The Last Days of Blindness

Debate over Jesus's teachings

Reposted from an earlier note that I made—and Explained

Happy Gay Pride Month!

And I also want to bless those who are against Gay Pride Month, in keeping with the principle of loving the enemies of the human conscience.

This is unconditional love for everyone.

Explained

What makes those of us against Gay Pride Month enemies of the human conscience is how they use their moral standard as an excuse not to love gay people.

Both sides have every right to follow their own moral standard in a democracy, which Jesus approved of when he told his disciples not to harm those who would not follow him.

The Gospel is a choice, which makes democracy the Grand Gospel, where we all have the hope of finding unconditional love, for God is love, and through it of finding the moral standard that expresses that kind of love.

It all depends on how much our eyes have been opened—not by the judgment of others but by their unconditional love.

COMMENT

Unconditional love for everyone is not love.

What is love? Where does it come from?

Inanimate objects do not love. Animals do not love. But human beings do love.

Why is it, that out of all the creatures of this world, only human beings love?

It is because we are made in the image of God, and God is love.

That is why there is love in the universe - because God is love, and love is of God. And because God is love, it is supposed to have a certain character - a character of holiness, and righteousness.

Those qualities include obedience to God - and God has ordained that sexual relations are to be between a man and woman, male and female, in marriage.

Physical love outside of that, including heterosexual love, is sin, and not acceptable to God.

Of course, people have a human right to do what they please - but ultimately, we are answerable to God. There will be a resurrection from the dead, after which we will have to give account for our lives before the judgment seat of Christ - and the Bible teaches that “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.”

Thus, homosexuality is a sin against God. It is not the worst sin, or the only sin, but it is contrary to what God designed the human body for. Unless they find forgiveness in Christ and are delivered from their sinful lifestyle, homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God.

It is contrary to the laws of God and not something to be proud of.

And unconditionally accepting everyone always no matter what they do is not love. Love includes loving enough to tell people when they are doing wrong.

RESPONSE

Everything you said ignores the fact that God loves His enemies and commanded us to—regardless of everything else. Jesus explained that the judgment will be based on how we treat the least among us, regardless of what they do, which is unconditional love. You are using the law of Moses, which will not be the basis for the judgment.

COMMENT

I Corinthians is not the law of Moses.

As to loving our enemies, homosexuals are not my enemies.

Jesus also talked about repentance, the new birth, and walking in the straight and narrow way. Your idea of Christianity as just loving everyone and accepting everyone has nothing at all to do with biblical Christianity, and will help no one on the day of judgment.

Jesus did not say “Be nice to everyone and God will accept you on the day of judgment. He taught that we need forgiveness of sins, which includes confessing and forsaking them, with God’s help.

I love homosexuals enough to say that they can be forgiven for their sins and changed and delivered. “And you shall call his name Jesus - for he will save his people from their sins.”

RESPONSE

Remember, Paul told the Corinthians that he couldn’t talk to them spiritually because they were babes in Christ. He spoke about moral standards instead of how to love their enemies because it is something spiritual.

You may indeed love homosexuals from your heart, but your mind is not renewed by love in the spirit. Jesus said that the judgment will be based on how we treat the least among us, for that is how we treat him. That is what he wants us to focus on.

We’re not showing love when we warn others about moral standards as if that is the primary issue or an issue at all. That is for God to judge.

Jesus told the prostitute that her sins were forgiven because she loved much. He was not unconcerned with moral behavior, saying go and sin no more, but made love of primary importance for forgiveness.

COMMENT

Paul spoke about many things, including the resurrection from the dead and the coming day of judgment.

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

You said, “Jesus said that the judgment will be based on how we treat the least among us, for that is how we treat him. That is what he wants us to focus on.”

Jesus said many things. He spoke about the straight and narrow way that leads to life, and of the sins from within that defile the hearts of men. He spoke about doing the will of God, and of people being accepted or rejected by God on the day of judgment.

You shouldn’t just pick out a few parts you like and ignore the rest.

You say moral standards are not for us to judge, they are for God to judge. True, God is the ultimate judge, but he has revealed to us what practices are acceptable to him and what are not.

And God will judge, and all those who have lived in open defiance of his laws will be punished for their sins and their abuse of the marvelous of the bodies which he has given us. That certainly applies to all forms of sexual immorality, both heterosexual and homosexual.

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

If you don’t believe this, then you don’t believe in the Bible, and should not try and use that book to justify unclean and unlawful practices. You have to take the whole teaching of Christ and the apostles and the prophets, not just fish out a few things that will help you to justify evil, sin and perversion.

You seem to imply that because moral standards are not the primary issue, then they are no issue at all, and therefore we are free to lie, get drunk, steal, commit sexual immorality, and violate God’s laws with impunity.

“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

“And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”

Homosexuality is shameful, immoral, indecent and wrong. It is an abuse of the body which God has given us, and never normal or acceptable at any time.

I am not speaking this out of hate, but out of Christian love and concern for people trapped in sinful lifestyles of all sorts, of which homosexuality is only one.

Jesus Christ has the power to heal all kinds of sinners, including homosexuals, and restore them to the normal desires that God created us with for love and the increase of the human species.

RESPONSE

You said, “Paul spoke about many things, including the resurrection from the dead and the coming day of judgment.”

Paul said, “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly.” And Hebrews 6:1-3 lists the six elementary teachings of Christ, which include resurrection from the dead and eternal judgment. So, I don’t really think that you do not know that these are part of the milk. But probably as a teacher, you are staying within these boundaries for the sake of those who need it as babes in Christ. For that I commend you.

But these are the last days, and the solid food is being laid out for all to hear. So take no offense.

