When I was a teenager, I used to convince myself that only vaginal sexual intercourse was “sex.” That was the only thing that God had a problem with two people who were not married doing. That (vaginal sexual intercourse) was sin, but everything else was a free-for-all, and God didn’t care as long as the two people loved each other….liked each other….or as long as it was…eh…convenient.

So I remember thinking; “‘anal-sex’  isn’t sex,” “‘oral-sex’ isn’t sex,” “‘phone sex’ isn’t sex,” “‘any touching of someone’s genitals’ isn’t sex,” “‘masturbation’ isn’t sex,” “‘pornography’ isn’t sex”, etc…you get the point.

I was awesome at justifying myself and burying the shame I felt for engaging in such activity- which I kept telling myself, and others, wasn’t a sin.

I was living in the “Bill Clinton-era” and I had a “Bill Clinton” mentality when it came to sexual relations- the mentality that all things “sex” were not sex as long as it wasn’t vaginal sexual intercourse. Under this type of classification, anyone could get away with just about anything!

But then I got married, and then I met Jesus and became a “real” Christian. And all of the sudden my eyes were opened to the lies I had been living in, and I felt a sense of conviction that I had sinned against a Holy God and taken advantage of the grace he had so freely offered me.

I realized that anything that had the name or the word “sex” in it, was indeed sex. That any touching of someone else’s sex organs, or anything that brought another sexual pleasure and stimulation, was also constituted as sex.

I realized that God wasn’t trying to keep something good FROM me, He was trying to prepare something good FOR me- an intimate sexual relationship with my future spouse.

I realized that to share these experiences with someone else would only take away from the future experiences that I would share, and that were only meant to be shared, with my wife. I realized that to share experiences like these with others, before marriage, was in reality, to cheat on my wife- before she was ever my wife.

I realized that instead of asking questions like;” How far is too far?,” that we need to ask ourselves questions like;” What would I not want my spouse to do with someone else?,” or;” How far would I like someone to go with my son or daughter before they get married?,” and stop right there. Because eventually, these people, and you, will be someone’s spouse. Wouldn’t you want that person’s, and your, intimacy with their (your) future spouse to be the best it could possibly be? Wouldn’t anything else be self-serving?

And ladies, if a man tells you that he “love(s) you,” and that you are “married in your hearts,” or “in God’s eyes,” and because of these things wants you to have sex with him…..don’t. If he truly loves you, and Jesus (which is far more important), he’ll understand that it is best for both of you to share that intimacy as a committed married couple. Beyonce’ said it best when she said; “If (he) liked it then (he) should have put a ring on it.” A man is not truly committed to you unless he is first committed to Jesus, and then married to you. Don’t settle for anything less.

Ladies also deceive, and make the same arguments, with men, who are far weaker when it comes to sexual temptation. And, men, the same goes for you in these situations. A woman is not truly committed to you unless she is first committed to Jesus, and then married to you. Don’t be deceived and settle for anything else.

So why write about this?

Because I’m tired of seeing so may Christians, or people who claim to be, “become ‘one flesh’” with someone sexually and having their hearts and lives broken when it doesn’t work out, and when that flesh is broke apart.

God never makes an excuse for you to sin, never justifies it, and will never bless you for living outside of His will.

So if you want to have the best marriage possible; the best sex life possible; and abide within the full blessings of God for your life as a Christian, then you must choose to follow Him, obey Him, and abstain from anything labeled “sex” before marriage.

Something to think about.

I wholeheartedly believe that human life begins at conception. I believe that the microscopic fertilized human egg is a human being. Newly formed human DNA is a newly formed human life. That tiny embryo is a created being fashioned in the image of the Almighty God. It is valuable enough for the Son of God’s blood to be spilled on its behalf. Within those few early cells, is enough potential to forever alter the course of human history. Life is a beautiful thing. The sexual intimacy that formed that life is also, a very beautiful thing. The idea of Creator God giving His creation the ability to procreate offspring in His image is humbling, to say the least.

I believe that God knew each of us before the creation of the very universe (Jeremiah 1:5). I believe that we each were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). And I believe that God Himself, somehow- mysteriously, knits us together in our mother’s wombs (Psalm 139:13). And I believe that all of our days were ordained by Him before time was spun into existence (Psalm 139:16).

