Pastors’ Letter

Re June 21 letter written by four Oxnard pastors.

Referring to those who preach against homosexual behavior, the pastors called them “religious extremists who emphasize isolated verses in the Bible that contradict the main themes of God’s love and justice.”

I want to remind those pastors that the practice of homosexuality is a sin and is clearly condemned in both Old and New Testaments. Those who commit this sin and do not repent “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:10).

God does not show his love and justice by ignoring sin, but by his gracious and undeserved forgiveness for sin when it is repented. A pastor’s responsibility is to warn sinners of God’s judgment. It is sinful and dangerous to call righteous what God has called sin. Doing so shows neither love nor justice.

DEAN COONRADT, Pastor, Oxnard Church of the Nazarene