Teachings and Exhortations - Sanctification (whole book)

Introduction

Dear brothers in the Lord, this book of mine deals with sanctification (or holiness), which I consider a very important subject to us who are children of God.

First of all, you must understand that when you were born again (that is, when you were regenerated by God) you were sanctified, that is to say, you were made holy. For the Scriptures teach that at the new birth God performs an act of sanctification on believers, through which they are declared holy. Here is how Paul and Peter expressed this concept in their epistles. Paul said to the Corinthians: “Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are [were] washed, but ye are [were] sanctified, but ye are [were] justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11); and to the Thessalonians: “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of [by] the Spirit and belief of [in] the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13); while Peter said to God’s elect: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied” (1 Peter 1:1-2). That’s why the apostles in their epistles called the believers ‘saints’ (1 Corinthians 1:2; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2), ‘holy nation’ (1 Peter 2:9), and ‘holy brethren’ (Hebrews 3:1 - NKJV).

Secondly, beloved, you must understand that you are holy because of the obedience showed by Jesus Christ, for it was through His atoning sacrifice that you were sanctified, as it is written: “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10 – NKJV). It follows that you don’t have anything to boast about before God, for - as Paul says - Christ became for us sanctification from God (1 Corinthians 1:30).

When I say that you were sanctified in Jesus Christ I mean these things.

● You attained the perfection in regard to the conscience through the blood of Christ, as it is written: “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). The perfection in regard to the conscience could not be obtained under the Old Covenant because the gifts and the sacrifices which were offered according to the law were a shadow of the things which were to come and in them there was a reminder of sins every year (Hebrews 9:9-10; 10:1-4), while under the New Covenant it can be obtained because Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins once for all and His blood makes those who believe in Him perfect in regard to the conscience (Hebrews 9:13-14).

● God separated you from the world, so that you might serve righteousness. In other words, God separated you from those who live in darkness so that you might be a holy people to the Lord for the rest of your earthly life. In ancient times God chose the Israelites so that they might serve Him, for He said to them: “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6), and again: “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth” (Deuteronomy 14:2). Now, in these last days God has set apart for Himself a people (His Church) which is formed of all those Jews and Gentiles whom He has rescued from this present evil age so that they might serve Him. This concept is expressed by Paul in his epistle to Titus when he says that Christ Jesus “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14 - NKJV).

Therefore, brethren, you were set apart by God so that you might pursue sanctification, as Paul said to the saints in Rome: “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness ….” (Romans 6:22), and to the saints of Thessalonica: “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification …. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:3,7); and as the author of the epistle to the Hebrews says: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14), and as Peter says to the elect (whom he called holy nation); “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct because it is written: Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16 - NKJV).

As you can see, the Scriptures clearly state that we were called to be holy, that is to say, to perfect our sanctification before God. Therefore the pursuit of sanctification (or the perfecting of sanctification) is a divine command, and it is so important that the Scripture states that without sanctification no one will see the Lord. I say this because I know that today among many Churches many despise sanctification, making light of it and not considering it so important (for they consider it a human option).

Now, brethren, we have our fruit to sanctification, but how can we bear this fruit? We can bear this fruit by abiding in Christ, for Jesus Christ said: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). In other words, we can bear this fruit by keeping the commandments of God, for John said: “He who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him” (1 John 3:24 - NKJV). Therefore, we must keep the commandments of God in order to have a holy conduct before God and men. And obviously to keep the commandments of God means that on the one hand we must not do certain things and on the other hand we must do some other things.

Before I go on, however, I would like to point out that we can perfect our sanctification (which is a process that involves a separation unto God, a purification of flesh and spirit, and a conformation to the image of Christ) only by the power of God, who works in us what is well pleasing to Him. In other words, we are able to perfect our sanctification because God works in us. However, it is very important to note that God will work in us if we allow Him to work. This principle that recognizes both God’s initiative and man’s responsibility is expressed by Paul in the epistle to the Philippians when he gives them this command: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13 – NKJV). So, God enables us to perfect our sanctification, but we MUST respond.

Let us now look closely at the things from which we, as believers, must abstain in order to live a holy life.

Murder

It is written in the law: “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13 - NKJV). Therefore we must not take our neighbour’s life. Let us not act as Cain, who was of the wicked one – says the apostle John – and murdered his brother; and why did he murder him? “Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous” (1 John 3:12 – NKJV).

