When Sin Is No Longer A Sin! : Part 2

WHEN SIN IS NO LONGER A SIN! : PART TWO

Copyright 1994 - 2009 Endtime Prophecy Net

Published On : June 14, 2001

Last Updated : April 22, 2009

Christ's Words To Thief On The Cross, Forsaking God's Mercy
Flee From The Light, Reinterpret The Bible Through Deception,
Presbyterian Struggle, Baptist And Episcopalian Compromises,
Split Between Episcopalian Church USA And Anglican Communion,
"We Are All Normal", Tactics Used By Gay & Lesbian Militants,
Political Maneuvers, Gov. Howard Dean And Gay's "Civil Union"
Victory In Vermont, Countries Where Gay "Marriage" Is Legal,
US States That Have Legalized Gay "Marriage" Relationships

We find Jesus extending His Father's Mercy in other stories
that are found in the New Testament as well; and often, it
is because the individual in question has recognized their
sinful condition, as well as their need for Repentance and
Forgiveness. In His final agonizing hours on the Cross,
Jesus forgave one of the two thieves, because that man too
did not try to hide his sin. He knew that he was guilty, and
that he deserved every- thing that had come to him. He also
recognized that Jesus was his only chance at Salvation; and
so once again, Jesus extended His Father's Mercy to the man,
as we see here:

"And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him,
saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the
other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God,
seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed
justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this
man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus
said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be
with me in paradise."
Luke 23:39-43, KJV

So you see, the difference between the adulterous woman, as
well as the one thief, and these gays and lesbians today, is
that unlike these two Biblical characters, some of them are
not even willing to acknowledge their sin. These gay men see
absolutely nothing wrong with having anal or oral sex with
their boyfriends; and these lesbians see nothing wrong with
putting on a dildo, (a synthetic rubber penis), and pretend-
ing to be a man, in order to fulfill their own sick sexual
fantasies, as well as the desires of their girlfriends. In
fact, to my amazement, I was informed by one of our readers,
that in some places in the United States, it is actually
considered "cool" to be gay. In their delusion, these poor
people call their desires love; but in reality, it is only
unnatural sexual lust, which is totally contrary to the
Natural Order established by God Himself in the Garden of
Eden.

What is truly sad about this situation, is that where there
is no recognition of one's sins, or any kind of repentance,
neither can a person claim God's Mercy; which means that he
may eventually be subject to the full weight of God's Law
when his day of Judgment arrives. By accepting Satan's lies
and delusions, these gays and lesbians have refused, and in
fact, have forsaken, the Mercy which God wishes to have upon
them. As the Prophet Jonah cried out at the height of his
suffering, after he had tried to run away from God's Will
for his life:

"They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy."
Jonah 2:8, KJV

As we saw in part one, because many gays and lesbians have
rejected the truth of God's Word, they have had to convince
themselves that sin is no longer a sin. For some, this has
meant totally throwing out the Bible as the inspired Word of
God, being as they cannot stand in the Light of its truth;
while for others, it has meant trying to reinterpret it. In
the case of the former, I am reminded of the following words
spoken by Jesus in chapter three of the Gospel of John:

"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the
world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because
their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth
the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved."
John 3:19-20, KJV

In short, some people seem to think that they can keep their
sins from being exposed by God's Word, by simply rejecting
the teachings of the Bible, or by trying to hide from it;
but as we saw in part one, nothing is hidden from the face
of the Lord. Everything will be revealed in His time. In the
case of the latter group, as we likewise saw in part one,
the Devil has indeed raised up an evil seed of false clergy
who have perverted the true meaning of the Scriptures, and
popularized the false doctrine that God loves and accepts
each and every one of us just the way we are; even if some
people do happen to be gay or lesbian. In their delusion,
these deceivers have nullified the doctrine of repentance
which was preached by John the Baptist, by the Lord Himself,
as well as by all of His Apostles, including Paul. Remember
again that Jesus said "Go, and sin no more"; He did not say,
"I love you and forgive you, but go ahead and keep on living
in sin. It's okay." These modern false prophets remind me of
two additional warnings which were issued by the Apostle
Paul. In two of his Epistles he wrote:

"But evil men and seducers shall wax [grow] worse and worse,
deceiving, and being deceived."
2 Timothy 3:13, KJV

