***NEW: Hebrews: Chapter 10 (11/30/24)
***NEW: Re-mastered MP3s of Hebrews: 1-6; SR 1-5; CT 1-7
[posted 3/22/25]
**Please check out the wonderful, new re-mastering of MP3 files now in process through the good offices of Chris B. and the generosity of Angel H.: MP3 Audio Files Re-mastered. The Satanic Rebellion series now full and complete (sample: SR 2: The Genesis Gap)!
Question #1:
Hi Mr. Luginbill,
If I have a desire to be saved, that means I'm not hopelessly lost
right? I am always afraid if missing out on heaven. When bad weather
comes, and tornado watches, I worry about dying. I want to go to heaven.
I want to believe in Jesus and never lose that.
Response #1:
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you ARE saved. In scripture, where you find the word(s) believer(s), generally speaking it is the present participle and means, literally, "the one(s) believing". So faith is a living thing. Either person "is believing" in Jesus or they are not. And while those who do not believe are not saved, all believers ARE saved.
"He who believes (lit., "is believing") in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe (lit., "is not believing") is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:18 NKJV
That said, the only way to gain confidence in your salvation is to grow in it through the truth of the Word of God, taking it in daily, believing what you are taught, and passing the tests you are given by trusting the Lord (see the link).
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #2:
Doc, so many people add turning from your sins and becoming as dedicated to the Lord as possible, often called "making Jesus Lord of your life", to the Gospel, typically calling it "the other side of the coin of faith". I agree that it would be very odd for say a serial murderer to be saved and feel no genuine godly sorrow for his sin (Paul comes to mind in this regard), but to these people "Lordship Salvation" seems to be the plain and clear reading of the texts on salvation...what do you feel about this? Sorry if I asked before
Response #2:
People are always trying to add to the gospel. The gospel is simple enough – for
us (Christ did the suffering and dying for us): "Believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ and you will be saved!" (Acts 16:31).
Adding anything to the gospel makes it "another gospel" . . . "which is really
no gospel at all" (Gal.1:7). So if someone is relying on, e.g., being
water-baptized, for salvation, or any sort of works, they are not saved because
salvation is "by grace through faith, not of works" (Eph.2:8-9).
Here is a list of such "false issues" in BB 4B: Soteriology (at
the link).
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #3:
I have sent you this already. I corrected my story.
My story is a sad story of almost 50 years after it started of being
caught in a habitual sin that I am sorry to say lasted almost a lifetime
of struggle. This sin was porn and eventually fornications. I was saved,
accept Christ when I was young around 9 or 10, my mom had me wait until
I was 12 to be baptized, we attended Assembly of God church. It was
around 12 or 13 when I found my father's porn magazines hidden in the
house. I became hooked. [omitted] I would repent, confess my sin to the
Lord Jesus. It would come and go, sometimes weeks, or months, or a year,
but mostly months. I hid the sin basically from my youth, ashamed, I
didn’t know how to talk about it, I kept it silent. I suffered great
sorrow in my life, I lost my first wife to an accident, left me with 3
young children to raise (9,10, and 12). I did. I suffered as I hid this
sin, I didn’t know what to do, I remember crying many times to God, heal
me save me, take this thing from me, help me. Then I hit rock bottom in
my life I kind of really backslid very badly, I still believed in God, I
didn’t stop, I just gave into my sin badly. I fell into homosexual
activity for about 2 years. I didn’t have an attraction to men it was
the porn that did or the darkness that overcame my heart. I did not want
this life I was crying out. It was at the end of those two years I meet
a beautiful Christian woman. We married 6 months later, I thought this
was it I found love, I start going back to church I gave my life back to
Christ, at least I thought I did. It was a year and half later that the
porn desire came back, I don’t know how but it did, and I struggled,
over the next year and it would lead to committing adultery. You might
have guessed I never told my wife; I hid this sin from her, ashamed,
stupid, I could not face myself. I struggled; I was Lost. Because I hid
it still not telling anyone trying to deal with this on my own, I
thought I could fix it, I could not. I know still adultery. I was a sick
man. It was shortly after this my wife caught me looking porn. It was
then I broke down, I cried and cried I told her everything I held
nothing back, I never wept bitterly. I prayed asked God forgiveness with
my wife. She never I suffer a problem, she was not happy, but she would
stick with me and not divorce me, she still loved me. Some years later I
would ask her do you ever regret marring me and she said no, no regrets.
I when to a Christian consoler, I don’t think I went to a good one. I
don’t know if God was very happy with my life, I struggled with my
salvation. My wife was diagnosed with lung cancer after 4.5 years of
marriage. The porn temporary ended, but it would happen many months
apart. I really sought God, I pray, I worked even harder on stopping
this addiction. During this time, I fasted, put blocking software on
home computers and phone, I wanted it to stop. The only time I would
have any issues is when during her cancer she would really get.
[omitted]. Maybe because only my wife knew and I still hid it from
telling others, kind of? I do remember the last 6 months of her life, I
remember crying out to God to help end this I really feared go back to
what I was before I met her, I really feared that. I very much remember
asking God to break me, crush me, take everything from me, God I would
ask I cannot live with the desire in my body. At the end of those 6
months my wife would die in my arms. I was broken, apparently not broken
enough. I was crushed. [omitted] I remember crying to God help me. I
cannot live like this. It was the 3rd time, I did it. It was actually
where I felt how could God ever forgive me; I must be lost and
unforgivable. There is no hope for me, God felt so far away, why should
I ask him to forgive me, how could he. Something else happen a few days
later I notice something different the desire for porn was gone. I did
eventually in my prayer closet breakdown and ask God forgiveness, and it
all came out I wept and wept and wept some more. Oh, I don’t think I
told you during the last 9 months I found a very very good Abundant Life
Christian Counseling Services, they help me so much, help me understand
my relationship with God, I read many books to understand my addiction.
I do have such a burden to help man out of this darkness I desire to
tell me story to who will listen. I prayed like I never prayed before, I
seek God like I never seek him before, I study Gods word like I never
study before. I witness to people, hand out tracks. So, you are properly
wandering why I am writing this email to you. I was studying the word of
God and I came across Hebrews chapter 6, 10 and 12. That am I really
saved, I did so badly willfully sins, so many 50 years of wandering in
willfully sins from age 12 or 13, how could God love someone like me.
So, I struggled with my faith, I brought this up with my counselor and
pastor. They tried to assure me that I am not Esau. I do have a OCD a
compulsive disorder and I will obsessive over things. I just don’t have
peace, some days I do, others I don’t. I am really struggle with my
salvation, that it's not lost. Can you help me understand where I am in
my salvation?
Is God going to end my life? I have lost over 30 pounds and not only
Hebrews is my issue I came across Job 33:14-30. Can you answer this
letter. I really want God in my life, I pray every day, study his word.
So, this is my story, a sad story, of wandering in sin. You have my
permission to use this story anywhere, I like my story to be told, don’t
be like me. You are welcome to edit.
Response #3:
You are suffering from guilt, and that is not at all uncommon since the
devil uses that emotion against Christians as one of his prime weapons.
But the operative question you are asking here is, "Am I saved or not?"
How do we know if we are saved? We know we are saved if we believe in
Jesus Christ; if a person does not believe in Jesus Christ, that person
is not saved, even if they once did believe in Jesus Christ (Lk.8:13).
But if we DO believe in Him, then we ARE saved.
"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:18 NKJV
Let me tell you, apostates, that is, those who once believed but came to
reject God and Jesus Christ the Son of God DO NOT CARE about the
salvation they have rejected and tossed aside. The mere fact that you DO
care indicates to me that you are saved, just confused.
Have you sinned? Then confess your sins. When you do, God has promised
to forgive you (1Jn.1:9; Ps.32:1-5). Jesus has already died for ALL of
your sins. Why would God not be willing to forgive you when He says He
will? Doubting Him in this is a very dangerous and subjective position
to take and one that is not in the Bible. That is like saying you don't
trust God to do what He says He will do. That is not the way believers
should be. We who have believed in Jesus Christ need to move forward
with Him in the same way we came to belong to Him in the first place.
But with respect to the progress you have made, keep on advancing in the same way!
Philippians 3:16
That "same way" is through believing the truth you are taught and
putting into practice with that same faith. In other words, believers
are charged to grow spiritually. Sanctification, staying away from sin,
is one part of the picture, but the other part, the decisive one, is
spiritual growth. You can't fight the enemy without ammunition and that
ammo is the truth of the Word, made clear to you by the Spirit when you
study under a ministry such as Ichthys (I also recommend
Bible Academy at the
link).
The Christian life is all about moving forward and NOT looking
backwards.
(12) [It is] not that I have already gotten [what I am striving for], nor that I have already completed [my course]. Rather, I am continuing to pursue [the prize] in hopes of fully acquiring it – [this prize for whose acquisition] I was myself acquired by Christ Jesus. (13) Brethren, I do not consider that I have already acquired it. This one thing only [do I keep in mind]. Forgetting what lies behind me [on the course] and straining towards the [course] ahead, (14) I continue to drive straight for the tape, towards the prize to which God has called us from the beginning [of our race] in Christ Jesus. (15) So as many as are [spiritually] mature, let us have this attitude (i.e., of focusing on our spiritual advance and reward and not getting hung up on what lies behind: vv.13-14), and if in any matter your attitude is off-center, God will reveal that to you (i.e., assuming you are mature and are advancing as you should).
Philippians 3:12-15
I assure you, THIS is what Jesus wants you to do. Not doubt your
salvation. Not wallow in guilt. Not fixate on the past. But get up and
get moving FORWARD. Turn away from all bad things, confess your sins,
and commit to spiritual growth. Only a daily intake of good, healthy,
spiritual food will help you grow (and you are doubtless NOT going to
find that in 99.99% of the churches out there in Laodicea today).
