I decided to post an e-mail about "Pastor Carlos" telling me I can't serve God because of being Gay, and his "Understanding that God destroyed Sodom because of "US". I'm glad I get this e-mails and not someone who will be shaken and doubt their on salvation. But please read alone. Bellow is his e-mail and my respond.

Pastor Carlos Wrote...

Brother,

I love you in the name of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.... But I would never have you lead people a church ministry. There are a number of reasons I can call out but you addressed EVERY reason why you shouldn't be leading people in the area of ministry. You have been taught your whole life that homosexuality is an abomination to God... Just as ALL sin is... But instead of ACTUALLY trying to be delivered... you say you practice it and God must CONDONE it because He won't take it away from you.

Life, as you know is made up of choices... you have made a choice to walk contrary to the Word of God and you are in fact making your own Bible if you believe that God has His stamp of approval on you and your mate because if He took the time to mention in the Bible about the destruction of "SODOM" and I don't have to recall to you what they practiced in that city in Genesis... If it was such an abomination to Him that He rained fire and brimstone from heaven to destroy those people who He called wicked... then what is He going to do to you... A person who says God has CALLED him to preach and tell others like him that it is OK to be homosexuals... which are against the Bible......

If I preach it isn't ok to steal, or to have sex out of marriage.. or even to kill... what do you do when you get on the topic of sexuality... or is that a topic that is never discussed in your church? If I preached about it would you and your mate be offended... I have not nor will I ever tiptoe around sin... like I told you in my second email... But for you to lead people into what I believe the scripture says is a falsehood... would be worse than practicing the sin...

I wish you could allow Christ to deliver you and your mate from this sin... as you stated many have tried to do and "failed". I pray that God grants you an opportunity that will be tolerant of your beliefs...

In His Service,

Pastor Carlos

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Here is my respond...

Thanks for your respond Pastor

First, Let's have a few things very clear. I'm not going to touch the subject of my salvation because my salvation is untouchable or changeable. I have been purchased, wrapped, delivered and given the right to be called son of God, by the very action that took place on the cross. And because of such action I have been sealed as a child of God by the blood of Jesus and nothing or anyone can't take that entitlement and privilege away from me.

Second, to have another point clear, I have a masters in Hebrew translation of the bible which is the Old Testament and another in the Greek translation which is the New Testament. So I will go head to head on the actual and real translation (Not interpretation) of scriptures.

Third, you say that God destroyed Sodom because of Homosexuality. I advise you to study the word very good, if not just read what came out directly out of Jesus' mouth. Matthew 10:14-15 (New International Version) If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth; it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. So Jesus informed us that the sin of the people of Sodom was to be inhospitable to strangers.

Another scripture in the book of Ezekiel 16.49, 50 it says... "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good."

I could go on and on and find you many, many scriptures on the sin of Sodom.

Just to give you a bit more of history information... For 1700 years after God destroyed Sodom, the human authors of the Bible and the Jews as a nation described Sodom's sin as lack of hospitality, pride, idolatry, greed or gluttony. The belief that God destroyed Sodom because of "homosexuality" is a late interpretation. It came into existence approximately 1700 years after the destruction of Sodom.

SO to answer your e-mail...

DO you understand what sin is? Let me tell you..."sin" is - anything that separates us from God and His Will. The scripture shows why the Sodom reference is irrelevant because Sodom was not destroyed because they had "gay" people or even "gay" couples - every time Sodom is referred to in the Bible the reasons for it being destroyed are listed and never is homosexuality being referred to.

Again, 1700 years after the destruction of Sodom the church has used Sodom to support their own built in personal feelings about homosexuality due to the men of the city wanting to "rape" another man which is more about exuding their power than about sexuality.

I do not believe that God "must" condone my sexuality simply because it's there, God is God and what He says goes no matter what I personally feel about it. SO no I am not changing the bible. If my will or beliefs are off track with God and God reveals that to me, then I must change my beliefs to line up with what God shows me. However, I do not see anywhere in the Bible where my relationship is condemned. You can argue all day whether or not a sexual act between two men is sin, but you cannot (Biblically) show me a single verse that condemns a loving, committed relationship between two men.

Now whether sex between two men is sin or not, again, we have to go to scripture. What is clear in the Bible is that sex outside of the bond of marriage (marriage as honored by God, not by a piece of paper the government dishes out to any straight couple whether they are honoring God or not) is obviously condemned in the Bible as being wrong. From a Biblical perspective, the act of sex IS an act of marrying your body to someone else's so when you have sex with someone, in God's eyes you are marrying that person, and the Bible teaches clearly that the best plan for someone's life is to be married to one person and one person only. So sex between two men or between a man and a woman outside of a marriage commitment is sin according to the Bible. (Of course, God extends grace and mercy to those who fail in this area as so many do - gay or straight - and failing once doesn't mean you are no longer qualified to set things right and get married)

But once again, while I do see a couple of verses in the Bible that condemn two guys having sex for the sole purpose of "getting off", I do not see any scripture that condemns two guys who love each other and are in a committed marriage relationship to each other from having physical intimacy. If you can find such a scripture, please show me. There are many scriptures that the Christian church has twisted to have this meaning/connotation, but when you look at them objectively in context, it's just not there.

Having said all this, another important thing I believe is that as a minister my job is to teach the Word, but my job is also to equip believers to seek the truth for themselves more than for me to "tell them what the truth is." We could visit 10 different Bible-believing Christian churches this week and I guarantee you not a single one of them agrees on every aspect of the Bible.

So which church is right? Within any one of those churches, I bet you can't find more than 2 or 3 people who agree 100% on many spiritual issues. Our job is to lead people to the Lord and to teach them those principles that will get them to open up their hearts and lives to the Holy Spirit and allow God to speak to them and show them His ways and convince them to follow.

Too many times well-meaning churches, pastors, and leaders try to replace God, to become God for their congregation, telling them what is right/wrong, telling them what they should believe, telling them what is the write interpretation of a scripture when what they should be doing is equipping people to seek these things out on their own along with God in their own personal relationship with Him.

I have a personal relationship with God. I look to Him for guidance and approval, not to man. If God were to reveal to me that it is His will for me to be single and celibate or continue to seek healing, I would be wrong to not do so. However, if God is leading me to serve Him as a gay man in spite of all the condemnation I may have to put up with from my brothers and sisters in Christ, then I would be no less wrong to try to seek healing or break up my relationship with my partner and have my kids be of a broken home just to get the approval of man. In the end it is God I seek to honor and it is God's direction I must follow.

What's sad to me is how many ministers there are who you would probably approve of just because they aren't gay probably aren't really following God's guidance, but are following the guidance of their denomination or their particular upbringing or their own personal goals.

Remember, Israel chose Saul because he looked like everything a nation would want in a king, but God chose David because God knew that in the end what's in a man's heart is what matters most.

Everything above is said out of love and even if you reject me completely, I still will love you and would be open to further discussions if you desire.

In His Grip

Rev. Joe