Tuesday Dec 27 2011

Aliahna Lemmon killed, dismembered in Fort Wayne, Indiana

“Protest against ‘blasphemous’ play in Paris”: Who decides who is “a fundamentalist Catholic”?

“Two men reported to have links to fundamentalist Catholic groups were arrested at the weekend while attempting to disable the theatre’s security system.”Catholics protest against ‘blasphemous’ play in Paris

• Angelique Chrisafis
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 8 December 2011 13.16 EST
• Article history

The Théâtre du Rond-Point’s staging of Golgota Picnic is the latest target in a wave of demonstrations across France

 

An earlier French protest against Golgota Picnic in November by fundamentalist Christians in Toulouse. Photograph: Remy Gabalda/AFP

One of Paris’s most prestigious theatres was being protected by riot police and guard-dog patrols on Thursday after it became the latest target in a wave of Catholic protests across France against so-called “blasphemous” plays.

The head of the Théâtre du Rond-Point on the Champs-Elysées complained of death threats in the runup to Thursday’s premiere of the play Golgota Picnic by the Madrid-based, Argentinian writer Rodrigo García. Two men reported to have links to fundamentalist Catholic groups were arrested at the weekend while attempting to disable the theatre’s security system.

Several Catholic groups have called for peaceful demonstrations, prayer-vigils and the laying down of white flowers outside the building every night the play is shown, while the archbishop of Paris will lead protest prayers against the play at Notre Dame Cathedral.

The demonstrations over Golgota Picnic come after a rise in fundamentalist religious protest action against some of France’s most high-profile theatres, including pelting the audience with eggs, letting off stinkbombs and the invasion of the stage of Paris’s esteemed Théâtre de la Ville mid-performance by outraged Catholics carrying banners reading “Stop Christianophobia”.

Earlier this year, young French fundamentalist Catholics staged an unprecedented attack on a gallery in Avignon, slashing photographs including Piss Christ by the New York artist Andres Serrano. More peaceful Catholic protests outside theatres, including young people kneeling with wooden crosses outside venues from Lille to Toulouse, have led the French culture pages to question the rise in rightwing and nationalist feeling among hardline Christian groups.

Paris remains sensitive about Christian demonstrations since the fire-bombing of a cinema showing Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988. Political commentators have speculated that some traditionalist Catholics in the demonstrations had broken off from the Front National after the leadership was taken over by Jean-Marie Le Pen’s daughter Marine.

Golgota Picnic, which takes place on a stage strewn with burger buns, has several religious references including readings and a crucifixion scene. But Paris theatre critics said it was absurd to call it anti-Catholic or blasphemous and questioned whether its religious critics had actually seen it.

Yet in a move that went further than the recent protests over Théâtre de la Ville’s staging of On the Concept of the Face, Regarding the Son of God by the Italian Romeo Castellucci, Paris’s archbishop, André Vingt-Trois, deemed Golgota Picnic, which he had not seen, “deliberately offensive” and said he would lead a protest prayer at Notre Dame.

Jean-Michel Ribes, head of the Théâtre de Rond-Point, appealed for calm. He said: “The Théâtre du Rond-Point isn’t an anti-Christian, anti-Muslim or anti-Jewish place.” But he said the role of artists was to fight against “suffocating dogma”. Theatregoers have been advised to arrive an hour early to get through the airport-style security before reaching their seats.

Paris city hall’s art supremos rushed to defend the theatre community against what it said was fundamentalists holding art to ransom, saying a “silent minority” of Catholics did not share the notion of making threats or stifling freedom of expression.

Civitas, a lobby group that says it aims to re-Christianise France, has called for a large, peaceful street demonstration “against Christianophobia” this weekend.

http://apriestlife.blogspot.com/2011/12/who-decides-who-is-fundamentalist.html

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GOLGOTHA PICNIC: Blasphemy!

 

Should a secular government help promote blasphemous, pornographic and anti-God events? …a government funded porn blasphemous show where:• Actors going through multiple scenes of full and frontal nudity, with a giant screen showing the genitals of the actors and actresses in detail.

• Christ being compared to a terrorist and insulted with such profanity that I cannot reproduce it here.

