Jesus and the Gay Debate

Our subject today is Jesus and the Gay Debate.

You may think that's an unusual subject and an unusual title, and it is. This is the third message in the series on Jesus and gender. Previously we thought of Jesus and marriage, and then last week Jesus and divorce, and this week it is Jesus and the Gay Debate, Lord willing. Next Sunday we'll think of Jesus and the LGBTQ plus, and then the week following we'll think of Jesus and transgenderism. There we are.

Now, I can't possibly cover every dimension of this huge subject. We will continue it next week, and I approach this subject not as a social scientist, obviously, not as a psychologist or a politician, but as a follower of Jesus and as a preacher of the Gospel. In my previous life as a Scottish attorney, I both prosecuted and defended individuals who were charged with crimes stemming from their homosexuality. And as a pastor over the years, I have counseled those with same-sex attractions, I've counseled homosexuals, lesbians, homosexuals, and many others who have come to me to seek spiritual counsel. So I'm well aware of the pain and the struggle of many, including some in this congregation, who struggle with same-sex tendencies, same-sex attractions, and even same-sex behavior.

And let me say this, as I've said before, whoever you are, whatever you've done, you're welcome at Calvary Church. We began by reminding ourselves of God's mercy, of His grace, that God is a gracious God. And each one of us, this is wonderful to know when you take this individually and personally today, that you are made in the image of God. I am made in the image of God. And as we are created assuming beings in the image of God, each one of us is created to glorify God.

We often forget that we get so absorbed in our own little lives. But think of this, you're made in the image of God and you are created to glorify God. And the glorious message of the Gospel, and it is a glorious message, is that God loves you, whoever you are.

God loves you, God loves me. And He sent His Son into this world to deliver us, to save us. Jesus Christ came to die on a cross for the sins of the world. He's the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And He's so powerful that He rose again and is alive. And this God who made you, who created you, this God who loves you, this God who sent His Son into this world to die for you, is a God who has a plan for your life.

I want you to understand that. And I also want to state two foundational truths, firmly believed at Calvary Church, that I firmly believe as a preacher of the Gospel, and which are foundational to this series. First of all, that Jesus Christ is Lord over all of life. When He was resurrected before His essential, He said, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. So that our Lord Jesus Christ is Lord over all of life. And that means that every aspect and dimension of our lives, including our sexuality, must be brought under His Lordship.

God who made you in your image, God is your Creator, and we are accountable to Him. One day, each one of us will stand before God. You say, well, I've got a long time to live. Well, that may well be the case, but you may die today or you may die tomorrow.

COVID has reminded us of the uncertainty and the brevity of life. Each one of us is made by God, accountable to God, and will stand before God. And God has exalted His Son, His wonderful Son as Lord over all. And therefore, all followers of Jesus, and many of us here would say we're following Jesus, don't we? All followers of Jesus then must submit to His Lordship.

So that's the first thing I'd like to say as we approach the subject. Secondly, we believe that this book, the Bible, is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. It is our authority. It is our guide in our life and practice. For followers of Jesus, please listen, this is very important, truth is revealed. Truth is not found within you. Truth is not found by getting together and working out some kind of consensus. We firmly believe that truth is revealed by God, that God has spoken, and He speaks clearly, and He's spoken in His Word. And that means for followers of Jesus Christ, our experiences, and we all have them, our feelings, and we all have them, our viewpoints and opinions, our psychological well-being, yes, and our desire for personal happiness must all come under the Lordship of Christ and the authority of His Word.

We must grasp that. The what is our authority is not your experience, you have them. Your authority is not your opinion. Our authority is not what is going on in the culture.

Our authority is not what our politicians are saying, or the Supreme Court is deciding, or Congress is deciding in some kind of legislation. Truth is revealed by our Lord Jesus Christ. We must submit His Lordship and we must humbly submit to Scripture. And God's plan for marriage and gender does not evolve to accommodate our secular or political or social or personal agendas. Some people seem to think this, that we have a kind of God that we can control, that we can manipulate, that we can create a God in our image who is going to accommodate us to our view of life and our desires. Here then, is the central question.

