The following program discusses sensitive issues. 00:00:01.36\00:00:03.43 Parents are cautioned that some material 00:00:03.47\00:00:05.20 may be too candid for younger children. 00:00:05.23\00:00:09.44 Hi, I'm Mike Carducci with Coming Out Ministries, 00:00:41.44\00:00:44.24 your host on "Pure Choices." 00:00:44.27\00:00:46.24 Today, I have with me my other members 00:00:46.27\00:00:48.58 from Coming Out Ministries, 00:00:48.61\00:00:50.05 Ron Woolsey, who is also a pastor 00:00:50.08\00:00:52.28 and Wayne Blakely. 00:00:52.31\00:00:53.85 My name is Mike Carducci and our special guest today 00:00:53.88\00:00:56.22 also is Elder Raymond King. 00:00:56.25\00:00:58.89 I want to thank you, gentlemen, for being here today. 00:00:58.92\00:01:01.29 Our topic today is "Christian Homosexuality." 00:01:01.32\00:01:05.83 Wayne, Ron and I have come from the gay lifestyle, 00:01:05.86\00:01:09.83 as experiencing the restoration and redemption 00:01:09.86\00:01:13.20 through Jesus Christ, 00:01:13.23\00:01:14.57 we have a ministry of reaching out 00:01:14.60\00:01:16.24 to not only the homosexual community 00:01:16.27\00:01:18.77 but also to those in church culture 00:01:18.81\00:01:20.61 who may be looking for opportunities 00:01:20.64\00:01:23.91 and ways to reach out to the homosexual 00:01:23.95\00:01:26.01 and to those that have been sexually defiled 00:01:26.05\00:01:27.98 in our church and in our communities. 00:01:28.02\00:01:30.05 So today, we want to talk about Christian homosexuality 00:01:30.09\00:01:33.66 and I'll begin with the first question. 00:01:33.69\00:01:36.02 Within the gay community, there's a significant number 00:01:36.06\00:01:39.06 who refer to themselves as gay Christians. 00:01:39.09\00:01:42.43 Obviously many homosexuals do love the Lord. 00:01:42.46\00:01:45.43 They love their church, they love the fellowship 00:01:45.47\00:01:47.97 and want to hang on to their Christian roots. 00:01:48.00\00:01:50.27 Is there a problem here? 00:01:50.31\00:01:52.81 I believe there's a problem here 00:01:52.84\00:01:54.58 simply because Jesus himself said in Matthew 7:21 00:01:54.61\00:02:00.12 "Not every one that saith unto me, 00:02:00.15\00:02:02.08 Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." 00:02:02.12\00:02:05.95 And so when we attached the, the name Christian to a sin, 00:02:05.99\00:02:13.80 it's kind of like baptizing sin 00:02:13.83\00:02:16.46 or, you know, we talk about 00:02:16.50\00:02:18.07 baptizing paganism in our history. 00:02:18.10\00:02:22.77 We don't, we don't accept terms like Christian drugs 00:02:22.80\00:02:28.11 or Christian adultery or Christian pedophilia 00:02:28.14\00:02:33.05 and all of that and yet, 00:02:33.08\00:02:35.58 you know, like the question states here, 00:02:35.62\00:02:38.05 many homosexuals are hanging on to their church roots 00:02:38.09\00:02:42.49 and there are legitimate reasons for doing so, 00:02:42.52\00:02:45.89 that the term Christian, we need to analyze 00:02:45.93\00:02:48.96 what does it mean to be a Christian 00:02:49.00\00:02:51.13 and can you truly be a Christian and a homosexual. 00:02:51.17\00:02:54.70 I mean, that's kind of the way I picture this, 00:02:54.74\00:02:59.04 to me it's kind of an oxymoron that you-- 00:02:59.07\00:03:02.08 How can you be a Christian and a homosexual 00:03:02.11\00:03:06.35 or how could you be a Christian adulterer, 00:03:06.38\00:03:08.95 a Christian murderer, you know, and that type of thing. 00:03:08.98\00:03:12.39 So to me it's something that is a viable discussion. 00:03:12.42\00:03:16.96 Now I have to add to that also if you-- 00:03:16.99\00:03:22.16 First you have to come to an agreement that, 00:03:22.20\00:03:24.70 that term gay connotate sin 00:03:24.73\00:03:28.70 and if you haven't arrived at that, 00:03:28.74\00:03:30.31 then you probably won't see it as an, as an oxymoron. 00:03:30.34\00:03:33.94 But when someone comes out the way we used to come out, 00:03:33.98\00:03:38.51 not like this ministry today 00:03:38.55\00:03:40.05 which is the true coming out of darkness 00:03:40.08\00:03:42.68 but when we came out in our old life, 00:03:42.72\00:03:45.49 we declared that we were gay which indicated 00:03:45.52\00:03:48.72 that we wanted to have-- 00:03:48.76\00:03:51.29 If we had intimacy, it would be the desire 00:03:51.33\00:03:53.76 of intimacy with the same sex. 00:03:53.80\00:03:56.20 Well, if we look throughout God's Word, 00:03:56.23\00:03:58.03 there's no support for that. 00:03:58.07\00:03:59.43 Nowhere in God's Word does God condone 00:03:59.47\00:04:03.14 or direct us to a same-sex intimate relationship. 