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Message delivered on Sunday February 24, 2008 in the adult Sunday school class at
Trinity Baptist Church,160 Changebridge Road, Montville, NJ 07045.
www.trinitymontville.org

One area that has marked our life together which has also both validated and illustrated the power of the gospel in days gone by has been the decided modesty and the distinctive femininity of the dress and the demeanor of the women in this church, the decided modesty and the distinctive femininity.

However, in the past year or two there has been a marked erosion among us in both of these areas. We have had men come to us vexed in their hearts and in their minds as they struggle to maintain mental purity before God, eyes that do not become the inlet of lust on the basis of what they see.

Not too long ago, the Lord reveled a wonderful truth and deadly sin to me. The difference between the two draws the line between spiritual life and spiritual death. The deadly sin is being aggravated by others' short comings. The wonderful truth was that when I truly loved people, I would not be frustrated by their faults, but I would have a pure desire to help them overcome their sin. ]]> godlychristianministries@gmail.com (Peter Schrock) The Church Fri, 12 Nov 2010 05:03:18 +0000 http://www.godlychristianministries.com/cm/index.php/articles-sp-2690/9-the-church/26-cutting-out-contention-sp-2252 http://www.godlychristianministries.com/cm/index.php/articles-sp-2690/9-the-church/26-cutting-out-contention-sp-2252

“But if you harbor bitter envy and strife in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and strife, there you find instability and every foul-smelling practice.” James 3:14-16

Yelling and fighting has plagued the human race for a long time. People who are new to the faith or have simply not learned to walk in the Spirit, can easily find themselves controlled by their flesh (or earthly nature). Is there hope for these people? Certainly, but only if they truly come to see the depth of their own depravity and repent. For Galatians 5:19-21 clearly places quarreling, envy, strife, anger, and wrath on the same level as drunkenness, sexual immorality, and witchcraft. Those who quarrel and erupt with wrath are just as deep in sin as those who go have sex with prostitutes or who get drunk on the weekends. If someone continues in these things they will end up in hell (Galatians 5:21). Those who have not gained victory over such activities are neither esteemed beyond mere infants in the scriptures nor granted security in their eternal destination (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). Nevertheless, an angry quarreler will find victory through broken humility and ceasing to compare themselves with others.