"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transform-
ing themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel;
for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be
transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end
shall be according to their works."
2 Corinthians 11:13-15, KJV

These false apostles, these deceitful workers, these false
ministers of righteousness, as Paul calls them, are not only
deceived themselves, but they are leading others into their
same web of delusion and sin. As we saw in part one, some of
these clergy are preaching exactly what the gay and lesbian
community wants to hear; and that is that sin is no longer
sin. There should be no doubt then, that America is in fact
spiritually eroding from within, and has been for quite some
time now. Exactly how divided are the spiritual leaders of
America? Consider the following article circulated by the
Associated Press in June of 2,000. It is quite revelatory:

----- Begin Quote -----

Presbyterians to debate church's role in same-sex unions

June 25, 2000

LONG BEACH, California (AP) -- Presbyterian leaders
gathering here this week will debate whether to ban
blessings of same-sex unions even if the ceremonies stop
short of marriage, the latest ecclesiastical conflict over
recognition for gay and lesbian couples.

Organizers of the annual meeting of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A) hope a consensus reached at the weeklong gathering
that convened Saturday will unify factions of
traditionalists and reformers threatening to fragment the
church over the issue of homosexual unions.

"The differences are real and serious . . . and I hope the
discussion will enable us to focus on the fundamental nature
of our responsibility," said the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick,
who is required to remain neutral on policy debates in his
supervisory position in the denomination's General Assembly

The 560-member General Assembly is the chief policy-setting
body for the 2.6 million-member church.

Issues of gay rights have dominated other major religious
gatherings this year. The United Methodist Church last month
upheld its doctrine banning gay ordination and the
sanctioning of same-sex unions. In March, the Central
Conference of American Rabbis voted to let rabbis choose to
preside at same-sex union ceremonies.

Homosexual advocates said they are optimistic that the
Presbyterians will decide to permit recognition of same-sex
couples because recent rulings by the church high courts
have favored gays.

"This church is so close to doing right. But then, they've
had 27 years of discussion. It's time to decide -- are we
welcome in their churches, or are we not?" said the Rev. Mel
White, of the largely homosexual Metropolitan Community
Churches based in West Hollywood that are not Presbyterian.

A group of Presbyterian delegates, or commissioners, will
meet Tuesday to discuss proposed amendments to the
denomination's Book of Order, or constitution, that seek to
explicitly prohibit same-sex unions.

A fourth proposal up for debate suggests that churches be
permitted to determine their own policies on ministering to
gays and lesbians, said the Rev. Charles Proudfoot, a
spokesman for the assembly.

The committee's recommendations will go to the full assembly
later this week, where approval would require a simple
majority.

If the measures are passed, they would go before the
ordained Presbyterian ministers and elders nationwide for
approval.

Opponents to same-sex unions argue the church should not
condone homosexual couples because their lifestyles conflict
with biblical principles.

"I believe same-sex unions are just a way to get people to
start approving of (gay) marriages, and that's just not
appropriate," said the Rev. Greg Loskoski, of Savannah, Ga.,
a member of the committee debating the issue.

Supporters of same-sex unions plan to protest at the
convention, saying church discrimination against gays and
lesbians prevents them from fulfilling their faith.

Soulforce, a multi-faith coalition of gays, lesbians and
supporters, has scheduled a protest Sunday where dozens
expect to be arrested while forming a human chain and
blocking one of the many entrances to the convention center
following the Presbyterian convention's opening worship
service.

"Gays and lesbians across this country are saying that if
the church can't grow up and accept reality, then we don't
need the church," said White, co-founder of Soulforce. "We
can find ways to worship on our own."

----- End Of Quote -----

Thankfully, in this case, the Presbyterian church held to
its Christian convictions, and defeated the gay and lesbian
agenda by a very narrow margin. A week later, the Associated
Press reported the following:

----- Begin Quote -----

Presbyterian Leaders Vote Against Commitment Ceremonies For
Gays

July 1, 2000

LONG BEACH, California (AP) -- The chief policy-making body
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted by a narrow margin
Friday to recommend barring its ministers from officiating
commitment ceremonies for gay couples.

