Conference yukon::christian_v7

  4. Hence, those many people are in error who today assert that
one can find neither in human nature nor in the revealed law any
absolute and immutable norm to serve for particular actions other
than the one which expresses itself in the general law of charity
and respect for human dignity.  As a proof of their assertion they
put forward the view that so-called norms of the natural law or
precepts of Sacred Scripture are to be regarded only as given
expressions of a form of particular culture at a certain moment in
history.

  But in fact, divine Revelation and, in its own proper order,
philosophical wisdom, emphasize the authentic exigencies of human
nature.  They thereby necessarily manifest the existence of
immutable laws inscribed in the constitutive elements of human
nature and which are revealed to be identical in all beings endowed
with reason.

  Furthermore, Christ instituted his Church as "the pillar and
bulwark of truth" [6].  With the Holy Spirit's assistance, she
ceaselessly preserves and transmits without error the truths of the
moral order, and she authentically interprets not only the revealed
positive law but "also ... those principles of the moral order
which have their origin in the human nature itself" [7] and which
concern man's full development and sanctification.  Now in fact the
Church throughout her history has always considered a certain
number of precepts of the natural law as having an absolute and
immutable value, and in their transgression she has seen a
contradiction of the teaching and spirit of the Gospel.

  5. Since sexual ethics concern certain fundamental values of
human and Christian life, this general teaching equally applies to
sexual ethics.  In this domain there exist principles and norms
which the Church has already unhesitatingly transmitted as part of
her teachings, however much the opinions and morals of the world
may have been opposed to them.  These principles and norms in no
way owe their origin to a certain type of culture, but rather to
knowledge of the divine law and of human nature.  They therefore
cannot be considered as having become out of date or doubtful under
the pretext that a new cultural situation has arisen.

  It is these principles which inspired the exhortations and
directives given by the Second Vatican Council for an education and
an organization of social life taking account of the equal dignity
of man and woman while respecting the difference [8].

  Speaking of "the sexual nature of man and the human faculty of
procreation," the Council noted that they "wonderfully exceed the
dispositions of lower forms of life" [9].  It then took particular
care to expound the principle and criteria which concern human
sexuality in marriage, and which are based upon the finality of the
specific function of sexuality.

  In this regard the Council declares that the moral goodness of
the acts proper to conjugal life, acts which are ordered according
to true human dignity, "does not depend solely on sincere
intentions or on an evaluation of motives.  It must be determined
by objective standards. These, based on the nature of the human
person and his acts, preserve the full sense of mutual self-giving
and human procreation in the context of true love' [10].

  These final words briefly sum up the Council's teaching -- more
fully expounded in an earlier part of the same Constitution [11] --
on the finality of the sexual act and on the principle criterion of
its morality it is respect for its finality that ensures the moral
goodness of this act.

  The same principle, which the Church holds from divine Revelation
and from her authentic interpretation of the natural law, is also
the basis of her traditional doctrine, which states that the use of
the sexual function has its true meaning and moral rectitude only
in true marriage [12].

  6. It is not the purpose of the present Declaration to deal with
all the abuses of the sexual faculty, nor with all the elements
involved in the practice of chastity.  Its object is rather to
repeat the Church's doctrine on certain particular points, in view
of the urgent need to oppose serious errors and widespread aberrant
modes of behavior.

  7. Today there are many who vindicate the right to sexual union
before marriage, at least in those cases where a firm intention to
marry and an affection which is already in some way conjugal in the
psychology of the subjects require this completion, which they
judge to be connatural.  This is especially the case when the
celebration of marriage is impeded by circumstances or when this
intimate
relationship seems necessary in order for love to be preserved.

  This opinion is contrary to Christian doctrine, which states that
every genital act must be within the framework of marriage.
However firm the intention of those who practice such premature
sexual relations may be, the fact remains that these relations
cannot ensure, in sincerity and fidelity, the interpersonal
relationship between a man and a woman, nor especially can they
protect this relationship from whims and caprices.  Now it is a
stable union the Jesus willed, and he restored its original
requirement, beginning with the sexual difference.  "Have you nor
read that the creator from the beginning made them male and female
and that he said: This is why a man must leave father and mother,
and cling to his wife, and the two become one body?  They are no
longer two, therefore, but one body.  So then, what God has united,
man must not divide" [13].  Saint Paul will be even more explicit
when he shows that if unmarried people or widows cannot live
chastely they have no other alternative than the stable union of
marriage: "...it is better to mary than to be aflame with passion"
[14].  Through marriage, in fact, the love of married people is
taken up into that love which Christ irrevocable has for the Church
[15], while dissolute sexual union [16] defiles the temple of the
Holy Spirit which the Christian has become.  Sexual union therefore
is only legitimate if a definitive community of life has been
established between the man and the woman.

  This is what the Church has always understood and taught [17],
and she finds profound agreement with her doctrine in men's
reflection and in the lessons of history.

