Welcome back to the Line of Fire. Michael Brown delighted to serve as your voice for moral sanity and spiritual clarity. I want to thank all of you who write to us and let us know how the broadcast is impacting you.
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TheLineOfFire.org and sign up today. Okay, I want to deal with two more scriptural arguments, and these tie in with moral, cultural, social issues. And we're going to intersect the rest of this week and then next week.
We're going to intersect a lot more with the moral, cultural side of things and how we navigate these difficult issues. Caring for people, but not compromising on what the Bible says. Didn't Jesus say, after all, in Matthew chapter 7, judge not, that you be not judged? Didn't he say that in the same measure you judge others, you'll be judged? Didn't he say that before you can say to someone, hey, you've got a speck in your eye, that you have to remove the beam from your own eye?
And doesn't he call us hypocrites for telling someone remove the speck when we have a beam in our own eye? So what gives us the right to judge someone else? What gives us the right to say to someone what you're doing is wrong? What gives us the right as heterosexuals to tell a homosexual couple your relationship is sinful in God's sight? Even if we believe the word is clear, we're not to judge.
After all, God knows the heart and God knows that individual. Why, then, should we give ourselves the right to pass judgment? We're now functioning as judges, James, which is actually Jacob in the Greek. I like to remind people it's the book of Jacob. The fourth chapter says there's only one judge.
There's only one judge. Romans 14 says we're here to judge your brother. He gives account to God. So what do we do with those passages?
Well, we read them in context and we understand what they're saying. Jesus also said in John 7-24, stop judging by mere outward appearances and make righteous judgments. And one of the great needs in Old Testament times was for righteous judges. When the judges became corrupt and didn't judge righteously, the people were hurt. The wicked rich were the recipients of the injustice and the corruption of the unjust judges. The righteous poor suffered terribly because there was not good judgment taking place.
What would happen in our courts if the judges stopped judging? Well, who am I to pronounce you guilty of being a serial rapist? Who am I to pronounce you guilty for being an arsonist and burning a family to death? Who am I to pronounce you guilty for swindling money from millions of people and bankrupting them?
No, no, no. Judge, do your job. Judge rightly, but do your job. And even the issue of judgment is complex in scripture. For example, 1 Corinthians chapter 2, Paul says the spiritual man makes judgments about all things. Then in 1 Corinthians 4, Paul says I don't even judge myself. Then in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul says judge the wicked in your midst.
They don't repent, put them out. Then 1 Corinthians 6, Paul says how is it you can't judge disputes that you have in your own midst? And then 1 Corinthians 11, he says because the believers were not rightly judging themselves and partaking of the Lord's Supper unworthily, many were sick and some had died. So here you have multiple assets of judge judgment right within 1 Corinthians. So what was Jesus actually saying in Matthew 7?
Let's first recognize that Jesus was saying that we should make right judgments, but not hypocritical ones. Remember what he said, first remove the beam from your own eyes. Then you'll be able to see clearly and remove the speck from your brother's eyes.
Can I say that again? Jesus wants us to remove the speck from our brother's eye because that speck is harmful. It's painful. It can hurt your eye. But before you do that, you have to remove the beam from your own eye. So don't be a hypocrite.
That's the first thing. Don't judge hypocritically. My friend Dr. Frank Turek, well-known apologist, radio host, speaks on college campuses, has done his talk, I don't have enough faith to be an atheist on campuses across America for many, many years. He points this out when someone says, well, you're judging me. Then he says, you just judge me for judging you.
Right? People say to him, well, there is no truth. He says, is that true?
We need to turn these things around. Aren't you judging me for judging someone else? Aren't you judging me for saying that that practice is wrong or that behavior is wrong? You have no business to judge, well, you just judge me.
What gave you the right to judge me? So we all recognize that we make judgments and we should make judgments. Otherwise, the world could not exist. Otherwise, parents couldn't be parents. Otherwise, there'd be chaos and anarchy everywhere.
All right? The question is, are we making righteous judgments? The question is, are we judging according to God's standards? The question is, are we judging in a fair way or are we being hypocrites? Now, let me push this a little further. And again, if there's one verse that everybody in America knows is that Jesus said, don't judge.
Right? Jesus said, don't judge. And therefore, you can't make judge. Of course, they'll make judgments on everything, but we can't judge them. By them, I mean the people that we differ with, whoever they are.
But let me ask you a question. Let's go back to the days of slavery. Who am I to judge a slave trader? I mean, they have to make a living.
And maybe it is best to pull these people out of their country and bring them over to America. Who am I to judge? And the millions that died in the Middle Passage? Well, I'm not the judge of the slave trader and the slave ship captain. I'm not their judge. What kind of moral bankruptcy is that? You're a Christian in the days of segregation.
And you're going to a church where blacks are not welcome or they have to sit in the back or in some other room and overflow. Well, who am I to judge the patent? No, no, no. That's moral bankruptcy to not say something, to not speak out. If you are watching somebody with a baseball bat who hates children and has just gotten out of a mental institution and is now trying to run down kids in a playground and bash them over the head with a baseball bat, well, who am I to judge?
