Comply with God’s commands with gladness
Published 11:00 am Friday, May 12, 2017
- Rev. Jason Pettus
Emily McFarlan Miller of the Religion News Services reported April 25 that the “United Methodist Church will hold a special session of its General Conference to settle questions of LGBTQ inclusion that have vexed the global denomination for years.”
Miller wrote that “according to the Book of Discipline, ‘The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching,’ meaning ‘self-avowed practicing homosexuals’ cannot be ordained as ministers or appointed to serve.” Apparently, the denomination hasn’t been consistent in maintaining their doctrinal distinctive. Miller reported that “the Rev. Karen Oliveto, a married lesbian, became the United Methodist Church’s first openly LGBTQ bishop in July when she was consecrated as bishop of the Mountain Sky Area, which includes churches in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana, as well as one church in Idaho.”
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We need to pray for this denomination and all those they influence and remember God’s law of love, as we do. God has provided clarity and the capacity for humanity to know what is best for human flourishing. In these days when sexual identity and sexual morality are leaning further from what the Scriptures teach, it is important for God’s people to be reassured of what God has said.
The law of love is the law of God. Jesus said that if we would love God with all we are and love our neighbor as ourselves, then we would fulfill His will (Matthew 22:37-40). Knowing our tendency to excuse ourselves from submission to God’s will, the Lord further simplified His command with “The Golden Rule” found in Mathew 5:17. We are to treat people the way we would want them to treat us. This is the heart behind the laws found in Deuteronomy 22 pertaining to neighborly kindness (v. 1-4), conservation of nature (v. 6-7, 9) and public safety (v. 8). People with no knowledge of God would know to keep those laws. Having been made in the image of God, we are designed with a sense of the value of human life. Nurturing that value for life is vital for culture and society.
Living within the order of God’s design is crucial to human flourishing. Human sexuality is fundamental to life. It is through a man and a woman that life is created and best cared for. The Lord made us male and female for a reason. Having been created in the image of God, every human being has the same value to God. God loves men and women the same and died to redeem both (John 3:16), but He made them differently. He also made them to relate uniquely. A man is to leave his home and be united to his wife and the two become one flesh and remain loyal to each other, under God in the covenant of marriage, until death parts them (Matthew 19:4-5). Any sexual activity outside of the covenant of marriage between and man and a woman is contrary to what is best. God’s Word is clear on that.
As our Maker and the great lover of our souls, God knows what is best for us. As a parent instructs a child and demands obedience for the child’s sake, so God instructs those He made in His image to comply with His commands with gladness. God really does love us and truly wants the best for us. Trusting and obeying Him is crucial. If we ignore His Word to us, we do so at our own peril. Let’s pray for one another and work to provide and believe what is best for one another. Let’s pray for God’s people and the churches they call home to be places of healing and hope. Let’s pray for a renewed commitment to Christ and His Word among all churches.
– The Rev. Jason Pettus is senior pastor at Living Hope Baptist Church.