What’s Jesus’ Message to Homosexuals?

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Dana Dill

Jesus-Homosexuality-1A few days ago I was hanging out at the beach with about ten high school students from our church. As we were baking in the sun, one of our new students asked me, “Pastor Dana, what does the Bible say about homosexuality?” This student had friends at school who profess to be homosexuals and was trying to figure out what being faithful to Jesus looked like in those relationships. She loves her friends and she has been growing more serious about following Jesus. For her, it was time to get her thoughts in order.

A marvelous talk ensued. The other students immediately joined the conversation with enthusiasm and interest. Lots of good questions were asked and – with Bibles open – lots of good answers were explored. God’s hand was all over it because God’s Word was everywhere in it.

At the end of our conversation, among the many things we talked about, I made sure the students understood that, at the end of the day, there was one message that Jesus had for homosexuals and everyone else: repent and believe.

Sam Allberry, the author of Is God Anti-Gay? and a Christian pastor who himself struggles with same-sex attraction, unpacks the message well.

“Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” Mark 1:14-15

Repentance means turning around, to change course. The implication is pretty clear and a little uncomfortable: we’re not heading in the right direction. We’re like the elderly man I read about recently in our local newspaper: in a moment of confusion in the middle of the night, he’d ended up driving a mile or so on the wrong side of the motorway. Thankfully at the hour there was hardly anything coming the other way; if it had happened when the commuters were up, it might have been a very different story.

Jesus is claiming that we’re heading in the wrong direction, and that the rush hour of God’s purposes is heading toward us. We need to change direction and line up with what God is doing. And that means believing the gospel: the announcement that, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can be put right with God; that we are being offered a fresh start to begin to live as God always meant us to. This is his message.

And it’s his message for all people. When Jesus burst onto the scene, he didn’t subdivide humanity into categories and give each one a separate message. One for introverts; another for extroverts. One for left-brain types, and one for right brain folk.

God’s message for gay people is the same as his message for everyone. Repent and believe. It is the same invitation to find fullness of life in God, the same offer of forgiveness and deep, wonderful,  life-changing love. (Taken from Is God Anti-Gay?, p. 7-8).

Jesus’ message to homosexual sinners is the same message he offers every other sinner in the world: repent from your sin, stop traveling the wrong direction, and trust in Him as Savior and Lord (John 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). This message is not for any special category of people or certain type of sinner, but for all people, all sinners, everywhere. He loves you and wants you to turn away from a self-ruled life so you live under the restful, peaceful, and delightful rule of Jesus. Yes, turning to Jesus may be a train wreck for you, denying self always is, but it will lead to glorious life.

Some Resources on Homosexuality

If you would like to read more about how Christians should think and speak about homosexuality, the following should be helpful.

  1. “How Should We Speak About Homosexuality” by Denny Burk (Article)
  2. “50 Resources for Equipping the Church on Homosexuality & Same-Sex Marriage” by Joe Carter (Article)
  3. “Why We Always Lose (the Homosexuality) Debate” by Trevin Wax (Article)
  4. “How I Wish the Homosexuality Debate Would Go” by Trevin Wax (Article)
  5. “How Do I Talk to My Kids About Homosexuality?” by Seth Stewart (Article)
  6. “Not That Kind of Homosexuality” by Kevin DeYoung (Article). This leans toward a more scholarly end and addresses the many revisionist arguments issued by proponents of homosexual practice within Christianity.
  7. “Is God Anti-Gay?” by Sam Allberry (Book, 83 pages)
  8. “What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality?” by Kevin DeYoung (Book, 160 pages)
  9. What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung (Sermon)
  10. Livingout.org (Website)

For further reflections from Sam Allberry, check out the video below.

Sam from Living Out on Vimeo.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Christian Religion in America

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Dana Dill

Church-ShoppingI just finished reading Eugene Peterson’s memoir entitled, The Pastor. It was thoroughly enjoyable, informative, and engaging. Peterson has a settled peace in his writing and reflections that always blesses me regardless of how I may agree or disagree with that he says.

Among the countless treasures I pulled from his memoir, it is his reflections on the Christian church in America that resonated powerfully with me. I think his observations match with much of what I’ve experienced in my short, inexperienced life. He observes:

When I became a pastor, I resolved on a double focus for keeping my vocation on track: worship and community…The religious culture of America that I was surrounded with dismayed me on both counts. Worship have been degraded into entertainment. And community had been depersonalized into programs.

