such were some of you

Josh Harris delivers this excellent message on marriage, homosexuality, and the current drive to redefine marriage. Some top-lines:

• Marriage belongs to God and it is a picture of the mystery of Christ to the Church.
• We are not singling out homosexuality and we are certainly not singling it out as the most grievous of sins.
• This topic is not central to the Christian faith. It is not in and of itself the Gospel. It is not central to our faith but it is central to our culture. We would be remiss not to speak to our culture. We can do that with love and compassion. And we can know that if we do that well, we will be hated.
• The issue is that we are not against homosexual people, the issue is that we are for marriage.
• All of us need the refining, purifying work of the cross of Jesus Christ.
• We are salt and light ... it's a false notion when believers think we share only Christ on the Cross. That is the central message but it is not the only message ... it's central because that is what all other messages point to ... which interestingly is very tightly woven into the marriage concept.
• It goes back to Genesis; this is rooted in God's creation and points to the Gospel.
• Paul reinforces this in Romans 1; homosexuality is an example of what happens when we fail to worship the true God. If we are willing to replace the true God with a false god, then are even willing to replace our true sexual nature.
• 1 Cor 6 - it's about the Kingdom of God. Stop clinging to your sin. This is how we were. Now we are to cling to Jesus.
• If you are in Christ, you are not defined by your sexual (or other) desires. You are owned and defined by Jesus.
• Salvation is not found in heterosexual sex.
• Sin doesn't have the last word, the Gospel does. "Such were some of you!" We who are in Him are righteous in Christ.
• We are not haters when stating the truth of God's Word. We are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God.
• We should not treat homosexuality as different that other sin. This is challenging because of cultural revulsion but we must rise above that and represent the Gospel.
• Do not be deceived; we cannot live for sin and enter into God's Kingdom. If we are born again, sin is not 'normal'. It is of our old nature, not our new.
• God made you for righteousness. If you are in Christ, we must die to our old self and live for Christ. And this is not for ourselves only, it is for the world around us that desperately needs a Savior.
• Preserving marriage is more than a political issue. We are not trying to force morality. We are guarding against a redefining of an basic truth.