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Letters to the editor
Mennonite Brethren Herald welcomes your letters on issues relevant to the Mennonite Brethren Church, especially in response to material published in the Herald. Please keep your letters courteous, brief and about one subject only. We will edit letters for length and clarity. We will not publish letters sent anonymously, although we may withhold names from publication at the request of the letter writer and at our discretion. Publication is also subject to space limitations. Because the Letters column is a free forum for discussion, it should be understood that letters represent the position of the letter writer, not necessarily the position of the Herald or the Mennonite Brethren Church. Send letters to:
Letters, MB Herald
3-169 Riverton Ave.
Winnipeg, Man. R2L 2E5
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or by e-mail to mbherald@mbconf.ca. (Please ensure that your postal address is included in your e-mail correspondence.) |
Biblical exhortations
I respond to “Whole story needed” (Letters, March 17). The Bible clearly states the whole story, namely that the gay/lesbian lifestyle “is an abomination to God” (Leviticus 18:22-30; Leviticus 20:13). In addition, the New Testament emphasizes that people who pursue this lifestyle will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Timothy 1:9-11).
On the other hand, the good news is that if we come in repentance to the Lord Jesus Christ, He will wash, sanctify and justify us in His Name and in the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:11). He also makes us into “a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
As for believers being welcome “on the basis of their confession of faith”, the apostle Paul tells us that “Faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Moreover, he tells us that there must be an “obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5; Romans 16:26). Likewise, the Psalmist says, “You who love the Lord, hate what is evil” (Psalm 97:10). We cannot walk with the Lord unless we are in complete agreement with Him concerning His commandments; and we learn His commandments from His Word (Amos 3:3).
As for there being “healthy, normal, happy gay and lesbian Christians”, the Word of God assures us that there can be no true rest or true peace for those who live in willful disobedience to God’s commandments (Isaiah 57:20-21). We are deceiving ourselves if our faith is in a different Jesus and a different gospel that allows us to live independently of God’s requirements and wishes (Proverbs 28:9).
I write these things in love, wishing my sister and all Christians who have embraced her lifestyle to take to heart these biblical exhortations, so that they will not miss out on everlasting life (1 Peter 4:17-18; Revelation 21: 8, 27).
Ray Vincent,
Abbotsford, B.C.
Whole story told
In response to “Whole story needed” (Letters, March 17), may I suggest “The whole story is told” on pages 12-13 of the same issue, “A story of restoration”. Only the names and the sin have been changed.
M.R. Andres,
Port Rowan, Ont.
Conference right
I was so moved to see the announcement for Convention 2000 in the MB Herald (insert, March 17). The MB Church is one of the few remaining churches to be biblically right. In having men lead all the sessions and workshops, we are encouraging women to continue to submit to the leadership of the brethren.
Isaac M. Dyck,
Cloverdale, B.C.
Previous | Next Last modified May 17, 2000.
© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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