Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

Martin Luther

by Kevin Au

When we think of the Reformation, no other name comes to mind more than Martin Luther, and for good reason. This was the man who stood at the forefront of the German Reformation, nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, and stood before men who could take his life yet held his ground at the Diet of Worms in one of the greatest moments in church history. But underneath these grand acts of devotion to the truth lay a deep appreciation and die hard commitment to the Bible as basis for truth.

Luther spent most of his early years in preparation to become a lawyer, and came very close, except by a surprising act of God. As Luther was on the road, coming home from law school, he was caught in a thunderstorm and so frightened that he vowed to St. Ann to commit his life to the monastery if he survived. Luther admitted later that this was a blatant act of sin, but he and all of subsequent church history is thankful for all the good that came of it.

True to his word, he committed his life to the monastery, where he developed a deep sense of his sin and guilt, but without the proper understanding of the gospel to free him. He was constantly tortured by his own guilt, desperately seeking God’s approval and mercy on his soul with his sorrow and acts to please God. He would often beat himself, hoping to curry some favor from God. Through his study of the Bible, he would come to understand that salvation and righteousness comes by faith alone. His passion for getting the truth out to the common man would soon challenge the heresy of his day.

What characterized Luther’s ministry and drove his influence in the church was his devotion to and emphasis on the Bible, or the external Word, as he called it. He believed that the Bible was true, applicable, and more valuable than the authority of the hierarchical establishment of Rome. It wasn’t long before a host of circulated writings attacked the beliefs and practices of the established church. This culminated with the nailing of his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, as Luther publicly challenged the stranglehold of the Catholic Church.

This was revolutionary. Revolutionary enough that he was brought before the Imperial Diet and given an ultimatum: either he recant his writings or be condemned as a heretic and punished. In response, Luther gave his famous defense, concluding that “I neither can nor will make any retraction, since it is neither safe nor honourable to act against conscience.

Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.”

Luther escaped his sentence with the aid and protection of Frederick the Wise, ruler of Saxony. He spent the rest of his days practically in exile in Saxony, where his ministry took place in relatively quieter fashion. Though most would know of the grander events of his earlier life, the bulk of his ministry took place during the rest of his years, as he took on the role of preacher, teacher, and writer.

While he was known as a university professor for most of his life, Luther was also a regular preacher, preaching well over 3000 sermons between 1510 and 1546.

In addition to this, Luther also was a family man. He married Katharina von Bora and had 6 children with her, also having to deal with the loss of his daughter Elizabeth in the midst of the busyness of his life.

During these years as well, Luther’s ministry as a writer flourished. He wrote regular publications, and among them, his most famous work: The Bondage of the Will.

His ministry did not end there. He bore the weight of the church, dealing with the practical issues of churches that were walking for the first time without the support of Rome. Luther continued to fuel the Reformation he helped to start, writing the Large and Small Catechism for the instruction of the church, publishing a hymnal for worship, and translating the complete Bible into the German language, giving the common man access to the Word of God.

The influence this man had on the church is immeasurable.

Though there were reformers before and after him, his writings and devotion to understand the Word, as well as the circumstances that God brought about in his life worked to ignite the Reformation in earnest.

Protestantism in France: The Hugenots

by Moon Choi

Protestantism reached France soon after Luther nailed his ninety-five theses on the door of Castle Church. French Protestants followed Lutheran theology but later became aligned with Calvinistic theology once Calvin set up his ministry in neighboring Geneva, Switzerland. These French Protestants were known as the Huguenots (pronounced hue-ga-nots). The origin of this name is still unknown, but the Huguenot name came to identify these French Protestants around 1550.

Until their dispersion, the Huguenots had been severely persecuted. As it happened in other countries in which Rome had a stronghold, the papacy and the French monarchy relentlessly persecuted the Huguenots in an effort to extinguish the heretical movement. In 1536, a general edict was passed, which encouraged the eradication of the Huguenots. However, in 1561, Catherine de’ Medici, the queen of France, passed the Edict of Saint-Germain, giving the Huguenots some liberties with their worship, as long as it was private. She was not sympathetic toward the Huguenots; rather, she was seeking to establish a political stability between the Catholic Church and the new Protestant movement. This was short lived. In 1562, the Wars of Religion was galvanized when twenty three Huguenots were slain and roughly two hundred were injured at Vassy, France. The Wars of Religion lasted for thirty years and ripped apart France, both socially and financially.