  Experience teaches us that love must find its safeguard in the
stability of marriage, if sexual intercourse is truly to respond to
the requirements of its own finality and to those of human dignity.
These requirements call for a conjugal contract sanctioned and
guaranteed by society -- a contract which establishes a state of
life of capital importance both for the exclusive union of the man
and the woman and for the good of their family and of the human
community. Most often, in fact, premarital relations exclude the
possibility of children.  What is represented to be conjugal love
is not able, as it absolutely should be , to develop into paternal
and maternal love. OR, if id does happen to do so, this will be to
the detriment of the children, who will be deprived of the stable
environment in which they ought to develop in order to find in it
the way and the means of their insertion into society as a whole.

  The consent given by people who wish to be united in marriage
must therefore be manifested externally and in a manner which makes
it valid in the eyes of society.  As far as the faithful are
concerned, their consent to the setting up of a community of
conjugal life must be expressed according to the laws of the
Church.  It is a consent which makes their marriage a Sacrament of
Christ.

  8. [See Soapbox 216.1051]

  9. The traditional Catholic doctrine that masturbation
constitutes a grave moral disorder is often called into doubt or
expressly denied today.  It is said that psychology and sociology
show that it is a normal phenomenon of sexual development,
especially among the young. It is stated that there is real and
serious fault only in the measure that the subject deliberately
indulges in solitary pleasure closed in on self ("ispsation"),
because in this case the act would indeed be radically opposed to
the loving communion between persons of different sex which some
hold is what is principally sought in the sue of the sexual
faculty.

  This opinion is contradictory to the teachings and pastoral
practice of the Catholic Church.  Whatever the force of certain
arguments of a biological and philosophical nature, which have
sometimes been used the theologians, in fact both the Magisterium
of the Church -- in the course of a constant tradition --- and the
moral sense of the faithful have declared without hesitation that
masturbation is an intrinsically and seriously disordered act [19].
The main reason is that, whatever the motive for acting in this
way, the deliberate use of the sexual faculty outside normal
conjugal relations essentially contradicts the finality of the
faculty.  For it lacks the sexual relationship called for by the
moral order, namely the relationship which realizes "the full sense
of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true
love" [20].  All deliberate exercise of sexuality must be reserved
to this regular relationship.  Even if it cannot be proved that
Scripture condemns this sin by name, the tradition of the Church
has rightly understood it to be condemned in the New Testament when
the latter speaks of "impurity," "Unchasteness" and other vices
contrary to chastity and continence.

  Sociological surveys are able to show the frequency of this
disorder according to the places, populations or circumstance
studies.  In this way facts are discovered, but facts do not
constituted a criterion for judging the moral value of human acts
[21].  The frequency of the phenomenon in question is certainly to
be linked with man's innate weakness following original sin; but it
is also to be linked with the loss of a sense of God, with the
corruption of morals engendered by the commercialization of vice,
with the unrestrained licentiousness of so many public
entertainments and publications, as well as with the neglect of
modesty, which is the guardian of chastity.

  On the subject of masturbation modern psychology provides much
valid and useful information for formulating a more equitable
judgement on moral responsibility and for orienting pastoral
action.  Psychology helps one to see how the immaturity of
adolescence (which can sometimes persist after that age),
psychological imbalance or habit can influence behavior,
diminishing the deliberate character of the act and bringing about
a situation whereby subjectively there may not always be  serious
fault.  But in general, the absence of serious responsibility must
not be presumed; this would be to misunderstand people's moral
capacity.

  In the pastoral ministry, in order to form an adequate judgement
in concrete cases, the habitual behavior of people will be
considered in its totality, not only with regard to the
individual's practice of charity and of justice but also with
regard to the individual's care in observing the particular
percepts of chastity.  In particular, one will have to examine
whether the individual is using the necessary means, both natural
and supernatural, which Christian asceticism from its long
experience recommends for overcoming the passions and progressing
in virtue.

  10. The observance of the moral law in the field of sexuality and
the practice of chastity have been considerably endangered,
especially among less fervent Christians, by the current tendency
to minimize as far as possible, when not denying outright, the
reality of grave sin, at least in people's actual lives.

  There are those who go as far as to affirm that mortal sin, which
causes separation from God, only exists in the formal refusal
directly opposed to God's call, or in that selfishness which
completely and deliberately closes itself to the love of neighbor.
They say that it is only then that there comes into play the
fundamental option, that is to say the decision which totally
commits the person and which is necessary if mortal sin is to
exist; by this option the person, from the depths of the
personality, takes up or ratifies a fundamental attitude towards
God or people.  On the contrary, so-called "peripheral" actions
(which it is said, usually do not involve decisive choice), do not
go so far as to change the fundamental option, the less so since
they often come, as is observed, from habit.  Thus such actions can
weaken the fundamental option, but not to such a degree as to
change it completely.  Now according to these authors, a change of
the fundamental option towards God less easily comes about in the
field of sexual activity, where a person generally does not
transgress the moral order in a fully deliberate and responsible
manner but rather under the influence of passion, weakness,
immaturity sometimes even through the illusion of thus showing love
for someone else.  To these causes there is often added the
pressure of the social environment.