No, you try to tackle that person while you call emergency, while you call 911. Of course, we make judgments all the time. We should. It's right to make judgments. But here's the key thing. Jesus is saying this. Do not judge hypocritically.
You filthy sinner, what's the matter with you? Well, we have all of our own problems. Well, we're practicing no-fault divorce left and right. Well, we're addicted to pornography. Well, we're in moral compromise every kind of way. Well, you're so sinful, and here there's a couple, maybe two women, lesbian women, that have been faithful to each other for 20 years and are raising some adopted kids together, and we're telling them how abominable they are, but we're addicted to porn and cheating on our spouse. Don't judge hypocritically. That's number one.
Number two, don't judge superficially. For example, someone may come staggering into a bar, terribly drunk, and we say, you're miserable, you're alcoholic, what's the matter with you? You're out of control. We don't know that they just lost their job, lost their spouse in an accident, lost another kid in an accident within 48 hours. They used to be alcoholics. They'd been free for years, but they got so overcome with grief and anger and shock and had a drink, and now they're stone-cold drunk.
Okay, that person right there needs mercy and compassion. Getting drunk is always wrong, but the big thing is not, you're drunk. The big thing is, okay, you're hurting. Let's get you sobered up, and let's try to get you some ministry and help, because you've been through living hell, and you're going to need divine intervention and a lot of love and a lot of compassion.
For many months to get you whole and strong. So number one, don't judge hypocritically. Number two, don't judge superficially.
Number three, don't condemn. Don't make yourself the final judge that while there's still room for repentance and mercy, that you are going to condemn them forever. Oh, there's certain things, there are lines that cross that will have consequences for life. Some of the murders of another person may forfeit their life, they may spend the rest of their life in jail. They may even suffer the death penalty in certain states, but they can die saved and redeemed and forgiven. We are not the final judge in that regard. I've heard Christian leaders say it's impossible for a homosexual to ever repent. They've been given over to depravity. And that is such a denial of scripture, I mean Paul explicitly in 1 Corinthians 6 verses 9 and 10, after talking about those who practice adultery, those who practice homosexuality and other things, he says, and such were some of you, that's who you used to be, but you've been washed and redeemed and sanctified, set apart by the Spirit of God, by the blood of Jesus. All right, other side of the break, I want to talk about Acts 10.
Calling something unclean that God himself has called clean, is that what is happening with homosexual practice? We'll be right back after this important announcement. Please listen. Staying active is essential for your well-being. Whether you're at the gym, strolling in the park, or enjoying hobbies, every step counts because movement is life. I'm Paul, a board-certified doctor of holistic health, and I want to introduce you to Trivita's beetroot gummies. Packed with nitrates, these gummies enhance vasodilation, giving you the boost you need to stay active. The natural power of beetroot supports energy, stamina, and healthy blood pressure. So whether you're gardening, dancing, or enjoying time outdoors, Trivita's beetroot gummies keep you energized.
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So call now 1-800-771-5584, 1-800-771-5584, or online at trivita.com. Thanks, friends, for joining us on the Line of Fire. Another reminder, this entire month we've been focused on subjects. Can you be gay and Christian? What does the Bible say about homosexual practice? We're going to dig deeper into transgender identity issues in a little while as well. We'll look at some of the pressing social, moral, cultural issues. What if you're invited to a same-sex wedding? How do we respond to these things?
Why are we so exercised about this when there's so many other issues to deal with? We've been using the Bible and my book, Can You Be Gay and Christian? Responding with Love and Truth to Questions About Homosexuality. Readers have really found this helpful. Pastors have really highly recommended it because it's been used as a textbook for chaplains being trained for the military at a major Christian university. We really encourage you to get a copy for yourself. You'll find it super helpful, in-depth, but not written in a technical way.
You'll be able to understand and absorb it. It's yours for your gift of any size. So call 800-538-5275. That's 800-538-5275. Or, go to TheLineOfFire.org.
Go there and you can order right on the homepage your gift of any size. When I had a dialogue in 2008 with Rev. Harry Knox, who I believe I have the name right, was an ordained minister and is now still in ministry and married to his partner, his same-sex partner.
We did a dialogue. He was working then with the Human Rights Campaign. Last I heard, he was working with a very strong pro-abortion group.
Strongly pro-abortion group, I should say. But I haven't followed his career in very recent years. It was a very cordial, gracious debate with one another. And it was fashion more as a dialogue than an aggressive debate.
And maybe we'll even play some excerpts of that for you before we're done here with this series. But Harry Knox raised Acts the 10th chapter. And I've had other gay activists, gay theologians raise this as well. There, Peter has a vision. Peter, a Jewish man who's never eaten in the home of a gentile, has never eaten any unclean food. He has a vision of a sheep filled with all kinds of unclean animals, the things that Israel is not allowed to eat according to Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. And he hears a voice say, arise, kill and eat. And he says, Lord, I've never eaten anything unclean in my entire life. And three times it happens.
And then it disappears. Immediately after having that vision, he's invited to go to the home of a gentile named Cornelius in another city. And to share the good news of Jesus with him. Because an angel has appeared to this man, Cornelius, an Italian man. A man who's been a God-fearer, so he recognizes and reveres the God of Israel, but he's not converted to Judaism.
