Finding True Faith

[elisemhill]

Hi,
I am a 20 year old British female, I was born into a christian family and visited church every Sunday growing up. As I prepared to go to university I had told myself that when I moved to study I would either lose my faith or it would grow and I would just see what happens. Thank fully, I believe God sent some wonderful people into my life at that time and I began, for the first time truly understanding God's work and was able to have frank, honest and insightful conversations with people my age for the first time in my life.
Now approaching my 3rd year of university, my faith is stronger than ever but I am constantly confused by things I should believe to uphold a true christian lifestyle.
I would love some discussion, to help me, understand thoughts on homosexuality and sex before marriage. And I would love for some answers not to just be 'the Bible is timeless' etc. I totally 100% agree that the bible is timeless and we should live by God's word but, I personally need to get my head around some of the issues I've just mentioned.
Thank you, anyone and everyone for your help,
I've never really spoken about these issues with anyone before so slightly nervous for your answers/feedback!
Thanks!

 

[Timmaayyyy]

Welcome sister. We can always chat if you have questions. God Bless!

 

[mystdancer50]

Hi,

If you truly believe the Word of God is timeless and that we should obey it, then you shouldn't need to "wrap your head" around why things are not allowed. God's word says to flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18) and it says that there should be not even a hint of immorality in the life of the believer (Ephesians 5:3). Fornication and homosexuality are immoral. End of story.

 

[elisemhill]

Unfortunately I don't find it that easy, I wish I did!

 

[elisemhill]

Thanks ! Nice to hear some inviting words !

 

[mystdancer50]

Faith has to be easy. If it wasn't, we'd all fail. God makes His word clear. Any complications arise from the failing wisdom of man trying to compete with the full and absolute wisdom of God. Most times, people want to find a loophole. There isn't one. Sin is sin is sin, be it lying or murder or fornication. Yet, the sexual sins are done against one's own body and are extremely damaging. The Bible says so. Rather than wanting to discuss it to the point of it losing its worth, just accept that it is immoral and we are called to be moral and holy, as Christ is holy, and that Holy Spirit gives us the power to do so. Don't complicate your life by trying to find ways to 'wrap your mind' around something that is black and white, cut and dried, and leaves no room for interpretation.

Romans 1 tells us that men with men and women with women is unnatural and that the punishment occurs within their own bodies, and everyone knows that sex outside of marriage, be it fornication or adultery, is sin. Why do you need more?

 

[Simona25]

Not all churches interpret sin the same way. In catholicism and the denominations that follow it, sin is understood almost exclusively from a juridical point of view. In the eastern orthodox church, sin is not so much about good or bad, guilty or innocent, as it is about death and life. The verb "to sin" literally means "to miss the mark",in other words, to fail your purpose. God created us for a purpose that goes beyond attaining heaven/escaping hell; God created us out of love, under His image and likeness. We are intended to grow in the likeness of God, to infinitely progress in His love, to be in communion with Him. Sin is a corruption of the image of God in ourselves.

 

[Simona25]

We must learn to love our neighbor in a pure, uncorrupted way. In order to love our neighbor, we must empty ourselves from our egoism. We have the model of goodness and sacrificial love in Jesus Christ (who is God and have emptied Himself of His glory and became a man, vulnerable to pain, suffering and even death - all this because He loves us and does not want us to perish).

Like I said on another thread, our instincts are not sinful in themselves, they can contribute to our salvation, or, on the contrary, they can work against us. I gave the example of eating, which can become a sin (the sin of gluttony) or can become spiritual food, the food of life (the Holy Communion).

Sex is an instinctual need of man (and woman), an expression of the love between a man and a woman, and its natural telos (purpose) is that of pro-creation. Homosexuality is a sin because it makes man the prisoner of the mechanism desire-satisfaction, it does not go beyond that (because it can't). Man can become a slave of pleasure and instead of releasing himself from his egoism and learning to love in a sacrificial way, man will (little by little) see in the other one a mean for his satisfaction. Not only homosexuals fall into sexual sins, but also heterosexual couples, even married couples.

When a man and a woman make love, each one must give himself to the other one, they must live their love as a sacrifice. I don't know if you are aware of this, but it is said that at the foundation of every creation lies a sacrifice. In the case of a human life, the foundation of it is love between two other people. Maybe this is why is called pro-creation. A man and a woman make love and God sends a new life in them.