The political tension between the Catholic monarchy and the Huguenots escalated, the former fearing retaliation from the latter. As a result, on August 24, 1572, a mass Huguenot massacre began and lasted for weeks following. Thousands of Huguenots flooded into Paris for a wedding between Huguenot Henry of Navarre and Marguerite de Valois, who was Catherine de’ Medici’s daughter, another marriage planned in a desperate effort to bring political peace. Charles IX, de’ Medici’s son, ordered the death of these Huguenots. The killings lasted a weeks as the Huguenots were chased from Paris into the countryside.

Henry of Navarre’s life was spared and he converted to Catholicism. He became King Henry IV. Though a converted Catholic, Henry IV was very sympathetic to the Huguenots. In 1598, he passed the Edict of Nantes, bringing an end to the Wars of Religion. This allowed the Huguenots to have twenty “free” cities in which they could have public worship. Peace followed but after Henry IV was murdered by a Catholic zealot, his son, Louis XIII blatantly refused the rights of the Huguenots found in the Edict of Nantes, stating, “[Henry III] feared [the Huguenots], and [Henry IV] loved them; but I neither fear nor love them.” Thus the persecution of the Huguenots began once again. All the free cities granted by the Edict of Nantes were destroyed until the last one, La Rochelle, an important Huguenot stronghold, fell in 1629. Louis XIV, Louis XIII’s son, revoked the Edict of Nantes all together in 1685. Protestant pastors were given a twenty-four hour notice to leave but the laity was forbidden to leave the country. Still, many risked their lives by following their pastor out of the country, some even hiding out in the barren lands of south-eastern France to practice their faith, undisturbed. Those who were captured were either fined, imprisoned, killed or became galley slaves. Women were sent to prison for life. Children were ripped away from their parents to be reeducated by the priests and nuns. All it took for the men in the galleys to escape was a revocation of the Protestant faith. Many men remained galley slaves for twenty, thirty years, refusing to deny that they were saved by grace alone through faith alone through Christ’s substitutionary atonement. Many families fled the country in fear of their children’s souls. Some pastors risked death twice and left France for Geneva explicitly for the purpose of being trained by Calvin himself, only to return to shepherd their flock.

For those who remained in France, Louis XIV also issued draggonades, a policy which forced Huguenot families to house particularly difficult dragoons (cavalrymen) in their homes. These dragoons “gave such loose rein to their passions that their frightful excesses would have shamed a horde of brigands” (Withrow, 1). There were also forced conversions by means of torture. Though men had their feet burned until they were crippled, driven to madness by dripping water on their heads, or their bones broken for hours, they shared the same sentiment as a victim, Pastor Homel, who said to his weeping wife, “Farewell, beloved spouse. Though you see my bones broken to shivers, yet is my soul filled with inexpressible joy” (Withrow, 1). Those who weren’t tortured were excluded from the public life, not being able to participate in higher education and the arts.

The enthusiasm that the French monarchy once had for Protestant persecution soon died down to a point in 1764 when they were practically tolerated and left to openly practice their faith. They were given legal protection a quarter of a century later.

In the end, about 250,000 Huguenots left France. Some 200,000 Huguenots had perished through persecution. This caused a “brain drain” in France as many Huguenots constituted the upper-middle class. These Huguenots scattered around the world, some going to neighboring countries such as Switzerland, Germany, England, the Netherlands or Poland for refuge. Some came to America. Others went to South Africa. The Huguenots, after a few generations, eventually integrated into their respective cultures. However, wherever the Huguenots went, they built a reputation for themselves as industrious, honest people. Some American colonists were of Huguenot descent, the most famous one being a man who was named after his father, Apollos Rivoire, which, when anglicized, is Paul Revere.