• There are burlesque imitations of the crucifixion, such as a half-naked woman with a false stigmata — and a motorcycle helmet with a crown of thorns drawn on it.
Unspeakable!

“In the press kit of Golgotha ​​Picnic, Rodrigo Garcia (director) explains how he built his own biblical imagination, translating it into an obscene language and images. Christ is here called “el diablo puto” (ndmg – whore devil) and is compared to a terrorist. He also shows Christ, crucified surrounded by banknotes. Burgers litter the floor of the stage, trying to parody grotesquelly the multiplication of the loaves. And then the Italian conductor Marino Formenti plays in the piano the “Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross” by Haydn. “ Full article can be found at this link but please be aware that it is foul and disturbing! (teaandpolitics.wordpress.com is an informative, pro-Catholic blog)

 

http://teaandpolitics.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/france-theatre-play-will-show-christ-as-whore-terrorist-devil/

 

Golgotha Picnic is on tour until February 2012 in several cities across France, starting in Paris and just in time for the Feast of the Nativity!

And it gets tax payer money funded by the French Culture Ministry and by prestigious associations such as the Fuoundation Pierre Bergé and the Baron Philippe de Rotschild Society, among others.
See, it is crucial that Christians from all over the world protest this unspeakable blasphemy.

Protest this before the blasphemies that take place in France spreads like a disease to other countries.

As Catholics/Christians, we have the serious obligation to protest and pray in reparation for this atrocious insult to the sacred honor of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Besides sending your E-Protest message, Protest Now! ,to the French Ministry of Culture against GOLGOTHA PICNIC, I ask you to please offer this special prayer of reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

http://crookedhalocatholicblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/golgotha-picnic-blasphemy.html

117 kid victims and 85 arrests in Orthodox Jewish enclave!

ABOVE: Goodman is caught on webcam ushering children into his home in Brooklyn!

Orthodox sex abuse scandal

117 kid victims and 85 arrests in Jewish enclave
By SUSAN EDELMAN

Last Updated: 9:31 AM, December 11, 2011

Andrew Goodman, 27, who worked for Jewish social-service agencies, is charged with sexually abusing two Orthodox boys for years in Flatbush — one from age 11 to 15, the other from age 13 to 16.

Goodman filmed sex acts with the youngsters on a Web cam, according to the 144-count indictment, which alleges numerous violations since 2006. He has pleaded not guilty.

The handsome Goodman, who held parties in his home with liquor and child porn, also “threatened the life” of a boy who reported him to authorities, court papers and sources say.

Andrew Goodman is one of 85 sex-abuse suspects arrested over the last three years by Project Kol Tzedek, has been accused of preying on the boys of Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish community and — even after his arrest on sex-assault charges — was caught on video ushering teens into his Flatbush home. He is being held on Rikers Island in lieu of a $1 million cash bail.

He’s one of an astounding 85 accused Orthodox child molesters that Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes’ office says it has busted in the past three years in an initiative called Kol Tzedek, Hebrew for “voice of justice.”

The cases involve 117 victims — a number that has the community reeling from the extent of the horrors of pedophilia.

Launched amid complaints that Hynes was soft on Orthodox child predators, Kol Tzedek aims to coax victims to come forward, despite strong pressure in the insular religious community to cover up such crimes.

All but two of the suspects are men, and more than half the victims are male, said Assistant DA Rhonnie Jaus, chief of the sex abuse and crimes against children division.

Of the 38 cases closed so far, 14 perps got jail time, ranging from a month to 10-to-20 years for crimes that included sex abuse, attempted kidnapping, and sodomy, Jaus said.

The other 24 have walked free. They got probation, pleaded to minor charges, or saw their cases dismissed — often because victims or their parents backed out under community pressure.

Agudath Israel of America, a body of Torah sages, requires anyone alleging sex abuse by a fellow observant Jew to first report to its rabbis, who decide whether the case should go to secular authorities.

Goodman’s case, which Hynes’ office hasn’t publicized, shows how the community’s response has started to change. Rather than keeping it among the Orthodox, some alleged victims turned to sympathetic religious leaders and outside authorities to help lock up a menace.

