The world is in darkness and sin is abounding. Minds and hearts are being blinded by the passions and lusts of the flesh. Society is moving farther and farther away from the holiness of God’s Word. Professing Christians are embracing the liberal mindset of the world. Not only is marriage not respected as a lifetime commitment, but it is no longer viewed exclusively as a relationship between a man and a woman. What hope is there in this ungodly generation?
Years ago, a minister walked into the hospital room of a young gay man who was dying of AIDS. The man, in the last days of his life, lay on the hospital bed dressed in a pink negligee. The minister asked to visit with him.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” the young man replied. “You are just going to tell me that I’m going to hell when I die.”
“No,” the minister responded. “I want to tell you about God’s love for you.”
The minister began to tell this young, homo-sexual man, who had lived a life of great sin, about the wonderful love of God. He shared with him the beautiful truth of John 3:16-17. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
As the minister talked about the love of Jesus and how He came to save us from our sins, tears came to the dying man’s eyes. He prayed to the Lord and asked God to forgive him for all his sins. At that moment, this young man became a new creature in Jesus Christ. All the old things were passed away and everything became new (2 Corinthians 5:17). He may have been rejected by his family, he may have caused much pain to people around him, he may have lived a life of gross sin and debauchery, but God loved and accepted him. He was cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ and made clean.
The young man immediately called for the nurse and asked for a regular hospital gown. This was just one small sign of this man’s true repentance before God. He asked the minister to preach his funeral. “There will be many of my gay friends at my funeral. I want you to tell them what you told me. Tell them that God loves them!”
Oh, hallelujah, praise God! As David said, “There is forgiveness with thee” (Psalm 130:4). The love and forgiveness of Jesus are extended to everyone still today, no matter how egregious or sick the sin. “Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
There was a woman who was brought to Jesus by the religious leaders. She was caught in the very act of adultery and was faced with judgment and condemnation. However, “Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). Amid the judgments of others, she found a place of acceptance with Jesus. He offered hope and did not leave her in her sin. While the world says the love of Jesus accepts sin, the true love and power of Jesus will elevate from sin so that people can go and sin no more.
There was another woman whom Christ met beside a well of water. She said that she had no husband. Jesus told her that she said correctly, “For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband” (John 4:18). Jesus told her about living water that would quench the thirst of the soul. Many are just like this woman. Moving from relationship to relationship did not satisfy her longing. People are seeking the pleasures and passions of the flesh in an attempt to find purpose, identity, and satisfaction. Because those things never satisfy, people go deeper and deeper into sin, seeking yet never finding true peace. Jesus came to minister to the depth of the soul. When people yield to Jesus Christ and forsake their sins, they will find true peace and acceptance.
Paul, the apostle, spoke to the saints in Corinth about those who would not inherit the kingdom of God: fornicators, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, drunkards, etc. He said, “Such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified” (1 Corinthians 6:11). What joyous words to hear in this evil time. “Such were some of you, but….” It doesn’t matter how sinfully or what lifestyle someone has lived, there is salvation for all.
“Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20). The grace of God is still more powerful than all the passions and bondage of the flesh. So, go tell them. Go tell the world of God’s love. Tell them of salvation. Tell them of the hope and peace that is in Jesus Christ! ■
