Do you think that using inappropriate contentography is equal to cheating?

[2PhiloVoid]

And many people are diabolically wrong having not yet come to genuine repentance. i recall a guy before his baptism saying he confessed his "inappropriate content addiction" ..i stopped it right there . i told him NO .. you confess your SIN against GOD . and nothing less and YOU repent of it .nothing less .

The moment a person uses the word "addiction" they are excusing them-self of any responsibility for their own chosen behavior .

No, I disagree with this..............big time! The way you seem to frame your definition of repentance here suggests that one can very nearly stop sinning in one's life and be darn near perfect---but the truth is, biblically speaking, no one can possibly ever live up to this kind of 'repentance.' And essentially what you're doing is foisting a hyper-sense of guilt upon the guilty person (or inappropriate content user in this case), and that, in my estimation, is not hermeneutically acceptable. In fact, it smacks of Wesleyan-Holiness theology. I agree that we should all definitely be aiming for holiness in our Christian lives before God, but no one can actually be holy to such an extent that he/she is essentially perfected before God, at least not in this lifetime.

So, if this is the way you come across to those who are in need of repentance, you might consider that you, yourself, are in danger of the sin of apathy and that the excuse you give for this, like some other Christians do who say that this as their approach toward this sin, is that their 'love' of God requires that they smack people in the face with holiness teaching. Well, the truth is we HAVE to love God AND people; it's not one or the other. It's both at the same time, and if we can't do both at the same time...........then it might very well be that if and when we resort to this kind of phariseeism, we neither love God nor other people.

Just something for you to think about...........and maybe repent of, Alithis.

[And for those who think I am somehow diminishing the value of repentance in a Christian's life, even as it pertains to inappropriate content use, go back and read post #49 of this thread]

https://www.christianforums.com/thr...qual-to-cheating.8078032/page-3#post-73083669

 

[2PhiloVoid]

That's an interesting take on it. I was about to disagree with you (or at least challenge you) on the idea that we cannot just make up some interpretation on our own...and argue that this is what everyone does anyhow both on the individual and the institutional levels.

But then I saw your part about the church being adrift (and the explanation as to why) - and can't argue there.

...and this is where the field of hermeneutics and interpretive methodology comes into play, and if more people would take this seriously in order to better realize the complexity involved in understanding the Bible, then we might find we ourselves willing to offer a more reasonable measure of grace and charity to each another when we disagree about what this or that passage of the Bible means ...

 

[Alithis]

No, I disagree with this..............big time! The way you seem to frame your definition of repentance here suggests that one can very nearly stop sinning in one's life and be darn near perfect---but the truth is, biblically speaking, no one can possibly ever live up to this kind of 'repentance.' And essentially what you're doing is foisting a hyper-sense of guilt upon the guilty person (or inappropriate content user in this case), and that, in my estimation, is not hermeneutically acceptable. In fact, it smacks of Wesleyan-Holiness theology. I agree that we should all definitely be aiming for holiness in our Christian lives before God, but no one can actually be holy to such an extent that he/she is essentially perfected before God, at least not in this lifetime.

So, if this is the way you come across to those who are in need of repentance, you might consider that you, yourself, are in danger of the sin of apathy and that the excuse you give for this, like some other Christians do who say that this as their approach toward this sin, is that their 'love' of God requires that they smack people in the face with holiness teaching. Well, the truth is we HAVE to love God AND people; it's not one or the other. It's both at the same time, and if we can't do both at the same time...........then it might very well be that if and when we resort to this kind of phariseeism, we neither love God nor other people.

Just something for you to think about...........and maybe repent of, Alithis.

[And for those who think I am somehow diminishing the value of repentance in a Christian's life, even as it pertains to inappropriate content use, go back and read post #49 of this thread]

https://www.christianforums.com/thr...qual-to-cheating.8078032/page-3#post-73083669

i cant say i really care for opinions - its what the bible sates and it is indeed true . and what i have experienced in my life because the Lord Jesus is true and ALIVE and active .
your calling the first thing JESUS preached "phariseism " for he came preaching repentance .
your implying he cannot set us free from sin - what spirit is that of ?seeing that it is the very things he came to do .

