Jesus Rose From The Dead. Fact Or Fiction?

Can we know for sure that the resurrection is real?

Commonly referred to as, “The Resurrection of Jesus Christ,” it is of paramount importance to know for certain if Jesus actually did arise from the dead. Many have challenged or questioned the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a fair question for anyone to ask. Christianity as we know it hinges on the resurrection being true. Did Jesus really die and then resurrect Himself? Were there really witnesses? How do we know for sure? After investigating these questions for myself, I can say with complete assurance that I know with absolute certainty that Jesus did rise from the dead. I know this is true more than I know my own existence is true. I know my own existence is true, because I can see a clear path of damage when I look behind me, But, even more so, I can tell you there is absolutely no question that Jesus raised from the dead on the third day after He was crucified. The empirical evidence is very good.

Of course, the Gospels in the bible chronicle the events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus. But, we can also draw from other historians of the day such as Josephus, Tacitus, and others. I found the actions of the apostles and the witnesses to be the most convincing evidence.  These actions eliminate any possibilities that the historical account of the resurrection is some elaborate fabricated conspiracy story that has stood the scrutiny of fact checking for over 2000 years.

For example, how scared were the disciples of Jesus after the crucifixion? They were petrified of others to the point that they hid from everyone behind locked doors. After Peter and others saw the resurrected Jesus, they came out of their hiding places and fearlessly preached in public about Jesus. What a change in character! What would explain this change in character? The penalty for preaching the resurrection of Jesus was death. What changed in the apostles to give them such boldness and such a presence of authority? Something gave the apostles a fresh new character make-over. It was Jesus, who conquered death and offered eternal life to those who believe in Him that restored the faith in everyone who witnessed the resurrected Lord Jesus.

Not only the apostles, but anyone who proclaimed the truth of the resurrection was to be killed. Nobody was allowed to worship Jesus, talk about Jesus, or preach Jesus. Punishment was death and yet hundreds of people were willing to be killed for admitting they witnessed seeing Jesus after the crucifixion. The Romans would literally come to you and tell you to deny the resurrection, or be imprisoned and murdered. They would chop your head off, throw you in hot oil, and crucify you for confessing your faith in Jesus or giving your testimony of seeing the resurrected Jesus. There is no explanation for that. You can’t come up with any good reason why so many people would throw their lives away testifying their witness of seeing the resurrected Jesus. Sure some people are crazy and it is conceivable that two or three people would no doubt hope to gain attention. But thousands of people?

James, the brother of Jesus, was a very openly skeptical critic of his brother. He ended up dying for his faith in Jesus. Paul, who persecuted the early church more than anyone, became the most vocal of all the apostles, writing more books in the New Testament than any other writer. What changed Paul’s mind? Jesus met Paul (then called Saul of Tarsus) on the road to Damascus. After Paul met the resurrected Lord, Paul endeavored to spread the Gospel till his death. Paul was stoned, endured beatings, imprisonment, and was ultimately beheaded by Nero, the Roman Emperor for his faith in Jesus. Over 500 witnesses saw Jesus appear to Paul on the Road to Damascus. Many of these witnesses were brutally murdered for their testimony.

Peter, who denied knowing Jesus three times before the cock crowed (before Christ was crucified), suddenly became emboldened to fearlessly share the Gospel after the resurrection. Interestingly enough, Peter was not so emboldened even after witnessing the transfiguration. It took the resurrection to calm Peter’s fears. Peter played a significant role in the early church writing many books, most of which are not canonized books. He went to Rome and preached the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles. Peter endured many hardships for his faith in Jesus and ultimately was crucified on a tree upside down. Peter didn't consider himself worthy to be murdered in the same manner Jesus was murdered, so he requested to be placed upside down! Peter suffered greatly for his faith in Jesus.

There is story after story like these where people died for their faith in Jesus. The apostles were not making money preaching the resurrection of Jesus. They didn't have huge book contracts on the line or any other worldly thing that could motivate a person to risk their life believing in Jesus. People were willing to give their lives up because they knew the truth and they had the promise of eternal life. 

Two thousand years later, there are still parts of the world where having faith in Jesus will get you imprisoned and killed. Christian pastors in the country of Iran and others are constantly in the news for being imprisoned, beaten, and humiliated for their faith in Jesus.

More evidence

Other evidences include the fact that the Bible used women as witnesses. This was not done back in the day of Jesus. The women were like second class citizens, so you wouldn't use women to bolster your claims. Women literally had no voice in a court room. So, if you were going to lie about something and gather witnesses for the event, you would use men, not women to collaborate your story. But, Jesus has tremendous respect for women, which is clearly seen throughout His ministry. Jesus first appeared to women. When Mary went to the apostles to report the empty tomb, the apostles didn't even believe her. Peter ran to go check for himself. Throughout the Gospels, women were used as witnesses. In my opinion, God favored these women. I'm sure the apostles didn't like this. Nevertheless, they had to record the truth of what happened.

There is much more evidence as well. Countless numbers of people have died for testifying in the historical fact of the resurrection. Check it out! Investigate for yourself. John 10:17-18 says, “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” 1 Corinthians 15:17-18 says, "And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished." Paul goes on to say that if the resurrection isn't real, then we have no other reason to live except for ourselves (1 Cor 15:32). So, Christianity completely hinges on whether or not the resurrection really took place. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:3-4, "“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” As Christians, that is our promise!

I challenge any unbeliever to study this topic. The reliability of the Bible as a historical document has been demonstrated over and over. Historians and archaeologists continually affirm the accuracy of the Bible in matters of history. Even if you don't believe in the Bible, there are many other historians who have documented evidence surrounding the resurrection of Jesus such as the historians I previously mentioned.

Do You Act Like A Pharisee?

What is a pharisee?

     The description of a Pharisee can be summed up in three words: Morally superior purists. Two other words that basically mean the same thing are often used by others referring to Christians in today’s world: Self righteous! Pharisees believed that they could become righteous by adhering to a strict code of laws, rules, and man-made traditions. In the loosest interpretation of their code, it was akin to our United States constitution in the sense that the contents of the code were up for interpretation. They were especially concerned with the law that God gave to Moses. So much so, that they created rules describing how the law was to be applied. These rules for applying the law comprise what is called the Talmud.

     The Talmud is roughly 6200 pages in length. It is the ultimate sourcebook of the law, as it takes the rules listed in the Torah and describes how to apply them to different circumstances. The Torah is comprised of the five books in the Bible written by Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). The Torah is inspired by God, but the Talmud is inspired by man. The entire Bible consists of approximately 1000 pages, depending on which version you have. The 5 books of the bible, which the Talmud focuses on cover only 165 pages in the bible on average. So, the Talmud goes in to great depth using 6200 pages to apply what the Bible teaches in the first 165 pages. The Jews have always been very concerned with the law. In particular, the Pharisees thought they were the most righteous because nobody followed the law more closely than they did. Today, there are thousands of books written on right and wrong available in Christian book stores.

     Pharisees essentially made themselves self-righteous through a disciplined lifestyle adhering to the Talmud. They were sanctimonious – they acted like they were morally superior to everyone else.  I don’t think one has to label them self a Christian to act like a Pharisee. Many who don’t believe in God simply believe they are morally superior as a result of their own efforts to be good people. In that sense, behaving like a Pharisee is not exclusive to Christians or other religions.  However, I believe it is a big problem for Christians and something I will focus on. For the purpose of this topic, I am going to use the word “pharisaic” to mean self-righteous and morally superior.

     Oftentimes, we think less of those who disagree with our theology. We can obtain the belief that we are right and the other person is wrong about something. This occasionally leads to strong feelings or convictions on a topic - so strong that we at times disassociate with others who have conflicting theological viewpoints. There are many things the Bible speaks out against. Some of us are better than others at following the rules laid out for us in scriptures than others are. For example, if I am convicted of watching movies with lots of violence and swearing, and my Christian brother is not, then a tendency may arise, even sometimes in an insubstantial manner, to look down on them in some way. We think we are better than others because we don’t do something they have no problem doing.

Do you have a pharisaic attitude?

