At the same time, Christ hates self-righteousness, hard-heartedness and unkindness. He condemned the smug bunch of Pharisees who were looking down their noses at an adulterous woman - and then he rebuked the woman, 'Go, and do not sin again.' John 8:11.
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| Christ and fhe Adulterous Woman (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The lesson of this story is clear. Christ hates both sorts of sin: the hidden sins of the heart, like the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and the more obvious sins, like the adultery of the woman.
So we must constantly fight against 'internal' sins, like pride, and covetousness, and unclean thoughts; but we must fight equally hard against the 'external' sins, like cheating the income tax man, gluttony, and lying our way out of a scrape.
But this is only the negative side of Christian behaviour - the 'thou shalt nots'. Equally important, maybe even more important, are the positive traits listed in Galatians 5:22-23. 'The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.'"
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Brother Alan Hayward
Great News for the World
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2013 update:
