Sex in Marriage #2
In the Bible there is much indirect reference to sex, much of it having to do with procreation in marriage.
“Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, ‘With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.’” (Genesis 4:1)
“He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.” (Genesis 16:4)
“That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.” (Genesis 19:33)
“Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.” (Genesis 21:2)
Women have two strong instincts:
1. To be a wife
2. To be a mother
Sometimes the mother instinct is so strong that the woman will marry just to have children. The mother instinct may be stronger than the wife instinct.
With men, they also have two strong instincts:
1. To be a husband
2. To be a father
The instinct for sex is stronger than the fatherhood. Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (I Kings 11:3).
He was more interested in sex than he was in children. However, he was a father many times over. He was not a good father.
The genealogies in I Chronicles 1-10, Matthew 1, and Luke 4 all have to do with procreation. From the great verses of the men of Faith in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews here are a few who were all poor fathers: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and Samuel. All were justified by faith. That means that they were forgiven for their sins which included being poor husbands and fathers.
After the flood, God blessed Noah and gave him commands, one of which was Genesis 9:7.
“As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.” (Genesis 9:7)
Mankind has obeyed that command but not in a godly way.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Sex and Marriage, Part 1
When I was a very young man, premarital sex was not common among Christian women or women from Christian families. During the same time I spent four years in the Far East. When the ship was in port, whether it was in Sasebo, Yokohama, Hong Kong, Manila, or Subic Bay, the first several blocks from the dock were several hundred prostitutes. Officers and enlisted men both participated in the sex business. But back home there were few pregnancies and few abortions.
If some young woman got pregnant or was known to be promiscuous, she was avoided by the saints. In the late sixties, I was Sunday School superintendent in a church in Maryland. One of the teenage Sunday School teachers got pregnant. I met with her and found that she was repentant and forgiven for her sexual activity. She was not guilty of being pregnant. Only God creates children. I allowed her to continue to teach. The church got upset with me for that decision. There have been over 50 million legal induced abortions performed since 1973 in the US.
Here are some statistics:
1.2 million abortions per year
135,000 adoptions per year
There are close to four million births every year in the US. One hundred thirty five thousand of these are adopted out.
There are over five million conceptions in a year and one million of them are aborted. That is one fifth of all pregnancies are aborted.
I am not writing this to horrify you with statistics. I am writing to see if you care enough to reach out to these women to love them into the kingdom. I am concerned about the lack of love. The two choices seem to be either acceptance of premarital sex and of abortions, or judgment and exile of the women. Neither one of these is a Christian view. Read John 8:1-11 and John 4. What about the men? They are the most responsible. But they are not as vulnerable as the women or as helpless. They should protect the woman, not take advantage of her. This means we have to go after the men.
In addition, we should go after the fathers of these women. You could reach out to them while they are still virgins, or when they are promiscuous, or when they have an abortion, or after they have had it. In every case they will be open to your love.
If some young woman got pregnant or was known to be promiscuous, she was avoided by the saints. In the late sixties, I was Sunday School superintendent in a church in Maryland. One of the teenage Sunday School teachers got pregnant. I met with her and found that she was repentant and forgiven for her sexual activity. She was not guilty of being pregnant. Only God creates children. I allowed her to continue to teach. The church got upset with me for that decision. There have been over 50 million legal induced abortions performed since 1973 in the US.
Here are some statistics:
1.2 million abortions per year
135,000 adoptions per year
There are close to four million births every year in the US. One hundred thirty five thousand of these are adopted out.
There are over five million conceptions in a year and one million of them are aborted. That is one fifth of all pregnancies are aborted.
I am not writing this to horrify you with statistics. I am writing to see if you care enough to reach out to these women to love them into the kingdom. I am concerned about the lack of love. The two choices seem to be either acceptance of premarital sex and of abortions, or judgment and exile of the women. Neither one of these is a Christian view. Read John 8:1-11 and John 4. What about the men? They are the most responsible. But they are not as vulnerable as the women or as helpless. They should protect the woman, not take advantage of her. This means we have to go after the men.
In addition, we should go after the fathers of these women. You could reach out to them while they are still virgins, or when they are promiscuous, or when they have an abortion, or after they have had it. In every case they will be open to your love.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Korea
Here are a few facts about Korea.
It is about the size of Utah with 45 times as many people. The first movable printing type made of metal was invented there in the late 1300’s. A phonetic alphabet with 24 letters was invented in 1438. Other first inventions were armored warships in the 1500’s, marine’s compass and a suspension bridge. Only 22 percent of the land is arable.
Recent Political history:
Japan’s influence in Korea became strong in 1895. In 1905, Japan took control of Korea’s foreign affairs. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea as part of Japan. This continued until August of 1945. After Japan’s surrender in World War II, Russia invaded Korea as far south as the 38th Parallel. North Korea invaded South Korea in June of 1950. This was continued for an even three years, at which time a truce was signed but there has never been a peace treaty. The two nations are still at war 60 years later. Total military casualties dead, wounded, and missing for South Korea , United States, and the UN – 580,135. Total military casualties for China and North Korea – 1,591,000. Civilian casualties are unknown but both North and South Korea were devastated physically.
North Korea is under a dictatorship. The country is very poor.
South Korea is a modern industrial democracy. A satellite picture of Korea at night shows South Korea lighted with electric light. North Korea is physically dark.
It is about the size of Utah with 45 times as many people. The first movable printing type made of metal was invented there in the late 1300’s. A phonetic alphabet with 24 letters was invented in 1438. Other first inventions were armored warships in the 1500’s, marine’s compass and a suspension bridge. Only 22 percent of the land is arable.
Recent Political history:
Japan’s influence in Korea became strong in 1895. In 1905, Japan took control of Korea’s foreign affairs. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea as part of Japan. This continued until August of 1945. After Japan’s surrender in World War II, Russia invaded Korea as far south as the 38th Parallel. North Korea invaded South Korea in June of 1950. This was continued for an even three years, at which time a truce was signed but there has never been a peace treaty. The two nations are still at war 60 years later. Total military casualties dead, wounded, and missing for South Korea , United States, and the UN – 580,135. Total military casualties for China and North Korea – 1,591,000. Civilian casualties are unknown but both North and South Korea were devastated physically.
North Korea is under a dictatorship. The country is very poor.
South Korea is a modern industrial democracy. A satellite picture of Korea at night shows South Korea lighted with electric light. North Korea is physically dark.
Friday, January 09, 2015
J.C. Ryle on Zeal
In 1958 I became acquainted with J.C. Ryle. We received an anonymous gift of three one dollar bills from Lancaster, PA. Also in the envelope was a tract on Hell by bishop Ryle. Many years later while ministering in Taiwan, I was given a picture of J.C. Ryle with his own signature on the picture. More years went by when here in Moscow, a man was publishing hard back books of all of J.C. Ryle’s writings. I gave the man the picture with the autograph. He was grateful. I received free new books.
This is an excuse to quote two quotes by J.C. Ryle on zeal.
“It may be very true that wise young believers are very rare. But it is no less true that zealous old believers are very rare also.” – J.C. Ryle, Practical Religion, p. 147
“A zealous man in religion is pre-eminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thorough-going, whole-hearted, fervent in spirit. He only sees one thing, he cares for one thing, he lives for one thing, he is swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God. Whether he lives, or whether he dies – whether he is rich, or whether he is poor – whether he pleases men, or whether he gives offence – whether he is thought wise, or whether he is thought foolish – whether he gets honour, or whether he gets shame – for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all. He burns for one thing; and that one thing is, to please God and to advance God’s glory.” – J.C. Ryle, Practical Religion, p. 130.
This is an excuse to quote two quotes by J.C. Ryle on zeal.
“It may be very true that wise young believers are very rare. But it is no less true that zealous old believers are very rare also.” – J.C. Ryle, Practical Religion, p. 147
“A zealous man in religion is pre-eminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thorough-going, whole-hearted, fervent in spirit. He only sees one thing, he cares for one thing, he lives for one thing, he is swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God. Whether he lives, or whether he dies – whether he is rich, or whether he is poor – whether he pleases men, or whether he gives offence – whether he is thought wise, or whether he is thought foolish – whether he gets honour, or whether he gets shame – for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all. He burns for one thing; and that one thing is, to please God and to advance God’s glory.” – J.C. Ryle, Practical Religion, p. 130.
Wednesday, January 07, 2015
Prayer Meeting
Beginning on Saturday, January 17, at 2:00 PM there will be a prayer meeting in my home. The primary reason for the prayer meeting is to intercede for the saints in Pullman-Moscow area, to get them back to their first love. The second reason is to ask the Lord of the harvest to send reapers into the harvest for the harvest is plenteous and the laborers are few.
I and a few others are seeing the moving of the Spirit in regular conversations of men with no previous knowledge of the Gospel. If you are in range of my home, 114 South Howard St. Moscow, ID we encourage you to come. We do not want to run ahead of God nor do we want to run to catch up. We want the Holy Spirit to come down on every resident in the community. That is what happened in Jerusalem in Acts 1 and 2, in modern times in Wales 1904-1905, Korea 1907-1910, and New York City on Fulton Street in 1857. We will spend an hour together in prayer.
Also on January 17 at 3:15 PM I will start an eight week teaching on personal evangelism. We know from the scriptures that more people want into the kingdom than there are Christians who want them in. We would like to correct this discrepancy. The teaching will be on plowing the ground, making good ground, planting the seed, reaping the harvest, and how to recognize the difference between hard ground, soft ground and a ripe harvest.
We are all witnesses of Jesus Christ. We are either good witnesses of Jesus Christ or not good witnesses. We all have normal contact with unbelievers. Let’s learn how to be obedient to the Great Commission.
I and a few others are seeing the moving of the Spirit in regular conversations of men with no previous knowledge of the Gospel. If you are in range of my home, 114 South Howard St. Moscow, ID we encourage you to come. We do not want to run ahead of God nor do we want to run to catch up. We want the Holy Spirit to come down on every resident in the community. That is what happened in Jerusalem in Acts 1 and 2, in modern times in Wales 1904-1905, Korea 1907-1910, and New York City on Fulton Street in 1857. We will spend an hour together in prayer.
Also on January 17 at 3:15 PM I will start an eight week teaching on personal evangelism. We know from the scriptures that more people want into the kingdom than there are Christians who want them in. We would like to correct this discrepancy. The teaching will be on plowing the ground, making good ground, planting the seed, reaping the harvest, and how to recognize the difference between hard ground, soft ground and a ripe harvest.
We are all witnesses of Jesus Christ. We are either good witnesses of Jesus Christ or not good witnesses. We all have normal contact with unbelievers. Let’s learn how to be obedient to the Great Commission.
Tuesday, January 06, 2015
Evangelism Opportunity
Community Christian Ministries has been in ministry in college towns since 1971. One of the main evangelistic efforts has been with God-called people working in and out of Christian bookstores. Because of the lack of enough evangelistic men or women, we have closed or given to other ministries seven of these ministries. We are still active in four university towns: Gunnison, CO; Logan, UT; Moscow, ID; and Pullman, WA. We are short of staff in all of those locations.
We are looking for people who would like to join in this evangelism. If you have a heart for the Great Commission we would like to train you, unless you are already equipped.
The evangelism will be mostly personal, not mass. The training would be in friendship and literature evangelism. This would be personally taught by Jim Wilson. There will be teaching on instant contact with unbelievers. There will be opportunities to put this teaching into effect.
This training will be at Jim Wilson’s house, twice a week, beginning January 19, 2015. There will be reading assignments. There is no cost to the training. Books will be provided. Sometimes, if you come with us, you will be teamed up with one of our staff members on our front lines.
Pleas let me know if you are interested.
P.S. Even if you do not desire to join us at CCM, you may still take the course.
We are looking for people who would like to join in this evangelism. If you have a heart for the Great Commission we would like to train you, unless you are already equipped.
The evangelism will be mostly personal, not mass. The training would be in friendship and literature evangelism. This would be personally taught by Jim Wilson. There will be teaching on instant contact with unbelievers. There will be opportunities to put this teaching into effect.
This training will be at Jim Wilson’s house, twice a week, beginning January 19, 2015. There will be reading assignments. There is no cost to the training. Books will be provided. Sometimes, if you come with us, you will be teamed up with one of our staff members on our front lines.
Pleas let me know if you are interested.
P.S. Even if you do not desire to join us at CCM, you may still take the course.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Preparing the Ground
The following was written 45 ½ years ago. It still applies.
“Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” (Jeremiah 4:3)
The Lord’s instruction to Judah through Jeremiah was spiritual instruction. He wasn’t speaking about farming. The Bible is wonderful in its clarity, and we can be awfully obtuse in our understanding.
We do not operate like good farmers. We are like a three-year-old child who plants a bean and digs it up every day to see if it is growing. We have a Jack-and-the-Beanstalk view of sowing. We expect a giant plant the next morning.
We are impatient for the harvest so we are impatient in our sowing. We sow in unplowed, undisced, and unharrowed ground. We sow in weeds. We sow in the rocks and on hard ground. We wonder why no harvest. The harvest is dependent on sowing, which is dependent onus. It is also dependent upon the ground. The kind of ground is, in a sense, dependent on us. “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among the thorns” speaks of the need for cultivation. Good, soft ground with no rocks and no weeds will bring forth thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold (Matthew 13).
In the business of bookstore evangelism, how do we prepare the ground even before sowing? Broken ground, soft and moist, is actually hungry for seed. If earth has a purpose, that is it. “And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass and the tree yielding fruit.’” So it is with people. Prepared people are hungry for the seed of the Word of God.
People should be prepared, like the ground, before the seed is planted. The “good news” is the seed. How do we prepare people before we start sharing with them the good news of Jesus Christ? We are to love them. Love softens the ground. We are to pray for them. As you pray for us in our bookstore ministry, God will fill our hearts with his love for people, and as you pray for the people we mention, the Holy Spirit will prepare them to receive the Word of God.
“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” (II Timothy 2:24, 25)
It is important and possible to love people, pray for them, be patient, gentle, and kind before we mention the God of our salvation. This does not have to be a long period. It is not the length of time of preparation; it is the genuineness of our gentleness that is important. If we love people genuinely, it may be possible to sow good seed into “ready” ground in a matter of minutes.
Remember, an abundant harvest is dependent upon the amount of seed sown, the kind of ground sown in, and the obedience of the reapers. Ground preparation is not something to do in order to get out of sowing; sowing is not something done in order to get out of reaping. But ground preparation does come first. Help us, then, in preparation of hearts as you pray for us and those we mention.
“Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” (Jeremiah 4:3)
The Lord’s instruction to Judah through Jeremiah was spiritual instruction. He wasn’t speaking about farming. The Bible is wonderful in its clarity, and we can be awfully obtuse in our understanding.
We do not operate like good farmers. We are like a three-year-old child who plants a bean and digs it up every day to see if it is growing. We have a Jack-and-the-Beanstalk view of sowing. We expect a giant plant the next morning.
We are impatient for the harvest so we are impatient in our sowing. We sow in unplowed, undisced, and unharrowed ground. We sow in weeds. We sow in the rocks and on hard ground. We wonder why no harvest. The harvest is dependent on sowing, which is dependent onus. It is also dependent upon the ground. The kind of ground is, in a sense, dependent on us. “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among the thorns” speaks of the need for cultivation. Good, soft ground with no rocks and no weeds will bring forth thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold (Matthew 13).
In the business of bookstore evangelism, how do we prepare the ground even before sowing? Broken ground, soft and moist, is actually hungry for seed. If earth has a purpose, that is it. “And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass and the tree yielding fruit.’” So it is with people. Prepared people are hungry for the seed of the Word of God.
People should be prepared, like the ground, before the seed is planted. The “good news” is the seed. How do we prepare people before we start sharing with them the good news of Jesus Christ? We are to love them. Love softens the ground. We are to pray for them. As you pray for us in our bookstore ministry, God will fill our hearts with his love for people, and as you pray for the people we mention, the Holy Spirit will prepare them to receive the Word of God.
“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” (II Timothy 2:24, 25)
It is important and possible to love people, pray for them, be patient, gentle, and kind before we mention the God of our salvation. This does not have to be a long period. It is not the length of time of preparation; it is the genuineness of our gentleness that is important. If we love people genuinely, it may be possible to sow good seed into “ready” ground in a matter of minutes.
Remember, an abundant harvest is dependent upon the amount of seed sown, the kind of ground sown in, and the obedience of the reapers. Ground preparation is not something to do in order to get out of sowing; sowing is not something done in order to get out of reaping. But ground preparation does come first. Help us, then, in preparation of hearts as you pray for us and those we mention.
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