You are a believer or you wouldn't care about your salvation. It really
is that simple. I advise you to do what the Jews whom Nehemiah came to
help did: get up and start rebuilding that wall. God will help you – if
you are willing to be helped.
The most recent posting at Ichthys has to do with related issues (at
the link). Here are a couple of links which addressed the incorrect
understanding of those passages in Hebrews which many wrongly entertain:
Are those in Hebrews 6:4 who "crucify the Son of God afresh" lost?
The Grammar of Hebrews 6:4ff.
No, Hebrews does not teach that you lost your salvation.
I honestly don't understand why you find Job 33 concerning since the
passage affirms that God forgives and restores those children of His who
come back to Him. That is the lesson of the prodigal son too, after all:
he did horribly bad things . . . but his father received him with open
arms when he came back. So does our dear heavenly Father and so does our
dear Savior Jesus Christ.
In Him,
Bob L.
Question #4:
Hi Bob,
I have some writing from the past wherein I dove into specifics of
justification by faith as it relates to works. In that writing, I
touched on Ephesians 2:4-10 (salvation by grace through faith), John 15
(Christians bearing fruit), Romans 3:21-26 (justified by faith not works
of the law) -- cf. also Romans 5:1-2, Romans 4:1-5 (Abraham's
justification by faith apart from works), and of course James 2
(especially verses 20-24, talking about Abraham's justification by faith
and works in concert).
That piece was primarily focused on the difficulty of Romans 4:1-5 and
James 2:20-24 seeming to directly contradict each other.
To give the short version, I mostly focused on drawing a distinction of
"types of works", contrasting "human works" and "works of faith." One
then interprets the passages something like this:
The James passage:
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does
not have works [of faith]? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or
sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you
says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them
the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by
itself, if it does not have works [of faith], is dead. 18 But someone
will say, “You have faith and I have works [of faith].” Show me your
faith apart from your works [of faith], and I will show you my faith by
my works [of faith].19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even
the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish
person, that faith apart from works [of faith] is useless? 21 Was not
Abraham our father justified by works [of faith] when he offered up his
son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his
works [of faith], and faith was completed by his works [of faith];23 and
the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was
counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24
You see that a person is justified by works [of faith] and not by faith
alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute
justified by works [of faith] when she received the messengers and sent
them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is
dead, so also faith apart from works [of faith] is dead.
The Ephesians passage:
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he
loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up
with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of
his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have
been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift
of God, 9 not a result of [human] works, so that no one may boast. 10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works [of
faith], which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
The Romans 4 passage:
1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according
to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by [human] works, he has
something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the
Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as
righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works [in human terms], his wages
are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not
work [in human terms] but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his
faith is counted as righteousness
In the end, I concluded:
Paul in Romans 4 is using Abraham as a contrasting example to human
works since Abraham acted in faith.
James in James 2 is using Abraham as a contrasting example to “faith”
that does not produce fruit since Abraham’s faith proved itself genuine
through his actions, actions which required a great deal of belief.
According to Paul, Abraham was justified by his faith and not by human
works. According to James, Abraham was justified by his faith and the
works of faith springing from it that demonstrate his faith to be true.
Put differently, James is saying that Abraham was justified by faith
shown to be real through works of faith. No contradiction.
OK, so all that is well and good. It made sense to me when I wrote it,
and still largely does. The distinction between "types" of works being
the interpretive secret sauce, if you will.
But in my current work on Romans, I found myself writing a few
paragraphs regarding the justification mentioned in Romans 2:13. Knowing
that I'd written about all this before, I went to find the above past
writing, only to bump into the fact that this Romans 2:13 verse doesn't
seem to neatly fit into the interpretive framework.
For, everywhere else in Romans (e.g., in the Romans 3:21-26 passage)
Paul talks about faith, works, and justification, the works [of the law]
are explicitly said to be insufficient, with faith being the necessary
driver of justification. But this verse mentions "doers of the law"
being justified. And we know it is salvific justification because of
context (cf. the prepositional phrase in Romans 2:16 -- and the future
passive form of δικαι ω here).
It's the "law" bit that's got me a bit tangled up. Kind of the whole
thesis of my past writing was that the "works" mentioned in James 2 are
not the same as the ones mentioned in Romans, and that's how one
explains the difficulties. I suppose, if one wanted to to be pedantic,
we truly don't have ergon in Romans 2, just ποιηταὶ (="doers"). But I
don't think that really gets me out of the challenge.
I've turned it over in my head a bit, but haven't come up with a great
answer. You can, in fact, mostly leave aside the James passage in this
question (I just brought it up to show my interpretive method thus far);
Romans 2:13 and Romans 3:21-26 alone are sufficient to introduce the
question.
Anything jump out at you?
Yours in Christ,
Response #4:
Re: "Anything jump out at you?", without doing a detailed analysis of your email and to answer this question only, Paul is talking about salvation when he speaks of justification by faith; James is talking about the believer in time where one believer claims he/she doesn't have to "do" anything thereafter because he/she is saved (and justified by faith); but while it is true that we are born again, born from above, justified by our faith when we believe, we cannot rest on our laurels. As we became believers through faith, if our faith is genuine then it will result in the "good works which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Eph.2:10).
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Galatians 6:10 NKJV
Paul is setting down the principle of how we are saved; James is warding off abuse on the part of those who are essentially "absolute eternal security" types who are not growing or producing. Whereas what we are supposed to do after saving faith is clear in Paul as well:
But with respect to the progress you have made, keep on advancing in the same way!
Philippians 3:16
(6) So then, exactly as you [originally] received Christ Jesus as [your] Lord, be walking in Him [in the very same way], (7) rooted and built up in him, established in the faith just as you were taught, overflowing with thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:6-7
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #5:
Dear Brother Bob, hope you are well.
Your response reminded me a lot of Romans 1, that God has revealed
Himself in nature, but people reject God.
There are times when I doubt my salvation, there are Pastors like John
Macarthur and Charles Stanley who have written books on eternal
security, but there are also those who believe eternal security is a
false doctrine. Regardless of which position is true, how do we know we
have genuinely been born again?
Thanks Brother Bob,
Response #5:
We are secure in our salvation . . . as long as we retain our faith in Christ. Only believers are saved:
"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:18 NKJV
The thing is, it is possible for some who believe today not to believe tomorrow. During the Tribulation, fully one third of believers will be swept up in the Great Apostasy (see the link). Since we are presently nearly on the cusp of the Tribulation, this is no small issue (see the link: "Three False Doctrines which Threaten Faith"). The Bible clearly teaches the possibility of apostasy, that is, the deliberate casting away of one's faith so as to revert to being an unbeliever:
"But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away."
Luke 8:13 NKJV
The problem with most teaching about apostasy and loss of salvation is
that it is wrongly connected to the problem of sin. Sin itself does not
result in loss of salvation, no matter how bad or how much. Sin DOES
result in divine discipline and does push a person farther and farther
away from the Lord if there is no repentance and confession (which
results in forgiveness always: 1Jn.1:9). Please read the link on this
for the details on the distinctions involved: in
BB 3B: "Apostasy and the Sin unto Death").
As to "There are times when I doubt my salvation", I can't
imagine why. The Holy Spirit within us affirms that we are children of
God (Rom.8:15; Gal.4:6), and no one who lacks the Spirit belongs to
Jesus Christ (Rom.8:9). Salvation is the first thing we believe; not
much spiritual progress is possible if that is not believed. I encourage
you to begin reading into this ministry aggressively AND believing what
you are taught. There is no spiritual growth without the truth; there is
no spiritual growth without BELIEVING the truth. Do you believe in Jesus
Christ, that He is God and man, that He died for your sins and the sins
of the world? If you do, you are a believer, and all believers have been
saved, are being saved, and will be saved
(see the link).
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #6:
Dear Brother Bob, hope you are well.
I agree that it is possible to believe today and not tomorrow. There are some
people I went to college with who served on the worship team, that after a few
years said they no longer believe in God. This is not an isolated incident as I
have known several people from college like this. One girl, outwardly seemed to
show the fruit of the Holy Spirit and her prayers sounded sincere, but today she
calls herself an atheist. This is very alarming. I remember Peter once asked
Jesus, who then can be saved? (Matt 19:25). They are at a point where they once
were talking about Jesus frequently and now they do not want to mention His
name. I am not sure if there is anything I can or should be doing to help them.
Love in Christ,
Response #6:
Your experience is not at all unique in this regard. There are a lot of
fair-weather Christians out there in Laodicea who abandon the Lord when
trouble comes or when they don't get what they want out of life, just as
our Lord predicted (Matt.13:20-21; Mk.4:16-17; *Lk.8:13).
In terms of helping others, that really is a judgment call. We have to
rely on the Spirit's guidance there. You know what our Lord said about
casting pearls before swine: we need to take care that they don't turn
around and attack us. Clearly, anyone who turns a brother or sister
around with a timely word is doing the Lord's work and greatly
benefitting that person (e.g., Jas.5:20). But for those who have
completely turned aside from the Lord, the end is worse than the
beginning (2Pet.2:21-22). So all I can say by way of guidance here is
that while a timely word is a delight (Prov.15:23), and one "fitly
spoken" is like "apples of gold in settings of silver" (Prov.25:11),
especially in days such as we presently live in being prudent about what
we say and to whom we say it has never been more important (Prov.22:3;
23:9; Is.59:14-15a).
"You oppress the righteous man, you take bribes, and you turn the innocent away [from justice] at the gate. So the prudent man keeps quiet at [such a] time [as] this, for it is an evil time."
Amos 5:12b-13 (cf. Matt.7:6)
If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.
1st John 5:16 NKJV
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #7:
Dear Brother Bob, hope you are well.
