You nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
Some thoughts for my Christian friends:
A common war cry among liberal 'christians' over the past few years has been: WWJD (What would Jesus do?).
It's attempt to make people forget Christ's teachings by focusing on His loving nature, to make the secular notion of 'anything goes' seem OK. Since God is love, and Jesus is forgiving, then it doesn't matter how people live their lives, as long as they are 'good' people.
Want an abortion? Its OK, you're a good person at heart, and you weren't ready to have children yet, so the child would have had a miserable life, so kill it, its OK with Jesus.
Gay? So what? Its OK, you're a good person at heart and are entitled to act out on your attractions, at least you're not an axe murderer. Its OK with Jesus.
Axe Murderer? Its OK, you're a good person at heart and those 'people' were nasty evil folk anyway, so its OK with Jesus. I exaggerate a little, but you get the point. It's odd though that we show more contempt for alcoholics and gluttons than for fornicators and homosexuals, AND still claim to be Christian.
I say forget WWJD, and learn WDJS (What did Jesus say?). Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I would assume most would still say that to be a Christian, you must be a follower of Christ, ie. follow His teachings as handed down to us.
So what can we learn from teachings about such things?
Abortion: In Luke 1:36, 41 we are told that Elisabeth conceived a "son" and that the "babe" leaped in her womb. God does not say that a "fetus" leaped in her womb! He says THE BABE leaped. This is the exact same word that God uses to describe Christ in the manger AFTER He is born (Luke 2:12, 16). In God eyes, an unborn babe and a newborn babe are the same. They are both living human beings!
In Matthew 7:12, the Lord Jesus Christ said, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Would it be your desire to suffer and die while someone traps you in a cage and literally tears your arms and legs from your body?
Abortion is a violation of the golden rule.
Proverbs 6:16-17 says that God hates those who shed innocent blood!
Deuteronomy 27:25 says, "Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person"
Who could possibly be more innocent than an unborn baby?! Yet, our society has become so wicked, that it condones the slaying of 1.5 million innocent children every year.
Romans 14:23 says, "...for whatsoever is not of faith is sin."
Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.
To have an abortion is to take matters into your own hands, rather than to trust God to work things out. This shows a lack of faith in God, which the Bible labels as SIN.
The Gay lifestyle: (notice these are all New Testiment verses)
I want to immediately take away the position that Old Testament rules were somehow done away with by the coming of the Christ. Therefore, I've used only the New Testament to show that Jesus does not approve of homosexual acts.
1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, 10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—NONE OF THESE will inherit the kingdom of God.
Romans 1:26 For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.
1 Timothy 1:8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. 9 This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, 10 fornicators, homosexuals, slave-traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching 11 that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
Some may want to counter these points by saying something like: "Jesus didn't actually say this Himself, those are quotes from St. Paul, not Jesus". I address them by saying 1st, it's in the Bible, and as a Christian, don't you have to accept these teachings? And also I contend JESUS DID TEACH THIS PERSONALLY. What does Paul say about the things he passes on in his letters about the faith?
Galatians 1:11 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; 12 for I did not received it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation from Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:23 I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you.
Does this somehow show that Christians hate gays? Just the opposite. Like any person living opposed to Christ (in sin), we want them to come to Him, put aside their sinful past and live forever in His presence. We love them enough to say what they are doing is wrong, and please come home to the love of Christ. To go along with the lie "That its all OK" is the real misjustice and unkind approach to their plight.
So to conclude, WWJD today?
Or more exactly, what would He say today?
Like He said to the adulterous women brought before Him, He would say:
"I do not condemn you", but people always forget the next line:
"Go your way, and from now on do not sin again". (John 8)
Yes, Jesus will forgive your sins, BUT now you need to stop doing them.
Meaning:
Drunk? I forgive you, but stop drinking.
Glutton? I forgive you, but stop over-indulging.
Thief? I forgive you, but stop stealing.
Fornicating? I forgive you, but now be celebate until married.
Gay? I forgive you, but...
"from now on do not sin again"