Life is a big deal (Matthew 10:29). Human life is a big deal. The taking of a life, the shedding of human blood is a big deal- an atrocity (Deuteronomy 5:17 ; Leviticus 17:14).

Anyone who knowingly terminates a pregnancy- with the very rare and ‘ethically-grey’ exception of the life of the mother being at great risk due to the pregnancy- IS committing murder. Period.

So abortion is a big deal to God. And because of that, abortion should be a big deal to Christians as well.

The problem arises when abortion, or any other hot-button issue, becomes “THE” deal with Christians.

Christianity is about a Holy God who created man in His image in order that they may reflect Him well, and glorify Him in the process. Christianity is about the reality that man has atrociously sinned against this God, and have removed themselves from His perfect will and blessings. Christianity is about the fact, that because of man’s sins, we deserve an eternity separated from Him in a real place called Hell which was created for the devil and his angels. Christianity is about the fact that God loved man so much, and desired that none should perish apart from Him; that He (God the Son, Jesus Christ) came to live a perfect life that we could never live, die a death (in our place) that we deserved to die, and rise again from the dead- all so that we could be forgiven of our sins, have a restored relationship with Him, and live forever together with Him in a restored world.

Christianity is about a loving and gracious God who gives this gift freely and graciously to those who put their trust in Him and make Him the Lord of their life.

This is what we call “The Gospel-” or good news, and it’s for everyone.

Christianity is about the fact that, without the good news of Jesus and His saving work in our lives, we all find ourselves in this predicament of sin, death, and hell- ALL of us: Liars, self-righteous religious people, those who commit adultery and murder in their heart, those who steal from their employer, those who covet their neighbor’s possessions, judgmental hypocrites, those who do not honor God with their body, and those who procure and perform abortions…..EVERYONE.

In God’s eyes, abortion is NO worse than telling a white lie. Abortion is no worse than over-eating and failing to keep in physical shape. Abortion is no worse than looking at porn. Abortion is no worse than living with someone you’re engaged to. Abortion is no worse than rejecting your spouse sexually. Abortion is no worse than robbing from God in your tithes and offerings.

But despite all of these facts, some who are, or who claim to be, Christians love to rally against things like abortion and homosexuality; but often neglect the sin in their own life and within the church. In fact, a recent study showed that 65% of abortions procured in America are done so by women claiming to be Christians.

So for many, especially in the political arena which uses Christianity to support their worldly agendas, abortion has become “THE” deal for Christians.

But “THE REAL DEAL” for Christians IS the Gospel- period.

And the Gospel is just as much for those who procure and perform abortions as it is for me- a sinner who deserves to burn for eternity in Hell apart from Christ.

So why am I reluctant in actively promoting the “pro-life” movement? You’ll have to wait for Part 2.

Chandler took the stage in front of thousands of pastors from around the world, and hit the ground running with a very straight-forward gospel message and instruction on how to battle the sin in your heart, that he could have easily have spoken to a crowd of four-thousand pagans. To say that there was a little tension in the room, would be an understatement. After all; “Why would someone preach to a crowd of thousands of pastors, a message on salvation and the destructiveness of sin in one’s life?!” But I’m glad Chandler did, knowing that many of those in the audience may not actually be true followers of Christ. In fact, a pastor of a “very liberal, sin accepting church” (to put it nicely) sitting next to me, fidgeted throughout the first several minutes of the message, only to get up and leave.

Here are some of the thoughts Chandler left with the crowd about ‘behavior-modification vs. sin-eradication’ that I found the most valuable:

If you can keep sin at a behavioral-level, it won’t crush you. But when you see the heart issues for your sin, and how you are rebellious against God, you will seek Him to remove the root of your sins.

When you have developed an appetite for things at are good. You will not desire the things that are bad. (AWESOME!)

Any sin, at any level, is a cosmic threat to my soul and to my testimony.

Your little lies, your exaggerations, your second-glances; are aiding and abetting the enemy, and are a threat to your…….(life, ministries, family, relationships, reputation)

If your goal is to pursue Jesus Christ and to be in sanctification with Him, and not behavior-modification, then your congregation will follow you in that.

“God doesn’t call the ‘qualified’. He qualifies the ‘called’” Case in point: Gideon, Judges 6-8.

“You are not chosen or ‘qualified’ because of your past or present behavior. You are qualified and chosen by the grace and sovereignty of God alone.”

