Joy Filled Ministries

Just recently I came across a facebook blog written by Joshua Pinkson, which you can find at, http://joshuapinkston.com/articles/2016/9/7/sex-faith-and-the-church. Joshua has a wonderful writing style that draws you in. I believe that Joshua’s motive in writing this article is because he has compassion for the homosexual community. All human beings, including the homosexual individual, are created in the image of God, we must respect the homosexual because God loves all of humanity.

Many of the things that Joshua had to say are politically correct, but they contradict the written Word of the Lord. Within the article he said that he understood from Scripture something that Scripture does not speak and it is because of this I am doing this rebuttal. It seems that Joshua has ministered to the youth, and he may feel he is called to bring this message to the youth; the thought of this compels me to write this rebuttal. He said he was not being careless or thoughtless and have come to his conviction over a number of years. I want you to know I have a vested interest in this topic of homosexuality, since I have a daughter whom I love very much, that is living this lifestyle. I have studied the topic over the past thirteen years and have come to a much different conclusion. My conclusions are based on the understanding of the written Word and discernment that only God’s Holy Spirit can give.

I am not going to go through all the Scripture verses that tell us that homosexuality is a sin, nor am I going to argue over specific Scriptures because I know all the pat responses given by the homosexual community and those who condone homosexuality as acceptable in the eyes of God. So, I am just going to say a few things that are food for thought so we can reason together.

What was God’s intent in creating Eve for Adam? Did God create men to be with men and women to be with women (sexually)? Was that God’s intention? Does the Father or Jesus ever say they commend homosexuality? Here is also something to contemplate, God never positively affirms homosexuality but God does however bless heterosexuality and tells us that one of the purposes of men and women having sexual relations is to produce off spring (Gen.1:23). This is the chief reason for the way our physical sexual design fit together. When you look at the logic of this you can recognize that the homosexual relationship misses the mark of God’s intention in creating men and women, therefore knowing that the definition of sin is “missing the mark,” we can state that homosexuality is sin. 

Now I am going to put Joshua’s text in blue and I will respond in black.

Joshua writes: Over a year ago now, we experienced one of the more historical moments in our generation. The Supreme Court ruled that legal marriage should be an option for any two consenting adults, no matter their gender. (As if this is news to anyone). A lot of my friends were celebrating, both Christians and non-Christians. Quite a few of my Christian friends are lamented this culture shift, though. I even read one pastor say, “Saddened over the people who reject the gospel and love of God.” This pastor is a sweet man and I have a lot of affection for him, but I can’t understand what he means.

I write: I join your softhearted Pastor friend. You said you can’t understand what he means, I cannot speak for him but if he feels anything like I do, he is very saddened that people are disagreeing with God’s way. God says that those who love him keep His way. (John 14:15) This is not too lofty of a notion to understand. He is heart broken over the sin of humanity and so I am.

Joshua writes: The Gospel is not about sex. Jesus never once made the Gospel sound anything like that. It doesn’t exclude sex, but it by no means hinges on it. Neither is God’s love about sexual orientation. If the Gospel was about chromosomes, genitalia, and orientation in the way like we’re behaving, Jesus would have probably addressed it much more explicitly and deliberately. But the One whom we call “Lord” never specifically addressed homosexuality, a circumstance not uncommon in that time period. … I think this may have been the moment when I just lost all my conservative Christian friends. I really hope not though! I love you!

I write: Now this is faulty reasoning; Jesus does not address many very important topics, that does not mean He condones them. Also you are not looking at the fact that Jesus and the Father are one and Jesus is in agreement with all the Father addresses (John 10:30). The Father most certainly addresses the topic of homosexuality with disapproval.

Joshua writes: On May 13, 2014, I was reading the Gospel account of Mark and came across chapter 2, verses 23-27. Jesus is walking through the fields with the disciples on Sabbath (the Holy Day of Rest). The Scriptures are extremely detailed and clear about how and why this Holy Day of the week is to be observed. The Pharisees are watching Jesus and notice the disciples picking grains of wheat and eating them, which is unlawful on Sabbath. This is the conversation that follows: Some Pharisees asked Jesus, “Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath? They are not supposed to do that!” Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his followers were hungry and in need? It was during the time of Abiathar the high priest. David went into the house of God and ate the sacred loaves of bread that only priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his followers.” Jesus finished by saying, “People were not made for the good of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for the good of people.” And in chapter 12 of Matthew’s account of this same story, Jesus adds: Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

I write: Joshua this is something you have misunderstood. You did not put the full rounded context here only selected parts from Mark 2:23-27 and Matthew 12.

Let’s look a little further into Matthew 12:7-8 it says: 7If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.’

Jesus is saying to you, Joshua… “If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’ because Joshua do not understand what Jesus is saying in this portion of Scripture that you are using to validate the acceptability of same sex relationships. You have twisted the words of Jesus.

Also let us consider that further down in Matthew 12:12 Jesus says ‘therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.’ This means that the “Lord of the Sabbath” is explaining that it is not breaking the laws of the Sabbath to preserve the life of His disciples just like David circumstance was about preserving life. God is saying, I am being merciful (doing good) because I do not want my disciples to die (life to be sacrificed) due to starvation. How is someone “sexuality” about preserving life or “doing good on the Sabbath?” You have taken “condemned the innocent” out of context. This is a special statement only to be applied to what Jesus is addressing here. He is saying that the Pharisees are interpreting this without realizing that it is acceptable to do good regardless of the day of the week. Jesus is saying that it is misunderstood that this rule has an exception. Yes, you can eat in the field on the Sabbath to preserve your life. Yes, you can take the show bread to preserve your life. Jesus is saying, I deem you innocent because you are preserving life, because you are free to do good on the Sabbath, therefore you are not breaking the laws of the Sabbath. This has no application to the homosexual lifestyle.

When it comes to homosexual or heterosexual sin Jesus would say the same thing that he siad to the women caught in adultery.

John 8:11 "Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Or Maybe John 5:14 “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

Joshua Writes: All pastors and most Christians can attest that Scripture has pages and pages more to say about Sabbath and worship than it does homosexuality. In fact, if there’s anything Scripture is the greatest authority on, it would be worship and relationship with God. Yet, when the Pharisees point out that what Jesus’ disciples are doing is “unlawful,” His response is to point out two major contradictions in Scripture when people acted unlawfully, yet remained “innocent” in God’s eyes.

I write: This is faulty reasoning, just because scripture has more pages of explanation on a subject doesn’t mean its more important it means that it might be harder to understand and, therefore there needs to be a fuller explanation. The reason that we might not see Jesus speak on the topic of homosexuality is because it was completely understood to be against God’s way, so there was no need of further explanation, because God already explained this sin it thoroughly.

Joshua Writes: When I read this on May 13, 2014, it pierced my heart to realize that what the Pharisees did with Sabbath, we’ve done with sexuality. We’ve proclaimed like the Pharisees, “They’re not supposed to do that!” And, given the context of Mark 2 and Matthew 12, I don’t think it is inaccurate to believe that Jesus would also say, “People were not made for the good of sexuality. Sexuality was made for the good of people.” The Law and Scriptures are about relationship with God; their point and purpose is to direct us to relationship. But when we make relationship with God about Law and Scriptures, we’re getting it backwards and creating the same opposition to the heart of Christ as the Pharisees.

I write: Joshua you are taking great liberty with the Word of God by changing the verse in such a twisted way. “People were not made for the good of sexuality. Sexuality was made for the good of people.” So you are saying that all sexuality including homosexuality is made for the good of people. Let’s all ponder if Jesus would say such a thing. The Scriptures are the way of knowing who God is and what His will is. Our relationship with God hinges on love and truth, this is what the Scriptures are. You have no plumb line unless you base your truth on the Word, Jesus is the Word (John 1:1,14). We are not to be legalistic about the Word and read into things that are not true but we are not to be so gracious as to neglect the truth either. There is a lot that you are stating in this blog that is getting it backward. This is the signs of the times;

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;

Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;

Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20)

Joshua writes: We point at a few passages of Scripture, with hardly any consideration of context, and form a damning belief of others before learning to take the strongly loving, accepting, and serving posture of Christ. It should be made clear, beliefs about Scriptures are absolutely worthless and meaningless if they aren’t conditioning us more clearly and purely into the person of Christ.

I write: Joshua you are doing that in this blog, you have taken this isolated portion of Scripture and misapplied it to something that God never intended to apply it to.

