Re: Is it wise for Christians to link the survival of Christianity to gay discriminat
There is a difference in the way in which one is implicated if he is serving food at an event that is advocating sin, and if he serves food to people who are engaging in sin at an event that is not directly advocating sin. But but in both cases one is most certainly implicated. The thing is this, if you are serving God you are serving God. If you are serving sinners, you are serving sin.
That is incorrect. Jesus, for example, served Sinners. Everyone serves sinners for we all
are sinners. Jesus also walked into the temple and started flipping tables and hitting people with whatever came to hand - because they were not simply sinning, but shifting the purpose of their activity from something Holy to something selfish. Jesus also expected us to serve each other, loving our neighbors as ourselves regardless of their sin.
One can serve food to people who are advocating sin and engaging in sin, IF AND ONLY IF one is purely motivated to please God by doing it.
:shrug: one should definitely seek to give Glory to God in ones' profession, that is indeed made clear:
Colossians 3:17, 23-24 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.... Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ.
There is no way around it. The bottom line is that it depends on the motivation. One can serve food to people who are advocating sin and engaging in sin, IF AND ONLY IF one is purely motivated to please God by doing it. There cannot be the slightest tinge of self aggrandizement.
Ah, no. You are mistaking intention for perfection.
This is because God can see and understand everything, and for a person whose motive is purely to please God, there is no question of being affected by sin, because God is with such a person. Therefore Jesus said the following
Yes, and Jesus was the only Perfect Man. For the rest of us, our imperfect faith is made perfect in Him.
Jesus would not feed people an event with the motive to make some money so he could enjoy mundane objects, so people could look up to him because of his material possessions, because he wife was nagging him to buy her a fur coat, so that he could afford the company of a beautiful young woman, so that he could buy off a politician, so that he could buy weapons to kill his enemies, so that he could enjoy a vacation, or to stop the bill collectors from harassing him. If he would do such a thing, his motivation for doing so would be merely to glorify God, not for any sort of enjoyment or credit for himself. This is due to Jesus understanding perfectly that everything rests on God's energy, and as such everything is meant for the glorification of God.
:shrug: sure. But that is not to say that God does not intend that we profit by our businesses. A nagging wife indicates problems that money won't fix, prostitution and corruption are pretty non-biblical, but there is nothing wrong with enjoying a vacation and
certainly nothing wrong with working hard so that you may be faithful in paying off the debts you owe. Quite the contrary.
In a trade-based economy, you profit mostly to the extent that you serve others (by either providing them with goods or services), which is what God would have us do with our lives. I have always found it intriguing that the economic model that also produces the greatest wealth for humanity is one which bends our actions (regardless of our motivations) to His will in that way.
Mundane people become implicated in sin due to their motivation to glorify and please themselves. Jesus is not implicated in sin because his motivation is always to please God. If one has the slightest motive for self aggrandizement, he is most certainly implicated in sin when he engages in sinful activity or facilitates in any small way sinful activity. This is why Jesus said it is not what goes in that implicates a person in sin, it is actually what is in the person heart, i.e. the motivation that implicates him.
.....Jesus said that what comes out of the mouth come from the heart, and are what defile a man rather than what goes into it (Matt 15:18), and that if you commit lust you have committed adultery in your heart (Matt 5:28), but I don't think I have ever read where He said that sin is restricted to your heart, rather than including your deeds.
However, by the standard you are raising up, it would indeed be wrong for Christian bakers/caterers/photogaphers/etc. to serve a gay wedding - because at that point in their heart they would be choosing to follow the World's commands vice what they believe to be Gods.