00:04:03.17\00:04:07.98 And so why would I... 00:04:08.01\00:04:10.45 As a Christian I can't understand 00:04:10.48\00:04:13.65 why I would attach the word gay to Christian 00:04:13.68\00:04:16.69 because it truly is as I've described 00:04:16.72\00:04:18.85 that the reason why it really is an oxymoron 00:04:18.89\00:04:22.52 and the same also with someone who let's say they-- 00:04:22.56\00:04:26.63 You know, we know that adultery is a sin, 00:04:26.66\00:04:29.93 you wouldn't come back into the church 00:04:29.96\00:04:31.80 redeemed from by Jesus Christ 00:04:31.83\00:04:34.60 and come back and identify as a Christian adulterer 00:04:34.64\00:04:39.21 or as Paul in the Bible who used to kill Christians 00:04:39.24\00:04:45.45 as a redeemed Christian, he didn't identify 00:04:45.48\00:04:48.22 as a Christian killing Christian. 00:04:48.25\00:04:50.39 And so it doesn't really make any sense. 00:04:50.42\00:04:52.92 Okay, so let me play 00:04:52.95\00:04:55.42 the other side just a little bit. 00:04:55.46\00:04:56.79 What if somebody identifies as gay 00:04:56.83\00:04:59.49 but they're still willing to come to church, 00:04:59.53\00:05:01.46 you know, isn't that something that 00:05:01.50\00:05:03.40 should be consider helpful? 00:05:03.43\00:05:07.17 I think it's important to also and loop your question, 00:05:07.20\00:05:12.57 there are lot of individuals 00:05:12.61\00:05:14.04 who have a same-gender attraction 00:05:14.08\00:05:18.31 but they're not acting on that attraction 00:05:18.35\00:05:21.08 and they've been told that if you just have that, 00:05:21.12\00:05:24.32 that desire or the attraction, 00:05:24.35\00:05:26.72 then you're homosexual or you are gay. 00:05:26.76\00:05:29.32 That is not the truth 00:05:29.36\00:05:31.63 and I think it's important for us to understand that 00:05:31.66\00:05:34.53 there are people who are Christians, 00:05:34.56\00:05:36.90 who are struggling with that same-gender attraction 00:05:36.93\00:05:40.30 but they are still Christians. 00:05:40.34\00:05:41.67 They are different from those who have embraced the desire 00:05:41.70\00:05:47.34 and are acting on the desire and still are expecting God 00:05:47.38\00:05:51.68 to accept them in that lifestyle. 00:05:51.71\00:05:54.02 So it is very, very important I think because when we, 00:05:54.05\00:05:58.22 there's gentlemen by the name of Justin, 00:05:58.25\00:05:59.75 he is the director of the Gay Christian Network 00:05:59.79\00:06:03.79 and I'll talk with him personally 00:06:03.83\00:06:06.49 and even in that that organization 00:06:06.53\00:06:10.47 there are two trend of thought. 00:06:10.50\00:06:11.83 There are "homosexuals" who believe that 00:06:11.87\00:06:16.04 God accept them in their completeness 00:06:16.07\00:06:18.67 and I mean, been intimate with each other 00:06:18.71\00:06:21.01 but yet another group that say as well, 00:06:21.04\00:06:23.04 "Yet I may have this attraction but God did not allow me 00:06:23.08\00:06:26.98 to act on it even in that organization." 00:06:27.02\00:06:29.35 So I think it's important that we differentiate 00:06:29.38\00:06:32.75 between those who are call themselves "gay Christians" 00:06:32.79\00:06:37.66 because they act on it as well as opposed adults 00:06:37.69\00:06:40.30 who call themselves gay Christians 00:06:40.33\00:06:41.70 because they are told that 'cause of their desire 00:06:41.73\00:06:44.53 that they are gay and that's not, 00:06:44.57\00:06:46.13 that's not true. 00:06:46.17\00:06:47.50 You know, it's interesting about that 00:06:47.54\00:06:48.87 that one is a giving in 00:06:48.90\00:06:51.34 and the other one is a surrender. 00:06:51.37\00:06:52.91 Okay. 00:06:52.94\00:06:54.28 I think that's an important delineation. 00:06:54.31\00:06:57.45 I was going to build on that very thought there 00:06:57.48\00:06:59.88 because when I was trying to come back to the Lord, 00:06:59.91\00:07:03.18 I was sin sick. 00:07:03.22\00:07:04.95 You know, I had that enmity in my heart for who I was 00:07:04.99\00:07:09.36 and my life of shame and degradation. 00:07:09.39\00:07:13.03 And when I was coming to the Lord, 00:07:13.06\00:07:15.83 I was wanting to distance myself from that identity. 00:07:15.86\00:07:19.80 I wanted salvation from it. I wanted to come out of it. 00:07:19.83\00:07:23.81 I didn't want to forever be labeled 00:07:23.84\00:07:26.07 as something that I hated. 00:07:26.11\00:07:28.04 And so if we hate sin which, you know, 00:07:28.08\00:07:31.91 God wants to give us that hatred for sin 00:07:31.95\00:07:35.22 and if we hate it, 00:07:35.25\00:07:36.58 why do we want to carry that label around? 00:07:36.62\00:07:39.72 And so we probably need to, 00:07:39.75\00:07:41.32 you know, look at the term Christian, 00:07:41.36\00:07:43.22 what does it mean if a homosexual 00:07:43.26\00:07:46.29 is coming to the Lord to become a Christian, 00:07:46.33\00:07:49.96 what does that mean to become a Christian? 