It is easy to merely read all the numbers of those who were persecuted and perished and to store it in our minds as historical information. However, when we consider the fact that all it took for these Huguenots was a simple Catholic confession of faith to be saved from exile, torture, or death, it is amazing to see that so many of the saints that came before us simply refused to reject the doctrine of grace and to cling to the cross. They truly saw that to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Soli Deo Gloria

by Pastor John Kim

The Protestant Reformation brought a whirlwind of change to the state of the church during the 1500’s and the five Sola statements were probably the most significant and memorable catchphrases to make a long-lasting impact. While each of the statements are impactful in their own right, I would like to say that the statement “Soli Deo Gloria” (to the glory of God alone) envelopes the other four statements: Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, and Solus Christus. It is because all of these statements ultimately point to God being central instead of man and so God is the one who deserves and receives the glory. This flies in the face of today’s self-absorbed culture which unfortunately has penetrated even the heart of evangelical churches far and wide. So let’s take a moment to consider the statements of the Reformation.

Scripture alone points us to the fact that it is God’s word alone that has the final authority due to the fact that it is inerrant, infallible, inspired, and sufficient in its clarity and purpose. Man’s word falls by the wayside when we measure it against the Word of God, and it was such a clear statement against the Roman Catholic Church during the time of the Reformation, which claimed that it was the church that was to be the final interpreter of the Word of God. When Martin Luther boldly preached the Word of God and took his famous stand in Worms before the emperor, it was the watershed moment in which the line was clearly drawn regarding what authority was to be trusted. When I was in Worms last fall on the Reformation Tour, it was a fitting moment to have John MacArthur preach from the spot that marked the site where Luther made his famous statement. While that building no longer exists, the truth that was stated continues to this day. 2 Timothy 3:16- 17 shines brightly in declaring that all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Grace alone reminds us that the grace of God initiates the work of salvation, sustains the work of salvation, and culminates the work of salvation. Left to ourselves we only have our sinfulness to bring before God which automatically results in condemnation. We would be hopeless on our own. But the grace of God, initiated by the love of God on behalf of sinful mankind again points to the greatness of our God who majestically and unconditionally bestows His super-abounding grace on an undeserving sinner. It is by grace alone that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is truly a gift from God; a gift that continues to abound all the more when we consider how incredible it is in light of our sin.

Faith alone challenges us to consider that it is a full trust that is placed in God and His provision through Jesus Christ. There is nothing that we can do to merit our way to salvation. It is a faith that understands the truth, believes in the truth, and places full confidence in the truth that it is only in Jesus Christ that we can be saved from our sins. To exercise a faith that is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1) is one that strips man of all his self-sufficiency and calls him to place his confidence in Christ alone.

Christ alone really calls us to an exclusive position, one that the world does not take too kindly. To insist on the exclusivity of Christ is to declare that there is absolutely no other way to the Father except through Jesus Christ alone. Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6) and to water down this truth, like many do today in various circles, is to deny the only way to salvation. It is God’s prerogative to declare that there is only one way and it comes down to whether you are willing to come to God on His terms or not.

The reason why I say that Soli Deo Gloria really encompasses all the other phrases is because when you consider the substance of each of the other phrases, it results in God receiving the glory and not man. Man is ever seeking to draw attention to his own ability and his own worth and it usually is at the expense of God’s glory. Whatever it might be, man has always had the inherent problem of grasping for glory. This stems from the first temptation in the garden, where Satan tempted Eve with the thought of becoming like God. Man has continued to exchange the glory of God for the corruptible things of this world and so the great challenge for us as Christians is to exchange the corruptible things of this world for the glory of God. It is to submit all things under His Lordship, to see His kingdom be spread, to uphold His righteousness, to have every part of our lives, even our eating and drinking be in relation to how God might receive the glory (1 Corinthians 10:31).

My hope is that Lighthouse Bible Church will be such a church that does not seek to promote its own glory but the glory of God alone. Too many churches are filled with people who only seek an earthly agenda that is more reflective of their self-serving interests rather thant the kingdom of God. We should learn from those who have gone before us. If you have some time, take a moment to read a book on the Reformation, like The Reformation: How a Monk and a Mallet Changed the World or Martin Luther: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought, both by Stephen J. Nichols. It would challenge many to consider how significant an event it was that changed the course of history.

As we celebrate Reformation Day on October 31, let’s not be so conformed to the world as it celebrates a distorted and twisted holiday about demons and witches and other nonsense. Instead, let us celebrate the greatness of God in Him receiving all the glory as we seek to be faithful slaves to our glorious Master and Redeemer.

