Such Were Homosexuals

Referring to those who had been guilty of homosexuality (and other sins), Paul said in I Corinthians 6:11 "And such were some of you."

This shows these people had stopped their homosexual lifestyle when they repented, and therefore proves → people can stop this sin, and people should stop this sin.

Gay churches contend homosexuals can’t help/stop their practice because they are born that way. If this is so, then I Corinthians 6:11 proves people are not born that way, since it shows the sin can be stopped.

Romans 1:26-27 also proves homosexuals are not born that way, as it calls the sin “against nature.” As Holger Neubaer put it crudely – “the body parts don’t fit”

If you are gay I encourage you to be like these Corinthians and stop practicing homosexuality. I am not trying to be ugly, but I love your souls, and want to see you in heaven. You can avoid God’s judgment for practicing homosexuality by repenting of / quitting this sin. I urge you to do so!

A public Bible debate on the Homosexual Marriage issue is to take place this Saturday evening in Nashville. For more details, here is a link to the announcement:

http://www.bibledebates.info/BullardGreg20120526.doc

Marriage Should Be Between MALE And FEMALE

Jesus said in Matthew 19:4-5: “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?”

So throughout earth history (past, present, and future), God’s will is that marriage be between male and female. Same sex marriage remains sinful, regardless of what President Obama says.

I Corinthians 7:2 confirms this by reading: “… to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.”

A few of the other Bible passages which condemn homosexual behavior are Romans 1:26-27, I Corinthians 6:9, and I Timothy 1:10.

If you live in the middle Tennessee area, you might like to attend a public debate on the Homosexual Marriage issue on May 26 in Nashville. For more details, here is a link to the announcement: http://www.bibledebates.info/BullardGreg20120526.doc

Every Creature Is Amenable To Jesus’ Divorce And Remarriage Law

Matthew 19:9 reads, “And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.”

Many believers say this verse doesn’t apply to non-Christians, and therefore sinners can divorce and remarry all they want to for just any reason, and then when they become a Christian, they should just stay in the marriage they are in at that point in time.

It was true the law of Moses was only binding upon the Israelites, but the law of Christ is binding upon:

· Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations …

· Mark 16:15 … preach the gospel to every creature …

Since the gospel is binding upon "every creature," then Matthew 19:9 (which is part of the gospel) is binding upon "every creature" (not just Christians).

So those in unlawful marriages (Mark 6:18) must quit committing adultery when they repent to become a Christian. In short, they must get out of their unscriptural marriage.

Have you noticed that people are always trying to get around what God’s word says, if they don’t agree with it?

Revelation 3:20 versus Calvinism

Here is how Revelation 3:20 actually reads (Jesus is speaking) – “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him ….”

Here is Calvinism’s version of Revelation 3:20 – “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock it down: only the elect will be allowed to hear my voice, and they will do nothing, as I will already have come in to them previously …”

Revelation 3:20 is so plain and simple, only a person trying to misunderstand it could become or remain a Calvinist. There must be hundreds of Bible verses like Revelation 3:20 that the Calvinist has to completely ignore in order to hold on to his man made theory.

Is “Keepers At Home” in Titus 2:5 A Command Or Recommendation ?

Most gospel preachers I know say the teaching to wives to be “keepers at home” in Titus 2:5 should be followed if the family can afford to do so. They say it is wise and best if a wife can stay at home, but if she "has to," she may work a full time job without sinning. But doesn’t this change Titus 2:5’s instruction from a command to a recommendation? Would these same preachers allow the Titus 2:5 instruction to be “chaste” to also be just a wise recommendation?

This is a serious mistake. Either Titus 2:5 has nothing to do at all with whether or not a wife should work full time outside the home, or it is demanding that she not do so. And that is because the phrase “keepers at home” is given as a command, not a recommendation.

"Workers at home" (ASV) means the same as when a lady fills out on a form her occupation as "housewife" or "homemaker" → we all know what that means. Recently a lady taking a phone survey asked me my wife’s occupation. I replied “Carol is a keeper at home … in the Bible sense of that phrase.” I asked her if she knew what I meant by that. She said absolutely, and needed no further explanation. So it seems those who feel no obligation to obey the injunction “keepers at home” know perfectly well what it means, while most of those who do feel an obligation to obey God’s word don’t know what the phrase means. Wonder why?

Situation ethics (“a wife may work if the family cannot afford for her to stay home”) doesn’t work here any more than it would with a wife selling herself as a prostitute because the family can’t afford for her not to. The point?: no amount of money (even during "financial troubles") is worth losing your soul over (Matthew 16:26).

