The Christian church should be a place where every person is treated with dignity and respect. No matter what the sin or spiritual condition might be a person should be greeted warmly and treated respectfully. The phrase "open and affirming" that some churches are using goes far beyond that. They are promoting the lowering of Biblical standards for the lifestyle expected of Christian membership and ministry. It is basically a means to welcome LGBTQ has an acceptable lifestyle with full rights to become members and even hold pastoral office. No where in the Bible can you find God encouraging someone to continue living in sin after confessing to having accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. I've had many individuals who were living in obvious sinful lifestyles attend my church. They came and saw the love of God in action. They also heard the truth concerning sin, the wages of sin and the gift of God. Some stayed and had a life-changing experience with Christ. Some left because they were convicted by the Holy Spirit and refused to confess and repent from their sin.
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The Bible has been translated into more languages than any other book in the world. It is by far the number one best seller every year with over 61 million sold or given away yearly. In America 91% of the homes have a Bible. There are at least 50 English translations of the Bible. Bible translations use two basic means to translate from the original language to present day English. One is striving for a literal word for word translation and the other is more of a thought for thought translation and of course some use a combination of both. Here are six good choices to consider: NKJV-New King James Version, NLT -New Living Translation, NIV-New International Version, NAS New American Standard, ESV English Standard Version, KJV-King James Version. I recommend having more than one version so you can do a comparison when you study. Jesus made several statements that help us to be able to answer this question. All of these have to do with believing, accepting by faith that Jesus is the Savior. Jesus said, "whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life", "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed", "he who hears my word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life", "He who believes in Me as the Scriptures has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water", "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me he will be saved", "He who believe in Me though he may die, he shall live", I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me". The only way to know for sure that heaven will be your eternal home is to put your faith and trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord. References John 3:15, 3:18, 5:24, 7:38, 10:9, 11:25, 14:6. |
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