May 12, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “Faltering and Fruitfulness” on Andrew Comiskey’s website: “My friend Kin recently texted me to rejoice in the prosperity of his two children, now faithful husbands and fathers. ‘What if I had believed the lie that had been written over my life. O amazing God, how great are Your wonders….’ Kin referred to how Jesus’ death and resurrection set him free from what seemed like his destiny as a ‘gay man.’” …

“That is in sharp distinction to last week’s Newsweek’s article—‘Ex-Ex Gay Pride’-that featured John Paulk, ex-spouse of RHN director Anne and a former Exodus leader. The article frames John’s recent public return to homosexual practice (thus breaking his vows to wife and kids) as noble, a prophetic witness of the inevitable. John and others ‘testify’ of ‘living a lie’ by not being true to their real ‘gay selves’; they employ the language of abuse and self-loathing to describe a Christian culture in which they, in Paulk’s words, ‘did not change one iota.’”

“The only thing that has changed is a spiritual culture that now removes the Cross from the equation of how we become fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ.” …

May 9, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “Assessing Matthew Vines’ God and the Gay Christian Part III – Jesus and Homosexuality” on Joe Dallas’s website: “Did Jesus Say Anything About It? If So, What? I was glad, when reading Vine’s remarks about the Gospels, to see he declined the standard revisionist arguments we’re accustomed to hearing when it comes to Jesus and homosexuality. …. But he offers instead a curious argument for a pro-homosexual view of scripture, in which he confidently states: ‘Jesus test is simple. If something bears bad fruit, it cannot be a good tree. And if something bears good fruit, then it cannot be a bad tree.’ (p. 14)” …

“So good fruit can and does come from people who are wrong in critical areas, and bad fruit can likewise come from people whose lives are generally in line with sound doctrine. I’ll be the first to agree with Vines that many homosexuals bear good fruit in their lives, sometimes more than I’ve seen in many heterosexuals. I could say the same of people involved in other equally serious moral or doctrinal errors. But bad fruit – sin, for example, of any kind – cannot be justified by the fruit-bearer’s other good qualities. It’s got to be judged on its own, weighed against a higher and holier standard.” …

May 6, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “Riskey Living” on Andrew Comiskey’s website: “When the Holy Spirit blew open Jesus’ tomb, God blew away our excuses for living half-lives. The very Spirit that liberated Jesus from sin and death summons us from our tombs as well. We must choose. Will we leave our prisons, now that the door has been opened? Will we lay claim to the ground of the new creation or remain in the shadows, more comfortable in grave clothes than in robes of righteousness? ‘ …

“The world provides many excuses. Note these excuses generated by gay activists. Homosexual identity and practice become a closed horizon for anyone with same-gender attraction. The gay self becomes a new ethnos, a genetically-inspired destiny devoid of any choice and thus free from moral meaning. Rather than open prison doors, such activists pad the prison and convince the vulnerable that this is their destiny. ‘By appealing to lustful desires, they entice people who are barely escaping from those who live in error. Offering freedom, they are slaves themselves…’ (2P2: 18, 19)” …

May 5, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “Assessing ‘God and the Gay Christian’ – Part One of Five” on Joe Dallas’s website: “Today’s church is being asked – pressured, really – to follow the culture’s lead, and the culture is leading towards wholesale approval of homosexuality. So Matthew Vine’s new book God and the Gay Christian is a fresh, eloquent, and well publicized addition to the pressure.” …

“… sexual sin matters. And it matters hugely. That’s why this book calls for scrutiny. It asks us to revise our understanding of what we’ve traditionally considered a sexual, and thereby serious, sin. If its author is right, then we need to overhaul our thinking. If he’s wrong, then his call for revision is an invitation to gross doctrinal and moral error, having the potential to deceive believers, misinform the public, and further weaken the moral climate in the Body of Christ. And that, I’d say, is a pretty big deal. So this week, we’ll be reviewing Vine’s arguments, offering responses and counterarguments, and (hopefully) some thoughts to equip readers for the conversations they’re likely to have on the subject.” (more…)

May 5, 2014

A new book edited by Southern Seminary president R. Albert Mohler Jr. refutes the claim that “homosexual orientation and committed same-sex relationships are consistent with a “high view” of the Bible and evangelical Christianity.” The new SBTS Press e-book, God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines is free.

