Monkey See, Monkey Do

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Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

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No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the

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Apostle Paul said, "...but we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you."

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In short, if you like smooth, watered -down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you.

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By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we're called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her

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King. Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Okay, for the third time, welcome to No Compromise Radio ministry.

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I know you didn't hear the first time or the second time, because I had to re -record over them because they were quite bad, muy mal.

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Monkey see, monkey do. Remember that? Today on No Compromise Radio, we're going to look at that very important principle, monkey see, monkey do.

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And I quote Singapore Associated Press, "...people

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in straight -laced Singapore were urged Monday to act like monkeys."

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The Chinese zodiac sign for the coming lunar year for the sake of their country.

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Now, this was written a few years ago, by the way. Singaporeans could foster an economic recovery this year by behaving more like monkeys,

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Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan said in a Lunar New Year message reported in the

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Straits Times newspaper. Chinese communities around the world will herald the start of the

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Year of the Monkey on Thursday. Chinese believe the monkey is clever, flexible, innovative, and confident, but can also be selfish, jealous, and vain.

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Be like a monkey. When things happen, you have to be nimble. Take advantage of opportunities.

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Don't be cast down, but rise to the challenge if it does occur. Tan was quoted as saying.

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Is that Tan? Is this Tony Tan or is that Oranga Tan? Finally, I get someone who takes monkey see, monkey do literally.

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Imitate monkeys. Well, I guess that's a whole new twist on anthropomorphic, anthropopathic, popathic.

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Easy for me to say. Sayings. Well, today on No Compromise Radio, I'd like to discuss a topic that is related to that.

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That was all introduction. That was just all wake up, smell the coffee, get the peach brewing.

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Be imitators of God. Is that in the Bible? Be imitators of God.

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Imitate God. That's kind of crazy, isn't it? Just think about it. Here's a command. Be imitators of God.

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Sounds crazy. Sounds impossible. Could there be a higher standard?

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Imitate your father. Imitate the president. Imitate your neighbor. Imitate Billy Graham.

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How about imitate God? Alexander McLaren called that the sum of all duty.

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I'd like to sum up everything. Okay, imitate God. Martyn Lloyd -Jones said this was

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Paul's supreme argument, and in fact, it is a Bible verse. Ephesians 5, verse 1, therefore, be imitators of God.

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Here and only here, imitate God. Literally, the Greek would translate something like this, therefore, become imitators of God as beloved children.

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Now, Paul has said in 1 Corinthians 4, be imitators of me. He has said in 1

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Corinthians 11, be imitators of me just as I also am of Christ.

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He has said in 1 Thessalonians 1, 6, you also became imitators of us and of the

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Lord. But here now, become imitators of God. Now, of course, this is following some great triumphant indicatives, to use

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Gresham Machen's terminology, from Ephesians 1, 2, and 3, and of course, there's some in 4 as well, and 5 and 6.

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This is not moralism. This is not be good, do good. In light of who you are in Christ, remember, that's really the theme of Ephesians, in Christ, in Christ, in the beloved, in him, spiritual union with Christ.

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Since you are in Christ, then live out who you are. That's the point, just to make sure you don't think that I am teaching something out not to teach.

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It does say, become imitators of God. Martin Lloyd -Jones says in his excellent commentary series in Ephesians, on Ephesians, more than one volume, we are to mimic

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God. Is this possible? Is not this gross exaggeration?

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Has not the apostle run away with himself and allowed his eloquence to dazzle him? Is he seriously asking men and women like ourselves, living in a world like this, surrounded by temptations, harassed by the devil, with sin and evil and unworthiness within us, to be imitators of God?

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Is it possible? Now some other Bible translations aren't so good,

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TEV, try to be like God, Godspeed version, follow God's example, be followers of God, the authorized version.

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But the idea is to mimic, to mime, it's where we get the word pantomime or mimeograph.