00:07:50.00\00:07:54.10 And to me, we have to look at the definition of Christian, 00:07:54.14\00:07:57.87 what does that mean. 00:07:57.91\00:07:59.67 You know, Ron, I'm glad you brought that up 00:07:59.71\00:08:01.04 because as we've been dialoguing, 00:08:01.08\00:08:03.14 I think about my own experience. 00:08:03.18\00:08:05.91 I came into the church, I got baptized 00:08:05.95\00:08:08.72 while I still had a boyfriend and a sexual addiction 00:08:08.75\00:08:11.85 and I know that people may have been 00:08:11.89\00:08:15.22 picking up on my mannerisms 00:08:15.26\00:08:16.86 or some of the overt stuff but truly I... 00:08:16.89\00:08:20.26 All I knew is that Jesus love me for who I was 00:08:20.30\00:08:22.86 and He had given me the invitation 00:08:22.90\00:08:24.47 to accept His grace. 00:08:24.50\00:08:26.10 I accepted it, thinking that God was going 00:08:26.13\00:08:28.77 to accept me in my homosexual identity 00:08:28.80\00:08:31.51 and as I got baptized I came up 00:08:31.54\00:08:33.11 out of the water hoping that well, 00:08:33.14\00:08:34.71 you know, may be He could change me 00:08:34.74\00:08:36.08 but obviously when I came up I was still a sexual addict 00:08:36.11\00:08:38.61 and with a boyfriend. 00:08:38.65\00:08:39.98 But God began this journey with me 00:08:40.02\00:08:42.05 and as I continued to accept the knowledge that I had, 00:08:42.08\00:08:45.75 I continue to grow and to understand more 00:08:45.79\00:08:48.09 of His grace and how that work. 00:08:48.12\00:08:49.86 It was several months before 00:08:49.89\00:08:51.39 I recognize that the Bible was saying that 00:08:51.43\00:08:53.53 it was an abomination which again threw me 00:08:53.56\00:08:55.86 into a tailspin wondering, how could He even address this 00:08:55.90\00:08:58.93 when all my life I thought that 00:08:58.97\00:09:00.34 that was how I was born and who I was. 00:09:00.37\00:09:03.54 I even thought as far as that God had created me that way. 00:09:03.57\00:09:07.28 But again as I continue to walk with God, 00:09:07.31\00:09:10.08 you know, He brought me 00:09:10.11\00:09:11.45 into more and more understanding, 00:09:11.48\00:09:13.45 not necessarily by resources through the church 00:09:13.48\00:09:16.05 but by studying His Word and reading Spirit of Prophecy 00:09:16.08\00:09:19.25 to find that there were promises there 00:09:19.29\00:09:22.49 that I could hold on to. 00:09:22.52\00:09:23.99 And so for church member 00:09:24.03\00:09:27.00 who would have an open homosexual in their church, 00:09:27.03\00:09:30.73 what's their criteria, 00:09:30.77\00:09:32.10 if they would have known that I was in a gay relationship, 00:09:32.13\00:09:34.40 I'm sure that they would not have baptized me. 00:09:34.44\00:09:36.77 But again what comes to my mind is that thing-- 00:09:36.81\00:09:39.51 In the Bible, the verse in the Bible that says, 00:09:39.54\00:09:41.04 "My ways are not your ways, 00:09:41.08\00:09:42.78 My thoughts are not your thoughts." 00:09:42.81\00:09:44.38 And I believe that Jesus knew 00:09:44.41\00:09:45.75 that I was so broken down with my relationship with men 00:09:45.78\00:09:48.38 that what He had to do is he had to hook me 00:09:48.42\00:09:50.52 into the understanding that He accepted me 00:09:50.55\00:09:52.39 for who I was which is truth but not all the truth. 00:09:52.42\00:09:55.66 And as I started to walk with Him legitimately, 00:09:55.69\00:09:57.69 He started to reveal Himself to me 00:09:57.73\00:09:59.49 as someone I could love and trust in. 00:09:59.53\00:10:00.96 As that grew, I was able to handle more information. 00:10:01.00\00:10:04.70 But again, doesn't that create a dilemma 00:10:04.73\00:10:07.57 then in our church culture, you know, at what point 00:10:07.60\00:10:10.07 do we accept homosexuals into our church 00:10:10.11\00:10:12.77 and this understanding of gay Christian? 00:10:12.81\00:10:15.01 You touched on something there 00:10:15.04\00:10:16.81 that I think we should build on as a, as a panel here. 00:10:16.85\00:10:20.22 And you said something about beginning a journey 00:10:20.25\00:10:24.05 and that's what the Christian life is. 00:10:24.09\00:10:27.49 When you accept Christ, you are becoming a Christian 00:10:27.52\00:10:31.83 which means you're accepting Him 00:10:31.86\00:10:33.60 as Lord and Master. 00:10:33.63\00:10:35.66 It's like you're entering a school, 00:10:35.70\00:10:37.60 a school of discipleship-- 00:10:37.63\00:10:40.50 Discipleship you enter the discipline 00:10:40.54\00:10:43.17 not the spanking, not the punishing, 00:10:43.20\00:10:45.34 but a school of training of education. 