Page 788 … Drawn to bondage; returning to Freedom
You then go on to cite James 1:14, a verse which reads, “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” … And to this reference I will simply state – YES, my dear Friend! Just as every man is indeed tempted by his own lusts, you & yours are being tempted to openly proclaim that you are in possession of the only valid way of reading the Scriptures; a way that happens to openly violate The Way of Jesus Christ: *You do so by focusing on the sins of homosexuals (and incorrectly calling homosexuality itself a sin – see Matthew 7:1-2), … *You do so by arrogantly refusing to even listen to a sermon (from a non-sinning pastor) of the Word of God (see Matthew 18:3-4 & Matthew 23:12), … *And you do so by hypocritically calling out the shortcomings of others while your own cups are still more-than–slightly smudged! (see Matthew 23:25-26 & John 8:7)
Well, Lucy, I happen to believe that you are all much better than that, and Jesus happens to think so too (see John 10:34 & John 14:12-20) … As such, please consider turning from your temptations to being arrogant – and your lusts for judgment of others – and your enticements to hypocrisy. Consider dismissing your temptations to feel like “God’s chosen interpreters” of the Bible, and consider becoming a humble messenger of Love instead … a non-judgmental messenger for Justice & Compassion … a messenger for The Way of Christ!
You then follow by alluding to Galatians 5:1-26, stating, “What then is the freedom we have in Christ? It is the freedom to do what is right! You know you are free when you can make the choice to resist temptation and follow after righteousness.”
Once again, I wholeheartedly agree, my dear – and therefore humbly suggest that you & yours GET STARTED doing the same right away!
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples … I give you a new commandment: that you Love one another. Just as I have Loved you, you also should you Love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples: when you show Love towards one another … Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” ~ Jesus Christ (John 8:31 + John 13:34-35 + Matthew 7:1-2)
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