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The thought is to copy exactly. See something,

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I don't mean you see something, have you ever Xeroxed your face? I remember when copy machines first came out and we would

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Xerox our faces and I remember some of the beard prickles, exact representation, complete with facial oil on the $5 ,000 machine.

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Here Paul says, with a process, become, it's an imperative, become imitators.

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Copy God, a present middle imperative, second person plural, ye all, implying a process, growing over time, not something that you get overnight.

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Here in the only place in the New Testament we're told to imitate God, be a copycat, copy

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God. He's not telling the church to live a good life, to do better, to try harder, to sweat more.

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He's saying to copy God. Now what he goes on to say gives us a clue into why

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Paul would say such a thing and how we could go about doing what Paul says, through the

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Spirit's inspiration, to do. As beloved children, there's something there that helps us, isn't it?

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Isn't there? Growing up like his father, the young son wants to copy the father and I know that all too well because I was a son and I'm now a father and a son likes to copy the dad and that's what

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I would want to do, the good things and the bad things. And so the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, now does it?

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And so I see in my son some excellent things that he's copied and some things that aren't so good.

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The first one is to the glory of God and His grace. The last one is all my fault and of course his fault.

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Eager to copy the father. And so as beloved children you want to copy the father and live out lives commensurate with who he is.

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We are his children and here we're his beloved children. We're dear to God and he is dear to us.

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One commentator said a child will show himself to be a true child by wanting to grow up like his father, in the same way

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God's precious children will be eager to copy him as he enables them. This was the teaching of Jesus himself.

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So we are God's children if in fact we are Christians, if in fact we are born again, and we are beloved children and we are natural mimics and now he is saying to become more like God.

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Well how does he, why does he say that? What does he mean when he says that? Imitate God?

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I notice that what's not in the text here, it's not 40 days, not 12 steps, not 10 promises.

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Here imitate God. Peter gives us a hint in 1

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Peter chapter 1, be like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior because it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.

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Can you imitate God in every area? Can you in fact do that?

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Well, let's talk about the rest of the time here on No Compromise Radio. You can write us at info at nocompromiseradio .com.

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Pastor Steve has his Tuesday show, Tuesday Guy, now on Saturday, and so it's not on WVNE 760

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AM here locally in Worcester, Massachusetts, but it is on iTunes.

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I don't know if it's in TuneIn Radio or not. It is on Facebook. It is at nocompromiseradio .com.

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Special edition on Saturdays, and he doesn't have to do it 24 and a half minutes. He can do that if he'd like. I think the first show was 34 minutes, and so this is the extended thing.

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This is if you are a big giver to No Compromise Radio, then you get the special Saturday show, the full show.

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We're not going to tell you everything unless you give us the cash. No, that's not true. You get the full show, and I was encouraged the other day.

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Somebody said, we'd like to give you money. We can't figure out how. Well, if there is anybody who wants to do that,

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I guess you're going to have to write me too, because if you can get through our firewall, our donation firewall, then it's meant to be that you're supposed to give money to No Compromise Radio.

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Let's take a further look at imitating God. How does that look? Well, let's keep reading.

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That's a good way to do Bible interpretation, is if you keep reading. And walk in love, chapter 5, verse 2,

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Ephesians, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

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Well, one of the best ways you can imitate God is by self -sacrificial giving of yourself, to give yourself sacrificially.

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That's exactly what Jesus did. Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us.

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To walk peripate—oh, is the word? Peripatetic. I think you probably have an idea of what that word is.

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This is what Christ did. He loved us. God is love, and it is God's essence and nature to love and to give.

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He gave himself up for us. Kind of sounds like John 10, Galatians 1,

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Hebrews 9, the supreme example of sacrificial, selfless, not being selfish, giving for sinful people.

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Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends, John 15, 13.

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You want to imitate God? Imitate his selflessness. Galatians 2 .20,

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who loved me and gave himself for me. 1 John 3 .16, we know love by this, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

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He with great love laid down his life for us.

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Who pair us on our behalf for our sake, that great preposition in our place.

