Bryan Fischer
Revoice: A conference to regret
By Bryan Fischer
Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"
Host of "Focal Point" on American Family Radio, 1-3pm CT, M-F www.afr.net
A disturbing and fundamentally unbiblical conference is taking place this weekend, called "Revoice." According to organizers, its purpose is: "Supporting, encouraging, and empowering gay, lesbian, same-sex-attracted, and other LGBT Christians so they can flourish while observing the historic, Christian doctrine of marriage and sexuality."
All you need to know about Revoice is contained in this statement. The entire conference is founded and grounded on a lie, on the lie that there is such a thing as an "LGBT Christian." This is an oxymoron. There can be former LGBT Christians, as Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians 6:11: "Such were some of you," but not current or active ones.
The "historic, Christian doctrine of marriage and sexuality" is simple and straightforward and unambiguous, from the first chapter of the Bible to the last. Sex is a gift from God, a powerful gift whose energy must be channeled exclusively into the union of one man and one woman in lifelong marriage. Gay "marriage" is not a marriage at all, but a satanic counterfeit.
One of the issues that has cropped up is whether same-sex attraction – sexual lust for a member of the same sex – is a sin. The impulse is not by itself a sin, it is a temptation, an impulse that must be resisted and fought, not indulged or coddled. In this regard, it is no different than heterosexual lust. Jesus made it abundantly clear that "everyone who looks on a woman with lustful intent" has committed a sin. So lust itself that is not resisted until it leaves ("Resist the devil and he will flee from you" – James 4:7) is a sin.
Therefore, what you must find in a conference like this is robust teaching about God's design for sexuality (homosexuality is not a part of it anywhere) and teaching on how to resist homosexual temptation and leave the homosexual lifestyle entirely.
The organizer of "Revoice" is a Southern Baptist, Nate Collins, who used to teach New Testament interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and therefore should know better than to think it's possible to be Christian and gay. In fact, I'm sure he does know better, but has capitulated to error and is now justifying, defending, and leading others into the error into which he has fallen. Collins tries bizarrely to argue that sexual temptation is not even about sex, which will come as a surprise to anyone who has had to wrestle against it.
He uses this example: "I'm walking down the street and I notice someone jogging past on a hot summer day not wearing a shirt. It's a very different perception of beauty, and my response to that perception of beauty is going to be different. Now neither of those on the surface are intrinsically sexual, I don't think." Well, I don't know exactly what that experience would be like for a homosexual, but I can guarantee that if a heterosexual male sees an attractive woman walking seductively down the street and takes a second look at her, that second look is a sin and it most definitely is intrinsically sexual.
A scan of the workshops offered gives the distinct impression that the purpose of the conference is to help the general Christian population embrace the "queer" (yes, they use that word) culture rather than to urge homosexuals to embrace Christ and Christian culture.
For instance, presenter Grant Hartley asks the question, "What does queer culture (and specifically, queer literature and theory) have to offer us who follow Christ? What queer treasure, honor, and glory will be brought into the New Jerusalem at the end of time (Revelation 21:24-26)?" The possibility that "queer" culture will be a part of the New Jerusalem is obviously not an option that Scripture entertains.
Another seminar asks, "What role (i.e., in the Church) is there for the unique experiences and gifts that sexual minorities bring to the table?" Whether these "sexual minorities" are repentant or unrepentant is not addressed, and yet their role in the church obviously hinges on the answer to that question.
Yet another asks, "What if we did what it took to become places where LGBT+ people could truly thrive in the vocations offered by an orthodox Christian sexual ethic?" Again, any mention of repentance is absent. Another seminar gives guidance to the homosexual "Christian" and when, where, and how to come out of the closet, not when, where, and how to come out of a sexually aberrant lifestyle. ("The particular manner of one's coming out should be determined according to practical wisdom and oriented toward preservation and reconciliation of Christian fellowship.")
In sum, there is not one single, solitary workshop directed to helping a homosexual come to grips with his sexual brokenness and find healing and hope in Christ to walk in sexual righteousness.
Prominent Southern Baptist leader Albert Mohler shares these concerns: "The gospel promises that in Christ, every believer becomes a new creature. Conversion is to be followed by obedience to Christ and the ongoing divine work of sanctification. There is no way that faithful Christians can celebrate what is contrary to Christ, much less propose that any kind of sin and brokenness, including sexual sin and brokenness, will receive honor and glory in the New Jerusalem."
Sadly, a church in the conservative PCA denomination is giving this conference a home. The pastor of this church failed to satisfactorily answer the question of how the church is to respond to someone who comes out of the closet as a Christian and a pedophile and wants to serve in the church. This is just a hint of the morass into which the Church will plunge if it ever accepts that aberrational sexuality has a legitimate place in God's kingdom. Let's hope and pray that "Revoice" will be the last conference of its kind.
