What happens before God abandons a person? Their heart becomes calloused and is hardly receptive to the call of the Spirit:
Matthew 13:15 (NIV) 15 "For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them."
understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them."
Many people reject the tug of the Holy Spirit because they're not yet through with pleasure. (Hint: If you're never saved you're never through with temporal pleasure). People who think like this actually try to plan salvation: "I will submit to God when I'm old and am through with having fun." "Planned Salvation" doesn't work. You can't decide that "someday I'll submit" because that day never comes. Salvation is not of your doing, but God's. You must come to Him when he's ready to receive you, not when it's convenient for you! When your mind becomes ready your heart may not!
Jesus summons you constantly. He knocks at your heart's door! If you fail to answer your chance of submission lessens each day. Just as a hand gets calloused from using that epidermal layer, your heart gets hardened by using your strong will. After your heart is calloused it becomes exponentially harder for you to soften and submit. The preceding verse (Matt 13:15) says that those with calloused hearts "hardly hear", but they still can if they try! If they were to begin listening and understanding Jesus says "I will heal them." Jesus is the cure for a calloused heart, but you must give that heart in faith to the "good doctor"! However, you can't give it after it's calloused. (It must still be a healthy heart). You must give it to prevent it from being calloused. Callousness is your warning signal. Don't approach that danger!
If a person resists the call of the Spirit often enough the callousness becomes petrification. Their heart resides spiritually dead within their body. They are zombie-like in that they are spiritually dead, but physically alive. They are "reprobate". God has abandoned them due to their own unbelief! The penalty for unbelief is eternal damnation!
Where does the Bible say that and to whom is it speaking?
Romans 1:27-29 (KJV) 27" And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;..."
The Bible is speaking of those who sin against their own bodies. Paul speaks of homosexuality. It couldn't be more clear! Those involved in a homosexual lifestyle are abandoned by God to eternal damnation. It would appear that the norm is that those who live that lifestyle are already reprobate, but since we have a gracious God, let's give them the benefit of the doubt. Again, let's not put God in a box because he's free to do what he will do and prayer does change things!
Leviticus 18:22 (KJV) "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."
Men shall not lay down (sexually) with another man or a woman with another woman. That is abomination! Abomination means disgusting. A person who is a homosexual, says Scripture, is disgusting to God! What do these people need to do? Repent, obey and accept (Jesus, not homosexuality). God is gracious! If one is sincere and has contrition, God can be convinced to change his mind!
If one still does not understand how detestable that practice is they only need to read the hell fire and damnation inflicted on the homosexuals of Sodom and Gemmorah! Why is God so against homosexuality?
First off, God is holy and without sin. God expects his creation to be the same! That applies to any sin. Why so much emphasis on homosexuality? Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. Jesus uses the holy rite of marriage as a metaphor for himself and his relationship to us, the church. Since God ordained marriage between a male and a female (Genesis) then persons are disobedient and disrespectful of what God planned for man and woman... marriage! By having sexual knowledge with a member of the same sex, not only are homosexuals spitting in the face of marriage as a divine institution, they are also spitting in the face of Christ and his relationship to the church. By such disobedience the homosexual is so engrossed in pleasure that God's will is totally ignored. and God is not respected Hence, they (the homosexuals) become an abomination!
We have a problem here! Many people have a friend or relative whom they love who is a homosexual. They don't want to abandon that loved one, so they not only condone aberrant behavior, but by doing so are encouraging it! By being tolerant they are damning the very one they are protecting. The best thing that a Christian person can do is to tell their loved one about the saving grace of Jesus and pray that God might undo their reprobate heart! He can do that.
God is all about obedience to Him, not tolerance of sin.
I'm sorry that I have to be so direct. This is not meant to hurt, but to encourage. God loves the sinner even in his sin and if someone reprobate submits to Jesus, not only will all the angels in heaven sing, but that person will love Jesus more because He has forgiven more of them!
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