Editor's Note: October 2007

by Steven Hong

While the rest of the world goes is at the market buying pumpkins, candy, decorations or scouring party stores for costumes for Halloween, we, as Christians, have a completely different reason to celebrate. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door at Castle Church. Today, we commemorate this day as Reformation Day, a day in which we can recognize our rich spiritual heritage, and remember the saints who courageously fought for truth in their time. In this edition of the newsletter, we will briefly look at a few of these saints. This would also be a great month to pick up a good Christian biography and examine how the fire of their devotion can light our way today.

Truth in a Postmodern World

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Voddie Baucham is not a name that too many are familiar with. He delivered a message at the 2006 Desiring God National Conference that I have recommended to many people. It’s entitled, “The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World,” and it is well worth your time. You can download it and listen to it here.

Do People Possess Inalienable Rights?

by Pastor Patrick Cho

I’m not entirely sure if everyone from Lighthouse is aware of this, but during the second service a group of people meet upstairs for an informal time of discussion about Pastor John’s sermons. No, this isn’t a time to analyze every little theological detail from the sermon and evaluate his delivery. It is more a time devoted to thinking through practical application of God’s Word. This past Sunday, we had a particularly interesting discussion over John’s message on being a slave for Christ.

It’s unfortunate if you missed out on this time because John preached a message that is very counterintuitive for our age and culture. One statement from the message that particular raised some eyebrows was that John mentioned that people do not have inalienable rights. I think this caused a little bit of confusion because John was not speaking about the rights we exercise in relation to one another. The point he was trying to convey was that no person has an absolute inalienable right that even God is subject to respect. Any rights and freedoms that people enjoy are always in every case limited by the sovereignty and will of God.

In no way was John saying that he is against the Declaration of Independence or Constitution. John is not an anarchist. John and I both understand that these founding documents were written with biblical principles in mind. For instance, when the Bible teaches that murder is wrong because all men have been created in the image of God (Gen. 9:6), we understand that God is essentially teaching that people have the “right to life.” However, when in the sovereignty of God He determines that a person’s time has come to die, no man can appeal to God that he has a right to life that even God is subject to respect.

That being said, there still is something to be said about freedoms that all believers should understand. We need to be careful about what we say we deserve. Kyle Grindley mentioned this during the discussion and it is related to the whole idea of personal rights and freedoms. Too often we face difficult people, circumstances, and challenges and think to ourselves, “Why is this happening? I deserve better. What about my rights?” Such is unbiblical thinking because the Bible is clear we deserve much worse. Any sinner before a holy God deserves immediate, eternal, divine punishment. To think we deserve anything better is entirely arrogant and cheapens the grace of God in salvation. This is the basis behind John’s statement that the only right that people truly have is the right to die.

Though God has granted certain inalienable rights for humans to enjoy (understanding that they are only inalienable insofar as God has granted them by his grace), we must constantly be reminded that we never receive these rights because we are deserving of them. These rights must be understood in light of who God is and what He requires of us. Perhaps this is the reason why through time the definition of our rights has changed so much. As this country has moved farther and farther away from God and His Word, the Constitution has become more and more ambiguous and open to interpretation. Certainly, the Constitution was written with biblical principles in mind, but it is no longer interpreted with those same biblical principles.

Life Is Not About You!!

by Pastor John Kim

In the past several years since I first presented the proverb of “Life is not about you!”, it has been brought to my attention by a number of people how many companies are really unashamedly using the slogan of “It’s all about you!” as a way to appeal to people’s base desires and how to fulfill them. I appreciate the flyers and brochures that people have brought and the collection continues to grow.

Sadly, it is no different in the Christian world as churches and Christian organizations and schools peddle the same line in hopes of drawing attention to their cause. But the heart of this methodological approach for advertising is nothing different from the beginning. The appeal to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life has the inherent message of “Life is all about you” and has been the slogan of the world system since the fall.

For the month of September, I will be preaching on the doctrine of self-denial as the characterization of the Christian way life and I would like to challenge you all to really examine your hearts and see if you are truly following Jesus. Was it not Christ Himself who said in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” As I have been searching the Scriptures, I can’t help but notice that the Christian life is truly a repudiation of the “It’s all about me” worldview and that we must really dedicate our lives in light of the grace and mercy of God to offer them as living and holy sacrifices to God that are acceptable to God first and foremost. If the whole of our lives is to be offered up to God as worship, there really can be no other gods before Him and that includes ourselves.