By the time I arrived on the scene as a pastor, the American church had reinterpreted the worship of God as an activity for religious consumers. Entertainment, cheerleading, and manipulation were conspicuous in high places. American worship was conceived as a public relations campaign for Jesus and the angels. Worship had been cheapened into a commodity marketed by using tried-and-true advertising techniques. If so-called worshipers didn’t “get anything out of it,” there had been no worship worth coming back for. Instead of calling people to worship God, pastors all over the country were inviting people to, “have a worship experience.” Worship was evaluated on the “consumer satisfaction scale” of one to ten…

And community. The church as a community of faith formed by the Holy Spirit. Church in America was mostly understood by Christians and their pastors in terms of its function – what it did: build buildings, become “successful,” change the neighborhood, launch mission projects, and create programs that would organize and motivate people to do these things. Programs, mostly programs. Programs had developed into the dominate methodology of “doing church.” Far more attention was given to organizing and giving leadership to programs than anything else. But there was a problem here: a program is an abstraction and inherently nonpersonal. A program defines people in terms of what they do, not who they are. The more program, the less person. Church was understood not in terms of personal relationships and a personal God, but in terms of “getting things done.” (Taken from The Pastor, p. 254-255).

Don’t walk away from this thinking that somehow programs are the devil and trying to think wisely about how the church is perceived by the culture are inherently bad. But, allow these words to challenge the heart, motivation, and faith that underlies our practices. At every point the church of Jesus must be examining itself to make sure that good things don’t distort the best things; that our savvy cleverness does not overshadow our salty call.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Yellow Canary of Joy

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Dana Dill

968eb261709369d161882af189c50decChristian, a simple question to ask yourself today: “Am I happy in Jesus?”

With a simple illustration, Jim Johnston helps us see that our answer to this question is more important than we may know.

Joy is one of the vital gauges on the dashboard of the Christian life. When the needle dips — when you lose your joy — you should take note. To stay safe, you need to pay attention to your joy.

Coal miners know that dangerous gases can gather silently and secretly in the tunnels. Carbon monoxide will asphyxiate them. Methane explodes…

But in the early days of coal mining, they found an effective, low-tech solution: They brought canaries into the mines. A canary’s metabolism is very sensitive to air quality. As long as the bright yellow birds chirp and sing, miners know the air is safe. If gas levels rise, the canaries stop singing, wobble on their perch, and eventually fall to the floor of the cage.

Christian joy is like that singing, yellow bird. One of the first effects of sin or doctrinal error is that we lose our joy in Christ. When your heart stops singing, that is a warning to watch your life and doctrine closely.

So, again, I ask, “Are you happy in Jesus?”

For those of you who may take issue with me using the word happy, thinking that happiness is different than joy, give this a read.

Read the whole post from Jim Johnston here.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Two A.W.s, Two Different Books, One Glorious Truth

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Dana Dill

photo-39Two men with the beginning initials of A and W in two different books about the attributes of God bring out the same beautiful truth in two different, but strikingly wonderful, ways.

A.W. Pink:

The whole of my life stood open to His view from the beginning. He foresaw my every fall, my every sin, my every backsliding; yet, nevertheless, fixed His heart upon me. Oh, how the realization of this should bow me in wonder and worship before Him! (Taken from The Attributes of God, p. 26).

A.W. Tozer:

To us who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope that is set before us in the gospel, how unutterably sweet is the knowledge that our Heavenly Father knows us completely. No talebearer can inform on us, no enemy can make an accusation stick; no forgotten skeleton can come tumbling out of some bidden closet to abash us and expose our past; no unsuspected weakness in our characters can come to light to turn God away from us, since He knew us utterly before we knew Him and called us to Himself in the full knowledge of everything that was against us. (Taken from The Knowledge of the Holy, ch. 10).

Dear Christian, God knows more about your sin than even you do and He saved you nonetheless. You’re secure.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Saturday Post(s)

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Dana Dill

Saturday Post

A Letter to the Doctor Who Wanted to Terminate My Baby. “I came to you during the most difficult time in my life. I was terrified, anxious and in complete despair. I didn’t know the truth yet about my baby, and that’s what I desperately needed from you. But instead of support and encouragement, you suggested we terminate our child. I told you her name, and you asked us again if we understood how low our quality of life would be with a child with Down syndrome. You suggested we reconsider our decision to continue the pregnancy.”

