Max Lucado, an influential Church of Christ pastor and author whose books are used by many Baptists, published a letter on Feb. 11 apologizing for a sermon that he preached on the topic of same-sex marriage in 2004. He said, “I now see that, in that sermon, I was disrespectful. I was hurtful. I wounded people in ways that were devastating. I should have done better. It grieves me that my words have hurt or been used to hurt the LGBTQ community. I apologize to you and I ask forgiveness of Christ. Faithful people may disagree about what the Bible says about homosexuality, but we agree that God’s holy Word must never be used as a weapon to wound others. To be clear, I believe in the traditional biblical understanding of marriage, but I also believe in a God of unbounded grace and love. LGBTQ individuals and LGBTQ families must be respected and treated with love. They are beloved children of God because they are made in the image and likeness of God” (Max Lucado). This is heresy. Unbelievers are never called children of God in Scripture. One must be born again through saving faith in Jesus Christ to be a child of God. To preach what the Word of God says about homosexuality or any other sin is not unloving or harmful. Paul was not unloving or hurtful when he preached the truth about the evils of homosexuality in Romans 1, calling it “uncleanness,” “dishonoring their own bodies,” vile affections,” “against nature,” “burning in lust,” “unseemly,” “not convenient,” and “a reprobate mind.” Though God does have unbounding love and grace to the unsaved, the God of love is also a God of judgment, and if His gospel is rejected, judgment will surely fall. The Lord Jesus Christ twice warned, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Lu. 13:3, 5). Christ often warned of the danger of hell fire, nine times in one sermon (Mr. 9:43-48). He described hell as “the fire that never shall be quenched.” Christ said, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).
(Friday Church News Notes, June 4, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)