 Three people from the LGBTQ community and three Christians enter a film studio to discuss their spiritual beliefs No, this isn't the beginning to one of your uncle's offensive jokes. This happened and let's talk about it Okay, so before we dig into the actual video I just want to bring up with this one point way back Maybe Christians were responding this idea of just being totally immersed in the world right having friends that were non Christians Taking in media that just wasn't good And so they really emphasized a lot of what I experienced was this emphasis on hey be careful who you hang out with Be careful who your friends are Obviously be careful what media you take in but it was all kind of in this package of be careful be discerning and maybe it's not best We have non Christian friends to you know close non Christian friends And maybe just kind of back off that a little bit And I think we've gone into another ditch where almost intimidated or or scared in some ways of Engaging in these kinds of conversations with people that may disagree with us And I think you know, it's awesome for us as Christians to be able to say hey look I disagree with you, but I still love you. I still want to hear about your life I still want to try to you know help and minister to you where you are even if we don't agree on the same things I just think it's so sad when we cut ourselves off to those kind of you know friendships Just because we disagree with people. So I think this is a great This is a great idea of sitting down and talking with people you might not see eye to eye with Let's dig into it. There are times when I feel uncomfortable expressing my views around sexuality. I Am uncomfortable primarily because the bromance of like well There's two girls who's the boy and then it really just breaks the ice as it's like There isn't supposed to be a boy. That's why we're there I do my best to break the ice with the comedic deflection, which I've learned is is a self-defense mechanism. I'm a pastor as well I'm also a community leader in Boyle Heights and in that community. There's a large LGBTQ presence So there's that fear of really coming out and say what I believe because I do love everybody And I don't want to be pushed to the side just because I have a certain Feeling about No, any topic really, you know, I think we need to be careful in this video, you know It does some good things here but it also kind of paints Christians and LGBTQ people as Kind of enemies in a way Just the nature of making a video like this and even my video too like you may see LGBTQ verses, you know Christians who will wait battle it out You know kind of like on a real like relational level when I sit down with somebody, you know and say and and they're maybe from the LGBTQ community What are the things that are coming out of my mouth? Is it is it total like yo? I I hate you you need to change. God hates you, you know, you're going to hell or is it? Hey, let's sit down. Let's talk about this, right? I don't hate you. I disagree with you I think the Bible teaches something very different from your lifestyle But I'm not just gonna bang it over the head of their head, right because they're a person How would you you know respond to somebody coming into your life and saying hey? how you live your life what you you know your identity is totally wrong and And all these struggles that you've had in your life They mean nothing to me and I'm just gonna push down what I you know what I want to tell you and That can that can be just really in a sense like insensitive Um obviously you want to share the truth You don't want to cover up the truth just because you're scared of hurting their feelings But at the same time look there's wisdom to growing and understanding right growing and understanding of what they've been through What their experience has been both these people talk about you know both the Christian and in the and the you know Lesbian lady they talk about how they're there's some hesitancy in sharing their views just because there's so much Hostility when you do state what you believe from their perspective from somebody from the LGBTQ community They very well may have been suppressing this their whole life and then finally you know Honed in on what they believe their identity is and now you're coming in and telling them that that is that's not That's not right, right? So there needs to be a great level of sensitivity that and I think the more people in our lives that that Resemble the culture as opposed to just our little you know our small little group of Christians as we start having people That have these different beliefs we're gonna learn how to navigate these relationships better and speak truth and love to them Some sins are worse than others In the eyes of you know of the God our worship I believe that any sin Separates us from him because he's holy and impure, but at the same time I think there are certain sins that will have greater consequences Yeah, I resonate with that for me it would be you know killing another human is the worst. That's it also it Then diagrams into abortion taking the life of another is huge is huge. Can I ask you to this? Do you all see homosexuality as a sin? Yes, and if so where on that scale, I don't think a Homosexual tendency or an attraction to somebody of the same gender is a sin. I think that's a natural feeling I think when you start engaging In a lifestyle and you act upon that tendency then because it goes against what I believe God designed then I think that's clearly a sin. Okay. Wow. There's a lot to get to there Okay, it are some sins worse than others This is a really interesting question because I think we can I know I've had the tendency to minimize Maybe put all sins into you know one one bucket in a sense You know there's a verse in James if you stumble at one point you're guilty of all of it So this idea that hey you break one law you're guilty of all of it So in a sense, you know all sins are kind of equal And and I think and I'm gonna kind of explore that but but I do want to say that Some sins have worse worse effects obviously, right? So if I've watched a John Piper video about this If you shoot somebody right versus if you spit on somebody it's gonna have different Effect right it's still a sin. It's still wrong right because you're still you know Jesus said whoever hates his brother is a murderer, but the effect was different So in a sense of what the effect was well the effect of murder was worse And it's also important to point out that Jesus did say that there is degrees of punishment, right? So if you know what is right and don't do it your punishment is gonna be greater than somebody who didn't even know But in context to how good God is, you know all offenses are Infinite offenses against God because he is so holy because he is so good because he is so just Every time we make, you know any kind of sin or mistake or whatever that is an infinite offense against God I think we want to be careful to not start putting ourselves on some sort of pedestal and say oh