Staff Writer - Carol Cato
Deborah is a believer and Stephen is not too sure if he believes there is a God, their conversation continues.
Stephen: “Christianity oppresses women by making them submit to their husbands!”
Deborah: The Bible does say, “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it.” A man who understands that Jesus Christ gave His life’s blood for the Church will love his wife with passion. He will honour her, respect her, protect, love and cherish her as much as he does his own body. He will never say or do anything to harm or demean her. It is in this atmosphere of love and security that a godly wife willingly submits herself to the protective arms of her husband. She does this not because he is better than she is, rather, simply because this is God’s order for His creation.
Stephen: “Didn’t men write the Bible?”
Deborah: “Yes. When you write a letter, do you write the letter, or does the pen? Obviously you do. The pen is merely the instrument you use. God used men as instruments to write His “letter” to humanity. The authors of the books in the Bible came from nineteen different occupations which included a soldier, Egyptian prince, housewife, priest, king, queen, rich farmer, poor farmer, scribe, prophets, prime minister’s cupbearer, tax collector, evangelist, physician, wealthy fisherman, poor fisherman, carpenters, and a tent maker. Proof that this Book is supernatural can be seen with a quick study of its prophecies”.
Stephen: “The church is full of hypocrites.”
Deborah: “Hypocrites may show up at a church building every Sunday, but there are no hypocrites in the Church (Christ’s body). Hypocrite comes from the Greek word for “actor,” or pretender. Hypocrisy is “the practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold.” The Church is made up of true believers; hypocrites are “pretenders” who sit among God’s people. God knows those who love Him, and the Bible warns that He will sort out the true from the false on the Day of Judgment”.
Stephen: “I’ve tried to read the Bible, but I can’t understand it.”
Deborah: “The Scriptures tell us that the “natural man” cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God. Most people find it difficult to understand Spanish. However, a child who is born into a Spanish family can understand every word. That’s why you must be born again John 3:3. The moment you become part of God’s family, the Bible will begin to make sense”.
Stephen: “Why do Christians think sex is sin”?
Deborah: “People concentrate too much on the “recreation” aspect of sex and not on procreation. Sex within marriage is pleasurable, and God designed it that way. God wants men and women to enjoy sexual activity within the confines of marriage. Song of Solomon and several other Bible passages such as Proverbs 5:19 clearly describe the pleasure of sex. However, the couple must understand that God’s intent for sex includes producing children. For a couple to engage in sex before marriage is wrong, they are enjoying pleasures not intended for them, and they are taking a chance of creating a human life outside of the family structure God intended for every child.
If the Bible’s message on sex before marriage were obeyed, there would be far fewer sexually transmitted diseases, far fewer abortions, far fewer single mothers and unwanted pregnancies, and far fewer children growing up without both parents in their lives. Abstinence is God’s only policy when it comes to sex before marriage. Abstinence saves lives, protects babies, gives sexual relations the proper value, and, most importantly, honours God.
Photo courtesy tillhecomes.org
Stephen: “Are you saying that unplanned pregnancy is a mistake in God’s eyes”
Deborah: “NO” In Psalm 139:15-16, You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
“The act of sex outside of marriage is the sin not the child.
God planned every little detail about us. Every birth is no mistake. Your parents may not have planned your birth, but God did. He was not at all surprised by your birth. In fact, he expected it. Long before we were thought of or conceived by our parents, we were conceived in the mind of God. He thought of us first. It is not fate, nor chance, nor luck, nor coincidence that we are breathing at this very moment”.
Stephen: “Christian’s say God speaks to them”.
Deborah: “The Bible records God speaking audibly to people many times 2 Samuel 2:1, Joshua 1:1. God speaking audibly is the exception, not the rule. Even in the biblically recorded instances of God speaking, it is not always clear whether it was an audible voice, an inner voice, or a mental impression.
God speaks through impressions, events, and thoughts. God helps us to discern right from wrong through our consciences 1 Timothy 1:5. God is in the process of conforming our minds to think His thoughts Romans 12:2. God allows events to occur in our lives to direct us, change us, and help us to grow spiritually James 1:2-5
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