Friday, August 30, 2013

Rainbows Represent God's Grace -- Not License to Sin

All the colors of the rainbow are contained in the white light of the sun.

When refracted by water, the lights break forth.

The rainbow amazed scientists in the past. Isaac Newton even asked: "What is a rainbow?"

The rainbow is a picture of perfect, white light refracted into its seven base colors.

In contrast, the emblem of the gay rights movement is a six-colored banner, and does not represent a real rainbow.

The first mention of "rainbow" in the Bible refers to God's Covenant with Noah, and with all of us (Whether you believe on Him or not):

"And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. 11And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 12And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 14And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 17And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." (Genesis 9: 8-17)

God established a covenant with all of us, for ever person walking on this earth is a seed, or a descendant of Noah and his three sons.

This perpetual covenant is based on the token, the bow in the sky.

The Light of the World, broken for us:

Jesus is this light of the world (John 8: 12), When God said "Let there be light", He did not create the light, but rather manifested this Light as the first of all things.

That Light is Jesus Christ.

God made a covenant with Abram (Genesis 15), but in reality, God cut the covenant with Jesus Christ:

"17And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces." (Genesis 15: 17)

That smokling furnance and burning lamp was Jesus. If God had cut the covenant directly with Abram, then he would have been responsible for keeping his part, and no man can keep a covenant with God.

Today, under the New Covenant, Jesus, the Light of the World broken for us, is the mediator of the New Covenant.

His blood was shed for us that we may receive His wealth and understanding, in fact, that we may receive all of Him:

"Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:" (Colossians 1: 25-27)

This hope does not disappoint, by the way (Romans 5: 5), but rather is a certainty of good things to come, because you are accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1: 6)

"Accepted" in Ephesians 1: 6 literally says "graced" or "or enriched with grace".

The rainbow, with all seven colors, represents God's grace, not God's permission to  sin, and certainly not a banner for men and women to abuse their bodies:

"For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee." (Isaiah 54: 9)

The same grace which we receive in Christ teaches us all things, including to honor our bodies:

"11For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Titus 2: 11-14)

Now, homosexuality is sin:

"24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet." (Romans 1: 24-28)
 
Yet sin is a deeper manifest that we are dead in our trespasses, and need life:
 
"1And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:" (Ephesians 2: 1-2)
 
God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but to save the world (John 3: 16)
 
When Jesus died on the Cross, He took us from dead in our trespasses to seated in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesiasn 2:" 4-6) and blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ (Ephesians 1: 3)
 
With this wonderful revelation in mind, Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church:
 
"9Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6: 9-11)
 
"And such were some of you" -- Paul never denounces the Corinthians Church members for their sin, but rather reminds them who they are in Christ:
 
"16What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 17But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." (1 Corinthians 6: 16-17)
 
You are one with Christ -- so why would you abuse your body? That's the gist of Paul's message.
 
In the same manner, because God has sent His Son to die for us, to live in us, and to grant us His standing before God, why live beneath our privileges?
 
The rainbow is a sign of God's grace, of God's favor through His Son, the Light of the World broken for us. Why would anyone reject so great a salvation to dishonor one's body?

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