I Timothy 1:10 Condemns Homosexuality

I Timothy 1:9-11 reads “We also know this: The law was not made for a good man, but for people who are lawless, rebels, ungodly, sinners, unholy, not religious, father-killers, mother-killers, murderers, sexual sinners, homosexuals, slave traders, liars, and those who break promises. These and other things are against the healthy teaching as found in the glorious gospel of the blessed God which He trusted to me.” (The Simple English New Testament)

Don’t think this is just a matter of one translation. The New American Standard also translates the Greek word here homosexuals. So does The Living Bible. The New King James Version has the word sodomites. I think we know what city and what sin that word originated from (Jude verse 7).

I Timothy 1:10 clearly condemns homosexual relations.

May Women Be Pastors/Elders ?

Pastors (elders) are leaders/overseers over the congregation (Acts 20:17,28, I Peter 5:1-2).

The Bible PRECLUDES a woman from taking on this leadership role:

• I Corinthians 11:3 the head of the woman is the man

• Ephesians 5:22-24 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

• I Timothy 2:11-12 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

• I Timothy 3:2 "A bishop then must be … the husband of one wife" – (because it is a leadership role) – Can a woman be a husband ?

Conclusion: The woman’s role is not the leader of the congregation.

The Substitutionary Death Of Christ

Some gospel preachers believe the death of Jesus was only sacrificial, but not substitutionary. Let’s examine some passages that prove Jesus was also a substitution for us …

Isaiah 53:6b reads “the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” so our sins were actually/spiritually placed on Jesus. This phrase is likely a type/anti-type reference to Leviticus 16:21-22 where the sins of the people were placed upon the scapegoat. This doesn’t mean Jesus was a sinner (had ever committed sin), but it does mean Jesus (in his death) was treated by the Father as if he had sinned – the sins of the whole world for all time were placed upon Jesus. II Corinthians 5:21a puts the same idea this way – “For he hath made him to be sin for us.” Jesus took the punishment we all deserve.

Isaiah 53:5 says “the chastisement of our peace was upon him” (Jesus). This shows Jesus wasn’t just a sacrifice; he was also being punished to bring peace between God and sinner. He was not punished for anything he had done (he lived his whole perfectly), but he took the punishment that we deserved for our sins. Galatians 3:13 confirms this idea when it says “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us ….” Jesus took our curse so we didn’t have to – the Bible says so.

We see this again in the story of the crucifixion of Christ. Remember his words in Matthew 27:46 “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The truth is when our iniquities were placed upon Jesus (Isaiah 53:6b), the Father had to break spiritual fellowship with (forsake) Christ. It is not that Jesus sinned; instead God had to treat Jesus like a sinner (in our place). Of all the pain and torture he had to suffer on the cross, I imagine this was the hardest for Jesus to endure. It was the first and only time in history the Son was separated (spiritually) from the Father.

You might say Jesus took our place on that cruel cross. On the cross Jesus received the punishment for our sins that we deserved. We have so much to be thankful for in the substitutionary death of Christ. He did it for us!

I Corinthians 6:9-11 And Such Were Some Of You

I Corinthians 6:9-11 reads “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (NKJV)

This past tense use of “were” in this text is commonly and correctly used to prove homosexuals can and must cease their practice in order to become and remain faithful Christians. They must terminate their sinful relationship.

Well, adulterers are on the same list! They also must discontinue their sinful relationship. It logically follows then that couples who are unscripturally married (per passages like Matthew 19:9) need to terminate their sinful relationship. They must end their current adulterous marriage and seek reconciliation with their original/scriptural spouse.

Just how many congregations and preachers are still standing on the truth on this matter? Practically none. Most congregations have lost their candlestick (Revelation 2:5) years ago (if they ever had one).

II Peter 1:10 versus Unconditional Election

In the Bible, election refers to God choosing to save someone. Some teach our election is unconditional, but II Peter 1:10 (“… brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure, for it you do these things, ye shall never fall”) proves this view patently false. The verse explicitly refers to our “election,” and shows we have a part to play in it. Our election is conditioned upon us making it sure. If our election is unconditionally/unchangeably set, then what need would there be for us to “make it sure”? It would already be sure.

The text continues, “for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Notice we make our election (to God’s heavenly kingdom) sure by doing / adding the “Christian Graces” listed in verses 5-7. If we don’t make it sure, we fall. If we do make it sure, we go to heaven. The passage is very plain on this point.

Conclusion: God’s salvation/election is conditioned upon believing and obeying his word.