So prepare for the next four Sundays to really examine your life and see if the path that Christ calls us to follow is the one that you are walking. The way of the cross is not an easy path. It definitely is not the most comfortable path. But it is the path that has Jesus on it and don’t you want to be with Him every step of the way?

Like my girls when they were little and would hold my hand as we would walk around, they would have easily been lost if they had not followed daddy. Even a moment’s glance away led to them walking down another path and it really was the most frightening moment for me as a parent when I couldn’t see my child. It was also frightening for them when they realized that they were totally lost and couldn’t see their parents. But there was great comfort and relief when we would be reunited and there would be a clinging to one another as we would continue to walk forward.

To live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). We must keep our eyes fixed on Christ as we follow Him daily and while there is the suffering and pain of self-denial and the way of the cross, it is outweighed by the joy and the glory that comes in being in intimate and loving communion with our Lord and Savior as we walk with Him. Don’t trade the glory of following Christ for the cheap junk of the world. While self-denial at first seems a negative thing, when we see where it places us on the path of following Christ, we actually receive more than we could ever hope for, that is, Christ Himself!!

See you Sunday!!

New Visitor's Team

by Stephanie Shin

Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God (Romans 15:7).

Many members of Lighthouse may remember the first time that they attended the church. They might remember driving up to 10695 Treena St. only to see an office building where the church was supposed to be. They might remember the nervous scanning for the familiar face that had invited them to come, and the anxiety that’s common when in a new enivornment. That’s where the New Visitors Team steps in.

Stanley Park summed up the responsibilities of the NVT: “It covers a lot of ground. We cover everything from parking, to greeting at the front door, the nametags, to the New Visitors Orientation, all the way to the follow up.” The first wave of greeting starts with the people who direct traffic. When the newcomers walk through the doors of Lighthouse, they meet the members of the NVT team that pass out the bulletins; first timers are encouraged to fill out the guestbook for follow-up later on and and they also receive their nametags. Members have their own nametags that are neatly organized by affinity groups.

As part of the team that organizes the nametags in the morning, Grace Mao Wu encourages LBC, “We put them up there so people can identify you…they might not know your name! It’s for the new visitors!”

After service, newcomers are asked to walk past the double doors to the first door on the left to attend the New Visitors Orientation. So what exactly goes on behind that door? Grace Mao Wu says, “We follow up with them during the NVO and get to know them better. They get to hear the gospel presentation and the history of the church.” They also get to hear Lighthouse’s doctrine on baptism and membership as well as ministry opportunities for those eager to get plugged in. And the new visitors that stay for the whole orientation get a small gift at the end—pens with the LBC insignia.

Long after Sunday is over, our new visitors receive a follow up email or phone call from one of the members of the NVT to answer any questions. And once every two months, the NVT hosts a Meet & Greet for the more recent newcomers as a casual enivorntment to eat, talk and to get to know the pastors a little better.

All these tasks are carried out with a greater motivation in mind. “How we greet people is a testimony to how Christ changed us. We want to make sure they’re taken care of, that they’ve had a chance to hear the gospel. It’s greeting all the way to the gospel. That’s relationship building, so you can get to the deeper stuff,” says Stanley Park.

Book Review: The Word of God in English

Book by Leland Ryken

Review by Stephen Hong

Does it really make a different what Bible translation you use? Differences in a few words here and there can’t be very significant as long as they all retain the same meaning, right?

According to Dr. Leland Ryken, in his book The Word of God in English, not all translations of the English Bible are created equal. In fact, many of them come from very divergent philosophies of translation. The central focus in the book is the tension between an essentially literal translation and a dynamic translation. Until the last fifty years, the overarching principle in Bible translation was to reproduce the words of the original to the words of the receptor language. At that time, Eugene Nida introduced the theory of dynamic equivalence, which, briefly summed up, is the emphasis of the reaction of the reader to the translated text, rather than the translation of the words and phrases themselves.

He outlines various fallacies of the dynamic equivalence principle, including fallacies about general translation theory, about the Bible and about the Bible’s audience. As he does so, it became increasingly clear to me how significant it is to hold to an essentially literal text.