  In reality, it is precisely the fundamental option which in the
last resort defines a person's moral disposition.  But it can be
completely changed by particular acts, especially when, as often
happens, there have been prepared for by previous more superficial
acts.  Whatever the case, it is wrong to say that particular acts
are not enough to constitute mortal sin.

  According to the Church's teaching, mortal sin, which is opposed
to God, does not consist only in formal and direct resistance to
the commandment of charity.  It is equally to be found in this
opposition to authentic love which is included in every deliberate
transgression, in serious matter, of each of the moral laws.

  Christ himself has indicated the double commandment of love as
the basis of the moral life.  But on this commandment depends "the
whole Law, and the Prophets also" [22].  It therefore includes the
other particular percepts.  In fact, to the young man who asked "
... what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?" jesus
replied: ".... if you wish to enter into life, keep the
commandments ... You must not kill.  You must not commit adultery.
You must not steal.  You must not bring false witness.  Honor your
father and mother, and; you must love your neighbor as yourself"
[23].

  A person therefore sins mortally not only when his action comes
from direct contempt for the love of God and neighbor, but also
when he consciously and freely chooses something which is seriously
disordered.  For in this choice, as has been said above, there is
already included contempt for the divine commandment: the person
turns himself away from God and loses charity.  Now according to
Christian tradition and the Church's teaching, and as right reason
also recognized, the moral order of sexuality involves such high
values of human life that every direct violation of this order is
objectively serious [24].

  It is true that in sins of the sexual order, in view of their
kind and their causes, it more easily happens that free consent is
not fully given; this is a fact which calls caution in all judgment
as to the subject's responsibility.  In this matter it is
particularly opportune to recall the following words of Scripture:
"Man looks at appearances but God looks at the heart" [25].
However, although prudence is recommended in judging the subjective
seriousness of a particular sinful act, it in no way follows that
one can hold the particular view that in the sexual field mortal
sins are not committed.

  Pastors of souls must therefore exercise patience and goodness,
but they are not allowed to render God's commandments null, nor
reduce unreasonably people's responsibility.  "To diminish in no
way the saving teachings of Christ constituted an eminent form of
charity for souls.  But this must ever be accompanied by patience
and goodness, such as the Lord himself gave example of in dealing
with people. having come not to condemn but to save, he was indeed
intransigent with evil, but merciful towards individuals" [26].

  11. As has been said above, the purpose of this Declaration is to
draw the attention of the faithful in present-day circumstances to
certain errors and modes of behavior which they must guard against.
The virtue of chastity, however, is in no way confined solely to
avoiding the faults already listed.  IT is aimed at attaining
higher and more positive goals.  It is a virtue which concerns the
whole personality, as regards both interior and outward behavior.

  Individuals should be endowed with this virtue according to their
state in life: for some it will mean virginity or celibacy
consecrated to God, which is an eminent way of giving oneself more
easily to God alone with an undivided heart [27].  For others it
will take the form determined by the moral law, according to
whether they are married or single.  But whatever the state of
life, chastity is not simply an external state; it must make a
person's heart pure in accordance with Christ's words: "You have
learned how it was said: You must not commit adultery.  But I say
this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already
committed adultery with her in his heart" [28].

  Chastity is included in that continence which Saint Paul numbers
among the gifts of the Holy Spirit, while he condemns sensuality as
a vice particularly unworthy of the Christian and one which
precludes entry into the kingdom of heaven [29].  "What God wants
is for all to be holy.  He wants you to keep away from fornication,
and each one of you to know how to use the body that belongs to him
in a way that is holy and honorable, not giving way to selfish lust
like the pagans who do not know God.  He wants nobody at all ever
to sin by taking advantage of a brother in these matters .... We
have been called by God to be holy, not to be immoral.  In other
words, anyone who objects is not objecting to a human authority,
but to God, who gives you his Holy Spirit" [30].  "Among you there
must not be even a mention of fornication or impurity in any of its
forms, or promiscuity: this would hardly become the saints!  For
you can be quite certain that nobody who actually indulges in
fornication or impurity or promiscuity -- which is worshipping a
false god -- can inherit anything of the kingdom of God.  Do not
let anyone deceive you with empty arguments: it is for this loose
living that God's anger comes down on those who rebel against him.
Make sure that you are not included with them.  You were darkness
once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light,
for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and
right living and truth" [31].

  In addition, the Apostle points out the specifically Christian
motive for practicing chastity when he condemns the sin of
fornication not only in the measure that this action is injurious
to one's neighbor or to the social order but because the fornicator
offends against Christ who has redeemed him with his blood and of
whom he is a member, and against the Holy Spirit of whom he is the
temple.  "You know, surely, that your bodies are members making up
the body of Christ .... All the other sins are committed outside
the body; but to fornicate is to sin against your own body.  Your
body, you know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you
since you received him from God.  You are not your own property;
you have been bought and paid for.  That is why you should use your
body for the glory of God" [32].

