It is officially June, and many around us are celebrating “pride month.” The purpose of this blog post is not to explain why I am against the sin of the LGBT movement. I am going to write today about (potential) hypocrisy in people who are professing Christians.
I have always had the view that marriage should be between one man and one woman. I have always considered people living a LGBT lifestyle as people living in sin, and knew this was not God’s design. I have always been against this.
But what I did not know is that I was actually a hypocrite in my strong, conservative standpoint. Christian conservatives should be careful to consider Matthew 7.
““Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
Matthew 7:1-5
I am not saying we should not call sin, “sin.” I am saying we should take the log out of our own eye first. Before heaping judgement on someone else, we should consider, “Am I being a hypocrite here?”
People who are openly living an LGBT lifestyle are openly rebelling against God. They are committing sexual immorality and many are flaunting it. This is disgraceful. It is also disgraceful to live in sexual immorality in private and act clean on the outside, while openly judging others for being LGBT.
What I did not know before, and what many professing Christians may not realize is that you can be strongly judging those committing the very sin that you are doing in a different way! This was me! I was living in sexual immorality, unrepentant, yet I was so judgmental towards those committing sexual immorality, in a different way! Just because they were open about it, and I was private about it. I never practiced LGBT, but I was not pure at all in my relationship with Paul. This post will be about my experience before I came to Christ, so it will include how I lived in the FALC, because that was my life. I know this is not only happening in the FALC though. It happens in other places too. But this is just my experience.
I want Christians to think about what sexual immorality is. It is any sexual behavior outside of marriage. If someone is watching porn all alone, and no one else knows about it (besides God), they are committing sexual immorality. If someone is doing any type of sexual act with their boyfriend or girlfriend before marriage, they are committing sexual immorality. Jesus says that even if you look at someone in lust, you have committed adultery in your heart!
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Matthew 5:27-28
In conservative circles, it is easy to scoff at the LGBT people. But what many do not realize is that there may be rampant sexual immorality in their very community! When I was dating Paul in college, there was sexual immorality in most of our friends’ relationships. I was told in college that guys need to watch porn for their health, and everyone does it. Many people my age slept together in college. It was normal to joke about sexual sin, and ask how far you have gone with your boyfriend or girlfriend. As long as you didn’t get pregnant, it was fine! These were all good-looking, church-going kids! There was not anyone teaching, correcting, or rebuking that I saw!
The crazy thing is that we showed up at church, dressed modestly, and acted all sweet around our grandparents. As soon as we were at our college house, we were different people, swearing, blaring rap music, gossiping, and acting very inappropriately. It was hypocrisy. How does Jesus feel about religious hypocrites?
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
Matthew 23:27-28
One time, many years ago, I was with someone during a wedding weekend, after I was saved. She was very concerned that she had clear nail polish on, and didn’t want anyone to notice. This is a legalistic “rule” in the FALC, where I grew up. That very night, at the bachelorette party, it was filled with disgust. Immodest dress, many swear words and raunchy jokes, jokes about sex before marriage, fake male body parts all over, and inappropriate dancing to really disturbing rap music. But hey, at least no one had make up on, and there was no alcohol. I tried to stay to be a light for Christ, but eventually had to leave. I could not just sit and observe this stuff and not say anything, and I knew that if I said something, it would have gone very poorly.
I asked this girl a few days later what she would have thought if her grandma walked into that party. She said she would have ran and hidden. I told her that God sees it all and she needs to fear him. She just walked away from me, nothing to say. This is such a tragedy that there is very little teaching about the gospel, repentance, following Christ, and fearing God at the FALC. A lot of people live in sin, and just show up at church looking all holy, yet if you know what things were like in the college houses, at kyds, and in boyfriend/girlfriend relationships! It looks nothing like Christianity!
The next day, at the wedding, everyone was dressed all sweetly and acted so sweet. No one would know what happened last night at the party. It is totally two faced how many young people live! The parents and grandparents are so happy at the wedding, saying, “What a nice Christian couple!” Yet, if they could see how these people really are living, they would be appalled!
