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My niece recently started high school. As any parent of teenagers knows, romance is always in the air. These little bundles of hormones are at constant battle with sin, and very few will win. True Christian™ parents help their children by showing them the value of arming themselves with the Word of God so they are ready to fight the good fight (Ephesians 6:10-18). And a fight it is. Let's face it, "romance" is just another word for "lust." "Romance" is naught but a fabricated concept the liberals created to get kids hooked on sex. It started with Jane Austen and her heaving bosom story, Sense and Sensibility, and we've only seen it go downhill from there. My poor niece has no idea. My sister voted for Obama - twice - if that gives you any indication of what my dear niece is up against.
I told my sister as much in a recent email exchange. I illustrated to her how the Bible shows us that lust is a shameful sin, a kind of crime of the mind that should be punished brutally and thoroughly. It is a devastating fire that seeks to destroy everything one holds dear (Job 31:11-12). Lust, or "romance" as it is called by liberals, is about instant gratification and selfishness. It is the kind of sin that God can see and punish you for harboring in your heart, whether or not your body acts on it (Matthew 5:27-28). True Christians live a selfless life marked by holy living, as commanded by Christ Himself (1 Peter 1:15-16). As she was talking about having a "crush" on a boy, the nature and function of marriage naturally came up. I explained how there is clearly no room for the unholy concept of "romance" in the True Christian™ marriage. Because True Christian™ marriages are proven to be the most stable marriage in existence, it's important for her to be well educated, even if her own mother is negligent in the matter.
I explained to her holy matrimony was created for God's Glory. The LORD invented the institution of marriage, creating one flesh out of two (Genesis 2:24), so long as the flesh are taken from one man and one woman (Leviticus 20:13) of the same race and ethnic background (Ezra 9:1-10:44). This is for the man's own good, for a man who is constantly distracted with unmet needs of the flesh will be deaf to the promptings of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:7). This is for the woman's own good, for childbirth is integral for her Salvation (1 Timothy 2:15), as long as she's not a liar, coward, or slut (Revelation 21:8). This is for the nation's own good, as the LORD will completely ignore the needs of a land of sinners (2 Chronicles 7:14). Ultimately, however, this is for the Glory of God, as all things are (1 Corinthians 10:31).
After this exchange, I prayed and bathed in the Word, and I wondered how can we responsible parents can help our own children from falling into the modern trap of looking for romantic love. The answer, the Holy Ghost answered me, starts with teaching our children the different kinds of "love" God created for our good. The Bible does not refer to romantic love, so it couldn't be all that important anyway. But the Bible does refer to agape and phileo as divinely approved kinds of love. Agape love is sacrificial love. It is the love Jesus demonstrates when He temporarily inconvenienced Himself for those whom He knew would respond appropriately. I recalled Pastor Zeke sharing a sermon on this very topic. This love requires a relationship with Christ, for only through the Holy Ghost can we achieve this standard (Galatians 5:22-23). It is why non believers cannot truly love, even if they do nice things, even if they feel loving. It's not real. It's an illusion. It's actually pretty selfish, but they will know well enough how they rejected the perfect love of Christ and sought instead to appease the desires of their own hearts when the flames of hell tickle those deformed hearts and remind them again and again the Divine Love they had rejected when they had the chance to do the right thing and not be so mean to the Baby Jesus and spit in His eye with their sinful ways and selfish "altruism" and giving to Oxfam and Amnesty International, and Greenpeace and crap like that. But I digress.
Another kind of love the Bible refers to is called phileo love. It is considered "brotherly love." As Pastor Sampson explains, it is what makes us love our Brothers and Sisters in Christ as commanded by Christ, in such a deep and profound way that can never be extended to non believers. You might think of it like the difference between loving your first Bible Group Leader, the man who read with you the Words of the Bible long hours into the night without concern for the time, or what people might think, holding your hand or comforting you when tears of repentance were bottled up inside for too long, knowing that only a physical release of such emotion could unblock the mental and spiritual burdens that had oppressed you body and mind for so long that it might feel like you're loosing your mind but he never did judge you and he never did laugh at your fears or your dreams or your hopes or what you really wanted out of life and why you were afraid to try and get it and he only did whisper touching words of affirmation and support and communicated his sincere feelings in verbal and non verbal ways that you'll never forget as long as you live, vs loving your dog. Only one love is strong, means something, can be reciprocated. The other is merely endorphins than are released by the brain when petting something furry and cute.
Marriage is a union of agape and phileo love, created by God, returned to Him through the institution of marriage. It is not, and never has been, about romance (to those ready to object, citing Song of Solomon, I would implore you to read it in context). In a Godly marriage, the LORD is worshiped by honoring the husband in the home. In the same way we honor the LORD by giving His due (Ecclesiastes 12:13), the wife honors the husband by giving his due (Colossians 3:18). The Godly wife honors the LORD by being open to His blessings (Genesis 1:28), providing fertile ground for her husband's seed (Psalm 127:3-5), and knows how to stay out of a fight (Deuteronomy 25:11). It is ALL about God. In the same way we don't lust after God in a sexual way, we don't lust after our spouses in a sexual way. Mr. Etheldreda honors me by suppressing any ounce of lust he might otherwise naturally feel for me. Our marital union is devoid of all sin, including lust, so that the LORD alone may be Glorified.
