 Well, one of the real blessings about traveling around the world into different churches is to make new friends in Christ, but also it's a blessing to be reacquainted with old friends, and as Pastor Mark said, this is my third time to Cornerstone, and I've often said there's very few churches that are as zealous for evangelism as Cornerstone is, so it's really a privilege and an honor for me to be with you this weekend, to stand in this pulpit where the Word of God has gone forth with great power and his faithfulness for so many years now. The homosexual movement presents an alarming test for the church today. In one sense, we're at a fork in the road. We can either hold fast to the unchanging truth of Scripture and its condemnation of all sin, or we can cave in to the society and the cultural pressure and ultimately compromise God's Word. That's really where we are today. We're at this fork in the road, and so we really need to take this message to heart, this whole weekend. What are we going to do? And I know that this church has already made a commitment to stand on the truth of God's Word, but tragically there are a number of churches who have made the fatal decision to turn away from God's Word to accommodate the world. And so we're going to look at some of those churches tomorrow, but this evening we want to open up the Scriptures to 1 Corinthians chapter 6 where Paul has written the words and such were some of you. The encroachment of the homosexual movement into our churches has been dramatic in recent years. Part of the blame goes to pastors who are now embracing the LBGT movement instead of resisting it. Many churches have decided to admit homosexuals because they're wonderful people and they just have a different opinion on a few things. Well not only has the aggressive movement spread to our churches, our government, and our businesses, but now homosexuality is being taught in our public school system. I have heard reports now that in elementary schools teachers are instructing the children, you don't have to choose your gender this early in life, you can wait until later on. Gay people are uniting around a certain sin and demanding their rights. How absurd would it be if murders and thieves came together and started demanding their equal rights? We're not going to just focus on the one sin of homosexuality tonight, we're recognizing there but by the grace of God go we. We were once sinners deserving of hell, but because of God's amazing and sovereign grace, we are now new creatures in Christ. But the movement, this homosexual movement is not only restricted to churches, there's a Jewish organization in America called Nehrem and it's interpreting the Old Testament in new ways. We will see that it is what all Sodomites must do in order to rationalize their sin. They have to reinterpret the Word of God in different ways in order to rationalize what they're doing. They say homosexuality is only permitted in pagan rituals, that's what they believe the Old Testament teaches. There are now annual Gay Pride parades in Tel Aviv which may explain why end time Jerusalem is mysteriously called Sodom in Revelation 11.8. Were you aware of that? And so this movement is not only restricted to our churches in a spiritual sense but also to the Jewish community. So why do we as a church this weekend need to address this very controversial issue? Well quite simply if the church doesn't take the lead then our nation is going down the tube. Because who else is going to push for morality against the immorality in this movement? It must be the church. We must take a stand if we have any hope for our nation preserving and protecting the Christian values upon which we were founded. So if you have your Bibles and you've turned to 1 Corinthians chapter 6 we read the words of the Apostle Paul. He says, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Paul's words and such were some of you is proof that God can change a person's orientation in sexual preferences. He has the power to deliver people from the bondage of sin. And this goes against many homosexuals who say, I was born this way and I can never change. Yes, if you come to Christ you can be changed by the power of God. This is proof in this text. This is what some of you were, homosexuals. But now you have been washed, now you have been sanctified, now you have been justified. And isn't sanctification what true Christianity is all about? The transformation of our lives? Habitual sin is no longer the dominant pattern. It is broken by acts of righteous living that are empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit. If you look at these sins that Paul has listed in these verses, he lists ten sins and four of them deal with sexual immorality. Paul is saying that if it were not for the grace of God, you and I would still be in our sins enslaved to the desires of our heart. That was the desires of our flesh before we came to Christ. But he's also making a vivid distinction here. There's two groups of people. There are those who are unsaved and those who are saved. When we look at the description of those who are unsaved they are in bondage to sin. And so we see a different characteristic between born again Christians who are no longer enslaved to sin and unregenerate people who are still enslaved to the devil and sin. So it is clear that any professing Christian who continues an unrepentant sin is nothing but a false convert. And if you still have your Bibles open in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, I want you to read more of the context in verses 18, 19, and 20. Paul is saying, flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body. But the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. Paul I think is aware that there may be false converts in the church. People that are still enslaved to sin. And so he gives the exhortation to flee immorality. And so what I want to do this evening is to look at the idea of gay Christians being false converts. And we're going to look at how this movement has really grown in recent years. There are many quote-unquote gay Christians in the metropolitan community church and they are all still living in habitual sin. Are you familiar with this denomination? It calls itself a Christian denomination and it now has 222 congregations in 37 different countries. It is said to be an outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families. It bases its theology on the historic creeds of the Christian church and its social justice mission is for the rights of the LGBT including gay marriages. I did a little research, its founder performed the first public same sex marriage in the United States in California in 1969. Then in 1970 he filed the first lawsuit in the United States seeking legal recognition for same sex marriages. The Metropolitan Community Church congregations around the world perform more than 6,000 same sex marriages. One of its best known pastors has been Mel White. Some of you may be aware of him, he's best known for his ghost writing autobiographies of Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. So after years of writing for the Christian right he came out as gay in 1994 and he wrote his autobiography Stranger at the Gate to be Gay and Christian in America. So this movement as you can see has been growing over the last 20 years according to Romans chapter 1 homosexuals like many other unregenerate people rationalize their sin because of depraved minds. And we're going to look in a moment how they rationalize their sin, how they twist and distort scripture so that they continue in this lifestyle. Paul was crystal clear about homosexual behavior. He included it not only in 1 Corinthians 6 verses 9 to 10 but also in 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 10. The Levitical Law refers to all homosexual behavior in no uncertain terms as an abomination to God. We see that in Leviticus 18 verses 22 and Leviticus 20 verse 13. In other words, homosexual behavior whether it is in the confines of marriage or not is sinful and it cannot be rationalized in any other way. So we must warn sinners. Not one sin will go unpunished. All legal debts to God's divine justice will be paid either by the Lord Jesus Christ as their substitute or by those who reject him. We must warn people Christ is their only hope. He not only saves people from the punishment of sin but also from the power of sin. So a gay Christian is self-deceived. I'm sure all of you would acknowledge that. And people deceive themselves when they hear the word of God and don't do what it says. That's what we read in James chapter 1. Lives with unbroken patterns of sin belong to false converts. True converts turn from sin to God and demonstrate victory over sin through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is what we need to tell homosexuals who consider themselves Christian. Jesus saves us from our sin, not in our sin. So often people just want fire insurance. I'll believe in Jesus if he'll save me from hell but I want to continue in my habitual lifestyle of homosexual behavior. The term gay Christian is becoming more and more accepted in churches and Christian communities. All of those people need to know that gay Christians who practice homosexuality, they are just as much a sinner as a habitual adulterer who calls himself a Christian. They are both sinners. They both need to repent and trust the Lord Jesus Christ so they can escape the snare of the devil who holds them captive in this lifestyle of sin. This is not to say that you and I as Christians never struggle with sin. We often struggle with impure thoughts, with immoral thoughts. We struggle with idolatry. This is the life of a Christian because we have the Spirit of God that is still battling the flesh. I think Paul was a great example in Romans chapter 7. He said the things I want to do I don't do and the things I don't want to do I do. There's this constant struggle against our sin nature. That's why one of the great anticipations I have of being in heaven is not only to be in the presence of my Savior but also no longer struggling with sin. Only set free will be in heaven where righteousness dwells. So when we look at the term gay Christian, this is just an oxymoron. We are not the sum of our lust or the sum of our disobedience to God's law. We are a new creation in Christ and therefore we have a new identity as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17. We do not have dual identities. If you remember the passage we opened the message with in 1 Corinthians 6 and such were some of you, but now you have been sanctified, you've been washed, you've been justified, you're a new creation in Christ. The old man has been put to death and so for a Christian to identify himself by a particular sin as gay Christians do is just an oxymoron. Christ has delivered Christians from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His Son in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. We read that in Colossians chapter 1 verses 13 to 14. So Matthew Vines has written a book called God and the Gay Christian. What the Bible says and doesn't say about homosexuality, Vines is an advocate for the acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people within Christian communities. He is training Christians to eradicate homophobia from the church. The question we should be asking is, should Christians be labeled for a sinful lifestyle? I did some research on Matthew Vines. He attended Harvard from 2008 to 2010 and then took a leave of absence in order to research homosexuality in the Bible and he also did research so that he could work towards inclusion of the LGBT people in the church. In March 2012 he delivered a message at his church about the Bible and homosexuality calling for the acceptance of gay Christians and same sex marriages. Since then the video of that speech has been seen more than 500,000 times on YouTube. It was featured in the New York Times and also in the Christian Post. Can you begin to see how much momentum is behind this movement? A half a million times this message has been seen on YouTube. And don't you marvel that the best estimates for the homosexual population is only 3 or 4 percent, but you would have a sense that it's much greater than that, maybe 40 percent or so because of this great momentum, this encroachment into churches and businesses and schools and government. Well Vine rationalized the scripture as he twists and distorts them. He says the sin of Sodom is not related to loving consensual same sex relationships but to the threat of gang rape. That's how he interprets the passage in Genesis 19. And then he also rationalizes and says that Paul does not condemn monogamous gay sex, rather it's lustful excess. The passage referred to is Romans 1 verses 26 to 27. And then Vine rationalizes, Paul does not condemn same sex relationships, rather the exploitation of others in passages such as the one we just read and also 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 10. Vines also has a bizarre interpretation for Leviticus 18 and 20, which says when a man lies with a man, it is an abomination to God. And now how can you twist and interpret that any other way than what it says? A man lying with a man is an abomination to God, period. But Vine says, God is not condemning committed same sex relationships but the improper ordering of gender roles in a Jewish society. Vines is interpreting the Bible through the lens of his sexuality rather than interpreting his sexuality through the lens of scripture. And this is what anyone who calls himself a gay Christian does. He looks at the Bible through his experience as a homosexual person and he wants to rationalize his behavior and so it's no wonder why Vines is so popular. Homosexuals who call themselves Christians are looking to a man such as Vines to twist and distort the scriptures so that they can live at peace. But this is a tragic, fatal flaw to a very ungodly position. Of over 30,000 verses in the Bible, not one makes a positive statement about homosexuality. Furthermore, every scripture that defines marriage always defines it between a man and a woman. And so these quote unquote gay Christians really have a difficult time coming up with something positive that the Bible says about their lifestyle. People like Vines are desperate to want scripture to say the opposite of what it does. Vines is simply trying to justify his sinful desires. But the only solution to his problem is repentance. But you know what, gay Christians are seeking another solution that allows them to continue in their sin. They don't want to turn from their sin. They're enjoying their sin. They want to do both. They want to profess Christ and remain in their sin. So Vines' solution meets both criteria for the gay population that calls themselves Christians. But what he does when he misinterprets scripture, he violates the integrity of God's holy word. So Vines has gathered a large following of sodomites who claim to be Christian, but they need to know that the term gay Christian is just as much an oxymoron is a sexually immoral Christian. True Christians are those who hate the sin that nailed Christ to the cross. Born again Christians reckon themselves dead to sin and alive in Christ. They have been washed. They have been sanctified. They have been justified all for the glory of God delivering them out of the bondage of sin. So-called gay Christians are false converts who need to be lovingly confronted as such. They are victims of deception who need to be warned by those like you and I who have been entrusted with the truth of God's word. So we've seen people like Vines have questionable hermeneutics. There is a warning that Peter gives in his 2nd epistle chapter 3 verses 16 to 18. The ignorant and unstable will twist scripture to their own destruction. Take care that you are not carried away by the error of lawless people. That's the warning that every quote unquote gay Christian must heed. We must rightly divide the word of truth using proper hermeneutics to interpret scripture historically, grammatically, contextually, and also literally wherever it calls for a little interpretation. Paul continues in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 16 that we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, not in the error of lawless men. Can you see how gay Christians are victims of deception? They're following the teachings in the books of lawless men. Quote unquote Christian homosexuality is running rampant now and I want to share some examples with you. There is a gay Christian network. It's a place where Christ centered support for LBGT and a focus on Christ and all things takes place. So gay Christians can go to this network and again they can feel comfortable that they can both be homosexual and Christian. I'm sure you've heard of Lifeway Christian Bookstores. They're selling a title by Justin Lee who is the director and founder of the Gay Christian Network. They've recently come under some other scrutiny for selling different books that have proven to be false. But then we also have Wheaton College. They hired a girl by the name of Julie Rogers who calls herself a gay celibate Christian. Her job is to counsel students with same sex attraction and she says same sex orientation is not sinful. She says it can be an expression of diversity, a unique way of experiencing art and beauty in community. Rogers said and I quote, God has used my gayness for his glory rather than making me straight. She has employed at Wheaton College once a bastion for conservative Christian education. This is how the movement has encroached throughout all of Christianity. Those dealing with same sex attraction may struggle with that temptation for most or all of their lives but it's like pride or anger or heterosexual lust. It is a sinful desire, not an orientation. No one is obligated to follow an orientation. We all have sinful desires but just because we do doesn't mean we're oriented toward a particular lifestyle. Scripture tells us clearly about sinful desire. Let no one say when he is tempted I am tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived it gives birth to sin and sin which is when it's full grown brings forth death. That's out of James chapter 1 verses 13 to 15. So the Bible gives a solution for the repentant believer dealing with these unholy desires. I'm sure you're familiar with them, flee from them, run from them, reject them and then we are told to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We have a sinful desire that comes into our mind, take it captive to the obedience of Christ. We're all going to struggle with sin in this life but it doesn't mean we have an excuse to sin. Well, I think the most terrifying words that are recorded in the Bible are found in Matthew chapter 7. These are the words that professing Christians will hear. People that call Jesus Lord. They will stand before the Lord Jesus and he will declare, I never knew you depart from me. Jesus said that many who call him Lord will hear that on the last day. Many, not a few, many professing Christians will one day stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and will hear the most terrifying words anyone could ever hear. When Jesus says depart from me I never knew you. This is why we need to leave here with a great compassion for gay Christians. They are victims of deception. They call Jesus Lord, but why do they hear those words? Jesus explains it, they never departed from iniquity. True Christians will turn from their sin and