Pretending like temptation doesn’t exist in order to avoid engaging it just makes it harder to resist and it just makes you miserable, but calling it out directly and acknowledging it really changes things. Confession can be a form of therapy.
Continue readingTag Archives: sin
Truth in Love
When interacting with the world, believers must speak the truth in love (Ep 4:15). Anyone trapped in sin doesn’t matter if it is drug addiction, sexual sin, idolatry, or greed, will be defensive about their habit. The best thing to do is to focus less on the specific category of sin, and instead on the person needing salvation.
Continue readingThe Sin of Being the Tempter
Jesus says in Matthew 18:6-7 and Luke 17:1-3, that anyone that causes the children (of Israel) to sin should have a millstone tied around their neck and cast into the sea. This implies that tempting others to sin is worse than sinning against God or them.
Continue readingDangers of Self-righteousness
Some lessons on the dangers of self-righteousness from Jesus himself. In Matt 21:28-32 Jesus gives a parable of two sons. In the parable, the father gives instructions to his two sons. One of them said no, but did follow instructions anyway, and the other said yes but disobeyed. Jesus asked the Pharisees which one obeyed his father they replied the first one. In verses 31-32, Jesus said that is correct and explained the meaning: (NLT) “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. For John, the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.”
Continue readingHam’s Sin Against Noah
When most people encounter the story of Noah and Ham they usually have one view of what happened. Ham looked at Noah naked and mocked or made fun of him in some way, and Noah got angry and cursed his son, Canaan. However, the Hebrew text used phrases that are consistently used elsewhere in scripture as euphemisms for something more nefarious. This leads to other possible interpretations that reveal why the punishment for Canaan was so harsh.
Continue readingSexual Immorality in the Bible
The law (Torah) came from God on Mt Sinai, and Jesus agreed with everything the Torah said, including everything about sexual immorality, because it all points to him (Luke 16:29-31, John 5:45). He followed the law perfectly which made him sinless, and that qualified him to die for our sins. The law says that incest (Lev18:1-18), adultery (Ex 20:14, Deut 5:18), same-sex intercourse (Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13), bestiality (Lev18:23, Lev 20:15-16), and fornication (Ex 22:16-17, Deut 22:28-29), are all sins that were punishable with execution. Sex between a married man and woman that have no conflicting relationship (blood or otherwise) between other family members, is the only legit way to have sex. Jesus agreed with this because he followed Torah and believed it to be the word of his father God.
Continue readingLove vs Fear – Overcoming Sin
Jesus said the greatest commandment was “to love God with all of your heart, soul, and strength” (Matt 22:34-40) In addition, Jesus said, “if you love me you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). It’s not possible to keep any of the commandments until you do the greatest one first.
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