Let’s consider for a moment the homosexual political agenda. It’s a radical one that most people are not really aware of. If enacted, it would serve to undermine the Biblical concept of the family.

The first goal, of course, is to repeal all state laws against sodomy. Until 1961 every state in the Union had a law against sodomy. Since that time, state after state has repealed its anti-sodomy law due to pressure and threats from homosexual activists and organizations like the ACLU despite the fact that the Supreme Court has consistently upheld the constitutional right of states to pass such laws.

Another goal high on the political agenda is to get special laws enacted that would prohibit any kind of discrimination against homosexuals. The proposed laws are broad in scope. Some would prohibit a person from refusing to rent a room in his home to a homosexual. Others would go so far as to penalize a church for refusing to hire a homosexual, and organizations like the Boy Scouts would be required to recruit homosexual leaders. The most ominous laws are those that would classify verbal attacks on the homosexual lifestyle as “hate crimes.” The latter laws could be applied to media ministers as well as preachers in the pulpit.

Pressure is mounting from homosexual activists groups and their allies (the ACLU, the NEA, and NOW) for the legalization of homosexual marriages in every state. Certain other demands go hand in hand with this one. One is that homosexual couples be given the same tax breaks as traditional families. Another is that such couples be given equal consideration in the adoption of children. And, of course, there are demands that the homosexual “family” be presented in the public schools as an alternative lifestyle.

The “Gay” Lifestyle

Let’s take a closer look at the perverted lifestyle of homosexuals. I warn you ahead of time that the following information is graphic and disturbing.

Promiscuity is the norm. In a 1978 study, 43% of homosexuals admitted to having sex with more than 500 partners, and 28% to having sex with more than 1,000! They also revealed that most of their sexual partners were anonymous persons with whom they had sex only once. A 1981 study found that only 2% of homosexuals are “near monogamous” meaning that they had 10 or fewer sexual partners in a lifetime.

The sexual practices of homosexuals are even more appalling. The Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality reports:

Two-thirds of homosexuals regularly lick and/or insert their tongue into the anus of their partners.

More than one-third participate in “fisting” that is, the insertion of the hand into the rectum of a lover.

Thirty per cent participate in “golden showers.” This is where one person urinates on the other, sometimes into the mouth of his lover.

Thirty-seven per cent admitted participating in some form of sado-masochism (torture for sexual pleasure).

Ninety per cent admitted to some form of illegal drug use.

Seventeen per cent said they had either eaten or rubbed themselves with the feces of a partner!

Gay? The old derisive term, “Queer,” seems more appropriate.

The Deadly Pay-Off

Satan has attempted to disguise the sinfulness of homosexuality by having it dubbed “the gay lifestyle.” But God will not be mocked. The Bible teaches that we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7).

The Apostle Paul says that homosexuals suffer the consequence of their sin by “receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error” (Romans 1:27). The truth of that statement has always been evidenced in the psychological suffering of homosexuals.

But the statement has taken on new significance in recent years with the sudden outbreak of specifically homosexual diseases like AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), originally known as “the Gay Plague.”

The result of their filthy sexual practices and their gross promiscuity is that the homosexual community is plagued with disease. Two-thirds of all AIDS cases result from homosexual activity, and homosexuals account for one-half of all syphilis cases even though they constitute only 1% of the population.

It is no wonder that the average age of homosexuals dying with AIDS is 39. The average age of homosexuals dying of all other causes is 41. And only 1% of homosexuals live to the age of 65! That compares to 73% of heterosexual males who live to age 65 or over.

Homosexuality is not an alternative “lifestyle.” It is an alternative “deathstyle”!

Is there hope for the homosexual?

Yes, there is. The only hope is Jesus Christ. Through the power of His Spirit, the homosexual can be delivered from bondage to his sin, either by receiving complete deliverance from his perverted lust or by receiving the power to control the lust.

The most encouraging message any homosexual could ever be given is one contained in the Word of God in I Corinthians 6:9-11. This passage begins with some very bad news, but it ends with incredibly good news. The bad news is put in the following words: “Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit thekingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

Paul minces no words in this statement, and the impact is devastating. Homosexuals are condemned with the worst of sinners. But in the very next verse, Paul provides a wonderful glimpse of hope for the homosexual: “And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.”

Isn’t that marvelous? Those words were addressed to saved children of God! Paul says, “And such were some of you.” Yes, some of the Christians at Corinth had been sexual perverts, but they had been delivered from their bondage by the power of God in Christ Jesus. Their sins had been forgiven and forgotten by a God who does not wish that any should perish (Hebrews 8:12 and 2 Peter 3:9).

