HERE IN THE REAL WORLD

The new job was thought to be a blessing in disguise. All the things they wanted in life could now become a reality. The job started as an eight to five job, with a few nights of extra time, but the over time pay made up for the few extra hours spent. Then, as the days wore on, it seemed that the few minutes extra started being a half hour here and there extra. That quickly turned into hours extra each week. Then it happened that is was several extra hours a day. Finally he bought a laptop computer so he could do some of the work at home. She would go to bed at night before he was finished working, then sometime later he would join her, usually around eleven o’clock. Eleven soon became twelve, which turned into one, which gave way to two and three o’clock. Marital relations suffered to the point of non existence. The stress and strain of the new job was taking its toll on the family. One morning he left his laptop computer home and she turned it on. At first sight all seemed normal, and then came all the bookmarked internet porn. The hours of supposedly working were nothing more than feeding an internet porn habit: Surfing through the endless ever deepening streams of sin.
In the August 2000 issue of CHRISTIANITY TODAY[1] it was reported that 33% of the clergy and 36% of the laity have visited internet porn sites. Of those figures 53% of the clergy and 44% of the laity said they visited porn sites a few times in the last year. Eighteen percent of the clergy reported that they visit porn sites between a couple of times a month to more than once a week.
Pornography is not something that is hard to find. Hollywood produces 400 movies a year, compared with 700 pornographic movies made each month[2]. A misspelled word in typing a URL can lead you to all types of ungodly images. I very innocently typed in a URL of a government office once, unaware that the “dot com” was “dot gov,” I did not surf to a very innocent web site.
Doctors have said it is a sickness, an addiction. Be it by the man next door, the paperboy, the teacher or the clergyman, the Bible says it is sin: “Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor abusers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians. 6:10-11). For the married man his sexual sin amounts to adultery.
Jesus taught that it was adultery not just for a person to physically be with someone other than his/her spouse, but the act of looking with a lustful eye constituted adultery: “But I say to you that whoever looks on a woman with a lustful eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). The lust that once was confined to the darkened corners of shady bookstores or theaters in the seedy parts of town is now in the open. No longer are the days of slipping around and sneaking; here are the days of sin being brought into your homes via every form of media.
What God has called sin has become known as sickness today for those who fall into its deepest clutches. Marriages are strained and even break up due to the evil grip of sexually sin. Normal relations between husband and wife are often withheld due to artificial relations with spouse and cyber mater. Paul said in his epistle to the Romans, “Flee sexual immorality” (Romans 6:18). To combat sexual immorality, Paul went on to write to the Romans, “Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband” (Romans 7:2). Yet, today it is that remedy for sexual immorality that often finds itself hurt by the friendly fire of an immoral spouse.
To husbands and wives Paul wrote “Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer” (Romans 7:5). The sad situation that exists today is many spouses are being deprived because of graphic images that exist not in the shady parts of town, but on the computer screens of the workplace or in the comfort of their own home. In these instances self gratification has replaced normal spousal relations. Paul not only gave a warning, but he gave a reason for that warning: “so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control” (Romans 7:5b).
The temptation itself is not sin. James wrote “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials” (James 1:2). Brothers and sisters we will be tempted. Today it seems the temptations are more plentiful than ever before. James went on to say, “each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed” (James 1:14). When we allow our self control to turn from God to immoral temptations sin is conceived. When an immoral web site pops up we have two choices; 1. We can stand on the Word of God and click the link off, or 2. We can allow sin to be conceived and follow the link into the fertility clinic of Hell.
Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are, yet was found to be sinless (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus stood on the Word of God. In Matthew chapter 4 Jesus was tempted three times. Jesus combated each temptation with scripture. He gave us an example to follow.
We have to go back and again call the things that are an abomination to God sin. Diabetes is a sickness, pornography is sin. If we stand on the Word of God we can overcome temptation. Without the Word of God we become the proud parents of sin. Without the word of God we stop natural relations with a spouse in favor of immoral relations between ourselves and the images on our computer screens. Without the Word of God natural relations between a parent and child suffer as they are replaced by the relations of the parent and its new bouncy baby sin. Without the Word of God this new baby, sin, will be fostered and grown until it engulfs the life of its parent. It becomes the whole focus of its parent’s world.
People, statistics have shown that pornography is not limited to those outside the church. Nor is it limited in the church to just the lay people. The word of God shows something that the statistics don’t show. It shows that we can escape that life of sexual immorality. First John 1:9 tells us that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Through the power of His Word we can repent of all unrighteousness. No one can repent for us; we have to do it ourselves. We have all the tools. If sexual immorality was in fact a sickness, we have the medical cure: The Word of God. The Word of God is the remedy for sin.
How will you react when the next “pop up” passes gets through your pop up stopper? What will you do with the next explicit email that passes through your spam filter? Will you follow the link when you accidentally type “dot com” instead of “dot gov?” It’s your choice. Remember God used the word “Whosoever” (John 3:16). The Word whosoever gives you a choice of which link you click!