Brethren, the way of the murderer leads to death, for it is written: “A man burdened with bloodshed will flee into a pit; let no one help him” (Proverbs 28:17 – NKJV; the NIV reads: “A man tormented by the guilt of murder will be a fugitive till death; let no one support him”). God hates “hands that shed innocent blood” (Proverbs 6:17 – NKJV), and many times He causes murderers to be killed, for it is written: “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6 - NKJV). Everybody can see the fulfilment of these words, for in criminal circles it happens very often that murderers are themselves murdered in turn. “As you have done, it shall be done to you” (Obadiah 15), the Lord still says to the wicked. Therefore, those who murder run the risk of being killed, for Wisdom warns us saying: “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, ‘Come with us, let us lie in wait to shed blood; let us lurk secretely for the innocent without cause; let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole, like those who go down to the Pit; we shall find all kinds of precious possessions, we shall fill our houses with spoil; cast in your lot among us, let us all have one purse’ – My son, do not walk in the way with them, keep your foot from their path; for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. Surely, in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird; but they lie in wait for their own blood, they lurk secretely for their own lives” (Proverbs 1:10-18 – NKJV).

The biblical account of the punishment which God executed on those who murdered the sons of Gideon shows very clearly that God hates those who shed innocent blood and does not leave them unpunished. Here is what we read in the book of the Judges: “And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying, Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him. And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself. And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem. And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands; (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;) If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother. When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech: That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren. And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him? And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out. And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee. Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that is with thee, and lie in wait in the field: And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that is with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion. And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies. And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait. And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men. And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim. Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them. And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate. And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech. And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them. And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew them. And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt. And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith. And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done. And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women. Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower. And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire. And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull. Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place. Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren: And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal” (Judges 9:1-57).

Under grace, however, even he who hates his brother is a murderer, for John says: “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15 - NKJV). The reason is because the law of Christ is stricter than the law of Moses, for Jesus said to His disciples: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell [geenna] fire” (Matthew 5:21-22). Therefore, brothers, let us see to it that we keep hatred (against a brother or an unbelieving person) from entering our heart. Let us love one another fervently with a pure heart, for love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). If a brother sins against us, let us rebuke him (with love), in the hope that he will repent, but let us not hate him, for the law says: “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him” (Leviticus 19:17 - NKJV). If he who wronged us is a sinner, let us bear with him patiently continuing to love him, for it is written that we must love our enemies and do good to those who hate us (Luke 6:27).

Among the twelve tribes which were scattered abroad and to which James wrote, there were some believers who were murderers and James called them sinners and exhorted them to cleanse their hands and to humble themselves in the sight of God (James 4:2,8-10). Peter says to us: “Let none of you suffer as a murderer” (1 Peter 4:15 - NKJV).

Murderers will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21), for they will be cast into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8).

Abortion

Abortion is ‘the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy’. Therefore, abortion is sin because is the deliberate killing of an unborn baby.

So, brothers and sisters who are married, I exhort you to flee this sin, lest you move God to anger. Surely, if you decide to have an abortion, God will punish you for your sin. Obviously, I am not speaking of miscarriage because miscarriage is ‘the spontaneous or unplanned expulsion of a fetus from the womb before it is able to survive independently’, that is, something which is not caused or planned by the woman or the couple.

To show you from the Scriptures that abortion is sin in the sight of God, I want to quote some passages from the Law of Moses, which is made for anything which is contrary to the sound doctrine. Here is what God said to Moses on Mount Sinai: “If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe” (Exodus 21:22-25 – NKJV). Now, as you can see, the law envisaged a situation in which two brawling men accidentally injure a pregnant woman. The injury causes the woman to go into early labor, resulting in a premature birth of her child. If neither the woman nor the child is harmed, then the Law of Moses commanded that the one who caused the premature birth should pay a fine. But if injury or even death resulted from the brawl, then the law imposed a parallel punishment: if the premature baby died, the one who caused the premature birth was to be put to death – “you shall give life for life.” So to cause a pre-born infant’s death was homicide under the Old Testament - homicide punishable by death. Now, if according to God the one who caused a pre-born infant’s death accidentally was deserving of death, it is evident that since abortion is the deliberate killing of the unborn by an abortion doctor in collusion with the mother, those who deliberately put to death an unborn child are deserving of death too, in the sight of God. It cannot be otherwise. Therefore, brothers and sisters, I say it again, flee abortion.

