Recognize the Person Behind the Struggle
Behind every objection is a person struggling to escape the snares of the Devil. Let’s not forget the value of those we speak to as we share the gospel.
Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/GesJre6-P-0
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Well said. It is all too easy to get caught up in the emotion surrounding the larger cultural movement and lose sight that you are dealing one to one with a person made in God's image.
How did you respond to the Christian lesbian Minnesotan teenager, John Noyes? All you said in the video clip was: “…turn a blind eye to it, or counsel them, but allow them in fellowship…as long as there is repentance there”. Did you tell her that? Did you explain to her that she should only be allowed into fellowship if she repented of her gayness and acknowledged that she was really a heterosexual female? Or maybe you told her to find another church, one that isn’t overrun with hateful bigots. Episcopalians are nice, they even have gay marriage. Which would be a better counseling approach to prevent a suicide?
One of the best passages in the Bible is Jeremiah 17:5-8. Summarizing quickly, this passage really focuses on when the heat comes…where are you going to be put your trust? In man, or in the Lord?
Thanks money changer in the temple.
I pray the young woman you spoke of soon learns her identity is beloved child of our Living God.
That youth pastor and church absolutely failed her, three times! 1. by not raising her to understand Christianity, her Christian identity, and the lies and delusions of this world (gender "confusion" being a big one), 2. by not educating her at 19, 3. by casting her out… throwing her to the wolves! What a sick, twisted display of so called Christianity!
My own story is similar, and I became an atheist who absolutely hated "Christians". When I unexpectedly became a Christian three years ago, I read the Bible cover to cover in about four months and was shocked to realize I hadn't encountered genuine Christians before. Especially not in churches I'd attended many years earlier, or in "Christian" charities.
As Voddie Baucham, Paul Washer, David Wilkerson, and Derek Prince said many times, the evil one has been hard at work in the church (with the help of many in the church) especially in the past 50 years. It's even worse in the past 3.5 to 5 years.
"Christians" like that young woman encountered, lack of teaching about the world / the Bible / my identity in Christ Jesus, and refusing to answer even basic questions (as well as dismissing the Bible as not crucial, not accurate, etc) almost cost me my eternal salvation – my soul! I pray that young woman doesn't end up cast out of God's presence, in hell.
* When I became a Christian, one of the first gifts God gave me was to deliver me from the evil delusion of alphabet soup. The "lifestyle" is a delusion, a lie, a twisting of what God made and intended.
I was raised in church and have always loved & wanted to follow Jesus.
I was not & am not a lesbian but when I was 17 a rumor circulated in my youth group that I was. I got a stern talking to by a youth pastor and was ostracised at church & youth group so I stopped going when I turned 18.
I was then forbidden to pursue my desired career as it required university study. The reasons given were that I was "not academic", plus I'm a girl so I "have to get married & have children". Nobody ever wanted to be with me, so I just hung out with my gay best friend for a few years & drank myself into oblivion.
I married an abusive "Christian" man coz he was the only one who ever showed an interest in me. My life's ambition was to please my dad & all he wanted was for me to get married & have children.
I'm now 48. My life is a waste. Everyone around me at church & in my family seem to have perfect lives, even amidst every day struggles. I still can't see myself as worthy of love or accepted anywhere & I hate myself because I'm such a failure.
I'm not wanting sympathy. I'm still here because Jesus Christ is the only person who's never left me. All I want is to show people what can happen if someone is treated badly by people who claim to follow Christ. It is one of the most damaging things anyone can experience.
He who is without sin throw the first stone.
I agree with you. As a pastor, I’ve felt the need to rebuke the “holiness” people for their lack of Christian compassion and love towards those struggling with identity issues.
Thank you