In October 2015, Donnie Romero form Stedfast Baptist Church in Fort Worth Texas preached a sermon which softens the line of reprobate doctrine. He seems to be claiming in the sermon that this clarifies the doctrine, but it really does not – it simply shows an inconsistency in the New IFB dogma. Here’s the transcript with important parts underlined by me.
Not every reprobate is a sodomite. Because it goes above to the lust of your own heart. So some people’s heart is just to steal and rip people off and to kill people and do all sorts of bad stuff. That’s what the lust of their heart is after that point. Some people it’s to commit sodomy, some people it’s to commit bestiality, some people it’s to commit child molesting. Some people it’s just to commit like I said, mass murder, theft, whatever they desire. The lust of their own heart. Not the lust of, you know, everything.
Now, look at this: Look at verse number twenty nine. The Bible says that being one, let me say this. People will teach that by us saying that the fags can’t be saved, that we’re teaching a works salvation. They’ll say “well, you’re teaching works because you’re teaching that if someone does this work, this act, that they can’t be saved.” Did I say one time that if you’ve committed sodomy that’s – did I say sodomy comes – this is step four! The sodomites are afterwards. Blaspheming of the Holy Ghost is over here. Changing God’s word is over here. Taking the mark of the beast is over here. Sodomy comes afterward. You say, “what about the people that have committed sodomy?” This is the call that I’ve gotten from people: “I doubt my salvation based upon that teaching, because I have done something in my past.” I know a girl that does not go to this church, she goes to another church, and she had dome some pretty shifty things in the past, ok, and she asked me, or she asked somebody and I was there, “So you believe – you know – I feel like whenever you preach something like that, I’m not saved. Because I worry that I’m a reprobate.” And this is the answer that I gave. Do you – what do you believe somebody has to do to be saved. “I believe he died on the cross – faith in Him.” Do you believe it’s eternal? “Absolutely – eternal.” The fact that you even believe that is total proof that you are not a reprobate, because a reprobate could not believe that. That’s the teaching. They could not believe that. So there are people that have done those acts that are not past that point – and they are not reprobates. There are people that have done filthy acts, let’s face it, that’s filthy. OK?
Now, but when it comes to the sodomites, being a sodomite isn’t the reason they’re a reprobate, It’s a symptom of them being a reprobate. I like that word. It’s a symptom. If you have a cold, you cough, right? Does coughing give you a cold? No. What comes first? Before you ever coughed, you had the cold. The symptom – the outward manifestation of you having the cold is that you cough. The outward manifestation of being there – one of those manifestations of somebody being here is that they’re just totally given over, into sodomy, man with man, doing whatever filthy act – animals – whatever the case may be – after that point. You say, “But what if somebody’s done something like that before that?” If people doubt their salvation, and they say “I believe the gospel, they are saved.” There is nobody that will ever live that believes the gospel that goes to hell. Nobody. They pass from death unto life. The reason why you doubt is just because this teaching has never been – I don’t know if I’ve ever heard that before. But that’s the – that’s the line. That’s the plan as far as the reprobates are concerned.
Go to Romans – stay in chapter – Romans – This is the thing: They’re given over to whatever their heart could imagine to do. And there are such filthy and perverted people out there, that they start to desire to be with men. To be with animals, to be with children. When they were over here, they probably never had that thought. Maybe they were engulfed in pornography, maybe they were engulfed in all sorts of other types of sins. Once they got past this point, whatever kind of – you know –what would keep them from ever even going past that point of no return, is gone already. Before they ever become a sodomite, they are a reprobate. Long before. Before you have that cough, you have a cold. Before it ever happens, that virus is inside of you. Now look at verse number 29. Now people want to cling to the false hope that the sodomites can be saved. Let me say this – They’re not only reprobate, they’re not only number four here, they’re way past that. That’s the thing that people don’t understand. Look at verse number 29. “Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death – “ So they know that the Bible says that they should be put to death. They know that, they just don’t like it. “Not only do the same but have pleasure in them that do them.” Now I’ve heard this verse taught, that this is for not just the people that – the sodomites and the reprobates, but for the people that take pleasure. That’s not what this is talking about. This is talking about the reprobate, not only doing all these things, but taking pleasure in the fact that he’s a hater of God. He loves hating God.
Look, the sodomites go throughout these big parades, now they always want to associate it with being black or with being a Mexican. And like – you’ll say that you’re against the homos, and they’re like “What do you hate black people too?” You say “No, the black people are born that way.” “Oh, no the homos –“ No they’re not! Now, this is a good thing that I thought about is that – back in the 60s or 70 right? – Look, black people and white people, and Mexicans, we’re all the same, we’re all – God made all the nations of one blood, OK? Back in the 60’s, black people were marching for their rights, because they could not do the same things white people could do. And when you saw them marching, thousands of ‘em, the only thing that looked different was their skin color. They had on the same clothes, You saw women with children, you saw everything looked identical. The only difference was they were black and these people were white. They looked identical, do you know why? Because they are the same. The only difference is they were black and these people were white. When you see the sodomites and these faggots rolling down in their big parades, they don’t look like a bunch of regular people, they got on crazy leather outfits, they got on all sorts of abominable nakedness and it’s a huge freak show! They do not look like normal people, they’re just gay. They look like a bunch of perverted, filthy child-molesting faggots. It’s disgusting. They do not look like normal people, they’re just gay. Its – Do you know why? It’s because the gay man is not a man or a woman. It’s a whole different – a gay man does not act like a woman. Have you noticed that? It’s a whole different animal. It’s a whole different thing. You know like – you know how woman act? The gay man does not act like a woman acts. The gay man acts like a gay man. “Oh, he just acts girly.” That’s not girly. I’ve never seen a girl act the way a homo acts. Girls do not act like that! Period. That’s the way it is.
And so, the Bible says the reason – now, all these things – you’ll say, “well, in verses 29 through 32 – through 31 everybody does those sins.” Look, I will agree with that. That verses 29 through 31, maybe everybody in here, I would say not maybe everybody’s full of murder, but I’m gonna say this – It is possible for a saved person to do any one of these sins. But what this is teaching is that the sodomite is willing to do any one of those at any given time and enjoy doing it. Not only would he molest a child, but he will enjoy doing it. Not only does he hate God and invent evil and wicked things, but he loves to do it. And when he hears “Who knowing the judgment of God that they which commit such things –“ When they hear that God hates them and their filthy activity, it makes them want to do it all the more. When they hear and then the word of God says they should be put to death and that they’re vile and disgusting, it just makes them want to do it even more.
Romero seems to claim that this is just the same teaching that the New IFB teaches, but it’s not. With Romero’s view, a person who commits sodomy is not a sodomite until a certain point, but he doesn’t say what that is. Romero is saying you can commit sodomy for an undetermined amount of time and you could still get saved. This means that when people like Anderson say all sodomites are going to hell, or when Ben the Baptist says they can’t get saved, they disagree with Romero here.
Here’s the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT-UpkW9n4I