You bring up an interesting word, “fair weather Christians”, and the
church at Laodicea. My question is that based on your understanding of
Scripture, do you think lukewarm Christians are saved? My background is
in clinical mental health. I have had patients who said they are
Christians but they say they have slept with multiple women and have
nothing to do with the church. I have recently been wondering if
lukewarm Christians have no fruit of the Holy Spirit, are they really
born again? I am working on certification in Biblical counseling, and
the first step is to determine if the person is a Christian or not
because a non-Christian would have no ability to understand the
Scriptures.
Love in Christ,
Response #7:
On your questions:
1) "do you think lukewarm Christians are saved?": A Christian,
the way I use the word, is someone who has saving faith in Jesus Christ,
in other words, a believer. Scripture often describes believers with an
attributive participle phrase just so, i.e., as "those who are
believing", meaning, those who have faith in Jesus Christ.
"He who believes in Him (lit., "the one who is believing") is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed (perf. tense, "has not entered into the state of having faith") in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:18 NKJV
There are believers and there are unbelievers. An unbeliever is not
saved just because he/she is a fine upstanding person living an
exemplary moral life. A believer is not "not saved" if he/she is not
behaving as a Christian should. In the case of the former, no amount of
human good works will save a person – only Jesus could take away any sin
(and He did die for all sins, so standing on His work is the only way to
be saved). In the case of the latter, as we have discussed, sin pushes a
believer away from the Lord if not repented of and confessed, and the
farther away a Christian gets for the Lord and His truth, the weaker
his/her faith becomes. At some point, in the case of chronic, gross
sinfulness, this usually results in either apostasy (the loss of faith
when a person stops believing and is thus no longer a believer but a
reverted unbeliever) or the sin unto death (when the Christian refuses
to relinquish faith but also refuses to change his/her ways). This is
all discussed
at the link.
Being lukewarm is a dangerous place for any believer to be, as Jesus
said: "because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am about to
vomit you out of my mouth" (Rev.3:16) – a prophecy which will be
fulfilled during the Tribulation when lukewarm Laodicean believers are
likely either going to apostatize or finally heat up for the Lord. In
the meantime, to answer your question directly, I would say that in our
present era the vast majority of believers are lukewarm. They are
believers; but they are not doing what the Lord wants in growing
spiritually, growing closer in their walk with Him, and helping others
to do the same.
2) "they have slept with multiple women and have nothing to do with
the church": On the first part, when you say, essentially, "they
have [in the past] committed gross sin", first, we are all sinners, and
the fact of having been demonstrably shameful in our sinning in the
past, however that was manifest (drugs, alcohol, criminal behavior,
legalism, deceit, etc., etc.), is not necessarily a mark of present
spiritual status. If you say, on the other hand, "they ARE NOW DOING
thus and so", that is quite another matter and as mentioned above is
even more dangerous than being lukewarm because it is likely to result
in either apostasy or the sin unto death if not checked, if there is no
repentance, no confession. But "prodigal sons" do come back to the Lord.
Most of us have been there in one way or another. Amen? It's just the
manifestations that are different.
But as to "[they] have nothing to do with the church", here I
can't see that as a fault, given what the church-visible is today. Many
"in the church" are not believers, and those who are happen to be
lukewarm for the most part – which is why they are where they are (see
the link). Very few churches today have anything seriously to do
with teaching the Word of God and thus fulfilling the Lord's mandate for
assembling. They assembly to no apparent good purpose, and in fact it is
true of most of them what Paul said of the Corinthians, "your meetings
do more harm than good" (1Cor.11:17 NIV). They teach by their actions
that growing spiritually is not important, but that superficial "nodding
to God", engaging in various legalistic behaviors, supporting this wrong
approach by work and money, and doing their best to dissuade others from
taking a different approach is godly – when if fact it is nothing of the
sort. This is not a point in favor of grossly sinful Christians or
merely lukewarm ones being in those statuses, however. If they wanted to
change and wanted to grow, however, they would seek – and then with
God's help they would surely find – some place where they could grow (in
addition to Ichthys I highly recommend
Bible Academy at the
link).
3) "if lukewarm Christians have no fruit of the Holy Spirit, are they
really born again?": All genuine believers have some fruit
(Jas.2:20-26), something to put before the Lord on that Day. But what is
fruit? It's not superficial appearance (otherwise the Pharisees would be
saved). And it's not refraining from sinfulness others can see (merely
whitewashing the outside). We all ought to stay away from gross sin that
can trip up our fellow believers as well as ourselves. However, hiding
our sins is only Pharisaical hypocrisy. Just because others cannot see
it, doesn't mean that the Lord is blind to it. We get no points for not
doing bad; we are rewarded for doing the good things the Lord ACTUALLY
wants us to do (and not for refraining from the bad things which hinder
us in that process in many ways [so they are related in that way]).
Similarly, just because we cannot see a Christian's production doesn't
mean it doesn't exist. We see people "handing out tracts" and "attending
church" and "getting water-baptized" and such like. But does God really
want these things or consider such behavior godly and rewardable? To
remember the Pharisees again, they went to great lengths to make sure
people knew they were giving money or doing other "good deeds". But the
Lord tells us that if we do things in order to be seen doing them, that
is the only reward we will get (Matt.6:2-16). We don't know who is
praying and when and how much or how well, for example (1Thes.5:17). We
don't see the gift of every cup of cold water, for example (Matt.10:42).
We aren't privy to every time some believer has given encouragement to
another (Heb.10:25). And we can only glean a person's spiritual growth –
which is itself highly rewardable and the basis for all genuinely
rewardable activity in the Christian life – by their words and deeds in
a very general way. The Lord is the One who knows about our true
"fruit"; the rest of us should be reticent about judging that of others
– and even about judging ourselves:
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God.
1st Corinthians 4:5 NKJV
4) "a non-Christian would have no ability to understand the
Scriptures.": That is absolutely true (see the link for the details:
"Faith
Epistemology"). The Holy Spirit is the One who makes biblical truth
understandable to us all, and for unbelievers, will only do so in the
case of the gospel, which is the first and most necessary bit of truth
they need to hear and believe. But even believers need to be willing to
hear the truth, willing to confess their sins daily and commit to
learning and believing and living the truth. There are scant few today
who fall into this blessed category – which is the whole problem with
lukewarmness and Laodicea which we have been discussing.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #8:
Hi!
I began following the Lord in 2014. I became a missionary and have been
on the field for a while. However, I very isolated and frankly, foolish.
Rather than work on the fruits of the spirit and who I was in Christ as
a person, I became Works-based. The result was I became filled with envy
and did things that should never have been done. I also struggled
mightily with fear of man.
I also used to have rages at the Lord and I had little fear of the Lord,
little desire to read the Bible, and little desire to learn about the
promises of God. I remember that I was Always saying that something felt
off because I did not “know” Jesus the way I wanted to.
Earlier this year, I failed to complete 2 assignments from the Lord, due
to fear of man. Immediately, I noticed a difference. I began having
issues understanding the Gospel, which was unusual. I knew I had fallen
into Works-based salvation but could not wrap my mind around how to et
away from that. I knew that it was wrong and that Works could never buy
forgiveness. Then, envy came back full force. I realized later this was
apostasy.
I eventual did repent of the envy. Ad I was able to understand the
Gospel again. But something is missing. I knew Jesus is the Son of God,
I believe that God raised him from the dead, I believe that he died fo
my sins. There is no other way to be saved.
But I cannot seem to get that info from my head into my heart. It’s like
i cant repent. Also, I don’t feel the Spirit’s presence anymore. It’s
like I have belief, but not saving Faith. I want to have Faith. The only
other alternative is God handed me over and I can believe but never put
my faith in Him again (Hebrews 6)
Help – is this something God will do to us? Let us understand but never
be able to trust in Jesus again?
Response #8:
Good to make your acquaintance.
Let me assure you that all who believe in Jesus Christ, who accept His
perfect person, human (since the incarnation) and divine (true God), and
His work in dying for all of the sins of the world on the cross (i.e.,
His spiritual death), are saved. As our Lord said,
"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:18 NKJV
Believers get out of fellowship and need to confess their sins (1Jn.1:1-10); that is why confession is part of the Lord's prayer. Believers get "spiritually dry", meaning that because they are not taking in the Word of God through a good solid teaching ministry on a regular basis and taking pains to apply it to their lives, they can begin to feel far away from God since they are not growing as they should be. But all believers are saved. Apostasy, on the other hand, is not a "feeling"; it is the complete death of faith, the reversion to the status of an unbeliever as someone who no longer believes in Jesus Christ although once they did. As your Lord said,
"But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away."
Luke 8:13 NKJV
The phrase "fall away" above is from the Greek verb from which the word
"apostasy" is derived. For more about all this please see the link: in
Bible Basics 3B: Hamartiology: the Biblical Study of Sin, section IV.6,
"Apostasy and the Sin unto Death".
Trusting, faith, belief is essentially our free will, the function of
the image of God we all have. We all have the ability to believe and to
disbelieve whatever we wish. But human beings do not get to determine
what is true and what is not. Believers are called "just" that by
scripture because we believe the truth about Jesus Christ. And it
behooves us to live our lives going forward by putting the truth
foremost in all we do, learning more of it and believing it and applying
it more and more day by day. That is the quest to which this ministry,
Ichthys, is dedicated. You are most welcome to all the material here any
time.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #9:
Hello Bob,
The issue is I can feel my faith withering. I understand that even our
belief is a gift from God, which is why I'm so scared. Because should he
hand me over, then I wont even be able to believe anymore. I will be
back to the status of an unbeliever.
Response #9:
Faith is a gift in the sense that the image of God is given to all human
beings. In Ephesians 2:8, however, the "gift" is salvation (if that is
the verse you are referring to).
The strength of our faith in the truth, in the Lord, is variable,
however. It gets stronger as we use it, trusting Him and what He has
told us more and more day by day in every way; when we don't use it, it
atrophies. So the more we determine to believe the truth and act on that
faith, the stronger our faith gets; the more we turn away from trusting
God and His truth, the weaker our faith gets. It's all about the truth.