This is what I have learnt from a Romanian father: that everything which gives life is from God, godlike, and everything which brings death is a sin. I hope this helped.

 

[elisemhill]

I'm not asking for more and I'm not disputing anything you're saying Mystdancer50, but surely you must empathise/sympathise with the confusions and difficulties of growing up a Christian in the 21st century?
Yes, 'faith is easy' but that doesn't stop us from 'failing', Christians fail day after day and that doesn't make them any less Christian, as long as they're honestly trying their hardest?
I do agree with everything you've said but I also sometimes struggle. As do many of my Christian friends.

 

[stefen]

Dear Friend,

I can say one thing. As i am in India, I do not know it matches you or not. But we all are humans, hope it matches. we follow one rule here. Good people here wont think about fornication until they settle their life in a Good job with good studies. May be till the age of 25. Our target here would be to be settled in a nice status. Then everything else will follow us.

I think you are 20 now. Keep all those thoughts aside for 5 more years, and always say in yourself that those thoughts are sin and God hates it. You should not do which God hates. We can think that Jesus have not gone through the temptations that we are going through in 21st century. I will tell you a parable here from Bible.

After 40 days of fasting in wilderness, Jesus was tempted by Satan. Satan asked Jesus to take one stone and convert it into bread and have it for the hungry. Consider this stone as boys or girls we see at our young ages. Jesus was young, He didnt eat anything for past 40 days. So, satan is using this chance and showing stones. - There are lots of stones. Take anyone and make it suitable for yourself and have it, fill your stomach. But Jesus said, Man will not live only by bread, but every word comes out of God. - We see lots of girls and boys at our teen age. Satan says in our mind that, choose someone who suits you. you are hungry, how long you have to wait. Eat whichever you find, make that stone as bread and have it. Fill your stomach temporarily. But What we should reply is that, My parents and God are preparing food for me at home. I will wait and have good food which will last forever and ever.

I feel most of the marriages in developed countries (even in India) are failing just due to this. Just by appearances, we are falling into trouble. We are not giving chance to God to show us the best choice. Just wait, Your parents know which is best for you. More than that, the God who created you and being with you know which is best for you. Wait for that. Be clean until your marriage. Bear this hungry for sometime. God will show you the best food for you.

Ps: My English will not be Good. Hope you understand the concept here.

 

[Test_F_i_2_Luv]

There is a movement going on in the USA right now to push same-sex-marriage. Several LGBTQ groups are doing it.

What they are successfully doing is penetrating the education system from the earliest ages and teaching kids/teens/young adults(college) that same-sex attraction and relationships are normal and that it must be accepted by everyone.

People who oppose it are labeled as bigots, phobes, and hate-mongers. If students reject or disagree with the same sex agenda, they are forced to go for counseling/therapy to "correct" their bigoted, phobic, hate-mongering ideas.

It is rapidly developing...already even affecting major league sports.

I do not know the situation in the UK, but considering it is a more secular country than the USA, and considering it began embracing the LGBTQ agenda before the USA did, I can see it being more difficult an issue there for the Christian than it is in the USA.

Promiscuity and fornication are issues that have been rampant since the 1960s.

In either case, Christians need good solid reasoning to combat the issues. Biblical and secular arguments are both helpful.

I'm not sure what sort of help you're looking for, Elise, so I recommend that you either elaborate more on the forum or send me an email...or try to im me....to discuss this stuff more. You're roughly 12 hours ahead of me...and I'm on mostly in the evening Central Standard Time USA.

 

[Roughsoul]

Hey elisemhill,

Yes Jesus died for our sins and took the penalty we deserve. And neither do we need to carry the burden of guilt. When we mess up and ask sincerely for forgiveness. We are forgiven! Yes we need to try our hardest to uplift his commands and sex before marriage is wrong and so is being in a relationship with the same sex. The 21st century is so messed up and I being 23 fell from believing in the people around me and the world views. Yes most of the world sees homosexuality as the norm now and yes it seems the world sees sex before marriage as history. We have became a world of self gratification and wanting everything now. We live in a corrupt world where men are raised up still in a childish mind. Men being raised up with out a father. Woman raised up thinking they are not like the models or like the people in their magazines. They dress so inappropriately which of course tears the young men with high hormones apart. Our world is filled with the idea that if sex is in it then it will sell.

