Question:
Do we drive people away from Christianity by teaching Jesus' message on marriage and sexual immorality?
Bruce
2013-06-29 06:18:54 UTC
Homosexualists frequently admonish me that explaining Jesus' teachings about marriage and sexual immorality drive people away from Christianity. Two questions: 1) Is that true, or on balance, are more people driven away by post-Christians who promote deadly sin? 2) Is it a bad thing that people who don't like God's design are driven away from Christianity?
25 answers:
Lover of Blue
2013-06-29 10:14:46 UTC
I think it's a combination of things. The gospel is offensive to many people. Even the cross of Christ, which is the very center of our beliefs, is a stumbling block to millions. Well, even Jesus Himself is a stumbling block to many. The scriptures describe Jesus as, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” (1 Peter 2)



The fact that people are driven away isn't necessarily a bad thing. Many assume that if people get upset with them then they must have done something wrong. Sometimes, it's the opposite. Sometimes they did something right.



People want to remake Jesus into their own image. They want to revise all He said and did to fit their own ideal. They try to conform Him to themselves instead of conforming themselves to Him.



When we tell people that homosexuality is wrong and immoral and sinful as God says, it threatens people on a couple levels. One their sense of freedom is threatened. Two, their belief that man is basically good is threatened as well.



People often argue for gay marriage on the belief that it's about equality because they're afraid that their "freedoms" to make their own choices will be outlawed too. They want "freedom" to do whatever they wish but their definition of freedom means "the freedom to make choices without any negative consequences." They seek to suspend the natural, built-in consequences that God place in His moral law. They are inescapable. We all face such consequences soon or later.



Regarding the whole "Jesus never spoke about homosexuality or condemned it" argument people are making on this post, I think Pastor Kevin DeYoung gives an insightful answer -



"...it’s hopelessly anachronistic to expect Jesus to directly address all our contemporary concerns. Jesus never said anything explicitly about child abuse, domestic abuse, bestiality, abortion or dozens of other sins. He never preached a sermon on homosexuality because no one in his circles by any stretch of the imagination would have approved of homosexuality under any circumstances.

"...the fact is Jesus spoke about sexual sin often. He warned against lust and infidelity. He confronted the woman at the well. He told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more. Likewise, Jesus condemned the sin of "porneia" (Mark 7:21 [3]) which is defined by a leading New Testament lexicon as “unlawful sexual intercourse, prostitution, unchastity, fornication” (BDAG).



"James Edwards states that porneia “can be found in Greek literature with reference to a variety of illicit sexual practices, including adultery, fornication, prostitution, and homosexuality. In the OT it occurs for any sexual practice outside marriage between a man and a woman that is prohibited by the Torah” (The Gospel According to Mark [4], 213).



"It’s misleading to suggest that Jesus had no discernible opinion on homosexuality or that sexual sin was not an important concern for him." - Kevin DeYoung
2 Shepherds
2013-06-29 06:43:25 UTC
Nope. Spirit-led Christians spiritually know the truth that has set them free, and Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. If people say they were driven away, they were never truly God's to begin with. When asking Jesus into a life as Lord and Savior, it means surrendering every area of life to Him and discarding those areas that are not compatible.
sylvia c
2013-06-30 00:41:24 UTC
first of all God does not change. In the Old testament the Lord God gives the commandment "Men shall not lie with mankind as with woman kind, it is an abomination" it is quite plain and easy to understand this commandment, dont know why homosexuals have a problem with it. Christ was sent by God to redeem mankind of their sinfull ways. Seeing Christ said "I and the Father are one" it is doubtfull that Christ would go against His heavenly father, and proclaim that homosexuality is not an abomination, He then would be guilty of sin, like Adam by being disobedient to the father. But since Christ was without sin and took on the wrath of God for these sins of the flesh and those outside the flesh at Calvary, then homosexuals are mocking Christ's suffering and invoking the anger of the Lord God towards them and the nation which condones same. Therefore they are also guilty of not obeying the commandment of the Lord God to love your neighbour as yourself, as they deliberately deny their parents the joy of having grand children and not listening to the voice of the Lord, "Go out and multiply" Christ is not an agent of sin.
rac
2013-07-01 12:35:53 UTC
If we do, then it is their loss. Strait is the way and narrow the gate that leads to life eternal and few their be that find it.