Bobby Cohoon
North Carolina, USA
Little_sorrel@yahoo.com
[1] http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/page/literature.sermons.T507.HTM
[2] http://home.hiwaay.net/~contendr/1-2004.html

The courtroom was crowded as the judge took his seat. A deathly silence came over the crowd as the prosecuting attorney, Lou Sypher, stood preparing to read the charges against the accused. “Your honor,” he said, “This list is quite extensive, and it could last for days. Anyone one of these charges could send the accused man to death.” He unfolded a long list, which seemed it could have lasted a lifetime and began to read. After several hours he asked the judge, “Do you wish that I continue? I mean, you must understand he has pleaded guilty.” The judge looked towards the accused man and said he would return with a verdict shortly. After a few minutes of anticipation, one in which the courtroom was guessing and playing “arm chair” judge, the judge reentered the courtroom. As he looked towards the condemned man he asked, “Is there anything you would like to say?” The accused man could hold it in no longer as he stood and shouted, “It’s me Dad; it’s me!”

The judge smiled as he looked at the man and said, “Yes, It is you.” Turning towards the prosecuting attorney, the judge again spoke, “Mr. Lou Sypher, I dismiss all charges against this man. Yes, he was guilty of each one. But, I sent my son Jesus to die as a sacrifice for every sin this man as committed. My son, who was without sin, took on each and every sin of this man. This man came to me through my son, he asked forgiveness. His sins were forgiven. You see sir; my son’s death was a propitiation for this mans sins.” Turning back to the accused man he said, “Go and sin no more.”

Mercy Seat

In Exodus 25:17, God instructed Aaron to build a “mercy seat.” It was to be made of pure gold, and placed on top of the ark. Exodus 37:6 tells us, “He also made the mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits was its length and a cubit and a half its width.” The purpose of this mercy seat was once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the priest would enter in order to sprinkle the blood of a sacrificed animal on the seat for the atonement of sins. Every year sacrifices were made and the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat. But, this system had one flaw: the law led to death. In writing to the Romans, the apostle Paul wrote, “For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death” (Romans 7:5).

The law had no life in it; it only led to death. Paul wrote, “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.” (Romans 7:9-10). Without the law the mercy seat would have remained spotless. However, with the law it stayed blood stained.

We no longer live under that Old Covenant of sacrifices. With the death and resurrection Jesus Christ, the mercy seat changed. No longer was there a need to sacrifice animals on the mercy seat. The mercy seat was changed to a throne of mercy. Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice that allows us to approach the throne of mercy.

Revelation 20:11, talks about the “White Throne”: “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.” In The following verses we learn that this is the throne of God, the throne of His judgment. “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books” (Revelation 20:11b-12). We will all approach that throne on the last day. But, for the believers we approach that throne when we are saved.

Ephesians 2:8 reads, “by grace you have been saved through faith.” With that grace we also obtain mercy. Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” The same throne that we obtained that saving grace from, is where obtain mercy. Mercy comes from faith, for we are saved by grace through faith. We no longer stand in the coldness of a dead law full of animal sacrifices. Through the death and resurrection of the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, we stand in the warmth and love of the mercy and grace of God the Father.

Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection provides us a path to the throne of mercy. Jesus was sent “to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Through faith we obtain the grace of God, and that faith comes through hearing the word of God. Paul wrote to the Romans, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). We then believe: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). The next step is to repent of our sins. Speaking to the group gathered at Mars Hill, Paul said, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained” (Acts 17:30-31). To approach the throne of mercy one has to also confess Jesus as Lord. Paul wrote to the Romans “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9-10). We must also be baptized to approach the throne of mercy. “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? (Romans 6:3). Paul continues this by writing, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Being buried with him through baptism, when we are raised to walk in the newness of life we have been granted grace and mercy from the throne of God. Grace and mercy go hand in hand. The throne of mercy is the throne of grace. And, seated on the throne is God.

Bobby Cohoon

North Carolina, USA

little_sorrel@yahoo.com