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Post by Paws on May 3, 2006 3:17:45 GMT 12.75
Reminds me of my buddy's daddy. We drove past a few young lovlies and he remarked; "Look at those babies. His wife said, "Oh Adrian they are young enough to be your daughters!" He says, "That's why I called them babies." Isn't it possible to behold beauty without lust? Does casting an appreciative eye equal coveting?
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 3, 2006 4:50:30 GMT 12.75
I believe it is. But we have to be very very careful that our eyes do not turn from being appreciative to coveting. Thats why Jesus said in the verses following the verse about adultery, that if our eye offend us we should pluck it out. Jesus didn't mean literally pluck out our eye, but that we should be careful and watch what we look at. I have a bad problem in this area mainly cause I want what I see sometimes. Thats why I don;t go looking at new bass boats. I want one, but the one I got now is fine. So, if i go look, i'm liable to covet that boat and I don't want to do that. Like I said earlier, we have to be very, very careful.
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Post by Toby Benoit on May 3, 2006 10:18:42 GMT 12.75
Wanting a new bass boat you saw isn't coveting. Wanting it bad enough to steal it if the opportunity arose is; that's how it was explained to me.
I look at a Bass Pro catalog and want A LOT of the stuff, but not badly enough to steal it. That's not coveting is it?
Or is coveting wanting something you don't need? For instance, I don't need a new truck, but I want one. Even though I'd never want it bad enough to steal it.
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 3, 2006 11:15:02 GMT 12.75
Coveting, the way i understand it, is wanting something so bad, that you would do anything, including neglecting God, to obtain it. If you want something so bad that you forget your tithes and offerings so you can save up for something, I believe that is coveting.
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Post by Toby Benoit on May 3, 2006 15:20:24 GMT 12.75
That makes sense to me. I guess that the only thing I could covet would be to meet Christ and get to go to heven and be with my family, but I don't have to covet that since it's already been promised to me.
To me, that commandment is a really easy one.
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Post by Paws on May 3, 2006 15:44:03 GMT 12.75
Now I got to do some confessin' here. Went to Wally World and there were some fine lookin' young ladies in there and not a one lof them was wearing a bikini. I was admiring them anyway and checking fingers for rings and carts for diapers, baby bottles, baby food, cigarettes, and trying to figure out whether or not they knew how to cook!
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 4, 2006 10:23:26 GMT 12.75
And what kinda conclusion did you come to? LOL
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Post by Paws on May 4, 2006 11:11:00 GMT 12.75
Well Freddie I decided that coveting is kind of like window shopping. The more you look, the more you want and the harder it is to get back to reality. Reality is that if you can manage to be greatful for what you have and see your lot in a positive perspective then everything is truly a blessing. Tell you one thing this is one truly blessed abundantly Ohio boy!
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 4, 2006 11:59:56 GMT 12.75
Well Freddie I decided that coveting is kind of like window shopping. The more you look, the more you want and the harder it is to get back to reality. Reality is that if you can manage to be greatful for what you have and see your lot in a positive perspective then everything is truly a blessing. Tell you one thing this is one truly blessed abundantly Ohio boy! AMEN That almost makes this ole Baptist preacher wanna shout ;D
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Post by Toby Benoit on May 4, 2006 13:28:16 GMT 12.75
I just did! ;D
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Post by Paws on May 6, 2006 5:12:20 GMT 12.75
Well just you shout then
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 8, 2006 10:42:14 GMT 12.75
Today's sermon was from Romans 7:22-25. In verse 22, Paul said he delighted in the law of God after the inward man. Think about it a second. When someone delights in something, it gives them great joy. I delight in my sons. They give me great joy. The word law in this verse means the things of God. The inward man refers to the soul. After I was saved, I realized I took great delight in the things of God in my soul. This is one of the ways you can know that you are saved. Do you take great joy in doing the things of God?
In verse 23, Paul says that there is another law that is warring in his members, warring against the law of his mind, and this law brings him into captivity. That law is the law of sin. Follow closely now. When i was saved, Jesus gave me a new mind, a mind that took delight in doing the things of God. But there is another law. This other law is the law of sin that I inherited from my earthy father. My ole sin nature daily wars with my spiritual nature. There is a daily fight in my body between doing the things of god and following my sin nature. Which do you follow?
Verse 24 is Paul saying what a wretched man he is. And asks the question of who could deliver him from this body of death. Can you see Paul filled with anguish and heartbroken crying because he sees the way he is? Paul was just like us. He wanted to do the things of God but sometimes he didn't because he let his sin nature rule over him. Isn't that the way we are today too? So he asks the question of who can deliver him.
Verse 25 answers the question Paul asks in verse 24. I can see Paul rejoicing because of who delivered him. He says I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. God delivered him through the sacrifice of Jesus!. In the rest of this verse Paul says with his mind he serves the law of God, but with the body the law of sin. Think about it just a moment. When I inherited the sin nature from my father, my body became corrupted. My body is sinful because of the sins it has committed. But, with my mind I serve Jesus who gave himself for me. One of these days I will have a body that will willingly serve Jesus like my mind does. But for now, I have to deal with this sinful body. Does your mind serve Jesus or are you allowing your mind to serve sin like your body does?
Next....chapter 8.
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Post by Toby Benoit on May 8, 2006 16:27:01 GMT 12.75
This time I understand and agree wholeheartedly. I do rejoice and feel great joy after doing the work of God.
