the men and he described what they wanted to do with the visitors as wickedness (Gen. 19:7). He even offered his two virgin daughters to them to do as they wished, but they refused this offer (Gen. 19:8). It would be extremely inhospitable to rape a visitor in your area, but upon reading the context and other Bible references to this incident, the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is homosexuality, which is an abomination in the sight of God (Lev. 18:22; 20:13).

The phrase “know them” points to an act of wickedness wherein these men wanted to have sexual relations with these two visitors, and the level of their depravity can be seen in verse eleven when they wore themselves out trying to find the door of Lot’s house even after they were struck with blindness! Another instance of this phrase being used to describe sexual immorality is found in the book of Judges. A Levite was the guest of a man in Gibeah, a town belonging to the Benjamites (Judg. 19:16). The men of that city were wicked and desired the visitor of Gibeah for the same reason the people of Sodom wanted the angels. The text reads, “As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door; and they spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thy house, that we may know him” (Judg. 19:22). The concubine of the Levite was given to these wicked men and they took her, raped her, and left her for dead (Judg. 19:25-26). These men “knew her” in the same way that the wicked men of Sodom wanted to “know” the angels who were visiting at Lot’s house: a sexually immoral, perverse way.

Another conclusive argument showing the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah to be homosexuality is found in Jude 7. Jude writes describing the punishment of the wicked saying “Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, having in like manner with these given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 7). Why are the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah suffering the punishment of eternal fire? They committed fornication by “going after strange flesh.”

This is some of what the Bible says about the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah and it does not describe a people given over to the sin of inhospitality. The Lord’s reference to these cities in Matthew 10:14-15 and Luke 10:10-12 has nothing to do with inhospitality. These passages refer to the punishment meted out to those who refuse the gospel invitation, and as said by our Lord it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for those who reject him and his disciples (Luke 10:12). A severe warning to all of the importance receiving those who teach the gospel of Christ.

The Bible also condemns homosexuality in a number of other passages. The Law of Moses reads “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination” (Lev. 18:22). “And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them” (Lev. 20:13). As a, king of Israel, purged a people out of the land of Israel called Sodomites. “And he put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made” (1 Kings 15:12). These people were called Sodomites because of the sin they commit- ted, not because they were from Sodom, which had been destroyed many years earlier.

The price of a dog was not to be brought into the house of God (Deut. 23:17-18). The Hebrew term translated “dog” refers to a male practicing sodomy and prostitution in religious rituals. God’s use of the term “dog” is interesting and informative when one considers the actual lifestyle of the common homosexual. The number of sexual contacts, the anonymous nature of many of the contacts, and the degrading acts committed by homosexuals of which it is not fitting to speak, all give rise to the term “dog” (Eph. 5:12).

Jesus, contrary to Ms. Price’s belief, did address the sin of homosexuality in Matthew 19:4-9. Jesus teaches concerning marriage that it is a union of a male and a female, and that is as God established it in the very beginning. God created Eve, a female, for Adam, and declared that they should leave father and mother, cleave to one another, and become one flesh (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5-6). God did not create a man for a man, nor a woman for a woman, but a woman for a man and the two are to become one flesh and remain in that condition for life. Fornication is given by Jesus as the only reason for breaking that union. The innocent party may divorce the one guilty of fornication and remarry according to our Lord’s teaching in Matthew 19:9 and Matthew 5:32. Fornication is a broad term which includes the sin of homosexuality. The passage noted earlier in Jude 7 indicates that those in Sodom were guilty of fornication or sexual immorality and described that further as “going after strange flesh.” The “going after strange flesh” is a phrase referring to homosexuality and/or bestiality. A man who has a sexual relationship with his wife is not guilty of “going after strange flesh” because God created the man and woman for each other. But, a man going after a man or a woman going after a woman is strange because it goes against the design and revelation of God. Jesus taught the truth, a man and a woman united for life; and fornication, whose definition includes homosexuality, is a sin which violates that relationship.

The apostles were Christ’s spokesmen on earth (Matt. 16:19). They were commissioned by him to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). The message delivered by the apostles was the same message they received from Jesus (Gal. 1:11-12). Paul said concerning the things that he wrote, “If any man thinketh himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write unto you, that they are the commandment of the Lord” (1 Cor. 14:37).

Paul denounced homosexuality as a sin deserving of death (Rom. 1:26-32). He told the Corinthians that homosexuals will not enter the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-10). But, he went on to say that some of them were (past tense) homosexuals, “but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11).

They had been homosexuals, but they repented of this sin. This is contrary to what many homosexuals would have us believe. We are told by the elite of society that homosexuals are born that way and they cannot change their sexual orientation.

Peter and Jude both referred to Sodom and Gomorrah when discussing the punishment that awaits the wicked (2 Pet. 2:6; Jude 7). Homosexuality is mentioned a number of times in the Bible. The false ideas taught by Peter Gomes, Deb Price, and others of their persuasion will not stand up when exposed to the light of the gospel (Eph. 5:11-13).

Peter said that some would twist the Scriptures to lead disciples away (2 Pet. 3:16-17). Do not be misled by the constant bombardment of The Courier-Journal or any other source that contradicts plain teaching from the word of God.