4 thoughts on “J.D. Greear Pro-LGBT Rights”

  2. In the sermon excerpt, Reformation CLT’s commentary reads, “Has he ever read 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 11?” The answer is that he appears to have read & understood it far better than Publisher @ DISNTR.

    1. The sin list is a list of sins operative in that church.

    2. This text comes after a series of statements that highlight the identity and position in Christ of the members of the Corinthian church.

    3. 1 Corinthians 6:11 (ESV): 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.

    “Such were some of you,” does not mean that the people, in order to be in good standing in this church, which was a relatively new church too (the letter is from around 55 AD), had to be mortifying their sins or else be purged from among them.

    Rather, Paul begins in Chapter 5 with a statement that he had written them a letter about sexual immorality in their church, to which they had reacted by pointing fingers at the people around them. He tells them to purge the evil from among them, & then veers off into a discussion about litigiousness among them.

    The sin list in 6:9-10 is not just a list of sins in the world around them. It is also a list of the sins operative in their church. That’s the whole point of the letter. Paul is saying that their church looks like the world, but there is still hope for them, because they are “washed, set apart, & justified in the name of Christ by the Holy Spirit.”

    They are called “washed,” – the doctrine of regeneration.

    They are called “set apart,” which is a reference to the doctrine of *adoption,* not just the doctrine of sanctification. They have been set apart out of the world, yet in the world.

    They are justified (declared righteous) – the doctrine of justification, in the name of Jesus Christ by (the power of) the Holy Spirit.

    This text is not to be used as a bludgeon that keeps people outside the camp. Is intended as a statement against spiritual abuse. Even though it is part of an overall statement about church discipline, it is intended to remind both those who govern the church and those who are members of the church that the people targeted for church discipline and/or the threat thereof are brothers and sisters. It also serves as a reminder that, no matter how one views what the Bible teaches on these subjects, LGBTQ people are not to be automatically looked upon with suspicion nor should those who can give (an otherwise) credible profession of faith be treated as unregenerate just because they disagree with traditionalism and/or are gay themselves, including those who are “practicing homosexuals.”

    Why do you find agreement with Reformation CLT? They are the very definition of spiritually abusive people, even calling for the removal of Democrats from churches as a matter of church discipline.

    Generally speaking Grear is correct about the requirement that we Christians paraclete LGBTQ people. The last I checked, Matthew 5:41 – 48 didn’t come with a “some exceptions may apply” section.

    1. I appreciate your input, David. My understanding is that Christians need to be repentant in order to be regarded as genuinely Christian. Faith combined with repentance results in salvation. If you are not repentant, you are subject to the discipline of the church.

      But I have no interest in a prolonged discussion on this topic with you. It is pretty clear where you stand. It is interesting how the interpretation of scripture leads in a direction that is directly opposite to 2,000 years of theological handling of the topic.

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