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 9, 2006 9:36:25 GMT 12.75
Every so often I get to preach at a Sunday night service and last night was one of those times. I know I posted sermon notes yesterday but since I started Romans 8 last night I thought i would post again.
Romans 8: 1-4 King James version 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; 4. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
As we begin to look at these verses we need to keep in mind of the subject Paul was writing about. Remember the scriptures in their original form was not divided into verses or chapters so this is a continuation of Paul's line of reasoning in chapter 7. In chapter 7 Paul was writing about the warfare between his flesh and his spirit. With this in mind lets look now at our verses. The word condemnation in verse 1 means judgment or damnation. So we see that there is no judgment or damnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. This is speaking about the final judgment that we will all face. Everyone will face either the judgment of the saints, called the judgment seat of Christ, or the judgment of the lost, called the great white throne judgment. So we see that there is no final damnation of those that are saved because they have been sealed by the blood of Jesus. But look at the rest of the verse. It says there is no final judgment of those who walk after the Spirit, not after the flesh. Does this mean one who is saved but not following Jesus will face damnation? NO! This means that if you are saved you have a choice. You can walk after the Spirit or after the flesh. This means that there is consequences for your actions. If you walk after the Spirit and sin not, you will not be punished, but if you walk after the flesh and sin, you will be punished. Just like a child who is punished by his parents for doing wrong, so are we. Now look at verse 2. This verse makes everything clearer. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. First, we need to define a couple of words. Sin is defined as any transgression against God and death is defined as eternal separation from God. So sin brings death. Just like when Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, he suffered death. Not just a physical death but a spiritual death also. And that sin nature has been handed down to me and you. But through the law of the Spirit, we are free from the penalty of sin, which is death, because of what Jesus did for me. Now notice verse 3. The law was weak through the flesh because of its perfect nature. Name me 2 people who has ever keep the entire law in both letter and spirit. You can not do it! Jesus is the only one who has ever kept the entire law. See, the law could not condemn sin. All it could do was show us our sins, but it could not save us. But Jesus , who came to earth in the flesh kept the entire law so He condemned sin. Just think about this too. Jesus was in the same fleshly body we are today. He had the same desires and temptations we have. But He did not fall to the temptations. He conquered sin! With this in mind, lets look now at verse 4. Jesus came so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk after the Spirit not after the flesh. One of the reasons Jesus gave His life for us is so that the law might be shown to be good and holy through us. Think about it, if a person looks at your life and sees you keeping the law as much as possible, and not doing the evil things of this world, don't you think that person wonders what makes you different? This is a great testimony for God. That person wants what you have even if they don't know it. So we have a chance to witness for Jesus, because of the way we walk in this life. You have a choice if you are saved. Do you walk after the flesh, or after the Spirit? It's your choice. I pray you choose the right one.
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Post by Paws on May 11, 2006 5:35:43 GMT 12.75
There again it looks like more confirmation that the old law has been fulfilled and that following the "new" law or Jesus is to follow life. Oh man, I just realized what "Judge not, lest ye be judged means!" Any judgement we may impose against one another is weighed against the "old" law, which has been fulfilled and therefore no longer exists for those of us in Christ Jesus! ;D
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 11, 2006 10:24:50 GMT 12.75
What I get out of the verse that says "Judge not, lest ye be judged" is that we should not look down our long pious noses at others. I believe that Jesus was telling us that we should not look down on others because of what they have done. We are to love the sinner, but not the sin. If we look down on someone because of their past sins, we are in essence saying that God cannot save them because of what they have done. And that is not the case. Jesus can, and will, save anyone who will humbly submit unto Him. What do I mean? I'll give a crude example. If we look down on someone because they committed adultery, God will bring to light our desire to commit adultery. Remember, Jesus said that if you lust after a woman in your heart you have already committed adultery. So, if you don;t want to have the deepest darkest secrets of your heart revealed, do not look down on others, no maztter what their sin. Remember, we are to hate sin but love the sinner.
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Post by Mars on May 11, 2006 12:08:18 GMT 12.75
I've always had a problem with the hate the sin but not the sinner phrase. To me thats like saying I hate the car that ran over my wife but not the driver.
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Post by Paws on May 12, 2006 4:01:14 GMT 12.75
Well Mars that kind of reflects on the thing of judgement as well. We never know why a person does the things he or she does. We know for certain that none of us is expected to be able to comply with the letter of the law. That is the whole purpose of Jesus' sacrifice for us. So when we "hate the sinner" we actually are saying that our expectations for that person are greater than our expectations for ourselves or what Jesus expects of us. I think that is why forgiveness is so important. It kind of confirms our mortal equality.
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 12, 2006 9:21:49 GMT 12.75
Mars,
Maybe I can explain a little better what I mean. We are supposed to hate sin, whether in our lives or others. We are supposed to live godly and holy lives as a reflection of our Saviour. But we are supposed to love the one who commits the sins we deplore. Ain't that what Jesus did? Jesus never did sin, but I can think of 2 examples where He loved a thief so much that He saved him. And Jesus did preach against stealing. So, to be like Jesus we are to hate sin, but love the person that committed that sin. We are supposed to do everything we can to convert the sinner just like Jesus did. And Jesus said to love thy neighbor which includes everyone, not just your next door neighbor.
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Post by Mars on May 12, 2006 9:55:07 GMT 12.75
So then just sin gets cast into hell and not the sinner? Even Jesus said to not strive with some people but to just walk away, IE, knock the dust from your sandals.
The judge not lest you be judged verse is not directed to the Christian to the sinner but for Christian to Christian.
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