Well, I'm a sinner, but I'm not as bad as that sinner because they're doing these things because they're a murderer because they're a Homosexual or because they're you know, whatever it is like that And I think that is That's the that's what this question is getting at because they're seeing look do Christians think they're better than homosexuals Like do they think that they're not as big as sinners as homosexuals? And I think we got to be careful there because yes There are some sins that have worse effect and right and there is gonna be greater judgment for some sins But in the scope of of eternity in the scope of who God is we are all broken We are all sinful and we are all in need of redemption I just don't believe in sin because I feel that sometimes being punitive about things can like make you repress things and like Instinctually, I was like but not acting on them would be a sin like that's how it feels for me like being dishonest to myself That feels wrong. Okay, this idea she says here being dishonest to myself feels like a sin That's her that was her like natural inclination to say, you know, if you stop yourself from doing something That you feel like you you want to do You feel like you have a tendency for then to repress yourself from that In her kind of moral worldview that would almost be an immoral thing to do So it's like this idea of self actualization You know becoming what we are capable of It comes from kind of a humanistic worldview and it gets into this idea of a couple things here identity Authenticity, you know, what do all these things mean for us here for her to be authentic would be to You know, just be who she feels like she is what she wants to do Doing those things following those desires that would be authentic to her and that would kind of you know Bring forth this self actualization where she becomes Fully herself and is fully fulfilled and this idea of authenticity is is really tied into Our identity. So, you know, this is why I think it's so important for us to talk to people from the lgbtq community and not just Shout or not just, you know, post, you know, facebook message Like let's sit down and have conversations with people that we meet that are in our lives It's an identity issue, right? This stuff is the stuff goes deep This is who they believe they are like this This is a core aspect to their being in this in this other identity that maybe they had been suppressing for a while But now, you know, perhaps they feel free like they've established freedom It's not true freedom because we know true freedom comes from the freedom that we have in christ free from sin It kind of feels like freedom to them because now they can Go in on those impulses that they had been suppressing and now you're coming and saying, hey, no, these things are wrong It's all an identity issue. Well, let's not think that this is just their issue with identity I like you got to be able to look back You know, maybe if you're christian before you were christian and see where your identity was tied up in And oftentimes it can be a couple different things on the surface, but it is our flesh, right? The bible talks a lot about our flesh and our sinful nature We find identity in the things that our flesh kind of guides us to Whether that's like looking for approval or our job or achievement or, you know, our sexuality or whatever that is Our flesh is guiding us and leading us towards following our desires And then we put our identity in those things and that's where we find our, you know Our sense of meaning and purpose and belonging. Okay reading here from john 8 verse 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to god for it does not submit to god's law Indeed, it cannot those who are in the flesh cannot please god You however are not in the flesh, but in the spirit In fact, the spirit of god dwells in you the flesh or that are like our desires, right? Or hostile to god. That's what that verse is saying, right? They're hostile to god and that's a very The big shift in a lot of people's worldviews because people a lot of people think, hey, we're good people Most people are good people and they're trying to do what's right and they would almost think that our flesh or our natural propensity Um, you know is towards god and towards doing good things, but the bible says no, it's not actually We're dead in our trespasses and sins, you know, we can't Please god on our own doing our our good works are like filthy regs to god And maybe you're like isaac. Well, why don't you bring up all those verses about homosexuality and stuff like that? Oh, I could do that But i'm talking Generally about everyone because even if you know if you're not a christian, whether you're you know in the lgbt community or not You have a worship issue. You're worshiping things that are not of god You're worshiping your flesh. You're following your flesh and the bible says the flesh is actually hostile to god So what are we going to do about it? Okay? This is roman 6 6 here So it says we know that the our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin Might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin the idea that we are free When we are just following our passions our flesh or doing what feels good to us that idea that that is free That's so counter to reality because in fact we're in bondage to our sin and you can feel it You can sense that when we're in bondage to the things that are actually going to lead us astray and often We won't see it now. We don't see the things leading us down the road to destruction like you think about an addiction to pornography It feels freeing to be able to just watch what you want when you want to But those things have consequences not only on the immediate right now our relationships or interactions But also ultimately spiritually and how we're going to be judged and held accountable for those things So in 2nd Corinthians 5 17 it says therefore if anyone is in christ He is a new creation the old has passed away the whole the new has come It's all by the power of god You know the amazing thing is that jesus came to give himself for our sin So we don't have to be held accountable for what we did Because he has given his life for us And now we can be indwelt with the holy spirit You know the flesh we were once following the flesh and the desires of the flesh and just Doing what we want and and a lot of us had that same worldview of that lady and saying it's almost a sin to not Do what we want. That's how we almost see it But now god transforms and he can transform your Heart and turn it towards him and you can be indwelt by the holy spirit Now you don't walk in the desires of the flesh. No, you walk by the spirit. Thanks so much for watching guys I so appreciate you. I hope you like this video and give it a like down below if you did Subscribe to the channel because i'm creating new videos every single week Once again, you can head on over to patreon to support me on there and be humongous blessing Thanks so much for watching guys and i'll see you next time