Saturday, February 2, 2013

Boy Scouts, Gay Rights and THE GOSPEL!

On Monday January 28th the Boy Scouts of America poised themselves to change their policy preventing homosexual participants as leaders in scouting or as scouts.  They have been taking fire from gay rights activists for years and have always stood their ground.  The Boy Scout oath reads, "On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty, to God and my country, to help other people at all times, and to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.  For a long time in this battle the Boy scouts have held that homosexuality is inconsistent with that oath.  Unfortunately it looks like the dam is about to break.

This is a travesty! A demonic attack! No way should the Boy Scouts compromise on this. As a former Boy Scout and a current Cub Scout Den Leader it saddens me to hear that the Boy Scouts of America are allowing the gay rights advocates to dictate to them what their allowances for leadership and membership should be. Especially when it goes against everything that the Boy Scouts stands for. And the Scouts have the support of the bulk of their conservative membership. If it goes through I am not sure what we as a family will do if our District or Sponsor decides to go along with this. I have a son in Cub Scouts and this is not what I signed him up for.

In a day when the definition of morality is up for grabs in order to justify a lifestyle I would like to clarify what Sir Robert Baden Powell, founder of the BSA wrote regarding his interpretation of what "morally straight" means.  In his pamphlet "Scouting and Christianity" in 1917 he wrote, "Scouting is nothing less than applied Christianity."

Even President Calvin Coolidge wrote to the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Washington, DC, May 1, 1926:

"The boy on becoming a scout binds himself on his honor to do his best…’To do my duty to God and my country, and to obey the scout law…To help other people at all times…To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight’…
Members must promise to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent…
It would be a perfect world if everyone exemplified these virtues in daily life…
Those who attempt to live in opposition to these standards…become slaves of their own evil doing, realizing the Scriptural assertion that they who sin are the servants of sin and that the wages of sin is death."

Now, I would like to clarify that Mr. Powell and President Coolidge both based their ideas of morality and sin on biblical Christianity.  They did not base their ideas on today's ideas of Christianity in which too much of the world wants a ticket to heaven but no change in lifestyle.  A Christianity that is all about love and forgiveness and knows nothing of righteousness, holiness, nor of God's justice and wrath that will be poured out on all those who, rather than conforming themselves to God's word want to try to make God's word conform to them.


Make no mistake.  This issue is much bigger than the Boy Scouts of America.  It is much bigger than homosexuality.  It is a full on assault by the principalities and powers of darkness to blind the minds of unbelievers, some of which think themselves believers. (2 Corinthians 4:4)   Satan is making every effort to tear down anything that ever held Christian values as the core of it's principles.  He is not just stopping with secular organizations that hold high Christian principles such as the Boy Scouts.  No, he is invading religious organizations that masquerade as Christian and are now allowing same sex marriage and homosexual leaders in their churches.  This tactic is being used in order to lead many astray.  He came to steal, spiritually kill, and destroy anything that would bring God glory. (John 10:10)

Yes this hits home for me on multiple levels.  Not only because I was a boy scout and am now a leader who's son is in Boy Scouts,  but because I am a believer in the one and only TRUE GOD, maker of heaven and earth.  The God of the bible who gives us existence, gives us breath, and causes are heart to have rhythm.  In addition I am a herald of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I believe it is the power of God unto Salvation for those who believe (Romans 1:16), and I am angry or shall I say, righteously indignant with Satan for his efforts to blaspheme my God and try to steal the gift of salvation and steal the GLORY of my Heavenly Father!

But, by no means does this mean the enemy has won.  We who are true believers know the end of the story.  We know that when Jesus died on the cross, He took the punishment for the sins of the world, enduring God's wrath toward our sin and securing salvation that is evidenced by belief, repentance, and obedience to God's commands.  Evidenced by a love for the physically sick and starving and the spiritually lost and dying around the world. We know that while WE ARE AT WAR still fighting a spiritual battle by God's grace, that we do not fight FOR victory but FROM victory.  Jesus CONQUERED sin and death on the cross.  The enemy has been DEFEATED!  We know that while we must continue to fight and labor, by the grace of God, in obedience til the end that no one whom God has chosen for eternity will ever be stolen away by the enemy.

I pray that God will make His glory known by not allowing the success of the spiritual attack on the Boy Scouts.  However, I know that whatever the outcome, God is sovereignly in control and His will shall be accomplished.

In the same way if you are reading this and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, I pray that the Father will draw you to the Son and compel you towards saving faith in Him. I pray that you may know eternal life in heaven rather than hell and join fellow saints in glorifying our Savior through an obedience driven by love not obligation.  I pray that you would know freedom from sin and liberty in Christ that will bring joy and peace like you have never known.  Whether you are saved or lost I pray that God's will be done and His glory made known in and through your life.

In Jesus name,

Amen