God is incredibly patient and loving, but those who continually refuse to repent will bear His wrath.
For example, God continually warned Judah, but the false prophets kept encouraging sinful practices and denying that God would punish them (Jeremiah 1; 6:13; 14:15). Jeremiah 23:14 compares sinful Judah to the “gay pride cities” of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Modern culture resembles wicked Judah, encouraging sinful practices and preaching a god who never punishes sin.
I recently came across this disturbing example:
Haseltine is the lead singer for Jars of Clay, which originally presented itself as a “Christian band.” However, Haseltine started changing his views when he came out in support of gay marriage in 2014. In typical ex-vangelical fashion, he twisted God's loving commands against homosexual behavior to make God's Word sound hateful: “When someone tells you that the God of all creation hates you for who you love, it’s painful.” (source)
After this, Haseltine continues to publicly support gay pride (source and source) and other ex-vangelical heresies (source). See Ex-vangelical Teachings for more on this movement. Basically, Haseltine promotes “another Jesus” than the one described in Scripture (2 Corinthians 11:4).
Even though Haseltine publicly changed his views on God's commands long before the debut of The Chosen, Dallas Jenkins, creator of The Chosen, specifically chose Jars of Clay to do the music for the mini-series, saying he “was going to have a hard time imagining doing the show without Dan Haseltine.” (source)
With this praise for Haseltine, we should not be surprised that Jenkin's refused to prohibit gay symbols from the set of his production of The Chosen. (See The Chosen Gay Pride Compromise and Shall We Excuse the Darkness or Expose it?) Nor should we be surprised that The Chosen appeals to Haseltine's view of God. He explains it this way:
“A lot of us have been force-fed a version of Jesus that only cares about our behaviors. And every episode [of The Chosen] pushes back on that.… Your behavior is not actually what matters.* It is the inner workings of your heart and your soul that will matter.… There's no shame. There's no condemnation.” (source)
Ancient Judah would have agreed with Haseltine—until they experienced God's wrath.
Romans 1:16-32 is a passage discredited by ex-vangelicals as a “clobber” passage because it clearly warns of God's wrath against unrepentant sinners (specifically mentioning certain sins such as homosexuality). And Paul begins the passage with words we must never forget:
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16
See Propaganda that "Clobbers" God's Loving Warnings and No One's Favorite Book: Nahum.
Our world draws closer to God's wrath each day, but God patiently holds out His offer of salvation—a salvation that always leads to godly behavior. (See passages below.)
Let's never be ashamed to “tell it like it is!”
♰♰♰
For more background, see:
Dallas Jenkins Explains the Story Behind The Chosen and Backward Logic.
Free Subscription to 1-Minute Bible Love Notes. Have a one-minute devotion like this one delivered to your email each weekday.
10 Reasons You'll Love the book Wisdom for Life. A collection of 100 one-minute devotions from Psalms and Proverbs and a great gift for people who love God's Word.
Full description of the book Lies in Disguise. A much needed book to uncover half-truths that misuse Scripture and weaken Christian faith.
Terrific post, Gail. I’ve noticed your “Notes” have gotten bolder in the past year or so. I believe I speak for many people who read your comments and really appreciate it. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Delete