00:10:45.37\00:10:50.15 And you follow that instructor, 00:10:50.18\00:10:53.25 that Leader your Lord and your Master. 00:10:53.28\00:10:55.48 You feed on every word He says, you incorporated, you digested, 00:10:55.52\00:10:59.99 you assimilated, it becomes a part of you. 00:11:00.02\00:11:02.66 And so my understanding of being a Christian is, 00:11:02.69\00:11:07.70 you are now entering a life 00:11:07.73\00:11:10.20 where you are patterning yourself 00:11:10.23\00:11:12.47 after that Lord and Master. 00:11:12.50\00:11:15.60 And so to resist that, 00:11:15.64\00:11:20.11 to hang on to your homosexuality 00:11:20.14\00:11:22.84 is not entering that school of discipleship, 00:11:22.88\00:11:25.91 it's bringing the baggage with you 00:11:25.95\00:11:28.35 carrying it with you on a journey 00:11:28.38\00:11:30.09 and for and refusing to let it go. 00:11:30.12\00:11:33.92 I think that's also, you know, that what you're saying 00:11:33.96\00:11:36.29 there is beginning to lay the groundwork 00:11:36.32\00:11:38.26 for the church, the sanctuary. 00:11:38.29\00:11:42.03 You know, we don't... 00:11:42.06\00:11:43.57 We expect people in the past to have lost their spots 00:11:43.60\00:11:46.80 before they enter the church doors. 00:11:46.84\00:11:49.27 And so I think this is starting to say that 00:11:49.30\00:11:51.67 "Yes, gays need to be welcome to come into the church" 00:11:51.71\00:11:54.84 because where are you going to learn 00:11:54.88\00:11:56.81 if you're not going to learn 00:11:56.85\00:11:58.18 in the presence of God and His believers. 00:11:58.21\00:11:59.98 Yes, yes. 00:12:00.02\00:12:01.35 So as well defined members of the church, 00:12:01.38\00:12:06.86 it used to be that you would say, 00:12:06.89\00:12:08.26 "I don't know, you know, 00:12:08.29\00:12:09.62 because they're gonna be an influence 00:12:09.66\00:12:11.29 on my young one or that, 00:12:11.33\00:12:13.40 you know, like it might rub off. 00:12:13.43\00:12:15.43 Well, there's a difference between 00:12:15.46\00:12:17.43 someone who's in a membership position 00:12:17.47\00:12:19.63 and someone who is coming, who is thirsty, who is hungry. 00:12:19.67\00:12:22.80 And so I think if we would take the approach 00:12:22.84\00:12:25.77 again of reflecting the love of Jesus Christ, 00:12:25.81\00:12:28.34 loving the person not with a judgmental attitude, 00:12:28.38\00:12:32.21 but by continuing to present His grace, His mercy, 00:12:32.25\00:12:35.98 His beauty, His truth 00:12:36.02\00:12:37.85 and to invite that person into a loving relationship 00:12:37.89\00:12:40.96 with Jesus Christ where we can study things out together. 00:12:40.99\00:12:44.23 And the Bible asks us 00:12:44.26\00:12:45.59 to come together and reason together. 00:12:45.63\00:12:48.03 And so if you're worried about your children, 00:12:48.06\00:12:50.97 make sure that your representation to your children 00:12:51.00\00:12:53.70 is in a way that you're inviting them 00:12:53.74\00:12:55.77 into the same relationship with Jesus 00:12:55.80\00:12:58.17 as you're inviting the gay couple 00:12:58.21\00:13:00.38 or the gay people that might be coming into the church. 00:13:00.41\00:13:04.35 My concern is if we never address it, 00:13:04.38\00:13:09.55 then we allow humanity to accept 00:13:09.58\00:13:14.96 the erroneous statement and erroneous labeling. 00:13:14.99\00:13:22.30 If you see a gay Christian, there are lot of Christians 00:13:22.33\00:13:26.23 who love the Lord and they're not even sure-- 00:13:26.27\00:13:29.24 Who they are. Who they are... 00:13:29.27\00:13:31.07 Or if you can't be a Christian and be gay 00:13:31.11\00:13:33.34 because we don't address in the church. 00:13:33.38\00:13:35.31 So I'm saying-- I think that 00:13:35.34\00:13:36.68 it's important that we actually start to address this 00:13:36.71\00:13:40.32 because it's important not only for the sake 00:13:40.35\00:13:43.22 of those who want to minister to these individuals 00:13:43.25\00:13:46.39 but it's important for those individuals 00:13:46.42\00:13:48.42 If I'm told by and, you know, the law of forming churches. 00:13:48.46\00:13:54.20 If I'm told by these churches well, 00:13:54.23\00:13:56.77 you can be homosexual and God will accept you 00:13:56.80\00:14:00.04 and I had no counterbalance, then I'm gonna believe that lie 00:14:00.07\00:14:03.77 because obviously that's a easier lifestyle 00:14:03.81\00:14:07.74 to embrace than to break off the whole practice. 00:14:07.78\00:14:11.91 So I also admit that we have to start 00:14:11.95\00:14:14.95 dealing within the church, so that we can educate people 00:14:14.98\00:14:18.39 enough where they will accept that lie about 00:14:18.42\00:14:21.12 being a practicing homosexual 00:14:21.16\00:14:23.73 and a Christian at the same time. 00:14:23.76\00:14:25.09 We need to listen, you know, look at the words 00:14:25.13\00:14:27.03 of I think John the Baptist who was confronting people 00:14:27.06\00:14:31.43 who were wanting to be baptized. 