State of the Union (Part 1)

You better duck, there is some free speech flying at your face right now.  Who would have thought that in 2013 one of television’s most popular stars would be “suspended indefinitely” for giving their honest opinion, upon request, in an interview?  Very interesting times we are living in.

Of course I am talking about Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson, and A&E’s decision to suspend him after he answered an interview question about his thoughts on sin.  Phil gave his opinion on homosexuality based on his Biblical worldview.  He then roughly quoted 1 Corinthians 6:9 – “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God?  Don’t fool yourselves.  Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people – none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.” (NLT)  It should come as no surprise to anyone that has ever watched the show, seen or heard an interview of one of the cast members, or even been exposed to any form of media in the last year that Phil is a Bible believing Christian.  He ends every episode with a prayer in Jesus’ name, for crying out loud.

No sooner had his words stopped echoing in the cosmos had a loud mouth from the LGBT media watchdog, GLAAD, started railing against Robertson and his ‘vile’ remarks.  The spokesperson said that his statement was “littered with outdated stereotypes and blatant misinformation.”  Not long after this statement was put out, A&E released a statement saying that Phil was out, because the network has “always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community.”

If the network has always been such strong supporters of the LGBT community, why did they put out a TV show of a family that is very outspoken about their Christian faith?  Bible believing Christians have shared this same belief for two thousand years.  Before Paul had written this letter to the church at Corinth, Jews held the same belief about sexual sin for several thousand years.  The network knew going into the show where the Robertson family stood.  They knew they were not ashamed of the Bible, of Jesus, or to share either one with the world.  They had to have known that this would eventually come up; especially in this day and age of hyper political correctness.  After the Dan Cathy of Chick-fil-a media and PR storm, and the fact that there is some kind of LGBT story in the news every single day, and just that this is the hottest topic out, they couldn’t have been so naïve to think that this would not come up. 

The suspension of Phil Robertson is not my biggest concern.  The attack on free speech in America is not my concern.  The apparent war on Christians, whether real or not, is not even my concern.  My concern is the spiritual side of this whole mess going on in the world right now.  We do not have a gay and lesbian problem in the world.  We do not have a freedom problem.  What we have here, is a full blown sin problem.  We have had a sin problem since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, but now it seems to be at a fever pitch.  That is what I am most concerned about.

If you are easily offended, you should keep reading, even though you are going to be offended.  If you are a non-believer; atheist; agnostic; or somewhere along those lines, you should keep reading.  If you are a Bible believing Christian, you most definitely should keep reading.  This has been building up inside of me for quite some time, and I feel now is the time I have to write this.

First, I ask you to keep an open mind.  Please read this to the end, reflect on what I have to say, and then you can formulate an opinion and respond.  I beg you, please do not stop here, call me a bigot, hypocrite, homophobe, and start hating on me.  I have put too much thought and time into this whole thing for you to fly off the handle and not give me a chance to voice my thoughts and concerns.

Let me start off by saying that I am in no way, shape, or form a homophobe.  I am not scared by someone who is attracted to someone of the same sex.  I am certainly not scared of some guy thinking I am attractive.  I can honestly say, I’m not even worried about a woman thinking that about me.  I am too bald, and too overweight, for someone to make a move on me.  I thank God that my lovely wife of 14 years is still blinded by love, but I digress.

I could give the cliché statement of, “I have gay friends so I can’t be a homophobe”.  I do, in fact, have friends that happen to be gay; but that is not the point.  No, I have a family member that is homosexual.  Not just any family member either.  My big brother came out as gay over thirteen years ago.  That has not changed the way I feel about him. 

When I was a kid I looked up to my brother, like most kids.  Even though we had different mothers, were 12 years apart, and we didn't live in the same state; I still admired my brother.  On two different occasions in school (once in middle school the other in high school), I had to write a paper on who I looked up to.  I wrote about my brother.  I always thought he was so cool.  When I was in high school, he was married and living in Austin.  He was a very successful furniture sales rep.  He lived in a beautiful home.  And he was married to a wonderful lady.  He had accomplished all of this with very little college education.  I thought that was so impressive.  I wanted to be like him.  I even thought, very briefly, that I wanted to sell furniture when I grew up.

Fast forward several years.  I had just graduated high school and had moved to Dallas for college.  Every time my brother came to town, we would get together for dinner with our sister.  I absolutely loved this time with them.  On occasion, he would bring his wife, but it was always good to get to see him.  A couple of years later he came out.  I will admit that I was shocked and upset.  I just didn't believe it was true.  The guy that I have looked up to, and wanted to be like for so long, was somebody completely not who I thought he was. 