I want you to think of this. Our marriage, divorce, same-sex attractions, transgenderism, etc., are these merely matters of personal preference or do God's commands and His design have to be followed? That's the question you have to face. Is your sexuality a matter of your personal preference and desire? Is your sexuality something that you are going to work out yourself and make your own decisions, or are you going to submit to what God has said and His plan and design for your life? That, I think, is a critical question that all of us must face. Now, I want to explain why I'm preaching on this subject because some have said, well, why are you preaching on this, John?

I want to give a biblical perspective. Next week, I'm going to deal with some of the specific biblical texts on the subject of LGBTQ+. But first I want to read Matthew chapter 19, verses 1 through 6. Because this series, not because I want to preach on these subjects, in actual fact I don't, but because they arise clearly from the teaching of Jesus. And as I was studying it, I thought I would do one message on it, then I thought I would do two, and I told Tim Hathaway as he arranges the worship that first of all I was going to do a couple of messages, then I said, no, I'm going to do four, and I've ended up doing six. So, there we are.

Matthew chapter 19. Well, you haven't heard what I've said, David, so don't clap too early. Right? It's only in America that people clap before you say anything. In Scotland, we rarely clap and we often boo. So, that's why I moved to America.

It's a wonderful country. Matthew chapter 19, verse 1. Now, when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond Jordan.

And large clouds followed him, and he healed them there. And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause? We thought of this last week, Jesus and divorce.

He answered, isn't this a brilliant answer? Have you not read? I mean, do you not know your Bible? Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female? And said, therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. I want to state in addition to dealing with this text, which is the main reason I'm dealing with this subject, why I'm preaching on the subject of the gay debate.

And I have four main reasons. First, to provide a biblical response to the increasing, strident, and persuasive voice of the gay lobby. Followers of Jesus, who believe the Bible is the Word of God, we have not changed our view on this subject. The Lord taught this two thousand years ago, and as He Himself said, His teaching in Matthew chapter 19 regarding marriage, regarding God creating us male and female, that goes right back from creation. So for thousands of years, people who believe the Word of God have accepted this view.

So we, followers of Christ, we who believe the inspired Word of God, we have not changed our views. But we're now bombarded, aren't we, with a view that declares that homosexuality not only should be allowed, but it should be applauded, and that it is in fact normal behavior. In fact, they have captured this word, it's gay. And the gay lobby, as we all know, is very, very powerful, has been very successful in promoting its social and political agendas, including teaching it in our schools. We're now told that homosexuality and lesbianism are perfectly acceptable.

They are good, they are viable alternatives to the straight lifestyle, and that they must be affirmed by all of us. They tell us that gay marriage is all about love. It's all about acceptance. It's all about happiness. How could anyone be against that? I mean, how can you be against love? How can you be against people being happy?

Shouldn't we just accept everyone? Many gays then see their sexual preferences and their lifestyle as the way in which they view themselves. They take that name, I am gay, I am trans. You know, Scripture makes it very clear that we as human beings are much more than our sexuality. It's true we are sexual beings, but we're much more than our sexuality, and we don't define ourselves in terms of our sexuality.

TV programs, talk shows, movies, implicitly and explicitly present the so-called gay lifestyle and viewpoint. Isn't that true? Those who disagree are often tried to be silenced, and it seems that some people believe that freedom of speech is only for those who agree with their viewpoint. Have you noticed this? The followers of Jesus, we must not be silent in declaring the truth of Christ and displaying the love of Christ.

Notice the two, the law was given by Moses, John says, but grace and truth came through our Lord Jesus Christ. So we who are followers of Jesus, we are to present the truth, but we're also to display the love of Christ. Have you noticed in the media that those who are pro-gay are portrayed as enlightened and progressive? And the opposition of contrary viewpoint is labeled as bigoted. We're bigoted, we're prejudiced, we're homophobic. Therefore, I believe a biblical response is necessary. And there are three common beliefs that are propagated by the gay lobby that I want to refute.

At least I want to say there may be another point. First of all, they say that homosexuality is inborn. Some people are born with blue eyes. Some people are born gay, we're told. Well, the research is, the science is backing off from claiming that there is a genetic cause for homosexuality. There is no single gay gene.

There is no genetic test that you can have to see whether or not you're going to end in a same-sex relationship. What is true is that every single one of us has sinful desires. And these sinful desires manifest themselves in all ways.

This is true. We as human beings, we're fallen. The Bible tells us that, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. In a sense, we're all messed up, created to glorify God, but we pursue our own sinful desires. And the fact that you're inclined to pursue a certain behavior doesn't mean that that behavior is good or right.