00:14:31.47\00:14:33.84 And as I recall he was speaking to Pharisees 00:14:33.87\00:14:36.91 and various people who were wanting to be baptized 00:14:36.94\00:14:40.21 because it was a popular thing to do. 00:14:40.24\00:14:42.04 And he says, no, no, no. 00:14:42.08\00:14:43.41 He said, "Bring forth fruit meet for repentance." 00:14:43.45\00:14:46.72 In other words before you take this step, 00:14:46.75\00:14:48.68 you need to demonstrate 00:14:48.72\00:14:50.05 that you're willing to let things go. 00:14:50.09\00:14:51.65 Repentance means that you are, 00:14:51.69\00:14:53.69 you're going to change your life. 00:14:53.72\00:14:55.22 You... 00:14:55.26\00:14:56.59 It doesn't mean that you're perfect. 00:14:56.62\00:14:58.19 Repentance means you're submissive, 00:14:58.23\00:15:00.90 you're willing to be transformed 00:15:00.93\00:15:03.83 and if you bring forth 00:15:03.87\00:15:05.20 and demonstrate through your life 00:15:05.23\00:15:07.87 that you are willing to let things go 00:15:07.90\00:15:10.41 and you're willing to grow in Christ, 00:15:10.44\00:15:13.27 then you are ready for baptism. 00:15:13.31\00:15:17.05 But if you're bringing that with you, 00:15:17.08\00:15:18.98 you're not willing to let it go 00:15:19.01\00:15:20.78 and you're constantly identifying with that sin, 00:15:20.82\00:15:23.72 you had this perpetual negative reinforcement 00:15:23.75\00:15:27.52 always calling yourself homosexual, 00:15:27.56\00:15:29.39 you'll never rise above that 00:15:29.42\00:15:31.59 if you're constantly reinforcing it in your mind. 00:15:31.63\00:15:34.80 And, you know, when I wrote my book, 00:15:34.83\00:15:36.70 I was asked to use a pen name for my protection 00:15:36.73\00:15:40.47 because another author had been tracked down 00:15:40.50\00:15:44.24 and his house was burned to the ground 00:15:44.27\00:15:46.11 for even addressing the gay issue. 00:15:46.14\00:15:49.34 And so I spent more time coming up with the pen name 00:15:49.38\00:15:52.45 than in writing the book actually, 00:15:52.48\00:15:54.68 but I came up with the name Victor J Adamson. 00:15:54.72\00:15:58.05 I was contracted on radio talk shows 00:15:58.09\00:16:00.12 around the nation for three years 00:16:00.16\00:16:02.09 always being called Victor. 00:16:02.12\00:16:03.46 Well, what did that do for me? I was... 00:16:03.49\00:16:06.09 I became known as Victor, positive reinforcement. 00:16:06.13\00:16:09.90 Everyday I was being called Victor, Victor, Victor 00:16:09.93\00:16:13.10 and now I had a name to live up to 00:16:13.13\00:16:15.47 and I had to make sure that I die daily to Christ 00:16:15.50\00:16:18.74 and that I was submissive to Christ 00:16:18.77\00:16:20.14 because suppose I had a major fall, 00:16:20.18\00:16:23.78 what would that do to that name Victor? 00:16:23.81\00:16:25.78 How would that reproach Christ? 00:16:25.81\00:16:27.85 I'm taking His name as a Christian 00:16:27.88\00:16:29.88 and I didn't want to do that. 00:16:29.92\00:16:31.62 And so I had to let the gay thing go 00:16:31.65\00:16:33.92 and, you know, we will never rise above 00:16:33.96\00:16:38.19 the goal we set for ourselves. 00:16:38.23\00:16:40.36 And so Victor is a goal 00:16:40.40\00:16:42.03 and to me it was important to let 00:16:42.06\00:16:46.03 all of those other things go, get rid of them, 00:16:46.07\00:16:48.57 let them be washed away. 00:16:48.60\00:16:51.44 You know, I've been noticing 00:16:51.47\00:16:52.81 a Christian cultural change today 00:16:52.84\00:16:57.21 which is really called affirmation theology 00:16:57.25\00:17:01.62 versus reformation theology. 00:17:01.65\00:17:04.15 and so, I talk to people today about the feel-good messages 00:17:04.19\00:17:08.89 that come from many pulpits that affirm you who you are. 00:17:08.92\00:17:12.59 Jesus loves you just the way you are. 00:17:12.63\00:17:15.50 You don't need to do anything. 00:17:15.53\00:17:17.47 You don't need to change but and the fact of the matter 00:17:17.50\00:17:20.40 is that absolutely Jesus does love you 00:17:20.44\00:17:22.87 just the way you are, 00:17:22.90\00:17:24.24 but He doesn't want to leave you there. 00:17:24.27\00:17:25.61 Exactly. Yeah. 00:17:25.64\00:17:26.98 And so as we come to know Jesus Christ, 00:17:27.01\00:17:29.14 a reformation will take place, 00:17:29.18\00:17:31.58 but if we don't begin to speak from the platforms 00:17:31.61\00:17:34.72 or in our Bible studies or in our prayer meetings 00:17:34.75\00:17:37.99 about what is possible through Jesus Christ, 00:17:38.02\00:17:40.26 then we run the risk of rewriting 00:17:40.29\00:17:43.02 the Word of God according to the flesh. 