“Your struggles and sins don’t eliminate you from doing ministry. But they are what the enemy will attack you with to make you feel unworthy for it.”

“There may be a season of healing for you to go through, but you’re certainly not out of this fight!”

And while I believe that people of all religions should respect each other and treat each other peacefully, there is a big problem with stating that these religions should, or even can, COEXIST with each other. The problem is that all of these religions are exclusive- claiming that their ‘way’ is the only way to heaven, god, or nirvana. In the end, the all think that they are right, and that everyone else is wrong.

All world religions essentially teach that you must act a certain way, do certain things, and achieve certain levels in order to be “saved” and to achieve the religion’s goal (heaven etc…). Christianity, however, is different. It teaches that there is nothing you can do to be saved and achieve an everlasting relationship with God. Instead it teaches that Jesus (God the Son) came to live the life that you could never live (a life of holiness and perfection unto God), and to die the death that you deserved to die (for your sins on the cross) so that your sins could be forgiven, you could have the righteousness of Christ imparted to you, and you could have eternal life and relationship with God as He restores all things through Christ.

So Christianity, itself, is exclusive- teaching that all other religions and world systems will not lead lead to God. Jesus said,” I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.” If someone wants to receive salvation, forgiveness of sins, a new life, relationship with God, and eternal life they must put their faith (trust) in the gracious (unmerited favor) gift and finished work of Christ- that’s it.

What does this have to do with the COEXIST bumper sticker? Answer: None of these religions will ultimately COEXIST in peace because they all are impotent to bring about salvation. They will each battle against each other as they try to achieve their exclusive path to enlightenment. They, because Jesus is the only way, will only really COEXIST in hell apart from God because they failed to put their faith in the One who can set them free.

COEXISTence is only temporary as the world awaits the judgment of a holy, righteous, and just God. We as Christians should seek peaceful and respectful relationships with people from all faiths and lovingly find ways to show them the only Way- the Lord Jesus Christ.  Thinking that we can COEXIST forever in peace with all religions is naivety and is rejection of Jesus as being the only way to God and perfection.

But this weekend we celebrate the fact that God took all of the weight of our burdens and nailed them to a Roman cross two-thousand years ago.

When Jesus died on that cross He declared that it was finished. His Word says that there is no longer any sacrifice for sins. He already paid the full price and nailed all of our unmet expectations to a cross that has long since disenegrated.

You can come to Him today and lay all of your sins at His feet, rest and trust in His finished work for your forgiveness, give Him control of the life you weren’t able to manage on your own, and experience His righteousness, renewed rellationahip with Him, and eternal life through His resurrection.

Good Friday is horrible because we killed our Creator, but so good because He He allowed us to do so- for the joy set before Him.

It’s not just a holiday weekend, it’s a time of rememberance and reflection. It’s a time of renewed commitment. It’s a time of new life and resurrection.

There’s nothing we can do to ‘not sin’. We can wear all sorts of masks to make it look like we’ve got everything figured out and put together, but behind the mask we’re still just a sinner bound for an eternal hell.

We can join a religion, work hard, read good books, and do lots of good things but those things will never forgive us of our sins or change the fact that we are sinners.

Our only hope in being acquitted is the just judge who created us and set the rules to begin with. But because He is just, there must be punishment for sin. Because He is holy and blameless those who are sinners cannot dwell in His presence.

So out of His great love for us He sent His Son to live the sinless life that we could never live and to take on the punishment that we deserved to be given: the wrath of God poured out on Him for all the sins of man.

Because Jesus, His Son, took our punishment, we stand forgiven of our sins if we claim and trust in His finished work on our behalf. We no longer are seen as sinners by God. When we have been saved by Jesus. When God looks at us, He sees the righteousness of Christ because that’s what we have been given.

So without Jesus, we go to hell for what we DO. But with Jesus we go to heaven (to eternal relationship with God) for what He DID.

We never go to heaven because of what we do or do not do, it will always be because of what Jesus already did for us.

As a Christian, throughout my life I’ve been taught from time to time (directly or implied) that even if you have been saved, that if you die while in the act of sinning, that you will go to hell. For example, a Christian hits his thumb with a hammer and mutters “dam it” under His breath. Then at that exact moment he has a heart attack and dies, because of saying a ‘cuss word’ at the time of his death he will ‘go to hell’.