“Andrew Goodman is known in our community as a lifelong molester who preys on young boys and ruins their lives,” a Talmudic scholar at Congregation Bais Torah wrote to Brooklyn Judge Martin Murphy, who is hearing the case.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/orthodox_sex_abuse_scandal_Vzaqd3TbKtikUv0h6b3clI#ixzz1gF45LZ16

 

Posted by “UOJ” – “The Un-Orthodox Jew” at Sunday, December 11, 2011 0 comments

 

 

http://theunorthodoxjew.blogspot.com/2011/12/117-kid-victims-and-85-arrests-in.html

 

 

India: Bishops ask for withdrawal of anti-Christian film

Johnny Depp Aides in Blasphemous Christmas Song

 

Lesson 16

Temptation and Sin

“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. 
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
1 John 3:8

Introduction
We all recognise the acts and results of sin, but what is sin? Is it a sin to be tempted? Is there a step-by-step process leading up to actually sinning? These are the questions we will try to answer in this study.
Our opening verse informs us of one of the reasons why Jesus came into this world, that is to “destroy the works of the devil.” By going back to Genesis 3:1-24 we will learn about how Satan started his evil work amongst mankind.

The First Temptation
In Genesis 3 we read about what really happened when Adam and Eve were tempted. Here we will find help to understand how temptation and sin come into and affect our lives today.

a) Satan questioned God’s word … “Did God really say?”
b) Eve added to God’s word … “We must not touch.”
c) Satan said that God lied.
d) Satan offered Eve an alternative spirituality … “You’ll be wise, and you’ll be gods.”
e) Eve tempts Adam to join her new religion.
f) Adam forgets what God told him.
It is possible that Satan was working on Eve over a period of time. Nevertheless, he quickly broke down any resistance she had. Adam appears to have given in extremely quickly.

What is the difference between Sin and Temptation?
The Hebrew word for temptation is ‘nasah.’ It signifies a test to prove the quality of something. It is sometimes used to denote ‘squeezing.’ Tests are not bad things. We test all kinds of products for safety purposes. We take tests to receive qualifications. We can be certain that all spiritual tests are for our benefit, but it depends upon how we respond to them.
The Hebrew word for sin is ‘chata.’ It means ‘to miss the mark or go astray.’ Spiritually it means that we do not come up to God’s standards of holiness and righteousness. Here are some scripture references that reveal this very clearly:

a) Isaiah 53:6 … All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
b) Romans 14:23 … And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
c) James 4:17 … Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
d) 1 John 4:3 … Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Therefore sin is following the temptation to disobey God, to act wickedly, or to break God’s law. 

Temptation can be broken down into three categories
1 John 2:16 explains how temptation is activated in our lives. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
a) The lust of the flesh. This refers to the cravings of sinful man. It describes those sinful things that make us feel good. Eve saw that the fruit was good for food.
b) The lust of the eyes. So many things seem to be beautiful to us and we must have them right away. It describes our sinful desire for material possessions. The fruit was pleasant to Eve’s eyes.
c) The pride of life. Almost everyone is full of his or her own self-importance. It describes the notion that we are better than the next person. Eve saw the fruit could make her wise and a god.

How do you get from Temptation to Sin?
Temptation is a process from holiness to sinfulness. Few temptations drop us in sin’s deep end immediately; instead we are led there gradually. James 1:13-15 speaks of this … “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But 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.” 
That is exactly why the devil presents temptation to us. He wants us to fall into sin and to be spiritually doomed. Is it not true that we are usually tempted to meet our own physical needs? Theses needs, once met, turn into bondage, and bondage brings us to death. Temptation is Satan’s bait on the hook of sin. Once ensnared he only has to reel us in.

What should a Christian do when tempted?
Temptation is a reality that we have to daily live with. Sin, on the other hand, is a choice we make. The secret is to abide by God’s word so that we do not yield to temptation … “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). The Lord Jesus Christ is our finest example of sinlessness … “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrew 4:14-16).
Jesus tells us what we should do when tempted, and it is the very thing we fail to do. He simply told us to pray … “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41) … “After this manner therefore pray ye … lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:9, 13).
Instead of filling our minds with the things the devil presents to us, we can, according to the apostle Paul, think upon good things … “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8). This is what is meant by resisting the devil and have him flee from us (James 4:7), and to hold onto the shield of faith to quench his fiery darts of temptation (Ephesians 6:16).