Ryken does a great job of fleshing out these principles to actual translation texts. At one point, he focuses on Luke 10:42 and lists the different translations:

“Mary hath chosen the good part” (KJV)

“Mary has chosen the good part” (NASB)

“Mary has chosen the good portion” (ESV)

“Mary has chosen what is better” (TNIV/NIV)

“Mary has chosen what is best” (CEV)

“There is really only one thing worth being concerned about” (NLT)

The first three are from essentially literal texts, which aim to reproduce the original language, word for word (but adjusting syntax to modern English, which is why it is essentially literal). The second three are from dynamic equivalent texts. Notice that the second three makes the comparative element explicit, whereas the first set makes no explicit remark about Martha’s work, or leaves it implicit at best. It may well be the case that the translators of the first set agree with the second set in meaning, but the issue is that the dynamic equivalent translators, at this point, are moving beyond translation to interpreation. By doing so, it is preemptively excluding any possibility for alternative interpretations. Ryken suggests, though, that dynamic equivalent translations do serve as good commentaries or gloss texts, but are not reliable as primary translations.

Ryken, who is a professor of English at Wheaton College, served as a literary scholar on the council working on the English Standard Version several years ago. He gives a decent overview of the history of English translation, but does a more thorough job of dispelling wide-spread fallaceies, and getting into the nitty-gritty of translation principles and theories that must be considered in modern and future translations.

Look at the World Through God's Eyes

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Lately, Lighthouse has been hearing more and more from Pastor John and me about developing a biblical, Christian worldview. In one sense this means believers need to be able to view the world through God’s eyes. The only way to practically accomplish this is to take the claims, philosophies, and ideologies of the world and pass them through the filter of God’s Word. This is an important issue because too many Christians have not considered the ramifications of it. Understanding what the Bible says concerning our world, our jobs, our families and relationships, and ourselves is tremendously important. Too many Christians who do not give this much thought fall into reasoning like the world.

Part of the problem is that Christianity to many is still a compartmentalized portion of their lives. Even people who may be very involved in the life of the church (attending Bible studies, leading ministries, etc.), may not fully understand what being a Christian means in the workplace, culture, home, and school. While they strive to live according to biblical principles when it comes to spiritual disciplines, they do not consider what impact being a Christian has in their work, studies, and families. When it comes to “extra-religious” areas of their lives, they do not see things through God’s eyes.

This is particularly dangerous because some of the most significant decisions in life are made outside of church life. God never intended for us to compartmentalize our faith. Not having a good understanding of scriptural principles to guide someone through life is extremely detrimental leading inevitably to horrible life choices and unsound counsel. As a result, people are left to make decisions based upon what they reason is fair, right, or good. The problem is that God has not left it to us to determine that. He determines what is fair, right, and good, and we live in response to what He decrees.

This is one of the reasons why we see more and more Christians abandoning biblical principles for what is practically appealing. In evangelism, in an interest to not offend others, Christians shy away from preaching the entire gospel. The gospel becomes a conversation where everyone has a say and is partially right. In the workplace, Christians lie in interviews and on resumes. They cheat in order to gain another rung in the ladder of achievement. All the while, justification is thrown around that everybody does it (the same justification that is used when Christians download songs and software illegally, by the way).

Convictions are being replaced by compromise. Where once we would have had church members be willing to die for the sake of the gospel, we now see them watering the gospel down and making it more “user-friendly” and “culturally sensitive.” There is reluctance in standing for the truth because “the truth divides,” because it means we need to tell someone they are wrong.

Of course this is not to say that people do not matter – that we should not think about what people feel and should preach the truth regardless of an individual’s personal life circumstances. Certainly we can respond to people and meet them where they are. Jesus did! But this does not justify turning the tables on what the Bible clearly teaches is the truth. Jesus did not compromise truth in the name of love. He taught the truth in love. Understanding how truth and love come together in a practical way in everyday life situations requires a development of a strong biblical, Christian worldview. Instead of forcing to fit biblical principles into an antibiblical cultural frame, believers need to learn to stand on convictions and live lives in consistency with what they believe to heighten their testimony and prove that it is God through His Word who changes lives.