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An International Missionary Outreach Dedicated to Evangelizing the Lost By Sharing The Gospel According to the Scriptures
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Calvary
Chapel Costa Mesa Pastor, Brian Brodersen, |
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On Friday, a long-time Lighthouse Trails reader
contacted our office regarding the following situation. The person who
called had attended Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa for several years but has
not been attending for some time. According to an article titled “Can I Attend My LGBT Friend’s Wedding?” written by Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa’s senior pastor Brian Brodersen, it is sometimes OK to attend a LTGB (Lesbian, Transgender, Gay, Bisexual) wedding. He says it’s not OK to attend the wedding if the two people getting “married” proclaim to be believers in Christ, but if they don’t claim to be believers then it may be OK. He says he bases his conclusions on 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, stating:
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Brodersen believes that to truly show the love of
Christ to a homosexual, it may be necessary to attend a same-sex
wedding. However, one commenter on the blog where the article was posted
disputed this view stating: You probably wouldn’t attend any other sinful event that 2 or more of your unsaved friends were involved in, so how is this any different? A true friend would say, “Hey, I love ya bro, but I can’t be a part of this.” The first step to the slippery slope is compromise, cloaked in our emotions. Sometimes love must say no. |
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Brodersen defends his position
by saying that Jesus ate with sinners. Lighthouse Trails has witnessed the change in attitude toward homosexuality by those who are part of the emergent church movement for many years. This is another case in point. While we believe we are to show the love of Christ to all people, we also believe it is wrong to participate in or show acceptance of sinful activities. To compare sitting and having a meal with a lost person to participating in an event that promotes a sinful lifestyle is absurd; what’s more, it is unbiblical. While Jesus did eat with sinners, with the hope of having them repent from their evil deeds and turn to God, He told them to sin no more. He also fully supported the ministry and calling of John the Baptist, who called people to repent from their sins (in fact, that was the very reason John was beheaded). And the New Testament makes numerous references about having nothing to do with the works of darkness and wickedness. Yes, we are to love the sinner, but we are to hate the sin. What Brian Brodersen has done here is taken a big step toward cultural “tolerance,” but this is not how we are described in the Bible, which states that, as Christians, we are to be a set apart people, a light on the hill, shining in the darkness. We are not to blend with or be absorbed into that darkness for that only dims the light. While it certainly is more politically correct to make the kind of statement Brodersen made, it does not set him apart as a “peculiar people.”
Something to consider, in this day and age when “same-sex marriage” is becoming a pivotal point for persecution and injustice against Bible-believing Christians, this is a slap in the face to those who have refused to participate in “gay marriages” (i.e., baking same-sex wedding cakes, doing the photography for same-sex weddings, etc). Brodersen has inadvertently sent out the message that these believers are wrong in their refusal to support homosexual weddings. Attending a homosexual wedding will no sooner help a homosexual repent and turn to Christ than would driving the get away car for a bank robber help him repent and turn to Christ. It is tragic to see Christian leaders misrepresenting Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. Brian Brodersen has done a disservice to the body of Christ, and he has done no favor to those involved with homosexuality either.
By Related Information: The Message “Bible”— A Breach of Truth They Hate Christianity But Love (Another) Jesus Biola’s New Gay and Lesbian Student Group – A “Fruit” of Their Contemplative Propensities? As Obama OKs Homosexual Marriage, Christian Leaders Partly to Blame ‘Gay’ Activist’s Call for Churches to Be Forced to Take Homosexuality Off ‘Sin List’ Draws Concerns
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Understand The Times is an independent non-profit organization in
Canada and the United States.
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