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And he did it for God as well, of course, as an offering and a sacrifice to God.

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Here with great sacrificial Old Testament Jewish vocabulary, an offering and a sacrifice.

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His whole life, his death is a sacrifice and offering to God, and it was a fragrant aroma.

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It was a sweet -smelling savor, as I believe the King James translates it.

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This is a love that gives, that pleases God, and it makes you imitate God and mimic

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God, because if you just back up just a little bit in Ephesians 4 .32, and become kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you.

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So he says a way to imitate God is to give. And if you look at Ephesians 4 .32,

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to be kind to one another, to be tenderhearted, moved in your gut to the point that you actually do something about it, to be forgiving people.

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That's what the local church needs for sure, is people who grace each other. That's the Greek word in Ephesians 4 .32.

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Charizomai, to grace, to give a bestowal of graciousness when people don't deserve it.

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Well, how else could you imitate God? If you've been given the command to imitate God, then how do you flesh that out?

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Well, secondly, don't leave any room for selfishness. So, you've got

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God the great giving God, so be a sacrificial giver of yourself. If you want to make that with money too, that's fine.

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If you give yourself, you'll give your money, that's for certain. But here he goes on in verse 3 in Ephesians 5 to say, imitate

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God by getting rid of all selfishness, especially sexual selfishness.

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Love isn't selfish. So, Paul says, do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you as is proper among the saints.

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Now, that is a big difference between the language of verses 1 and 2 and imitating God and giving and love to immorality.

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What a difference a verse makes. Paul is not mincing any words here. He's saying these are some things that you must never do.

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In other words, sexual sin does not imitate

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God. It doesn't walk in love. If you want to imitate God, you're not going to engage in sexual sin because it's exactly opposite of God.

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Sexual sin is selfish, and God is selfless. God is holy.

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Sexual sin is unholy. It's impure. Sexual sin takes.

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Love gives. Sexual sin is indulgent. It's self -centered. It's self -gratifying.

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It's at the expense of other people. It's hurtful. God is not that way.

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He's not talking about marital sex, of course, holy covenant marriage, and in the bounds of that, enjoying each other, husband and wife.

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This is not having anything to do with that. This is immorality, which basically means any form of sexual sin.

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It's a broad term. It's a general term. Any kind of sexual activity outside of marriage.

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It could be aberrant. It could be general. It could be with prostitutes. But it is a selfish thing to do, and it's not imitating

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God. If you're living with your girlfriend, you call yourself a Christian. That's not imitating God. Run. Flee from sexual immorality.

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If you are committing adultery, run. Premarital sexual activity, run. Homosexual activity, run.

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Lust, just mental exercise, pornography, run. Be imitators of God. That sinful sexual thing isn't close to being imitating

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God. I'm not against sex, and neither is God.

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He goes on to say here in verse 3, Any impurity, anything that needs to be cleansed sexually is the context here.

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Anything that's unclean or filthy. The only time it's used generally is when Jesus says in Matthew 23,

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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones, and all uncleanness.

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But all the other times, 10 times, this word impurity has sexual sin associations.

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MacArthur says it refers to immoral thoughts, passions, ideas, fantasies, and every other form of sexual corruption.

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Sounds like to me this is deeds of the flesh, Galatians 5. Immorality, impurity, sensuality.

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And Paul says get rid of all these things because they don't copy God. They don't Xerox God.

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They don't resemble God. They aren't what God does, and they aren't who God is.

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Greed, he says, wanting something that's not yours. Lusting for something that isn't yours, that you're not supposed to have.

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And again here, I think the reference is with sexual desire. Greed, wanting another person.

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Coveting another person when it comes to be in the realm of sexual activity.

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Unrestrained sexual greed, whereby a person assumes that others exist for his or her own gratification.

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Andrew Lincoln Commentary, page 322. And besides not doing these sexual sins because they don't imitate

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God, they don't copy God, they don't Xerox God, they must not even be named among you.