turn to Christ. Jesus referred to those who will hear those words as workers of lawlessness, even though they called Jesus Lord. They continued in their habitual sin with no repentance. They are false converts who profess Christ, but have never been born again. And so when we look at the sin of homosexuality, the Bible describes it with a lot of words that we need to be aware of. It is a most degrading and decent and repulsive behavior that dishonors the body. It is ungodly. It is unnatural conduct. It is unique to human beings. It is such depravity that animals don't even behave this way. It is condemned by God. It was punishable by death in the Old Testament, and it's a divine judgment in the New Testament. It is a twisted perversion of God-ordained roles. And yet so many churches and so many Christians today are very tolerant of this sin if only they knew how the Word of God describes it. One man, one woman, leaving and cleaving, that was God's original design. It has never changed. And since marriage is the model from Genesis 2, any deviation from that model is a violation of God's moral law. It is not just unique to Moses' law. The sin of homosexuality transcends the law. Any attempt to justify the sin is to justify what God hates and to deny the truth that is revealed in his Word. Yet one denomination says homosexuality is no more abnormal than left-handedness. That's how much they don't read the Word of God. How utterly perverse it is for so-called Christian denominations to affirm homosexuality, to ordain homosexuals and lesbians, and to marry men with men and women to women. Episcopalians have led the encroachment of this movement. They have a national bishop who is proud to be a sodomite. By the way, the hijacking of the Word gay and the rainbow is part of the LBGT's agenda to overturn the true designation for this sinful lifestyle. It's a clever marketing strategy, and it appears to be working very well not only outside the church, but also inside the church. I don't know if any of you are survivor fans. If you are, you probably watched the most recent episode of Survivor. They had a openly gay Christian couple that participated in the reality show. When interviewed after the season, one of them said that 98% of the feedback has been positive and people are saying that they are like the two people on the show, gay and Christian. The master of ceremonies interviewed a woman in the audience after the show was over and she said, and I quote, they showcased Christianity very well. In other words, they were an example of what true Christianity is, the way they openly kissed on the show, man to man. This is what the world is looking at as Christianity today. Tragically, this is the mindset of many Christians, many who profess Christ. Well, we know that God will judge all sin and he judges sin either at the cross of Christ or at the great white throne. It is appointed for man to die once and after this comes judgment. We read that in Hebrews 9.27. Jesus said, he who rejects me and does not receive my sayings has one who judges him. The word I spoke is what will judge him on the last day. I was sharing with someone before the conference this evening, he would have been witnessing to a Roman Catholic priest today who was dismissing the Scriptures, dismissing the word as the brother was witnessing to him. And I said, whenever that happens to me when I'm witnessing to a priest, I will say to him, the very word that you are rejecting right now is the word that will judge you on the last day. We need to let people know that when you reject God's word, that is the word that will judge you on the last day. We must encourage false converts to take the word of God seriously. There is nothing more important in this life than seeking the truth about eternity. We can be wrong about a lot of things in this life and still survive, but if we are wrong about eternity, we will pay for that mistake forever and forever. There is no escape from the fires of hell. When our hearts beat for the last time, we will immediately find ourselves in one of two places, either in the kingdom of heaven sitting at the feet of our glorious Savior or in the fires of hell being punished for the sin, satisfying divine justice because the person rejected their only hope for salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. And tragically, as you know, the vast majority of the human race is rushing towards eternity without ever trusting the greatest man who ever lived, who offers the greatest gift anyone could ever receive. And that is the gift of eternal life. When we look at the difference between a false convert and a true convert's response to sin, a true convert has godly sorrow. There is remorse and grief over our sin that nailed Christ to the cross and the shame it brought to his holy name. This is one of the areas that really grieves me with the term gay Christian. What does it do? It brings shame to the name of Christ. So we need to be aware of that. A true convert's response to sin is confession. He agrees with God that he has sinned against God and has broken his law. We see that in 1 John 1.9. A true convert's response to sin is that of repentance. The earnest desire to turn away from sin and to pursue righteousness in the Spirit's power. So a true convert will have godly sorrow for their sin. They will confess it to the Lord and they will have repentance. And there's a one-time repentance unto salvation. But as you know, there is a daily repentance as well. And that is a true convert. A professing Christian who denies that homosexuality is a sin or is convinced that his sinful lifestyle is not really sinful, is probably a false convert. Spiritual conviction is an essential part of true conversion. Until the sinner is convinced of sin, he can never be converted from sin. Until sin is thoroughly revealed, Christ cannot be rightfully claimed. As long as sin is unseen, Christ will be untaught. No one seeks a physician until they are sick. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you and I have been entrusted with the truth. Gay Christians are victims of deception. They are false converts. They have rationalized their sin away. Therefore, they're not convicted of their sin. And therefore, they're not convinced that they need a Savior. We who have been entrusted with the truth must warn them. Well, we want to look at gay Christians as false converts and victims of deception. And I hope all of you realize that Satan's most cruel deception would be to convince sinners that they are saved when they are not. And it's not only gay Christians that are false converts. I'm sure you know that there are many false converts in many quote unquote, seeker friendly churches. They're all victims of deception. Satan's tears are sewn along with the wheat because churches allow it to happen. Jesus described tears as sons of the wicked one and the one who sowed them is the devil. If you have your Bibles, turn to Matthew 13 and we'll see the Lord Jesus describing these false converts, these tears. Matthew 13, verse 24. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in the field. But while his men were sleeping, i.e. while the pastor was asleep, his enemy came in and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. In verse 28, so the servant said to him, then do you want us to go and gather them? But he said, no, lest in gathering the weeds, you root up the wheat and along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. And at harvest time, I will tell the reapers, gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat until my barn. In verse 36, his disciples asked him to explain the parable. He said the one who sows the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the clothes of the age and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the clothes of the age. The son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So then the planting of tears have eternal consequences for the false converts, the victims of deception. But we also need to be aware of the present day consequences as well. What are the consequences for allowing tears in our church? When there is no call to repentance or discipleship, God is not glorified, Christ is not exalted, the church is not sanctified, the gospel is not effective and sinners are not saved. We must not allow tears to become members of our church. Some of the consequences for allowing them in would be they cause division and then they end up thwarting God's purpose for his church. God has called people out of the world to be sanctified by his truth set apart from the world. And so when we allow the tears and the false converts to be members in our churches, all they do is bring shame to the name of Christ and end up being very divisive. Well, gay Christians are victims of bad theology. Some may be victims of unbiblical methods of evangelism and I'm sure you're aware of those, the most common unbiblical method of evangelism is calling people to repeat a prayer for salvation. We know in the Bible that that just does not take place. In fact, the only sinners prayer we see in the scriptures is the public and crying out to the Lord, have mercy on me as sinner. He was convicted of his sin by the Holy Spirit but no one had to lead him in that prayer. He cried out to the Lord on his own. Other bad theology, some deceive themselves when they hear the word but they don't do what it says, self-deception, some are deceived by distorted gospels or false Christ. There are different ways that the gospel is being distorted but many false converts are simply blinded from the truth and we know this is supernatural deception, don't we? Supernatural blindness, we read in 2 Corinthians 4-4, the prince of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. And so the spiritual blindness remains until when? Until the person turns to Christ. We see that in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18, the veil of blindness that covers every man's heart remains until they turn to Christ. So as long as a gay Christian is turning to Matthew Vines and reading his book and listening to him on YouTube, he is gonna remain deceived. He's gonna remain blinded. But when he turns to Christ as his only hope, there's a promise that that veil of blindness is removed. Self-righteous pride, a false perception that you are good enough to appease God. We see that given in Luke 18, verse 11, the story of the self-righteous Pharisee and the lowly publican, the self-righteous Pharisee said, thank you, God, that I'm not like this lowly sinner. But yet who is the one that went home justified that day? The lowly publican, self-righteous pride blinds people from the truth. And also religious loyalty, trusting religious leaders instead of God's word, trusting homosexual leaders that call themselves bishops rather than trusting God's word. These are the marks of false converts in how easily they are blinded from the truth of the gospel. We need to warn false converts what saving faith is not. It is not mere intellectual ascent to facts or creeds about Jesus. There are many people who have head knowledge about who Christ is. They can even quote scripture, but the word of God has never reached their heart. They simply have intellectual ascent. Saving faith is not trusting a religion or a church. Some people like Roman Catholics put their trust in their religion to help them get to heaven. And so often as I have studied this deception that has pervaded the gay Christian community, it's so similar to the deception that is prevailed in the Roman Catholic religion. Blinded from the truth of God's word because they're putting their trust in a religion rather than in a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Saving faith is not believing in a God of one's own imagination. How many times have you heard my God would never send anyone to hell? Well, the real question that needs to be asked is not how can a loving God send anyone to hell, but how can a holy God allow sinners into heaven? And that's only through the blood of Jesus Christ. Well, there are some things that don't guarantee you are saved, getting baptized, doing religious rituals, or going to church. We've already seen that in Matthew 7, 22. All these people who called Jesus Lord, they were boasting in their religious activity, but they never departed from iniquity. Living a good life is not a guarantee that you're saved because why? God's righteousness demands perfection. And the only righteousness that will qualify you for heaven is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And that's given as a gift to those who will trust him. We've already seen that professing Jesus as Lord does not guarantee you're going to heaven. Honoring God with your lips when your heart is far from him will not guarantee that you are saved. And so we need to warn people. The default religion in America today is Christianity. 