     Personally, I am not offended by someone using swear words. In fact, I think it is silly to allow yourself to get upset because someone else is cussing. There are some exceptions.  I don't want to hear dirty jokes or people insulting others. But, the exceptions aside, how many times have you heard someone say, “YOU HAVE A FILTHY MOUTH, I WOULD NEVER TALK LIKE THAT!” Or, they might say, “I don’t want to be around that kind of talk, so please don’t use cuss words around me.” That is a Pharisee if I ever heard one! Your actions don’t make you righteous – rather the grace you received through faith in Jesus makes you righteous. Never forget that! Some of us work around other people who drop the “F-Bomb” every second or third word that comes out from their mouth. When we ask them to stop cussing around us, we oftentimes offend them because people who use the “F word” repeatedly do not even realize there is anything wrong with it. They don’t think twice before saying it. All they know is some prudish person is telling them how to talk. Essentially, we are taking our own convictions and demanding, coercing, or constraining other people who don’t share our same convictions. Who are we to force our will of morality upon anyone else when God gives everyone a free will?

     As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit to convict us. The Holy Spirit guides us, teaches us, and strengthens us to help us bring glory to God in our actions. Since the non-Christian population is much larger than the Christian population, there are many others who do not have the Holy Spirit to convict them about anything. Conversely, they rely on their own moral compass to direct their paths and help them decide the differences between right and wrong. They haven’t read Bible verses about speaking with a coarse or vile tongue. They calibrate their moral compass to match what they are taught by self-help books or society rather than the Holy Spirit or verses in a Bible.  The popular book titled, “Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars” describes quite well the differences between a Christian and a non-Christian. We are coming from two separate planets, and yet we treat people at times like they should do everything our way – “The Right Way!”

     It is no wonder many non-Christians refer to Christians as self-righteous people. In all honesty, we customarily may be acting pharisaic. Not only do we treat non-Christians with this sort of contempt, but we also lash out at each other the same way. Romans 14:4 says, “Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”  So why do we judge each other when it comes to nothing more than our convictions from the Holy Spirit?  I love music. I listen to almost every genre of music accept for jazz and classical. I even like jazz and classical, but not nearly as much as I enjoy classical rock, alternative, rap, country, and other music genres. I also love my Christian music. I mostly listen to Christian music because I find that I am able to glorify God more listening to Christian music than secular music. If you were to listen to my iPhone, you would hear a wide assortment. I have about 2000 songs on my iPhone/iPod, 1200 or so of which are Christian praise and worship songs – The rest are secular songs. I also like to periodically watch a good action movie such as one of the Jason Bourne movies. I might reference something from the Simpsons once in a while in a conversation.

     Do you suddenly feel more spiritually mature than me knowing what types of music and movies I enjoy? That “feeling” is a pharisaic feeling. Feeling morally superior to others is exactly how the Pharisees felt. Consider this; there are many who teach that leaving the “world” behind means leaving all your non-Christian friends, too. When we keep non-Christians at an arm’s length because we are not comfortable being around them, are we modern-day Pharisees?

     Periodically, it may be appropriate to remind a brother or sister in the Lord that something might not be glorifying to God such as gossiping. Casting judgment in the spirit of love and correction from one brother or sister in the Lord to another brother or sister in the Lord is scripturally acceptable in the right context.  There is a huge contrast between righteously judging one another as Christians, and acting or thinking we are better than our weaker brothers and sisters. But, I believe that oftentimes, in little subtle ways, we are susceptible to thinking like the Pharisees. Whenever we are in an uncomfortable situation, I think our first reaction is to distance ourselves. The way we think transcends our actions whether we realize it or not. Our actions are a reflection of our thoughts. We might not even notice the smug look we gave someone.

     Indeed, we all would like to think ourselves the antithesis of a Pharisee. I’m not trying to act like the Sunday morning preacher who brings up a topic and then tries to set a wide enough trap to catch everyone up in it using several examples we may all be guilty of. In fact, many people I am sure have mastered the ability to live their lives without thinking or acting pharisaic in any way. Still, many of us do. Many of us are guilty of this, which is why it is important to scrutinize our hearts and thoughts. We want to glorify God. Does it bring glory to God when we turn people off to God or the church because we offend them with our convictions? We are all called to be a light in a dark world – The great commission. Are we leading people to God or turning them away from God when we act like a Pharisee?

More Concerned With The Tree Of Life Than The Tree Of Knowledge 

     Pharisees are concerned with what is right and wrong. Jesus was always concerned with life. That is a very important distinction. When Jesus walked the earth, most believed if you were sick that you probably did something bad to deserve it. Jesus was about giving life to those who were dying.  We were a dying world with no hope of saving ourselves, but Jesus died in our place to give us eternal life. Why are Christians so concerned about what others are doing with respect to right and wrong? Because Christians are taught more about what is good and evil or right and wrong than they are taught about the Gospel! Certainly we should be concerned with the law as Christians, but only as far as our own lives are concerned. I’m not talking about legalism; rather, I am talking about loving Jesus. Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. He didn’t say, if you love me, make everyone else keep my commandments. We need to be more concerned with the tree of knowledge of life rather than the tree of knowledge of good and evil! Jesus is our example. Be concerned with sharing the Gospel with others – not with things others are doing wrong.

     The most moral person walking the earth today needs Jesus just as much as the person who is the most immoral. It is Jesus, not laws that save us! If laws don’t save us, then they don’t preserve us either. The laws in the Bible are good. I would never suggest otherwise. We love Jesus, so we obey Him. The law condemns. Jesus didn’t come to condemn us, but to save us. We shouldn't condemn one another either! Conversely, we should love each other. Let the Holy Spirit convict the hearts of the people. The Holy Spirit is always more effective than people are at conviction!

City On A Hill

I love my Christian brothers and sisters. But I feel like all too often Christians insulate, isolate, and separate themselves from “the world.” Everywhere I go, everything I say, and everything I do, I want it to be a light for Jesus. I want to glorify God. I want opportunities to share the gospel with “the world.” I think oftentimes, without realizing it, Christians find themselves walking around with a covered light. Jesus said to go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus also said that we are the light of the world, a city on a hill. Everyone is supposed to be able to see a city on a hill from a great distance. Yet, I see many Christians refusing to be a part of the world. “The World” is a popular phrase used by many to describe those who do not know Jesus. Jesus loved “the world!” So much so, that He died for it (John 3:16).

Covered Lights

When we surround ourselves with nothing but Christian friends, we walk around with a covered light. Another thing that concerns me is that Christians are taught that they should place a huge importance on their reward being in Heaven. So much so that they do almost everything good for others in total secrecy. After all, a lot of scriptures teach that our rewards are in heaven. There is a place for doing some things in secret, but not most things. How are we to be a light in the world if we show people love in secret?  If I do something for someone, my heart is to bring glory to God for it. How can others glorify God for my actions if they don’t know a Christian helped them in some way? Jesus also said, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matt 5:16).” We are supposed in infect, infiltrate, and illuminate darkness!

New Believers

I have heard numerous people tell a new believer that they need to surround themselves with Christian friends. Get fully plugged in to the church, home fellowship groups, church events, they say. When a person first gets saved, they still have a lot of unsaved friends. They are oftentimes encouraged to stay away from their old friends. What a light and a witness for Jesus they can be to their unsaved friends if we would just let them! Why is much of our thinking as Christians designed to shelter us from the world? This concept makes no sense. We treat new Christians like they are in grave danger of walking off a spiritual cliff into the worldly abyss. We need to have a little of that faith we preach to others in a God who is able to keep them. 

Safe in God's Hands

Philippians 1:6 says, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Nobody or nothing can snatch a Christian out of the hands of God. New Christians or seasoned Christians alike. So, please, come out from your "Christian shelters" and spread the gospel to “the world.”  Let our lights shine - We are the city on a hill!

Disproportionate Appearances for God

Appearances

Many of us wake up each morning, shower, brush our teeth, comb or brush our hair, dress in clothing we perceive helps us look our best, and splash on the cologne or perfume.  Then we feel presentable to the public. But, what, if anything, do we do to present ourselves to the Lord each day? There is nothing wrong with looking our best. However, a problem arises when we place a higher value on how we look to other people over how we look to God.

Idols

Idol worship is largely a matter of the heart; Greed, gluttony, a love for money or possessions, and ultimately rebellion against God can all be forms of idolatry. Anything valued in our lives higher than God is an idol to us. When the security gained from how we appear to others is greater than the security we gain from our appearances to God, we are in danger of idol worship as the Bible describes.  I believe we all in some way or another inadvertently construct idols in our lives. Boyfriend/ girlfriend relationships, cars, video games, tv shows, or anything that gets more value and attention from us than what we give to God is an idol. 

Where is Your Value Placed?