The measure still must be ratified by scores of ministers
and elders nationwide before it can become part of the Book
of Order, the constitution for the 2.6 million-member
denomination.

It passed the church's General Assembly by a vote of
268-251, with four abstentions. If the ministers and elders
in the church's 173 presbyteries approve, the ban would be
put into effect at next year's meeting of the General
Assembly.

A similar ban on gay commitment ceremonies was approved the
church's General Assembly in 1994 but failed to win
ratification.

After the vote, gay-rights advocates streamed out of the
meeting, many of them in tears.

"We are crying out for justice and we are crying out for
this church," the Rev. Jane Adams-Spahr of San Rafael said
as she led a group of some 50 opponents of the ban in
prayer.

Several said they were still hopeful that the church's
presbyteries would not uphold the ban.

No state has officially legalized gay marriage, but a new
Vermont law legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples
took effect Saturday, and other states have debated similar
laws.

A month ago, the church's highest court ruled that local
congregations may conduct such religious ceremonies
celebrating homosexual unions as long as those ceremonies
stop short of marriage.

But the amendment approved Friday night, if ratified, would
overpower that ruling by prohibiting church officers from
performing gay commitment ceremonies and barring such
ceremonies from church property.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) prohibits homosexuals from
serving as ministers but does not exclude homosexuals from
the church.

Proponents of the ban argued that the Presbyterian Church
must stop blessing same-sex unions because that implicitly
condones homosexual behavior, which the church views as a
sin.

Other supporters said recognizing gay couples could cripple
the church's missionary work in countries with conservative
values.

The Rev. Charles Castles of San Joaquin, whose presbytery
proposed the amendment, said he considered Friday's vote a
"step of the journey" toward clarifying the church's stance
on homosexuality.

----- End Of Quote -----

As the previous reports reveal, the Presbyterians are by no
means the only church which has had to struggle with the gay
and lesbian issue; and sadly, as we saw previously, some of
America's churches have completely abandoned their long-held
Christian convictions and values, and have yielded themselves
to political and societal pressure. Take, for example, the
following report included in the July 3rd, 2000 issue of the
Baptist Information Service newsletter, which discusses two
Baptist churches in the American Northwest:

----- Begin Quote -----

American Baptists Embrace Sodomy

"At its convention in Salt Lake City in May, the Northwest
region of the American Baptist Church voted against
banishing two Seattle churches that accept homosexual
pastors and welcome practicing homosexuals as members. The
vote was 161 in favor and 92 against.

The churches are Seattle First Baptist and University
Baptist. The latter is pastored by a woman, Anne Hall, and a
homosexual male, Tim Phillips.

----- End Of Quote -----

What a true tragedy indeed! Once the loathsome disease of
compromise begins to take root, it seems to spread quickly,
very much like an uncontrollable cancer. In July of that same
year the Associated Press news agency published the following
reports regarding ongoing discussions within the Episcopalian
church. Sadly, rather than fully reject the ungodly demands
of the gay and lesbian community, the Episcopalians embraced
a sickening, look-the-other-way compromise, as you can see
here:

----- Begin Quotes -----

Episcopalians mull couples' rites

DENVER (AP) - Episcopalians disappointed that church
policy hasn't fully embraced same-sex unions may end up
with the next best thing: A rite for people in monogamous,
committed relationships. Officials meeting at the
Episcopal General Convention were to consider a
proposition Tuesday that would develop rites for Episcopal
couples - both homosexual and heterosexual. Acceptance of
homosexuals in all aspects of the church is one of the
biggest issues at the 10-day convention. There was
speculation that the 1,000 delegates might try to avoid
conflict by sticking with the status quo: tacit approval
of dioceses that bless same-sex unions. But a committee
shelved that plan and proposed developing rites for those
in monogamous and committed relationships. The plan would
have to pass the 824-member House of Deputies and the
300-member House of Bishops.

Episcopalians nix gay rites

DENVER (AP) - Episcopal bishops argued vigorously for
ceremonial rites for same-sex unions Wednesday, a day
after the provision was narrowly rejected by clergy and
lay delegates at the church's national convention. The
church's House of Deputies, fearing such a bold step would
divide the church, rejected a provision Tuesday to add
rites for all unmarried couples, however it approved
provisions calling on the church to support unmarried
couples in monogamous relationships. While the measure
doesn't mention homosexuals, it is seen as a response to a
push for the church to bless their relationships. The
resolution also acknowledges that individual dioceses will
continue to bless same-sex unions without churchwide
sanction. Several bishops said Wednesday that is not good
enough.