That's a fatal mistake. That's an illogical state. To say that because you have a desire to do something, that must be good and it must be right. No, people are not born gay. And sexual orientation is much more complicated than genetic factors. Can you imagine someone, some people are born quite aggressive? We Scots have known that we're aggressive people. We like to fight.

We like to argue. We are, it's part of our DNA. But if I punch your nose because you disagree with this, and I just say, well that's just the way I'm made, I'm an aggressive person.

And I don't like people who disagree with me and I punch you on the nose, that doesn't make it right, does it? Even if it's true that I as an individual are born as an aggressive person or someone is born very passive. We're born, we are made, and every single one of us has sinful desires. And with our sexuality, God made us as sexual beings, that sexuality and these sexual desires in us are so strong that they often lead us astray. And so we refute the proposition that homosexuality is inborn. Secondly, they say that homosexuality is unchangeable. We're told that homosexual people and lesbian people, those with same-sex attractions and those who indulge in same-sex behavior, that they can't change. Therefore, it's wrong to try and change them. In fact, it may be downright cruel to expect them to change, just as someone can't change the color of their eyes, so people can't change their homosexuality.

I mean, think of that. If that is true, it's a very sad proposition, isn't it, that we as human beings are like some kind of predetermined robot. No. Human beings are people who make choices and who can exercise self-control. You are not a machine. You are not a computer. You are not a predetermined robot that somehow you're born a certain way and you can't change your behavior. That's very sad, isn't it, to think of human beings like that.

No. Certainly our personalities, our backgrounds, environmental factors, the home we come from, may well make us susceptible to certain temptations, but that doesn't excuse our conduct. And it's true of human beings that we have different temptations. I've never been tempted to go to the casino and gamble. I'm too frugal with my money. I don't want to throw it away. That is never a temptation to me, but I know some people who are very tempted to gamble and it takes over their life.

What do you say to that person? I'm very sad. It's just the way you made, God made you that. God predetermined you as a gambler. God predetermined you as an alcoholic. God predetermined you as a gay person.

Surely not. As I said at the beginning, God made us in His image. And it's true because of sin, that image is scarred and marred, but God created us as people with a capacity to choose. Today you can choose to be kind and generous, give a large contribution to Calvary Church, or you can choose to be mean and selfish.

You can go home today and to be kind to your wife, to your children, to your friends, to your brothers and sisters, or you can choose to be mean. Isn't that right? We're made like that, and we make choices, and we can exercise self-control.

We are not robots. And it's true, all of us, every single one of us here, have desires for things that God forbids. When did you last read the Ten Commandments?

A number of them say what? Thou shalt not. Why is that in the command?

Because we want to do certain things. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covet. Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. These are clear commands of God.

Why? Because as sinful human beings, we're tempted to do sinful things. And temptations in the sexual area is one of the most common temptations. In our study of Matthew, we've been learning that to be a follower of Jesus, we are, Jesus says, first thing, remember what it was? Deny self.

Oh, that's a bad one, isn't it? I want to affirm myself. I want to be my own king. No, says Jesus, if you're going to follow me, you must deny self. That's know the self. That, implicit in that, there's a recognition that we as human beings want to go our own way, to do our own thing, to fulfill our own sinful desires, and Jesus is saying, no, if you're going to follow me, you're going to deny self, take up your cross, and follow me. And Jesus always leads us in the paths of righteousness.

Jesus never, ever, ever is going to lead you into sinful conduct. Homosexuality isn't born? No. Homosexuality isn't changeable?

No. Homosexuality is benign. It's alright.

There's nothing wrong with it. We're going to learn, particularly next week, it is against God's commands. And therefore, those who don't repent, those who don't believe in the gospel, will experience God's judgment.

That's true of us all. God says no, and you want to say yes. Also, there are inherent risks in pursuing a homosexual lifestyle. Studies show that homosexuals generally have a shorter life span than heterosexuals. That homosexuals are at a greater risk for AIDS and hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases and so on. So, first reason for preaching on this is to provide a biblical response to the increasing strident and persuasive voice of the gay lobby. Secondly, it is to sound a warning.

