The many paths...

[visionary]

Paul was very clear that what ever floats your boat, doesn't necessary get to the other side. Often we think we are defending rights but it might be we are really rebellion against a plain thus saith the Lord. It is not the person you debate that makes it. It is what God says that does. All our arguments for this or that position will not save us. The Truth will, The Way will, The Will of God will, Yeshua will, the Life Will... but they are all the same no matter which way you say it.

I think we should seriously consider what Paul is saying here....

Romans 1: 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

It is time to take a conscience look at our life and that which God wants us to live.

 

[tango]

Paul was very clear that what ever floats your boat, doesn't necessary get to the other side. Often we think we are defending rights but it might be we are really rebellion against a plain thus saith the Lord. It is not the person you debate that makes it. It is what God says that does. All our arguments for this or that position will not save us. The Truth will, The Way will, The Will of God will, Yeshua will, the Life Will... but they are all the same no matter which way you say it.

I think we should seriously consider what Paul is saying here....

Romans 1: 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

It is time to take a conscience look at our life and that which God wants us to live.

It's very true that we can come up with all sorts of clever justifications for whatever sin happens to plague us, but no amount of clever wordsmithing will save us when we come to give account.

At the same time it's important to recognise that God lays down the standards he expects and then allows us to decide for ourselves whether to follow those standards. So when we're dealing with people we have to accept that they have the absolute right to reject everything God has to say about something.

It's also good to recognise that sometimes people have a different interpretation of Scripture. Some interpretations seem like little more than hand-wringing and writing something off as being a cultural thing because it's inconvenient to their lifestyle but when there are serious disagreements over just what Scripture says God requires we really need to look at what The Other Guy is saying and determine whether it has any merit. For example I really struggle to see any prohibition of drinking alcohol (in moderation) in Scripture, most of the arguments I've seen against alcohol are little more than misapplications of verses like Eph 5:18 or generic arguments like "the world drinks alcohol, we are not to be like the world, therefore we should not drink" (and yet that argument doesn't apply when the world wears clothes, holds down jobs etc). Then there are the circular arguments like "alcohol is sinful, we are to avoid sin, therefore we are to avoid alcohol" where the conclusion handily agrees with the prestated assumptions. Yet on the other hand I've seen a book for sale (I forget the title now) where the author undertook what appeared to be a fairly deep Scriptural and cultural study and concluded that abstinence was called for. For now at least I disagree, I don't see a problem with drinking in moderation (subject to any relevant laws, for example drinking and driving, age restrictions etc), but it would seem short-sighted to assume that those calling for abstinence are wrong without further consideration.