The opening ceremony of the Paris Summer Olympic Games has produced a volume of outrage and condemnation from Christians and others around the world. Despite protests from organisers, it was obviously based on the image of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper”, with people impersonating pagan substitutes for Jesus and His disciples. The similaries were too obvious to miss.
Apparently, all the reminders have been removed from the mass media as a result of the protest. Is this an acknowledgement of guilt?
The gay agenda is a hot potato in today’s world. The whole movement with its many arms is being forced into every section of society including brainwashing the very young.
So, how are believers in Jesus supposed to react to this latest global thrust?
Do I detect in God’s Word a pattern that might have been set in motion or passed on in Paul’s day? Was his diagnosis of human wickedness in Romans 1 based on similar opening ceremonies of “Olympic Games” held in the coliseum in Rome?
The whole scenario in Paris is eerily similar to Paul’s expressed outrage against the gay agenda of his day. He sees the so-called “sexual revolution” as the epitome and culmination of a violent hatred of God. Those, who practise the “alternative lifestyle” believe and do everything opposite to what is right and good in defiance of God and try to push their rebellious actions on the rest of the world. If Christians protest and resist, they are wrong.
How must we respond?
Christians around the world respond in various ways. Some condemn and judge those who practice their “alternative” lifestyle with hatred and loathing. Others believe in “Loving the sinner but hating their sin.” Still others ignore the situation altogether and look the other way.
The question is, does God hate the gay agenda more than any other sin? Will He send gays to hell because they are gay, or lesbian, or queer, or transvestite, or cross dressers, or any of these variations?
The answer is an emphatic “No!” These forms of behaviour, as outrageous as they are to us, are all symptoms of one universal disease, as is every other symptom of unbelief.
People go to hell for only one reason.
John 3:18-21 NLT
[18] “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has ALREADY BEEN JUDGED FOR NOT BELIEVING in God’s one and only Son. [19] And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. [20] All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. [21] But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
Jesus put the matter in perspective once and for all. What we believe about HIM makes all the difference. Paul understood what Jesus said.
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 NLT
[7] And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, [8] in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who DON’T KNOW GOD and on those who REFUSE TO OBEY THE GOOD NEWS OF OUR LORD JESUS. [9] They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.
No matter what form sin takes, no matter how serious is seems to us or not, the outcome for all unbelievers is the same. God will not need to ask, on judgement day, why people did this or that. He won’t need to cross question anyone to determine guilt. In the end, all sin whether big or small, points to the only sin that matters – rejection of Jesus as the Son of God and Saviour of sinners.
Believers display their attitude by their reaction. It sees to me that the bigger the outrage, the greater the possibility of hypocrisy. If we forget that all have sinned, all are guilty before God, and only because of His grace and mercy are we are no longer caught up in the sins of others, we will take up the role of judge.
Jesus urged us to pray for our enemies. His attitude in His darkest hour, was compassion. “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”
Let’s not match the arrogance of the unbeliever with our own arrogant attitude. Let’s ask God for mercy for those who know but don’t care about the consequences of what they do.
Romans 1:32 NLT
[32]”They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.”
Let’s put ourselves in their place and shudder at the thought of eternal hell. Jesus showed His compassion by warning His enemies of the consequences of their unbelief. Outrage is not the answer. Compassion is!