April 24, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “The Same-Sex Wedding Invitation Debate” on Joe Dallas’s website: “Lots of buzz lately about whether or not a Christian should attend a same-sex wedding ceremony. And as buzz goes, this one’s awfully relevant, as more and more believers are facing this practical, emotional choice: Accept the invitation although I don’t believe in same sex marriage, or decline and risk alienating someone I deeply love? … So I’d like to take some space today to better explain where I stand, and why.” …

“What’s at issue here is attendance at a wedding ceremony, ostensibly approved of and rejoiced over by those who come to it. Attendance means, to my thinking, more than loving support for the person(s) involved. It also means an offer of approval and blessing.”

“There’s the catch, and it’s not minor. Celebrating a loved one’s sin is a serious matter, no matter how deep the love nor how important the loved one. (more…)

April 18, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “Tears on Good Friday” on Joe Dallas’s website: … “I’d rather weep over the torture and slow death He endured than remember that the servant is not above His Lord. Where He went I’m to go, a chilling thought when I consider today’s recollection of where He went. Still, if I emote over the cross today while avoiding it in fact, what’s the use?”

“But if I say Yes to the cross and Wow to the resurrection glory that follows, then, at least to my thinking, I’m on track this Good Friday. If I avoid the reality that I’m called daily to die to myself, then my grief today is rather shallow. Likewise, if I tell myself I’ve got this cross thing done and am doing it right, I’m truly deluded. We will no doubt be applying and reapplying this principle to ourselves, seeking to die to sin while kicking and screaming concurrently, until we, too, finally say It Is Finished. (more…)

April 17, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “Gift of Tears” on Andrew Comiskey’s website: … “since last April, the Supreme Court struck down Prop. 8 and DOMA and our nation followed suit. Sociologists claim that US public opinion on homosexuality has shifted faster than any other social issue. Ever. Nearly every protection for marriage and the freedom to define homosexual identity and practice as morally wrong has been burned in the fire of our idolatry.” …

“When we honor sexual unions that cannot engender life and that confuse the gender of both parties, we welcome the spirit of death. Through ‘gay marriage,’ ‘Death has entered in through our windows and has entered our fortresses; it has cut off our children from the streets and our young men from the public squares.’ (Jer. 9: 21)” (more…)

April 13, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “Downward Ascent 8: Woeful- wellbeing” on Andrew Comiskey’s website: Being hated for loving Jesus means you are doing something right. Authentic peacemakers provoke war. Jesus may wash feet, defend children, empower women, and cure lepers but He also mirrors the truth of our sin (JN 15: 18-25). His reflection so unsettled the religious and political figures of His day that they smashed that mirror every way they could. His disciples might expect the same. The servant is not greater than his master. …

Be forewarned: the ‘gay marriage’ machine has just begun to steamroll opponents. Note that its energy is essentially ‘anti-Christ.’ … (more…)

April 3, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “Worship and Recovery” by Renee Dallas on Joe Dallas’s website: … “I learned this during the time I worked through the pain of my first husband’s betrayal, years before I met Joe: personal worship leads to healing. At first I was so numb; the jarring realization of what had happened left me wounded, grieving and hopeless. But as I found myself murmuring vague prayers reaching out to God, I was drawn to the music of praise. During this time of personally connecting with the Lord, the most meaningful healing happened for me—soul-to soul in that place where only He could reach, I heard Him communicate His love for me.”

“Paradox of Praise in Pain – It seems paradoxical to praise God when your whole life has been turned upside down. But pain can create a thirst in us that drives us to connect with the Creator who alone has the ability to give comfort and meaning. (more…)