86% of Americans profess to be Christian. But are they really? Are they showing fruit of repentance? Well, there's what's called a gushy gospel out there. It emphasizes God's love and mercy while ignoring his holiness and justice. One of the proponents of this gushy gospel would be the pastor of the largest church in America now, Joel Osteen, down in Houston, Texas. Have you ever heard him talk about God's holiness or man's sinfulness? He tickles man's ears. He builds up their egos and their self-esteem. It's a gushy gospel, all right. A gushy gospel exalts man and his importance while diminishing God and his significance. It avoids the hard teachings of Jesus. The light of the gospel is being replaced by the gospel light. We see that everywhere, don't we? As we travel not only throughout America, but around the world, this gospel of sentimentality is really taking over the church. So we ask the question then, why are compromised gospels so popular today? Well, there's a couple of reasons. Preachers take the offense out of the gospel to make it more appealing and more acceptable to a larger segment of society. We've got what's called an inclusive gospel now. Pastors are denying that the road is that narrow. They're trying to widen it by making it more inclusive. They're seeking the approval of men to increase their popularity, their influence, and their wealth. Seminaries are now producing CEOs of churches rather than shepherds to shepherd God's flock. It's really sad to see, and I'm sure it's discouraging for all of you to watch this, but let me encourage you. Jesus said all of these things must take place before he comes for his church. And so while it is discouraging to see this great apostasy and the compromise of the gospel, be encouraged, keep looking up for our redemption as nigh. So what are the effects of a perverted gospel? I mentioned 86, 87% of Americans profess Christianity, yet we lead the world in violent crime and social decay. 57% of these Americans believe good people go to heaven. 53% of them did not even know what John 3.16 means. That's amazing, isn't it? And 12% believe Noah's wife was Jonah Vark. I'm not making this up. Well, we're seeing the New Cross. A. W. Tozer did a contrast between the old cross and the new cross. The cross of popular evangelism is producing false converts today. He said the old cross loom in, the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned, the new cross amuses as our churches now are filled with entertainment. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh and the new cross encourages it. Well, there are two ways the gospel is being distorted today. One of the ways is adding requirements to it, adding more requirements in order to be saved. And some of you have come out of the Roman Catholic religion and you know in order to be saved in that religion you must be baptized and do good works and receive the sacraments and spend time in purgatory to purge away your sins and gain indulgences to remit punishment. And you also have to keep the law as a Catholic in order to be saved. This kind of gospel is under the condemnation of Galatians chapter one for anyone adding to the pure grace of Jesus Christ. These additions nullify God's saving grace and they leave false converts dead in their sin. Paul couldn't have said it any clearer in Romans 11.6. If it is by grace, it is not of works. Otherwise, grace is not grace. So every religion in the world teaches that works righteousness salvation. Only biblical Christianity says you're saved by grace because of the all sufficiency of Christ Jesus as your savior. But another way the gospel is being distorted today is by removing essentials. And there's an easy way to remember the three essentials that are most often removed from the gospel today. And that is they all begin with an R. How many times do you hear people call for repentance when they give the gospel? But God commands all people everywhere to repent. That includes everybody in this world. No one is accepted from this. And yet very few evangelists will call sinners to repentance. Another R that is left out is the resurrection of Christ. Paul wrote, if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still and your sins. And I oftentimes pick up different gospel tracks just to see the distorted message that is found in many of them. And I'm amazed how often the resurrection of Christ is not mentioned in a gospel track. And yet there is a sinner's prayer. If you believe Jesus died for you, then you're on your way to heaven. What about the resurrection? That's the miracle that took place on Calvary's cross. And the other R is the righteousness of God. How often do we hear the righteousness of God proclaimed in a gospel presentation? I tell people that the death of Christ in his resurrection merely got you out of hell. It doesn't get you to heaven. The only way to get to heaven is to be perfectly righteous. Are you perfectly righteous? No. But God understands this. And so he says, if you will trust in the only righteous one, then I will give you the righteousness of Christ as a gift. That's your passport into heaven. So we need to preach these three Rs as we call sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, gay Christians have a limited knowledge of the gospel. Have you talked to some of them? They don't know why Jesus had to die. We talked about this last night. This is one of my favorite questions now to ask professing Christians. Remember, four out of five people you meet today are gonna say they're Christian. Ask them, why did Jesus have to die? The most common response is because he loved us. Well, that was the motivation for his dying, but why did he have to die to forgive us? Well, why did he have to die to forgive us? Why couldn't he just forgive us? He's God. The answer is that divine justice had to be satisfied. God is a holy and righteous judge, and he cannot let sin go unpunished. He must punish the sinner. And so all of our sins were placed on Christ, Christ-satisfied divine justice so that we can no longer fear condemnation. We have been justified, what a great promise. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Why? Because divine justice has been satisfied. That's why Jesus died. Gay Christians don't know God's only way of forgiveness. In fact, many professing Christians don't know that. I'll ask people, have you been forgiven by God? I hope so. Do you know the only condition by which God will forgive you? No. The last command Jesus gave, repentance shall be preached in my name for the forgiveness of sins. Have you repented? That's the only way you'll be forgiven. Gay Christians don't know the righteousness of God requires perfect righteousness to enter into heaven. They believe they're good enough, just like many other false converts. What are some of the marks of false Christians? They have a zeal for God without knowledge. When I was sitting in a seminary classroom and I read Romans 10, I recognized Paul was praying for the salvation of the Israelites because they had a zeal for God but it wasn't based on knowledge. And so they were seeking to obtain their own righteousness rather than receive the righteousness that comes from God. And I believe that's when the Lord gave me the inspiration, if you will, to begin reaching out to Roman Catholics because I know so many Roman Catholics that have a zeal for God, but like the Israelites, they had no knowledge of God's righteousness. They didn't read the Bible. Another mark of false Christians, they have a knowledge of God without obedience. In Titus chapter one, verse 16, Paul said some profess to know God but by their habitual disobedience, they deny him. Does that sound like gay Christians? Another mark of false Christians, they have a love of God without a love for other Christians. First John chapter four. They have religious activity without departing from lawlessness. They have a self-righteousness without repentance. These are all marks of false Christians. When we look at gay and counterfeit Christians, they have a desire to be saved. That's why they're calling themselves gay Christians. They have a desire to be saved from the punishment of sin but not from sin itself. They wanna continue in their habitual lifestyle of sin. They desire blessings from Christ but not a relationship with him. They desire Jesus as a priest who pardon their sin but not as a prophet to instruct them or a king to rule over them. They desire Jesus but only the way he is defined by their religious traditions or by Matthew Vines or by the gay Christian network. That's where they go for knowledge. For gay Christians are like lost sheep. They have no interest in the good shepherd because they love themselves and their sinful pleasure more than they love God. If they really love God, they would pursue him through his word. They would pursue him through the only mediator which is the Lord Jesus Christ. They have a form of godliness but have never been converted through the power of the gospel. So how can we lovingly confront gay Christians? Well, Paul gives us the answer. He exhorts all of us to do this in 2 Corinthians 13.5. Examine yourselves to see whether you were in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you unless of course you failed the test? What is the test Paul's talking about? Peter gave a parallel exhortation. Be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. 2 Peter chapter one, verse 10. So how could we examine ourselves? I believe there's an objective test. Have you responded to the true gospel with repentance and faith? The gospel reveals salvation is by grace apart from merit, through faith, apart from works. In Jesus Christ alone, in his imputed righteousness, his virgin birth, his atoning death, and his glorious resurrection. This is the objective test. This is what we can ask any false convert. Have you done this? Have you heard and responded to the true gospel? Have you repented and trusted Christ alone? Well, what is repentance? A lot of people don't know. We have to tell them. Repentance is the work of God in a sinner's heart which produces a change of mind. That's what the word metanoia means for repentance, a change of mind. This produces a turning from sin and self to God for salvation. We read that in 1 Thessalonians chapter one, verse nine. There is a sorrow for sin that is according to the will of God that produces a repentance without regret leading to salvation. First, a person must be convinced that they are sinners, that they are living in a habitual lifestyle of sin, and then they have to recognize that sin has offended an infinitely holy God, and this produces a godly sorrow which leads to repentance. We see the fruit of repentance in several different ways. When a person resists the devil, that's a fruit of repentance as we see in James 4-7. The fruit of repentance is to recognize divine discipline. How do you know that you're really a child of God? You will experience discipline from a loving father when you continue in sin. If you're not being disciplined, that means that you're an illegitimate child. You've never been born again. You've never been adopted into God's family. So the fruit of repentance recognizes divine discipline. It also rejects religious rituals as a way of salvation. It will renounce religious heritage, as we see in Luke 3-8, when the Jews thought they could be saved because Abraham was their father. The fruit of repentance reveals a spiritual transformation, as we see in Galatians 5-22. You will begin to produce the fruit of the spirit because you are a new creature in Christ. It also relies on the spirit's conviction and power to continually keep turning from sin, as we see in Romans 8-13. The fruit of repentance also is a resolve to abstain from wickedness. That's what we read in 2 Timothy 2, verse 19. Those who belong to Christ Jesus are crucifying the evil deeds of the flesh by the spirit's power. True conversion includes the mind, the heart, and the will. With the mind, we are sanctified and transform with truth from God's word. We see that in Romans chapter 12, verses one and two. And with the heart, we have new desires to please God. New creatures in Christ have the heart of stone replaced with a heart of flesh. And that heart now desires to please God. It has a desire to turn from sin that nailed Christ to the cross. With the will, we become obedient from the heart to the teaching that we have been committed to. That's what Paul wrote in Romans 6, verse 18. So can you see how true conversion involves the mind, the heart, and the will? Not just the mind, many people have had knowledge, but the heart and the will have not been converted. God's word offers several contrasts to examine ourselves. There are two kinds of converts as we have seen, two kinds of faith, two paths to eternity, two kinds of fruit, and two motivations. When we look at two kinds of faith, false converts possess a dead and spurious faith which produces no evidence of a changed life. We see that in James chapter two. James is contrasting true living faith with a false, spurious faith that produces no evidence of a changed life. Tragically, there are professors of Christ, but not