Have You Not Read?

“Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness (Matthew 7:21-23).” According to the Habitat for Humanity website, “In 1984, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn took their first Habitat work trip, the Jimmy Carter Work Project to New York City. Their personal involvement in Habitat’s ministry brought the organization national visibility and sparked interest in Habitat’s work across the nation. HFHI experienced a dramatic increase in the number of new affiliates around the country.” The vision for Habitat for Humanity is “a world where everyone has a decent place to live.” Given the fact that the organization now builds homes in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Central Asia, the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada and the United States, there is no doubt that Jimmy Carter’s influence and celebrity has resulted in the organization having a global impact.  I do not know President Carter’s motives for getting involved with Habitat for Humanity, but would not be surprised if he felt he was doing the Lord’s work. There are many that would say that it is the Lord’s work and I no doubt believe many people helped through this organization are thanking God. But then there are things that make you wonder if a man like President Carter even knows the Lord at all.

President Carter was being interviewed when he was asked, “Would Jesus approve Gay Marriage?” His reply was, “I believe He would. I don’t have any verse in scripture, but I believe He would approve Gay Marriage.” President Carter claims to be a born again Christian and he may be, but I seriously question his faith when I hear statements like this. Earlier in this interview he stated that he teaches Sunday school every chance he gets at his home church. Therefore, I have to assume that he is familiar with the scriptures when Jesus said, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh' (Matthew 19:4-5)?” Now, I am not trying to talk about Gay Marriage again. That is a dead horse that no longer needs to be kicked. God is clear that marriage is between a man and a woman, as Jesus clearly states. However, what I would like to ask President Carter is the same question Jesus put forth; “Have you not read?” President Carter admits he has no scripture to support his statement and, in my opinion, intentionally omits the words Jesus did say in order to make it seem like Jesus would support something He clearly does not. Unfortunately, many so-called Christians support things that the Bible clearly doesn’t support because they do not read the Bible. Sadly, other Christians still don’t believe the Bible when they do read it because they are more inclined to interpret scripture from the world’s point of view rather than interpret the world from God’s point of view. President Carter may have done things in the name of the Lord, like Habitat for Humanity, but if a statement like this is evidence of what is in his heart, I fear that the day will come when he hears the Lord say to him, “I never knew you.” Read the scriptures.