Now let us examine in the light of the Scriptures the reasons why women have an abortion, in order to show that they do not justify at all abortion.

Many women have an abortion because they don’t want to give birth to many children, so in their opinion there are ‘wanted and unwanted children.’ However, this doesn’t justify abortion because the creature which is in the woman’s womb is a human being formed by the hands of God. Women in Christ, do not be afraid of giving birth to many children; God will not forsake them, but will meet all their needs. Have faith in Him. Know this, that the Scripture states that those who have many children are happy (Psalm 127:5). There can be no unwanted children in the life of a Christian couple, for every child is a gift of God, and every Christian must be willing to receive any gift from God.

Many other women have an abortion because they have been raped or because tests reveal that the unborn child has severe abnormalities. These arguments given in favour of abortion do not justify abortion either, for the creature which is in the woman’s womb is still a human being formed by the hands of God, and thus he has the right to be safely brought into the world regardless of how he was conceived. Therefore, I exhort all those Christian women who are with child because of a rape or know that their unborn child has severe abnormalities to give birth to their child. For sure, since all things work together for good to those who love God, God will turn evil into good: He will take that evil and its horrible effects on your life and bring good out of it; have faith in God.

Today, abortion is lawful in this country (as well as in many other countries), yet it is sin in the sight of God. That abortion is sin is confirmed by the sense of guilt a woman feels after she has had an abortion. On the contrary, those women who, even though they had been advised to have an abortion, refused to have an abortion are now happy and don’t regret taking that decision.

Euthanasia

Here is how euthanasia is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary: ‘The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable disease or in an irreversible coma’. In other words, it is a death hastened by doctors with the permission of the sufferer’s relatives (or the sufferer himself) to keep him from continuing to suffer.

I exhort you in the Lord to reject and expose euthanasia because it is a murder in the sight of God. He who has the power to kill and to make alive is God alone (1 Samuel 2:6). Therefore, if the country where you live permits euthanasia and one of your relatives is in a hopeless condition from a medical point of view, because according to the doctors he is condemned to die after unspeakable sufferings without any chance of recovering, you must not give the permission to let him die in advance (before time) in order to put an end to his sufferings or to make him suffer less, because if you give such a permission you will share in a murder. And then who said that that man will surely die? The doctors, thus human beings who can’t lengthen the life of men and who have a limited knowledge like all the other human beings. Therefore they do not have the last word, for it is God (the Omnipotent, the Omniscient and the Omnipresent) who has the last word in the life of men. It is God who decides when a man is going to die and what kind of death he will die. Thus what counts is His decision, is what God says.

So, let us suppose that one of our relatives is dying of an incurable disease and is suffering terribly. How should we cope with such situation? Well, first of all, we should ask: ‘What did God determine to do? Did He determine to let him live or die?’ Nobody knows (unless God reveals His will by a word of wisdom). Therefore we must plead with God to heal that person who is dying of an incurable disease. For we must never give up hoping in God, for our God is able to raise up a man the doctors say he’s done for or a man who thinks he is done for. Job is a clear example of how God can change the most desperate situation. Job was suffering terrible pains, his flesh was wasting away from sight and his bones clung to his skin and to his flesh, he thought that he would soon depart from this world, and his wife was waiting for his death; but God healed him and made him prosperous again. Another eloquent example of what God can do when there is no more hope from a human point of view is that of king Hezekiah, who was taken ill and in the midst of his illness thought that he was a dead man, but God heard his prayer and saw his tears and added to his days fifteen years. “I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me” (Isaiah 38:10-12) said Hezekiah in his song after he was healed by the Lord, and he added: “What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back” (Isaiah 38:15-17). As you can see, the above mentioned examples show us clearly that God can change the most desperate circumstances in the life of men, for both Job and Hezekiah were ‘terminally ill,’ but God healed them. Knowing this, therefore, let us pray for our relative who is terminally hill so that God may heal him, and God will surely heal him if it is His will to heal him. Do not lose heart, with God nothing is impossible.