It’s not unusual to be tempted
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Temptation is around us all the time, but we must look for the escape door offered to us by God. We should overcome temptation, not it us. Adam and Eve failed to do this, and as a result, brought sin, sickness, and death into the world.

Download MS Word Version of this study

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http://www.lwbc.co.uk/Genesis/temptation_and_sin.htm

Dealing with temptation

by Jacob Ninan

Everyone faces temptations of different types daily. A lot of people seem to give in to temptations thinking that if temptations do come, there is no other option but to give in! “These temptations are too strong for me,” they say. “Before I realise it, I have already given in to temptations. I don’t know what else to do,” some people say. If this was true, that we cannot help but give in, then there would be no hope of ever overcoming temptations. But the fact of the matter is that this is a lie from the devil. Many people have actually learnt to deal with temptations and overcome them. Jesus Himself was tempted in everything just like us, and never sinned even once (He.4:15). The Bible says very clearly that we are not under any obligation to follow the desires of our flesh (Ro.8:12). It will be helpful if we can understand what happens when we are tempted and what we can do to deal with temptation.What is temptation?

Temptation is simply an invitation to sin. Of course it does not come to us informing us about the coming sin, but as an attractive appeal to us to enjoy some thrill, pleasure, gain, advantage, etc. The sting of temptation is hidden, just as a sugar coated pill containing the poison inside. Certainly there is a thrilling outcome when we yield to temptation, but it is much more certain that the poison will hit us soon. This poison has disastrous results. It causes ‘death’ (Ro.6:21) which translates as break of fellowship with God, distortion of our personality, and physical consequences (Ga.6:7).

Temptation comes to us from the strong desires (lusts) that there are inside us in our ‘flesh’ (Jas.1:14,15). These lusts are exaggerated forms of the normal desires we have, and we have them as strong desires because of the sinful tendencies we have inherited from Adam as a result of his fall. For example, our normal desire to eat can become exaggerated and we can overeat! When we listen to the appeal of these desires and give in to them, we sin.

The sequence of temptation and sin

Many people (unconsciously) believe that when temptation comes there is nothing we can do except to give in. Some people struggle to stop sinning–by trying to stop acting out the sinful behaviour–and fail. The place to focus on is not the act of sin but what goes on inside us. Let us look at the sequence of temptation in more detail so that we can get clearer understanding.

An ‘event’ usually triggers the flesh and some relevant lust pops its head out. This event can be something we do, such as seeing, hearing, or thinking about something. Or it can be something other people do or something that affects us in our environment. When such things happen, some of our lusts get stirred up and we feel the pressure to take some action. Satan may also get into the act, either by independently putting some ideas into our mind or joining the ‘event’ by adding some comments and suggestions in between. We may not realise what all is happening, and we may wrongly imagine that our thoughts are our own and that we should take action. Our will then decides what to do, and action follows.

We must also remember to distinguish between temptation and sin. Temptation is the invitation, and sin is the act of accepting the invitation in our mind and doing something accordingly. Just because a tempting thought has come into our mind we have not sinned. We have only been tempted. Only when we accept the temptation we sin. Remember how Jesus was tempted and yet remained pure and holy throughout His life (He.4:15).

Those who (unconsciously) think that once these thoughts come up there is no option but to act according to them do not realise that there is indeed another option. If we follow these lusts it will result in sin (Jas.1:14,15). The other option is to refuse to act according to these lusts. But unfortunately under the pressure of these lusts it does not look as if it is possible to refuse them. Also since this sequence takes place so fast it looks as if there is no time even to think, and our response is almost automatic.

A clearer picture

The previous picture was not clear enough because it missed out one major aspect of the process. Now look at the next picture.