To sound a warning. You know, preachers today, we're told, in fact some would tell us, that we're always to be positive. Well, the Bible's not like that, is it? The Bible gives warnings, and the preachers of the gospel have to give warnings, and it's to sound a warning. We'll learn from the Scriptures next week that homosexuality, lesbianism, is sinful, it is unnatural, and it's condemned by God. That's a strong statement, it is. It's sinful, it's unnatural, and it's condemned by God.

And although many people strongly maintain that this behavior is good and acceptable, it doesn't alter the clear teaching of God's Word. What we sow, we reap. Yes, as an individual, you can choose certain lifestyles. You can go your own way. God has made you, and that gives us the great privilege that we're not robots, we're not machines. That inherent in humanity, in being a person, as opposed to an animal, is that we're made in the image of God and have a capacity to choose. And you want to go your own way, and I want to go my own way.

Right from the beginning wasn't it? God created Adam and Eve in this literal paradise. You've got it all, but there's just one thing, there's one tree I don't want you to eat. And the devil says, oh, listen, did God really say that? I mean, you really can be as God. You can experiment a little bit. You can, can you imagine what it's going to be to try that? And right from Adam and Eve, right down to you today, is that same temptation, isn't there?

Particularly with our sexuality. Why don't you try that? Are you tempted to experiment with your sexuality, are you? Who would dare to say no? Are you tempted?

Here is the warning, to sound the warning, no, do not do that. Students, let me say, your sexuality is a beautiful gift from God. God's a good God. He's a great God.

He's good. And one of the good things that God gives us is that He makes us as sexual beings. Now this is a very beautiful gift, and it's a very powerful gift, but because of that, it can be misused, it can be abused, it can be exploited. But something which is very precious, you've got to take care of. Occasionally I've been known to buy some nice jewelry for my wife. I give it to her. I don't expect her to wear it when she goes out into the yard to dig up some dirt.

No. Something which is of value, you take care of. You treat it with respect.

You honor it because it's a costly, beautiful gift. And students, but in fact all of us, remember, this is a beautiful gift, and because of that, it can be exploited. I have young students, young women who say, remember one, stopping me right here as I was walking out one day and said, pastor, can a Christian be a lesbian? Here was a young woman professing follower of Jesus Christ, going through a personal difficulty, and some friend comes and puts her arm around her shoulders, and she gets comfort for that, and then someone whispers in her ear, well that means that you're a lesbian. No, it does not.

It does not. There's nothing wrong with having close friends of your own sex. God gives us them, and a woman, of course, is much better than a man, as it were, in comforting a woman. That doesn't mean you're a lesbian, but we have to understand that there are sexual predators around. There are sexual predators who seek to trap boys and young men.

There are sexual predators who seek to obtain sexual gratification from girls and young women. Be warned. Be careful. Parents, I plead with you, be very careful who your children have sleepovers with.

You say, well, we know the family. Be careful. Be careful what they may watch. Be careful what may go on.

Do you really know what goes on that house? I wouldn't tell you the horror stories I've heard, yes, in so-called Christian homes, through a Christian family allowing their son or their daughter to have a sleepover in someone's home, and for that to be abused in a sexual way. Check out very, very carefully who your children, who your students spend time with. See, the fact is, younger and younger children in our schools are being exposed to the gay agenda. Some educators have an agenda to indoctrinate children and students that being gay is normal and acceptable. Christian parents need to be warned. This is going on in our society.

Don't be naïve. You need to speak up at the PTA meeting. You need to speak up at the school board meeting.

You need to reassess where and how your children are being educated and carefully monitor what your children are being taught so that the communication is good. So if they've been taught some of this stuff in the school, that you can speak with them, that you can open the Scriptures and tell them God's truth on this area, we need to sound a warning. Third, I want to provide the response to the views of some churches.

Pastor Pierce in his prayer after the baptism was praying for our country and acknowledging the downward shift in our country. One of the biggest problems is because of our churches. Do you know where the problem comes in the church? It doesn't usually come from the pew, it comes from the pulpit. Many churches, many denominations have bought into the homosexual and lesbian viewpoint.

I've spoken with some pastors. They rejoice in this. They think this is very good. They think this is very cool. Several churches ordain practicing homosexuals and lesbians and proudly officiate at these so-called gay marriages.