possessors of Christ. Now, in contrast, a true Christian possesses a God-given faith which is living and enduring and produces evidence of a new heart in a changed life. Two kinds of faith. Everybody that professes Christ has faith, but what kind of faith do they have? Is it living and enduring that produces a changed life, or is it like this tree that produces no fruit? Well, there's an example of non-saving faith in the Bible, Simon the Sorcerer, but with limited time, we'll look at two paths to eternity. False converts are on the broad road. They are trusting their religious activity while rationalizing their sin and see no need to repent. There are also Christians on the narrow road, and that can only be entered with faith and repentance and by grace apart from works. The Lord Jesus talked about these two paths. Why does the road that leads to destruction and many are on it? Narrow is the road that leads to life and very few find it. Why is it that very few find it? I believe from a human perspective, outside of God's sovereign will, it's because you and I who are traveling the narrow road are not being as faithful as we can be to reach out to those on the broad road and point them to Christ, who is the narrow gate by which they must enter. The narrow road is difficult. Jesus said, strive to enter through the narrow door for many, I tell you, will seek to enter when we'll not be able to. What did Jesus mean? You must strive. Aren't we saved by grace? Well, the context is that there are false teachers. Satan has got a fierce opposition to the gospel, so he has these legions of false teachers that are keeping gullible souls on the broad gate, which he cleverly marked heaven but ends up leading people to hell. False teachers standing in front of the narrow gate saying it's not here, it's the broad way. Keep traveling that way and you will get to heaven. So the striving comes from diligently searching the scripture to test every man's teaching to find out, is this man telling me the truth or is he a false teacher? There's two kinds of fruit. True Christians bear fruit to the glory of God, the fruit of the spirit and the fruit of repentance. Others are known by their bad fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. There's also two motivations for coming to Christ. Some come to Jesus for material blessings, health, wealth, and your best life now. Can you believe that Joel Osteen actually believes you can have your best life now? In a lot of ways, he's really preaching the truth because if you're a false convert, this is the best life you will ever experience because what awaits you in the next life is eternal fires of hell. But if you're a true Christian, this is our worst life. We look forward to the glory of heaven. So a false motivation would be to come to Jesus for health, wealth, and your best life now. Jesus even said in John 6, you seek me because you ate of the loaves and were filled. These people were coming after Jesus because they wanted another free lunch. They weren't coming for spiritual blessings, for physical food. Well, true Christians come to the Lord Jesus for spiritual blessings. What are they? Eternal life, forgiveness of sin, deliverance from sin, and reconciliation with God. Are those the reasons you came to Christ? Did you come because he's the only mediator for those who desire peace with God? Did you come to Jesus because he's the only way for those who are lost? He is the truth for those who are deceived. He is the life for those who are dead in their sins. Did you come to Jesus because he has righteousness to those who desire a right standing before God? In 1 Corinthians 1.3, Jesus is our righteousness. Did you come to Jesus because he is sovereign Lord and Creator and one day you will give an account to your Creator? So what must we do with a message like this? I hope you can see that the term gay Christian is an oxymoron. I hope you can see that they are victims of deception. I hope you can see that they need to hear the truth. They need to be warned that they are marching proudly toward hell's gates. They need to repent and trust Jesus as their only hope. We must be bold in this. We must speak the truth and love with anyone who approves or condones or practices the destructive damning sin of homosexuality. I'm sure you're familiar with the last verse in Romans 1, verse 32. There are many people who do not practice homosexuality but who condone it and approve it as a legitimate Christian lifestyle. The same judgment will be on them for condoning it and approving it. We must warn those people as well. And we're gonna look more about that tomorrow as we look at the compromising church. As sin becomes more pervasive, as more tears come into the church and as churches embrace more of the culture, we must be gospel centered and we must call sinners to repentance and faith. Amen. This is what we need to do. I hope all of you are exhorted by the word of God this evening. I hope the word of God has not only exhorted you but fully equipped you to be faithful ambassadors for the Lord Jesus. Many of you are already doing this and so this is just another exhortation but I hope you see this issue that we're facing today is not gonna go away. The gay Christian community is with us to stay and so you and I need to be bold, speak the truth and love. Amen. Well, let me close in prayer and I think then we're gonna have a break and then a question and answer period. Our Father, we do thank you for the opportunity to open your word tonight and how we are filled with compassion for those who believe they are Christians but have been victims of deception. Well, Father, we pray that you would strengthen us with the power of your spirit to be rooted and grounded in a deeper love for you and your people. Help us to live lives worthy of the calling that you have given us and to please you in all that we say and do. Father, we ask that you protect us with your armor, the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit. We know that there are spiritual battles that are waging all around us. We need to be fully protected. May we represent you with integrity and live according to the truth of your word. We know, Father, there is nothing in us that deserves your loving kindness. We are forever grateful that you adopted us into your eternal family. Help us to live each day mindful of the shortness of time and the nearness of eternity. And Father, help us to be faithful ambassadors to the Lord Jesus Christ. We ask this in his powerful name, amen.