  The more the faithful appreciate the value of chastity and its
necessary role in their lives as men and women, the better they
will understand, by a kind of spiritual instinct, its moral
requirements and counsels.  In the same way they will know better
how to accept and carry out, in a spirit of docility to the
Church's teaching, what an upright conscience dictates in concrete
cases.

  12. The Apostle Saint Paul describes in vivid terms the painful
interior conflict of the person enslaved to sin: the conflict
between "the law of his mind" and the "law of sin which dwells in
his members" and which holds him captive [33].  But man can achieve
liberation from his "body doomed to death" through the grace of
Jesus Christ [34].  This grace is enjoyed by those who have been
justified by it and whom "the law of the spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has set free from the law of sin and death" [35].  It is for
this reason that the Apostle adjures them: "That is why you must
not let sin reign in your mortal bodies or command your obedience
to bodily passions" [34].

  This liberation, which fits one to serve God in newness of life,
does not however suppress the concupiscence deriving from original
sin, nor the promptings of evil in this world, which is "in the
power of the evil one" [37].  This is why the Apostle exhorts the
faithful to overcome temptations by the power of God [38] and to
"stand against the wiles of the devil" [39] by faith, watchful
prayer [40] and an austerity of life that brings the body into
subjection to the Spirit [41].

  Living the Christian life by following in the footsteps of Christ
requires that everyone should "deny himself and take up his cross
daily" [42], sustained by the hope of reward, for "if we have died
with him, we shall also reign with him" [43].

  In accordance with these pressing exhortations, the faithful of
the present time, and indeed today more than ever, must use the
means which have always been recommended by the Church for living
a chaste life.  These means are: discipline of the senses and of
the mind, watchfulness and prudence in avoiding occasions of sin,
the observation of modesty, moderation in recreation, wholesome
pursuits, assiduous prayer and frequent reception of the Sacrament
of Penance and the Eucharist.  Young people especially should
earnestly foster devotion to the Immaculate Mother of God, and take
as examples the lives of the Saints and other people, especially
young ones, who excelled in the practice of chastity.

  It is important in particular that everyone should have a high
esteem for the virtue of chastity, its beauty and its power of
attraction.  This virtue increases the human person's dignity and
enables him to love truly, disinterestedly, unselfishly and with
respect for others.

  13. It is up to the Bishops to instruct the faithful in the moral
teaching concerning sexual morality, however great may be the
difficulties in carrying out this work in the face of ideas and
practices generally prevailing today.  This traditional doctrine
must be studied more deeply.  It must be handed on in a way capable
of properly enlightening the consciences of those confronted with
new situations and it must be enriched with a discernment of all
the elements that can truthfully and usefully be brought forward
about the meaning and value of human sexuality.  But the principles
and norms of moral living reaffirmed in this Declaration must be
faithfully held and taught.  It will especially be necessary to
bring the faithful to understand that the Church holds these
principles not as old and inviolable superstitions, nor out of some
Manichaean prejudice, as is often alleged, but rather because she
knows with certainty that they are in complete harmony with the
divine order of creation and with the spirit of Christ, and
therefore also with human dignity.

  It is likewise the Bishops' mission to see that a sound doctrine
enlightened by faith and directed by the Magisterium of the Church
is taught in Faculties of Theology and in Seminaries.  Bishops must
also ensure that confessors enlighten people's consciences and that
catechetical instruction is given in perfect fidelity to Catholic
doctrine.

  It rests with Bishops, the priests and their collaborators to
alert the faithful against the erroneous opinions often expressed
in books, reviews and public meetings.

  Parents, in the first place, and also teachers of the young must
endeavor to lead their children and their pupils, by way of a
complete education, to the psychological, emotional and moral
maturity befitting their age.  They will therefore prudently give
them information suited to their age; and they will assiduously
form their wills in accordance with Christian morals, not only by
advice but above all by the example of their own lives, relying on
God's help, which they will obtain in prayer.  They will likewise
protect the young from the many dangers of which they are quite
unaware.

  Artists, writers and all those who use the means of social
communication should exercise their profession in accordance with
their Christian faith and with a clear awareness of the enormous
influence which they can have.  They should remember that "the
primacy of the objective moral order must be regarded as absolute
by all" [44], and that it is wrong for them to give priority above
it to any so-called aesthetic purpose, or to material advantage or
to success.  Whether it be a question of artistic or literary
works, public entertainment or providing information, each
individual in his or her own domain must show tact, discretion,
moderation and a true sense of values.  In this way, far from
adding to the growing permissiveness of behavior, each individual
will contribute towards controlling it and even towards making the
moral climate of society more wholesome.

  All lay people, for their part, by virtue of their rights and
duties in the work of the apostolate, should endeavor to act in the
same way.

  Finally, it is necessary to remind everyone of the words of the
Second Vatican Council: "This Holy Synod likewise affirms that
children and young people have a right to be encouraged to wight
moral values with an upright conscience, and to embrace them by
personal choice, to know and love God more adequately.  Hence, it
earnestly entreats all who exercise government over people or
preside over the work of education to see that youth is never
deprived of this sacred right" [45].