This is silly because just as there’s nothing we can DO to get into heaven, because Jesus already DID all that needs to be done, once we trust in His finished work and submit our lives to Him, there’s nothing we can DO to keep us out of heaven.

That being said, as Christians, we don’t have the liberty to sin against God whenever we want because there’s nothing we can DO to keep us out of heaven. Because one who sins whenever and however they feel like it with no concern for Christ’s work on the cross, does not understand the sacrifice and grace of Christ, has not had their life changed by Christ, and according to the ‘fruit’ of their life is not saved by Jesus from hell to begin with!

The purpose of all these seemingly random thoughts? You can’t save yourself! Being a nice guy, loving your family, and believing in God will not save you- ever. The only thing that can save you from the punishment and consequence of what you have done is Jesus Christ’s sinless life, His death for your sins, and His resurrection from the dead. So stop talking about what a good guy you or someone else is because it’s just not true. You are a sinner whose every intention is evil and who is bound for hell without the grace, love, and hope of Jesus!

You must turn from your evil ways and turn to Jesus as the author and the perfector of your faith. And once you have recieved the free gift of salvation from Christ He will change you and you will not want to take advantage of His grace by continually sinning against Him.

Will you still stumble and fail as a Christian? Yes because you still reside in a body ravished by sin. But if you deliberately live a continual lifestyle of sin as if Christ never died for you, you don’t have a sin problem, you have a salvation problem.

But the Lord is the One Who gives.
The Lord is the One Who Takes away.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

And at the end of the day, we have fallen short.
This is how it will end for almost every last one of us.
We all take a last breath.
We all experience one final beat of the heart.
We all have one last synapse fire through our brain.
We are all returned to the ground.
We all know death all to well because it lives right next door.
And someday were moving into that house.

But death is not the end.
The One who took is from the dust and returned us to it will enact justice on all.
So don’t tell me that life is not fair because all die for our transgressions.

Life is better than fair because the One who took us from the dust became dust Himself.
He did not turn away from the Master plan.
He became our sin.
He bore all of the justice and wrath on Himself.
He returned to dust.
The dust could not hold Him down because what happened to Him was not fair.

He rose from the dust a second time.
If we trust in Him,
That He has everything in control,
That His death made us right with Him,
That through His resurrection we can live again-
Forever.

Because Death is Not the End.

One day you will slip fatefully into the dark.
It will be fair, righteous, and just…
…Even though it feels like anything but.

Today is the day of salvation.
Have you called upon the Name of the Lord?

He made a statemement, that I have heard recently somewhere else, that has really got me thinking. He saud,” We will do anything short of sin to bring the lost to Christ” Wow!

I am so fed up with religion and non-Biblical rules that tell us as Believers what/when/ how we are supposed to act and share our faith. I am tired of people allowing tradition to drive their actions instead of passion for real people who will burn for an eternity in a real hell.

It is so ridiculous to hear Christians says things like;’ You can’t play that kind of music’, ‘You can’t show that movie’, ‘You can’t hang out in those places, or ‘You can’t talk to those kind of people’ when it comes to doing church and taking part in evangelism.

I think of Jesus and the people that he associated with, particularly ones that he ate with. Eating with someone in the ancient Near East was a way of showing acceptance of someone. He hung out with the sinner and the cultural outcast. Religous/ Traditional people were so upset by it that they started calling JESUS a drunk!? They couldn’t handle Jesus breaking their made-up rules. I think it was because they realized that it really wasn’t their good deeds that could save them, but Jesus. And that made them uncomfortable because of their arrogance. They wanted to believe that they could take care of themselves…and that they didn’t need God to do so instead.

Our Church today is the same. We have come to rely on our traditions, our music, our charisma, our teaching style, our programs, and our contemporary made-up rules; and we are pathetic. It’s time to get back to Jesus! There are some of us who are starting to wake up to our incessive need for God, and a movement is beginning. I hope for the day when our nation and our generation of Christianity experiences a revival in ferver and passion for Christ, and in particular, evangelism.

Like Jesus, we need to start influencing the sinners and the outcasts with our friendship and convicition. We need to do so with wreckless abandon without the worry of what religous Christians will think of us. Because afterall, we must see embrace becoming all things to all men so that some may be saved.

And this means truly doing anything short of sin to save the lost! I’m with you Perry.