If we assume that there is other option than to give in to our desires we are actually ignoring the presence of our mind that can think! Before our will makes a decision, our mind can tell it what to decide. Our mind thinks based on the inputs that are already in our memory. All our past experiences and our responses are stored in our memory. Our first response when some provocation comes is to act in a way we have been used to before. But what I want to point out is that the mind has the freedom to choose whatever way it wants to act, even to do things other than what have been done so far. The first time we try to go against our previous response patterns we may find it very difficult to do so. But still there is a freedom to decide to refuse to comply with our sinful desires. To repeat, we are not obliged to simply give in to our flesh (Ro.8:12). When we refuse to give in to our desires and choose to do what God tells us, we have victory!

Dealing with temptation

As long as we live here on earth, we will not be able to avoid ‘events’ that stir up the lusts in our flesh. Whatever binding or loosing we may try to do, we can also not prevent the Devil from coming to us with his temptations. None of us can also come to the place where our lusts will all be annihilated. But even though these things are not in our control, there are other things that are in our control.

Since God has given each of us a sound mind (2Ti.1:7), we have the ability to choose what we should do. But previous experiences of automatically giving in to our lusts has distorted our thinking, and we tend to forget that we need not give in like that. This is where it becomes necessary to get our mind transformed to think like God wants us to think (Ro.12:2). Look at the next picture to see how we can let our mind get transformed.

God makes it very clear that it is as we read, meditate on and obey His word that we can have our mind renewed (Ps.119:9,11,15,54,98,105). As we spend time before God reading His word carefully and sincerely, and listening to Him as He reveals His ways through the Holy Spirit, our way of thinking gets changed. An ongoing fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit helps us to get to know Him and His ways, and our life gets transformed (2Co.3:18). Our values, priorities, direction–all these change to fit in with God’s. Then our mind gets the ability to direct our will to refuse the lusts that come up from our flesh and to obey God’s ways. Over a period of time this becomes almost automatic for us and temptation loses its power!

We must also remember that inputs from the world are constantly entering our mind through the opinion of other people and the media. Though we cannot cut this off totally, it is important that we deliberately cut off harmful inputs that can put us in danger. We cannot play with fire and expect not to get burned.

There is one ‘key’ that makes it possible to understand God’s word, which in turn can transform our minds. That is to have a willingness to obey whatever God tells us (Jn.7:17). Without using this key, we cannot understand God’s truth properly, and it is also possible that we end up learning false ‘truths’ that justify our wrong actions.

As we go through this process we must also be prepared to discover things in us that the Holy Spirit wants us to change. This may be very painful for us to acknowledge. But this pain is very much short-lived compared to the joy of partaking of God’s own nature.

Please also see my answers to the Frequently Asked Questions on temptation and sin.

Table of articles
Home page

http://www.c-n-c.org/temptation.htm

1. What is sin?

Sin can be explained in several ways. But probably the simplest way to describe it is to say that sin is to do something that God doesn’t want us to do. This includes doing, saying and thinking things that God doesn’t like, and also keeping attitudes that are displeasing to God. So you see that God is the standard. Our holiness (separation from sin) must be like that of God (Le.19:2). It doesn’t matter what we think or what other people think about things. If God thinks something is wrong, it is sin if we do it, even if we don’t think so, or “feel” so.

2. How can we know if something is sin?

At the lowest level, we can know we have sinned, when our conscience troubles us. Christians have God’s Holy Spirit living in them, and He convicts us when we go wrong and warns us when we are likely to go wrong. But in both these cases the accuracy of our “hearing” depends on our sensitivity – to the voice of our conscience and the Holy Spirit. If we keep neglecting what our conscience tells us, it becomes hardened, and then it is possible for us to think that something is alright even when it is wrong. If we have not learned to identify the voice of the Holy Spirit as distinct from other “voices” or thoughts that come into our mind, we could make mistakes. So God has given us written instructions in His word, the Bible. If we read and obey what is written there, then we shall get to know more and more clearly what sin is (Ps.119:9,11). Then we shall also become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit who will be able to tell us about things that are not specifically written in the Bible. God promises us that if we “want” to do God’s will, He will give us understanding of what He wants (Jn.7:17).

3. What is temptation?

Temptation is nothing but a suggestion to sin, a prompting to do something wrong. It comes to us as a thought in our mind. Temptation can come to us from what we see, hear, feel, or even as a suggestion straight from the devil, who can put such thoughts into our mind. Many things can provoke – tempt – us to sin.