  At the audience granted on November 7, 1975 to the undersigned
Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
the Sovereign Pontiff by divine providence Pope Paul VI approved
this Declaration "On certain questions concerning sexual ethics,"
confirmed it and ordered its publication.

  Given in Rome, at the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, on December 29, 1975.

FRANJO Card. SEPER
Prefect

+ fr. Jerome Hamer, O.P.
Titular Archbishop of Lorium
Secretary

Footnotes:

[1] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the
Church in the Modern World GAUDIUM ET SPES, 47: AAS 58 (1966), p.
1067.

[2] Cf. Apostolic Constitution REGIMINI ECCLESIAE UNIVERSAE, 29 (
August 15, 1967): AAS 59 (1967), p. 897.

[3] GAUDIUM ET SPES, 16: AAS (1966), p. 1037.

[4] Jn. 8:12.

[5] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Declaration DIGNITATIS
HUMANAE, 3: AAS 58 (1966), p. 931.

[6] 1 Tim. 3:15.

[7] DIGNITATIS HUMANAE, 14: AAS 58 (1966), p. 940; Cf. Pius XI,
Encyclical Letter CASTI CONNUBII, December 31, 1930: AAS 22 (1930),
pp. 579-580; Pius XII, Allucution of November 2, 1954: AAS 46
(1954), pp. 671-672; John XXIII, Encyclical Letter MATER ET
MAGISTRA, May 15, 1961: AAS 53 (1961), p. 457; Paul VI, Encyclical
Letter HUMANAE VITAE, 4, July 25, 1968: AAS 60 (1968), p. 483.

[8] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Declaration GRAVISSIMUM
EDUCATIONIS, 1, 8: AAS 58 (1966), pp. 729-730; 734-736.  GAUDIUM ET
SPES, 29, 60, 67: AAS 58 (1966), pp. 1048-1049, 1080-1081, 1088-
1089.

[9] GAUDIUM ET SPES, 51: AAS 58 (1966), p. 1072.

[10] Ibid,; cf. also 49: loc cit., pp. 1069-1070.

[11] Ibid., 49, 50: loc cit., pp. 1069-1072.

[12] The present Declaration does not go into further detail
regarding the norms of sexual life within marriage; these norms
have been clearly taught in the Encyclical Letters CASTI CONNUBII
and HUMANAE VITAE.

[13] Cf. Mt. 19:4-6.

[14] 1 Cor. 7:9.

[15] Cf. Eph. 5:25-32.

[16] Sexual intercourse outside marriage is formally condemned: 1
Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 7:2; 10:8; Eph. 5:5; 1 Tim 1:10; Heb. 13:4; and with
explicit reasons 1 Cor. 6:12-20.

[17] Cf. Innocent IV, Letter SUB CATHOLICA PROFESSIONE, March 6,
1254, DS 835; Pius II, PROPOS. DAMN. IN EP. Cum SICUT ECCEPIMUS,
November 14, 1459, DS 1367; Decrees of the Holy Office, September
24, 1665, DS 2045; March 2, 1679, DS 2148.  Pius XI, Encyclical
Letter CASTI CONNUBII, December 31, 1930: AAS 22 (1930) pp. 558-
559.

[18] [See Soapbox 216.1057]

[19] Cf. Leo IX, Letter AD SPLENDIDUM NITENTIS< in the year 1054:
DS 687-688, Decree of the Holy Office, March 2, 1679: DS 2149; Pius
XII, Allucutio, October 8, 1953: AAS 45 (1953), pp. 677-678; May
19, 1956: AAS 48 (1956), pp. 472-473.

[20] GAUDIUM ET SPES, 51: AAS 58 (1966), p. 1072.

[21] " ... If sociological surveys are useful for better
discovering the thought patterns of the people of a particular
place, the anxieties and needs of those whom we proclaim the word
of God, and also the opposition made to it by modern reasoning
through the widespread notion that outside science there exists no
legitimate form of knowledge, still the conclusions drawn from such
surveys could not of themselves constitute a determining criterion
of truth," Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation QUINQUE IAM ANNI,
December 8, 1970, AAS 63 (1971), p. 102.

[22] Mt. 22:38,40.

[23] Mt. 19:16-19.

[24] Cf. note 17 and 19 above: Decree of the Holy Office, March 18,
1666, DS 2060; Paul VI, Encyclical Letter HUMANAE VITAE, 13, 14:
AAS 60 (1968), pp. 489-496.

[25] 1 Sam. 16:7.

[26] Paul VI, Encyclical Letter HUMANAE VITAE, 29: AAS 60 (1968),
p. 501.

[27] Cf. 1 Cor. 7:7,34; Council of Trent, Session XXIV, con. 10: DS
1810; Second Vatican Council, Constitution LUMEN GENTIUM, 42, 43,
44: AAS 57 (1965), pp. 47-51; Synod of Bishops, DE CACERDOTIO
MINISTERIALI, part II, 4, b: AAS 63 (1971), pp. 915-916.

[28] Mt. 5:28.

[29] Cf. Gal. 5:19-23; 1 Cor. 6:9-11.

[30] 1 Thess. 4:3-8; cf. Col. 3:5-7; 1 Tim 1:10.

[31] Eph. 5:3-8; cf. 4:18-19.

[32] 1 Cor. 6:15, 18-20.

[33] Cf. Rom. 7:23.

[34] Cf. Rom. 7:24-25.

[35] Cf. Rom. 8:2.

[36] Rom. 6:12.

[37] 1 Jn. 5:19.

[38] Cf. 1 Cor. 10:13.

[39] Eph. 6:11.

[40] Cf. Eph. 6:16,18.

[41] Cf. 1 Cor. 9:27.

[42] Lk. 9:23.

[43] 2 Tim 2:11-12.

[44] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree INTER MIRIFICA, 6:
AAS 56 (1964), p. 147.

[45] GRAVISSIMUM EDUCATIONIS, 1: AAS 58 (1966), p. 730.

  "Nevertheless, I have a few things against you, because you allow that
   woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my
   servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols,

   and I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality 
   and she did not repent.

   Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with 
   her into great tribulation unless they repent of their deeds

   I will kill her chidren with death 

   and all the churches will know that I am He
   who who searches the minds and hearts 

   and I will give to each one of you according to your works.

   Revelation 2:19-23 NKJV
   

    Incredibly sobering that this rebuke is to a church!!
    
    -Jack

    I believe this is the no. 1 area in which Satan deceives men within the
    church.  In Romans 7, Paul talks about that which I don't want to do,
    I do.  He goes on to talk about living in the flesh vs. living in the
    spirit.  Satan wants us to battle sin in our flesh (for us to keep our
    eyes on defeating sin - sexual immorality in this case).  If Satan can
    keep the believer battling against sin in his own power, the believer
    will experience a life of defeat.  The good news is that Christ has 
    already set us free from the power of sin (Rom 8:1,2 ; Rom 6:6-11).  
    The problem is that Satan has blinded many believers and kept them from 
    understanding who they really are in Christ.
    
    It's only by the grace of God that we are able to do anything.  Only in
    dependance to the Holy Spirit within us, can we live a victorious life.
    We need to focus on Christ and maintaining an abiding relationship with
    Him, rather than on overcoming sin.
    
    I think its also important that when a brother or sister falls (Michael
    English, for example) that we reach out in love (not condemnation) to
    them, and seek to, as the scripture says, "gently restore them to the
    faith".  
    
    Love in Him,
    
    Bing  

    Bing,
    
    Right on...
    
    I've heard the "bumper sticker" theology that He doesn't make provision
    to change your life, only provision for Him to live His life through
    you....I like that.
    
    If we're to "take up our cross daily", what exactly does that mean?
    
    Isn't the cross an instrument of death?  Perhaps we're to recognize
    daily that the "old man" really is dead; crucified *in Him*, and that
    it is now no longer we who live, but He who lives in us....and GREATER
    is He that is *IN US* that he that is in the world....
    
    Yay!  :-)

 Amen, Bing!






 Jim

    Re: 13
    
    Good Stuff!
    
    Bing

It's both.

You're absolutely correct that the primary thing is to abide in Christ. 
Without that, it's all just human effort, doomed to fail.  But that doesn't
get us off the hook from "resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

It's kind of like grace vs. works.  For many years, I had *too much* faith in
my salvation by grace.  I was so sure that Christ would cover my sins and
that God would accept me as a child justified by grace, that I didn't pay too
much attention to cleaning up my act.  "Oh well," I thought, "Grace will
cover that."

But while that is true, it is not to be abused.  I'm much more conscious now
of "working out my salvation."  It can't be done in my own strength, but
neither am I to just keep doing what I'm doing until God takes the temptation
away.

What I'm learning to do is combine them.  As I became more aware of the need
for me to resist temptation, at first I tried to resist it because I knew God
wanted me to resist, but I was doing it in my own strength.  That didn't work
terribly well.  I'm learning, when temptation comes, to call on Jesus
immediately for help.  Where the abiding in Him comes in is that He is much
more likely to respond to that call if I have been abiding with Him regularly.

Paul

    .12 (Bing) and .16 (Paul) - thanks for the exhortations; good stuff! 
    
    (BTW - .12 mentioned Michael English....what happened with him?)
    
    Please send mail off-line if it's not appropriate/applicable to 
    share in this forum.
    
    Karen

    >    (BTW - .12 mentioned Michael English....what happened with him?)
    
    you'll find more info in CCM, but basically he and Mary Beth Jordan of
    First Call had an affair.  She's now pregnant with his child, and
    they're both married to other people.  He gave up all the Dove Awards
    he won this spring.  Word records stopped printing his albums and Mary
    was replaced in First Call.
    
    Mike

    re .16   
    
    Rom 6:1-2  "What shall we say then?  Are we to continue in sin that
    grace might increase?  May it never be!  How shall we who died to sin
    still live in it?  Or do you not know that all us who have been
    baptized into Chist Jesus have been baptized into His death?  Therefore
    we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that
    as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so
    we too might walk in newness of life."
    
    Bob George uses an illustration in "Classic Christianity" about a
    starving person being given free access to a wonderful cafeteria
    spread.  The owner of the cafeteria tells him, "you are free to eat of
    anything you want".  The street person replies, "anything?  Can I
    even continue to eat out of the garbage cans?". 
    
    I believe that as we really grasp who we now are in Christ, that sin
    loses its appeal.  Does that mean that I will never sin?  No, but it
    does mean that its no longer my nature to sin.  I have been made
    righteous in Christ, I have been made holy & blameless in Christ.  I
    have heard the question, "is a sinner saved by grace a good description
    of a Christian".  The answer is no.  Although I was a sinner and I am
    certainly saved by grace, a better description is that I am a saint who
    sometimes sins.  A butterfly is not refered to as a converted worm that 
    can now fly, it is a new creature, its nature has changed.  I am a new
    creature in Christ (II Cor 5:17).  Christ has already done everything
    that needs to be done for me to live a life of godliness.
    
    As I stated in another note, I believe we sometimes put too much
    emphasis on that which Christ has already taken care of (overcoming
    sin) instead of allowing His truth to set us free.  To me its a matter
    of putting things in the proper order, and acting like who I am.  When
    I am tempted, the way I resist the temptation is be thinking on who I
    really am in Christ.  As I mature in Christ depending and focusing on Him, 
    my desire is to allow Him to live through me.  If I have died to my old
    self (flesh) and Chist lives in me, I am victorious.  I can still
    choose to sin (by living on my old flesh patterns), but that is no
    longer who I am.  I am a child of King, deeply loved and accepted,
    based on what Chist has done for me.  We are free to live as children
    of the King & eat from His cafeteria!  That's good news!
    
    Bing 
    
    

The cafeteria example reminds me of other pictures of the Christian who 
doesn't realise on his inheritance.
	- one released from prison, who stands with his face pressed to 
	  the bars, looking at the garbage whoch should be out of reach, 
	  with his back to the glory he can enjoy

	- one with a large inheritance, who lives in poverty  refusing to 
	  write a cheque on his immense bank balance.

But the enormity of living in conflict with the nature He has made ours 
makes the sinning Christian a miserable Christian, because of the grieved 
Holy Spirit within us (Ephesians 4:30).  Our pleasure is increased; our 
life excited, by finding out and putting into effect, His will within us :
Ephesians 5:8-10, 
 "For you were once darkness, but now you are are light in the LORD.  
  Live as children of light .... and find out wht pleases the LORD.
Ephesians 5:17
 "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the LORD's will is..."

I believe we often take 1 Corinthians 10:13 the wrong way :

 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is
  faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But 
  when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can 
  stand up under it." 

This seems to be used as a get out, to blame God for our failures (look!  
He let me be tempted into sin!!!).  But it is really saying that He 
*has* given us the strength, it's up to us to use it instead of caving in.
ie - we have no excuse for sin; only grace to lift us back onto our feet.

While .18 tears my heart, to hear of Christians who fall so grieviously,
and the slur on the LORD's Name, as well as the hurt and pain to so many, I
am encouraged to see the repentance indicated in the stepping out of
office, etc...  While I know neither the people nor the groups concerned, I
can pray hopefully, for the pregress of repentance indicated in 2
Corinthians 7:9-11.  And as Bing said, we aim to restore and build up, once
repentance is in hand; not condemn.  As per 2 Corinthians 2:7 "Now you
ought to forgive and comfort [them] , so that [they] will not be
overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.  I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm yuor
love for [them]..." (ref 1 Corinthians 5:1-5) 

								Andrew

  Blessed is the man who endures temptation for when he has been approved
  He will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to to those
  who love Him.

  Let no one say when he is tempted "I am tempted of God", for God cannot
  be tempted by evil, nor does He himself tempt anyone.

  But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed

  Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is
  grown, brings forth death


  Do not be deceived my beloved brethren.      James 1:12:16 NKJV.

    Re: Note 496.13 by POWDML::SMCCONNELL
    
�    I've heard the "bumper sticker" theology that He doesn't make provision
�    to change your life, only provision for Him to live His life through
�    you....I like that.
    
    I hate to disagree with you, my friend, but I can't let this one go.
    God *does* make provision to change the believer's life - that's what
    sanctification is all about. This bumper sticker seems to be echoing
    the old gnostic argument: It doesn't matter how I live, so long as
    Christ can live through me. No, we are a holy people and are called to
    be transformed. Old things are passed away...
    
    	BD�

    Re: -1
    
    I think we MAY be dealing with semanitcs here.  I took .13 to mean that
    Christ doesn't want to take my existing life (before Christ) and make it 
    better.  He wants the old life CRUCIFIED (as in DEAD).  He then comes to 
    live in me (Gal 2:20).  He doesn't take my old life and clean it up & make 
    it better, He totally recreates me (II Cor 5:17).  At least I think this
    is what Steve meant.
    
    I also believe that if we are allowing Christ to live through us, we
    WILL be living the kind of life He wants us to.  It's only when we are 
    living according to our flesh (our old ways of getting our needs met, 
    apart from God) and relying on our old programming that we fall into sin.
    Jesus is the truth, when we are dependant on Him, allow Him to
    permeate our being, and seek to get to know Him through His word we are
    transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2).  To me, I
    constantly have to remind myself, that all I have to do is receive and
    respond in faith.  Christ is the one who transforms me.
    
    Bing
    

    hi Baer,
    
    Yes - what Bing said in .23 is what I meant (this is, of course, the
    problem with "bumper sticker" theology...).
    
    We are not supposed to sin (1John).  How can the "old man", whose very
    nature is opposed to G-d, not be supposed to sin?  He can't.  That's
    why he must die - and in fact *did* die *in* Him (Rom 6).
    
    Therefore, if any man is *in* Messiah, he *is* a *NEW* creation...
    
    The new man is not supposed to sin.  If however we "yield our members"
    to sin (also Romans 6), we have an Advocate and if we confess our sin,
    He is faithful and just and will forgive and cleanse us from all
    unrighteousness (1John again, 1:9 to be specific).
    
    The same guy who came up with the previous "bumper sticker" message,
    also shared this little scenario...
    
    So you might say - well wait a minute, this means that even as a
    believer, I can sin as much as I want.
    
    Ok - sure; a believer can sin as much as he or she wants.
    
    (at this point, everyone gasps!!!)
    
    Now - read Romans chapters 5-8, 2Cor 5:17, Gal 2:20, Epesians 2 etc.,
    and tell me, believer, how much do you *want* to sin?
    
    (at this point, everyone goes.....ohhhhh  :-)
    
    Does this clarify well enough, Barry?
    
    Steve

    Thanks, gentlemen, for the clarification. The reason I was concerned
    was that there are those who figure, "God saved me as a <pick a sin>,
    so I see no reason to change" (ably misapplying 1 Cor. 7:24 ->
    "Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was
    called."). I wanted it to be clear that God saved us *from* something
    bad *to* something good.
    
    It may be semantics after all. I can't fully explain how the old man
    can be dead and yet I still have the tendencies of the old man. ("Those
    things I hate to do I continue to do...")
    
    I also wanted to clarify the fact that the "Let go and let God"
    philosophy is dangerous (at best). God did call us while we were
    sinners, but He called us to be a holy people - a royal priesthood.
    It's also Christ living in us, but the Word is filled with guidance on
    how we are to live our lives.
    
    	BD�

    re: .25
    
    >> It may be semantics after all. I can't fully explain how the old man
    >> can be dead and yet I still have the tendencies of the old man.
    >> ("Those things I hate to do I continue to do...")
    
    My old "nature" died.  Before I was "in Adam", now I am "in Christ". 
    I am no longer under the "power" of sin (Rom 6:6-7 Knowing this that our
    old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done
    away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; For he who has
    died is freed from sin), however I can now choose to either live in the
    spirit or in the flesh.  A good defintion that I heard for "flesh" is
    the "Techniques or patterns that we have developed in order to get our
    need for love and acceptance met apart from God" (this is in Bill
    Gilham's book "Lifetime Guarantee" if anyone is interested - one of the
    best books I have ever read).  Even though we have a new nature, our
    brain is like a computer in that we still retain our flesh patterns for
    getting our needs met.  Satan is no dummy, he knows where to hit us,
    and he is a deceiver.  He is going to speak to me in first person
    singular, to try an get me to meet my own needs through the flesh,
    rather than depending on Christ.  An interesting excercise that I went 
    through was to count all of the times that "I", "me", or "mine" is 
    mentioned in Romans 7 (the things I do, I don't want to... chapter) and to 
    count the times "God", "Holy Spirit", or "Christ" is mentioned.  We are not
    robots, we have a choice to be controled by the Spirit or the flesh
    (Eph 5:18).
    
    >> I also wanted to clarify the fact that the "Let go and let God"
    >> philosophy is dangerous (at best). God did call us while we were
    >> sinners, but He called us to be a holy people - a royal priesthood.
    >> It's also Christ living in us, but the Word is filled with guidance
    >> on how we are to live our lives.
    
    In fact, we have the righteousness of Christ now and in Him we are Holy
    & Blameless.  We are Saints of God!  I agree that the Word of God is 
    truth and is the Plum line against which we should measure our lives. 
    We should read & study the word to know God.  Jesus Christ said that He
    is the Truth, and the Word says that Christ lives in me.  If its Christ
    speaking to me, it should always line up with Scripture.  I think Steve
    hit it on the head.  When we are controlled by the Spirit, we won't
    want to sin.  For me to live is Christ!
    
    Love in Him,
    
    Bing    	

    Bing - I've recommended Gillam here before....great stuff; an excellent
    tool for cracking the mystery around why, if the old man really is dead
    (and he is) it still *feels* like he's around!
    
    Steve

Thanks for the last few notes...I really needed to read that stuff. 

Ben