Is This Really the Kind of Judge You Want God to Be? Recently, a man raped a woman and got six months in jail. People were understandably upset at the judge who failed to make the punishment fit the crime. Amy Hall asks, “Is this the kind of judge we want God to be?”

Taking Back Christianese. A scholar takes on well known Christian phrases and analyzes their truthfulness and helpfulness. “We will do this by asking three questions:  (1) Why do people use this phrase?  (2) What is correct or helpful about this phrase?  and (3) What is problematic about this phrase?”

Pastoral Ministry is About Souls, Not Stats. Always a needed reminder for those in pastoral ministry. “Biblical credibility is not found in big stats.”

Anti-Christian California. A professing Christian who denies his homosexual desires is bullied out of his tenured college position and a law threatens the religious liberty of institutions like Biola University, my alma mater. Good ole’ California.

Would Hollywood Want the Disabled Dead? “Dear Hollywood, why do you want me dead? That’s the haunting question eleven-year-old Ella Frech is asking, prompted by the new movie Me Before You.”

High Five Fails. Missed high fives: the epitome of social awkwardness.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How Far is Too Far?

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Dana Dill

391556_74b8_3Randy Alcorn offers a simple answer to the often asked question, “How far is too far?” in a dating relationship.

God made sex drives. When those drives are stimulated, they move toward a climax. This is a simple fact of biology. Caressing each other in sexually stimulating ways is foreplay. And foreplay is designed by God to culminate in sexual intercourse.

Logically, then, since intercourse is forbidden outside marriage, so is foreplay. Since sexual intercourse before marriage is wrong, it is also wrong to engage in activity that propels mind and body toward it.

This means that the line must be drawn before either person become sexually stimulated. Fondling – and anything else that results in a turn-on – is forbidden. Once you let your body cross that line, it will neither know nor care about your Christian convictions. Men are more quickly and easily stimulated than women. A woman often thinks extended kisses and hugs are fine, but the man is sexually stimulated and is tempted to push for more. You must make sure you draw the line far enough back that neither of you crosses it.

If one of you begins to be stimulated even by apparently innocent physical contact, then both of you should back off immediately. If you don’t, you’re choosing to stay in a canoe headed toward a waterfall. Those who engage in sexual stimulation should not be surprised when they finally have intercourse. It is simply the natural, predictable result of the choices they’ve made.

If you want to different outcome, make different choices. (Take from The Purity Principle, p72-72).

Do you wish to avoid sexual immorality? Then flee from anything and everything that causes sexual arousal. Allowing sexual arousal is choosing sexual immorality sooner rather than later. Don’t stay on the canoe that’s heading toward a waterfall.

For a helpful picture of what sexual immorality is, check this out.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Six Reminders for Listeners of Bad Sermons

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Dana Dill

your-first-sermon-will-always-be-badI have heard a lot of bad sermons in my life. Also, I have preached a lot of bad sermons in my life. One of the worst experiences I know is listening to myself preach a bad sermon. Cursed recording technology.

When it comes to hearing bad sermons, I know I am not alone. Every now and then we’ll hear a home run, but frequently we hear sermons that go foul.

What is one to do when they hear a bad sermon?

Tony Reinke recently answered that very question. In his piece he offers six reminders that I found to be very helpful for myself as a sermon listener and very hopeful as a sermon preacher. Keeping these in mind will benefit our pastors and congregations greatly.

1) Our pastor is a weak and sinful man, and he is quite likely aware of this without our help.

2) Our pastor carries a heavy burden for the flock, and there is nothing he wants more than to serve the souls in his church (including you), and he knows he falls short in this aim over and over.

3) Our pastor benefits from our realistic expectations on Sunday morning. We should neither puff him up as a celebrity and expect too much, nor diminish him and his gifts and expect too little.

4) Our pastor’s sermons will never compete with the thrill of our Netflix binge and our unguarded and abused affections come Sunday morning.

5) Our pastor needs our earnest attention and eager hearts on Sunday. How can we be surprised that we gain so little, when our hearts arrive at church so dull and easily distracted?

6) Our pastor must have our prayers. We should appear at church having already prayed for God to bless the sermon and affect hearts with the gospel.