Do I place more value in what others think compared to the value I place in what God thinks?  Have you ever engaged in a conversation and placed more importance on what others thought you sounded like as apposed to what God thinks? God has been speaking to me about this lately. I feel like God wants me to be far more concerned with how He thinks I sound. Do I love others in my speech or am I condemning others? Am I graceful?  Am I humble? Am I forgiving?  Am I truthful? Am I boastful? These are things related to the things God cares about. When I consider what others think about, I might worry about how I intelligent I sound, how right I am, etc. I have a tendency to fail the Lord in some of these areas at times.  Have you ever done anything with the sole intention of impressing others with no thought of what God thinks? I’m pretty sure that anyone who asks themselves that question honestly will have to concede that they have indeed.

Many of us place an inordinate amount of concern on how we look to other people in one way or another. People that are slightly overweight will wear clothing that makes them look thinner. It's not entirely wrong to be concerned with how we look to other people. But, we must be careful not to put a prodigious amount of concern into what we weigh when considering what other people think.  Conversely, a proper concern to being overweight is that bad health might shorten the ministry the Lord intended for my life. If I am not healthy, I might die young and therefore not be able to do as much for God. I am reminded of the ministry of Charles Spurgeon. Spureon was a genius who the Lord really used to teach the word of God. He died in his 50's. He was a large man who may have lived another 20 years if he was healthier. Imagine if we had another 20 years of Spurgeon! Would dying young because I didn't take care of my body bring glory to God?

Fail-Proof Question to Ask Yourself

I have discovered a fail-proof test question to ask myself before I do, say, or think about anything. That question is this: “Is what I am doing, thinking, or saying bringing glory to God?” My motivation for everything in life must be to bring glory to God. That is the purpose of everyone’s life. If I can answer “yes” to that question, then I know I am on the right road. If I can’t answer “yes” to the question, then I need to pause and reconsider how to talk with others, what to dress like, how to perform my duties at work, what to eat, and anything else. It is all about bringing glory to God, not I.  In 1 Corinthians 10:31, it says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Why Did God Create You?

Have you ever wondered why God created us in the first place? It wasn't because He needed us! King David asked this same question.  Psalm 8:3-4 says, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" We are not God’s toy soldiers. God didn't make us pawns in some cosmic chess game.  It is important to know our purpose in life. Why are we here? Why did God make us? Knowing this puts everything into the proper perspective for us. The answer is to glorify God. God created us for His own Glory. Talking about mankind in the book of Isaiah, God says about us, "whom I created for my glory" - Isaiah 43:7.  We were also created to enjoy God forever. John 10:10 says, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." C.S. Lewis said, “In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.”

Nothing Is Hidden From God

Our every thought, care, word spoken, and deed performed should be done with concern for what God is thinking. God is always watching us. Nothing is hidden from Him. Hebrews 4:13 says, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”  It is easy to fool people into believing we are more intelligent than we are, wealthier than we are, or about anything else. It is man’s nature to look and judge outside appearances. But God is not fooled by man. God sees our hearts and knows are hearts better than we know our own hearts.  Jeremiah tells us that only God can truly know our own hearts.  That’s a good reason as to why we should constantly be questioning our hearts (or motivations) in everything we do and say.  1 Samuel 16:7 says, “But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 

Closing

Since no thought, word, deed, or anything else is hidden from God, shouldn't we take pause to consider what He thinks? I think the honest answer is a resounding, “Yes!”  Are your concerns for what others think about you disproportionate to what God thinks about you?  If you struggle with this as I do, then I exhort you to begin asking yourself the question at least 20 times a day to begin with. Does this thought glorify God?  Does my performance at work glorify God? Are the things I say bringing glory to God?  Will this movie I am about to watch glorify God?  What can I do today to bring glory to God? I encourage you to be disproportionate when considering what God thinks versus what others think (in favor of our Lord).  God bless!

His Ways Are Higher Than Our Ways

Age Old Question

Why does God allow some things to happen that just don’t seem to make sense?  Why can't I find a job to pay my bills, why did my spouse divorce me, why am I sick and experiencing continual pain, why did my Mom die, why why why!!! In my opinion, there is an important distinction between God allowing bad things to happen and God causing bad things to happen. Bad things happen in the freedom that comes with the free gift of life, given to us by a loving God. Faith is not an insurance policy. However, faith is a blanket of assurance that God will be with us no matter what we encounter. Sure God could step in and prevent things from happening. How do you know that He hasn't? We don't know how many times a tragedy was averted, but we do know of the tragedies or trials that God does allow us to go through. Still, we know that God is good. There are hundreds of verses through scripture that declare to us how good our God is such as Matthew 19:7, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 31:19, Nahum 1:7, and many others. So why does a good God allow bad things to happen to us?

Many Answers

For as many people that have asked this question, there are just as many answers. My short answer is that I have no clue as to why bad things happen to good people. Some people blame sin entering the world as the cause for disease, death, and any other trials we endure. There is some truth to that. Death did enter the world as a result of Adam & Eve's sin. But, why should we all have to suffer for someone else's mistakes? It's a fair question. Many Christians try to explain these things away, rather than concede the answer is not necessarily always clear to us. Fair questions don't always have what we might consider a fair answer. Proverbs 3:5 tells us, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;" Most of us are quite familiar with the verse in Romans 8:28, which says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” We also know that God sometimes works in mysterious ways. Isaiah 55:8 says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” 

If God can do the impossible, then why doesn't God stretch out his mighty hand in Hercules like fashion and save us from that snake about to bite us? I can only answer that from my own experiences. In my own personal life, God allowed me to go through a painful divorce, job loss, and gruesome injury resulting in a compound fracture to my leg.  Many other things in my life have been difficult. For the last 15 years, many other tragedies have been adding up. But looking back, I can honestly say that if I had not gone through those things, I would not know God at all. What's worse, a lifetime of pain or an eternity of pain?  God has had my best interests in mind sending me through each and every trial. It was going through the mud that made me clean. My heart was so hardened that it took a lot for God to get through to me. Most people ignore the God who made them until they realize they are on their deathbed. Many of us are Atheists until the airplane starts falling. But God gives all of us many chances in life to seek refuge from the pains in this life through many trials and hardships we experience. Sometimes, because He knows best, he continues to allow us to go through difficult things. He's eternal minded - something we often forget because we are temporal minded.

All Your Wishes Granted

Oftentimes, we ask God for things in prayer and it would seem as though He hasn't heard us or that He isn't answering us. When our car won't start, we ask God to put on his David Copperfield face and magically start the car for us. When we are short money to pay our house payment, we rub the vase three times and ask God as if He is a genie here to grant our every wish. We would do much better to treat God like He is God, rather than some magical fairy tale presence. God is not limited by our imaginations, understandings, or plans to fix a problem. He often uses unconventional methods to work in our lives in such a way that increases our faith and trust in Him.

Cyrus

God used Cyrus, who was the king of the Medes and Persia to wipe out the Babylonians.  The book of Ezra explains that Cyrus was doing the work of the Lord, as indicated by the phrase "in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah.” It is God who shapes history and the future. God was shaping the things to come for Israel, but they were scared. God wasn't working in a way the Jews could clearly see. Rather than trusting God, they began to turn to idols (other gods - genies, David Copperfield's  etc). God, being the loving God that He is comforted the Jews in Isaiah 41:8-20. Specifically in verses 17-20, which says, "The poor and needy are seeking water when there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I the Lord will answer them. I the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in the desolate heights and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle and the wild olive; I will set the cypress in the desert, the plane tree and the pine tree together, that men may see and know and consider and understand together that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it." God is reassuring Israel that they were chosen and special to God. He further reminded them that even though they were going through a miserable time, that they still owed their allegiance to Him. Many of them began to worship other idols hoping to be saved by a more powerful idol god than the God of Jacob. Who do we turn to when things are not going the way we think they should? Many of us lean on our own understanding rather than a God who can do the impossible. Like Israel, we are special and important to God. 

God Of The Impossible

Luke 1:37 is a verse many of us love! “For nothing is impossible with God.” How amazing! Mary, who is a virgin at this point, asks the angel how it is possible that she is pregnant.  Part of the angel’s response to Mary, is that nothing is impossible to God. Can you imagine worshiping a God that had limits on his power? What comfort and joy we can have by putting our faith into a God who can do the impossible.  Let us not put our faith in other idols as did Israel when times got tough. Rather, let us keep our eyes on Jesus.  Nothing that happens can happen unless God allows it. We must remember that ALL things work together for our good. We must take into consideration that God’s ways are higher than our ways. We will not always be able to make sense as to why something horrible happens. But, we know that everything happens for our good in the long run, and we also know that in the end, God is faithful to us just like he was to the Jews in Isaiah.  There are many things in life that scare or worry us. Health issues, relationships, jobs, and much more. If we truly have faith, we do well to remember that since God’s ways are not our ways, we need not try to see the light at the end of the tunnel – God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.  It is not our problem – It is God’s problem.  Sometimes we can’t see the way out of a hopeless situation. God is the God of the impossible and he uses unconventional methods often times to rescue us to remind us that He is God.  Let God be God, and just relax in who we are – His sheep. For myself, the answer to why I endure such painful things in this life are simple. God, who has my eternal best interest in mind, loves me more than I will ever understand in this temporal state of being. 