Due to life and schedules, we did not see each other for several years.  It was family illnesses that caused our paths to cross again.  I eventually met his partner, and I realized that he was a great guy too.  I truly love them and admire them both.  They are both such successful people at just about everything they do.  They are so incredibly talented and smart.  Even though I only see them every couple of years, I still brag about them and all they have accomplished.  I am amazed at the things they have done, and the places they have been, the people they have met, and the business they have built.  It is really neat to think that that is my brother, and my “brother-in-law”.   My kids love getting to visit with their uncles.

Do I like the fact that my brother is gay?  No.  Do I think that homosexuality is not a sin because someone I love is living that lifestyle?  No.  I do believe that homosexuality is a sin because the Bible says it is.  But you know what?  I have done a whole lot worse.  Did you know that out of control anger is a sin?  Guilty.  Did you know that lusting after a woman that is not your wife; or that sex outside of marriage is a sin?  Guilty.  Taking the Lord’s name in vain?  Yup, you guessed it, been there and done that.  I have lied.  I have cheated.  I have stolen.  I have broken laws.  More importantly, I have broken many of God’s laws.  I, Jason Martin, am a sinner.  I do not condemn anybody else for being a sinner.  In John chapter 8, a crowd brings a woman that had been caught committing adultery to Jesus trying to get his opinion if they should stone her as the Law of Moses said.  They are looking for a way to catch him by his response to use against him, but he tells them “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone.”  If I was there in that crowd with a rock in my hand, I would have been the first one to drop my stone and sneak away with my tail between my legs.  I am no better than the next guy that has sinned.  That means I am no better than someone that commits the sin of homosexuality. 

The difference is, I have acknowledged that I am a sinner and I strive to live a life that reflects Jesus’ teachings.  Does this make better than the next guy?  Absolutely not.  Does this mean any gay person is going to hell for their sin?  I don’t believe so.  I personally do not believe that being gay buys you a one way ticket to the lake of burning fire for all eternity.  Then again, I am not God.  I do not know what is in each person’s heart.  Only He knows.  The only thing I know for sure is this: the Bible says explicitly that homosexuality is a sin.  It also says in Romans 6:23 that “The wages of sin is death”, but it goes on to say that “the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord”.  Just like the crowd that brought the girl to Jesus said when they were quoting Moses’ law, we deserve to die as a result of our sin.  But like then, Jesus stepped up and offered us a pardon.  With a simple action and a gentle word, he was able to calm the rage in that crowd towards that woman.  Then a short time later, through a major action, his death on the cross; and the simple words, “IT IS FINISHED”, he paid the price for our sins.  All we have to do is accept the free gift that Paul talks about in Romans. 

Accepting the free gift of life that we receive from Jesus is not just simply saying, “Thanks, I’ll take my free life now” and running off to continue living my old life.  It takes commitment.  It takes buy-in.  I can’t walk into McDonald’s and order a large Dr. Pepper and have a couple of sips and leave, and then come back every day for eternity expecting to fill up that cup that I bought that one day.  Those free refills are for that visit only.  The same goes for Jesus’ gift of free life.  I can’t order a large side of free life and go on living any way I want, and just come back and flash my free life cup and expect the same refill.  I have to stick around and sit at his table.  I have to live in that establishment for the rest of my life.  I may stumble out the door from time to time, but I am still on the premises.  I quickly come back in and run to that counter (altar) and get some more of that cool refreshing grace. 

I know that there are so many counter arguments to what I have said here.  I have heard pretty much all of them.  I will address those in my next piece.  I wanted to lay the foundation of my statements before I moved on.  I hope that you will continue to follow along.  This may be a long journey, but I feel I need to get this out.  God has been really putting this on my heart for a long time now.  Please come back.  I look forward to hearing any thoughts, comments, or rebuttals you may have.  Please feel free to send them my way.  Also, feel free to send me any prayer requests or concerns you may have.  I want to stand with you in prayer, and support you in any way I can.  I truly love people of all types, and I love to help them through lending an ear, offering an encouraging word, or praying with them.  Thank you for your time, and I will be writing again soon.  Take care.

Thoughts of a Sleepless Man

As I lay here awake in the early hours of the morning after a run I can’t help but think about our country.  I look at several posts online about things that are going on in our nation and the only thing I can pray is, “Lord, please heal our nation.”  Nothing else needs to be said.  And I’m not talking about healing our nation of diseases like cancer and any other physical ailment, those are horrible and I would like to see people healed from them, but I am talking about something even bigger than that.  Our nation needs to be healed from the spiritual sickness we are suffering from.  This sickness is so advanced that we as a nation are almost spiritually dead. 

I know that there are millions of people in this country that truly love God, but even we are sick.  How has the church in America allowed the nation to go down the path of destruction that we have traveled so far?  How have we gotten to the point of so much hatred and disdain for fellow man that young men will go into a school and kill beautiful little children?  How has the hatred of truth and light become so prevalent that we allow there to be no accountability in every level of government?  How are people leaving the faith in droves to live a life of self-above-all-others?  The blame falls on people like me. 