A note may help here. This isn’t to say that one isn’t to be concerned about or do anything about continual lack in the pulpit. Preaching is important and we should all work to help our pastors grow. But these reminders should help to shape how we go about helping the preaching ministry of our church. Instead of coming at our pastors with cold-blooded, compassionate-less critique, I believe these reminders will help us approach them with more understanding, gentleness, and love.

As Reinke reminds us:

Sermon duds are inevitable, but they are useful to expose both the needs of our pastors and the needs of our own hearts, too. May we never stop praying for our pastor, as he earnestly labors in prayer and in preaching for us.

I encourage you to read Reinke’s whole post here.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t Make Christianity Your New Magic

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Dana Dill

Prayer-for-HealingPaul Hiebert, a missionary to India, once prayed for a sick child who died a week later. In recalling the story, he reminds us of the major difference between approaching God as a personal being Whom we trust or a powerful means which we utilize.

In religion, we want the will of God for we trust in his omniscience. In magic we seek our own wills, confident that we know what is best for ourselves.

The line dividing them is a subtle one as I learned in the case of Muchintala. A week after our prayer meeting (for the sick child), Yellayya returned to say that the child had died. I felt thoroughly defeated. Who was I to be a missionary if I could not pray for healing and receive a positive answer? A few weeks later Yellayya returned with a sense of triumph. “How can you be so happy after the child died?” I asked.

“The village would have acknowledged the power of our God had he healed the child,” Yellayya said, “but they knew in the end she would have to die. When they saw in the funeral our hope of resurrection and reunion in heaven, they saw an even greater victory, over death itself, and they have begun to ask about the Christian way.”

In a new way I began to realize that true answers to prayer are those that bring the greatest glory to God, not those that satisfy my immediate desires. It is all too easy to make Christianity a new magic in which we as gods can make God do our bidding. (Taken from The Excluded Middle).

Don’t treat Jesus like your new magic. Trust Him as your loving Savior and righteous Lord.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Know the Stakes

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Dana Dill

Such a shameThis morning, I had the pleasure of sitting in my office with a cup of coffee in hand reading over the sermons my interns preached to our youth while I was out of town.

My conclusion? I think I am working myself out of a job. These guys are gifted, sincere, and powerful preachers. I hope to be like them when I grow up.

One of the sermons I read was preached by our high school intern, Jeff Sholar, on Acts 15 (we are currently going through the book of Acts). In his sermon, when covering James’ word about abstaining from sexual immorality (Acts 15:20), Jeff took some time to speak about sexual immorality to our students. In this section, he gave a picture (inspired by John Piper) about the importance of knowing the stakes of sexual immorality that struck me deeply. I thought it was helpful and hope you do too.

You can say no to porn and you will say no, if you know what is at stake.

Let’s say you are in your room alone with your computer, about to click on a bad website. Then, all of a sudden a man with a big bag walks in and says, “Don’t click! If you don’t click I will give you one million dollars cash free! Right now!” I bet you won’t click.

Or, let’s say a black-hooded man walks in to the room with your best friend in a headlock and a knife in his hand. And he says, “Don’t click! If you click I will hurt your best friend!” I bet you won’t click.

The idea is this: You will click or not click based on what you will believe will happen. If you believe you will gain a million dollars or lose your best friend, you won’t click. If you correctly evaluate what is at stake, you won’t click.

So what is it that you need to believe to keep you from clicking, to keep you from giving in to sexual immorality? You need to believe that the beauty of Christ is better than sexual immorality.You need to see what you could gain! Not a million dollars, but the all-satisfying beauties of Christ with endless joy! You need to see what you could lose! By clicking you are giving up communion with the only source of true joy, the beautiful Christ. You are choosing an infinitely weaker pleasure.

I promise you: You can say no to sexual immorality. You can say no to porn. You simply need to believe in the beauties of Christ; that they could be lost forever by giving in or that they could be enjoyed forever by resisting temptation.

May we always see the ugliness of sin for what it is and may we always know the stakes that are involved. Christ is always better than sin’s deceitful allure and sin is always worst than it presents itself.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

On Vacation

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Dana Dill

511646_12704_613757Hello my friends!

I apologize for the inconsistency in blogging lately. Things have been very active for me the past three weeks and I couldn’t sacrifice my other responsibilities to put any blogs out.

Thankfully, I will be on vacation with my family starting tomorrow until May 16. If the feeling arises, I may pop out a blog or two while I’m in the sun, but don’t expect much.

God bless you!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment