Email quoted:
Hi there XXXXX,
this is Alias Svensson. We met on the chat
tuesday night, but I had to run all of a sudden 'cause my bus was
coming... hey, I arrived to the bus-stop in the very right second!!
Well, i printed down your email-address just before running away, and
here's my email to you. I hope you understand my quite stumbeling
english (you know i'm swedish), and I hope I picked the very right
words... I'm gonna quote the Scripture in this email (hadn't the time to
do it tuesday night), hope you don't mind, and hope you do not "judge"
me as some kind of silly guy quoting the Scripture, not worth listening
to. I do it because I belive in the Word of God.
We talked about what marriage is, and what the catholic church says about marriage, and I was going to say what I have found Jesus & his apostles says about marriage...
You wrote (something like): "I'm a christian too, but i don't think it's a sin being together with another person - as if married - without being married. I don't have to listen to what the catholic church tells me to do."
I wrote (something like): "As a christian you don't have to listen to what the catholic church teach you, but you have to listen to what Jesus and his apostles said".
You wrote: "They don't say: you wont go to heaven if you live like that".
I wrote (in swedish): "They do say that ...almost literally". Then I had to run.
I know that many people today don't care about what the God of the Bible say, that many people sort of "write their own laws". It seems as if the only laws they belive in and care about is the "social laws", or the conventions. "What other people do - I do too. What other people accept - I accept too. What other people do not accept - I do not accept either".
It seems as if people think God will change his ways just because people (the society) does. The Bible teaches he wont: "I the Lord do not change" (Malachi 3:6). Jesus said: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Phariseesm ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Math. 5:17-20).
The apostle Paul wrote: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolators, 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 washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor. 6:9-11).
He wrote in another epistle: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleaness, lasciviousness...(etc.)...and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." (Gal. 5:19-21. See also Eph. 5:3-7).
"Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband." (1 Cor. 7:2. Compare 1 Cor. 7:8-9).
There are other passages in the Bible about fornication, for example: Acts 15:20; 1 Cor. 6:13; 6:18; 10:8; 1 Thess. 4:2-8.
God ordained wedlock in the beginning (Genesis 2:24) - Jesus quotes this passage in Math. 19:4-12. Wedlock isn't some kind of human invention, but an ordinance by God in the beginning. We can't just choose to go our own ways concerning this as christians. It is sin.
In the Ten commandments it is written: "You shall not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14). See also Math. 5:27-32; Romans 7:2-3; 1 Cor. 7:5.
It is meant that people should live together in marriage. In the Bible it's a normal thing (today people do as they like), you can't find people in the Bible living together - as if married - without being married. Those who did that were considered as living in sin.
Modern people are far away from God and from Gods commandments, this world is truly secular - even christians may be confused by this. But we must listen to the Word of God (the Bible) instead of humans and human thoughts: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word" (Pss. 119:9). See also Mark. 7:6-8; Eph. 5:6-7; 2 Cor. 10:4-5 etc.
I believe in the gospel, I believe in the grace of God. I believe in Gods love & forgiveness.
I believe that Jesus is God who became human, that he is the true Son of God and the savior of the whole world, for every one who believes in him.
I believe in what is written... "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brough us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isa. 53:5-6).
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Gal. 3:13-14).
But Jesus didn't bought us free that we might live in sin (Romans 6:1-23).
"I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." (John 12:46-48).
If the church teach what the Word of God teach, we must listen to the church. When they do not, we must listen to the Word of God instead of the church. Jesus said: "Verily verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." (John 13:20).
Those were the verses I wanted to give you tuesday night.
If you have any thoughts or comments on this, or just want to write, I would be glad if you did.
Alias Svensson