You said that I should not pick out a few things that Jesus said and ignore the rest. I quoted him saying “go and sin no more” and pointed out that her many sins were forgiven because she loved much. That is not picking out things and ignoring others. That is prioritizing things the way Jesus taught.

You quoted this passage: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

You quoted this but do you understand who Jesus considers to be the righteous and unrighteous? He said in Matthew 25 that the righteous are those who showed love to the least among us, and the unrighteous are those who did not. Again, Paul did not point this out because he knew he was teaching babes, who wanted to be reminded of the moral standard of Moses. Christ fulfilled that law, he did not do away with it, as you know. So that means love has replaced it as the standard, as Paul said, knowing it would not be understood spiritually, “Love fulfills the law”—but it remains as a guide, but for who?

The moral standard of the law remains a guide to be used for oneself, not to judge others with. After listing a much longer list of sins in Romans 1, Paul said, “You, therefore, have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges, for by judging another you condemn yourself, in that you do the same things.”

Many claim that they are not judging but only warning people of the consequences of their behavior, but such people should remain silent and just pray for others until they themselves understand the spiritual things. We are to warn everyone of the sin of not loving their enemies, for that is what Jesus said about the unrighteous, who will not inherent the kingdom. Again, Paul knew those in his day were not ready to learn how to love their enemies, but we are in the last days, my brother.

You said, “God will judge, and all those who have lived in open defiance of his laws will be punished for their sins.”

That sounds like a prophet’s words from the Old Testament. Grace came into the world 2,000 years ago, and now we are in the fulfillment of the times of the nations.

The reason we can live by the truth now is that Jesus revealed this truth on the cross, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” They do not know what they need to know because they are spiritually blind but claim to see and are thus not accountable for willful sin. Key to all of this is what Jesus said here, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”

Who are the blind Jesus is talking about here? those who walk by faith not by sight, who have no sin by virtue of their faith, not because they do not sin by failing to love their enemies; the blind who walk by faith do not claim they see and say that they love their enemies. Jesus will give them sight to love their enemies and be accounted righteous.

Who are those who see here? those who refuse to listen, who asked Jesus, “We are not blind too, are we?” He answered, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” We cannot say we see and not love our enemies.

We must focus on the reason for his judgment. It is not to hold the world accountable to the laws of the Old Testament but to the Law of Spirit of the Life in Christ Jesus. The Gospel is a choice and it thrives in real democracies, where different moral standards are allowed. We are not another ancient Israel to force people into obeying the law. We have common law voted upon to establish boundaries; otherwise, we are to respect each others’ right to make their own choices.

It is no mistake that, outside of Jesus speaking, the New Testament often revisits the Spirit of Elijah from the Old Testament, for as Paul knew, many did not want the solid food of loving their enemies, the Standard of the Judgment of Jesus Christ. This is the Spirit of Christ. And this is the fulfillment of times. You have laid your foundation. Now is the time to build your house for the coming storm.

See “The Last Days of Blindness—Final Update” for the last comment and response.

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As a teaching point, consider why believers are called “men of flesh” when not ready for spiritual things. In the account of the woman who loved much, the man who invited Jesus to his house watched her wetting Jesus’s feet with her tears, wiping them with her hair, kissing them, and anointing them with perfume. The man thought to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching him, that she is a sinner. Babes in Christ are still men of flesh as this man was, even when they recognize that they are judging and want to stop.

Paul literally said to one church, “Your temptation [was] in my flesh. You did not despise me nor reject me contemptuously, but you received me as an angel [conveyance] of God [Name], as Christ Jesus [Word].” Since as babes, they were struggling with temptation and Paul was teaching them how to be set free from it, it would have been quite understandable had they despised and rejected Paul as a hypocrite for having their temptation rise up in his body. But they did the exact opposite in receiving him with such high regard. Why?

Paul demonstrated how Word enabled him to bear in his body, without being tempted, what tempted others in theirs. In addition, he explained to them that it was Word who opened their eyes to understand this. Paul said, “Being free from all [things], I myself become a servant to all that I may gain the more [for Word to free also].”

Paul would have bore the temptation of the prostitute in his flesh and would have not been tempted. And like Jesus, he would not have judged her or the man who did. Often, men of flesh are offended by what they consider sin in others not because it offends God’s righteousness, but because it appears in their flesh and they, being weak in the flesh, cannot bear it spiritually.

This is not judging them, only explaining the process so that they can get set free to see everyone in the spirit and love them as God does righteously—recognizing any blindness working in them that enslaves their flesh and, thus, partially takes away their will. People know when they are enslaved, but if they think we are judging them instead of loving them, they would rather remain enslaved than listen to us.

Note that I do not apply such blindness to the person who wrote the comments above since, as stated, it appears that he or she teaches from those boundaries for the sake of those who think they need them. At this point, we need to address who the object of temptation is behind this discussion. Women first then men.

The spiritual teaching enables men and women to bear the temptation of others in their flesh, even though the focus is most often on men since women are normally the object of temptation. But it also primarily teaches women how to bear it another way, men secondarily.

From Two Daughters, Two Schools Revisited

Do not present yourselves as objects of worship, sexual or otherwise. This is not a moral stance but advice not to be deceived by those who use you for their gain by convincing you that modesty is manipulation.

As objects of worship, women are easily addicted to being worshipped and thus easily manipulated by others, especially the powerful. Present yourselves as an object of modesty and learn the spiritual teaching, so that when the temptation of those addicted to being worshiped appears in your flesh, you will not be tempted. You will be in a position to help them realize that they are addicted and should make up their own minds.

Suggested readings:

The Eyes of Democracy (Introduction and Index of Articles)