Eric Casagrande      /          Genelyn Novabos

 

 

Homosexuals – The Final Judgment?

  

During the course of my years in the ministry, I seem to frequently come upon articles written by well-meaning Christians, who question when God is finally going to judge and destroy the homosexuals. Their favorite target of attack has usually been the city of San Francisco. But even that is now being quickly displaced, by whichever State happens to be the latest one, in the race to legalize gay marriage.

Below is an example of one such writing, that has appeared recently on another website. Please note that while I do not personally support a homosexual lifestyle – and neither do any of the staff of Evaggelion Ministries – nevertheless, I wish to point out how this means of attack is wrong, and based upon a severe lack of spiritual understanding.

 

HOW  LONG,  LORD  -  DOES  SAN  FRANCISCO  HAVE?

 

San Francisco is undoubtedly a bit of a gay mecca,

 so one must ask that - if Sodom and Gomorrah were

destroyed for this abomination - how much longer can

it be til San Francisco is hit for its aiding and abetting

this lifestyle? No offense to anyone living there, but

I can’t understand why God hasn’t smote it yet!   

  

This was followed up with a second posting, in which the same author wondered as to whether or not God might allow a terrorist attack on the United States, simply because the State of New York had just passed a bill in the Senate (33-29), legalizing marriage between same-sex couples.

 

GIVEN  WHAT  NEW YORK  STATE  HAS  DONE

 

Would God allow some terrorist attack as judgment?

God abhors sin, even when it is a ‘politically correct’ sin.

 Man may accept homo marriages, but God says it is an

abomination. With Mid-East tensions high, and many

talking of July as the rapture … along with the death of

Bin Laden … the month of July might very well be it.

You have to wonder if an attack is coming.

 

Okay, so let me ask this question: Why are we picking on homosexuals?

Why is it, for example, that Christians never seem to fuss over when God is going to punish someone for being a gossiper? Yet that sin is just as equally forbidden by the scripture (Leviticus 19: 16). Furthermore, we are commanded not to associate with such a person (Proverbs 20:19).

Perhaps you’ve never seen those verses?

Why isn’t there a big outcry in the Church, for judgment against those people who make a promise to God, but then don’t keep it? Does that ring familiar? I’ll bet there is more of those, than of homosexuals! You get stuck in a tight spot, and promise God that if He just helps you out by doing this and that … you will do such and such for Him in return. So God faithfully responds … but then you forget your part.

My friends, that is a grave sin as well (Deuteronomy 23: 21).

Feeling a little uncomfortable?

Again, did you ever go out for Sunday brunch, and order some eggs, cooked sunny-side up, with a side dish of crispy bacon? Or maybe you and a loved one were celebrating that special event, and enjoying a romantic seafood dinner together - perhaps some lobster or shrimp?

Well I do really hate to spoil your romance, but except for the eggs, all of those foods are considered an abomination to the Lord God, and not permitted to be eaten (Deuteronomy 14: 8-10).

Yet nobody in the Church condemns the pork and seafood eaters!

Or what about this: Did you ever wear either a nice silk blouse, or a cotton shirt, combined with a wool or polyester sweater? Well I’ve got bad news for you. According to Deuteronomy 22: 11, God considers it a major sin to mix and match different types of  clothing material.

So why isn’t anyone calling for an earthquake, in that area?

Pull up a chair, and I’ll tell you why.

One of the biggest problems with believers today, is their severe lack of understanding, of the deadly-across-the-board nature of sin. While not wanting to focus on their own weaknesses, far too many Christians love to focus on the weaknesses of others. Since most believers are not likely to be homosexual … and since most have not likely had an abortion … this creates a natural point of bonding, as well as a target at which to direct a nagging finger of condemnation.

It’s been that way forever!

Now someone might respond to me: ‘Brother Eric, your stance is neither completely fair, nor Biblically accurate. Just look at the harsh judgment God rained down upon Sodom and Gomorrah. There is obviously a big difference between, say, telling a little white lie - and being a homosexual.’

Oh really? Well the Bible paints a different picture, my friend.

First of all, there isn’t any such thing as a ‘little white lie’ – because in the eyes of a Holy God, a lie … is a lie … is a lie. Do you think God doesn’t take lying seriously? Try reading Acts 5: 1-11, where Annanias and Sapphira dropped dead, after conspiring together against the Holy Spirit.

But I’m not surprised that people tend to view homosexuality as being worse than lying – or most other sins. I know from personal experience that many in the Body of Christ simply just don’t get it. Instead of looking at sin the way God does … they apply flawed humanistic reasoning to grade them on a scale of ‘one-to-ten’. The higher the number, the worse the sin. The lower the number, the more likely you can get away with it.

Unlike man, however, God doesn’t ‘Bell-Curve’ sin. It’s all unacceptable.

 

Human View of Sin	God’s View of Sin
Pedophile ……… 10 Homosexuality ….. 9  Abortion ………… 8  Murder ………….. 7  Pornography …… 6  Stealing …………. 5  Anger …………… 4  Swearing …….…. 3  Lying ……………. 2  Gossip ………….. 1	Pedophile …….. 10 Homosexuality… 10 Abortion .……… 10 Murder ….…….. 10 Pornography …. 10 Stealing ………. 10 Anger ………… 10 Swearing …….. 10 Lying………….. 10 Gossip………… 10

 

As you can plainly see from the chart above, there is no wiggle room with God, when it comes to sin. In fact, according to James 2: 10-11, if you are guilty of one (sin), then you are declared to be guilty of all (sin):

 

“For whoever keeps the whole law, and

  yet stumbles at just one point, is guilty

 of breaking all of it.