Like all sinners, the homosexual will find forgiveness and deliverance when he gets on his knees and repents of his sin. He will also find acceptance in the Church.
The Church

The Church has been severely criticized for having a “condemning attitude” toward homosexuals. The criticism is unjustified.

The Church cannot receive homosexuals into its fellowship when they come without repenting, demanding that the Church endorse their sin. To do so would be equivalent to the Church accepting adulterers who brag of their sexual conquests and refuse to repent.

Yes, the Church is a hospital for sinners and not a spiritual Phi Beta Kappa society. But the Church is a hospital for sinners who are willing to confess their sins and seek reconciliation with God.

False prophets are all over the landscape today, and they are a sign of the times pointing to the soon return of Jesus.

Jesus Himself warned of false prophets in the end times. His most detailed discourse on end time signs is recorded in Matthew 24. In that passage the very first sign He mentions is false prophets (Matthew 24:4-5), and it is the only sign He repeats (Matthew 24:11,24). His warning was blunt and plain spoken:”Many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many.”

The Apostle Paul echoed the Lord’s warning when he spoke to the elders of the church in Ephesus. Here’s how he put it, as recorded in Acts 20:28-31 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock… [for] I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, be on the alert.”

Peter and John also warned against the danger of false prophets. Peter asserted that false prophets would “introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master” (2 Peter 2:1). John exhorted his brethren to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

John proceeded to provide a test that should be given to prophets. He said they are to be asked to confess that “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” and that He is from God (1 John 4:2). He went on to assert that anyone who refuses to confess that Jesus is from God has the “spirit of antichrist” (1 John 4:3).

The Old Testament test of a prophet is spelled out in Deuteronomy 18:22 —”When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously…”

This, of course, is an obvious test. But what if the prophecy is fulfilled? Does that guarantee that the prophet is speaking for God? Not necessarily. The reason is that a prophetic utterance might be fulfilled by coincidence or because of supernatural insight given to the prophet by Satan. So there must be other tests.

Additional Tests

1) Does the prophet speak in the name of a god other than the true God revealed in Scripture?
If a prophet speaks in the name of Allah or Baal or Vishnu, you can be assured that he is a false prophet.

“If a prophet… rises among you and gives you a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known), and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of the prophet…for the Lord your God is testing you.”(Deuteronomy 13:1-3)

2) Does the prophet’s message pass the test of Scripture?
If a prophet tells you that you can be saved by putting your faith in Mary, the mother of Jesus, you can be certain he is not a spokesman for God.

“But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8)

3) Does the prophet’s life manifest a commitment to holiness?
If a prophet lives a sinful life, his prophecies are to be doubted.

“Among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing; the committing of adultery and walking in falsehood… Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets, ‘Behold, I am going to feed them wormwood and make them drink poisonous water.'” (Jeremiah 23:14-15)

4) Does the prophet’s teaching produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)?
If the prophet’s followers are motivated to worldly living, the prophet does not speak for God.

“Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits… a good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.” (Matthew 7:15-16,18)

5) Does the prophet emphasize vain visions?
If the prophet focuses on personal visions with sensational insights (visits to Heaven or Hell, for example), his words are to be distrusted.

“Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by… taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.” (Colossians 2:18)

6) Does the prophet deliver only positive messages?
If the prophet never issues a call for repentance, he is to be suspect.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; they speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, ‘You will have peace…” They say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.'” (Jeremiah 23:16-17)

7) Does the prophet appear to be greedy for monetary gain?
If the prophet operates in a manner that makes it appear that his greatest interest is money, he is to be avoided.

“From the least even to the greatest, everyone is greedy for gain; from the prophet even to the priest, everyone practices deceit. And they heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, saying, “Peace, peace.” But there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 8:10-11)

8) Does the prophet focus on the exaltation of Jesus?
If a prophet tries to bring attention to himself or focuses on the Antichrist or the sensational, he is to be questioned.

“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10)

Over and over, the Word of God commands us to test all messages lest we be deceived and led astray. Paul urged the people of Berea to test everything he taught them, and they did so by “examining the Scriptures daily” to see whether what he was teaching was scriptural (Acts 17:10-11). Paul was an apostle! How much more so should we test everything we hear taught by the standard of the Word of God.

The tragedy is that most professing Christians today are incapable of testing anything because they are biblically ignorant. There is a famine of the Word in most churches today (Amos 8:11) as people are fed a diet of pop psychology and positive thinking.

What about you? Are you in the Word on a daily basis? Are you capable of testing doctrine by Scripture? If not, then you are a sitting duck for deception.”Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).