Tuesday, September 08, 2009

pastoral perspective

John Piper's excellent pastoral perspective on the "sin and the sinner" ... specifically homosexuality ...

[We] say what the world, by and large, will not believe, namely, that it is possible to describe homosexual behavior as sinful, perverse, abnormal, and destructive to persons and culture while at the same time being willing to lay down our lives in love for homosexual persons. In fact, we say something even more radical and unbelievable to the world, namely, that you must believe homosexual behavior is sin and harmful in order to love homosexual persons. Because God tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:6, “[Love] does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” If you deny the truth that homosexual behavior is sin, but instead approve of it or rejoice in it, what you bring to the homosexual person will not be love—no matter how affirming, kind, or tolerant. Our aim is the biblical combination of conviction God’s truth and compassion for God’s creation.

Technorati Tags:

No comments:

reftagger