Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
This passage of scripture teaches us that we should cast of the works of darkness, and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, but in order for us to avoid fulfilling those lusts or propensities to evil, they must first be identified for what they are. All of us are born with tendencies, some good and some evil, for although the image of God in man has been greatly distorted by sin, yet it has not been completely obliterated, hence the reason why we do manifest pity and kindness as a nation, and as individuals, whenever we get wind of urgent need, or catastrophic disaster, such as what is currently taking place in north and south Carolina.
Then again there are people who have a natural God-given knack for helping others, who go out of their way in self-sacrificing love, to assist the less-fortunate, and the members of society who are disenfranchised. One such woman was Dorcas, who lived to serve others, and was motivated in ways that are not common to most other people. This is the reason why she would sew clothes for the poor, and help those in need from her store, all unprovoked, and not seeking public recognition for her kindly deeds, as is so often the case in our day. Let's read:
Acts 9:36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. 37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died".... 39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.
But we also have evil tendencies that are hereditary or cultivated, and we must identify and address these, as our first passage in Romans states. The sad truth of the matter is that some people are born with a tendency to drink alcoholic beverages, and even more so than others, because there might have been a history of drinking in their family tree, thus as they came out of the womb and grew, they naturally took to drinking, with little encouragement or prompting as might otherwise be the case with other individuals. Then again, there are those who are born with an unnatural propensity to be attracted to the same sex, whether it be a genetic problem that was fostered and cultivated as they grew, or whether their situation was a freak of nature.
Whatever the case might be, both in the instance of the drunkard, and in the gay person, the tendency to evil is a sinful propensity and cannot be indulged nor encouraged, if we desire to be Christians, for then the grace of God will be used as a cloak for covering up and fostering those inherited or cultivated tendencies to evil, which if indulged, will debar us from the pearly gates. Furthermore, if we conclude that because we were born this way, that we must accept and live with the fact, without any effort on our part to subdue the evil tendencies, then we will preemptively disqualify ourselves from overcoming these sinful desires, for we would have set ourselves up for failure and defeat, even before we begun to fight. Let's read:
[Review and Herald. April 12 1892] Every soul who receives the truth should make the fullest possible surrender of himself to God,—a surrender represented as falling upon the Rock and being broken. Our old habits, our hereditary and cultivated traits of character, must all be yielded to the transforming power of Christ if we would become vessels unto honor, meet for the Master’s use, prepared unto every good work.
Thus the work of salvation in our hearts, as carried forward in cooperation with God, consists of subduing and uprooting the evil propensities, while at the same time cultivating the good characteristics, and replacing the evil traits of character with Christ-like virtues, until the image of God is perfectly reflected in and through us. Anything short of this amounts to cheap grace, and will doom the subscriber to failure, for Christ was sent into the world to save us from our sins, not in our sins.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which confirms this sacred truth, and it is the will of God that we avail ourselves of the power that has been abundantly provided through the Holy Spirit, so that we may be more than conquerors through Him that loves us. Let's read:
Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!