 Good afternoon, Pastor David. Hey, John. Welcome, everybody, to Unfiltered. Pastor, you know, I'm getting a lot of feedback on different people from one of the unfilters that we have done, love and lust. And so, you know, it went from if I'm in love, then why can't we be intimate to if I'm in love, then why can't we be married? And there's a lot of the what ifs if I'm in love. This is an interesting one because it came in and it kind of hit a little bit of what we've been speaking about already. Now, what is your feedback as a senior pastor in response to this? So, the gist of the question is, well, if I'm in love and God is a God of love, then why would a God of love send me to hell for loving somebody of the same sex? Yeah, that's interesting. You know, as if love permits you to do anything that you want to do, including things that harm you or including things that would be specifically stated as being inappropriate and even sinful. So, it's very sad that we have this muddled understanding or definition of the word love. John, I have to begin first and foremost with that. It's too bad that people have taken the word love and have used that word to basically paint everything that I want to do. It should be allowed because love allows that. And a person who says that most certainly doesn't live a life like that. They don't live a life like that. There have always been rules, regulations, there's order, there are commands. There are things that we live under all of our lives and we know that some things we should do, some things we shouldn't. And so if my mom says to me, which she did, son, don't go near fire, well, what kind of love is that? To tell me not to go, if I want to touch fire, why can't I do that? So love actually gives commands that will restrict my behavior that will end up in my being injured, harmed in some way that may be even irreparable or sometimes even leading to death. And so the broad brushing of our behaviors with the word love and saying that God loves and therefore whatever I want to do would have to be permitted because after all, love would allow me to do that is simply biblically wrong. Because the Lord loves us, He gives us commands. He commands us because He wants to bless us as it says in Deuteronomy that you would obey my commands that it may go well with you and with your children forever. So the commands of God are not grievous, they're not burdensome, but they're intended by God to put us in a path that our life can be blessed and enriched and that the society we live in might be benefited by our presence. And so God states in His word, there are certain things and behaviors that are regarded as and declared to be sinful, which includes homosexuality and homosexual relationships. And so for the person who says I'm attracted to a person of the same sex and God should allow that because after all, I have these feelings is a person who doesn't know God and certainly doesn't know His word. I would even go so far as to say very often it's a person who care less about God and care less about His word. So if somebody is a professing Christian, they need to understand that God has declared certain things to be right and some things to be wrong. And same sex, relationships and all from the very beginning are referred to in scripture as being wrong. Whether it's called sodomites or whether it's called perverted persons, there are words in scripture that denote that the behavior is a behavior God has stated is to be incorrect, why is that? Well, because two men can't produce a baby, two women can't produce a baby. God didn't create man to have affection in that way with another man because he intends us to be fruitful and multiply. And so somebody's saying that God is loved therefore what I want to do, he's gonna allow me to cause he's love is somebody who doesn't read their Bible. We were just talking a moment ago and we're looking at the book of Romans. And so Paul in his first chapter begins to outline certain things related to who he is, what he's called to do, what his purposes are, how he desires to see the Romans. And then he, in verses 16 and 17, he goes on after those introductory comments and he says that he's not ashamed of the gospel. You know, it's the way that people can have a righteousness that comes from God, that just shall live by faith. So after speaking those things, he goes into the first thing which is interesting is the wrath of God. In verse 18 he says, for the wrath of God is revealed and then he begins to share concerning those things that provoke God to wrath. And so included in that is men having burning lust for other men, women having a desire for other women. And he says that they're burning in their passions in this way and he says, and this goes against nature. So God created man to have a relationship with a woman and that that too, becoming one flesh will complete him as a person. Women have certain things about them that a man cannot produce. And the same is true, vice versa. And so, you know, anybody who says they're in love therefore they should be allowed to not read the Bible. Also when they put another qualifier in, if God is loved then why would he send me to hell? So we, you know, you see those. That phrase there too, God did not send you to hell. You basically by rejecting the things he has said that will set you free, you're making a choice, you're determining that that's your destination. That's why Christ came so that he could save you. God so loved the world he gave his son. Why so that he might save us in order that we might not go to hell? Amen. Well, Pastor, thank you for your perspective on that. It's interesting because we're getting these questions that are coming from the initial unfiltered. Just a couple of reminders that for anybody who serves in our fellowship, in any capacity, we have a servants ministry or ministry morning with Pastor David on Saturday, February 25th, 9 a.m. in the banquet hall. For anybody who serves at our church, it gives you a chance to come here from our pastor. We worship and he gives us a devotion. This Sunday we have our Sunday services at 8.30 and 10.45 a.m. And it's gonna be a pretty fruitful study. I was moved to tears as I was studying. Yes. Just studying it, just something I believe that the Lord, I really do, I believe that this is one of those messages that help us to see him more clearly. And so we look forward to having you come join us. It's gonna be a very good study. I look forward to it. Invite your friends and family to come join us. And thank you for tuning in, Pastor. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions. And we look forward to seeing you guys on Sunday. God bless you. Amen.