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Something To Consider
Most of us are pretty much in agreement that the process of sanctification (the ongoing part of Abecoming@ a Christian) is a matter of growth, and that developing the Christian graces - - the greatest of which is charity, or love (1 Corinthians 12:31 - 13:13) - - requires careful cultivation that is ongoing as a child of God matures. One passage which describes this cultivation is found in 2 Peter 1:4-8 which concludes with the following statement: AFor if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.@ (Verse 8) And love is most assuredly one of the things a Christian must see to that it is to Abe in@ us - - and it must be cultivated that it, too, may Aabound@. But, think on this; hatred must also be cultivated if it is to grow in a person=s soul. It is not a Christian grace, nor should it be; but it has to be allowed to build and grow if it is to take over one=s heart. It may well be a Anatural@ thing in some respects; but it is incapable of growing out of control on its own. For it to be that way, one would have to accept the implication that man is by his very nature evil - - which is certainly NOT the case. Man has the free will (from God) to choose between good and evil (or, to love or to hate). A man thus must choose to allow hatred to grow in his heart and consume his soul instead of cultivating love and the other Christian graces. In essence, hatred is a form of lust that a man allows in himself - - ABut every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.@ (James 1:14,15) Remember always that YOU alone are in control of which virtues (or vices) you cultivate and allow to grow in your heart. Therefore, ADo not err, my beloved brethren.@ (James 1:16) - - Kevin L. Greer A Point To Ponder
If a great number of psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, geneticists, biologists, and many other, various experts in the sciences dealing with the human race make the claim that homosexual lifestyles are both normal and acceptable; and the Bible - - in passages such as Genesis 19:1-25, Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, Deuteronomy 23:17, Romans 1:26-27, and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 - - makes the opposite claim; then where must a child of God take his stand on the matter? - - Kevin L. Greer |