4. I don’t want to sin. But all these wrong thoughts come into my mind. It looks as if I have no chance to avoid sin.

You mustn’t think that you have sinned just because you have been tempted. Actually there are four steps in temptation and sin.

1. The temptation comes into our mind, and we feel a strong pull towards sin.

2. We choose to yield to that temptation.

3. We do what the temptation was prompting us to do.

4. We suffer the consequences of sin.

But suppose we go through a different set of four steps …

1. The temptation comes into our mind, and we feel a strong pull towards sin.

2. We struggle against that pull of temptation, crying out to God to save us.

3. We don’t do what the temptation was prompting us to do.

4. We have overcome the temptation! We become spiritually stronger!

So you see that temptation is not sin. It is only when we yield to temptation that we sin (Jas.1:14,15). But we have the possibility of not giving in, with the help of God. Almost at the beginning of man’s history, God told Cain that sin was crouching at the door, but that he should master it (Ge.4:7).

5. So when do we actually sin?

When we choose to yield to the temptation. We haven’t sinned just because we have been tempted. We haven’t sinned even when we are struggling against sin. But we sin when we yield in our heart, that is, choose, to sin.

Now sin can be in the form of an action. We can say or do something wrong. But it will also be sin, even if we don’t actually do anything wrong externally, if we yield to the temptation in our heart. For example, if we suddenly happened to see a dirty picture and we continue to look at it and enjoy dirty pleasures, it is a sin. But even if we turn away from the picture but continue to enjoy it in our imagination we sin. Or take another example. Imagine somebody who did something wrong to us. If we go and let him really have it – tit for tat or more – we sin, of course. But even if we don’t actually do or say anything to him but carry on with unforgiving attitudes or malicious thoughts we sin.

6. You gave this example of looking at a dirty picture. I turn away from looking at it. But this picture lingers on in my mind even while I am struggling to get rid of it. I can’t honestly say that I don’t get some pleasure from those moments when the picture keeps coming back to me. Have I already sinned, even though I ultimately get away from those thoughts?

Think of the other example I gave. We are trying to forgive this man who has done us harm. But the thought of what he has done keeps coming back, and we can’t help thinking momentarily how much harm he has done to us.

This is in the nature of temptation itself. If a little boy’s mouth doesn’t water at the sight of the chocolate bar in his mother’s cupboard, he is not tempted to steal it. But if he, after many moments of struggle, finally decides not to steal it, he has overcome. As long as we are battling against sin, we are all right. We are not perfect, but we are making progress. In a strict sense, of course, our momentary slip-ups in the midst of our struggle are also sins. We can ask the Lord to forgive us. But they don’t need to make us discouraged. We are making progress, aren’t we?

But, having said that, it is also good to know that the more we battle against a temptation and overcome, our struggle will become less and less difficult. Finally when we have become mature in that area of life, we can say that it doesn’t tempt us any more.

7. Why do I feel temptations to be so strong, sometimes too strong for me to resist?

It is because we have what the Bible calls “the flesh.” This is a part of us that has a strong tendency to sin. We have all inherited this flesh from our ancestors, Adam and Eve, because they sinned (Ro.5:12). The Bible says that this flesh has strong desires and passions (Ep.2:3).

8. If I have such a flesh, how can I ever avoid sinning?

We can’t. But that is why Jesus came, to set us free from sin, not only from the punishment for our sins but also from the power of sin (1Jn.3:5,8).

9. I thought when someone becomes a Christian he becomes a new man and he doesn’t have the old flesh any more?

What happens when a man is born again is that his “old self” is moved out of the way and he gets a “new self.” The old self is not the same as the flesh. The flesh is something we will have to carry with us as long as we live in this world. We are tempted because there are desires in this flesh (Jas.1:14). We have to crucify the flesh (Ga.5:24). The new self is a new mind that does not want to sin.

10. Are you sure we have to struggle? My Christian friend says that we don’t have to struggle, but just to hand over the battle to God.

I used that word – struggle – deliberately. The Bible mentions this struggle, fight or battle in many places e.g. He.12:4; Ep.6:12; 1Ti.1:18;6:12. But – this is one of the paradoxes of Christian life – it is also true that as we struggle and realise that we can’t handle it, we learn to hand over the battle to the Lord in an expression of human helplessness but confidence in God, and we experience victory. The example of King Jehoshaphat in the Old Testament is quite revealing in this connection (2Ch.20).