How sad. Churches which are called to be the pillar and support of the truth have, in a vain attempt to be cool and relevant, have compromised the standards of God. No wonder our nation is in such a mess when we have many, many churches who have really marginalized and in some case silenced the clear teaching of Scripture on these subjects. They seem to be more concerned with being politically correct than biblically correct.

Instead of being counter-culture, they become a pitiful reflection of the surrounding culture. God's Word is denied, it's marginalized, it's silenced sometimes. I thank God that this church is committed to the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. My view is this. If we say, as many churches do, well, that teaching on homosexuality, that's outdated.

We'll look at the text next week and you can decide. It's outdated. Things have changed. The Holy Spirit has led us in another direction, as one pastor from one of these churches told me, that the truth has evolved. It's true, it is written there, but you know, God has kind of changed over the years. God has not changed. I don't want a God who changes.

How then could you depend on that God? Critical to who God is, that He is immutable. In Malachi we read, I am God, I change not.

Hebrews says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do you really want an evolving God? Do you really want a God who changes?

Do you really want a small God, a pathetic God who's going to change His character and His plans and His purposes to accommodate Western civilization so that we can live the way we like? What kind of God is that? What kind of church does that stay? I'm amazed that some people continue in such churches. And so, I provide a response to the views of these churches. Fourth reason I want to speak on this is to give hope to those struggling with homosexuality and lesbianism. And we, as pastors, we as leaders are privileged when people who have these struggles in sexual areas, whether it's in homosexuality or lesbianism or some other struggle in their sexual lives, we are privileged as pastors, we're privileged as a church that people come here, that you come here, and that we can point you to Jesus Christ. As followers of Jesus, we are called to speak the truth in love. We are to show compassion as well as conviction. I'm aware that some professing Christians show hostility towards homosexuals and their caring are harsh and obnoxious.

We very, very strongly dissociate ourselves with any such behavior and attitudes. That kind of attitude against people who struggle in these areas is the very antithesis of Christianity. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the lost. We must never, ever forget that all of us have sinned and that all of us struggle. And the fact that your struggle may be different from someone else's doesn't mean that you can be their judge.

All of us come short. All of us are guilty of sinful attitudes and thoughts and deeds. I think it was Billy Graham that said how easy it is to condemn sins that you're not yourself tempted with.

That's true. For some, their sins may be in this area of their sexuality, some other form of immorality. For others, the sin may be self-righteousness, covetousness, greed, pride. And we're going to read in the Gospel of Matthew in a few weeks that the Lord's great denunciation is against the hypocrisy and the self-righteousness of the Pharisees.

That's a great sin. And how easy it is to excuse this sin in ourselves and to condemn those who struggle with sins that we ourselves don't. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, I remind you, is a message of hope. Our world needs hope. And as I speak with people more and more, I see that many people are living without hope.

They're in a black hole, as it were, and they know their lives are messed up and they're struggling. And we as the church of Jesus Christ are not there to condemn them and to judge them, but to tell them to look up to Christ, to repent of their sin, and to cry out to Jesus Christ. This is a message of forgiveness, a message of grace, a message of hope, a message of hope that Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He came to save you. I don't know what your sin is, but He came to save you, and He came to save me, the cheapest of sinners. If you're struggling with same-sex attractions, struggling with same-sex conduct, struggling with heterosexual attractions, you're single, trying to live a holy life is difficult. You're married, you're struggling in some way, attracted to someone else's wife or husband.

What do you do? Very interesting, when Jesus comes, Mark records at the beginning of his public ministry, you know what he says? Repent and believe the Gospel and believe in the Gospel. I say to everyone, repent, repent. Acknowledge your sin, stop looking at other people, acknowledge that you are the sinner. And as far as you're concerned in your relationship with God, you're the cheapest of sinners. And you see the sin in your own life and you repent of that, you confess that before a holy God, and then you look to Christ, the beautiful, our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, who loves you, who cares for you, who died for you. And call out to Him, and He will save you, and He'll transform you, and you'll be able to live a life according to His purposes. Look to Christ.

This is a way of life of joy, of hope, and life everlasting. Now, let me ask you to look at verse 4 of Matthew 19 as we close, to remind you that God created two sexually distinct human beings. This is so key, that God created two sexually distinct human beings. Matthew 19 verse 4, have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female? Both male and female are created in the image of God. At creation then, we see the equality of their sexes, both made in the image of God, but we also see their differences. We are created sexual beings. There's a clear distinction between male and female.