The Unpardonable Sin - Are You Guilty?

Most of this study is taken from a previous study I posted not long ago on losing salvation located here. I brushed it up a little and am re-posting it here so you don't have to read the really long version to get this same information.

The 1 sin that if you commit buys you a one-way ticket on the fast train to hell

I've heard many sermons, theories, and beliefs regarding the one unpardonable sin – commonly referred to as the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. The unpardonable sin is discussed in all three of the synoptic gospels. Matthew 12:31-32 says, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” This is something a lot of people feel like they have done. Some background to this is as follows: Jesus was essentially using miracles to claim He is using the powers of the Messiah. He is healing people and casting out demons, and the Pharisees were accusing Jesus of using the Satanic powers to heal people and perform other miracles. Blasphemy of the holy spirit is properly defined by attributing to Satan what is accomplished by the power of God.  Blasphemy means to speak evil against. Oftentimes, people read this and they think, “I’m afraid I did that.”  Note that Jesus didn't tell these Pharisees who accused Him of using the powers of the devil that they actually committed the unpardonable sin.  Jesus simply said they were close to it. It is important to also note that John’s gospel doesn't mention the unpardonable sin, Jude never mentioned it, James never mentions it, Paul never mentions it, and Peter never mentions it. So, I believe that if you actually were living there in the time of Jesus and credited the works of Jesus to the devil; you were close to committing this unpardonable sin. If you lived after Jesus, it would be pretty hard to accuse Him.  I believe that is why other writers in the New Testament never mention this. Don't you think that if there was one sin that you could commit that would cause you to lose your salvation, that Paul, Peter, Jude, or John would have mentioned this to us? As important as this topic is, I believe it is not something they would have just skipped over. When they were writing their books, Jesus already was risen. Unless you were a Pharisee facing off with Jesus while He was proclaiming Himself to be the Messiah, I don’t really believe you have anything to worry about. The only sin that is unforgivable and will surely send you to hell is the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ for the rest of your life. If you confess your sins, He is faithful to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

Salvation in a nutshell defined

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”  So, we are saved by grace (God’s unmerited favor), and that not of yourselves (nothing you did yourself, everything that Jesus did for us on the cross of Calvary), it is a gift of God, not of works (Not from my good works or lack of sin), lest anyone should boast (so nobody can claim they saved themselves). A very important concept to grasp here is this: If our works do not save us, then they cannot preserve our salvation either.

There are many people who teach a works type of salvation. If works are required to save us, then we are all in trouble. We are all sinners. There are also those who teach only certain types of sin can cause you to lose your salvation. I don't know about anyone else, but when I hear preachers teach that this sin or that sin can cause you to lose your salvation, immediately, I think, “OH NO!! I have done that!” Let’s get something straight here. No matter who you are, you are never PERFECTLY adhering to or following the will of God for your life. Only Jesus was able to do that! Certainly I would not want to discourage anyone from trying their best to follow the perfect will of God for your life, but let us be completely honest about who we are and our temporal nature. 

To believe that we can lose our salvation based on some sin we commit is to completely over estimate our own level of righteousness on our best day. 

We are all sinners, saved by grace. We are not burdened by obtaining our own salvation.  1 John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” If anyone thinks that on their best day, they are not a sinner, they have fooled themselves! Don’t kid yourself, we are all sinners – the saved and the unsaved alike. John boldly calls us a liar if we claim we are not sinners. Some faiths claim that some sins can cause you to lose your salvation while others simply require a visit to the priest or something similar. To esteem one sin higher than another can be dangerous. I would argue that some sins God hates more than others (such as pride), yet any sin causes us to be in need of a savior. We are all sinners – Again, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The only thing that determines whether or not I am saved is my faith in Jesus, that through His unmerited favor, He has freely forgiven me of all my sins – past, present, and future. I’m saved by grace, not by living a sinless life. I’m not advocating that it’s safe to freely sin. I am saying we all sin regardless of whether or not we are saved. 1 Thessalonians 4:7 says, “For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.”  Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” So, obviously, God does not want to give us a license to sin and be disobedient. We respond in love and obedience to the gospel of grace.

5 Points Of Calvinism

We can differ in how we understand the scriptures.  Scripture debates demand humility because regardless of what we believe, we are deriving our beliefs from the scriptures. Sometimes, the scripture does a good job of arguing two views that oppose each other. My advice is to never discount or explain away a scripture to fit your theology. There have been those who have asked me in the past whether or not I am a Calvinist. I prefer not to consider myself any kind of “ist.” I believe Calvinism is a perversion of the Gospel in many regards. Then they ask, are you an Arminian. I am not an Arminian either. What am I then you might ask? Well, I will tell you, I am saved by grace, through faith, in Jesus Christ - and that not of myself, it is the free gift of God. I don’t claim to have all the answers, and I don’t think the Bible supports the interpretations of either view completely (Calvinism/Arminianism). I will tackle Calvinism here and explain the problems I have with it. I could literally spend a week straight writing on this topic, but I am going to keep it short and sweet. Those of you who are used to my writing know that I always back everything I do up with as much scripture as I can find on the topic. However, I don’t use any scripture in this response. I encourage everyone to search out the scriptures and find your own answers for your theology! I exhort you to be careful in defining your theology. Leave room for God to be bigger than your present understanding of Him. I have learned to do this over the years because my view on many things has changed repeatedly! Don’t sacrifice scriptures to argue your viewpoints. If scripture argues two different points, then concede scripture says both. Scripture should humble us all. As soon as you think you understand it all, God finds a way to show you that you don’t understand everything. Nobody has it all figured out!

Tulip is an acronym to describe the 5 points of Calvinism.

Total depravity – This means that man is totally unable to do anything to save himself. 100% Agree

Unconditional election – God chose you before the foundations of the world. If God chose me and I had no legitimate choice in the matter, it would seem to make it meaningless. My accepting God would seem to be meaningless to me. I believe God sovereignly chose me, but for me to put limits or qualifications on that goes beyond what scriptures teach, in my opinion. The Bible doesn't explain foreknowledge. We don’t know if foreknowledge is specifically referring to God knowing we would choose Him, or whether he chose us for any other reason. I think for us to claim we know what God was thinking goes beyond our pay grade. But, the Bible says God chose me. For who He foreknew, he also predestined. And so, I believe the Bible – but I don’t claim to know exactly what it means. It might be wiser to say God chose us for reasons known only to himself. So, unconditional election goes beyond what scripture says to some degree.

Limited Atonement – Unlimited atonement would be Universalism, which the Bible clearly does NOT teach. The Bible mentions many things to the contrary of unlimited atonement. Everyone except Universalists limit the atonement in some way. If you don’t have faith in Jesus being your atonement for sin, then you don’t have atonement. Calvinists say it only works for the elect, Arminians would say it only works for people who accept Jesus. The Universalists clearly have a wrong idea about atonement. The details quickly get muddied up between the Calvinists and the Arminians believing basically the same thing with the exception being that Calvinists claim those who accept Jesus are the elect. I agree with limited atonement, but don’t wish to worry about whether or not it describes the elect only. Based on scripture, I can safely conclude that Jesus died for the sins of the world and if you receive him, he will never turn you away. I don’t think it much matters whether you take the Arminian view of limited atonement or the Calvinist view.

Irresistible Grace - There a lots of instances in the scripture of people resisting God’s grace. God’s offer for atonement would mean nothing if you couldn't resist it. However, I wouldn't limit the power of God to say he couldn't allow things in my life to happen in such a way as to draw me to him. But, I believe in free will, therefore, no matter what, I still have a choice. I believe God does actually allow things to happen to many of us that are intended to draw us to Himself. But, I have seen others reject this drawing, and in the process witnessed their hearts grow very hard and cold towards God.  God has given everyone free choice, all the way back to Adam and Eve. I think we can resist God’s grace.

Perseverance of the saints – This means that someone who truly has salvation cannot lose their salvation – ever. 100% agree. Many in the church are divided by this one topic of discussion, which I discuss in great detail here.

I agree with about 3 points of Calvinism. I agree with total depravity, and perseverance of the saints completely 100%, but I have issues with the way the Calvinists describe unconditional election and limited atonement because I believe the Bible teaches both Arminian views as well as Calvinist views on both topics and I don't explain away scriptures to fit my theological viewpoints. Nevertheless, I agree with limited atonement and unconditional election because I believe the Bible teaches them. I just don't go along with the way Calvinists define points 2 & 3. I totally disagree with irresistible grace.

I know what I believe based on years of studying the scriptures and I would encourage others to seek their answers from the scriptures as well. It's about God, so it is important to know why we believe what we believe. Don't take my word or anyone else's word on theological issues. Psalm 118:8 says, "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 2:7 says, "Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything." So, with those verses, I exhort everyone to seek out the scriptures for yourself and let the Holy Spirit be your guide!

I used to be a person who would argue many of these Calvinistic points, but more and more, I am becoming someone who is humbled enough to realize that it is somewhat prideful and outside my pay grade to claim truths that the Bible doesn't clearly explain are right and theorize that others are wrong. The nice thing is, that all the important things in the Bible are very clearly explained, such as salvation. I believe I should focus my thoughts, comments, and attention on those things more so than the controversial things. However, I bring all this up because it is good to know what we believe on anything having to do with the word of God.

Can We Lose Or Leave Our Salvation?

A tough question

Can we lose our Salvation? This is a controversial topic that brings about division within the church. It is a very important topic because the likely consequences that come from drawing the wrong conclusion to such a paramount question can be eternal.

Uncompromising positions that cause dissension

First, let me start by saying, that in my life, I have weighed both sides of this theological argument. People on either side are so convinced and uncompromising in their position, despite the fact that there are plenty of scriptures to the contrary regardless of which position a person holds. It’s a real hot-button topic among Christians. I know people who have left a church over this one topic. If you believe that a person can lose their salvation, you have to concede that there are many verses that teach just the opposite. Likewise, if you believe that salvation cannot be lost, there are a plethora of verses that would seem to indicate otherwise. We have to be cautious that we don't explain away verses just to make them fit within our theological viewpoint.  I am going to dive in-depth here in a moment and cover some of the scriptures for both sides of the argument. I don’t think anyone can know for sure. I lean much more towards the eternal security side, but I cannot disregard any of the scriptures. I believe all the scriptures with my whole heart. Some things, I just do not understand because the Bible has not made them clear enough and I believe that that is for a reason.  I challenge all my Christian friends to take a few minutes and read my study and respond with your thoughts. I want to know others perspective on this sensitive and oftentimes divisive topic.

There are many beliefs with regard to salvation, some of which I will debunk in this study.  Calvinists generally believe that you cannot lose your salvation. Not all Calvinists, but most.  I don't consider myself Calvinist, because I could never agree with all 5 points. Calvinism is itself, a perversion of the gospel in some regards. The Armenians hold the opposing view, which is that you can lose your salvation, and many of them believe you can lose your salvation every time you sin.  Other groups believe that it depends upon what type of sin you commit as to whether or not you lose your salvation. I would point out that regardless of which position a person holds, they generally all can agree on this: all that matters is that you’re saved before you die.

The weightier question for all of us should be do we have it?  Whether or not we have it is clearly more important. Nevertheless, I’m going to dive head first into scripture and see what it says about losing or leaving our salvation.  First, I will cover many of the popular scriptures that appear to teach that one can’t lose their salvation. They are verses I love, and I think many people love regardless of which position they hold on the topic.

Salvation defined

Before I begin to dive into this legendary divisive mystery, I want to briefly discuss Ephesians 2:8-9 so we know what salvation is. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”  So, we are saved by grace (God’s unmerited favor), and that not of yourselves (nothing you did yourself, everything that Jesus did for us on the cross of Calvary), it is a gift of God, not of works (Not from my good works or lack of sin), lest anyone should boast (so nobody can claim they saved themselves). A very important concept to grasp here is this: If our works do not save us, then they cannot preserve our salvation either.

Allow me to travel off on a brief tangent here. There are many people who teach a works type of salvation. If works are required to save us, then we are all in trouble. We are all sinners. There are also those who teach only certain types of sin can cause you to lose your salvation. When you hear preachers teach that this sin or that sin can cause you to lose your salvation, immediately, I think, “OH NO!! I have done that!” Let’s get something straight here. No matter who you are, you are never adhering to or following the perfect will of God for your life. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” IF we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us of ALL our sins. This doesn't specify some sins. Christians struggle with sins. All of us! Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. “All” would include Christians!  How many sins would it take for someone to lose their salvation? This idea that we can lose our salvation based on sinning is not scriptural. The same grace that saves me, is also available for everyone else. Something I need to remember on occasion with regard to grace being for all of us. We are only innocent because we have faith in Jesus taking all of our sins upon Himself.

The Unpardonable Sin

I've heard many sermons, theories, and beliefs regarding the one unpardonable sin – commonly referred to as the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. The unpardonable sin is discussed in all three of the synoptic gospels. Matthew 12:31-32 says, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” This is something a lot of people feel like they have done. Some background to this is as follows: Jesus is healing people, and the Pharisees were accusing Jesus of using the Satanic powers to heal people and perform other miracles. Blasphemy means to speak evil against. Oftentimes, people read this and they think, “I’m afraid I did that.”  Note that Jesus didn't tell these Pharisees who accused Him of using the powers of the devil that they actually committed the unpardonable sin.  Jesus simply said they were close to it. It is important to also note that John’s gospel doesn't mention the unpardonable sin, Jude never mentioned it, James never mentions it, Paul never mentions it, Peter never mentions it, and nobody else ever mentioned it. So, I believe that if you actually were living there in the time of Jesus and credited the works of Jesus to the devil; you were close to committing this unpardonable sin. If you lived after Jesus, it would be pretty hard to accuse him.  I believe that is why other writers in the New Testament never mention this. Unless you were a Pharisee facing off with Jesus while He was proclaiming Himself to be the Messiah, I don’t really believe you have anything to worry about. The only sin that will send you to hell is the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ for the rest of your life. Again, if you confess your sins, He is faithful to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

To believe that we can lose our salvation based on some sin we commit is to completely over estimate our own level of righteousness on our best day. We are all sinners, saved by grace. We are not burdened by obtaining our own salvation.  1 John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” If anyone thinks that on their best day, they are not a sinner, they have fooled themselves! Don’t kid yourself, we are all sinners – the saved and the unsaved alike. John basically boldly calls us a liar if we claim we are not sinners. That’s one of the reasons why it is wrong to say, you’re going to hell for that sin. To esteem one sin higher than another can be dangerous. I would argue that some sins God hates more than others, yet any sin causes us to be in need of a savior. We are all sinners – Again, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The only thing that determines whether or not I am saved is my faith in Jesus, that through His unmerited favor, He has freely forgiven me of all my sins – past, present, and future. I’m saved by grace, not by living a sinless life. I’m not advocating that it’s safe to freely sin. I am saying we all sin regardless of whether or not we are saved. 1 Thessalonians 4:7 says, “For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.”  Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” So, obviously, God does not want to give us a license to sin and be disobedient. We respond in love and obedience to the gospel of grace. OK, that’s the end of my tangent!

Are you one of His sheep?

Picking back up where I left off before my tangent, In John chapter 10, we start up with some of my favorite verses in the entire Bible. John 10:26-30 says, “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”   It’s a great assurance to know that my salvation is God holding on to me, not me holding on to God. Jesus is God, and God is essentially proclaiming here that nobody can take me from Him.  But, I will point out here, that we have free will. We can choose God, or we can choose other gods. But does that mean we can choose God at one point in our lives, and then later choose something besides God? I don’t think so – not if you truly know Jesus. I will discuss whether or not we can choose to leave God in a minute. Notice here, that Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”  So, the real question we have here is - Am I one of His sheep?

No sin, no power, not even death can separate us from the love of God!

Romans 8:37-39 read, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  What great verses here, where Paul boldly declares that nothing created has the power to separate us from the love of Jesus. I am a creation of God, and everything on this earth, including the earth is not capable of separating me from the love that God has for me. There is nothing I can do to lose God’s love.  There is no sin, there is no power, and not even death can separate me from the love of God.  What a comforting scriptural truth!

We can know that we have eternal life

1 John 5:10 says, “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”  So here, John gives us the very reason why he wrote this particular book.  John said, we can know we are saved. Our salvation is not something that God intended for us to be in the dark on. We can know for certain that we are either saved, or we are not. Eternal life for us can start right now and last forever. You either have eternal life or you don’t.

If they were ever really of us, they would not have left us!

