Posted on 11/20/2023 8:46:29 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The author hits the nail right on the head here. He finally came to the point where he realized that he only wanted to want to be free from his same-sex attraction - but not really.
That final surrender is where Jesus wants us to get to - to realize that no amount of will-power will ever free you from any of the hurts, habits and hang-ups that torment so many followers of Christ. It’s only when we truly submit our selves to God that His Spirit who lives within us can begin to change us.
This is true for anything that gets in the way of getting closer to God. I speak from experience - years of painful experience spent thinking I could ‘do it’ by just sinning less, praying more, being a better person.
It didn’t work for me then; it doesn’t work for me now; it will never work for you, either.
He wanted Salvation but on his terms. That’s not how it works. You come just as you are. God is not your employee.
That is true of any sin people are caught in.
I knew a woman who was an alcoholic and wanted free from the mess she made of her life, but didn't want to give anything up.
She claimed to have accepted Jesus but would NOT read Scripture or attend church, or get the help she needed.
All she wanted was a comfortable life with someone providing for her.
She died a few months after I lost contact with her and I hope for her sake that her commitment to Christ was genuine.
A very poignant story.
Glad he made it out of his hell.
“It’s only when we truly submit our selves to God “
What does that mean exactly?
Temptations will still exist.
I was raised in church and was saved at eight years old. But later that same year, I was exposed to hardcore gay pornography. On the pages of that magazine, I didn’t observe an unfamiliar-to-me approach to intimacy. I saw men degrading other men in grotesque, dehumanizing ways.And the boys who showed me this porn exposed themselves to me. So, my first sexual experiences, as a uniformed, naive little boy, were at the hands of other males. The shame was soul-crushing. I wished I could undo all of it.
Sexual abuse of minors leads to adolescent or adult faggotry.
WOW! Excellent.
This was uncomfortable, but a great read.
I believe it was St. Augustine who prayed, “Lord, make me chaste. But not yet”.
Well, I don't mind being chaste ...
... as long as I'm not caught.
Temptations will still exist.
Absolutely. But with God's Spirit working from the inside, there is a way past it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.
We're not promised an easy life when we choose to submit ourselves to God's will - and we're never promised a life without temptations. The good news is that our relationship with God isn't based on performance, but on our heart, on our faith in what Jesus did on the cross to forgive all our sins, both past and present.
That doesn't mean that we can just go on living as we did.
That is a humbling read, that is one tough hombre.
So if you have Gods spirit in you there is a way past all temptation. Well then one can expect to live a sinless life after you “submit”.
Well, no. One can hope to live a sinless life, but we're not like Jesus in that regard. We're still imperfect people and will stumble, fall, even do things willfully that we know are against what God wants for us - following Christ does not make us perfect, nor does it need to. The whole point of the salvation, redemption, whatever you wish to call it - it that it's our faith in the fact that Jesus paid the penalty that we deserve for our sins that gives us eternal life - and a better life here on earth.
The churchy word for that is 'justification' - it's a one-time thing that covers all of our sins and shortcomings, past and future.
The churchy word for becoming a better and better person - more like Jesus - is 'sanctification.' That's an ongoing process - it doesn't help you earn your salvation (there's nothing any of us can 'do' to get ourselves 'right with God' - to make the good outweigh the bad). What it does do is make us more effective in spreading God's kingdom around here on earth.
Quit reading after. “There was no acceptable place in society for someone to be grappling with homosexuality in 1989. “
1989? Seriously???
“We’re still imperfect people and will stumble, fall, even do things willfully that we know are against what God wants”
So I am trying to square this with what has been said. If “will power” wont keep us sinless, as I agree, but Gods Grace will replace faulty “will power”, then what is falling again in sin a result of? it cant be a lack of will power as it is now out of the equation. So not enough Gods Grace?
Also if the author commits a homosexual act in the future this sin that is going to happen in the future will be forgiven correct?
“There was no acceptable place in society for someone to be grappling with homosexuality in 1989. Not inside the church and definitely not outside.”
I think he is talking about questioning homosexuality. Difficult to talk about in his church as his church may have condemned him for even thinking about it. And outside of the church most would have only affirmed his homosexual thoughts.
Just like today with transgenders, a real exploration of those feelings is difficult to do. Almost all of the pyschologists and therapists are affirming. “You be you! Here’s some hormones.”
Who you talking "We", Z-face?
I don't even know how I would do that on my phone.
I’ve known several Christians with a similar story.
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