So the best way to see your faith grow is to commit to learning more of
the truth through a good Bible teaching ministry (of which sort I
believe Ichthys to be one; see also
Bible Academy at the
link), AND then believe the truth of what you are being taught, applying
it to your Christian walk at all times (that is why it's important to
seek and find a good ministry).
Our heavenly Father, however, is NOT looking to "hand over" any of us.
He wants all to be saved (1Tim.2:4), and He sacrificed the Son He loves
so much in order for that to happen (Jn.3:16). He loves you more than
you can imagine, and Jesus died for you. So don't throw away your trust
in Him: it is worth more than the present world (Heb.10:35-39).
In Jesus our dear Savior,
Bob L.
Question #10:
Hi Bob,
As regards your commenter's #21 in the 7/9/23 post, all I can say is
Amen, AMEN! I have no questions so no need to take time to reply.
I am literally living in a wonderland. E.g., I seem to have become a
little Capistrano on the prairie. I currently have a second female
sitting on a clutch and she gets her tail feathers in a knot when ever
I'm outside anywhere near the porch where she nests. She has a unique
chirp when she's annoyed and calls what may be three generations to
strafe right at my head; not only me, but the grand dog, rabbits and
local cats unlucky enough to wander across the yard.
We have spiders of various sizes and flavors galore. The only one that
ever bit me was a Daddy Longlegs that got in the house which I was
trying to get outside. Some are fun to watch, particularly the jumping
spiders. Some I actually named. I try to avoid harming the spiders
because they and the wasps keep pests down. The wasps have never stung
me, either.
My mower died and __'s neighbor had one he was getting rid of and gave
to __ who fixed it and gave it to me. The Lord always provides.
Sometimes in completely unexpected ways. Between the death of my old
mower and __'s gift, some of the grass and flora grew to maturity and I
was blessed to see and enjoy many of the delicious and healthy healing
native plants in the Lord's larder.
While there are venomous snakes, skunks, coyotes and feral hog out here,
I have not been troubled by any of them. So while it's been unusually
hot and dry, I still feel blessed to have been led to this little patch
of dirt in flyover country.
So, to those who believe all this beauty crawled out of some primordial
soup billions of years ago, I suggest they look out their window and
consider carefully what they see. I could rhapsodize at great length but
that would be a repetitive redundancy.
You and yours are in my prayers as is relief from whatever is troubling
you.
In our Lord Jesus,
Response #10:
Sounds idyllic!
I certainly agree with you on the insanity of imagining that the wonders of
creation are an accident. Just look at one of those little birds and watch how
they behave (link).
They have spirits too, and only God could have created them. But arrogance
hardens the heart and breeds ignorance, leading to the believing of all manner
of lies. How merciful God is in having provided a reminder of Himself in
everything we see. And yet most deliberately and willfully refuse to see. As
Paul says, "their condemnation is deserved" (Rom.3:8).
Working out in the yard tomorrow. The rain we've been getting has been great,
but it sure makes the grass and weeds grow. Lots to do.
Thanks for your prayers and support, my friend!
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #11:
Hi Robert, hoping this email finds you well. I trust (and pray
regularly) all things are working for good for you? As usual, I have a
question for you...
You wrote me once that you didn't believe there was any example in
scripture of God refusing a repentant person regardless of their sin(s).
As I work through the old testament I am vexed by two accounts. In 2nd
Kings, after the book of the law is found in the temple and presented to
king Josiah, he puts in reforms and scrubs all the evil false God
worship and the people turn back to the Lord. However, the Lord's anger
is not assuaged and He will not relent on the punishment of the people.
Also, commentators consistently say that wisdom in Proverbs 1.24-29 is
also a reference to the Lord and that proverb says when the people
referred to seek the Lord, He will not be found. When they call upon
Him, He will not listen. ?
This is in contrast to "all who call upon the name of the Lord will be
saved". I'm confused on this. Does this mean Romans 10. 13-15 only
applies until God's patience is exhausted and then no forgiveness?
What about the repentance in 2 Kings? Is that also no forgiveness?
Can someone pass the point of God's patience and be beyond forgiveness
even if they repent and want to follow Him?
I know scripture doesn't contradict itself but I can't reconcile this
Blessings Robert,
(I looked through my emails but don't see where I've ever asked you this
before)
Response #11:
Things are going well here. Had some minor bugs off and on but nothing to knock
off going to work for, so that's all to the good.
On finding the temple scroll and what the Lord said, first, we have to remember
that the Lord knows the end from the beginning. The terminal discipline that the
Lord inflicted on Israel through the Babylonians happened because they did not
repent of their idolatry in spite of such stern warnings. In other words, Josiah
did have a tender heart and nothing untoward happened to him or in his days. But
the later generations continued on their downward spiraling track and got what
the Lord had threatened would happen. Secondly, this is talking about the nation
of Israel as a whole; you and I have been talking about individual Christians.
We can affect our nation for good or for ill in the aggregate as the remnant of
salt, depending on the savor as a whole (link).
But individually, we can't expect things in the macro-picture to be rosy if no
one else or too few believers are "doing their job".
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: You said, ‘Woe to me! The LORD has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’ But the LORD has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the LORD says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the LORD, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’ ”
Jeremiah 45:2-5 NIV
The nation was destroyed, but Baruch was preserved. Also there are plenty of examples of where people do repent and the Lord "changes His mind" – which of course is not a change since He knew all along what was going to happen (e.g., the case of Ahab in 1Ki.21:20-29 where the Lord postponed the disaster on the country because Ahab "humbled himself" on that occasion).
But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD.
Proverbs 1:24-29 NIV
As to Proverbs 1:24-29, first, this is a statement of principle and not a case
of any specific individual who actually did repent and then the Lord did not
listen. Second, what this is describing is not true repentance (the object is
Wisdom, after all, not the Lord, and the subject is a hypothetical mocker of
truth), but merely regret for bad consequences when they occur. This is exactly
like Esau who was indeed upset that he did not receive the blessing – but was
never willing to accept the truth or believe in the Lord or do what was right.
Everyone who faces catastrophe is upset about it; being upset is not the same as
repentance. Repentance is reacting to adversity caused by discipline in the
correct way, humbling oneself before the Lord and turning around spiritually. If
anything, Proverbs 1:24-29 provides a strong incentive to turn away from evil
before it is too late. Actions have consequences. A person might genuinely
repent and turn to the Lord after being caught robbing a liquor store, but
should not expect to be delivered from the consequences of his/her criminal
action. But even in such a case, if the repentance is genuine, there will be
spiritual restoration and the potential for growth and reward, just not
necessarily a complete dispensing of the natural consequences of bad decisions.
As a man converted to Christ who was formerly an alcoholic and who was suffering
from psoriasis as a result remarked, "God gave me a new heart, but He didn't
give me a new liver".
Re: "Can someone pass the point of God's patience and be beyond forgiveness
even if they repent and want to follow Him?" Here is what I read in
scripture:
The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
Psalm 103:6-13 NIV
So, no, as long as there is life, there is hope. I will say that the farther a
person gets from the truth, the harder they harden their hearts, the less and
less chance there is that said person will indeed ever genuinely repent and turn
to the Lord. But if a person DOES do so, then he/she will find out the truth of
the above, that His mercy is beyond imagination.
This doesn't mean, however, that someone who takes the mark of the beast can
return after that. But I take those passages in Revelation to mean also that no
one who ever had an inkling of persevering in faith would ever take the mark in
the first place.
Did you hear anything about the job? Keeping you in my prayers, my friend (and
thanks so much for yours as well).
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #12:
I guess basically I'm in a place where I'm not sure where I am spiritually. I grew up in a Bible believing household, went to a Baptist Church, and made many professions over the years. Without dragging it out with too much detail I got into willful sin (fornication, drunkenness, profanity) from about 14-23 (I'm 29). When I got my first tattoo at 18 that night it felt like something was ripped out of me (Holy Spirit?) and I was in a state of dread. Eventually this went away and I went back to my sins. I was convicted many times about it but thought "I'll repent later". Also the guilt and shame of my sins began to pile on and make it seem harder and harder to even consider turning to God. Long story short I'm living it up with God being the last thing on my mind when my mother who is a godly woman told me "there's pleasure in sin for a season" and that small comment sent me into a tailspin. I went forward at the next service I attended and knew I had to get things right, truly right. I did the only thing I knew to do and asked Christ to save me, but still something felt off. I had no peace whatsoever and thought maybe I had tempted God too long and felt completely condemned. This went on for months and eventually (I really can’t explain it) I started to feel some peace about it. My life had definitely changed. I was no longer sinning in a deliberate manner. Fast forward 6 years and I can across something (an article, website, sermon, something) and all this came flooding back but I would say worse. It’s constant mental torment of differing degrees. I literally feel like I don’t sleep anymore. Like something is keeping me up. I don’t know how I’m functioning honestly. It’s like I’m kept on the razor thin edge of sanity. Just constant dread. It just ebbs and wanes. It feels like that "fearful looking for judgement" that Hebrews 10 talks about. I talked to a preacher and he said "so there’s a lot of anxiety". I almost had to stop my self from laughing if I could have even laughed. I told him anxiety/depression would be a RELIEF compared to this. At times I quite literally can’t even think. I’ve been praying and reading Scripture it just feels like I’m talking to myself. I WANT to be Christ-like and have fruits of the spirit and witness to people, but I don’t even know my own state. I’m sorry this was so long. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than hear my life story. I’m just holding out for some hope that God will deliver me. I don’t think a person could endure this for very long. It feels like dying every day the torment is relentless. It seems like I find a new verse every week that further condemns me. I didn’t know about presumption or blaspheming the Holy Spirit or any of the things that I now know. I just don’t know what to do. I would be a doormat in the church and praise Him for it. I just don’t know if He’s rejected me. It feels like it.
Response #12:
Good to make your acquaintance – although I'm sorry to hear of your distress.
