“If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:8-9
I have seen a couple funny videos circulating on the internet lately. In one, a sheep is saved from a deep ditch by its owner, only to take a few leaps and land right back in the ditch. In the second video, a man with wire cutters rescues a young buck caught in a fence only for the buck to take off running right back to another section of fence and get caught again. Neither animal really understood what it was that caused them to be trapped.
As the world around us celebrates “Pride Month,” there is a lot of confusion, anger, and fighting among Christians. So, let me try to clear some things up today. First of all, homosexual behavior is sinful. The Bible is very clear on that in many different places. To justify it as acceptable in God’s sight, one must do a great deal of exegetical sleight of hand. But is it worse than other sins? 1 Corinthians 6 lumps this type of behavior in with many other sins, and we are all probably guilty of at least one of them. However, the LGBTQ+ movement has become dangerous because it desires to celebrate this sin. J.C. Ryle puts it best when he says, “The blood of Christ can cleanse away all sin. But we must plead guilty before God can declare us innocent.” 1 John 1:8-9 says God desires to forgive us our sin, but we must first recognize and confess that we are sinners. We all sin. We all, just like the sheep and the buck, have run back to those sins. But if we fail to recognize the danger and begin to celebrate the place we are trapped, then we have lost all hope of ever being rescued.
Brothers and sisters, I implore you, please do everything in your power to show God’s love and speak his truth to every person caught in sin, no matter what the sin is, so that they can recognize their need for a savior and give their lives over to Jesus!
God, give us the love, wisdom, and strength to be Your light in a dark world.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Shane Cannon