A few years ago I wrote a blog based on a song called “Camouflage Soul”.  It was about how we as Christians tend to allow our faith to blend in with our surroundings.  Romans 12:2 was the main scripture focus.  It reads:  “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  Now even though I wrote that blog a few years ago, I still do not live as boldly for the Lord as I should, as I would like.  But I think it goes beyond that even.  Over the last few decades the public has risen up against the Church.  We as the body have been shouted down by people in the media, Hollywood, even in the courts and government.  Now is it an all-out war against Christianity?  Not yet.  We do not get locked up or executed for our faith.  If you believe the Bible, that day will come, but it’s not now.  No when it seemed our neighbors were against us in mass, we retreated to the safety of our Church walls.  We venture out on covert recon missions, and even wage small scale battles.  But I do not feel the Church, the body of Christ as a whole, has been standing on the front line boldly proclaiming God’s message.  Over the years we have stood by silently so much that some have even began to join the fight for things that are blatantly against God and His will.  We have Church leaders that stand up and fight for sin and the right to commit them.  We have believers that engage in debate in online forums and spew absolute filth.  There is so much anger and vitriol in their words that the love of Jesus cannot be seen or felt; when we do have someone that stands up for the truth, there is not much force behind them.  It is like the enemy is firing mortar rounds, and they are lobbing water balloons in retaliation.  We as a nation have leaders in place that lack honesty, integrity, or accountability.  We as believers continue to voting for them and not demanding more from them.  We have teachers that indoctrinate our children to worldly ideas.  They plant the seeds at a very early age that grow into ideas that are antithetical to Biblical teachings.  But what do we expect?  Since the church has taken a soft handed approach to fighting the devil and his army of lies, he has marched his lines right to the church’s front doors.  Every sin is becoming mainstream, and it is considered hate to say otherwise.  Prayer has been banned from school functions; the very mention of the God of the Bible is not allowed, but we have classes that teach and promote the ideas of Islam.  The Ten Commandments are being removed from court houses and other government buildings.  The “leaders” in Washington are bowing to winds of political correctness, and not wanting to push Judeo-Christian principals on people.  But now the enemy is making his way into the church buildings by using laws that force the support of sin on the Church.  I just read yesterday that there are “scholars” that are rewriting the Bible to change the language used towards homosexuality.  They are calling it the “Queen James Bible”.  And the Church lobs another water balloon.  Leaders don’t want the IRS to come down on them and take away their tax exempt status.  They don’t want to be labeled by the world as hatemongering judgmental hypocrites.  They choose to look to the world for guidance on how to run their congregations, but ignore what Jesus said.  I think the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 are very relevant today.  In the letter to the Church at Ephesus, Jesus is saying that he sees the good works that they are doing but that they have lost the love they once had.  I think it’s the letter to the Church of Laodicea that is the most convicting.  He nails them on their complacency.  He says they are neither hot nor cold, and that since they are lukewarm he is going to spit them out of His mouth.  In verse 17 of chapter 3 Jesus says, “But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”  Has the church as a whole become lukewarm?  Are we blind to that fact?  Are we telling the world, even ourselves, that we are fine?  That we are rich in love and works, but are really just middle of the road dwellers that Jesus is waiting to spew out of His mouth?  Perhaps, if the entire church body was banded together and showing the true love of Jesus, the world would look a lot different.  I’m not talking about going out and hitting people on the head with our Bibles, condemning them for their sins, and then claiming ‘Jesus loves you’.  This did not work in the ‘70s, ‘80s, or ‘90s.  I’m pretty sure it won’t work now.  What we need is the love that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 22.  The word in both verse 37 and verse 39 are the same: ‘agapao’.  This is a verb that means to welcome, to be fond of, to love dearly a person.  Verse 37 says to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  Verse 39 says to love your neighbor as yourself.  This is an action of love that is supposed to go UP to God in Heaven, IN to us, and OUT to our neighbors.  This love is the exact same love that is used in John 3:16: ‘For God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.’  This is a love of sacrifice.  God, who the Bible says loved us while we were still sinners, sacrificed His Son on our behalf just so we could be saved and live with Him in eternity.  That is a HUGE sacrifice for some pretty mean and ugly people that spit in His face on a daily basis.  To love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind is a sacrifice on our part, but it does not stop there.  We have to accept the love that God pours out on us, we have to accept that and love ourselves with same love and adoration that He has for us, and then we have to turn around and love everyone we come in contact with the same way.  If we can’t love ourselves, we cannot truly accept God’s love for us, and we certainly project that love onto others.  If we claim to love ourselves, but can’t love others, we aren’t grasping that love of God either.  This is a love triangle, so to speak, of epic proportions.  The part of the equation that is constant is God’s love.  We mess the rest up.  That is where we get off track and the world gets the way it is today.  If we are truly loving God, ourselves, and others with this type of sacrificial love, lives can and will be changed.