He's given to good causes over the years. And an angel comes and tells him to get Peter to come and bring a message to him. So he inquires, finds out where Peter is. The Lord's told him through the angel, now he's going to get the specific details, get Peter, bring him over.
And this vision prepares Peter. And Peter says, you know, I've never been in the home of a gentile, basically it's forbidden. But I now understand to call nothing unclean that God himself calls clean. And this is what I have been told has been happening with, quote, gay Christianity.
That God has declared it clean, and who are we to deny it? Alright, so, what if I simply respond, well you can't change the Bible based on that. You can't change the Bible based on your interpretation of what the Spirit is doing today. It has to be based on Scripture. And they would say it is based on Scripture.
It's based on Acts the 10th chapter, and we're making the same application. And they would also say this, for Peter, this was changing Scripture too. For Peter, this is also changing what was written in the Word. Well what's interesting is that there's no evidence that Peter went out there and had a pork sandwich. There's no evidence that Peter went out there and started getting pepperoni pizza. There's no evidence that Peter thereafter ate shrimp and lobster.
None at all. In other words, this was a spiritual interpretation. That the food laws which remained in place for Jewish people, and which were never given to Gentiles, were also there symbolically to separate Jew from Gentile. They were also there to say that there is a distinction between Jew and Gentile. There is a separation. And now God was saying that barrier between Jew and Gentile is being removed.
It was now a spiritual application to the physical vision. It was not permission for Peter to go and eat the unclean animals. You say, no, no, no, no, but if you keep reading the New Testament, Paul opens that up in Romans 14 and Jesus addressed it in Mark 7 that nothing is unclean anymore. Okay, let's just say I agreed with that. Let's just say I went with that argument and said, okay, the food laws changed under the New Covenant. Let's just say I went with that argument, which is not my argument, but let's just say I went with that and said everybody can eat whatever they want.
There's no distinction whatsoever. So, therefore, God has now made clean same-sex relations. Here's where it breaks down. Number one, there is nothing morally, inherently sinful about eating some of the animals that were forbidden in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. Many, it was also pragmatic in that it was unhealthy.
You know, if you're eating pigs, especially in many parts of the world, that pig is the most unhealthy eater and eating pig is super unhealthy. But it wasn't just that. Not every category of unclean animal was explicitly unhealthy. So, there was nothing morally sinful about this. It was simply a separation law.
Just like God told the children of Israel, you can't sow two different types of seed in your field. There was nothing morally wrong about it. It was just for purposes of separation. Or you can't wear two different types of fabric in your garment. There was nothing morally wrong about that.
It was just for purposes of separation. Whereas homosexual practice is explicitly spoken of as being morally wrong in God's sight and morally wrong even for a pagan, a non-believer. In the case of ancient Israel, the Canaanites, it was morally wrong for them as well, which is one reason that God brought judgment on them, according to Leviticus 18, among other practices. Just like adultery is always morally wrong. It will never be that God declares adultery clean, or God declares murder clean, or God declares idolatry clean. Those are moral and spiritual issues of a fundamental nature. Not only so, but the New Testament in Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6, and by extension of the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 and Matthew 15 and Matthew 19, all of which we've gone through on previous broadcasts.
And don't worry if you missed them, or you weren't able to take notes as you wanted. It's all in the book, Can You Be Gay and Christian? We've laid it all out here. The difference again, friends, is that according to the New Testament, explicitly homosexual practice is wrong, and according to the whole Bible, marriage is always and only the union of male and female. Even with polygamy and forms of marriage that were not ideal, that was always the norm. What's interesting is this. When you travel around the world, the churches, the denominations that are growing the most rapidly, really without exception in continent after continent, are those that affirm what Scripture says about these issues. Whereas the denominations overall that are bleeding and getting smaller are the ones who have departed from these foundations. So God's blessing, if you want to see where the blessing is, it is not on the churches that are deviating from the Word. Oh, you may show me a congregation here or there, look how healthy and strong they are. You look, worldwide, you look at hundreds of thousands of churches and thousands of groups and denominations, and you'll see the same thing. Those that uphold the scriptural standards and walk in love towards God and their neighbor are seeing increase and favor and growth and radical, dramatic, beautiful conversions. So many that in some cases it's hard to get everyone into a good discipleship process. Whereas those who fundamentally deny these things and are, quote, progressive, are bleeding members, are in serious decline in numbers. Why?
Because God is not blessing this so-called new revelation because it is not from above. All right, remember, if you have not signed up for the Frontline newsletter, sent out once a month, digital, full of great inspirational, informational, impartational content, go right now to thelineoffire.org, thelineoffire.org, and sign up today. This is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks so much for tuning in. Just a reminder that we are listener supported. If we have been a blessing to you, if you're being enriched in the word and prayer and your own walk with God through this broadcast, then stand with us so that we can reach many, many more and bless many, many more. Together, friends, we're making a difference. So go to thelineoffire.org, thelineoffire.org, and click Donate.