But not only can God heal incurable diseases, which lead to death, if it is His will; but He can also raise the dead. Therefore He can act on behalf of a man even after his death. So he can allow a man to die of an incurable disease in order to raise him from the dead before or during of even after his funeral. The resurrections which are recorded in the Scripture confirm this concept. So it is lawful for us to plead with God to raise a dead person, and obviously if it is God’s will to raise him from the dead, it will come to pass that that man will rise again in answer to our prayers.

But what shall we say if God has determined to let him die of that incurable disease but not to bring him back to life? We will say: ‘The will of God be done.’ If the dying person is a believer, when he dies he will go to heaven to be with the Lord; if he is a sinner, he will go to Hades (hell), where he will be tormented with fire, and thus he will continue to suffer in another world, and we know that the sufferings in Hades are greater than any suffering on the earth.

I would like to point out that many of those who die in severe pain are people who have been struck by the rod of God for their wickedness. For God makes them reap the evil they have sowed. The Scripture says that God struck king Jehoram with an incurable disease because of his wickedness, as it is written: “After all this the Lord struck him in his intestines with an incurable disease. Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness: so he died in severe pain” (2 Chronicles 21:18-19). You may ask me now: ‘Does God strike with incurable diseases even Christians, for certain sins which they have committed?’ Yes, He does, for God is no respecter of persons. Know this, that some Christians have been struck by the rod of God because they take pleasure in committing adultery and fornication, in murdering, in getting drunk, in keeping back by fraud the wages of their labourers, and in other serious sins. They walk after the flesh, God gave them time to repent of their wickedness, but they did not repent, and thus they were struck by God. I realize that it is painful to see these people suffer on their bed of illness, yet we have to admit that it is right that God should make them suffer in that way for their iniquities. Nevertheless, we, who are not glad to see people suffer, must have compassion on them and pray for them, so that God may grant them repentance that leads to salvation and thus after death they may go to heaven.

Male and female homosexuality

Homosexuality is a sexual inclination according to which many people feel sexual attraction to persons of their own sex and have sexual relations with them.

The Scripture says that God at the beginning made them male and female (man first, and then the woman to satisfy man’s need for a marriage companion) and said: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Therefore, a man can lie carnally (that is, can have sexual relations) only with a woman (that is, his wife), and a woman can lie carnally only with a man (that is, her husband), for woman was created for the man (1 Corinthians 11:9). This is the natural order ordained by God, which thus excludes any form of sexual activity between men or between women. The Scripture condemns male homosexuality, for the law says: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22 – NKJV) and Paul calls the sexual acts which men commit with other men “what is shameful” and “their error” (Romans 1:27 – NKJV); and it condemns also female homosexuality, for Paul calls the sexual acts between two women “vile passions” (Romans 1:26 - NKJV).

That homosexuality is contrary to nature, that is, a violation of the natural order ordained by God, is confirmed by the fact that those who lie carnally with people of their own sex cannot reproduce, that is to say, cannot keep the divine commandment: “Multiply” (Genesis 1:28 – NKJV), which God gave to male and female, for God’s natural order is for male and female to mate and reproduce, and the fundamental human anatomy confirms this. For this reason homosexuality is associated with bestiality (in that God, after saying, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination” - Leviticus 18:22, said: “Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion” - Leviticus 18:23 NKJV), for also those who practice bestiality – that is, those who have sexual relations with animals – cannot reproduce, in that they violate the natural order ordained by God.

Those men who have sexual relations with other men (commonly called gays) will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:10), but they will be cast into the lake of fire along with those women who exchanged the natural use for what is against nature (these women are commonly called lesbians).

Gays and lesbians sin against nature (for both gays and lesbians have exchanged the natural use for what is against nature - Romans 1:26), and against their body, and receive in themselves the due penalty for their perversion, for God does not leave them unpunished but He makes them reap what they have sowed. For Paul says to the Romans: “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient” (Romans 1:26-28). AIDS, which is a disease contracted also by those who give themselves over to unnatural vices, is one of the punishments inflicted on them by God.

Take heed to yourselves, brothers and sisters, and flee homosexuality; know this, that if you give yourselves over to homosexuality you will spend eternity in the lake of fire along with the devil, his angels and all sinners. Remember that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed also for the sins against nature which were committed by their inhabitants, and that they are set forth as an example “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 7 – NKJV).