Finally, 1 John 2:19 says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”  So, those who argue on the side of eternal security use this verse, and rightfully so. Basically, what John is saying here is that they appeared to be like us, but appearances are deceiving because if they had truly been like us, they could never actually change. So, while we have free will, it is clear by these verses that we won't use that free will to leave our salvation behind if we ever truly had salvation to begin with. Many who claim that they are Christians, simply put, are not! Matthew’s gospel in chapter 7:21-23 says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”  These are somewhat scary verses. People can actually deceive themselves into thinking they are saved. I will talk about this in a little more depth at the end of this study, but let me reiterate that everyone can know whether or not they are saved! If you are concerned about whether or not you are saved, it is a very good indication to me that you actually are saved. That concern is the Holy Spirit inside you convicting you. If you have that kind of conviction, I believe it is a very good sign.

Open and shut case?

So, from these verses, it is very clear to me that I can’t lose my salvation.  So you might be thinking, this is an open and shut case. Based on these verses, we know what salvation is, we know that sin cannot cause us to lose our salvation, that nothing created can separate us from the love of God, and that if I’m saved, there is no power or anything else that can pluck me out of the Father’s hand. Obviously, there is no way we can lose our salvation based on these verses. But these verses contain only one part of the truth. I think it is wrong when have two seemingly conflicting truths, to pick one, and explain the other one away. We will now dive head-first into the opposing argument using scripture.

Another truth

Now we get to the verses those who believe in eternal salvation have to wrestle with, explain away, and really pretend aren't there. This is another truth.  All scripture is inspired by God.  Hebrews 6:4-6 says this: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”  So, to encapsulate these verses in a condensed manner, it basically says that Christians who say they no longer believe in Jesus cannot return to repentance. Now, I know many reading this will disagree with my brief interpretation, so let me break it down further.  Do these verses sound like they are describing a Christian to you? These verses are speaking of someone who was enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. Doesn't that sound like a Christian? What other type of person could be a partaker of the Holy Spirit? In preparing my study on this topic, I found literally dozens of webpages, books, and articles explaining away this verse. Some of them go so far as to claim that you can have all these things and still not be a Christian. I'll let you decide. The most disturbing part of this scripture reference is that it declares quite clearly that if you lose your salvation, you can never get it back. I think it is dangerous to just explain away a verse like this when so many lives are on the line. So, I think we err on the side of caution, rather than just explain verses like these away so they fit within our interpretation of scripture or our theology.

Dangerous to explain a verse away to make it fit with our theological viewpoints

I don’t claim that I know exactly what the verse means or how it works together with other scriptures, but I think it is foolish to make excuses for God and I think it is even more dangerous to explain it away.  In looking at opposing viewpoints to this verse, many claimed that this portion of scripture was only talking to the Jews. I think that is asinine. How we can pick some verses out and say that they were only talking to this group of people and they don’t apply to me and then take other verses in the book of Hebrews as though they were written to apply to me.  These verses don’t sound like something I can just throw away. There are many verses in the Bible that I don’t understand, but I believe them all. For example, I don’t believe in a works based salvation, as I previously stated. I believe we are saved by grace, through faith, in Jesus Christ. Saved from what? SAVED FROM MY SINS! Yet, Jesus said in Matthew 6:15, “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”  Some might say, how can you be saved from your sins by grace alone when Jesus Himself said you have to forgive others to be forgiven. I say, good question. I don’t know the answer to everything. I just believe what the Bible teaches. If it teaches two different truths, I believe them both. So, I believe Jesus when he said I have to forgive others their trespasses so that mine will also be forgiven and I believe that I am saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. I believe both because the Bible teaches them both. The verse in Matthew is one that many also try to explain away to fit their theology. That is playing with fire (pardon the reference!) when your very salvation is on the line, in my opinion.

Peter weighs in - A cause for concern

I think Hebrews 6:4-6 is the strongest verse for those who believe you can lose your salvation, so I cover it first. 2 Peter 2:19-22 says, “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb:  A dog returns to his own vomit, and,  a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”  So, if they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that to me, sounds a lot like a Christian. Those who argue that one can lose their salvation claim this is a Christian who became entangled and overcome with sin, that it would have been far better had they never known the truth about Righteousness to begin with. However, I don’t see how anyone can clearly say that these verses are describing a Christian. In fact, they are actually describing false teachers. But can a false teacher also be a Christian?  Peter may only be saying that some of these guys knew the Lord, but went back to the world, and it would have been better for them had they never knew God.  I draw a line in the sand of difference between knowing God and having a relationship with God.  I don’t know if these guys actually had a real relationship with God. But I’m not going to explain it away by guessing that they didn't have a relationship with God because nobody knows for sure. To me, there is a strong argument that they were Christians because what kind of person is freed from the bondage of sin, but then returns to it? I don’t know if Peter is referring to a Christian here or not, but he might be. Anyone who claims they do know, in my opinion, is doing nothing more than guessing. However, I will say it is possible that Peter is not referring to someone who was necessarily saved; rather they may have only had a knowledge of God. But that’s just my gut, or a guess I suppose you can call it! In either case, I could be wrong and there are strong arguments on both sides claiming that to be the case. So, in any case, I think it is a cause for concern.

Peter says some difficult things!

The Bible says these things. Peter, in particular says some things that are difficult for me. 1 Peter 3:21 basically says that baptism saves us. But, that’s not true. We’re saved by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ as Ephesians tells us. I think there are a lot of things in all our wisdom we try to make sense of, but can’t do so any other way, except to explain it away. I know that salvation has nothing to do with being baptized. I don’t want to change the subject and I know what peter is referring to is not salvation, but rather an appeal to God for good conscience (peter is actually referring to what baptism represents – connecting baptism with belief).  But to many his words are not all that clear. There is debate about it and a lot of people have divided over the whole baptism issue. I know anyone of my friends who believes as I do (that you can’t lose your salvation) doesn't like what I am saying here. I feel ya, I don't like it either to be perfectly honest. But we have to deal with it because the Bible says these things. And we have to deal with it honestly.

Demas deserts Paul

Finally, with regard to the scripture some use to make an argument that the Bible discusses people leaving their salvation - being saved and then choosing to leave their salvation behind. This is found in 2 Timothy 4:10-11, which says, "for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry."  Now, here scripture tells us that he left Paul (forsaken here literally means deserted) because he loved the things of the world more than the things of God. Many scholars believe that Demas actually fled for fear of his life because Christians were constantly being killed. Either way, the scripture does not say that Demas was indeed saved prior to leaving the side of Paul. I don't think it is very conclusive at all with regard to Demas being a Christian. But, it is equally difficult to say he wasn't a Christian. That is something we just don't know. 1 John 2:15-16 says, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world." So, if Demas loved the world, then he never had the love of the Father in him to begin with and it becomes increasingly questionable as to whether or not Demas was really ever saved. Demas was only mentioned 3 times in the entire bible and it is reaching at best to definitively claim he was a Christian based off the scriptures about him. At any rate, we know he deserted Paul when Paul really needed him. The scriptures are inspired and being that scripture does not identify Demas as a Christian is significant in my view. So, I respect others views, but I completely disagree with this assertion as being conclusive evidence that one can leave their salvation.

What I personally believe about salvation

I believe that scripture as a whole leans more towards the teaching and belief that one cannot lose their salvation. But, nobody knows for sure. Some think they do, but they are guessing at best, albeit educated guesses, it is still a guess. I consider it a guess, because you cannot disregard a scripture to bolster your view. Also, I am not going to hold such a strong view as to say that those who believe you can lose your salvation are wrong when there is evidence to the contrary. After all, Hebrews 6:4-6 is tough to explain away. But, I believe that I just don’t fully understand the verse in Hebrews. Even though I don’t fully understand it, I believe every word it says. In other words, I don’t know how Hebrews 6:4-6 fits in with the rest of scripture, but it is there and I believe all scripture is inspired by God. I’m not God’s lawyer.  But, I will say that the Bible clearly teaches in many other places that we cannot lose our salvation if we really ever had it to begin with. I think it is important when we come across a scripture that we don’t particularly like or understand to compare it to the rest of scripture to help us glean meaning from it. Back to 1 John 2:19, I believe if you walk away from it, you never had it to begin with, and you need it!  There is a saying about love that comes to mind, “If you love someone let them go. If they stay away then they were never yours to begin with.”  And I think that is so true in relationship of any kind, including with God. If someone leaves the Lord and never comes back, then they never belonged to the Lord to begin with.

What we do know for sure!

