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Ok, No. 4, Allen

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"Is birth control Biblical?

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I mean, if we should 
trust God in all things,

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isn't it kind of wrong to say,

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'Hey, God, I don't want you to bless us

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with a kid, so we're 
going to use birth control.'

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I'm very confused about 
which way to go with this.

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My wife and I."

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You guys want my take on it?

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Here it is.

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This is an important 
hermeneutical principal.

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If you're not familiar 
with what hermeneutics is,

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basically it's the study 
of Biblical interpretation.

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You want to know about proper

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Biblical interpretation?

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And this is my take.

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Especially as a pastor at the church.

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When the Bible is dogmatic

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about something and gives clear examples

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and clear commandments

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and clear principles,

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I am going to be clear;

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as clear as I can be,

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as clear as God 
gives me grace to be.

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And when it's dogmatic, 
I'm going to be dogmatic.

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When things seem to be obscure,

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when things are not so clearly dealt with,

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then I am not going to be as dogmatic.

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I am going to back away.

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I may give some opinions;

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I will point out some principles

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to be considered

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where God's Word gives plain commandments,

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I am going to insist upon it.

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But where it is vague,

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I am not going to be overly dogmatic.

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And so, folks,

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is there a Bible verse in all the Bible

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that speaks clearly about birth control.

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There is not.

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Now, some people will 
argue and say there is.

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Let me tell you the verse that 
they typically argue from.

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"Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn,

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and her name was Tamar.

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But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked

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in the sight of the Lord,

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and the Lord put Him to death.

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Then Judah said to Onan,

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(Onan was Er's brother)

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Go into your brother's wife

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and perform the duty 
of a brother-in-law to her

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and raise up offspring for your brother.

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But Onan knew that the offspring

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would not be his,

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so whenever he went 
in to his brother's wife,

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he would waste the semen on the ground,

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so as not to give 
offspring to his brother.

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And what he did was 
wicked in the sight of the Lord

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and the Lord put him to death."

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So people look at that and they say,

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See?

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That's a form of birth control

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and God put him to death.

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But look,

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God doesn't say that the 
sin of Onan was birth control.

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There was a law in Israel.

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Listen to what the law said:

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Deuteronomy 25:5

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"If brothers dwell together

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and one of them dies

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and has no son,

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the wife of the dead man

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shall not be married outside the family

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to a stranger.

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Her husband's brother shall go in to her

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and take her as his wife

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and perform the duty 
of a husband's brother

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to her, and the first son whom she bears

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will succeed to the 
name of his dead brother

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that his name may 
not be blotted out of Israel."

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Folks, as far as birth 
control is concerned,

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the Bible nowhere seems to forbid it,

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neither does it endorse it, by the way.

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But that text right there is not saying

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that Onan committed birth control

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and God killed him.

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The problem was that Onan knew

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that the firstborn child 
would not be his own.

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It would be his brothers.

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That's why he didn't want to do it.

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God killed him because he wickedly refused

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to do what was a law in Israel to be done.

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What a brother should 
have done to another brother.

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But here, I want to tell you 
what the Bible does say.

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The Bible says that you 
are not to commit murder.

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Listen to me.

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If any member of our church

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uses a form of birth control

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that is abortive in nature

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and I were to find that out,

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and they were not to 
repent of that immediately,

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they would be disciplined 
out of the church promptly.

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If you are using any 
sort of birth control,

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whether it's the pill or anything else,

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and I suggest you do the research.

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If you're going to use birth control,

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you have the obligation 
to live righteously

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before the Lord.

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And if you're using any type that possibly

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is abortive in nature,

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and what I mean is,

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there's a fertilized egg 
that is being put to death,

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you are committing murder.

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And be certain of it.

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That is forbidden.

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And I can be dogmatic about that.

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You are not to use abortive techniques

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in birth control.

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That is totally ruled out of Scripture.

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What else can I tell you dogmatically?

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I can tell you this.

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Children are a heritage from the Lord.

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The fruit of the womb is a reward.

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Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

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are the children of one's youth.

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Blessed is the man who 
fills his quiver with them.

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He shall not be put to shame

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when he speaks with 
his enemies in the gate.

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I'll tell you this,

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having lots of children is a blessing.

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And I can tell you that dogmatically.

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You know what else I can tell you?

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God opens the womb and closes the womb.

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And the Bible tells us that.

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And you that think,

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you're just going to control this thing,

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and you're going to go on birth control

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at this time,

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and then you're going 
to get off of it,

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and then you're going 
to have your family.

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Let me tell you.

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God opens the womb.

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And just because you're 
trying to structure that,

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don't think that it lies in 
your power to make that happen.

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There's no guarantees 
you're going to have a baby

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when you want to have a baby.

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And, by the way,

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there's no guarantee 
that the birth control

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that you use may not be the reason

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you don't have children.

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Because birth control can mess ladies up.

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But that's something that you guys

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would want to research as well.

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Some other things I can 
tell you dogmatically.

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God says, Be fruitful and multiply

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and fill the waters in the seas,

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and let the birds multiply on the earth.

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Be fruitful and multiply.

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Is that a forbidding of birth control?

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Not necessarily.

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No more than it's a 
forbidding of singleness.

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Right?

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Be fruitful and multiply...

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you might look at it and say,

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well then, we should be married,

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because you can't 
be fruitful and multiply,

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at least not in God's appointed means

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unless I'm married.

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And yet, we know singleness is

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advocated in Scripture.

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So that isn't necessary a 
dogmatic command either.

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But here's a text to 
consider on the other side.

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1 Timothy 5:8

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"If anyone does not 
provide for his relatives,

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especially for the 
members of his household,

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he has denied the faith

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and is worse than an unbeliever."

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Is there wisdom in 
dictating and determining

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and planning how many 
kids you're going to have?

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And trying to do it in a way that

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you can support your family?

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Obviously.

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Supporting the family is 
a very important thing.

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And so, that is another consideration.

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Bottom line,

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and this is how I'm going to end this one,

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Romans 14:23

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"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin."

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Let me tell you this.

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Every one of you has a responsibility

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to walk before God in faith.

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And that means that you are living a life

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the way you believe God 
would have you to do it.

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Not the way your friend 
thinks you ought to do it.

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Not the way your wife's girlfriend 
thinks you ought to do it.

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Not the way mom and dad 
think you need to do it.

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Bottom line is,

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you all have a responsibility 
to walk before God in faith.

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And that means believing 
that the path you're taking

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is the one that is most pleasing to Him.

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And if you are not convinced

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that any form of birth control

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is something that would please God,

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then you're in sin if 
you're walking that path,

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when you don't think you ought to be.

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Folks, you need to have a clear conscience

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before the Lord

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in anything you allow.