Dear brethren in Christ,
Peace and grace be upon you all from the God of peace, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise be to the Lord forevermore, for by His Grace He sustains us daily, that we may be delivered from our temptations and resist sin, putting to death the deeds of the flesh daily, laying upon ourselves the crosses that we should carry and yielding ourselves to the leading of the Spirit of God.
It has been my concern that there may be certain brethren that still hold the opinion that we have the grace of God and thus it is ok to immerge ourselves in things that can potentially cause us to stumble through temptations. This, I must say, is dangerous and ruinous to a Christian, and must be corrected.
Our Lord did not teach that we can expose ourselves to things that tempt us willingly, but rather He said:
Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. (Matthew 18:8-9)
The Lord commanded us to cut off the source of stumbling, especially when it is in our power to do so, so that we cause no one to stumble by our indulgence. If watching the TV causes us to stumble, we muct stop watching it altogether. If going to the cinema causes us to stumble, never go there again. This is the command of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Do not be deceived, my brethren, and think it is ok to go to places of stumbling simple because you have the grace of God. No, by doing such a thing and exposing yourself to temptations willingly, you tempt God by abusing His grace. His grace will sustain you, but only under circumstances where you could not avoid a temptation that comes your way. Anything beyond this is not lawful, and should not be done by anyone who truly loves the Lord.
May the God of peace search your hearts and bring you all into the true light. Amen.
blessedbeour’ElYahweh 