Let me start by saying that I have received countless emails over the years from
believers like yourself who are beating themselves up over past sinful behavior
and the way they "feel about it" now many years after the fact.
The first thing I always point out is that if you believe in Jesus Christ, His
perfect person (God and man since the incarnation) and His work for dying for
all of our sins, then you are saved.
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:18 NKJV
Believers are saved. Only unbelievers are not saved. The Father is impressed by the work of His Son through which our sins have ALL been paid for – NOT with the way we feel about it.
And He Himself is the atonement for our sins, and not just for ours, but also for the entire world.
1st John 2:2
[God] has erased the charge against us along with its bill of particulars (i.e., the record of our personal sins). This stood against us, but He removed it [as an obstacle] between us by nailing it to the cross.
Colossians 2:14
The above is important to digest. That is to say, to believe. Spiritual growth
comes from believing the truth and then applying that truth to our lives in the Holy
Spirit.
This is the era of Laodicea. Most believers are unconcerned about the doctrines
of the Bible, as if knowing a few things and going "to church" is sufficient.
For those who "feel good", that seems to suffice. But just because immature
believers "feel good" does not mean that they ARE good in the Lord's eyes. They
belong to Him, but they may not be doing what He wants. "Feeling bad", as you
do, is actually a slightly better place to be . . . because it may act as a
catalyst to getting cracking with spiritual growth.
We are here on earth after salvation NOT to "have a good life" (although there
is nothing wrong with that as long as it is not the result of spiritual
compromise). We are left here after we believe to demonstrate the quality of our
faith, whether or not we really do love the Lord. If we do, then we will roll up
our sleeves and get down to the business of doing what He wants us to do: grow
to spiritual maturity, pass the tests which come the mature believer's way and
lead to more spiritual progress, then engage in the ministry He has for us so as
to help other believers with this same progression.
Please understand. If you want to "feel better", that is a function of "doing
what is right" (by which I mean first and foremost growing spiritually which
then leads to everything else). As you do so, eventually your emotions will come
along for the ride.
If the past were what mattered, Paul, who persecuted the Church like no one
else, would never have amounted to anything. But what does he say?
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV
Very few churches out there are interested in helping with the challenge to grow
spiritually. But you are welcome to the materials at Ichthys any time (see also
this link: Pastor Teacher Curtis Omo's
"Bible Academy").
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #13:
Hi Robert, I honestly don't know what's going on with the job... I feel
like I've just been strung along.
I am hanging in there, I belong to a good church and a good small
group,, but in regards to your quote from scripture,, I am still
struggling mightily with whether the Lord has forgiven or will never
forgive me. Like Paul says, "lest he find himself disqualified"
When I think about God's holiness and righteousness and His magnitude,
and I think about the number of times I went back to insolent, careless
sin (drinking and lust) I cant grasp how or why He would forgive me.
Maybe I wasn't ever saved. I'm unsure. I DO truly want to love God with
all my heart and follow Him in committed obedient faith but I'm unsure
if He is willing to save me now at all.
If you get a minute, please go to inductivebible.org and read the
article 'On the sin unto to death and finding no repentance'. This post
sums up all of what I see in scripture that really bothers me and won't
stop chewing at me. Basically means that even if I believe and trust in
Christ, His sacrifice no longer benefits me.
I would really appreciate you looking at this and then considering it in
relation to me and everything I've told you. I'm at a really low point
and there's not a whole lot going right, right now and maybe it's
because I no longer have God's favor.
Thanks for being there for me for so long. I will continue to pray for
you and hoping God is hearing my prayers.
Response #13:
I'll keep praying for your boy.
On the article at the website you reference, it is, generously put, a
heap of trash. It is critical to remember that our God is a God of great
mercy:
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
Psalm 103:8-13 NIV
The above tells me all I need to know. One might add, one SHOULD add, that the Father sent His Son to die for us – and that Jesus DID die for all of our sins. Therefore all of our sins have been completely paid for, and we are forgiven what we do in this life when we confess – that is what the Bible says (1Jn.1:9).
"Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?" declares the Sovereign LORD. "Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"
Ezekiel 18:23
If there is discipline in this life, the purpose is to turn us around. What good would turning us around or our turning around do if thereafter there were no mercy or forgiveness? But there is. Scripture says so.
If you, the LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, Therefore you are feared.
Psalm 103:3-4 HNV
That article says the sin unto death is spiritual death but the death
mentioned at 1st John 5:16 is physical, not spiritual: "for the
destruction of his body, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of
the Lord." (1Cor.5:5). That article uses Esau as a parallel, but Esau
was never a believer ever at all. That article uses Lot's wife as an
example but OF COURSE she could not repent after she was physically
dead. I could go on. This article does nothing other than play on the
worst fears and guilt of Christians who have skeletons in their closet –
as we ALL do. But we are now striving to serve the Lord, to follow the
Lord, to listen to the Lord. And we need to rejoice in the Lord and the
forgiveness He promised and gives all who come to Him and ask for it.
Please take my advice and stop torturing yourself with this sort of
trash. You believe in Jesus Christ. Therefore you are a believer. And
all believers are saved; it is unbelievers who are not saved.
"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:18 NKJV
The people who wrote that article will have a lot to answer for before
Christ's bema . . . that is assuming that they are even
believers. When it comes to people who are doing the devil's work in
fact, one never knows for certain.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #14:
Hi Robert, when you can, can you please try to consider all the points
below. I am mentally, emotionally and spiritually exhausted
I fully realize and am not denying that God is merciful. Scripture also
says He will show mercy on whom he shows mercy. It is not guaranteed to
all.
I take it you disagree with that guy's inductive scripture comparisons?
He seems to make a good case...
I firmly believe in Christ and I trust in Him alone but I can't find the
confidence that God has forgiven those often repeated serious sins of
drunkeness and lust, committed with full knowledge for so long.
Shouldn't that confidence that they have been forgiven come from the
Holy Spirit?
I don't have that AND I don't know why or how to find it. The Lord is
not giving me that.
I know there is a line that can be crossed and I don't truly know if
I've done that and the Lord is not with me. I don't know how to tell and
have confidence that I am one He is willing to have mercy on or if He's
not.
I desperately don't want to lose the Lord from my life but I fear that.
You can't trifle with God or sin or His grace and I'm afraid that's what
He says I've done.
Not trying to make excuses, but I honestly think I have fallen back to
these sins trying to relieve the crushing depression of not being sure
of forgiveness which has only compounded the problem. Again, not trying
to use it as an excuse.
I did not cease to believe but I ceased to follow Him faithfully. Is
that not apostasy? I'm afraid the Lord considers me an apostate.
If I have been forgiven, wouldn't the Holy Spirit confirm that? If the
bible speaks condemnation to you for what you've done or forgiveness,
isn't that the Holy Spirit telling you that? I don't sense the
forgiveness only the condemnation. I can't find anything in scripture
that speaks forgiveness to my heart. I am deathly afraid I've lost the
Lord. What evidence do I have to the contrary?
Response #14:
I'll do my best:
1) "[Mercy] is not guaranteed to all." I disagree. That quote has
to do with God's complete foreknowledge of what people (Esau) WOULD and
DID choose in life. Mercy is guaranteed to those who seek it; not to
those, like Esau, who do not.
2) "He seems to make a good case. . ." a) Induction is a dubious
process when scripture is explicit as it mostly is; b) every point he
made was wrong; I gave some examples; happy to explain any you found
persuasive; but I reiterate that you find them persuasive because he is
attacking your feelings of guilt. That is what the devil always does.
Doesn't make it true.
3) "The Lord is not giving me that." He gives to those who ask
(Matt.7:7-8) . . . and to those who pursue the growth He wants us to
pursue. No one is "strong and courageous" in faith overnight. That takes
spiritual growth. This issue is one of faith. Faith is a muscle. It has
to grow through being fed (Bible study) and being used (applying it by
trusting God in little things building up to big ones). Does God's Word
say you are forgiven? Yes. Do you believe it? Instead you are telling me
how you feel. Faith is believing no matter WHAT we feel . . . or even
see or hear. Emotions will come along in the end but only if they are
led by truth, solid decision making for good, and faith upon faith.
4) "there is a line that can be crossed" The only one I see in
the Bible is life and death. When a person is dead, no further change is
possible. But as long as you are on "this side of the grass", you have
free will; I encourage you to use it to believe the truth of the Bible
and not to give in to your guilt . . . and not to harm yourself by
listening to lies.
5) "Is that not apostasy?" NO Apostasy is becoming an unbeliever;
someone who does NOT believe. Plenty of believers veer off into bad
pathways. The result of that is discipline – of which you seem to have
had your share. But after we repent, even all discipline is for our good
(read Hebrews chapter twelve).
6) "If I have been forgiven, wouldn't the Holy Spirit confirm that?"
You have to let Him. You have to listen to Him. You have to be in
fellowship – which requires confession AND believing that you have been
forgiven. You have to turn your back on this self-destructive advocacy
against yourself. It's not in the Bible . . . anywhere.
7) "isn't that the Holy Spirit telling you that?" Not if you've
turned around and asked for forgiveness. That is not the Spirit. That is
your emotion inflamed by the evil one. If you would commit yourself to
an aggressive course of spiritual growth and commit to believing what
you are reading/being taught from a godly source, you would pull out of
this tail spin. But if you're determined to condemn yourself, to think
the worst when you read random scriptures you don't understand, to surf
the internet looking for reasons why you're lost . . . let's just say
you'll never get anywhere that way. Not anywhere good.
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.
Isaiah 30:18 NASB
The Lord longs to be merciful to you. Be pleased to accept His mercy.
I am praying for you, my friend.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #15:
Doc, so about the sin unto death, just curious, do you think God,
deciding to have a believer who refuses to either live for Him nor let
go of Christ suffer that punishment, would use an act of
foolishness/stupidity on that believers part to accomplish that?
So say this believer living a life of gross decadence for example, gets
drunk and drives despite knowing full well its foolish, and ends up
dying in a crash. Would that be God using that act as the sin unto
death? What do you think?
Response #15:
Saul definitely suffered the sin unto death. The Lord used his enemies
the Philistines to slay him. So I would not want to suggest that there
is any means the Lord might not use in the case of someone who has
tempted Him beyond His patience by giving such a bad witness to the
world that the only reasonable solution was taking him/her out of this
life.
The main thing for us to keep in mind, before engaging in hypotheticals
and speculation, is that only God really knows the heart of someone
else, and only He knows why things happen. We can sometimes see these
things with some clarity (we may think), but it's always a good idea to
maintain a mindset of humility about things where in fact we could never
say for certain this side of heaven.
Link:
In BB 3B: Apostasy and the Sin unto Death
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #16:
So if we're going to no longer have any love or care for people who went to Hell
in eternity...what's the point of mourning the death of a loved one or feeling
fond of the time you had with them/feeling like you miss them assuming they
probably died an unbeliever/they didn't come to Christ that we know of? It's not
something I would want to be true but with how we'll apparently come to the edge
of the city and see them burn "as an example" or something like that, I don't
remember what that was about, doesn't it only make sense to try to stop caring
about them in this case or force ourselves not to? I've been quite distraught
over the prospect of it, considering my father as far as I'm aware never truly
believed in the Lord.
If we're going to be glad they're in Hell in a way in eternity, does it even
mean anything, is there any point to caring about them once they pass without
the Lord? Even if we "have a hope they may have repented in their last moments",
does that mean anything if we won't know in this world, considering what I just
said? Did the genuine love and/or bonds we had with them ever mean anything
other than self-indulgent attachment, boiling down essentially to refusing to
let go of something that's no longer worth anything?
I really hope I'm just overthinking this, because the implications from what I
can tell are horrific.
Response #16:
It's human to grieve for those we loved when they pass away. Even Jesus
wept for the lose of Lazarus, even though He of all people ever had the
perfect perspective on these matters AND was on the point of bringing
him back to life.
I don't know of any scripture which suggests that we'll be "glad"
unbelievers are in hell. We will, I'm sure, be VERY glad we are not
(that is the point of the viewing port you mention: Is.66:22-24). We
will not be able to grieve or be unhappy in eternity (Rev.7:17; 21:4).
Being resurrected will be an experience unimaginable before the fact.
But we can trust the Lord that it will be good in every way with no
regrets whatsoever.
Also, it is prudent, in my view, not to become wedded to any particular
scenario regarding the eternal destiny of others before the fact. We may
have very good reason to believe that some we know/knew are believers
and are saved; we may have very good reason to believe that others are
not. But in the case of the latter, as I have said more than once, there
has been more than one "death bed conversion" in the history of the
world. Some people – many it seems – have to get right up to the point
of no return before they have sufficient motivation to believe. I don't
want to give anyone false hopes, but it is true that we don't actually
know what is in the heart of others – or what may have happened at the
bitter end – so that it is not without reason to put aside such grief
for eternal loss when we really cannot say for sure in many cases.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #17:
Hello,
I heard Benny Hinn preaching and teaches it's not easy to be saved, but
hard. He said there's a difference in believing In and On Jesus. What is
the solid truth of Salvation? And can you lose it. Benny says yes you
can lose it.
Thank you
Response #17:
Good to make your acquaintance.
Salvation was hard . . . for our Lord. But for us sinners, it's not hard
or difficult to believe in Jesus, which is what salvation is all about
(Jn.3:18).
For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
Romans 10:5-11 NKJV
Now it is true that while faith in Christ results in salvation, only those who believe in Christ are saved, that is "only those who are believing in Christ" are saved (that is the way scripture puts it). Unbelievers or "those who are not believing in Christ" are not saved . . . even if at one time they did believe. These would be those of the seed planted on the rocky ground that springs up quick but dies off under the heat of persecution, e.g. So while salvation is not hard in terms of becoming a believer and holding onto salvation is not a "pins and needles" thing wherein one mistake costs a person eternal life, believers are required to continue being believers – those who have faith in Christ – unto the end to be saved.
"But he who endures to the end will be saved."
Matthew 10:22b NKJV
There's a good deal about all this at the site (Ichthys). Here's a couple of pertinent links:
Bible Basics 4B: Soteriology, section II, "How to be Saved".
Bible Basics 3B: Hamartiology, section IV.6, "Apostasy and the Sin unto Death".
Do feel free to write me back.
In Jesus,
Bob Luginbill
Question #18:
Hello Mr. Luginbill,
Your reply is an immense encouragement. Thank you for your willingness!
What you say is very true about the present state of churches and it's
been a very hard road for us. We are currently not in a church for that
reason. More on that later.
Yes, the forum sounds like a great idea and possibly a way to connect to
other believers.
I'd like to first settle salvation matters. I can get into my experience
and walk - as I have burning questions - but my main concern is in
regards to the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
My husband would like this settled for me as well.
I have read through several of your letters about this but I have some
further questions.
I know that faith is being sure and convinced so I am seeking that and I
am sadly hard-headed. But I don't want to be and pray for God's help.
My heart was not right and it was towards God. I spoke, knowingly and
angrily against the Holy Spirit to the highest degree, ( possibly ).
I sensed an extreme grief even before hand or as I spoke it, like the
Holy Spirit within me was very sad and warning me, but I became bolder
and I think I did it more than once.
This was a few years ago and life has been awful a lot.
I feared sleep and going out in case I died and studied many
commentaries and the scriptures and prayed. I begged God to help me know
if I can be forgiven and I sensed Him say I had not repented. I knew I
had a lot to work through and I wanted my repentance to be real, not
just a fear of hell.
Over time, I felt like I had repented, believed and then it wasn't
settled. I sensed a roadblock in my heart towards the Holy Spirit that I
needed to work through, so I had to constantly rework my mind to submit
unto Him. It was concerning that I had to do this.
I would get confused or frustrated and have blasphemous thoughts and
even felt like I was 'testing' Him or felt like I meant it at times
which troubled me.
I took a lot of time to tell God and pray about it, I sensed conviction
that I was not trusting Jesus, but unsure if I was drawn or allowed to.
These are some of the understandings and questions I had/have:
The Good ( From my understanding, I am willing to be corrected ):
There are only believers and unbelievers.
God does not despise a broken heart.
Anyone who thirsts ( after righteousness? ) may come and drink.
The gospel means good news.
Jesus had to have died for all sins, or else the gospel message would
have a clause and then not be good news.
I saw no scriptures that say someone is not allowed to believe.
It cannot be that all the other sins are forgiven mentioned, but not
one. Because no one can have their sins forgiven partially. Only in
Christ by the blood, so therefore you are either forgiven or not.
I always thought it was a state of unbelief, not just normal but a
refusal that hardened the heart.
The Questions/fears:
In the Old Testament people who blasphemed God died without mercy.
Did Paul do it, and was forgiven due to ignorance and unbelief? Is that
why he was given mercy?
Did Paul and the apostles preach about it, and does that mean the gospel
message excludes those who have done it?
Could someone believe the gospel, but still be denied? Because Jesus
does not lie?
God blinded people's ears and hearts to the gospel ( I was really having
a hard time seeing how Jesus died for all sins, as he does not life, it
cannot be forgiven. ) So I was concerned I was blinded.
Jesus said it was eternal, but does that mean when someone's heart is
hardened they are forever unable to repent? ( Hebrews )
Will the person never feel forgiven or guilt-free?
Could someone repent but be not allowed to believe? I know I was
struggling, like I just felt I couldn't no matter how hard I tried.
Are there people who either believe, don't or those that don't believe
because they are told they will not be so they don't believe out of
knowing it is unable for them to be forgiven, despite repentance?
Could my repentance be unreal to make the Bible consistent? I know I was
having a hard time.
The major struggle I have is resting in Christ and believing all sins
are forgiven, because Jesus does not lie, we cannot add or take away
from His words. But even if I did believe, I would have bad thoughts and
feeling again, wondering how a true Christian could do or be like that?
Likewise, I just felt unfeeling and despondent a lot. I didn't feel
forgiven.
The sin unto death?
I was just like a log, almost submitted to God's common grace and just
realizing I was done for. I felt like Judas, I was always going to do
the bad and God just allowed me. I always had the foreboding fear I was
going to be rejected and do wrong. Vice versa. I had so many nightmares
as well. I always felt like a fraud.
I don't know if God grants repentance or if I can walk towards it and
then He does it, but I prayed a lot. I told God, again what I did and
decided I was wrong, but I wanted to be restored.
The stumble for me is how is it possible, without calling Jesus a liar?
I prayed and sensed forgiveness and faith restored or rightly there.
Because I would have to call Jesus a liar on all other accounts and
maybe I wasn't understanding it well. Maybe it is really a matter of
unbelief.
I am there, but being grounded and built up is what I would like. I have
also asked God to reveal if I am deceived, I don't wan to live in
deceit. Unless He allows it so I can live in common grace for the sake
of others and warning them. Matt. 7:21?
When I believe that the gospel is good news for all, I have peace, but
when I look back at the scriptures about the blasphemy, it seems that it
is impossible, logically.
What exactly did I do, because by the definition it seems I had done it?
Sorry this is long. I understand if it may take a few weeks. I trust you
will be honest with me and before God, and I am thankful.
Response #18:
It's my pleasure. You will have to bear with me a little too. As many readers find out, I don't always answer questions on the precise terms on which they are asked. Why? Because it's my job to tell people what I believe the Lord wants them to hear. So if there are any aspects of this email of yours I don't address the first time out, please be patient with me. I have no problem with you continuing to ask until you get all the truth you need.