It is crazy because at this wedding, the beautiful song, “My Jesus, I have promised to serve thee to the end, be thou forever near me, my master, and my friend…” was sang. I love this song and mean it with my entire heart! What was so mind boggling to me is that they very same girls who were joking around about sexual immorality, were singing this song heartily! Jesus sees this! He sees you and knows your heart! Have you really promised to serve Jesus to the end? Do you really consider Jesus your master and your friend? If so, why do you so purposely and unashamedly act in such ungodly ways?
I am saying this as someone who was the same way before I came to Christ! I was just like that, and did the very same sin. I have repented of it, and see it as hypocrisy and disgusting to go to church and sing praises to Jesus, while having actually zero intention of following Him in my heart. The way I see it now, is it is much better to just be honest! If you do not desire to serve and follow Jesus, do not sing that in a song! Do not pretend! If you are living in sexual immorality, you better not be judging people for doing the same thing you are doing!
This is a great example of this scripture:
“You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.”
Matthew 23:24-25
Wearing make up and nail polish is not sin. Yet, at the FALC, it is an unsaid rule that you should not wear this. This is a gnat that is strained out. The camel that is swallowed is all the sexual immorality! And many other things as well, like gossip, pride, stealing, cheating, swearing, dishonoring parents, and not giving God glory and thanks that is due to Him. It is very easy to look clean on the outside. God doesn’t want that! He wants us to come to Him in repentance, with a broken heart about our sin!
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”
Psalm 51:17
“Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.”
Psalm 51:1-4
My purpose in writing this is to shine light on this, and explain that those who live in sexual immorality and hypocrisy will not inherit the Kingdom of God, even if you go to church every Sunday! You do not inherit the Kingdom of God by attending the FALC. This is a lie.
You have to actually repent to God, confess your sins, and trust in Jesus Christ alone who loved you and gave Himself up for you! He calls you to put to death the deeds of the flesh, and follow after Him, in true life!
“Or 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 effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Fornicators are people who commit sexual acts before marriage. I did not even know what this was when I was doing this! I had no clue that I was actually not a Christian! I was constantly assured that I could believe my sins forgiven, and I was most definitely a Christian, yet I was absolutely not! I was on my way to hell, and no one told me that. I want to be a voice of warning! If you can relate to this and this sounds like you, I urge you to call upon the name of the Lord for mercy! He will receive you. All He wants is you to be broken over your sin, and call upon His name to be saved! He does not desire for you to perish, but for you to come to repentance.
I do not want to give anyone false assurance. I would not give anyone a “blessing” and assure them that their sins are forgiven, when they really are not. I really truly desire to see you and all people in the Kingdom of God, worshipping Jesus for eternity! The way to get there is not through a blessing or a church. It is through genuine repentance and faith in Christ Jesus, and following Him.
I urge all people to seek the Lord while He may be found! Do not wait, you do not know when your life will be over and you will stand before God Almighty, and give an account for every wicked deed you have done. You absolutely need to be washed in the blood of Jesus, by going directly to Him! Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved! He will change your heart, and you will be born again. You will want to follow Him, love Him, serve Him, and sing His praises, because He is so abundantly good!
“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.
How blessed is the man who fears always,
But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”
Proverbs 28:13-14
Confess and forsake your sin. You will find compassion. Fear the Lord. Do not harden your heart and fall into calamity!
Some questions for different age groups at the FALC.
Older men/women, do you know what is happening in the UP with the college kids? Do you want to know or do you just want to turn a blind eye? Do you like seeing the kids looking all nice at church, and don’t really care about their spiritual state, and how much darkness they are living in?
My age men/women, you know what you did in college, and with your boyfriends/girlfriends. Do you want your kids doing the same thing? How are you going to teach your children any different?
College age kids, please, look at how you are living. Would you want your grandma to see how you act? If not, consider this. God is infinitely holier than grandma, and He sees it all. He will be your final judge. You have to give an account to Him. If you still have breath, praise God for His patience with you, and turn to Him. He loves you and He is so good. You can be free from this sin of sexual immorality, if you are living in that, and you can walk in life and life abundant in Christ Jesus.
I am completely open to talking about this to anyone. I will not judge you for what you have done. I want to help those who genuinely want to be helped. But I cannot make someone humble and willing, but if you are humble and willing, I am more than happy to be a listening ear and to help point you to Jesus, the bread of life and living water, from whom all mercy flows.
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