My sister isn't talking to me and her children have been told not to respond to my emails or phone calls. Still, I will not give up hope. But even if they are lost to eternal torment and experience insufferable torture for all eternity, if one soul is Saved by reading this, then it will all be worth it!
I told my sister as much in a recent email exchange. I illustrated to her how the Bible shows us that lust is a shameful sin, a kind of crime of the mind that should be punished brutally and thoroughly. It is a devastating fire that seeks to destroy everything one holds dear (Job 31:11-12). Lust, or "romance" as it is called by liberals, is about instant gratification and selfishness. It is the kind of sin that God can see and punish you for harboring in your heart, whether or not your body acts on it (Matthew 5:27-28). True Christians live a selfless life marked by holy living, as commanded by Christ Himself (1 Peter 1:15-16). As she was talking about having a "crush" on a boy, the nature and function of marriage naturally came up. I explained how there is clearly no room for the unholy concept of "romance" in the True Christian™ marriage. Because True Christian™ marriages are proven to be the most stable marriage in existence, it's important for her to be well educated, even if her own mother is negligent in the matter.
I explained to her holy matrimony was created for God's Glory. The LORD invented the institution of marriage, creating one flesh out of two (Genesis 2:24), so long as the flesh are taken from one man and one woman (Leviticus 20:13) of the same race and ethnic background (Ezra 9:1-10:44). This is for the man's own good, for a man who is constantly distracted with unmet needs of the flesh will be deaf to the promptings of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:7). This is for the woman's own good, for childbirth is integral for her Salvation (1 Timothy 2:15), as long as she's not a liar, coward, or slut (Revelation 21:8). This is for the nation's own good, as the LORD will completely ignore the needs of a land of sinners (2 Chronicles 7:14). Ultimately, however, this is for the Glory of God, as all things are (1 Corinthians 10:31).
After this exchange, I prayed and bathed in the Word, and I wondered how can we responsible parents can help our own children from falling into the modern trap of looking for romantic love. The answer, the Holy Ghost answered me, starts with teaching our children the different kinds of "love" God created for our good. The Bible does not refer to romantic love, so it couldn't be all that important anyway. But the Bible does refer to agape and phileo as divinely approved kinds of love. Agape love is sacrificial love. It is the love Jesus demonstrates when He temporarily inconvenienced Himself for those whom He knew would respond appropriately. I recalled Pastor Zeke sharing a sermon on this very topic. This love requires a relationship with Christ, for only through the Holy Ghost can we achieve this standard (Galatians 5:22-23). It is why non believers cannot truly love, even if they do nice things, even if they feel loving. It's not real. It's an illusion. It's actually pretty selfish, but they will know well enough how they rejected the perfect love of Christ and sought instead to appease the desires of their own hearts when the flames of hell tickle those deformed hearts and remind them again and again the Divine Love they had rejected when they had the chance to do the right thing and not be so mean to the Baby Jesus and spit in His eye with their sinful ways and selfish "altruism" and giving to Oxfam and Amnesty International, and Greenpeace and crap like that. But I digress.
Another kind of love the Bible refers to is called phileo love. It is considered "brotherly love." As Pastor Sampson explains, it is what makes us love our Brothers and Sisters in Christ as commanded by Christ, in such a deep and profound way that can never be extended to non believers. You might think of it like the difference between loving your first Bible Group Leader, the man who read with you the Words of the Bible long hours into the night without concern for the time, or what people might think, holding your hand or comforting you when tears of repentance were bottled up inside for too long, knowing that only a physical release of such emotion could unblock the mental and spiritual burdens that had oppressed you body and mind for so long that it might feel like you're loosing your mind but he never did judge you and he never did laugh at your fears or your dreams or your hopes or what you really wanted out of life and why you were afraid to try and get it and he only did whisper touching words of affirmation and support and communicated his sincere feelings in verbal and non verbal ways that you'll never forget as long as you live, vs loving your dog. Only one love is strong, means something, can be reciprocated. The other is merely endorphins than are released by the brain when petting something furry and cute.
Marriage is a union of agape and phileo love, created by God, returned to Him through the institution of marriage. It is not, and never has been, about romance (to those ready to object, citing Song of Solomon, I would implore you to read it in context). In a Godly marriage, the LORD is worshiped by honoring the husband in the home. In the same way we honor the LORD by giving His due (Ecclesiastes 12:13), the wife honors the husband by giving his due (Colossians 3:18). The Godly wife honors the LORD by being open to His blessings (Genesis 1:28), providing fertile ground for her husband's seed (Psalm 127:3-5), and knows how to stay out of a fight (Deuteronomy 25:11). It is ALL about God. In the same way we don't lust after God in a sexual way, we don't lust after our spouses in a sexual way. Mr. Etheldreda honors me by suppressing any ounce of lust he might otherwise naturally feel for me. Our marital union is devoid of all sin, including lust, so that the LORD alone may be Glorified.
My sister isn't talking to me and her children have been told not to respond to my emails or phone calls. Still, I will not give up hope. But even if they are lost to eternal torment and experience insufferable torture for all eternity, if one soul is Saved by reading this, then it will all be worth it!
shall go to Heaven for following the Bible to the letter. It doesn't matter how many similarities you can find between your false religion and True Christianity(tm) because if you don't follow Jesus, you will burn in Hell for all eternity.
1 Corinthians 7:1
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