The truth is, to not preach repentance is to love neither man nor God .. for deliverance from all sin comes through the Gospel and obedience to it . Jesus said repentance for the forgiveness of sin will be preached ... there is no greater love then the truth . and at times the truth IS a sword of the word of GOD -it bypasses all the carnal excuses and reasoning and CUTS to the heart and the bone of the issue and the issue is SIN .if we do not deal with sin (which is by repentance JESUS SAID )then we cannot apply the salvation of God in JESUS to our lives . so since im only saying (repeating ) what the lord Jesus said you'll have to take it up with him . and i see nothing to repent of unless repeating his words somehow became sinful , which it is not .

 

[savedthroughgrace]

1 John 1:8
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

 

[Alithis]

1 John 1:8
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

and keep going pleeeease whats it say before that whats it say after it ..its a letter not a sentance
and the same letter says - no one born of god can continue in sin... so obviously the sentence you just picked out of context does not mean what you want it to mean.
if it did then there are so many contradictions in johns letter it is embarrasing - but it does not mean what you want it to mean. you want it to excuse your ongoing sin.. so many want that . but they are not to have ongoing works of Sin.

everyone tries to say oh your saying your sinless , but no one is sinless . but neither do we continue to do actions we KNOW are sinful .

 

[savedthroughgrace]

and keep going pleeeease whats it say before that whats it say after it ..its a letter not a sentance
and the same letter says - no one born of god can continue in sin... so obviously the sentence you just picked out of context does not mean what you want it to mean.
if it did then there are so many contradictions in johns letter it is embarrasing - but it does not mean what you want it to mean. you want it to excuse your ongoing sin.. so many want that . but they are not to have ongoing works of Sin.

everyone tries to say oh your saying your sinless , but no one is sinless . but neither do we continue to do actions we KNOW are sinful .

Well I find it interesting that two verses later it says "If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

So it appears to me that if you say you do not have sin (present), you're deceived and if you say you HAVE NOT sinned (past tense) you're a liar.

 

[savedthroughgrace]

I believe in repenting from sin .and to cease doing things that we know are sin .I also know that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We all fall to temptation, unnecessary anger, pride, lust, lying, envy, stealing, adultery, fornication...just to name a few. Another sin may be self-righteousness. I pray that if you are correct, and I can cease all sin, then one day I can attain that.

 

[Alithis]

Well I find it interesting that two verses later it says "If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

So it appears to me that if you say you do not have sin (present), you're deceived and if you say you HAVE NOT sinned (past tense) you're a liar.

please do go and read his whole letter .... it appears you havn't for so long you don't know what it says
or you've been picking out one verse for so long you've forgotten the rest of it and keep banging out the same error.

aslo look again at what i posted and read the last sentence ..
"and keep going pleeeease whats it say before that whats it say after it ..its a letter not a sentance
and the same letter says - no one born of god can continue in sin... so obviously the sentence you just picked out of context does not mean what you want it to mean.
if it did then there are so many contradictions in johns letter it is embarrasing - but it does not mean what you want it to mean. you want it to excuse your ongoing sin.. so many want that . but they are not to have ongoing works of Sin.

everyone tries to say oh your saying your sinless , but no one is sinless . but neither do we continue to do actions we KNOW are sinful .

 

[Deidre32]

and keep going pleeeease whats it say before that whats it say after it ..its a letter not a sentance
and the same letter says - no one born of god can continue in sin... so obviously the sentence you just picked out of context does not mean what you want it to mean.
if it did then there are so many contradictions in johns letter it is embarrasing - but it does not mean what you want it to mean. you want it to excuse your ongoing sin.. so many want that . but they are not to have ongoing works of Sin.

everyone tries to say oh your saying your sinless , but no one is sinless . but neither do we continue to do actions we KNOW are sinful .

I think that what you're hopeful of accomplishing here is to remind us that being repentant, means changing one's life. A turning away from sin. A turning towards Christ, and trying every day to follow him. That is actually what repentance means. It doesn't mean just merely asking for forgiveness or even admitting sin, it means to go further, and turn away from our former sin lives. That takes time though for some, it might not happen over night...that doesn't mean that such a person has less faith in Christ, it means that we all are on different paths, and the longer one is living in sin, sometimes the longer it will take to really be free from it. That doesn't mean a person lacks faith in Jesus, or isn't trying hard enough, it simply means we are all not clones of each other, and what leads a person to sin ...is what needs to be dealt with. Jesus told people ''go and sin no more,'' and that means to strive to sin no more.

 

[RDKirk]

I believe in repenting from sin .and to cease doing things that we know are sin .I also know that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We all fall to temptation, unnecessary anger, pride, lust, lying, envy, stealing, adultery, fornication...just to name a few. Another sin may be self-righteousness. I pray that if you are correct, and I can cease all sin, then one day I can attain that.

People who say they have achieved sinlessness have simply categorized "sin" into a limited set of specific acts that they avoid. This is not different from what the Pharisees achieved.

Jesus, who was sinless, said: "I only do what I see my Father do."

If anyone can truthfully claim:

A. He sees what the Father in Heaven is doing

and

B. He does only that, nothing else, nothing more, nothing less,

Then he can claim to be sinless like Jesus.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

i cant say i really care for opinions - its what the bible sates and it is indeed true . and what i have experienced in my life because the Lord Jesus is true and ALIVE and active .
your calling the first thing JESUS preached "phariseism " for he came preaching repentance .
your implying he cannot set us free from sin - what spirit is that of ?seeing that it is the very things he came to do .

The truth is, to not preach repentance is to love neither man nor God .. for deliverance from all sin comes through the Gospel and obedience to it . Jesus said repentance for the forgiveness of sin will be preached ... there is no greater love then the truth . and at times the truth IS a sword of the word of GOD -it bypasses all the carnal excuses and reasoning and CUTS to the heart and the bone of the issue and the issue is SIN .if we do not deal with sin (which is by repentance JESUS SAID )then we cannot apply the salvation of God in JESUS to our lives . so since im only saying (repeating ) what the lord Jesus said you'll have to take it up with him . and i see nothing to repent of unless repeating his words somehow became sinful , which it is not .

Obviously, with this response of yours, you demonstrate that you didn't quite understand what I said, and moreover, you didn't even bother to look at the earlier post of mine which I cited for your convenience which clearly states that I place a strong value on repentance.

I can see that we won't be discussing much with each other here on CF, but oh well. The difference between you and me seems to be not so much in the 'what' of the matter [i.e. repentance], but in the 'how' of the matter [i.e. letting others know to repent but without necessarily being eager to rain fire down on their heads for their obvious sins and/or moral failures].

Blessings to you anyway, Alithis ...

2PhiloVoid

 

[Deidre32]

I just read a thread on here posted by a husband whose wife cheated on him. I couldn’t be with my husband anymore. I just would never trust again but I could forgive. He wouldn’t be the guy I thought I married. Yea, we all make mistakes but cheating is a choice not a mistake. “Oops, I just had sex with someone else,” lol Nope, it isn’t like a car accident on a slippery road. It’s a choice.

A bad choice and we are all guilty of bad choices but cheating is a deal breaker for me.

 

[Alithis]

I think that what you're hopeful of accomplishing here is to remind us that being repentant, means changing one's life. A turning away from sin. A turning towards Christ, and trying every day to follow him. That is actually what repentance means. It doesn't mean just merely asking for forgiveness or even admitting sin, it means to go further, and turn away from our former sin lives. That takes time though for some, it might not happen over night...that doesn't mean that such a person has less faith in Christ, it means that we all are on different paths, and the longer one is living in sin, sometimes the longer it will take to really be free from it. That doesn't mean a person lacks faith in Jesus, or isn't trying hard enough, it simply means we are all not clones of each other, and what leads a person to sin ...is what needs to be dealt with. Jesus told people ''go and sin no more,'' and that means to strive to sin no more.

yes , and this is why JOHN is speaking simultaneously to three levels of people in faith -he speaks to babies in the faith and offers LOADS of grace ...

'children i write this to you so that you will not sin but IF you sin we have an advocate ....etc "
he writes to young men in the faith
and he writes to fathers in the faith (who have overcome the evil one ).but in NONE of these levels is it EVER allowable to "continue to practice sin.

one of the most basic simple analogies to explain the process iv heard is the dirty diaper analogy .

a new young follower is like a new baby and everyone thinks the new baby is so cute and when it makes a squirt noise and poops in the diaper every one smiles and laughs and cleans the baby up ..
but take that same baby at 18 yes old walking into the room still wearing a diaper who then poops in that diaper ... NO ONE in that room is going to view that as cute -by now he should have learned what is absolutely NOT acceptable and learned to NOT DO IT
jump forward to the fathers in the faith (those well established in overcoming and living victoriously in holiness ) It is only complete casting out that awaits them should they go and knowingly poop their pants in sin .for over the course of their life they have been forgiven much and much is required of them .

sadly what we now see is pulpits with untrained people in them wearing adult diapers and pews FILLED with poopers .
i mean look at the topic of this thread and the responses . a frightening level of "allowance for ongoing sin" is being expressed and ANY who stand up and say NO ,it is absolutely NOT EVER acceptable and believe we can WALK in victory and not DO actions of sin which we KNOW are sinful .get addressed with avery great deal of opposition on a topic that scripture makes SO CLEAR . how often are we told to FLEE from sexual immorality ? its so obvious it is painful and grieving to see the lax attitudes of those who claim to believe or love the lord Jesus. yet live thier lives and express attitudes that display neither love NOR belief in the victory he has accomplished on the cross and his Resurrection .

they say you cant live in victory over sin.. the very thing Christ came to set us free from, they imply he failed, but i know he did not .

There is a HUGE chasm of difference between "having sin" and "practicing SIN" as long as we dwell in a body of flesh we will have the ability to do sinful works and sin dwells in the flesh therefore no one is without sin.
BUT we are made new creations in the spirit and are under no compulsion to obey the flesh .and it has no longer any dominion over us .. unless we give it dominion .- i guess i would be classed as a father in the faith, knowing truth , practicing righteousness and living in overcoming victory on a constant basis -No longer striving against the spirit of god within me and sinning , but rather submitting to him and there ..i rest in his victory . and striving has ceased .

 

[Alithis]

Obviously, with this response of yours, you demonstrate that you didn't quite understand what I said, and moreover, you didn't even bother to look at the earlier post of mine which I cited for your convenience which clearly states that I place a strong value on repentance.

I can see that we won't be discussing much with each other here on CF, but oh well. The difference between you and me seems to be not so much in the 'what' of the matter [i.e. repentance], but in the 'how' of the matter [i.e. letting others know to repent but without necessarily being eager to rain fire down on their heads for their obvious sins and/or moral failures].

Blessings to you anyway, Alithis ...

2PhiloVoid

i noted your earlier humors and know, from that, there is a profanity yet undealt with in your life .your quite right -NO one like to have their sins pointed out - but in contrast no one will enjoy hell either

 

[savedthroughgrace]

I just read a thread on here posted by a husband whose wife cheated on him. I couldn’t be with my husband anymore. I just would never trust again but I could forgive. He wouldn’t be the guy I thought I married. Yea, we all make mistakes but cheating is a choice not a mistake. “Oops, I just had sex with someone else,” lol Nope, it isn’t like a car accident on a slippery road. It’s a choice.

A bad choice and we are all guilty of bad choices but cheating is a deal breaker for me.

It is a choice. All sin is. It is a very terrible choice. I make no excuses for the choice I made. But through marriage counseling (my wife forgave me but I felt we needed to fix the issues and make sure we were properly healing) we learned that there are circumstances that can cause anyone to slip up. My wife admits that because of our lack of a relationship in our marriage she may have been just a susceptible had she had the opportunity thrust upon her. My adultery was not really a months long affair. But a months long friendship that crossed lines near the end. I confessed to my wife that sin and many others. She recognizes me as broken but repentant person and through the grace of God chose to reconcile our marriage. I say all of this to encourage people to not make harsh judgements because no one truly knows what they would do until they are put in that situation. I thought for sure my wife was going to leave me. And I am not the person she married in a sense. Through my failing I have found a greater need for the Lord and a greater need to actively love, adore, and honor my wife. After discussion with her, she has seen a change in me and appreciates me now more than when I was "the guy she married" in our unhappy marriage.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

i noted your earlier humors and know, from that, there is a profanity yet undealt with in your life .your quite right -NO one like to have their sins pointed out - but in contrast no one will enjoy hell either

And how is it you KNOW that I have undealt with profanity in my life? In fact, nowhere in this entire thread have I indicated any such thing. Rather, I've spoken of the overall problem that is being discussed in this thread. But I see that some of you have taken the liberty to project and infer that I have something I need to repent of. To which I say, who made you the judge and jury based on something you think I've said? As far as I can tell, I've in no way, nor at any time, indicated here in this thread that I'm presently involved in the sin(s) we're discussing or that I even somehow "approve" of inappropriate content. I in fact do not, and even though I will admit I've been affected by Raunch Culture in my life, this is no secret and not something 'new' that anyone who is already familiar with me doesn't already know. So, if you're going to make any further assumptions (or presumptions) about me, then that is on you and/or on whoever is so informing you behind my back here at CF!

If you really want to see my "confession" AND how I approach this issue, then you can also see these two threads I've created, that is, if you have the integrity to do so:

1) Dismantling the "PLAYBOY" philosophy embedded in our culture ...

2) All those female chauvinists pigs of...today's raunch culture?

 

[Deidre32]

It is a choice. All sin is. It is a very terrible choice. I make no excuses for the choice I made. But through marriage counseling (my wife forgave me but I felt we needed to fix the issues and make sure we were properly healing) we learned that there are circumstances that can cause anyone to slip up. My wife admits that because of our lack of a relationship in our marriage she may have been just a susceptible had she had the opportunity thrust upon her. My adultery was not really a months long affair. But a months long friendship that crossed lines near the end. I confessed to my wife that sin and many others. She recognizes me as broken but repentant person and through the grace of God chose to reconcile our marriage. I say all of this to encourage people to not make harsh judgements because no one truly knows what they would do until they are put in that situation. I thought for sure my wife was going to leave me. And I am not the person she married in a sense. Through my failing I have found a greater need for the Lord and a greater need to actively love, adore, and honor my wife. After discussion with her, she has seen a change in me and appreciates me now more than when I was "the guy she married" in our unhappy marriage.

I think reconciliation is possible but if you were unhappy, why cheat? Why not tell your wife that you were unhappy? Your wife didn’t cause you to make that decision ...it’s not the only decision a person can make no matter how lonely they feel in their marriage. It’s tantamount to saying that someone is justified to rob a bank simply because they have no job. Maybe an extreme example but an affair is a choice. Many people who do this claim that it was an unhappy marriage that “drove” them to do it but another choice would be to discuss it with one’s spouse or leave. Cheating is never a justifiable option. I’m not judging you but I guess I don’t understand why every person who cheats feels the need to say “I was in an unhappy marriage.” As if that somehow is an excuse. I’m sure every person in prison has reasons too for their crimes but they also had other options. I’ve made bad choices in different ways in my life because I chose to, not because life didn’t go my way, but because I chose to.

I’m happy for you that you reconciled but it’s also fair to say that if one chooses not to, this doesn’t make them weak or unforgiving. I suppose everyone’s circumstances will be different.

I wouldn’t reconcile. I just wouldn’t be able to trust again and I have seen people who reconcile and they are always worried every time their spouse is out of their sight. Nah, not the life I want. But again, I’m glad for you and your wife that you did make it through.

 

[Deidre32]

yes , and this is why JOHN is speaking simultaneously to three levels of people in faith -he speaks to babies in the faith and offers LOADS of grace ...

'children i write this to you so that you will not sin but IF you sin we have an advocate ....etc "
he writes to young men in the faith
and he writes to fathers in the faith (who have overcome the evil one ).but in NONE of these levels is it EVER allowable to "continue to practice sin.

one of the most basic simple analogies to explain the process iv heard is the dirty diaper analogy .

a new young follower is like a new baby and everyone thinks the new baby is so cute and when it makes a squirt noise and poops in the diaper every one smiles and laughs and cleans the baby up ..
but take that same baby at 18 yes old walking into the room still wearing a diaper who then poops in that diaper ... NO ONE in that room is going to view that as cute -by now he should have learned what is absolutely NOT acceptable and learned to NOT DO IT
jump forward to the fathers in the faith (those well established in overcoming and living victoriously in holiness ) It is only complete casting out that awaits them should they go and knowingly poop their pants in sin .for over the course of their life they have been forgiven much and much is required of them .

sadly what we now see is pulpits with untrained people in them wearing adult diapers and pews FILLED with poopers .
i mean look at the topic of this thread and the responses . a frightening level of "allowance for ongoing sin" is being expressed and ANY who stand up and say NO ,it is absolutely NOT EVER acceptable and believe we can WALK in victory and not DO actions of sin which we KNOW are sinful .get addressed with avery great deal of opposition on a topic that scripture makes SO CLEAR . how often are we told to FLEE from sexual immorality ? its so obvious it is painful and grieving to see the lax attitudes of those who claim to believe or love the lord Jesus. yet live thier lives and express attitudes that display neither love NOR belief in the victory he has accomplished on the cross and his Resurrection .

they say you cant live in victory over sin.. the very thing Christ came to set us free from, they imply he failed, but i know he did not .

There is a HUGE chasm of difference between "having sin" and "practicing SIN" as long as we dwell in a body of flesh we will have the ability to do sinful works and sin dwells in the flesh therefore no one is without sin.
BUT we are made new creations in the spirit and are under no compulsion to obey the flesh .and it has no longer any dominion over us .. unless we give it dominion .- i guess i would be classed as a father in the faith, knowing truth , practicing righteousness and living in overcoming victory on a constant basis -No longer striving against the spirit of god within me and sinning , but rather submitting to him and there ..i rest in his victory . and striving has ceased .

What do you mean “striving has ceased?” God desires a relationship with us and that takes us to cooperate with his grace. It takes our will to do that. Jesus’ death for our sins doesn’t mean we don’t have work to always do in order to show our love. I’m just saying how I understand it.

 

[Alithis]

What do you mean “striving has ceased?” God desires a relationship with us and that takes us to cooperate with his grace. It takes our will to do that. Jesus’ death for our sins doesn’t mean we don’t have work to always do in order to show our love. I’m just saying how I understand it.

what i mean "striving has ceased "... yes i mean this quite opposite to what people usually view it .

a person may come to me and say please pray for me i'm struggling with a certain sin (lets say since its the thread topic its inappropriate content ) they say i'm struggling with inappropriate content i keep falling to this sin .

Here is the first problem and that is -their being dishonest with them-selves about their sin .
they are not struggling against their sin .There is GOD who is saying DON'T do it - and there is us who are striving against the spirit of god and doing it . In such a state a person is not striving against sin , they are submitting to sin and striving against GOD in order to do the sin .
When I learned to surrender to God and no longer oppose his leading i ceased from doing that sin .
it is GOD we strive against in order to continue doing sin.. we MUST repent . when we do .. we find rest in him .it is no longer difficult to NOT do the sin .. it is a delight to NOT do the sin.-thus .. i have ceased from striving

 

[Alithis]

What do you mean “striving has ceased?” God desires a relationship with us and that takes us to cooperate with his grace. It takes our will to do that. Jesus’ death for our sins doesn’t mean we don’t have work to always do in order to show our love. I’m just saying how I understand it.

once the lady in this gets into her testimony many here in this thread you watch this through ..will be utterly shaken

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=247679229222678