Sex in church...

...is nothing new

What is greater than yourself?

What is greater than all of us? Or, more accurately, who is greater?

And if you agree that there is a “Greater”, is that not cause for worship?

Many people think so, and act upon this desire - this need - on a regular basis.

There is an empirical answer to who is greater; actually greatest: God Himself, the Creator of all there is. But not everyone agrees with that.

Of course, whether you agree means very little. You can disagree that water is wet, but that wouldn't make you right.

Pondering creation is pretty easy. You can marvel at a spectacular sunset or contemplate the intricate design of a bunny rabbit and be in awe of creation.

But being in awe of the Creator, well, that's another thing. Plenty of people disagree on how to do that or whether to do it at all.

The human mind can easily grasp a sunset or a rabbit and enjoy those things on their merits, but it's much more complicated to consider God. He is infinite and our minds are unable to fully process that.

Maybe that's why there are so many different opinions on who He is and how to worship Him, if you choose to do so.

And it should come as no surprise that when people amass a system for worship, the finite nature of who we are often limits the infinite majesty and grace of God. We limit Him, to our detriment.

That alone is unfortunate, but understandable. God knows we are “but dust” so we will always approach Him imperfectly. That - because of grace through Jesus- is acceptable.

But what is unacceptable is deliberately twisting who God is and what He wants for us and labeling a counterfeit as holy. It results in worship that is directed somewhere it doesn’t belong.

It's becoming a trend, and to nobody's surprise, it centers on sex. (Sex in Church . . . )

A story in RealClear Investigations takes a look at this. Here are some examples:

The United Methodist Church boasts the first drag queen in the world to become a certified candidate for ordination. This traveling minister, who describes drag ministry as a “divine duty,” is lauded by a Florida pastor as “an angel in heels” after appearing in that church in a sequin dress to deliver a children’s sermon...

Queer theology presents itself as an apocalyptic, revival movement, rendering queer people as angels and saints who are a living foretaste of what’s to come, when all binaries and man-made social constructs fall away as remnants of heterosexual oppression...

Queer theology says: "We’re queer, we have something unique to offer to the church, so we should be received as prophets..."

Now the time is opportune for queer theologians to seize the moment and push the envelope further so that queer identities are not merely accepted but revered...

The point here is not to bash anyone; gay, straight or otherwise. The point is that worshipping God is meant to be transcendent with an eye toward eternity - an eternity that those who embrace Jesus as their Savior and Lord will enjoy in God's presence.

The "queering" of the church is merely another in a long line of distractions (to put it mildly) that remove a worshipper's focus from the eternal, transcendent and divine, to the base, earthly and profane. (. . . is nothing new)

And it doesn't have to be about sex. The same is true for some "pastors" who want you to have "your best life now" when this life should never be the best you can hope for.

Eternity in God's presence is far more wonderful than anything this realm can offer. Settling for your best now is a lousy deal. And because you’re giving earthly things priority in your life, well, that’s called idolatry.

The list of these mortal distractions can go on, but the fundamental problem with any worship that does not focus on the grandeur of God, the sinfulness of humankind, and His plan for redemption is just self-worship. And as anyone with a modicum of honesty and self-evaluation can tell you, your self will sometimes let others down, and yourself, too.

No human is perfect, ergo no human should be worshipped. But we do it anyway.

It was God who said, 2,000 years ago, that people who desire to worship Him don't really have the right to do it just any ol’ way they want.

You may ask, why? The answer is simple. If we worship God in way that is offensive to Him, we are not worshipping at all. We are just doing what pleases us.

For example, if a woman tells a man she loves him and his response is to remain silent and ignore her, then what is her reaction going to be? "He doesn't love me." Or, take it to an extreme. What if he says "I love you" in return, but adds "and I love football, beer and pizza." She won't feel very valuable, will she?

That’s sort of how God reacts when He knows our response to Him is superficial, phony and self-absorbed. He’s knows our heart is sold out for ourselves, not anyone else; certainly not Him.

If you say you love God and take the time to go to seminary, establish a ministry and fill the seats with people, why ignore the framework that the one you claim to worship established? It’s probably because you want the Burger King of churches: have it your way, not God's.

This is nothing new.

In Revelation, John writes down the words God gave him for the churches of that day.

To the church in Ephesus, God says, "You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”

Their “first love” was serving God; loving Him and loving others. They gave that up for a counterfeit.

God says this to the church at Pergamum: "I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore!”

Now let’s go over to the church at Thyatira where He says this: "You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways."

There you have it, sex in church. Throw in some idolatry, too. For good measure.

Tough stuff, and there's actually more. But you get the point.

If you're not a follower of Christ, none of this means anything to you. But the churches that are "queering" the pulpit and the congregation are mistaken if they think they're on the cutting edge of how to approach God and live for Him.

They haven’t figured out anything new. They're following a script that was written long before humankind was born, a script that tells people they can do what they want, when they want and how. God doesn't really mean what He says. You're your own boss. And people buy it, because it feels good. But God, who some people worship supposedly, and others worship genuinely, will have the last word.

And where will that leave you?