Here is what we do know. In John 3:36, we read that, “"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”  We know for sure what it takes to be saved. We have to believe in Jesus. Sorry for being so redundant, but we are saved through grace, by faith in Jesus Christ.  So if we believe in Jesus, that He is God, we are saved. This is so easy, even a caveman can get it (I like Geico insurance TV commercials!).


We can all know whether or not we are saved. That is the most important thing to take away from this. If you put your trust in Jesus, you are saved. Recently a girl asked me, if she accepted Jesus on her death bed, would God accept that. My answer was a question to her. Why would anyone want to live life without the certainty that when they died they were saved? Who would want to go through life not knowing if they had their salvation? Nothing is more important. Some people think they have it, and actually don’t. But we can know for sure whether or not we have it. If you truly believe in Jesus as your savior, you truly know for sure because the scriptures tell us as I have pointed out above that faith in Jesus is all that is required to save us. Many people I have asked about their salvation will say, “Well I hope so,” or “I’ll find out when I die!”  There are a lot of indications to let you know whether or not you are saved. If someone asked you how you know that you are saved, and you reply, “Because I have faith in Jesus Christ and I completely trust Him with my whole heart,” then I would agree with that person without any hesitation.  Now, let me say this also – If you think you’re saved because you raised your hand at a Billy Graham or a Greg Laurie gathering 15 years ago, but you have had no change in the way you live your life, I can’t make you feel confident in your salvation because the Bible doesn't give that person much confidence in their salvation.  If you are putting your faith in the fact that you were baptized when you were 9 years old, or because your parents had you dedicated as a baby, that’s not good.

If you want to be saved, my response is that you probably already are. People who are concerned about their salvation are usually concerned because the Holy Spirit is convicting them.  I know that I am saved personally, because I read my Bible and I try to do it – doing it is having faith in Jesus Christ, trusting Him with everything I have, and living my life the way He commands me to. I do it all. Not perfectly, of course! I don’t believe we need works, but I do the works because I want to out of love. I want to because I love Jesus and I want to glorify Him with my life.  Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments!  I put my trust in Him, so I am not worried about it at all! If you do the same thing, you also don’t need to worry about it.

Sum Up The Entire Bible In One Word

The one word that sums up the Bible is, “LOVE!” What is the most important law in the Bible? Jesus tells us that there is one thing that we need to know above all other things the Bible teaches concerning the law. That is to love. It is as plain, pure, and simple as love.

Jesus sums it all up for us

A lawyer came and asked Jesus what is the most important commandment in Matthew 22:36. In verses 37-40, Jesus answered them,“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ‘This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. ‘All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Background to the story

Pharisees

Now, let me give a little background on this.  All of this commenced with the Pharisees. Pharisees were the most religious people in the Jewish community. Concerning the Mosaic Law, nobody followed it more closely than the Pharisees did. These Pharisees believed that they were better than other people because they were strict and disciplined followers of the law. They took pride that they did all the right things. Jesus comes along, and the Pharisees get upset with Him because Jesus didn't obey the same set of rules the Pharisees did. You see, the Pharisees developed their own set of rules, regulations, procedures, and traditions.  Pharisees wanted to keep themselves as far away from other people as they could for fear that they might become defiled from touching, dining, or being in the company of others such as the gentiles. They were religious weirdos.  Since their attempts at attacking Jesus always backfired, they decided to convince a Herodian to come and question Jesus.

Herodians

Herodians were of a political party in the day belonging to King Herod. Herodians believed engaging in politics was doing the work of God and so their allegiance was to Rome. In the time of Jesus, there was a lot of controversy over the fact that some claimed we should worship God, and others who claimed we should supremely worship the Emperor.  So the Pharisees thought it would be a great way to trap Jesus by having a Herodian come to question Jesus asking the question of who should we pay our taxes to – Ceasar or God? If Jesus said, "yeah, you should pay your taxes," then people would have claimed Him to be a Herodian rather than a king. People were claiming Jesus to be a King in a sense, and so to sound like a Herodian would have destroyed his reputation.  This is what the Pharisees anticipated and hoped would be the outcome from having this Herodian question Jesus. But, if Jesus said, “You don’t need to pay your taxes,” He would be in big trouble with Rome. So, this Herodian thought he set the perfect trap for Jesus. They were certain this question was the perfect trapping question with no good answer. But Jesus asked for a coin of their money.  Jesus asked them whose image was on the coin, and they replied that it was Caesar. So Jesus told them to give to Caesar what was Caesar’s and to God what was God’s (Matthew 22:21). This was a brilliant answer. Give to the government what belongs to the government, but then everything else belongs to God.

Sadducees

Next up, the Sadducees entered the ring to attack and trap Jesus. The Sadducees were sad you see. Their God is kind of like the Deists God. They didn't believe in heaven or miracles, etc. They were the liberals of the day. They were enemies of the Pharisees and Herodians, but, it is interesting that they all came together to mount an attack on Jesus. That was a cause that united them. So, here come the Sadducees. Again, the Sadducees pose a question regarding marriage. Basically, they were asking if a woman ended up marrying more than one man in her life, who she would end up being married to in Heaven.  Jesus again answered them telling them they didn't know the scriptures. We are going to be like the angels. Everyone is going to be close to everyone. He basically told them their idea was ridiculous and they did not know or understand the things of God. So, the Pharisees have struck out many times in their attempts to outwit Jesus and turn away His followers. They had a Herodian attempt, and he struck out. Then they partnered with their enemies (the Sadducees) and they also failed to trap Jesus.

The Lawyer 

Now, they bring a lawyer in to the picture. This is where we pick up in Matthew 22:36, which says, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” So this lawyer was more like a scholar of the law. They were rigid traditionalists. The lawyers – also called, "scribes" wanted to just get back to what the bible said. They didn't go along with all the man-made traditions the Pharisees adopted. Scribes were not influenced by anyone, any Rabbi, or any idea of the day. They strictly based their traditions and ideas of God on the Bible. So the scribe asked Jesus what was the most important law. Now, whenever you interpret the Bible, you have to be very cautious that you do not err.  Especially if you are someone multitudes are following such as those following our Lord, Jesus. The question this Scribe posed to Jesus was intended to get him to interpret the Bible incorrectly. This was another attempt to trip Jesus up. There was a great debate back in this time as to what was the greatest commandment. Many claimed it was circumcision or some other such law.

The Most Holy

The idea was, the Scribes, like the Pharisees, wanted to be the most Holy by following the law. The Pharisees had so many loopholes in the law that they were in their own eyes very holy people. It’s the same thing with the Scribes, without all the loopholes. They felt like if they followed the law to the T, they were the most holy. There are churches today that do similar things with legalism or baptism. They’ll say the most important thing is to be baptized or whatever. Circumcision was a big thing back then. Others said it was one of the 10 commandments. The Scribes were hoping to trap Jesus here by turning away some of His followers. Certainly, some of Jesus followers would have felt like having no other gods or idols before God would be more important than circumcision, and others would believe you had to be circumcised to even come into a relationship with God.

Jesus Stunned Them With A Convicting Truth

Jesus stunned all of them yet again with his answer in Matthew 22:37-40, which reads, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ‘This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. ‘All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  So, Jesus proclaims here that all the laws in the Bible are related to these two commandments. Jesus is actually quoting 2 verses in the Old Testament here as well.  This was such a profound and convicting answer that Jesus gave them. All of the Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees, and Scribes were trying to do the things they thought they should do. But Jesus tells them all that they are missing the bigger picture. Everything does not hinge on how well we obey the law, but rather how well we love God and others. If we love God and others, we will naturally follow the law. The idea of having a relationship with God was foreign to these people. Religion has never been able to produce a relationship with God.

Saved by Grace, Through Faith in Jesus Christ!

Thankfully, we have grace! Because of God’s grace, we can enter into a relationship with Him. Grace simply means unmerited favor.  God gives us His favor even though we could never earn it.  If we were dependent upon the law to have a relationship with Jesus, we would all fall short. Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Religion and legalism produces failure, resentment, and hate for God. Grace produces love for God. None of these religious types are going to argue with the response Jesus game them. Who would say, “No, love is not important?”  Nobody of course!  So, really, the entire Bible is about loving God. Everything in the Bible teaches us who God is and how to love Him.

How Then Do We Love Him?

So, if the Bible is all about loving God, we must stop and ask ourselves, how are we supposed to love Him? How do you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind? I think of this in human terms because I am a human and the physical things of this world are all I know. So, myself, I think about a wife. When you decide to marry someone, you are essentially saying that you want to spend all your time with this person for the rest of your life. You want to know them more; you want to do things for them and experience everything with them. Love is a connection, affection, and an attachment. God wants us to love Him as deeply as we can.  The Bible was written in part to help us connect with God so that we can love God more deeply.  We love God by spending time getting to know Him. Our thoughts, everything within us, we put God into everything we are.  What God wants us to know the most is that He loves us. We love him because He first loved us. He loves us no matter what. We have been washed by the blood of Jesus and we are perfect to Him. He wants us to love him back because that shows that we understand how much God loves us.

