Would You Go to Prison For Your Stance on Homosexuality?

What would you do if you received a letter from the authorities that said:

“If you continue preaching the gospel and attempting to convert people to Jesus Christ, you will be sentenced to prison for an indeterminate period of time”? I know my response (or what I hope) my response would be. I would continue preaching until they followed through on their promise—and then I’d keep proclaiming Christ in prison.

But what if I received a letter that said this:

“If you continue preaching that homosexuality is a sin and attempting to counsel those with a homosexual orientation to pursue celibacy and/or healing in Jesus Christ, you will be sentenced to prison for an indeterminate period of time”?

Could I never again preach what God says about homosexuality and still be faithful in preaching the gospel of Christ? I mean is it really something worth going to prison for—sacrificing my cherished freedom, life with my family, further gospel ministry? I see nothing about a stance on homosexuality in 1 Corinthians 15. I know that I could never say, “Homosexuality is not a sin” but could I simply say nothing? 

Help from John Bunyan and Martin Luther

John Bunyan had only been married two years when he was carried off to prison. He left his wife with four children (none of them her own) and the grief of having just lost a newborn baby. He was in prison for twelve years. He could have left any moment if he would have promised not to preach. This was Bunyan’s response:    Continue at Mike Leake

Pilgrims in a Post-Christian Culture

In John Bunyan’s classic The Pilgrim’s Progress, the Wicket Gate is a symbol for entrance into the Christian life. There, the main character, Christian, encounters the gatekeeper, Good-Will. Their encounter, like the rest of the book, is filled with layers of meaning to which modern pilgrims would do well to pay attention:

So when the pilgrim was fully inside, Good Will asked him, “Who directed you to come this way?”

 

CHRISTIAN: Evangelist exhorted me to come this way and knock at the Gate, just as I did. He further told me that you, sir, would tell me what I must do next.

 

GOOD-WILL: An open door is set before you, and no man can shut it.

CHRISTIAN: Now I begin to reap the benefits of my hazards.

GOOD-WILL: But how is it that you have come alone?

CHRISTIAN: Because none of my neighbors saw their danger as I saw mine.

The Battle Has Just Begun
As pilgrims on this journey to the Celestial City, we must recognize the fact that coming to faith in Christ is the end of our enmity with God, but it is in nowise an end of warfare. Obstinate, Pliable, the Slough of Despond, and Mr. Worldly Wiseman had all been obstacles on Christian’s journey to the Wicket Gate. However, in many ways, the worst still lay ahead. Similarly, our battle with the world, the flesh, and the Devil only intensifies once we have crossed from death to life.  Continue at Voddie Baucham

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Who Is John Bunyan?

The most popular novel in the history of the world was written in prison by a man whose humble beginnings and arduous life reflect the One he lived for—Jesus Christ (The Portable Bunyan). John Bunyan, who never received more than a second grade education, impacted Christian thinking and English literature so profoundly that he was able to transcend the cultural and religious framework from which he wrote and influence a universal audience (Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners).

The Drunken Tinsmith

John Bunyan was born in England in 1628, entering into the broader historical context with “the final phases of the Reformation movement still fresh in the minds of the people” and the Puritan pilgrimage to America dawning in the near future. John’s father was a tinker (a tin smith), providing a meager life for his family and training his son to follow in his footsteps. At the age of sixteen Bunyan lost his mother and two sisters, after which his father married for the third time.  Keep Reading >>>

When Satan Tempts Me to Despair

I love how Christian replies to Apollyon when they face off in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. After Apollyon accuses Christian of a series of sins, he basically replies, “You’re right. But I’m actually even worse than that.” That disarming statement sets up the death blow:

Apollyon accused,

1. “You almost fainted when you first set out, when you almost choked in the Swamp of Despond.
2. You also attempted to get rid of your burden in the wrong way, instead of patiently waiting for the Prince to take it off.
3. You sinfully slept and lost your scroll,
4. you were almost persuaded to go back at the sight of the lions, and
5. when you talk of your journey and of what you have heard and seen, you inwardly desire your own glory in all you do and say.”

[Christian replied,]

1. “All this is true, and much more that you have failed to mention,” Christian agreed.
2. “But the Prince whom I now serve and honor is merciful and ready to forgive.
3. Besides, these infirmities possessed me while I was in your country, for there I allowed them to come in. But I have groaned under them, have been sorry for them, and have obtained pardon from my Prince.”

—John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress: From This World to That Which Is to Come (ed. C. J. Lovik; Wheaton: Crossway, 2009), 89–90 (formatting added). Cf. my review and “The Pilgrim’s Progress for Children.”   Keep Reading >>>

Christian Behavior

First, A good work must have the Word of God as its authority. Second, It must, as mentioned before, flow from faith. Third, It must be both rightly timed and rightly placed. Fourth, It must be done willingly, cheerfully, &etc.

First, It must have the Word for its authority. Zeal without knowledge is like a high-spirited horse without eyes, or like a sword in a madman’s hand; and there is no knowledge where there is not the Word: for if they reject the Word of the Lord, and do not act according to it, “what wisdom is in them?” says the prophet (Jeremiah 8:9; Isaiah 8:20). Therefore, see that you have the Word for what you do.

Second, As there must be the Word of God in authorizing what you do, so there must be faith from which it must flow, as I explained before: “for whatsoever is not of faith is sin;” and “without faith it is impossible to please God.” Now, I say, without the Word there is no faith (Romans 10:17), as without faith there is no good, regardless of men’s pretenses.

Third, As it must have these two aforementioned, so also it must have, 1. Right time; and, 2. Right place. Read the rest HERE