(Originally published September 2013)
It is old news now that Alan Manning Chambers and John Paulk current and former leaders of Exodus International, a popular ex-homosexual organization have both publicly denounced their “ex-homosexual” convictions.
It was just a matter of time before major changes would have to take place at Exodus International. The ultimate change recently took place when the Exodus International president announced the closing of the 38 year old ministry.
Earlier this year I visited a popular homosexual web site and read a dialogue between them and an informed Christian. During that dialogue, they were happy to bring up the Alan Chambers flip-flop as evidence that Christians who believed that homosexuals could change were wrong. The Christian promptly informed them that since Chambers was foolish enough to place himself in a homosexual interrogation room for three hours being totally unprepared and without proper support and knowledge to deal with their line of questioning, and knowing full well that he was not delivered from his own same sex attraction (SSA), homosexual desires and was therefore not qualified to lead anyone and especially not an entire organization, he is hardly any evidence of anything but the problem.
This is indeed the truth, people like Alan Chambers and John Paulk are a big part of the problem as such people are not dedicated to biblical truth but to “feelings” and stand in the way of homosexuals seeking to change.
Not only are such people a hindrance to homosexuals trying to get free from their spiritual and moral sin-bondage, but they are also a problem for true Christian ministers who are forced to confront those who occupy space within the local churches while propagating views that go against biblical truth. This is nothing new; it was a problem in the early church as well.
(1Tim. 1:19-20, 2 Tim. 2:16-18, 2 Pet. 2:1-3)
My question to those true Christians that were associated with Chambers and Paulk is this, were you aware of their propensity towards compromise in favor of their orientation before they rose to the top? What steps were taken if any to prevent them from occupying leadership positions and what kind of help was given to them to bring them into a sound biblical understanding?
My guess is that little if anything was done by the believers that were around them, other than reaffirm their “love” for them.
Alan Chambers, John Paulk and others like them are examples to all Christians of what happens when we deviate from scripture for the sake of false “love” in dedication to “feeling good” about self.
This is not the first time nor will it be the last when so called “Christians”, milking the misguided “love” of the church, will use the church to raise large sums of money, gain leadership power and compile information about Christian leaders (that can be used against them later), while continuing in their sinful lusts, only to finally betray the true body of Christ in the name of misguided “love” and feeling good about self in spite of sinful desires.
When will we allow God to truly lead us and help us to spot snakes among us? When will we in love start taking our obligation to try the spirits by the word seriously?
When will we stand up to those professing “Christians” in our midst who we know are acting and living contrary to what God has told us in His word?
When will we in true Christian love stop allowing such people to be promoted up our ranks until they get to the top leadership office only to then be exposed as a false brother or sister, a compromiser or a false prophet?
I don’t know if we ever will because it seems that we refuse to apply the system that God has put in place to prevent such outcomes for so long that our churches and organizations are by now fully infiltrated by those whose god is there belly and flesh, who mind earthly things. (Phil.3:19) And our members are so spiritually dumbed down as to what the Bible actually teaches about true biblical love that far too many don’t know what true biblical love is.
Confronting ungodliness now seems to be taboo and unloving, and hiding a matter now seems to be an expression of great love. That’s what failing to rightly divide and teach the word of God will do. That is what happens when other true believers around such people fail to insist on their striving to live up to the biblical standard of morality.
It seems we are living in the last days and more and more true believers are being viewed as the outcasts while weak believers and false Christians are allowed to set the standards and take over our ministries or start their own which we then foolishly support, forgetting that we are warned that such people will mislead other.
“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
(2 Timothy 3:13)
We can delay this terrible out come as long as possible by becoming better, more loving brothers and sisters and being honest with each other and more faithful to God’s word.
If a brother or a sister is overtaken in a fault, we should not excuse it and just pray for them and allow them to advance in our ranks “by faith”, we are to work to restore them in the spirit of true love, and that, not while giving them the green light to excel in our ranks. (Galatians 6:1)
We can delay it by taking stronger stands on fornication, adultery, pornography and other clear cut sins that has been allowed to run rampant in our churches for the sake of misguided “love” while allowing the violator to continue the upward climb to the top of the church or organization, with little or no loving training and scrutiny. No, I am not referring to those who have committed these sins in the past but who have overcame them and have grown to live productive godly lives. There is no need to get it twisted, I am referring to those who refuse to repent and be open and honest about their state and condition, and who rather justifies perpetuation of their sins by claiming God’s grace.
Concerning such people we are clearly told to remove them from among us until they truly repent and proceed to live a godly life. (1 Corinthians 5:1-2)
True Christians have got to learn to recognize the lackluster commitment to the truth of God’s word when so called believers use words that clearly place the feelings of those determined to practice ungodliness over and above the biblical standards of holiness.
When so called believers, tout the grace of God as a license to overlook and even celebrate ungodly behavior, it should be clear that they are not concerned about God’s will. So why would a true Christian overlook such blatant unbiblical conversation? Why are far too many Christians so afraid of being accused of being “unloving” for responding biblically to ungodliness and unrighteous communication?
Does the fact that there are and have been both well-meaning and not so well meaning professing believers who have abused such Biblical obligations to judge the conduct and comments of those who claim to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ by using truly unloving comments and actions, cancel out the biblical mandate to “judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24), and to take appropriate loving actions against the violators? The answer is no.
Yet we have allowed luke-worm believers and false brethren to use such unfortunate, and what should be intolerable actions to manipulate true believers into abandoning our obligations to God, the local church and the body of Christ. Part of the results is an Alan Chambers and John Paulk. There will be many more.
Yes, we are living in the last days, and more and more God will be pulling out all the stops to distinguish the true believers from false brethren.
My call is to those who truly love God and His word; for you it has always been time to take a stand for God and operate in true biblical love concerning others around you who profess a relationship with Jesus Christ.
The only way to truly help those who are trying to serve two masters is to tell them the truth in love and make sure others know the truth about what they are saying and doing if they refuse to repent. That is “biblical love” and nothing short of it will do.