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Intellectual & Moral Problems


Dear Joe,

In my years of personal evangelism mostly with university students and faculty, I realize that there are two major problems: one is intellectual, the other is moral, and they go together. The major problem is a moral problem, but it certainly is influenced by the intellectual. And you know from Romans 1 that the gross immorality it describes seems to be the result of a wrong theology. There are certainly a lot of “conservative evangelicals” who are not living godly lives. However, the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, meekness—are certainly more in evidence in those who hold an authoritative view of Scripture and have a close, personal relationship with God.

The needs that people have are intellectual and moral, and they go together. People are willing to admit that they have intellectual problems, but they are unwilling to admit that they have moral problems. But Jesus Christ primarily died for immoral people, not for intellectual doubters. The great issue in this world is sin, not just the sins of war, but every kind of personal sin: anger, enmity, lying, stealing.

It has been many years since we last saw each other. Much has happened to both of us in those years. I heard recently that you and your wife have gotten a divorce. I don’t know the issues that caused the divorce. I am assuming that there were just an awful lot of little things that grew into big things on both your parts. These little things I call sin. The big things I call sin. And the wonderful thing about the love of God is that He forgives sin.

In Christ,

Jim Wilson

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