Tuesday, February 7
why?
"An individual Christian may see fit to give up all sorts of things for special reasons -- marriage, or meat, or beer, or cinema; but the moment he starts saying the things are bad in themselves, or looking down his nose at other people who do use them, he has taken the wrong turning." -C.S. Lewis
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Thank you for that....
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Rich Mullins!
(Is this a question?)
ReplyDeleteBecause 'sins of the flesh' are no greater a sin than casting judgement at your neighbor...
(Sorry for the delay...I went back to sleep)
ReplyDeletegood points, and I'm not disagreeing-- just asking more questions....but, doesn't our 'sin nature' or our 'flesh' lead, ultimately, to our death? Wasn't it a 'sin nature'-- a direct act of the flesh-- that caused the fall of man in the first place?
And scripture tells us that if we live by sin, we will die (fairly straight forward)
(Romans 8:12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.)
"Sins of our heart"-- Can that be explained in a way that leaves out the influences of the flesh? Can the heart be separated, totally, from the flesh?
ah. questions with more questions
ReplyDeleteyes. I know what 'Sins of the heart' means in 'Christianese', but I wanted to know what it meant to you- in Crethese.
(ha...'Crethese' sounds like a million little Creths. Crethies)
and, do the 'sins of the heart' parallel the 'sins of the flesh'?
Yes- that's sorta my point too. Sins of the heart and sins of the flesh are just that: sins.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that we (a societal 'we'- not a Creth and Emily 'we') have created a division in the defining of our sin nature.
But, if you're defining 'sins of the heart' as our 'sin nature' then how can you say that it doesn't manifest into 'sins of the flesh'?
Yes...I suppose we can 'tame' the flesh. But, without the Holy Spirit, it would be a temporary 'taming', ya know?
ReplyDeleteWe cannot, on our own, sustain 'good behavior' for long.
That's why I find such strong parallels between the flesh and the heart. One is just the outward manifestation of the other.
"...from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks."
ReplyDeleteI know this is (contextually) talking about 'speaking' evil-- but do you think it's applicable to other sins as well? Do you think it is only referring to the sins that we can commit with our 'tongue' (gossip, deceit, angry words...etc), or can it have broader implications?
I've always read it to be more 'metaphorical', to be broader in meaning...
I don't guess I really know what you're asking...
ReplyDeleteWhy were we created? Why were we given a physical body? Is that the question at hand?
We were created to worship God- to glorify God. So, our 'flesh'
is the physical vessel from which that worship comes.
Ha...
ReplyDeleteI suppose that's as good a place as any to stop