What We Believe

While Joel 2:25 Ministries aims to create a welcoming environment for men of all faiths, we want to remain authentic and transparent about our own theological presuppositions. Joel 2:25 aims to teach the eternal truths of the Christian faith while affirming and encouraging the spiritual growth of all our participants. Our doctrinal beliefs do not belong to us alone, and so rather than drafting our OWN doctrinal statements, our leadership has chosen to reference the following with regard to our theological presuppositions and our understanding of God’s design for human sexuality:

Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. 

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. We confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and we look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen

Human Sexuality

1.      God desires ALL to be saved  
 1 Timothy 2:4, Ezekiel 18:23, Ezekiel 18:32, Ezekiel 32:11
 

2.      Jesus Christ deeply loves broken sexual sinners and provides hope for transformation. Jesus coupled a heightened ethical demand with a loving outreach to violators to lead them to repentance (Luke 7:36-50; John 4:4-30; 8:1-12). The grace of God offered in Jesus Christ is not merely a pardon for one’s sins but also an empowerment by the Spirit of Christ to a new life lived for God (Rom 6:14; 7:5-6; 8:12-14; Gal 2:19-20; 5:18; 2 Pet 1:2-4). 

For some, this transformation may take shape as a significant reduction of unwanted sexual desires. For others, it may mean the grace to live in obedience in spite of ongoing urges to do what God forbids. Either way, Paul gives believers assurance that those who “walk in the Spirit will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal 5:16-17, 24-25). “These things some of you were” (1 Cor 6:11).
 

3.      Jesus understood the male-female prerequisite for sexual relations established by God in Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 to be foundational for sexual ethics. So important to Jesus was this male-female prerequisite that he deduced from God’s creation of two sexes that sexual unions should consist of only two persons (Mark 10:5-9; Matt 19:4-8). Genesis 2:21-24 depicts a woman as coming from man, man’s sexual “complement” (negdo), whose union reintegrates two into a single sexual whole. Genesis 1:27 indicates that changing a male-female requirement distorts the image of God.
 

4.      Consistent with the male-female requirement for sexual relations is Scripture’s explanation that any sexual practices that are outside of a monogamous sacramental marriage between a man and a woman are in all cases intrinsically and gravely disordered, harmful to the spiritual, physical, and emotional wellbeing of all individuals involved, and a severe violation of God’s standards for sexual purity (Gen 19:4-11; Lev 18:22; 20:13). 

Paul’s indictment of homosexual practice in Romans 1:24-27 and 1 Corinthians 6:9 treats it as an example of humans suppressing the truth about themselves visible in the material structures of nature and a violation of Gen 1:27 and 2:24. Every text in the Bible having to do with sexual relations presupposes a male-female requirement. 
 

5.      Sexual purity is a life-and-death matter. Sexual holiness for Christians matters to such an extent that living an unrepentant sexually immoral life can get even self-professed Christians excluded from the kingdom of God. ( Matt 5:29-30; John 8:11 with 5:14; 1 Thess 4:3-8; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Cor 5; 6:9-10, 13-20; 2 Cor 12:21; Rom 1:23-32; Col 3:5-7; Eph 4:19; 5:3-6; 1 Tim 1:9-11.)

Some Christian theologians would say that this may mean that such persons were never true Christians to begin with. Others would explain that it may mean that such persons have fallen away from a once genuine faith. Either way, all orthodox Christian theologians would agree that a life committed to unrepentant, sexual immorality is evidence of a life not lived by saving faith. (Matt 5:29-30; 7:16-27; Mark 4:16-19; John 15:1-6; Rom 8:12-14; Gal 6:7-9; Heb 10:26-29; James 2:14-26; 2 Pet 2:18-21; 1 John 1:6-7; 2:3-6, 15, 29; 3:6-10, 14-20, 24; 5:18; Rev 2:4-17, 20-23, 26; 3:1-3, 5.)
 

6.      The Christian life requires complete and continuous SURRENDER to God. Regardless of whether one struggles with heterosexual or homosexual tendencies, Christian life requires all of us to surrender to Christ and trust God’s will for our lives. No human being has a perfect answer to make everything easy and simple. There are three very important questions though that we all choose to answer every single day not just with Same-Sex Attraction, but with everything else in our lives:

a.      Do I TRUST that God has a detailed plan and purpose for my life?

b.      Am I OPEN to hearing what that is, even if it's not what I currently want it be?

c.       Am I willing to SURRENDER my own will, identity, and plans to accept His will for me?