----- End Of Quotes -----

The previous news reports were published nine years ago. It
is indeed sad that today, the situation within the Episcopal
Church is much, much worse. In fact, if you've been following
the news, you will already know that a serious schism has now
split the Episcopal Church USA from its parent organization;
that is, the Anglican Communion, or Church of England, which
is currently headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most
Reverend Rowan Williams. A December 2008 Yahoo news article
discussed the long-foreseen split, as we see here:

----- Begin Quote -----

Conservatives form rival group to Episcopal Church

Yahoo News

December 3, 2008

WHEATON, Ill. – Theological conservatives upset by the
liberal views of the Episcopal Church are forming a rival
denomination.

The new Anglican Church in North America will include four
Episcopal dioceses that recently split from the U.S. church,
along with breakaway Anglican parishes from Canada.

The announcement Wednesday in Wheaton, Illinois, comes after
decades of debate over what Episcopalians should believe
about issues ranging from salvation to sexuality. Tensions
erupted in 2003 when Episcopalians consecrated the first
openly gay bishop.

The world Anglican Communion is a fellowship of churches with
roots in the Church of England. The Episcopal Church is the
Anglican body in the United States. But the new North
American church says it represents true Anglican beliefs.

----- End Quote -----

The previous news article is referring to V. Gene Robinson,
who is an openly gay man in a long-term relationship, who in
2003, was ordained the bishop of New Hampshire. While these
news reports concentrate on the sick compromise which is now
occurring within the American Christian church, please note
that gay and lesbian militants have in fact been advancing
their agenda worldwide for many years now. This is not just
an American phenomenon. For example, also in July of 2,000,
the Associated Press reported the following development
occurring in Norway:

----- Begin Quote -----

Norway Approves Gay Clergyman

OSLO, Norway (AP) - Norway's minister of churches has
upheld the appointment of an openly gay clergyman - a
precedent-setting ruling that defies the state Lutheran
church's religious guidelines. Minister of Churches and
Education Trond Giske announced Thursday that he had hired
Jens Torstein Olsen. The decision makes Olsen the first
clergyman hired to preach in the Church of Norway while
openly living in a homosexual relationship. The appoint-
ment has caused furious debate that some fear could split
the church. Gay marriages are legal in Norway, with all the
rights of heterosexual marriages except church weddings and
the right to adopt.

----- End Of Quote -----

There should be absolutely no doubt then, that the gay and
lesbian community has carved deep inroads into organized
religion; not only in the United States of America, but in a
number of other countries as well; and it is clear they have
no intentions of stopping there. In fact, sadly, since 2000,
gay "marriage" has become legal in the Netherlands, Belgium,
Spain, Canada, South Africa and Norway; and next month it's
due to become legal in Sweden. Furthermore, the nations of
Israel and France, and the state of New York, USA, recognize
gay "marriages" that are conducted abroad. Also of note is
that gay "marriages" which are performed in the Netherlands
are also recognized as legal in Aruba and the Netherlands
Antilles.

The previous evidence makes it rather clear that these gay
and lesbian militants are not happy with just living their
own delusion and lives of sin as they claim; it is in fact
their ultimate goal to convince the rest of the world that
their lifestyle is normal and acceptable behavior. They want
to convince the rest of us that, contrary to what the Word
of God clearly tells us, sin is no longer a sin. They want
everyone to embrace them as normal people, who are just like
the rest of us, but are they? While we have now taken a look
at the religious angle of their agenda, you are undoubtedly
aware of the fact that there are other techniques which the
gay and lesbian community is employing, in order to achieve
their goals. Let us discuss some of them.

In addition to coercing the religious establishment into
accepting their ungodly lifestyle, another obvious part of
their program is to gain influence with certain sympathizers
within political parties and institutions, with the ultimate
goal being to convince them to modernize and amend certain
laws of the United States of America so that homosexuals and
lesbians are not only protected by law, but are also granted
certain rights and privileges which, until recently, were
only bestowed upon heterosexual, (or male-female), marriage
relationships. Aside from gaining political ground, just as
they have been doing in the religious arena, their intention
seems to be to envelop these unnatural relationships in an
aura of decency, normalcy and respectability; and gaining a
legal status will do exactly that. If you doubt it, just
continue reading.