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Let them not even be named. Don't let them exist.

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Don't let them be talked about when it comes to you. Be intolerant.

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Herodias said, one may not speak about what one may not do.

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Don't even let it be named. Don't mention the gods in the

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Old Testament, false gods. That's kind of the language here. Exodus 23. Now concerning everything what

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I have said to you, be on your guard and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.

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Don't even talk about those gods. Psalm 16, verse 4. The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied.

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I shall not pour out their libations of blood, nor shall I take their names upon my lips.

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Ooh, there it switched. Yikes. Christians should be so far removed from sexual immorality, it's not even named among us.

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When you think of the local church, it shouldn't even be thought of. It's not proper. It's not fitting.

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That's the language here. We don't want to be associated with it, as is proper among the saints.

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It's improper. Now you say, well, society says this. What two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own bedroom should be no concern of yours.

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Really? Well, if you call yourself a Christian, it should be a concern of yours. It should be, well,

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God is there. In marriage, it's held in honor, and the marriage bed is undefiled.

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But fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. You want conduct becoming a saint.

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You want conduct that imitates God. You don't conduct unbecoming a saint. Conduct that is the opposite of God, and it doesn't stop here with what we think about and what we do or don't do.

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You imitate God by controlling your tongue, and here the way we talk about sex selfishly is addressed by Paul.

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Ephesians 5, verse 4, and there must be no filthiness and silly talk or coarse jesting which are not fitting.

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This talk about sex that is not proper is sinful, and it's selfish, and it's not like God.

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To talk about things, about sex indecently, wickedly,

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NIV says obscenity, shameful. Silly talk is the next word there.

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Foolish talking in a sexual way, stupid words in a sexual context, gutter mouth, trash talk.

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That's foolish. That's wrong. Don't do that. That's not mimicking God and His holiness.

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Coarse jesting, joking, innuendos, suggestive statements. Turn something on a dime into some sexual innuendo, importing something sexual into anything in life with a double entendre.

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That is not right. Of course don't tell a stereotypical dirty joke, a sex joke, but also using your wit don't turn everything into a sexual conversation.

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If you and your wife want to talk about sex, I'm not against that. If you talk about it in an improper way,

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I would be against that. Say, well,

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I'm not even allowed to tell a joke about something? Well, I don't think you should tell a joke about sex. I think laughing's good.

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I think humor's good. Proverbs 17, 22, a joyful heart is good medicine. Ecclesiastes 3, there is a time to laugh, but there's never a time to copy

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Satan and just run your mouth about sexual things that are wrong.

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Sexual sin and all the sexual gossip I think about when Kobe Bryant was in the news and the tabloid tell -alls, sordid details.

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Don't read that stuff. Be careful of your thought life. Be careful of your mind because from within, out of a heart of men proceeds evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.

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All these things, all these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.

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These things aren't fitting. Human sexuality emphasis weeks at public schools, not fitting.

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Telling the person in a pastoral counseling situation all the nitty -gritty details of your sexual sins and your sexual traumas and all the things that are happening to you,

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I don't think that's good. It's not good for you to say it. It's not good for a pastor to listen. The pastor needs to say, listen, the only thing

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I need to know is that you've been involved in a sexual sin. Now let's talk about what the

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Bible teaches and how we're going to move forward. I don't need to know all the details. I have things in my mind

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I wish people have never told me and they're telling me in some, under the guise of pastoral counseling.

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I don't need to know that. I don't want to know the details. It's not fitting for the saints. It's not like God.

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It's not copying God. Ignorance is bliss when it comes to sexual sin. It's the furthest thing we should think about and talk about.

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Doesn't help if you say I was involved in sexual sin, heterosexual, homosexual, that's as far as I would need to go right there.

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That's it. My name is Mike Abendorth, No Compromise Radio. Become imitators of God. Become imitators of God.

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Be holy as God is holy. Info at NoCompromiseRadio .com. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org

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or by phone at 508 -835 -3400. The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.