00:17:43.06\00:17:45.23 The Bible says, 00:17:45.26\00:17:46.59 "Woe unto him who call of evil good, and good evil." 00:17:46.63\00:17:50.57 My concern is what about the publications, the media, 00:17:50.60\00:17:56.54 even the movies that are coming out 00:17:56.57\00:17:59.27 are trying to legitimize the oxymoron of gay Christian. 00:17:59.31\00:18:04.78 My concern is what damage is that doing 00:18:04.81\00:18:07.95 for the person who is really struggling? 00:18:07.98\00:18:09.92 Are we giving permission now to let go to struggle 00:18:09.95\00:18:12.75 and to embrace what the perversion? 00:18:12.79\00:18:15.62 This is the danger in my mind, this is the struggle 00:18:15.66\00:18:18.33 for me as I see things being like this 00:18:18.36\00:18:20.50 being proliferated across Christianity 00:18:20.53\00:18:23.37 through our churches and through our universities. 00:18:23.40\00:18:25.77 What happens when you have people, 00:18:25.80\00:18:27.44 who are going forward with a loud message 00:18:27.47\00:18:31.41 that about something 00:18:31.44\00:18:33.27 that they really don't know a whole lot about? 00:18:33.31\00:18:35.88 You know, you're bound 00:18:35.91\00:18:37.48 to bite off and chew and swallow 00:18:37.51\00:18:40.72 the very first thing that's given to you 00:18:40.75\00:18:43.22 rather than studying something out. 00:18:43.25\00:18:45.22 And the Hollywood type of approach 00:18:45.25\00:18:47.12 to something like that can be done 00:18:47.16\00:18:48.62 in such a way that great sympathy 00:18:48.66\00:18:51.06 is put out there for the person who has suffered the isolation, 00:18:51.09\00:18:55.06 the rejection and the alienation 00:18:55.10\00:18:57.20 and it grounds them in their sin 00:18:57.23\00:19:00.60 instead of what's possible through Jesus Christ. 00:19:00.64\00:19:03.00 If the believer doesn't understand 00:19:03.04\00:19:04.91 what's being done to them, 00:19:04.94\00:19:06.27 basically they're being brainwashed. 00:19:06.31\00:19:08.78 This also seems to have an application 00:19:08.81\00:19:12.48 even in our colleges and universities. 00:19:12.51\00:19:15.32 We have a forum that's on the internet 00:19:15.35\00:19:17.79 where we've actually been dialoguing 00:19:17.82\00:19:20.42 with a professor from a university 00:19:20.46\00:19:22.76 that is actually calling himself a gay Christian. 00:19:22.79\00:19:25.53 And what's amazing to us is a teacher who has tenure 00:19:25.56\00:19:30.57 in a Christian school 00:19:30.60\00:19:32.50 is actually promoting this understanding 00:19:32.53\00:19:34.60 that he is a gay celibate Christian. 00:19:34.64\00:19:37.07 A Christian school. Right. Right. 00:19:37.11\00:19:38.54 And that, that the theology that I have is going 00:19:38.57\00:19:43.01 to cause gays and lesbians to commit suicide. 00:19:43.04\00:19:47.52 And so it was a difficult struggle 00:19:47.55\00:19:49.38 to have this continued dialogue back and forth 00:19:49.42\00:19:53.22 because I felt that the professor 00:19:53.25\00:19:57.63 began to accept his feelings to equal truth 00:19:57.66\00:20:01.16 and couldn't find any really biblical backing 00:20:01.20\00:20:04.47 to help me realized that 00:20:04.50\00:20:06.43 what he was stating was biblical truth. 00:20:06.47\00:20:08.90 It really was just based upon what his feelings were. 00:20:08.94\00:20:11.91 And so it's really sad to see someone be able 00:20:11.94\00:20:13.98 to go to class and to tell this 00:20:14.01\00:20:15.81 to multiple individuals while I'm having difficulty 00:20:15.84\00:20:19.65 a lot of times getting on to the university 00:20:19.68\00:20:22.48 or into the church talking about 00:20:22.52\00:20:24.45 what Jesus Christ has done in my life 00:20:24.49\00:20:26.29 and that I know through my own experience, 00:20:26.32\00:20:29.12 as we know from our experiences 00:20:29.16\00:20:30.96 what Jesus has done in our lives, 00:20:30.99\00:20:33.09 but people don't want to hear it, sometimes 00:20:33.13\00:20:35.20 because it won't affirm their feelings, 00:20:35.23\00:20:37.43 leaving them where they are. 00:20:37.47\00:20:41.54 The political issue and that is we have churches, 00:20:41.57\00:20:46.21 Christian schools who are embracing this 00:20:46.24\00:20:49.01 it embolden the politicians to continue to force feed 00:20:49.04\00:20:55.35 this whole thing about it be a natural 00:20:55.38\00:20:57.49 and normal on our society. 