Also, this struggle can take various forms. It can be against an old habit, strong temper, sexual desire or it can be a struggle to forgive someone who has done us great harm, or to overcome anxiety about the future. It may be that we have received victory by faith over certain sins in our life, but we are finding it a struggle in some other areas. In all these things and in every other temptation, the more we learn to have no confidence in ourselves and to have confidence in the Lord, the less our struggle becomes. But it can be quite misleading to many people if we said that there was no struggle involved.

11. I don’t want to sin. I want to enjoy the victory that Jesus has come to give me. But why do I still find it a big struggle?

Paul said, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2Co.12:10). It is a bit difficult to understand unless we have experienced certain things ourselves. Perhaps you think that you are not strong enough to overcome temptation. You think you are too weak! You think you ought to become stronger – make stronger resolutions, grit your teeth harder, read the Bible, pray or fast more, etc. But the more you try, the farther away victory seems to be. You hold out successfully for some time. But suddenly one temptation comes and down you fall.

The problem is, you are too strong – in yourself! You still have confidence in yourself that if only you try harder you will get victory. But finally one day you give up, realising that you just can’t make it. You have become weak – in yourself. But now if you can believe that even if you can’t save yourself, God can, and go to Him in faith, He will save you! When you are weak – in yourself – you are strong – in the grace of God.

12. I have been a Christian for many years. But I am so discouraged because there is so much of struggle in my life against sin. Why can’t I have the life of rest which the Bible promises?

You know, the Old Testament story of the people of Israel and their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan has many things to teach us. But one thing we can think of in this context is that before they could enter rest in Canaan, they had to fight the Canaanites and overcome them. This fight, or struggle, in seeking to overcome, is not sin. Actually it proves that you don’t want to sin. Just persevere, and you will also come to rest. If you didn’t feel the pressure of temptation, it wouldn’t be a temptation for you! And remember, temptation is not sin. If you struggle against temptation, you are doing well, because after some time, you will get the victory (1Pe.5:10).

Read also my illustrated article on “Dealing with temptation.”

http://www.c-n-c.org/faqts.htm

The Nature of Sin, Temptation, and Lust

I.         The pathway to death – James 1:13-16 (handout)

            A.        Desire

                        1.         Each of us is born with a normal, natural set of desires.

                        2.         Those desires are the consequences of the operation of our bodies.

                                    a.         What is the purpose of thirst? Hunger?

                                    b.         Does sexual desire have a purpose?

            B.        Temptation

                        1.         Satan tries to place us in situations where it appears that the satisfaction of a desire will require the breaking of a law of God.

            C.        Lust

                        1.         When a person strongly desires to do what is unlawful, we call that lust.

                        2.         It is more than temptation because we are actively entertaining the thought of carrying out the improper action.

            D.        Sin

                        1.         If we give into our lust and commit the act Satan has tempted us to do, we call that sin.

                        2.         I John 3:4 – Sin is breaking God’s law

            E.        Lasciviousness or Licentiousness

                        1.         When a person continues to sin, they no longer feel guilty about it. After time they no longer care what God or man thinks of their deeds.

                        2.         Think of licentiousness as believing you have a license to sin.

                        3.         While not restricted to it, licentiousness is often associated with sexual sins. The desire is so strong and it so quickly snares a person.