This was not the case in bible times. Woman was fully covered and couples married young. Better to marry young than wait till sex happens before marriage. Woman did not have to feel they was imperfect or not as beautiful. Woman was given to a man by the father. Virginity was a sacred thing. Now if you are a virgin people laugh or see it as something that needs to be fixed or gotten rid of. Yes their was homosexuals in the bible but from the beginning of the bible it shows homosexuals as wrong and calls them sick. Movies make it seem like its a joke. Our world is far from bible times it has fallen so far and harder than ever to live a life as a Christian.

I am not saying all this to justify why we fall. I am saying its a different world we must change! We must bring fathers back into family's, bring family's back together, churches need to get caught up into the 21st century and attract the young generation. The young is the future of the church. We need to not sugar coat the bible like I have heard so many times. This is why we have so many so called religions that don't make since. They cant except the truth its hard pill to swallow so they just tweak the verse and make it how they want it. This is why they have a bible for homosexuals now. Just so they can have a bible that does not make them feel wrong. Virginity needs to be preached and etched into the minds of children early and with the help of fathers daughters should be protected more so than now. And fathers should raise their boys to be men of God.

I for one fell to sex before marriage and wish I knew as much as I do now and feel the same toward God as I do now. But I do not carry the burden and know I am forgiven. My wife parents would not let us marry till she was out of school and I fell into the temptation of waiting. Which is another reason why kids struggle so much. They start having high hormones somewhere near 12 or 13. And yet the world sees it as odd to marry young and has statistics to back it up. But parents of course being parents makes their child wait to be married till they are considered adults. Sometimes this is a long time to live in such a sex filled world. Its scary and even more difficult as young people in this world.

It all falls down to though the bible says exactly how we are suppose to be. The world is scrambling your view and we all know how. Yes the world may say its right but this does not make it right. I had a friend who stayed a virgin till he was 22 and saw him the other day. He told well since everyone is doing it I did too. The world sucked him in same as me. The devil sunk his teeth in us and we only escaped threw forgiveness.


This is all us Christians must do is follow his word the best we can and to follow the steps Jesus has laid. We must not follow of world values but God values.

 

[elisemhill]

Thank you, roughsoul! Some very helpful points x

 

[Robbie07]

Hi Elisemhill

I am a full 24 years old now. I understand the difficulties of growing up and trying to live from this world and not in it in the 21st Century. What I have learnt is that when one falls into these things, you get ridden with guilt and self hate and this is merely a way the devil uses to get us off course.

We look around us and daily see people who are living such "awesome" lives, but we can also see that those people are broken and looking for love in the wrong ways...

In my own life and there where I serve today I realized one thing, sexual sins and homosexuality go hand in hand with a want for love and hand in hand with broken relationships... Now I am not saying that this is the case with you, but take a step back from your life and figure out why you are feeling the way you feel? It is difficult to see the full picture when we are in it. Ask the Lord to reveal to you why you feel like this? There could be a multitude of reasons.

The problem is not always the question, it is all to often the cause of the question... We search for love in the strangest of ways and because we have been lied to by the media and basically everything else about what loves looks like, we start to wonder in ourselves about why aren't we on the receiving end of this "love"?

The fact is that if you are maybe feeling rejected or less loved because of your faith in Jesus, you must rejoice, for, if you ask me, rejection by none Christians in the western world is just a form of persecution... and If you aren't being persecuted you should ask yourself if you are really doing what Christ expects of you.

Remember to flee sexual immorality and also remember this... Sin, no matter in which form, is against God... Yes there is forgiveness, but don't make it hard on yourself by the choices you make, I'm sure Roughsoul can agree with me on this, getting into these things is the easy part, getting out and repenting of these to fellow believers is some of the hardest things you can do.

It is easier to just steer clear of these things than to repent of them later on in life. You're welcome to contact me if you want more info.

May The Lord lead you in these things and protect you from what the world expects of you.

Blessings

 

[Roughsoul]

No problem just started rambling every thought. Lol long message.