© Bryan Fischer
July 27, 2018
Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"
Host of "Focal Point" on American Family Radio, 1-3pm CT, M-F www.afr.net
A disturbing and fundamentally unbiblical conference is taking place this weekend, called "Revoice." According to organizers, its purpose is: "Supporting, encouraging, and empowering gay, lesbian, same-sex-attracted, and other LGBT Christians so they can flourish while observing the historic, Christian doctrine of marriage and sexuality."
All you need to know about Revoice is contained in this statement. The entire conference is founded and grounded on a lie, on the lie that there is such a thing as an "LGBT Christian." This is an oxymoron. There can be former LGBT Christians, as Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians 6:11: "Such were some of you," but not current or active ones.
The "historic, Christian doctrine of marriage and sexuality" is simple and straightforward and unambiguous, from the first chapter of the Bible to the last. Sex is a gift from God, a powerful gift whose energy must be channeled exclusively into the union of one man and one woman in lifelong marriage. Gay "marriage" is not a marriage at all, but a satanic counterfeit.
One of the issues that has cropped up is whether same-sex attraction – sexual lust for a member of the same sex – is a sin. The impulse is not by itself a sin, it is a temptation, an impulse that must be resisted and fought, not indulged or coddled. In this regard, it is no different than heterosexual lust. Jesus made it abundantly clear that "everyone who looks on a woman with lustful intent" has committed a sin. So lust itself that is not resisted until it leaves ("Resist the devil and he will flee from you" – James 4:7) is a sin.
Therefore, what you must find in a conference like this is robust teaching about God's design for sexuality (homosexuality is not a part of it anywhere) and teaching on how to resist homosexual temptation and leave the homosexual lifestyle entirely.
The organizer of "Revoice" is a Southern Baptist, Nate Collins, who used to teach New Testament interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and therefore should know better than to think it's possible to be Christian and gay. In fact, I'm sure he does know better, but has capitulated to error and is now justifying, defending, and leading others into the error into which he has fallen. Collins tries bizarrely to argue that sexual temptation is not even about sex, which will come as a surprise to anyone who has had to wrestle against it.
He uses this example: "I'm walking down the street and I notice someone jogging past on a hot summer day not wearing a shirt. It's a very different perception of beauty, and my response to that perception of beauty is going to be different. Now neither of those on the surface are intrinsically sexual, I don't think." Well, I don't know exactly what that experience would be like for a homosexual, but I can guarantee that if a heterosexual male sees an attractive woman walking seductively down the street and takes a second look at her, that second look is a sin and it most definitely is intrinsically sexual.
A scan of the workshops offered gives the distinct impression that the purpose of the conference is to help the general Christian population embrace the "queer" (yes, they use that word) culture rather than to urge homosexuals to embrace Christ and Christian culture.
For instance, presenter Grant Hartley asks the question, "What does queer culture (and specifically, queer literature and theory) have to offer us who follow Christ? What queer treasure, honor, and glory will be brought into the New Jerusalem at the end of time (Revelation 21:24-26)?" The possibility that "queer" culture will be a part of the New Jerusalem is obviously not an option that Scripture entertains.
Another seminar asks, "What role (i.e., in the Church) is there for the unique experiences and gifts that sexual minorities bring to the table?" Whether these "sexual minorities" are repentant or unrepentant is not addressed, and yet their role in the church obviously hinges on the answer to that question.
Yet another asks, "What if we did what it took to become places where LGBT+ people could truly thrive in the vocations offered by an orthodox Christian sexual ethic?" Again, any mention of repentance is absent. Another seminar gives guidance to the homosexual "Christian" and when, where, and how to come out of the closet, not when, where, and how to come out of a sexually aberrant lifestyle. ("The particular manner of one's coming out should be determined according to practical wisdom and oriented toward preservation and reconciliation of Christian fellowship.")
In sum, there is not one single, solitary workshop directed to helping a homosexual come to grips with his sexual brokenness and find healing and hope in Christ to walk in sexual righteousness.
Prominent Southern Baptist leader Albert Mohler shares these concerns: "The gospel promises that in Christ, every believer becomes a new creature. Conversion is to be followed by obedience to Christ and the ongoing divine work of sanctification. There is no way that faithful Christians can celebrate what is contrary to Christ, much less propose that any kind of sin and brokenness, including sexual sin and brokenness, will receive honor and glory in the New Jerusalem."
Sadly, a church in the conservative PCA denomination is giving this conference a home. The pastor of this church failed to satisfactorily answer the question of how the church is to respond to someone who comes out of the closet as a Christian and a pedophile and wants to serve in the church. This is just a hint of the morass into which the Church will plunge if it ever accepts that aberrational sexuality has a legitimate place in God's kingdom. Let's hope and pray that "Revoice" will be the last conference of its kind.
© Bryan Fischer
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