00:20:57.52\00:21:00.72 I'm reminded when we went through 00:21:00.76\00:21:03.46 our just recent presidential situation 00:21:03.49\00:21:06.80 and you know that the NAACP was real supportive 00:21:06.83\00:21:11.57 of same gender marriage and what have you. 00:21:11.60\00:21:14.50 One of the guys that, 00:21:14.54\00:21:16.00 that I dialogued with made the statement, 00:21:16.04\00:21:18.41 he said, "I could never support something 00:21:18.44\00:21:21.14 that I fought so hard to be delivered from." 00:21:21.18\00:21:25.28 And that's so significant when we get statement, 00:21:25.31\00:21:28.48 but the question is, 00:21:28.52\00:21:30.05 if the church does not stand up and be delight, 00:21:30.09\00:21:36.12 then we have other religious organizations 00:21:36.16\00:21:39.56 that call themselves Christian in church 00:21:39.59\00:21:40.93 and what have you, they're promoting 00:21:40.96\00:21:42.63 this counterfeit and that will have 00:21:42.66\00:21:45.00 a devastating effect on our society. 00:21:45.03\00:21:47.27 This pendulum has swung so far the other way 00:21:47.30\00:21:50.21 that we even have heard a story of a woman 00:21:50.24\00:21:53.91 who is married to a pastor in our denomination 00:21:53.94\00:21:56.98 whose son was in the gay lifestyle. 00:21:57.01\00:21:59.18 Her son now since has left the gay lifestyle, got married, 00:21:59.21\00:22:03.35 had a child with this woman is married and happy 00:22:03.39\00:22:06.22 and his mother still promotes 00:22:06.25\00:22:08.19 that he is gay and he is in a... 00:22:08.22\00:22:10.26 Well, that the dialogue and about the comment 00:22:10.29\00:22:14.96 about the son was made is that God does not approve 00:22:15.00\00:22:18.23 of mixed orientation marriage. 00:22:18.27\00:22:20.24 That he is still gay even he is married with a child 00:22:20.27\00:22:22.77 and she's our pastor's wife. 00:22:22.80\00:22:24.67 So the idea is that he's living a lie. 00:22:24.71\00:22:27.34 Right. Lord, have mercy. 00:22:27.38\00:22:28.71 And that to me negates the whole concept 00:22:28.74\00:22:32.65 of being transformed by the renewing of the mind 00:22:32.68\00:22:36.35 and we're told that we are to be transformed, 00:22:36.38\00:22:39.39 not conformed to our tendencies in the world 00:22:39.42\00:22:42.46 but to be transform the whole thing about 00:22:42.49\00:22:45.19 becoming a Christian 00:22:45.23\00:22:46.56 and which is what we're talking about 00:22:46.59\00:22:48.43 is about being recreated, 00:22:48.46\00:22:52.83 reformed, transformed, rehabilitated, reconciled 00:22:52.87\00:22:59.44 and I have heard from, 00:22:59.47\00:23:02.18 I'm sure well-intentioned people 00:23:02.21\00:23:05.15 that they don't need to worry about their homosexuality, 00:23:05.18\00:23:09.78 they just need to be Christ-like. 00:23:09.82\00:23:12.95 And so they can be a Christian homosexual, 00:23:12.99\00:23:14.72 they just need to be Christ-like 00:23:14.76\00:23:16.09 and so immediately I say well, what was Christ-like? 00:23:16.12\00:23:20.56 If we're going to be Christ-like as Christians, 00:23:20.60\00:23:23.16 what was Christ-like. 00:23:23.20\00:23:24.97 And we can know through His life 00:23:25.00\00:23:27.77 but also He is revealed through His Word 00:23:27.80\00:23:31.07 and so we can hang on every Word of God. 00:23:31.11\00:23:34.58 That reveals what Christ was like, 00:23:34.61\00:23:36.88 it also reveals what He likes and what He does not like 00:23:36.91\00:23:41.02 and He makes it very plain 00:23:41.05\00:23:43.08 how He feels about sexual perversion of any kind 00:23:43.12\00:23:46.79 and many other sin issues. 00:23:46.82\00:23:48.36 So, gentlemen, I want to bring 00:23:48.39\00:23:49.96 this kind of to a conclusion and you started it, Ron. 00:23:49.99\00:23:53.16 So my next question is 00:23:53.19\00:23:55.16 "Acceptance into true Christianity 00:23:55.20\00:23:57.73 than conditional and if so, upon what criteria? 00:23:57.77\00:24:01.64 Then is there hope for the homosexual 00:24:01.67\00:24:04.27 in relationship to Christianity?" 00:24:04.31\00:24:06.57 And you started to touch on that 00:24:06.61\00:24:07.94 and I just wondered if we get, 00:24:07.98\00:24:09.31 you know, kind of end on that note to, 00:24:09.34\00:24:11.75 you know, to show the redemptive part. 00:24:11.78\00:24:13.52 I think it's important to recognize 00:24:13.55\00:24:16.12 our needed of a Redeemer 00:24:16.15\00:24:17.52 because if I'm fine just the way I am, 00:24:17.55\00:24:20.32 why do I need a Redeemer for. 00:24:20.36\00:24:21.99 All right. So it is a matter of... 00:24:22.02\00:24:25.06 It's a matter of coming to Jesus, 00:24:25.09\00:24:27.13 you know, that we here have talked about. 