            F.        Death

                        1.         When sin has fully taken over our lives we die.

            G.        At what point in the pathway can we do something? When can we affect the outcome?

                        1.         Desire is the wrong answer because to stop our desires we would have to be dead.

                        2.         Temptation is the wrong answer because we cannot stop the work of Satan.

II.        Where lusts come from

            A.        I Peter 2:11 – Fleshly

                        1.         From our own bodies

            B.        II Timothy 2:22 – Youth

                        1.         Youth is the time we feel desires the strongest, but have the least experience in keeping them under control.

III.       The three types of lust – I John 2:15-16 (chart)

            A.        Lust of the flesh – Normal bodily desires.

            B.        Lust of the eyes – Things that look good

            C.        Pride of life – The desire to be admired and respected by others

            D.        (Examples from magazine ads)

            E.        Genesis 3:6 – The temptation of Eve

            F.        Matthew 4 – The temptations of Jesus

IV.      Why lust is wrong

            A.        Matthew 5:27-28 – The desire for sin is equivalent to committing the sin

            B.        Proverbs 23:7 – It is what is in the heart that defines who you truly are.

            C.        Mark 7:18-23 – The thoughts of the heart bring about sinful actions.

            D.        Matthew 6:22-23 – Where we focus our minds is the direction we will go.

V.        There is always a way out of temptation – I Corinthians 10:13

            A.        The promises

                        1.         Satan is limited in what he can use for temptation. No one can say that a particular temptation is unique to him or that no one has ever faced a temptation like theirs.

                        2.         Since others have faced similar temptations, we know that some overcame and some have given in. Because some overcame that means no one is forced to sin.

                        3.         God limits Satan to never give you a temptation that God knows you can’t handle. Every temptation is one that you could resist.

                        4.         God limits Satan so that there is always a way out. It probably will not be a desirable path, but a path will always exist. You will never face a situation where you could honestly say you had no choice but to sin.

            B.        The example of Joseph – Genesis 39:7-12

                        1.         Joseph was sold into slavery by his own family.

                        2.         He was in a foreign country were no one would know what he did.

                        3.         He was alone with a woman who was asking for sex.

                        4.         She won’t take “no” for an answer and being his master’s wife, she could make his life miserable if he disobeyed.

                        5.         She was in the process of removing his clothes.

                        6.         What would you do?

                        7.         Joseph ran off in his underwear. Would that be a desirable thing to do? Yet it was better than sinning.

VI.      Resist sin

            A.        Proverbs 1:10 – Do not consent to sin

            B.        Realize that as Christians, God dwells in us – I Corinthians 3:16-17

            C.        Keep from sin – Colossians 3:1-5

            D.        You cannot hold hot coals and not be burnt – Proverbs 6:25-28

                        1.         Pornography

                                    a.         Arouses a desire for sex with someone you cannot have.

                                    b.         Repeated exposure wears down your resistance to sin

                                    c.         What happens if you are placed in a sexual situation?

                        2.         Songs, television shows, and movies that show unmarried couples jumping into bed.

                                    a.         How long before you start thinking that this is normal behavior?

                                    b.         How long before fondling is thought of as expected behavior?

                                    c.         These repeated exposures wear down our resistence to sin.

VII.     Dating

            A.        Most people eventually date, but we must acknowledge the dangers present in dating.

                        1.         Not everyone has the same standards towards sin that we try to uphold.

                        2.         The number of Christians is generally few. Many find dates among non-Christians.

                        3.         Psalms 1:1 – Don’t associate with sinners. Pick people who will encourage you to be a better person, not worse.

                        4.         I Corinthians 15:33 – Bad companions will corrupt good morals.

            B.        Temptation for girls to date older men

                        1.         Boys develop in a different order and a different rate than girls.

                                    a.         Their growth starts two years after the typical girl.

                                    b.         Their growth takes longer than the typical girl (generally four years longer).

                        2.         Hence, there is a period of time where girls look and act more mature than boys of their own age.

                        3.         It is flattering to have a handsome, older man take notice of you

                                    a.         Easy to mistake the notice for a complement on your maturity.

                                    b.         Too often the attention is because the man believes a young, inexperienced girl is easier to manipulate.

            C.        Minimizing temptation on a date

                        1.         Especially in younger years, date in groups.

                                    a.         Less pressure to be the entertainment

                                    b.         Able to become acquainted with several people at a time

                                    c.         Less likely to be pressured into doing something wrong (if the group is good in general).

                        2.         Pick activities in public, well-lighted places

                                    a.         Picnic, volleyball, canoe, bowl

                                    b.         Go for pizza or ice cream

                        3.         Inform your parents in advance where you plan to go and when you plan to return.

                                    a.         If you are uncomfortable telling you folks, then there may be a problem with your plans.

http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVSermons/TheNatureOfSinTemptationAndLust.htm