WHAT DID JESUS SAY
| Posted On: 04/25/07 11:55:58 AM |
Age 63, OH |
In the sermon on the mount Matthew 5 Jesus says:
33"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34BUT I TELL YOU,DO NOT SWEAR AT ALL: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; ANYTHING BEYOND THIS COMES FROM THE EVIL ONE." - Jesus makes it really clear that we are not to do anything but to say yes or no and anything beyond this is FROM THE EVIL ONE. Even our worldly court has recognized this and give you a choice not to swear on the Bible but to simply say yes I will. I have been to Christian meetings were I was asked by a preacher to swear an oath that I would do something. I think it is pretty pathetic when our Christian leaders encourage us to be disobedient to Christ. Jesus Himself said to say yes or no. Lou
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Re: Are Abstinence Pledges Effective?
| Posted On: 04/24/07 04:55:37 PM |
Age 50, IL |
The use of statistics was somewhat confusing in this article. For example, you stated, "In a sample of married young adults, 88% of non-pledgers engaged in vaginal intercourse prior to marriage, but only 56% of consistent pledgers did so." Was this a sample of evangelicals or of the general population? How did you define a "consistent" pledger? If 56% of them engaged in vaginal intercourse and an additional 13% in oral sex, then (at least) 69% of the "consistent pledgers" were inconsistent with their pledge. It would seem that 100% of Chrisians need consistent teaching on living by faith in Christ and walking in the Spirit. Fleeing immorality includes avoiding situations that would put you in temptation...not just hoping you can pull back in time.
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Re: Are Abstinence Pledges Effective?
| Posted On: 04/24/07 07:29:40 AM |
Age 28, TX |
I'm a little uneducated in things of our faith, so please don't take my question wrong; I'm asking so that I can learn.
My question is, are we Christians permitted to "swear," or does the passage "Let your yes be yes, your no be no" apply here? I'm curious to know--because I never did this myself, but still managed to stay a virgin until my wedding night--what "abstinence pledges" entail.
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Re: Are Abstinence Pledges Effective?
| Posted On: 04/23/07 02:08:23 PM |
Age 20, TX |
Great article. But one very important statistic that was left out is that those pledgers who DO break thier pledges are LESS likely to use protection than those who don't make pledges. It's important to teach adstinence but it's also important to inform kids to protect themselves should they find themselves in a moment of weekness. Sophie
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Re: Are Abstinence Pledges Effective?
| Posted On: 04/23/07 12:49:45 PM |
Age 63, OH |
WOW talk about a relevant message. Where is Jesus Christ In this message. Is He not even worth a mention. My son who is now almost 21 took an abstinence pledge. I am confident he has kept it up to today. The reason he has been able to keep his pledge is that he asked Jesus Christ to help him to stay pure. And I am sure that The Lord Jesus has indeed helped him. There are some girls who my son might have sought out for friendship that God intervened. When I look back on the years I can plainly see ways in which the Lord Jesus helped him. We don't even have to be willing to be obedient to the Lord Jesus for Him to help us. For Paul says we only have to be willing to be made willing by the Lord Jesus. My son was willing or willing to be made willing and the Lord Jesus has helped him to keep his pledge. Another important issue is that if someone makes the pledge depending on their own strength and thinking that they can do it on their own, then they are almost bound to fail. The person making the pledge has to realize that they are too weak to keep the pledge without the help of the Lord Jesus. If this is the case and then when trials come they turn to the Lord, He will help them and not without result. Lou
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