"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:18 NKJV
These are our Lord's own words – and He is most definitely telling you the truth! If you believe in Him you are saved; only those who have not believed are not saved. May I observe that if you were not a believer you would care not at all about your spiritual status or what the Lord thinks or any of the things you've written me about here. Only a believer in Christ would ever think to write such an email. What you lack is confidence in the truth. This is no doubt the result of getting a lot of misinformation over the years – and in that our Laodicean era abounds.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved."
Acts 16:31
This you have done (i.e., placed your trust in Jesus), and this has been the result (i.e., your salvation). But unless we go straight-line forward after salvation (few do; I certainly did not), we are likely to lose our hold on the peace and joy we had when first we believed in Christ. That is recoverable. All spiritual recovery comes from spiritual growth, and no other way.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1st John 1:9
The Bible is God's perfect and complete message to us. It is always
true. The words above are true – and unambiguous. When we confess our
sins, we are forgiven and restored to fellowship with our Lord. We do
not have to do penance for our sins. In fact, if we are relying on
anything we think to do "for God", that is not grace, that is works, and
that is abominable to Him. So if there is anything that concerns you,
confess it to the Lord in a simple prayer and you will be forgiven. Then
you can forget the past and move on. We are here to grow and move
forward. Nothing in the Bible even comes close to suggesting that we
should be ever allow ourselves to remain mired in guilt about the past.
But the devil loves to make us feel guilty. When we do, then we are "out
of action" until we let it go and move on.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not some specific sin believers
might commit; it is rejecting the gospel (link),
something which by definition no believer can do.
The sin unto death is not some specific sin believers might commit; it
is the terminal divine discipline which the Lord levels on wayward
believers who are involved in chronic, serious sinning, usually of a
carnal nature which is giving Christ a bad name; but even those who are
taken out of this life that way are saved (merely missing out on rewards
they might otherwise win;
link).
It seems to me that you have gotten yourself caught in the guilt trap
whereby you have become the best "advocate against yourself" imaginable.
Don't do that. This is not the Lord's intention for you. Jesus Christ
wants you to get moving with spiritual growth so that you can accomplish
the purpose He has for you: earning maximum eternal rewards through
growth, progress and production.
Rather than immediately thinking the worst when you read or think about
some passage that bothers you, instead, put it aside and keep growing.
Feel free to write me about any such passage (you'll probably find it
already well covered at Ichthys). Only by letting the past go, accepting
God's forgiveness, and moving forward with spiritual growth will you
reclaim the peace and the joy that are your heritage as a child of God
reborn from above in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
1st John 3:1-2 NKJV
Jesus loves you. The Father loves you. Please see fit to embrace that
love . . . and get moving forward.
In our dear Savior,
Bob L.
Question #19:
Hi Dr. Luginbill, ( I see you are a professor! )
First of all, I cried with joy that you are here for us. I thank God for
your works and willingness!
I respect you answering according to the leading of the Holy Spirit and
I can tell you it is fruitful:
The same day you replied, but before you did, I was anxious about these
things. I had recently read Vincent Cheung's take on the blasphemy and I
was realizing he is part of some kind of logical thinking system. I
honestly don't know much about him or what he teaches overall. I was
fearing that maybe I was thinking logically and with my own wisdom if I
believed I could be forgiven.
Despite anxiety, I had a glimmer of faith. I needed to go to a
chiropractor appointment, and I kept praying and seeking God about this.
While at my chiropractor appointment, my treatment called for me lie
down a bit on a therapy bed and as I lay there I was again praying and
pondering. Suddenly, it hit me that exact scripture you replied with!
Faith is what condemns or justifies. That is not a lie! I was greatly
encouraged and in truth, I wanted that encouragement from the Lord in a
special way and from Him first.
We came home from the appointment and I saw you replied! WE were both
overjoyed to have someone here for us.
As far as belief - I say that I am not sure I was a believer because I
wasn't sure if I understood what it required and how it all worked. Did
I need to keep obeying? I am not sure if I added works but I am pretty
sure I knew only the blood of Jesus saved. All sins after salvation? I
was a bit confused. I was always looking for my evidences. I was also
concerned at how ready I was to fully commit. In time, I saw that I was
living in a way that was not right, in my heart mostly. I was very
concerned I had a double mind and I often struggled with blasphemous
thoughts and negative, bitter attitudes. I did try and want to please
Him but I question my motives. I felt like the bad seeds and I was too
fearful of what that meant. I knew I was struggling to rest in Him.
I used to fall on knowing I was saved because I felt bad over sin and
tried to get back up, thus I repented. Yet, I didn't trust myself. I
knew I was prone to sin and making bad choices and even afraid of having
my faith in my own hands. The stress of keeping myself, even in the
faith is often too great.
I also struggled to love others, especially those sinning against us and
the church that allowed it. 1 John 4:7-12 would that not make it clear I
was not a believer?
Lack of confidence - I have been told that and I do consider that yes, I
lack in confidence. I always have. You are correct. This is partly my
own natural lack of trust and also from looking to self, which I suppose
is a lack of trust.
My spiritual sate - I do care about my spiritual state, yes, but too
often it has been the fear of hell and not solely for the love of God.
Even after I blasphemed I struggled to have a softness that wanted to be
sorry towards the Holy Spirit. I knew it was wrong and I wanted to see
Him rightly.
I even struggled with unbelief and bad thoughts towards Christ. As far
as I know, a true believer would not do that? 1 Cor. 12:3 also comes to
mind.
Eternal Security - With much of what I shared, I have concerns over the
traditional view of eternal security and I have been studying what you
say about it. My husband is not convinced that eternal security is not
true, but he confesses he is open to learning.
I will probably address a few questions with that as well over time. If
it is not sure, we have a very serious issue and there is a deep concern
over the state of modern churches and Christians.
You are also correct that the visible church has been difficult and
growth always comes with recovery. I do appreciate those wise words.
Looking Forward - You are right, I look back a lot and need to look
forward. I know a big problem I have is not resting and worrying. I look
back at the past a lot, even if I don't want to, I get bad dreams almost
every time I sleep.
I know this looking back is a problem, deeply and it seems to be a big
problem generationally in my family. Almost every one of us. Your loving
rebuke is received. My husband says it as well. I just needed somewhere
to convincingly move and look forward to.
1 John 1:9 is true too, thank you.
You say:
It seems to me that you have gotten yourself caught in the guilt trap
whereby you have become the best "advocate against yourself" imaginable.
Don't do that. This is not the Lord's intention for you. Jesus Christ
wants you to get moving with spiritual growth so that you can accomplish
the purpose He has for you: earning maximum eternal rewards through
growth, progress and production (see the link).
Again, you speak the truth. I didn't read the bible on my own for years
because I felt so condemned, but I figured that was biblical and meant
for those who are Matthew 7:21, which I thought I was. Also Romans 8:1.
Then also Hebrews 10:6 I took that verse that if someone falls away then
Jesus cannot be crucified again, thus they cannot be saved again, it is
a one-time deal and if you fall away you cannot be re-saved.
If Jesus died for us, the gospel is good news then the believe that you
cannot be forgiven would ultimately lead to: NOT believing the gospel.
And to my knowledge, God has not told anyone not to believe!
You say:
Rather than immediately thinking the worst when you read or think about
some passage that bothers you, instead, put it aside and keep growing.
I like that, I am not sure I considered it that way.Thank you!
I want to move forward.
I want life. We are even trying for a baby! That's a big step of faith
for us.
In moving forward, I am struggling with several things. My husband is
trying to help me but he admits he is not really a teacher and asked me
to address these things with you. I know I am a mess, I apologize. Take
your time, if you choose to take these on.
But First - I'd like you to know that if I ask questions or 'push back'
I am in no way trying to debate, I am seriously trying to learn and if I
disagree, I would not try to fight with you. So if at any time it comes
across that way please know I am not trying to do so.
Eternal Security - If salvation is not eternal, how can I understand
John 6:39? As for the sealing I can see your points made. We cannot
ignore lots of scriptures and warnings, that is for sure. If I have a
bad attitude against God or faith, resulting in blasphemous, wanted or
unwanted, do I assume I wasn't saved because I wasn't truly repentant
yet? Or am I actually saved but just need to repent? Is my heart not
right and an enemy of God?
Baptism - I was reading in Matthew and it seems that Jesus is saying a
different baptism is what He will do, not an addition, but I also see in
the great commission that we are to baptize others in the name of the
Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. How can that be if it not be from
water, as was a consistent thing done in the scriptures for a while?
Also, in Hebrews the elementary teachings state baptisms? Are there more
than one?
Church- This one is of great anxiety for me. For one, it seems that when
my husband and I seek to understand doctrine, faith and practice for
church and try to find a church that aligns, we are basically scolded
that there is no perfect church and to just go somewhere because it is
commanded in Hebrews. They say that if the church they preaches the
gospel then that is all that matters. I am anxious every sunday that
comes around. My husband says we aren't forsaking the gathering but
trying to be wise. He is concerned with doctrine as I am, but are we
wrong to be or not to just go somewhere?
My husband is also concerned that what is taught might cause me harm, to
which, if I am unstable from doctrine, wouldn't that mean I have no
faith?
Paul says to be of one mind, in Christ or doctrine?
Likewise, people often use the Corinthian and Revelation churches as an
example that here is no perfect church. But why run to what God has said
was not good? They were rebuked, I do not want to be part of that, also
doesn't the bible say to avoid certain people?
Work - I don't want to be idle, but I am struggling here. I have back
pains and my husband desires that I work from home. We have always
wanted me to be a mother who stays home with her children, but not lazy.
I have been in churches that taught that if a husband works and makes
enough to survive then it is outright sin for a woman to earn any money,
that it is greed and sin.
In truth we have a lot of debt, a lot of it medical and we would like a
home and to not be so tight in budget.
This teaching made me wonder if having things is a sin? If a woman
working is a sin?
I'd like to help my husband, save, give to others, family, etc.
financially. I'd also like to have and enjoy things in moderation. Is
that double-mindedness?
I am pretty content.