00:24:27.16\00:24:28.93 If I don't group myself 00:24:28.96\00:24:31.67 with other people around me who have similar attractions 00:24:31.70\00:24:35.40 or similar temptations and live in that, 00:24:35.44\00:24:38.67 but if I personally come to Jesus 00:24:38.71\00:24:41.01 and search His will for me through His Word, 00:24:41.04\00:24:45.01 I begin to see my need of a Savior 00:24:45.05\00:24:47.58 and that I constantly need to surrender 00:24:47.62\00:24:50.59 and to abide in Him 00:24:50.62\00:24:52.05 to have any change take place in my life. 00:24:52.09\00:24:54.22 You know in the story of the jailer at Philippi 00:24:54.26\00:24:56.52 when Paul and Silas were in prison 00:24:56.56\00:24:58.69 and they had a great earthquake 00:24:58.73\00:25:00.60 and the jailer came in 00:25:00.63\00:25:02.06 and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 00:25:02.10\00:25:05.47 The answer that Paul gave the jailer is so significant. 00:25:05.50\00:25:09.47 First of all we need to know what being saved is, 00:25:09.50\00:25:13.78 Jesus very name means deliverer. 00:25:13.81\00:25:15.84 You should call His name Jesus, 00:25:15.88\00:25:17.21 for He shall save His people from their sins. 00:25:17.25\00:25:19.61 That's right. 00:25:19.65\00:25:20.98 But Paul's answer to the jailer was, 00:25:21.02\00:25:23.15 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:25:23.18\00:25:25.62 and thou shalt be saved." 00:25:25.65\00:25:26.99 And so I looked up the meaning Lord, quite often in the Bible 00:25:27.02\00:25:31.33 refers to Jehovah the Great I Am, 00:25:31.36\00:25:33.23 the Self Exist and Eternal One. 00:25:33.26\00:25:35.36 Jesus, Deliverer, Savior from what? 00:25:35.40\00:25:39.10 From sin. 00:25:39.13\00:25:40.47 And Christ, our Messiah, the Anointed One, 00:25:40.50\00:25:43.37 you put that all together and it's so beautiful, 00:25:43.41\00:25:46.24 believe on the Great Eternal I Am, 00:25:46.27\00:25:49.64 the Self Existent One, 00:25:49.68\00:25:51.01 your Creator anointed by the Holy Spirit 00:25:51.05\00:25:53.78 to be your personal savior from sin 00:25:53.82\00:25:56.69 and you shall be saved from sin, 00:25:56.72\00:25:59.72 even the sin of homosexuality. 00:25:59.75\00:26:02.22 Acknowledge your iniquity 00:26:02.26\00:26:03.96 and I will heal your backsliding God says. 00:26:03.99\00:26:05.99 So we need to understand 00:26:06.03\00:26:07.96 when we come to Christ as Christians, 00:26:08.00\00:26:10.20 we are coming to be saved from something. 00:26:10.23\00:26:14.90 If we call Him Savior, just calling Him Savior 00:26:14.94\00:26:18.07 acknowledges that we need to be saved from something. 00:26:18.11\00:26:22.91 And John 3:16 again 00:26:22.94\00:26:25.08 you know, comes back and asks us to believe in Him 00:26:25.11\00:26:28.48 that if we will believe in Him 00:26:28.52\00:26:30.15 instead of believing in self that He offers us eternal life. 00:26:30.19\00:26:35.19 I'm just impressed with your ministry 00:26:35.22\00:26:37.36 because you individuals are proof 00:26:37.39\00:26:41.13 that Christ can change, Christ will change 00:26:41.16\00:26:45.07 and you also proved that 00:26:45.10\00:26:46.74 you do not carry your past experiences 00:26:46.77\00:26:51.14 and your path labels once you become a new creature. 00:26:51.17\00:26:54.08 So you are all a proof 00:26:54.11\00:26:55.98 and you all be the glory to God. 00:26:56.01\00:26:58.75 And, Elder King, we are excited. 00:26:58.78\00:27:00.78 You know the amount of grace 00:27:00.82\00:27:02.65 that was poured out on our behalf 00:27:02.68\00:27:04.42 of coming out of this lifestyle, 00:27:04.45\00:27:06.02 imagine the confusion from our earliest years 00:27:06.05\00:27:09.22 of struggling with same-sex attraction 00:27:09.26\00:27:11.03 and the misunderstanding of God's grace 00:27:11.06\00:27:13.29 and now to have it poured out and to be redeemed from that, 00:27:13.33\00:27:16.67 we don't want homosexual attached to any part of that. 00:27:16.70\00:27:20.14 As a matter of fact, I believe that 00:27:20.17\00:27:21.54 if we kept that attachment that, 00:27:21.57\00:27:23.71 that cheapens the power of Jesus Christ 00:27:23.74\00:27:26.44 on the cross to overcome every sin. 00:27:26.47\00:27:28.24 Amen. 00:27:28.28\00:27:29.61 And so in conclusion, we definitely believe 00:27:29.64\00:27:33.58 that the word homosexual or gay 00:27:33.62\00:27:35.55 should not be associated with Christian 00:27:35.58\00:27:37.45 especially because of the biblical truths that, 00:27:37.49\00:27:39.92 that were pinching for us at first. 00:27:39.95\00:27:42.02 They were very difficult for me 00:27:42.06\00:27:44.76 especially because I wanted to keep my boyfriend 00:27:44.79\00:27:47.10 but through His grace, He's redeemed me 00:27:47.13\00:27:48.90 and I want to thank you, gentlemen, 00:27:48.93\00:27:50.27 for coming on this episode of Pure Choices. 00:27:50.30\00:27:52.73 Come back again and join us soon. 00:27:52.77\00:27:55.07