Letter to Rev. Sam Candler, Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta Georgia, concerning his position on homosexuality in the Church in response to his article appearing in the Faith and Values section of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution on Saturday, October 4, 2003. By Bruce W. Robida

 

 

Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip
2744 Peachtree Road NW
Atlanta, GA 30305

October 7, 2003

Dear Reverend Candler,

It grieves me to write you this letter for several reasons.  Sadly, you are just one of many pastors that I’ve had to write to in response to your position on homosexuality in the Church. It is a daunting challenge for those of us who hold God’s Word to be the highest authority on all matters of doctrine and faith, but it is a task that must be done for the sake of many souls, yours included.  It is the responsibility of every believer to hold his brothers and sisters in Christ accountable for their actions.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 1CO 5:12 NIV

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. JAS 5:19-20 NIV

As a teacher and representative of God, you, more than any other in your congregation will be held accountable for what you do with those that God has placed in your care.

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. JAS 3:1 NIV

Therefore, you must be corrected so that you might repent and lead others to do the same.

If you are tempted to label me intolerant or unloving, please consider the following:

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. PR 12:1

He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. PR 13:24

Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die. PR 15:10

So please accept this correction in the spirit in which it is given, which is love.  I would not write to you except that you profess to be a brother in Christ. 

First, you are in error when you say that "God blesses monogamous commitment – not just commitment between straight people".  There is no justification in the Scriptures that permit homosexual relationships.  On the contrary, the Scriptures are very clear that homosexual relationships are forbidden.  You are correct that the word, homosexual, is a relatively new word, however, homosexual behavior is well defined in the Scriptures and there is no question that same sex physical relationships, are prohibited.  The original word in the Greek is arsenokoites, which literally means a sodomite; abuser of (that defile) self with mankind (Strong’s Concordance of the Bible Reference # 733).

Second, Galatians 3:28 is speaking about salvation.  God shows no favoritism when it comes to those that belong to Him.  He has extended His grace to everyone that believes in His Son, whether they are male or female, black or white. In His eyes, we are all equal in that respect.  But the key here is that a person must believe in His Son, Jesus Christ.  Belief in Christ must be demonstrated by striving to live according to His ways. "If you love me, you will obey what I command…" JN 14:15 NIV.  You have extended God’s grace to those who live outside of God’s command to flee sexual immorality.

Christ said, "Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality." REV 2:14 NIV

Jude explains sexual immorality and perversion as those sexual practices that caused God to put Sodom and Gomorrah under His judgement. 

Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. JUDE 1:5-7

Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them." Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. Genesis 19:6:4-7

Clearly, Jesus considers men having sex with men, no matter what words you use to describe it is immoral and deserving of punishment.  The apostle Paul admonishes believers to flee from sexual immorality of every kind so that we may honor God with our bodies.

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.  Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1CO 6:18-20

But you claim that "homosexuality in and of itself is not a sin".  Here lies the problem.  You refuse to accept that God has declared homosexual behavior to be sinful.  You have chosen to ignore the Bible’s definition of homosexual behavior.

"…women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men,…" Romans 1:26-27

You have placed yourself and all who follow your teachings in jeopardy.

Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:16

You claim to have not sinned, thus you call God a liar.  The truth is not in you and His Word has no place in your life.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1JN 1:8-10

You are in error when you say that "…the Bible never calls itself infallible". 

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

If all Scripture is God-breathed, it cannot be in error, for God would not breathe error.  His Word is infallible, and to deny even one passage of Scripture is to deny the whole Bible.  How can mere men decide what is and what is not God’s Word? It must all be taken as His Word, or it must all be rejected.  We have no authority to add to or take away from what He has breathed.

You are also in error when you say that "...there’s a lot of homosexuality that’s innate.", and "It’s not natural to try and change that.". 

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1CO 6:9-11

The apostle Paul says that some people were once homosexual offenders, but then they were washed and they were sanctified, and they were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.  Why would he say "…and that is what some of you were?" if a person could not change?  Because all behavior that is sinful can be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit if only we will first acknowledge our sin.  This is the good news, that God will forgive us of all unrighteousness if we will only be willing to confess our sins rather than deny them, calling Him a liar (1 John 8-10). 

Are you free in Christ?  Has Christ set you free?  Did He free you so that you can indulge in your sinful nature, or did He free you so that you may escape from your sinful nature?

"Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything. "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"--but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.  Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
1CO 6:12-17

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. GAL 5:13

Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.  Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. 1 Peter 2:16-17

Do you believe in correcting those that God has placed in your care?  By what criteria do you correct those that sin and cause others to sin?  Didn’t the apostle Paul even correct Peter because he was not acting in line with the truth of the Gospel?

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.  Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.  The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? GAL 2:11-14

Correction is necessary when a brother, even though he may be a leader, falls into error.  You are not only leading many astray by your false beliefs, but you are also bringing the Christian faith into disrepute.  To those outside of the Church, Christians look like fools and hypocrites because we refuse to be united.  And how can we unite when certain men who claim so speak for God refuse to believe in and teach His Word without compromise?  The world watches us closely and no wonder we cannot win them over.  You have a responsibility for which you will have to give an account.  Accept this rebuke and repent before it’s too late.  I wrote you this letter because I love you and hope that you will agree with the truth that I have tried to show you.  I used many Scriptures because only they can be trusted.  Please take them seriously.

In Christ’s service,

Bruce W. Robida <><

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