Reformed Church in America splits over LGBTQ

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ZNP

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2020
37,498
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#21
Interesting point. I was thinking about pretrib rapture of the church. Given the world, and the church today, If/when it occurs, the people and the churches won't see anything happen. I see all the prepping going on, but I see very few people actually prepared for the times ahead.
Prepping might be helpful for the first six months of the tribulation, but that is it. There is no savior other than Jesus, no salvation in any other name.
 

Laura798

Well-known member
Jun 6, 2020
1,716
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#22

This Pews Research Article is from 2015 and says acceptance of homosexuality and same sex marriage is going up in the church universal. I have met these people--they say it is mostly the young who are more accepting, but I have met those over 50 say tentatively they are accepting of it--what's disturbing is how easily influenced those in the church are by the world--take Critical Race Theory--a version of which was voted in by the Southern Baptist Convention.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-ta...-groups-grow-more-accepting-of-homosexuality/

I have visited many churches in the past 8 years trying to find a simple gospel centered church and have yet to find one--I live in the SF Bay Area, but I believe this is happening everywhere now. I meet people who have been going to church for years and don't know some of the foundational truths of the gospel--like Roman Catholics they don't bother to study scripture for themselves and take whatever their pastors/teachers say as truth.

The church has become a business--they want to Welcome All-they are no long focused on the believer, but the unbeliever, so what do they attract? And when we have these unbelievers (of course anyone can visit church, but it should be focused on believers, not unbelievers) the gospel gets watered down and people become more accepting of the world and its lies--of course initiated by Satan himself.
 

ZNP

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2020
37,498
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#23
This Pews Research Article is from 2015 and says acceptance of homosexuality and same sex marriage is going up in the church universal. I have met these people--they say it is mostly the young who are more accepting, but I have met those over 50 say tentatively they are accepting of it--what's disturbing is how easily influenced those in the church are by the world--take Critical Race Theory--a version of which was voted in by the Southern Baptist Convention.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-ta...-groups-grow-more-accepting-of-homosexuality/

I have visited many churches in the past 8 years trying to find a simple gospel centered church and have yet to find one--I live in the SF Bay Area, but I believe this is happening everywhere now. I meet people who have been going to church for years and don't know some of the foundational truths of the gospel--like Roman Catholics they don't bother to study scripture for themselves and take whatever their pastors/teachers say as truth.

The church has become a business--they want to Welcome All-they are no long focused on the believer, but the unbeliever, so what do they attract? And when we have these unbelievers (of course anyone can visit church, but it should be focused on believers, not unbelievers) the gospel gets watered down and people become more accepting of the world and its lies--of course initiated by Satan himself.
Real believers are coming out of this apostasy, as the "Mainline Denominations" see dramatic declines in membership and are also becoming older (no new members, simply the old people are hanging on till they die) at the same time we are seeing a comparable increase in the numbers involved in non denominational, pentecostal and evangelical churches.

In a desperate attempt to get members they are embracing LGBTQ and in reality opening themselves up to the FreeMasons and Satanic worship.
 

arthurfleminger

Well-known member
Aug 18, 2021
1,405
780
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#24
Real believers are coming out of this apostasy, as the "Mainline Denominations" see dramatic declines in membership and are also becoming older (no new members, simply the old people are hanging on till they die) at the same time we are seeing a comparable increase in the numbers involved in non denominational, pentecostal and evangelical churches.

In a desperate attempt to get members they are embracing LGBTQ and in reality opening themselves up to the FreeMasons and Satanic worship.
As I previously said, those so called Christian Churches that bless homosexual marriages as sacred rites are doing nothing less than worshipping Satan and not God. And Satan loves the fact that so many of our Churches have fallen to worshipping him and politics rather than God and Jesus.
 

ZNP

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2020
37,498
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#25
As I previously said, those so called Christian Churches that bless homosexual marriages as sacred rites are doing nothing less than worshipping Satan and not God. And Satan loves the fact that so many of our Churches have fallen to worshipping him and politics rather than God and Jesus.
"Our churches"?

The seven churches in Revelation are very significant in helping the genuine believers to mature. Yes, some tolerate Jezebel, some have false prophets like Balaam, some pretend to be alive and are dead. In every case they teach us to be absolute for the Lord, to return to our first love, and to be against everything that would fight against the knowledge of God. It is a process by which God's people are transformed into overcomers.
 

Laura798

Well-known member
Jun 6, 2020
1,716
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#26
As I previously said, those so called Christian Churches that bless homosexual marriages as sacred rites are doing nothing less than worshipping Satan and not God. And Satan loves the fact that so many of our Churches have fallen to worshipping him and politics rather than God and Jesus.

And Arthur, it's not only that--I have a Christian friend her and her husband serve in their church and yet she told me about her daughters friend--14 year old girl who now identifies as a boy--my friend proceeded to call the girl a HE and called her by her new MALE name--understand she knows very well where I stand on these things--so she did it simply without thinking--that's how bad it has become. Please know that just a few years ago many girls were identifying as bi-sexual--thinking it was 'cool' to do so.

