Ask him to bring to your mind anything that displeases God, then confess what comes to your thoughts.
This is why we need to begin every day by submitting to the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Then desire “gives birth to sin” and “sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (v. The person being tempted believes the tempter’s lies (Genesis 3:4–5) and is “enticed by his own desire” (James 1:14). When we deal with repetitive temptations, our moral sensitivity can grow dull and our objections weaken.
Yesterday we introduced the concept of “besetting” sins, defined as sins “we continually struggle with and have a weakness toward.” What are some practical ways to gain victory over them? Let’s consider today’s news in reverse order.įirst, to counter Satan’s spiritual euphemisms, we need to pray for the wisdom to recognize sin as sin. Who isn’t for “positivity,” “choice,” “dignity,” and “equality”? Euphemisms can be powerfully persuasive, whether they are accurate or not. But her use of “sex positivity” to describe her position aligns with “pro-choice,” “death with dignity,” and “marriage equality” as recent additions to our cultural vernacular.Įach frames its issue in a way that resonates emotionally. Of course, the writer could not be more wrong from a biblical perspective. The writer cites aberrant theologians and ministers, many of whom are gay, to undergird her claim that the ethic limiting sex to a married heterosexual couple is less biblical than Puritan.
This headline in the Washington Post is a harbinger of our moral future: “These Christian leaders embraced sex positivity-and now preach it.” The article reveals the latest cultural euphemism, using “sex positivity” to refer to “the belief that all forms of sexual expression between consenting adults are permissible and should be destigmatized.” Despite widespread outrage, the college insists that pornography is “an art form that requires serious contemplation.” Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, is refusing to cancel an elective class where students will watch hardcore porn together. I hope the Supreme Court agrees.” The latest euphemism for immorality “I just want to be back on the field with my guys, building a team to accomplish a mission. That doesn’t seem like the Constitution I fought for in the Marine Corps. By contrast, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Coach Kennedy explained his position and the stakes involved: “Unless the US Supreme Court rules in my favor, teachers could be fired for praying over their lunch in the cafeteria if students can see them.
Yesterday, First Liberty defended Coach Kennedy before the US Supreme Court.Ĭritics allege that the prayers were public, not private, and that the coach was acting coercively in his professional capacity. He refused to stop and was placed on leave the school district did not rehire him for the following season. His post-game prayer continued for several years, but, in 2015, Bremerton’s athletic director told Kennedy his prayers were against the rules. After a few games, some of his players asked to join him. Soon after, he began kneeling to pray at the fifty-yard line after each game. Kennedy was hired in 2008 as assistant football coach for the varsity and head coach of the junior varsity squad at Bremerton High School near Seattle, Washington. While the headlines were focusing on Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter yesterday for $44 billion, an event involving a high school football coach could affect the future of religious liberty in America.įollowing a twenty-year career in the Marine Corps, Joseph A.