Are we the Salt and the Light to Christ

 

"Issues are being discussed more, and we are encouraged to discuss them more. That is why the church needs to learn new habits. We need to be the salt and light in the world," Bishop Robert Solomon calls on the church to actively stand up against homosexuality in the public space (Dec 2007).

What does being a Salt and Light to the World means? This statement has been increasingly misused to come against gays as the church seeks to justify its strong affirmative action to criminalize gays. The bible talks about salt having a natural inherent saltiness. One does not become salty as Bishop Robert Solomon implies by being more involved in the world. True Christians are salty. Their lives, character, and walk will be something so contradictory to the world that it will be a source of attraction which leads to sharing of the Gospel and bring glory to Jesus Christ. When we attempt to force the issue and exhibit saltiness by championing an anti-gay cause in the public square, we will exhibit our true nature - our dark self - full of malice, hypocrisy, anger, hatred, discrimination and rethoric against the gay community. When the world sees us, they would not glorify God but wonder what kind of a Jesus do we represent. When Christians who are suposedly the light to the world, is in darkness, we are in deep darkness indeed. We often forget that we are to reflect the light of Christ just as Moses reflected the glory of God. When we reflect our own light, people will recognise the darkness of our carnality.

(Mat 6:23,24 NKJV) "But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

The anti-gay Christian movement originated and is championed by the Christian Right in America. Our anti-gay literature and even the references used by Miss Thio Li-Ann is taken from such sources. We blame gays for importing the American ways into Singapore, but the reality is that we have imported very much their theology. It first started in America, as a fund raising attempt to spread fear and rumours amongst the community, to leverage upon the fear of unknown, so that people will donate to this imagined threat. Gays were just like a punching bag conveniently used by "God fearing" Christians to built their ministry, bible schools, and Television empire. As Jesus put it, you cannot serve both God and Money. In early November, there were some rumblings of possible investigations to the extravagant lifestlyes of the 10 top ten nation wide Christian leaders and ministries. These are also the greatest champions of the anti-gay movement with a direct influence on Singaporean Christianity.

(Mat 5:13-15 NKJV) "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men."You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden."Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

As Christians, if we are truly of Christ, we are naturally salty. It is impossible for the salt to loose its saltiness and if it does, then what use is it for God's work. We are the light to the World of darkness, and we do not need magnifyiong glasses to show forth that light, because it would be apparent to all. If we are truly the salt and light of the world, there would be no need for promotion nor adverstisement unless of course, we are not very salty and our light are dimmed. We would have to insist on our righteousness by going to the streets and proclaiming our moral superiority over the hedonistic Gays. Gays are the greatest threat to Christianity because it highlights and exposes what we should not be. It brings us out of the closet into the light of God, and shows our sins, hypocrisy, prejudice, and man made reliogisity.

(Mark 9:49, 50) "For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt."Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."

How do we become salty? It is not by sending fire and burning gays, catching them, and putting them into prisons. On the contrary, we become salty when we go through the trials of fire for Christ sake, for the sake of the Gospel, when we are willing to loose and give all that Christ may be glorified - even to the point of going to jail and forfeiting our lives. Then people will see, that Christians truly have a different spirit and will see Christ as we too imitate Christ by bearing the Cross. The world will not see Christ when we stand on the roadside holding placards "God hate Gays", or putting similar views in the forums. We are supposed to go to jail for Christ just as the apostles of old did for the sake of the good news but instead we put gays into jails. Today, God is calling for Christians to sacrifice their all instead sacrificing others based on our religiosity and fears.

(Col 4:6 ) Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Miss Thio Lee-Ann speech is called courageous by some Christian blogs, but there was no grace in it, no seasoning of salt and so crude and hateful that it would be difficult to answer as a Christian to my gay friends. When the Gospels talk about salt, there always seem to be an underlying concern that we will embrace the ways of the world and looses our saltiness. We preach on law at some mega churches, yet our greatest testimony is not that we follow all the mosaic laws and not only the 10 commandments, but that we insist that gays do likewise and much more. We preach on grace at some mega churches, yet when our message of grace so touched and attract so many in the gay community, we mixed grace with law, and make them feel totally unwelcome. But the amazing mystery of God's grace is that He makes something beautiful out of it all - bringing forth the pro-Gay Christian Groups and Support groups.

The Churches are so hardened in their positions that they no longer see gays as people. The Gay Community is called the "Homosexual Community", by Mr Michael Tan, of Barker Rd Methodist Church who wanted more freedom and less organizational constraint to come against gays. But you seldom hear the term "Heterosexual Community" do you?. Like a broken record, we kept on emphasising that there is no conclusive medical evidence that Gays are born like that despite a mountain of scientific research. We have never looked at ourselves in the mirror and asked whether we have applied the same scientific proof to our heterosexuality. If we ever do, we will see an old haggard looking man that no one will go after - whether straight or gay.

We have so many Sauls in Singapore, with a religious zeal of adhering to the law and putting in jail and persecuting gays. Just as Saul started his journey from Jeruslaen to Damascus with the full backing of the High Priest to put Christians in jail, today we see a call by the Church to rise up from our Holy Jerusalem, our churches and to go into the public square to force the public and government opinions and put gays in prisons. The keep377A was not sufficient for our sense of morality. I am reminded that as Saul was charging towards Damascus eager to show the light of his holy indignation, He was blinded by the true light of Christ. And just as Christ was dead for three days, Saul had to die to himself and be blinded in darkness for three days. As the Christian Church marches on in Singapore, a champion of the Anglican Global South, against Gays, with a call to pressure forward in the public spaces and forums, we come ever closer to a time of darkness and great self reflection that all along we may have come against the innocent, and came against Jesus Christ. Will there be darkness for 3 years or 30 years, time will tell.

May the Love of Christ fill your heart, mind and soul. His Grace be with you now and forever in Jesus Christ.

 

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