As more and more misguided priests and politicians begin to
bestow their blessings upon these ungodly relationships, more
and more people will likewise begin to view gay and lesbian
unions as a normal part of American life. In fact as you may
already know, it has already begun to happen; particularly
with the more liberal-minded younger generation. As a result
of this aggressive push by the gay and lesbian community, the
belief that homosexual, (gay and lesbian), relationships are
sinful has already begun to slip into the past; and that is
exactly what they want to happen. They want to replace God's
Standards, with man's standards. They want people to believe
that their sin is no longer sin.

As most of my readers will know by now, the gay and lesbian
community gained a great victory in this area on April 26,
2000, when Howard Dean, the misguided governor of the state
of Vermont, signed into law, a bill which created a legal
status for gay and lesbian unions, known as "civil unions",
which bestows upon them many of the same rights which are
enjoyed by normal, married, heterosexual couples. Following
is a news article from the Associated Press from that time,
which contains the details regarding this historical law:

----- Begin Quote -----

Vermont Governor Signs Bill Creating Marriage-Like 'Civil
Unions'

April 26, 2000

MONTPELIER, Vermont (AP) -- Gov. Howard Dean signed a
first-in-the-nation law Wednesday granting gay couples
nearly all of the benefits of marriage.

"I think it is a courageous and powerful statement about who
we are in the state of Vermont," the Democrat said. "I also
believe that this legislation speaks to the heart of this
state, and certainly to my heart."

The legislation creating marriage-like "civil unions"
reached the governor's desk shortly before lunch time, just
a day after the House gave its final approval. And by the
time of a 2 p.m. news conference, he had already signed it
out of view of TV cameras, photographers and reporters.

Dean said he signed the bill privately because he did not
want the ceremony to be a triumphal party by supporters of
the law. Instead, he said, it was time for the state to
begin healing.

"In politics, bill-signings are triumphal," he said. "They
represent overcoming of one side over another. These
celebrations, as the subject of the matter of the bill, will
be private."

The law will allow gay couples to form civil unions
beginning July 1. That will entitle them to all of the
hundreds of rights and responsibilities available to married
couples under Vermont law in such areas as taxes,
inheritance and medical decision-making.

Other states will probably not recognize Vermont civil
unions, and such status will not entitle gay couples to any
the benefits available to married couples under federal law
in areas such as taxes and immigration.

Nevertheless, no state has gone further than Vermont is
giving gay couples something approximating marriage.

The bill came about after the Vermont Supreme Court
unanimously ruled in December that gay couples were being
unconstitutionally denied the benefits of marriage. The
court left it up to the Legislature time to decide whether
to let gays marry or to create some kind of domestic
partnership.

The legislation passed after strong debate in which
opponents argued that homosexuality is "against natural
law." Opponents have warned that they will make their anger
known at the polls in November when members of the
Legislature are up for re-election.

Under the law, gay couples will be able to go to their town
clerks for licenses and have their unions certified by a
judge or member of the clergy. Breakups will be handled in
Family Court, just as divorces are, although they will be
called dissolutions.

----- End Of Quote -----

Several months after this bill became law in Vermont, state
Representative, Nancy Sheltra, launched a counterattack. She
insisted that the law had to be repealed, before it spread
to other states as well. Sadly, today, nine years later, we
can see the devastating effect that this law had on the USA.
As I write this series update in April 2009, "gay marriage"
has been, currently is, or will be, legal in five American
states. Consider the following table:

Massachusetts   Nov 2003 gay "marriage" legalized
California      Jun 2008 gay "marriage" legalized
Connecticut     Oct 2008 gay "marriage" legalized
California      Nov 2008 Proposition 8 defeats gay "marriage"
Iowa            Apr 2009 gay "marriage" legal as of 04-27-09
Vermont         Sep 2009 gay "marriage" legal as of 09-01-09

Please go to part three for the continuation of this series.

Go To Part Three . . .