Loving "Others"

Jesus identified with others. Not only does God want us to love him, He wants us to love others. I think it is much easier to love a perfect God than an imperfect neighbor. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus goes so far as to say that we have to also love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. So, God is easy to love, but why does He want me to love my neighbors? Well, I think probably everyone knows the obvious answer. Jesus laid his life down for others because Jesus loved everyone. Have you ever had two friends that hated each other? You couldn't get together with both of those friends at the same time and do anything together. You couldn't have experiences together, laughter together, joy together, tears together, or anything together. Many of us have family members that won’t talk to each other or that openly declare their hatred for one another. If you’re the person stuck between two friends or family members that hate each other, you suffer. Jesus died for every living person because He loves everyone. We are all his family. He wants us to treat each other with love and respect. It makes perfect sense. We are all connected with each other because Jesus died for all of us. John 3:16 – perhaps one of the most known verses in the entire world - For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son! God so loved us all he gave His only Son! That’s amazing love. God loves us unconditionally. He loves everyone so much that he doesn't condemn us, He forgives us. When we sin, God is not repulsed by us for sinning. God hates sin, but loves the sinner.  In John 3:17, Jesus said, “I didn't come in to the world to condemn the world; I came to save the world.”  In Romans 8:1, Paul said, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Jesus Christ.”  No matter what we do, His response is still, “I LOVE YOU!”

Conclusion

Jesus didn't care if you were a prostitute, a thief, or anything else. He loved everyone. I wonder if we don’t see as great a work today in the lives of sinners because too often we find ourselves acting more like Herodians, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes. We need to be mindful that we are acting like Jesus. Jesus loved everyone. 1 John 4:8 says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  God is love, and we need to model our hearts after the heart of Jesus, which is clearly in one single word, “LOVE.”  From Genesis to Revelation, we learn things that help us love God and others. Our Lord, Jesus, said that it is the most important thing and that all of the law is summed up in love.

Winning the Battle - Losing the War

Division may take away from the gospel

Do you ever feel like regardless of how many battles you win, you still lose the war?  I have been thinking about how many subjects/topics divide us as God's children. The vast topics of discussion that divide us are excessive. It is really depressing that we don’t find more things we can unite on. Contention oftentimes brings unnecessary strife between us. In a recent heated discussion on an important social/political topic, I found myself at odds with many whom I love. I have been reflecting on this all week. Have I lost the art of disagreeing in love with respect for others viewpoints? Even the church is divided on many things. That’s why we have denominations such as Baptists and Presbyterians. Not in all cases, but in most cases all the various denominations, or as I prefer to call them,” divisions,” basically agree on the important aspects of salvation, but disagree on minor theological points.

What unites us

Ephesians 2:8 basically sums up what much of the church can unite around. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”  Are we not a family?  Something the Lord has reminded me of this week is that it is not my job to convince anyone of anything. Conversely, it is the Holy Spirit's job to win hearts. It is also not my job to forcibly convince others of what position they should take on issues, how they should act, or what makes them a good witness. It's not wrong to address topics in a spirit of love and correction, but the spirit of rebellion stirs like a mighty wind in the hearts of those who sense you are shoving your convictions down their throats. Let the Holy Spirit stir their hearts. Paul refers to this process as “the renewing of mind” and in Romans 12 refers to the pressure of the world to conform us into its image, whereas we should, in fact, be “transformed through the renewing of the mind” (Romans 12:2). This process does not only liberate us, but it changes us from the inside out. 1st Peter 3:15-16 says, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."

 It is far better, in my humble opinion, to not waste much time, energy, and strength dividing over things that don’t have anything to do with the gospel. There are many ways people attack the gospel. Some attack it by attacking the Bible’s legitimacy or accuracy, some attack the gospel with their bad theology specifically related to salvation, and others attack the gospel through many other methods. The point is, abortion or gun control rights have nothing to do with salvation or the gospel message. There are far too many things we can divide on, and not enough things for us to unite on.  That is partially why it is imperative to consider whether or not something is worth dividing over. We can still have our opinions about gun control, taxes, or our theology. We can share them with others. It is right to speak out for things you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit on. If you feel led to speak about social/political issues, then you should. But we must be cautious that speak out in love with respect towards opposing opinions. We want to be a light in a dark world. We can win the battle, but ultimately if someone loses their soul because we misrepresent the gospel, we lose the war. If our goal is to glorify God in our representation of Him, we ought to take great care and discipline our tongue and actions so that we represent in love. And when I say (we), I mostly mean (I).

Majoring in the minors

There is a very common expression in Christian circles used to (pardon the expression) shut the mouths of those who would dare speak out against evil, “majoring in the minors.”  Jesus accused the Pharisees of majoring in the minors in Matthew 23:24, which reads, “You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”  The gnat being the smaller issues such as things not pertaining to salvation, and the camel being weightier issues such as those pertaining to the gospel.  I believe and I will continue to talk about and press people on anything that can take away from or add to the gospel. But, I think it is very important to not allow one’s self to be overly caught up in the minors (social/political issues, theological differences, parts of the mosaic law, etc.). Once more, I am not condemning speaking out on sinful actions or social topics of interest in today's culture, but I am declaring that we should always have the cross in mind when doing so. I rigorously defend against those who attack Jesus deity,  those who attack the Bible making any number of ludicrous claims that it is untrue, flawed, not God’s word, etc., and against those who add to or take away from the gospel in their theology. An attack on Jesus, the Bible, or anything else that relates to our salvation is something worth fighting for. I don’t want anyone to be turned off to the saving gospel message due to a lie or false belief in anything related to our salvation. Nothing in life is more important than our salvation. God is the God of the impossible. We don’t need to convince others whether or not social/political issues are right or wrong. Once the Lord is able to procure salvation for someone, He who can do the impossible, can change anyone’s heart on any topic.

Sowing discord

Those who sow discord are harming the cause, rather than fighting for it. The Lord hates those who sow discord. Yes, I said, “hates.” The Lord loves things and hates things just as we do. He hates to be misrepresented and he hates those who bring about strife amongst us. Proverbs 19:5 says, “A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.”  Proverbs 6:19 speaks in reference to the 6 things God hates and the 7 things which are an abomination to him. The verse reads, “A false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”   I think some of our intentions are honorable when we misrepresent the Lord. I think sometimes we sow discord among our brothers and sisters unintentionally.  I know that I have on occasion. I, myself, need to be more mindful of these things. I do not want to sow discord or misrepresent the God I love and want to share with others.

Conclusion

I am not concluding that we ignore the minor topics.  For myself, I realize that I make too big of a deal out of things that are not the most important things to worry about or defend. The bible teaches us many things. None of us do everything the Bible teaches us. The guidelines we follow as Christians might not be the best guidelines for everyone else. Romans 14:4 says, “Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” This is not a post saying it is wrong to judge others, I cover that topic here. However, we are to judge people and behaviors righteously. This means in the spirit of correction and in love with respect. Would you allow your child to climb on the rail at Niagara Falls?  Or would you judge that situation to be unsafe and potentially deadly for your child? Wouldn't you lovingly teach your child that something is unsafe if their life depended on it? It is that same spirit of correction we need to have when we discuss minor social/political topics or major topics where someone's salvation is literally at stake. John 7:24 says, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul. He further stated that the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbors. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus tells us, ""But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," Praying for someone is an act of love. 1 Peter 3:9 says, "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing." Loving those who insult you is how Jesus deals with people. I'm sure we all remember, when Jesus was on the cross, He called out to His Father and said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."  That, my friends, is true love. That is how we ought to respond to avoid causing discord among others. I like the NLT version of 1 Corinthians 13:7, which says, "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."

The point is, we all answer to God in the end for all our own actions. We (you and I) all stand or fall before the Lord on judgment day. He is our master, and we will either stand or fall before Him. I don’t want to have to answer for turning anyone away from the gospel due to holding such a strong opinion on a topic not related to one’s salvation. In all things we do, our motivation should be to bring glory to God. Ask yourself before you do or say anything if it will bring glory to God. If you cannot answer yes, then do not say or do it. If you can answer yes, that you can be sure that you are doing it in love with respect in the spirit of correction properly representing the Lord, Jesus Christ.