We're equal, but we're different. This is the divine design. Male and female were created to procreate.

Genesis 1 verse 28, let me read 27, first chapter of Genesis. God created man in His own image. In the image of God, He created him male and female.

He created them, and God blessed them, and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it. There we have it. Obviously, same-sex relationships cannot procreate. Our sexual function has been defined by God as not as male-male, not as female-female, but as male-female.

That seems so obvious it hardly needs stating, but we've to state it. And to legitimize then homosexual conduct would require a rewriting of the Genesis account and the teaching of Jesus. And so we have in our schools, at least in some schools, the utter absurdity that a teacher is not to address students as boys and girls. I think, where are we in our society? Have we lost our minds? Are teachers telling students that they can choose their own gender?

And if little Johnny comes in and says, I'm now John, that we are to applaud this. Don't we see this as an attack on God's design? Satan for years has been attacking the family, and now he's attacking our children. God created us male and female. Heterosexual gender is a creation by God.

It is God's design. And human sexuality is to be expressed only in marriage. As I said a couple of weeks ago, God's plan for marriage is a man and a woman in a monogamous, permanent union. Paul in Ephesians 5 likens the relationship of Christ and His church to the relationship of a husband and wife. How wonderful.

Think of that. A same-sex union makes a mockery of that holy relationship between Christ and His church. So for followers of Jesus, all sex outside of marriage is sinful. This includes fornication, adultery, incest, homosexuality, lesbianism. Human sexuality is only to be expressed in marriage, a relationship between a man and a woman.

Do you think we're wiser than God? If you choose to go your own way, as you may, it's a path of brokenness, despair, guilt being used. I speak to people who have gone on a path of sexual promiscuity.

They end up feeling very shameful, dirty, used. See, the devil never, ever tells you the end result. The devil tempts you with the best now.

You do that, it's going to be wonderful, and it is wonderful, but just for the moment. The deeper you go into it, the less the pleasure and the more the guilt and the shame and the feeling of being used. Follow God's design. It's a path of joy. It's a path of holiness.

It's a path of wonderful security to know that you're in this marriage with this person who loves you and cares for you. This is God's design. America has been great because America has been good, but now we see, don't we, a downward trend in this area away from God, away from His Word. Edmund Burke said, evil triumphs when good men do nothing. We cannot do nothing. We must stand on God's truth, not because I like preaching on this subject.

I don't. We need to stand firm, bowing to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and accepting the clear teaching of Scripture, irrespective of the strong voices accusing those who dare to disagree with the homosexual agenda as homophobic, bigoted, and prejudiced. Brothers and sisters, we must stand firm on Scripture. If we give way on this, what will we give way next? And in the midst of the moral and spiritual decline of our nation, the glorious light of Jesus Christ shines. I find some Christians are very depressed by this state of the world.

What do you expect? We are called to shine as light. We're called to be the light of the world. Our sister who is baptized quoted from John 8, 12 that Jesus says that, he who follows me, I am the light of the world, and he who follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but in the light of life. Don't walk in the darkness. Don't go against God.

Walk in the light of His life. And in Jesus Christ, there's offered to you, whoever you are, whatever you've done, His grace, His forgiveness, His love, and His mercy that God's grace is always greater than your sin. Imagine here, you've never received Christ. You've never received that cleansing.

You've never experienced that purification of your soul as you come to Christ. Will He turn you away now? If you come humbly to Him, He knows all about you. He'll forgive your sins. He'll cleanse you. And He'll do something which no therapist or psychologist or pastor can do. He'll give you this new power. The power of Christ living in you.

We're going to sing about it. This is a new power. In the Gospel, not only are you saved and cleansed and forgiven, but Christ comes and indwells you. So you have this new power. A power which is greater than the pool of sin.

A power to live a life for the glory of God. Bow with me. We thank you, our Father, that you so loved the world, that you gave your only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. We thank you that you sent your Son into this world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. And I pray even now, here in this sanctuary, people are being saved, that they look to Christ, that they know He came not to judge them, not to condemn them, but to save them. And may each of us, Father, before a holy God, acknowledge our sin and turn to our Savior, we pray. And we thank you for this great hope of the Gospel that Christ lives in us, giving us that power and that blessing. May we receive this living Christ in His name. Amen.