Joshua writes: We have “condemned the innocent,” and it does nothing to advance Jesus’ mission, which is that we “may have life and life more abundantly.” We’ve obsessed over the Law of sexuality and disregarded its Purpose. We’ve demanded the sacrifice of people’s sexual orientation, rather than embodied the mercy and love which Jesus modeled and instructed for those who say they follow Him. God desires mercy, not sacrifice. This is the Gospel (literal translation, Good News).

I write: You have “condemned the innocent” means just that. The disciples and Jesus where not breaking the Sabbath law, but the homosexual is breaking God’s law, God’s intention for male and female. True Christians are not in the business of “damning others”, we have a mission to save others, but if you cannot accept the truth that homosexuality is a sin and preach to the homosexual the Gospel of grace, then you have condemned them because of your lack of truth; Because you have left them in their sinful state. The Gospel is not that God desires mercy, not sacrifice, it is “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Jesus also explains further this:

“Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’” (Luke 24:46-47)

Joshua writes: The Gospel is not about sex. It is about loving God with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths, and loving our neighbors (whomever that might be at any given moment) as ourselves. Jesus made it clear that everything in Scripture hangs on that, not anything else. When we make it about anything else, we are not living in our Christian faith, but in our cultural and contextual bias.

I write: Joshua we have a very different definition of “love”. It is loving to tell someone if they are headed in the wrong direction, instead of them wondering around lost. Joshua I believe that you are the one who is living your faith in your cultural bias, as what your doing by condoning homosexuality is very much politically correct and goes right along with our culture.

Joshua writes: I know the argument on the other side of this subject usually asks, Well, does anything matter then? Is there any such thing as morality? Is there even a line then? And I would say, there absolutely is, but it is far more internal than it is external. Jesus was very clear about sin (thoughtlessness, lifelessness) beginning in the heart. Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. These are what make you unclean.
– Jesus, Matthew 15.19/20. How do we love our spouses (gay or straight)? Are we demanding, domineering, deceitful, condescending, or unfaithful in our hearts? Are we oblivious to God’s presence in our relationships? If so, we are sinning. We’ve crossed the line and are missing the fullness of God’s Love being present to us, working in, and operating through us. There’s the line. And it applies to all of us. Gay or straight, we are just as guilty and in need of Jesus’ grace, love, and presence to lead us into “life and life more abundantly.”

I write: You are correct about this, sin is a condition of the heart and it is evidenced by how we behave in our lives. So what we do is just as important if not more important for it is the barometer of the heart. The way we behave tells us just what is going on inside of us. All of us sin, you and I included, we need to repent of behavior that is unacceptable to God. Repent means that we agree with God, that what we are doing is a sin, and that we turn from it and turn to God. If you are living in your sin and not repenting, if you are in disagreement with God you are turning away from God. If a homosexual is living in their sin and not turning to God then how are they forgiven? This is what is alarming to me about your reasoning and logic through out this blog. Jesus made it clear if you truly love the Lord you will repent.

Joshua writes: I’ll finish this lengthy article with this: As I scroll through social media, I know my gay and lesbian friends are seeing the same disparaging posts from Christians that I see. If any of you are reading this, I am sorry. It is not the reality of Christ being portrayed. Our faith is about the presence of Christ “in all and through all.” The purpose of our faith is to discover, celebrate, and participate with that presence without interruption, no matter the circumstance. To my gay Christian friends, I am inspired by your commitment to and love of Christ, as well as your deep experience of self. Thank you for persevering. A good number of Christians have come out to me over the last couple years and I consider myself incredibly blessed to be a part of your lives. I’d love to come to your wedding, and Shawna and I would be happy to bake your cake if the bakery won't! To my Christian friends who are frightened or upset by my beliefs and these times in our society, please just trust God, and love God and our neighbors more than our country, our politics, our government, and our understanding. Peace in trusting and loving God is always the most Christ-like response to any circumstance, whether we consider it favorable or not: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
– Hebrews 13.8

I write: I will close here with this doubly long article. Joshua please rethink what you are espousing. You are leading other astray. Go and talk with your softhearted Pastor friend, hopefully he will be able to reason with you as well. To those who are reading this that are homosexual, please know that I care about you. We all come to the cross of Christ the same way, confessing our sinfulness and asking for forgiveness and then receiving the grace of God. I desire for you to enter into the kingdom of God and I love you enough to speak the truth. Turn to God and live! You will find true fulfillment in nothing else in life, only in your true relationship with God.