Strait means narrow or restricted, thus not everybody can get in or stay on the path. Those who are offended by the law will turn away. Christianity requires the disciple to control their actions, words and thoughts, to overcome the worldly ways and to elevate ourselves above the level of common animals. Those who give in to carnal pleasures, indulging in indiscriminate passions are not looking to heaven to guide their lives but rather to the world around them. Their eyes are cast down instead of up. The only way to attract people to Christ, and to God, is to encourage them to look up, to discipline themselves to overcome the ways of the world. Heaven can be obtained in no other way. Sexual immorality is a sure way to cast yourself into spirit prison and ultimately the Telestial Kingdom of our Lord, the lowest of the three as described by Paul.
James
2013-06-29 12:49:50 UTC
Yes you do. People won't like you're so called "extreme" views and will leave because they don't want to deal with this 'hateful religion' which modern morality has made it out to be. But that is perfectly fine. If they don't accept this tiny insignificant fact then they cannot EVER be born again Christians because the Bible is the sole authority on morality and if it says it is a sin it is a sin and if you reject a part of it you reject ALL of it. Preach at the village and if they don't like what you're saying brush off the dust of that village and move on to the next.



Also if you are in a church, specially roman catholic, get out quick. Save yourself before you get dragged down.



@ The onigiri: You missed the last part of that sentence. "as I love you". I don't remember God or Christ being all about teddy bears and lollipops, do you?
Gentile
2013-06-30 20:20:55 UTC
I think we can take a lesson from what Paul told timothy we are to preach the word in season and out of season that means when it is popular and when it is not. The word of God will be the judge of all of us the words of Christ is the standard of Judgment not us. if they will not listen they are not rejecting us but Jesus and his words.



John 12:48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.



2 Timothy 4:1-5 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and teaching.



For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, enduring afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.



My friend those who will not listen to the scriptures will have no excuse on the day of judgment saying we were never told they have close their ears to the truth we still need to pray for them to come to the light and repent. Thanks for the question friend. God bless.
Brother Dave
2013-06-29 18:56:47 UTC
Some humans love morality and truth; and some others are so selfish, hedonistic, secular and relativistic that they have no thought of trying to become moral and live a righteous life. Moral discernment is a necessary prelude to grasping higher spiritual truths. If any in our audience reject calls to higher morality, then they will not listen to even the beautiful Gospel message of Jesus Christ; and they will likely tend to delay their personal spiritual relationship with our loving Father God until they later experience more hard realities of living an immoral lifestyle. Homosexuals seeing the majority of USA homosexuals living only 38 years on average instead of about 77 years nationwide average will help to have them come to the light of righteousness. The very high infidelity of so-called homosexual partners also takes it toll. New drug-resistant strains of AIDS and other increasingly deadly STDs also will help to turn them around to safer living if not voluntary morality.



We will continue to share with all the Gospel of God's love as taught by Jesus with the certainty that eventually all humans in the not too distant future will desire to become more moral and also seek and learn the higher spiritual God-conscious life with assurance of eternal life as a perfecting freewill son or daughter of God. The Revelation of God to this world, in and through Jesus Christ here in Spirit, shall not fail !



False spiritual liberty - immorality - leads to darkness and despair. True spiritual liberty with voluntary self-control leads to God's Light and great inner peace and lasting joy.



Wise, experienced humans will count the terrible costs of living contrary to God's perfect will; and continue to turn to every higher moral living.



Let those who favor abortion and homosexuality learn the hard way if they reject our messages of Light and Life in Spirit and in Truth.
Jim
2013-06-29 13:55:21 UTC
"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20



We are to call people to be reconciled to Christ. Implied in the call to reconciliation is that there is an already existing broken relationship between us and God. If our relationship with God is broken, guess who broke it? It certainly wasn't God. And so, we need to understand the issues that cause a breech in our relationship with God. Basically it is our sin. Sin which we need to turn away from. And you can't turn away from sin if you refuse to acknowledge sin as sin. God's word is clear on His definition of marriage. God's word is clear on that which is sexual immorality. And God's word is clear that God's word does not change.
Monica V
2013-06-29 08:48:55 UTC
I get people told Noah that his preaching was driving people away. He didn't have a single convert outside of his own family.



The point is not to just attract people. Then the church would just be a worldly marketing organization like any other.

The point of the church is for there to be a place where the unadulterated truth is proclaimed, regardless of who like it. We must be faithful to that purpose.



If the church doesn't stand for the truth, then who will?
imacatholic2
2013-06-29 13:32:35 UTC
Are you suggesting we draw people to Christianity by lying about Jesus' message?



People, who are lost in their own unrepentant sin, are too enamored of Popular Culture, which approves of their sin, to turn to Christianity.



With love in Christ
2013-06-29 06:26:12 UTC
Are you suggesting that homosexuality is a deadly sin? I get so tired of all your so-called sins. You can't breathe without sinning - in fact we are born in sin!!! How can a small baby be sinful? It makes no sense.



I can walk down the road - see a handsome guy coming towards me and wonder what he wld be like in bed - SIN SIN SIN!!!!! The though is mother to the deed!!! Wicked woman - why? and me a mother and grandmother! It is mad.



So glad I opted out.



Mo

University Lecturer

Ma and grandma (with a gay son - a surgeon who saves lives)

Atheist
One gnat who fears God
2013-06-29 11:06:44 UTC
'Whoever eats My flesh and drink My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up in the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.......many of His disciples when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?".......When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciple complained about this, He said to them, 'Does this offend you?'.......From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away (John 6:53-66)?" '



♥ Introvert, Deep Thinker ♥
2013-06-29 06:27:16 UTC
What drives people from your religion is the immorality it imposes on people, as well as, the immorality of your god. Any sufficiently reasonable minded human would not follow your gods wishes nor would they agree with the standpoint of his view on life and how people should act in bad situations. It is utterly disgusting and mentally psychopathic to tell someone to kill another human being because the human being that allegedly did ''bad'' did not do what they said individual that did not agree with him wanted him to do or wanted from him to begin with. Most of my own morals stem from The Buddha. Most of which include to never harm or kill any animal or human no matter what they have done, want to do, are doing at the moment, or will do.
geessewereabove
2013-06-29 06:22:00 UTC
Why don't you read 1 Cor. chapters 5, 6, & 7? Being immoral means the person is Not Christian, not wanting to be.
The Onigiri
2013-06-29 06:22:05 UTC
I seem to remember Jesus saying to love one another, not "picket at marriages and say God hates everyone."



It's a bad thing that people who see others promoting hate encourage it under the guise of being Christian.
2013-06-29 06:22:38 UTC
Also the Ugandans. They keep executing homosexuals over there.



Let's face it; there's not much christians do that *isn't* downright divisive. Only reason they stayed in power was with death threats. Secular societies tend to dissuade people from doing that kind've stuff.



Russia might be up your alley, though. Go nuts. :P
2013-06-29 06:23:15 UTC
Christianity drives them away from Christianity.

Dishonesty is not the best policy, and when churches learn this, they will be better accepted.

Lies, and unreal expectations drive them away. Heavy handed and lying preachers drive them away.

The best advertisement for atheism is the bible. Read it!

Say no to drugs and god. Stay real.
2013-06-29 06:23:29 UTC
The teachings of Jesus were simple.



Judge not, love your neighbor and treat others the way that you would want to be treated.



Do you see an except for in any of those ideas?



Me either.



Watering down these teachings with a lot of judgmental gibberish is a hallmark of Pauline Christianity, but it has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus.
romans 8:1
2013-06-29 10:32:24 UTC
Some people have perverted minds, like those that support queer (fake) marriage.
Ambassador
2013-06-29 06:22:42 UTC
They are only using yet another excuse to stay in their sin. People love to sin and hate God.

. . . Without repentance they will never come to the forgiveness of sins. That is exactly what every unbeliever lacks. F O R G I V E N E S S.



Repentance toward the Father, and faith in Christ Jesus.



He died for our sins, according to the scriptures.

He was buried.

He rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures.

~The Gospel~ Font and center, full and complete.
2013-06-29 06:28:06 UTC
No, because Jesus never once spoke about or against homosexuality. It's judgmental insulting Christians like you that drive people away from Christianity.
hasse_john
2013-06-29 06:22:54 UTC
YAHUSHUA came to sort people out, which means dividing. We must present the truth, and those attracted to the truth will come, and those who choose a lie will leave.
Big Brother is Watching You
2013-06-29 06:20:28 UTC
Jesus never once mentioned Homosexuality
Matthew
2013-06-29 06:20:35 UTC
We Christians preach the truth. If some folks don't like it, too bad.
Darrin
2013-06-29 06:19:43 UTC
If they are driven away by the truth, so be it. You cant lure them in with a lie...........>


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...