Roots by the River

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The Need to Repent of Homosexuality

Based upon the Word of God, if you are in a homosexual relationship, you are either a very disobedient Christian, or you are not a Christian. Things that would indicate that you are not a Christian are the complete absence of a sense of guilt and your current manner of life. The points for being a Christian are your conversion, if you have had one, and any previous record of Christian living. Galatians 5:19-23 gives us two lists: the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Which list de...

Unequally Yoked—Returning to Victorious Living, Part 4

by Bessie Wilson Victorious Christian living means walking in obedience to God in all areas of our life. Obedience is something not many Christians are interested in. We dismiss the commands of Scripture with spiritual words and nuanced arguments of why we don’t need to obey a command that seems difficult, instead of simply asking, “How do I do this?” If we want to live a victorious life, we must be committed to obeying God with everything we are: physically, mentally, morally, socially, and spiritually. Physically. Physical obedience means recognizing God’s ownership of your body. This relates to your marriage as well. Are you withholding physically from your husband? What if it’s hard? You don’t love him anymore, or you’re tired, or you’re just not in the mood. “I can’t; not tonight.” I come up with the same excuses, and the Lord used a verse about the man with the withered hand to show me the way. One Sabbath, Jesus went into the synagogue, and there was a man with a with...

Christian Fellowship

“Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name” (Malachi 3:16). “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete” (1 John 1:3-4). God listens to us talk about Him and has a special book of remembrance for us. Our fellowship with each other is also with the Father and the Son. Much of Christian “fellowship” is fun and food, and not much with or about the Father and Son. Our fellowship is with each other and with the Father and the Son. This post coordinates with today's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge . If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us at TotheWord.com . We would love to have you reading with us.

Unequally Yoked—Returning to Victorious Living, Part 3

by Bessie Wilson If your husband is not a Christian, ask God to give you the kind of a Christian life that he won’t be able to resist. When I first met the woman in Monterey who had married the officer in India, she had just gone through a good spiritual experience with the Lord. She was a very perky English woman, and she told me in her pert way, “Bessie, I gave him tit for tat for many years! I was always after him for deceiving me that he was a Christian when he wasn’t.” She gave him an awful time. Then God spoke to her about the gentle and quiet spirit and submission to her husband. It was truly a very hard situation for her to be quiet in. “Do you know what? The Lord gave me grace to say to my husband, ‘May I go to church?’ He’d say, ‘No.’ And I could say, ‘Alright dear.’ There was no venom in what I said. Before I knew it, he was suggesting that I go.” After a while, we began to have Bible studies in her home. Her husband wouldn’t come to the study, but he’d come for refre...

Unequally Yoked—Returning to Victorious Living, Part 2

by Bessie Wilson If you came to Christ after your marriage, there is hope for your spouse. There is a lot of hope. I have seen unbelieving spouses come to the Lord time and time again through living with a believer. When a woman comes to Christ after she is married, and she has a non-Christian husband, normally it isn’t long before she’s able to win him, because the change in her is so attractive. Quite a few years ago, following the cultural revolution in China, Chinese graduate students began to come to the U.S. to study. Jim and I got to know quite a few of them, and we held English classes for them in our home. After a while, they knew enough English that they didn’t come around anymore. A year or so later, one of these young men called Jim. He said, “My wife is just arrived from Shanghai. I’d like you to teach her English, but I want you to teach her English from the Bible.” We had not done this with the others. “Why from the Bible?” Jim asked him. “She’s a Christian,” h...

Unequally Yoked—Returning to Victorious Living, Part 1

by Bessie Wilson “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as God has said, ‘I will live with them and walk among then, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore, come out from them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:14-18). Although this text is speaking of uniting with unbelievers in idolatry, it can logically be applied to the subject of marriage as well. Paul is quoting the Old Testament which prohibits yoking an ox with a donkey. Being unequally yoked like this does harm to both animals. Paul gives five ...