 

  For He who said: ‘Do not commit adultery,’

also said: ‘Do not murder.’  If you do not

  commit adultery, but do commit murder,

you have become a lawbreaker.“

 

If you tell even one of those ’little white lies’, then please rest assured, you can – and will – also be charged as a homosexual, a murderer, and a pedophile (for starters). Just one tiny little slip at  anytime … in anything whatsoever … and the entire judgment book will be thrown at you.

Sort of makes you appreciate the Gospel of Grace more, doesn’t it?

“Okay, Brother Eric … I am starting to get it now. But what about Sodom and Gomorrah? Wasn’t the Lord angry at those fags?”

Now just wait a minute, do you really believe that God was on the edge of His seat … just itching to finally wipe out all the ‘fags’ (sic), living in those two cities? Is that all you get from the story? Because if that’s the case, you are completely misguided.

My friends, the events described within Genesis 18: 16-33, doesn’t speak to us about God’s unquenchable wrath against homosexuals. No! To the contrary, it’s a clear revelation of the richness of His mercy and grace!

Consider this, for a moment. The Bible says that God is the judge of all the earth (Genesis 18: 25). So if it had been truly in His heart to destroy all of Sodom and Gomorrah, then He could have rather easily done so from the comfort of His throne - without having to give an explanation to anyone. 

But the evidence strongly remains, however, that God intentionally came down to the Earth; He intentionally visited with Abraham; and in so doing, He intentionally spilled the beans on everything (Genesis 18: 16-19).

It seems like God was purposefully looking for someone to stand in the gap before Him, as an intercessor, on behalf of all the people. It was as if God were saying: ‘Come and appeal to my sense of mercy and forgiveness. Remind me of my righteousness. Give me an excuse to spare those two cities!’

Do you think I exaggerate?

It states twice in the Book of Ezekiel, that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18: 23 and Ezekiel 33: 11), but that He desires that all should turn from their ways, and live.

Furthermore, we read in 2 Peter 3: 9, where it declares that ‘God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’

So then, Abraham pleaded on behalf of the people, with God … who was more than willing to negotiate. And it really shouldn’t be all that surprising God would do so, because He has always been a good God, and He has always loved people!

Oh hallelujah!

“Wait a second, now, Brother Eric … not so fast. In the end, Sodom and Gomorrah were completely wiped out. How do you explain that away?”

Yes … both cities were destroyed … because Abraham was not a perfect mediator. He negotiated to save the cities on the basis of whether or not ten righteous people could be found within their borders. But we should have known there would be none – because that’s what the Bible teaches in both Romans 3: 10-12, and in Psalm 14: 1-3, where it says: 

 

“There is no one righteous, not even one.

 

There is no one who understands,

no one who seeks God.

 

All have turned away; they have together

become worthless. There is no one who

does good, not even one.“

 

But you see, my friends, despite this tragic outcome, the whole situation gives a prophetic foreshadowing of what was to come. In Abraham’s failure to negotiate wisely on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah, we see our own need for the perfect mediator and intercessor — Jesus Christ!

In Christ, we have a mediator who mediated a much better covenant!

Abraham negotiated a deal that hinged on the chance there would be ten righteous … and saved no one from their sins. But Jesus negotiated a deal, on the basis of there being none righteous – no not one - yet saved the entire world from its sin!

Now that’s what I call a mediator! Hallelujah!

Which brings me to my final point.

Far too many people, who claim to have a born-again experience, simply do not understand either Jesus Christ, nor His finished work at the cross.

My friends, if they even had just a little bit of revelation, there would never be all this finger-pointing, and the hate-filled words of condemnation, we see being directed at homosexuals today … or towards any other people who are different from you, for that matter.

Whenever someone comments: ‘I just don’t understand why God doesn’t smite the homosexuals’, what they are really saying is this – ’I just don’t understand Jesus Christ, and what He did at the cross!’

For the most part, the Church is completely ignorant to the fact that Jesus Christ is not only called: ‘The Friend of Sinners’ (Matthew 11: 19), but that He is God’s personal expression of love to all mankind (John 3: 16).

So let me tell it to you straight – and brace yourself.

God will never smite or judge anyone, for being a homosexual.

The judgment passed on Sodom and Gomorrah, four thousand years ago, will never again take place. You see, my friends, there is an event that stands between us and that judgment, and it is the biggest event in the history of mankind. It’s the mother of all events, by which every other one pales in comparison.

It’s called: ‘The Cross of Jesus Christ‘.

My friends, it’s not that God has changed His view towards sin. No! God still hates sin just as much as He did before the cross. But the reason for which He doesn’t smite homosexuality today, is because, as it reads in Isaiah 53: 4-5, God already fully smote Jesus Christ for the sin of homosexuality – and every other sin that ever existed – while He was nailed to the cross!

 

“Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried

   our sorrows. Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

 

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

and He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon

Him, and by His stripes we are healed.“

 

The Cross of Jesus Christ is to mankind, what the rainbow was to Noah (Isaiah 54: 8-10). It’s God saying: ‘I swear by my own self, that I will never do this again!’

In one fell swoop … in one moment of time … the impossible sin debt that was owed by all of mankind … both past, present, and future … was fully satisfied, by the shed blood and the death, of the spotless Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1: 27).

The war is all over, my friends — ”IT IS FINISHED!“

Oh Hallelujah!  Thank you, Jesus!

 

 

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