There is a well known pastor here in the SF Bay area--he was let go after some controversy regarding his adult son. Never mind that his daughter at 30 'decided' she identified as a man--got her breasts amputated and with the assistance of male hormones grew a beard. She married a man who became a woman--they are both 'intellectuals'--brilliant actually, but brilliance does not equate wisdom--spiritual or otherwise. Even the church in a letter to this 'woman' identified her by her male name (in a public letter in reference to the controversy with her brother).

To see them before: an attractive man and woman--and after? Like freaks from a circus side show.

A person now can simply 'decide' they are this and that--can you imagine thinking you could defy the laws of gravity and fly off a 12 story building? Or if you decided your dog was now a cat--or like the strange woman who tried to make her face more cat --like?

We live in strange and evil times--up is down, down is up--nothing is TRUE--they SCREAM SCIENCE IS OUR GOD, while at the same time denying it. "They will call evil, good, and good, evil."

excuse not editing
 

ZNP

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2020
37,498
6,929
113
#27
Come out from her my people and don't partake of her plagues.

Everyone in the church in Philadelphia came out from one of the previous 5 churches which is why one of the promises is that they will not need to go out anymore.

The other churches tolerate Jezebel, they have false prophets like Balaam, they are where Satan's seat is, they are dying and are full of pretense, and the Lord even calls them "the synagogue of Satan". They provide an opportunity for the genuine believers to grow, to mature, to overcome. They learn to return to their first love, to not love their life unto death, to be against all that is contrary to the Lord.

Those that refuse to come out of these corrupt and dead churches become Laodicea.
 

arthurfleminger

Well-known member
Aug 18, 2021
1,405
780
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#28
Real believers are coming out of this apostasy, as the "Mainline Denominations" see dramatic declines in membership and are also becoming older (no new members, simply the old people are hanging on till they die) at the same time we are seeing a comparable increase in the numbers involved in non denominational, pentecostal and evangelical churches.

In a desperate attempt to get members they are embracing LGBTQ and in reality opening themselves up to the FreeMasons and Satanic worship.

Satan attempts to destroy the Churches from within. And the abominations of the LGBTQ movement is a primary means of destroying the true faith of the Church with Satan's lies:
1 Timothy 4:1

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;”

King James Version (KJV)
 

Gideon300

Well-known member
Mar 18, 2021
5,441
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#29
Interesting point. I was thinking about pretrib rapture of the church. Given the world, and the church today, If/when it occurs, the people and the churches won't see anything happen. I see all the prepping going on, but I see very few people actually prepared for the times ahead.
I believe that there is a "church within the church". Some call them overcomers, myself included. They are also known as the remnant, a principle that God has gone by for thousands of years.

I believe that it is the overcomers/remnant who will be taken up prior to the great tribulation. They are the believers that restrain. Those to whom Christianity is a religion, who have more interest in the world than the kingdom or who just want to be known as Christian, will be left behind. They will have a great incentive to get real with God and quit playing playing church. There is no fence to sit on. The tribulation will force the issue, God's way or the devil's. It will likely cost those Christians who choose God's way dearly. But they will not be found in the lake of fire either.
 

Gideon300

Well-known member
Mar 18, 2021
5,441
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#30
No doubt that every time our churches bless and marry gays, and add the abomination to their worship services, Satan is there and laughing with delight. A big slap in the fact to God and God's will. How did we end up here?
Many reasons, primarily not taking God seriously. Divisiveness is a big problem still. The gospel has been watered down until it is unrecognisable. The reputation of the church has been more important than dealing with sin. The church generally has welcomed anyone. This means that the world has been welcome and the church has changed to accommodate it. We don't want to offend anyone, do we? The weekly attendance figures might go down. Tithing may reduce. There are a lot of expenses to cover.

It did not have to be this way, but we are seeing the results now. Much of the church is so accommodating that it's hard to tell the difference between the church and the world. Lord Jesus is an offence, the cross is an offence, the gospel is an offence. So Christ is no longer preached, the cross hardly rates a mention and the "gospel" is nothing like the true gospel. Paul Washer is a bit over the top, but he makes some really good points.

Church growth should be measured in changed lives, people delivered, becoming more Christlike, not in numbers. Success is not going from 300 to 3,000 in a meeting. It's in how many people go from converts to disciples, from carnal to kingdom, from self centred to Christ centred. That will often mean people leaving because it gets too intense for them. But those who remain will be like gold refined, precious to God even if despised by many.

God will have His church because Lord Jesus is the builder. Lord Jesus cannot fail. It will shock many to find out who is in and who is excluded. It's good make sure that we are of those who are truly in the Church and not those who are merely spectators. No one hands out prizes to spectators.
 

mustaphadrink

Senior Member
Dec 13, 2013
1,987
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#31
Judging by what I have read of late regarding homosexuals they are not at all interested in what they are demanding. They want to infiltrate to destroy. In my country since same-sex marriage was legalized, there was a rush and a total of 4% of them got married. Then it all died down so in fact there was no great demand for SSM. Their main purpose in demanding that was to cause a further breakdown in God's design for families and to make society a sex free for all which they have admitted to.