(1 Pet 4:17 KJV) For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
(1 Pet 4:18 KJV) And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
There was a mature Gay man in a sauna in Singapore. His eyes looked two and fro at the young hunks and their boyfriends. But alas, he was 30 years adrift from a time whereby the Penal codes against homosexuality was enforced and he had to live in hiding denied of true love and companionship. Now, he could only look and reminiscent of the freedom that gays have in this pseudo legalized state of events. He felt pain in his heart, of loss, his life, his hopes and dreams of a companionship and family whilst others have great grand children. His basic rights were denied in great injustice and yet the religious conservatives talked about the morality of their just actions whilst having dominion on all the rights. In a country where the law is strict and taking another persons’ life will likely result in a serious penalty, the faith communities whose stand have caused so much harm to the innocent seemed not to have taken to task and instead be free to speak loudly of their “righteous” deeds. However, God promised that judgement will indeed come to the House of God. The more they talked against Gays, the sooner freedom will come for Gays and judgement for the Church.
(Mat 19:10,11 NKJV) His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry. But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:
(Mat 19:12 NKJV) "For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."
(Mat 19:14 NKJV) But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
The church has made homosexuality an issue of major importance and attributed it to the breakdown of the family unit. In contrast, they don't seem to make many proclamations against adultery or initiate a crusade against Geylang. Surprisingly, Jesus hardly ever mentions Gays and when He did, it was with reference to straight married people committing adultery. Jesus’ very strict demands for monogamous relationships resulted in sarcastic remarks by the Apostles “better not to marry” in order to avoid being condemned. Jesus answered that to be attracted to the opposite sex for straight couples are only natural unless of course, you are Gay – i.e. born like that, have your genitals removed, or are abstaining from marriage for religious reasons. This was consistent with the Jewish Talmud detailed definition of Gays. Jesus warned the disciples in Mat 19:14, not to forbid Gays to come into the Kingdom of God, into His Church. The heart of God was so tender towards Gays, that He called them, “Children”. Praise the Lord.
(Gen 4:10,11 NKJV) And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. "So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
The laws of the bible are clear just as the Blood of Abel cries up before God for justice, so does the blood of Gays cries out for justice. Even though one lived an honorable life until a crime is committed, eg a murder, it is seldom sufficient in the natural to mitigate sufficiently for the crime. The church has done much good in proclaiming the Gospel to the nations and adding immeasurably to the moral fiber of the nation. Therefore, it is argued as a mitigation that homosexuality should not defined how we look at the church. However, the church injustice against gays is not a one off moment of indiscretion that can be brushed off when compared to the overwhelming good being done. It is the magnitude of transgressions over a thousand years (Ps 5:10). Over this long sequence of time, the amount of sin and harm done grew like an ever-increasing pressure in a cooker that one-day will blow its top. The biblical laws insisted by the church is based on an eye for an eye and rightly, the church should have been taken to task. However, in Christ, judgment is tampered with an amazing grace and mercy and we rarely get what we deserved unless we steadfastly refused to make the choice to repent. Have we treated the grace and mercy of God with contempt?
(Psa 51:1,2,3 NKJV) Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.
The last two weeks in Singapore has been most momentous sparked of by comments by MM Lee and further fueled by letters to the Editors, forums and Blogs. However, the issue is not about Gays, but it is about the Church whether it would make the right choice to acknowledge their sins against gays and God. In the natural, MM Lee seemingly sparks the comments. However, in the spirit, the root of it lies in the NCCS reply to the Government feedback unit where instead of being neutral, it asked the Government to increased the jurisdiction of the Penal codes to cover lesbians. The opportunity of Grace, totally undeserved in view of the great multitude of injustice done by the church against gays, was given to NCCS and yet they responded by showing “no mercy”. This was followed by an email letter by a major church in Singapore to mobilize the Christian community to feedback to the Government of their concerns on the decriminalization of Homosexuality. The email was complete with false testimonies of the supposedly strong gay lobby and their 6 fold agenda whilst the truth of the matter was a David and Goliath struggle between a two or tree brave and courageous individuals coming against the might and power of the church. What the Church has so greatly feared about gays being granted not only their basic rights but of marriage and minority rights will come true sooner rather than later not because of the gay lobby but because of the false testimony given.
(Psa 51:10,11 NIV) Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
When God cannot move the heart of the church, He moves the heart of a secular and very conservative Government and the Law Society of Singapore. The issue in the last two weeks is really not about gays; it is about the Christian Church in Singapore and the choices they made preceding these events. The replies to the forum and the increasing hardened stand of the church despite the great injustice done and the door of repentance given, may lead to a point of judgment. Why, unlike discrimination against Women and minorities which was once widely sanctioned by the church, the injustice against gays is much more serious because we are claiming that they are intrinsically immoral. Hence, they are shut off from the kingdom of God. “We do not hate Gays” we retort, but our actions speaks for itself in our relentless zeal to put gays in prisons. The sin against gays is manifold times greater than just mere discrimination or homophobia because it blasphemed against Jesus Christ by distorting the image of God and the Gospel message. We kept on hammering at a broken, and outcast group, who has endured great pain and sufferings, and then we add upon their sufferings our condemnation and rejection in the name of Jesus Christ. Can we be persecuting Christ? Gays are staying away from Jesus and that hurts deeply the heart of God, for Christ also died for them.
(Psa 136:1 NKJV) Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
(John 3:16,17 KJV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
The door of Grace and Mercy remains opened because God is a good God but time is running out for the church not to bear judgment and painful cleansing. Repeated calls has been made, yet the church remains stubborn and steadfast and indeed in the latest series of letters to the Forums reacted with much self-righteousness. They failed to understand that it may be God that they are fighting and the winds of change and justice may be coming from the Holy Spirit. Can we be quenching the Holy Spirit who will not forever bear with the carnal heart of men? At the new extension to the St. Andrews Cathedral, it is stated that it will be a “Chapel to all nations”. The Holy Spirit is bringing all tribes into His kingdom even at the price of reconstructing His church to let them in. The choice is for the Church whether it desires to embrace the move of God and be blessed or resist and be broken down with much pain and regret. The choice to change belongs to the Christian Church and not the Gay community. Jesus is coming back but not for a Church with a restrictive entry based on our own criteria and prejudice but one that is opened to all who believed and called upon His name as their Lord and Savior.