Posted on 09/03/2013 2:09:18 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
The serpent is more crafty than any of the beasts of the field. He attacks while retreating, retreating while attacking. He concedes this point, all the while making that point. He is both a tar baby and quicksilver. And we are fools for forgetting it...
...the hard truth is that evangelicals are sleeping with partners to whom they are not married. Hundreds of thousands of them, with barely a word even spoken...
The result is not merely immorality. The trouble with not keeping your pants on isn’t that you offend that great Prude in the sky. The problem is that it leads to death (Proverbs 7:27). How many of our grievous social ills trace their roots to the lie that we can have sex outside marriage with no great consequence? To put it another way, what would this world look like if there were no more adultery and fornication? Because families would be intact, ghettoes and the pathologies that come with them would fade away.
(Excerpt) Read more at ligonier.org ...
Gar,
Thanks.
Does ANYONE have stats to back that up?????
Certainly sex outside of marriage is wrong and people are doing it, however, broad brushing an entire group is no way to build an argument.
Thanks for pointing that out. *church members* does not by default mean truly born again believers.
Every church is filled with saved and unsaved. It's only the percentages which vary. Some have more saved, some have less.
But the other point raised is also valid. Jesus said lusting after a woman is the same as committing adultery (and the same applies to women who lust after another man), and that hating another is the same as murder.
The reason is that it's only a matter of how much self-control an individual has to avoid crossing the line from the mental to the physical.
Thank God for His grace that He's so willing to forgive and that our works do not either gain or lose us our salvation.
Great point.
The US culture, and for that matter the entire Western culture, has shifted to where few, if any, acts are considered sinful. There is no shame any longer for behavior rather it's how can it be excused or justified in a secular society...gays and transvestites parade down our streets...(”They strut their evil before you”) with no public out cry.
Many people wear the title of one religion or another...it's fashionable now to dive into Eastern religions and label yourself as practicing such.....and be fully acceptable in US.
I mention these things because the sexual revolution is seen now as perfectly legit ‘by the majority’... who really have no sense of biblical truth. So it's within ‘all’ churches as well....there is ‘nothing’ which is resisting it......
This is true, but what percentage would be more pertinent, while Scripture says it should not even occur once.
As regards defining "evangelical," Barna's criteria is superior, as it defines them according to distinctiveness which evangelicalism was defined by, as a movement against liberalism. By such criteria only 8% of Americans are evangelical, as with some other polls, the Economist estimated in May 2012 that "over one-third of Americans, more than 100m, can be considered evangelical," arguing that the percentage is often undercounted because many black Christians espouse Evangelical theology but prefer to refer to themselves as "born again Christians" rather than "evangelical." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism#Demographics)
In contrast, according to one pollsters criteria, Thirty-seven percent of all Christians describe themselves as born-again or evangelical; that includes nearly half of all Protestants (47 percent)" and "two-thirds of blacks describe themselves as evangelical or born-again Christians, double the share of whites who do so" (http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=90356&page=1), yet in reality very few, black or white, actually describe themselves as evangelical, but pollsters classify evangelical or born-again as one class, which includes 14% of Catholics who called themselves born again far more than evangelical.
But white evangelical/born-again people are listed as a class by itself by Pew Research, and for black evangelical/born-again Americans race and welfare considerations usually trump evangelical faith.
True, but if they are least taught to esteem Scripture as the basically literal word of God then they can be led out of such "churches." And at least we can separate from liberal churches and members, while RCs are stuck with a church which treats such souls as members in life and in death, as often said and exampled.
So what do you propose be done? Segregate men and women? Cover the women in burkas? What? You never heard of self-control?
Are people just animals who can't help themselves?
The natural desire for sex beings in the early teen years, but that is not the same as the natural desire to marry. Additionally, a girl's body is not mature enough physically to handle pregnancy until she's about 18.
Blaming the culture for an individual's poor life choices is blame shifting and enabling.
Gee, somehow it worked pretty well before our culture embraced the sexual revolution.
People will rise to the level of expectations.
Expect them to have no self-control, and they’ll do that.
Hand out condoms and abortions, and why should they even think about it?
Um, yes, self- control, and no, it’s not naive.
I would agree: Low expectations, the sexual revolution, and the handing out of condoms and abortions have had a detrimental effect on sexual morality in this nation.
That’s not “blaming the culture for an individual’s poor life choices.” It’s blaming the culture for seducing young men and women into fornication.
To expect that the young in their sexual prime will “just exercise some self-control” in the throes of this seduction is naive. One has only to look at the number of abortions, unwed pregnancies, and venereal diseases to see that self-control isn’t working.
This is, IMHO, the folly of “abstinence education”. Everyone is CAPABLE of self-control, sure. But not many will exercise it in these circumstances. Our social problem lies in our culture, and therefore will not be solved with a “just say no” pledge campaign.
In the current environment, most young people simply aren’t going to exercise self-control. It’s like setting a bowl of beef & gravy three feet in front of your dog, and then telling him to “STAY!”. How long after you leave the room do you think he’ll be able to resist?
And afterward, what’re you going to do? Yell at him for being a bad dog and disobedient? Or blame yourself for setting him up to fail?
Someone has to take that stand to turn the tide.
The *folly* or abstinence education*???
And you propose what? To just let them do what they want? Offer nothing better? Hand out condoms figuring you can't fight city hall?
NIV translates it such:
" 9. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10. nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Oh?
http://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Matthew%205%3A22
The problem is huge and must be addressed from many angles. There is no easy way to get out of the pit. Individuals, if well brought up and receptive to their up bringing, and not falling prey to bad influences, may be able to escape the net or web of sexual sin.
But the culture must change. And early marriage needs to make a come back.
This is the point Jesus was making. From the NIV:
"...anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell."
In danger of Hell's fire, just the same as if you killed someone. Got it?
I knew you did.
8^)
That's what the book says.
Oh?
Since when?
Jesus seemed to 'insult' the Pharisees quite regularly.
Does HE get a pass that I don't?
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