Several Evangelical Churches accept and tolerate homosexuality, for they accept homosexuals as members and even as pastors. They call homosexuality ‘an existential condition which imposes itself at a certain moment of one’s life’ or ‘an alternative lifestyle’; they don’t call it ‘sin’ nor ‘a abominable way of life chosen by some men who are without God and sometimes even by some human beings who once knew God.’ According to these Churches, those who condemn homosexuality are ‘out-of-date persons’ or ‘people who are behind the times’. Brothers in the Lord, beware of these Churches, for they lie against the truth. And beware also of all those who call themselves brothers and sisters but are homosexuals. From such people withdraw yourselves. Do not associate with them, for they profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work (Titus 1:16).

Fornication

“Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body …. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication” (1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3), says the Scripture. When the apostles and the elders gathered together at Jerusalem to discuss whether it was lawful to command the Gentiles to keep the law of Moses or not, it seemed good to the Holy Spirit to command the brethren who were of the Gentiles to abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled and from fornication (Acts 15:20).

Fornication is the sexual intercourse between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. Therefore, if a man has sexual intercourse with his fiancée, both of them commit fornication, because in the sight of God a man can have sexual intercourse only with his wife, as it is written: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24 – NKJV). Note that God said: ‘He will be joined to his wife’ and not ‘He will be joined to his fiancée’, in order to understand that God commanded that a man should have sexual intercourse only with his wife. But the world, which has perverted the straight ways of the Lord, doesn’t think so, for it encourages the sexual intercourse between the betrothed, as if it were a right thing which they are allowed to do, as if there were no offence in it. Those who raise their voice against the sexual intercourse between the betrothed are called ‘people full of taboos who refuse to conform themselves to the times’. Well, yes, we refuse to conform ourselves to this present evil age; we refuse to call evil good. It is crazy to call what the Creator said it is harmful for man and woman a good thing; the God who made the human body and put into it the breath of life knows very well what is good for man and what is harmful for him. Sex before marriage produces a sense of guilt because it is sin (instead, sex does not produce any sense of guilt after marriage). For this reason we, as believers, refuse to listen to those who pass fornication off as a lawful and beneficial thing, because they boast and lie against the truth, being full of selfish ambition. God cannot lie, and if He said through Paul: “Flee fornication”, it is because He knows the evil consequences of fornication and He wants to spare us all kinds of troubles and pains. Sometimes young believing men are tempted to think that God, by forbidding them to have sexual intercourse with their fiancée before marriage, does not pursue their good, but that’s not true; it is a lie, whose father is the devil. It cannot be true because God is love, God is good, God is right. They wilfully forget that it is God who made man and woman, and that He knows very well whether a thing is good for us or not. Young people, heed the Word of God and you will find good (Proverbs 19:8)!

However, fornication is also the sexual intercourse between a man and a prostitute; therefore we must flee any sexual intercourse with a prostitute. For Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid [Certainly not!]. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh” (1 Corinthians 6:13-16). Wisdom says that “a harlot is a deep pit” (Proverbs 23:27 – NKJV), and those who went to prostitutes before their conversion know how deep that pit is.

We, as believers in Christ Jesus, must always bear in mind that when we received Christ we became the temple of God, that is, we became members of Christ in that we became one spirit with Him, and let it be known to you that when the Scripture states that we are the temple of God it means that we are His house, as it is written: “And we are his house” (Hebrews 3:6 – NIV). Note that it is His house and not ours; therefore our members, having been bought at a price by Christ, do not belong to us any longer. We are His treasured possession, we don’t belong to ourselves; for this reason we can’t use our members to do whatever we like, because they are Christ’s. Fornicators sin against their own body, and therefore they profane the temple of God; that’s why the Scripture states that they will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9).

Fornicators are punished by God as were those Israelites who committed fornication with the daughters of Moab (Numbers 25:1-9). Paul warns the saints against fornication, reminding them of that disobedience of the Israelites, when he says: “Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand” (1 Corinthians 10:8).

We must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is a fornicator, with such a man we must not even eat (1 Corinthians 5:9-11).

Adultery

Adultery is the sexual intercourse that a married man or a married woman has outside marriage. For instance, if a married man lies carnally with his neighbor’s wife he commits adultery. Adultery is commonly called ‘extramarital affair’

The Scripture condemns adultery in various ways, for the law says: “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14 - NKJV), and again: “The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death” (Leviticus 20:10 – NKJV). Notice that, according to the law (therefore according to the righteous judgement of God), those who commit adultery deserve death.

Jesus Christ completed the commandment of the law concerning adultery, for He said: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).

The Lord Jesus said also: “Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery” (Luke 16:18). As you can see, both he who sends away his wife and marries another and he who marries her who is sent away from her husband commit adultery. Furthermore, if a woman sends away her husband and marries another, she commits adultery, as it is written: “And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery” (Mark 10:12), because the married woman is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives; therefore she can remarry only if her husband dies. Paul explains this when he says to the Romans: “For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man” (Romans 7:2-3). For this reason those brothers and sisters who were called by God while they were divorced or separated cannot remarry as long as their partners live, because if they remarry they commit adultery. Therefore, beware of all those who teach that a divorced brother is allowed to remarry while his wife is still alive, and that if a brother sends away his wife for fornication (that is, for marital infidelity) he can remarry, because they lie against the truth and through their lies they encourage some believers to commit adultery.

The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews says: “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral” (Hebrews 13:4 – NIV), and Wisdom says that no one who touches another man’s wife will go unpunished (Proverbs 6:29). This means that those who defile themselves with their neighbor’s wife are punished by God. Do not be deceived, therefore; don’t be deceived by those who say, in order ‘to tranquillize’ those who want to marry their neighbor’s wife, that even David, who was a man after God’s heart, committed adultery and then he was forgiven by God! Because even though David was forgiven by God, he was also punished by God because of his adultery with Bath-Sheba, for God, through the prophet Nathan, pronounced these judgements on David: “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun …. because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.” (2 Samuel 12:10-12, 14), and after a while He executed them, just as He had said.

The book of Proverbs exhorts us to flee the immoral woman and contains many words which show what awaits all those who lie carnally with their neighbour’s wife. I want to quote these words that you may understand how harmful and dangerous is to lie carnally with another man’s wife. “If thou seekest her [wisdom] as silver, …. understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life” (Proverbs 2:4, 11-19); “For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?” (Proverbs 5:3-20); “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts” (Proverbs 6:23-35); “Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words. For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death” (Proverbs 7:4-27)

However, whereas, according to the wisdom of God, adultery must be avoided, according to foolishness adultery should be committed, for today there are many who think that they are wise, but actually they are fools, who advise people to commit adultery because they consider adultery beneficial; according to these people adultery has good effects on the married life for it is ‘a means of escape from boredom and routine.’

We live indeed in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, which calls evil good! But we know that foolishness stops its mouth and it is not justified by its actions because its actions are unfruitful works, whose end is death. The facts speaks for themselves: those who commit adultery are unhappy, they live in fear, they are full of all kinds of troubles (some of them have heart troubles, some have contracted venereal diseases, some are blackmailed, some are threatened, some are abused, and some have left the wife of their youth and their children); and many of them are put to death by the husband or the lover of the adulteress and they go in the fire of hell. What shall we say? We have to recognize that the words of the Wisdom of God are true; we see their fulfilment in those who refuse to heed the Word of God.

Therefore, to sum up, both those who are unmarried and those who are married must flee from the immoral woman because she leads men to destruction. Yes, it is true that adultery seems to be an harmless and wonderful act because that’s how the devil makes it appear in the movies and on many worldly magazines, yet know this, that bitterness and death are hidden behind its seeming beauty. It can’t be otherwise, because the Scripture calls adultery sin and says very clearly that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Do not be deceived; do not be deceived by sin! Flee the adulteress, who lies in wait like a robber, even in the place of worship.

Impurity

What is impurity? In the Oxford English Dictionary we read that impurity is ‘a constituent which impairs the purity of something’. Therefore, for instance, if the olive oil contains certain substances it will be called impure. But you must not avoid this kind of impurity, because you can eat an impure olive oil (I mean an olive oil which has been altered with harmless substances). The impurity which you must avoid is something that is able to defile you spiritually and causes you to lose the purity of your heart and of your body. Therefore, you must avoid impure thoughts, impure talks, impure behaviours, impure readings. In other words, you must avoid all kinds of obscenities, any thing which may offend the sense of decency. By so doing you will keep yourselves pure and blameless at the coming of the Lord. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8 - NKJV) said Jesus. Therefore, having this promise (which was made by the Lord), “let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit ….” (2 Corinthians 7:1 – NKJV).