Jewelry + Vows - Many years ago, before I met my husband, I came to a
conclusion that because Jesus was pierced for me, why should I have my
ears pierced or use my current piercings for vanity by wearing earrings?
I thought it was offensive to God! I'm not sure if I thought it was on a
personal or overall level. Again, this was many years ago. I committed
not to wear them for this reason.
As time went on, I saw that I may have been extreme and it would be fine
to wear them and desired to wear earrings again but I knew I couldn't or
I would be a liar to God and anger Him. I figured so what? It's just
earrings, I could give that up to obey, better than have my ears thrown
into hell, ( Matt. 5:30 )
But over time, I still wished I could wear them, assuming I was in a bad
place to even desire it. My husband didn't agree with this commitment I
made and he even wanted to buy me earrings. I started to wear them
again, but it's not a massive thing for me, I often don't even bother
wearing any! I struggle with concern over it though. I fear I broke a
vow and am still held to it.
To top this, I created a small business making and selling earrings and
other jewelry. I have put my shop on hold because I want to settle this
and I do fear that if I need to keep this commitment or vow, that I
would be tempted to want to wear some of the creations I make.
Jewelry + Piercings - On that note, some say piercings were not
biblical, that the earrings and nose rings were only worn by sinful
people in the bible and the jewelry God gives to His bride is allegory.
Likewise, only the slaves not wanting to be released at Jubilee were
pierced and the earrings and nose rings were not piercings, simply soft
golden rings. Thus, the extreme description of piercing was described in
the scriptures with the slaves only, or why else describe something that
was already done?
Also, that in the NT, God wants different things than in the OT, so in 1
Timothy 2:9 and 1 Peter 3:3-4 women are told not to wear jewelry, I
assume to be in Spirit and truth? I am not convinced of this based upon
other scriptures and the way that phrase is is seen elsewhere in
scriptures. Likewise, archaeological findings show clearly pierced type
of jewelry.
Am I missing something?
Art + Vows - I value skillful art. I strongly dislike the distorted and
chaos of 'art' such as abstract and picasso-like or pollock art. It's
horrible to me. I have always created art, but not always God-honoring
in the past and I turned form it, but still kept creating.
When my husband and I got married, he wanted me to leave the job I was
in which was making me sick and causing more back pain. We both wanted
me to stay home and create art to sell. So I did, or tried to. I got a
massive lack of support from the church we were in and some family. I
was ashamed I wasn't 'working'. I sadly, doubted my husband's leadership
and wifely submission was not encouraged or spoken of by the women at
the church we were attending.
That caused me to research what submission was and I fell into some
possibly legalistic teachings. I wasn't sure if I could do what I was
doing as a woman, wife or as per the second commandment.
I noted that only men were A) chosen to create art for the building of
the temple B) were filled with the Spirit ? to do so, when called, not
before?
This concerned me because the art in the temple was not to be seen of
people, thus the risk of idolatry was not so.
Likewise, I was taught that a woman should not have her 'name' out there
or make a name for herself, only to advance her husband and his name.
That it is a disgrace and I should stand behind my husband and not be
seen. So creating my art business under my name was essentially wrong.
Art, Vows and Miscarriage - So I stopped for a few years, terrified I
was usurping the order of glory God ordained and sinning by even
creating art. I also knew it was becoming an idol. I was told that
mothers cannot do anything like that, it's selfish and I won't even have
time to wash my hair and I was afraid of making a choice between
creating art and having children. Behind it was the concern over
absolutes too and the life God requires of me. We lost our first baby to
miscarriage that I believe is due to my sin of idolatry and I was hating
others.
Today I stand differently in heart about hatred and idolatry, thank God!
Picking up Art Again - I began to start art again a few years ago, but
this time I wanted to make a 'business plan'. I thought I had to set
aside an amount of money for tithing, offering, giving, etc. I thought
that was how God would bless it. Even though I never felt comfortable
with the church's push to make financial 'pledges' - every year they did
and used scripture to back it up. Something about it bothered me and I
figured it was sin and greed within me. But I don't think that was
always the case.
Anyhow, I sat down and decided before God to run the business
financially a certain way. Also I thought the best way to give God my
best and first-fruits while to treating believers better than
unbelievers ( Gal. 6:10 ) I should offer my best, most skilled art for
free downloads for them, leaving quick, less skilled art for selling. I
didn't feel like I wanted to do all this but I felt compelled and that
is was right and so I made my heart want it and I did.
I committed it and even how to use our money ( as a husband and wife )
because I thought having nice things was a sin in a way so I thought I
had to work hard, give what is left over and not keep any for us. But I
asked God and said I would keep a certain a mount for specific things.
I told my husband all of this and he protested and told me to stop
making these vows or commitments, which drove my OCD over the edge. He
wanted to annul the vows of wearing jewelry, the financial commitments
as the thought they were unwise for the business and for our finances. I
even thought to donate items and he said no, to sell what I can first to
help us financially and if I thought to donate an item and he wanted it
I cannot do it.
I don't know how to proceed. These commitments are not seemingly wise
biblically, and often legalistic, but I see no way out. I was taught
that if my husband hears and he protested I am free, but that is in the
OT law, is it not? My husband says it still stands because he is my
head, which makes sense. I am terrified of obeying my husband over God
and accruing God's anger or consequences on us if I ask for release and
move forward. I want to also bring my husband good and not harm. I am
also not sure if my husband passes and I am still here if I would have
to go back and fulfill the vows.
Almost every source I read, including the bible, it seems that no matter
how legalistic or rash the commitment was, I am bound to it, or there
will be scary consequences. I am not wanting to anything to erode my
faith as I do see that sin can erode it!
My husband says that I should not make vows, I agree and and have tried
to repent of this, but I do get some OCD thoughts. My husband says that
God is relational. I was so strict that if I said I would make chicken
for dinner and made something else instead, I was incurring God's wrath!
So for now, I am not doing anything really and I could study and pray
and just putter all day but it does get a bit taxing and we need to pay
bills. I also long to work with my hands and not be as idle, not that
studying and praying is idle.
I don't want to receive grace and God's love wrongly. I don't want to
hurt Him.
I again know this is a lot and it's been a lot for years. Thank you,
take your time and I am praying for you.
In His precious name,
Response #19:
It's my pleasure.
Re: "I say that I am not sure I was a believer". What matters is
that you believe now. All believers are saved; only
unbelievers are not saved.
"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:18 NKJV
This is also the short answer to your OSAS question: it's NOT a matter
of being on "pins and needles", that is, "one false step and not saved".
The only way that salvation can be lost is if a person reverts to being
an unbeliever; that is, the total loss of faith / rejection of Jesus
Christ. This is not something that happens overnight or by accident.
Apostasy is a process (see
the link).
Baptism: "I also see in the great commission that we are to baptize
others in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit." This is
not correct, not, that is, if a person sees this as water baptism. John
prophesied that Jesus would baptize not with water but with "the Holy
Spirit and with fire". The apostles, as anyone who has read Acts knows,
did impart the Holy Spirit in the early days of the Church Age. That is
what this verse refers to, not water baptism. For another thing, the
Greek actually says "baptize into the Person", namely, making us one
with Christ and with the Trinity. That is accomplished by the Spirit.
That IS the baptism of the Spirit. Nothing to do with water. Plenty
about this on the site (here's
one link to get you started).
Church: "go somewhere because it is commanded in Hebrews"; here's
my translation:
(24) And let us give careful attention to one another['s ministries] as motivation for [our own] love and good works, (25) not abandoning your mutual assembling as some have made it their practice to do [and which makes this impossible], but rather encouraging each other [to persevere in this work of the Lord], and doing so to an ever greater degree to the extent that you see the day [of the Lord] drawing [ever] closer.
Hebrews 10:24-25
In other words, if we are not assembling for the right reasons we're
"doing more harm than good" (1Cor.11:17). In fact, for the Hebrews who
received this letter, they WERE "going to church", temple, actually, and
THAT was the problem Paul was trying to correct in this epistle (link).
We'd all like a good place to go with great fellowship where the truth
was actually being taught. But this is the era of Laodicea and one of
the reasons for the dearth of supply is that very few Christians are
like yourselves, that is, honestly and genuinely wishing to draw closer
to the Lord through the truth of His Word. That takes effort and
sacrifice. Most people prefer "easy listening". *I have just now
forwarded a request to our moderator about the forum. Let me know if you
haven't heard back with an invite by the end of the week.
Re: "If a woman working is a sin?" Working in the home is
work – I'm sure I don't have to tell you! How a couple handles
these issues is between them and the Lord.
I'm sorry to hear about the miscarriage. A dear family member had one a
couple of years ago. It is a difficult thing (but much more common than
many people realize). It is a mistake and a trap to assume that
everything negative that happens in this life is somehow "God punishing
us". God loves us so much He sent His Son to die for us. We all need His
mercy – and He is merciful (Ps.103:8-13)! Job was not being punished. He
was being tested. We are all tested . . . especially if we are
attempting to do what God wants us to do . . . so as to help us grow.
I don't find anything in scripture to suggest that making or wearing
jewelry is wrong; scripture emphasizes that spiritual growth is more
important than outward appearance (not that having a decent appearance
is in any way a problem;
link).
Vows are to be avoided entirely (see
the link). Like all other things, if we've made a mistake, we turn
away and confess it and move on with our lives.
Please remember that Jesus has already died for you. You have a right, a
duty and an obligation to accept His forgiveness . . . and move forward
with joy in the Lord. This does take growth. And spiritual growth has to
be comprehensive to be effective (i.e., it's not going to work if we're
just looking for band-aids to put on particular wounds and ignoring
everything else in scripture).
I usually suggest starting with the
Peter series and/or the Basics
series (at the links; note: there are also MP3 audio files for these
as well, at the
link).
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #20:
Thank you Bob!
My husband does think more harm than good can come to just go somewhere
for the sake of it.
We are indeed seeking truth. It is so hard and so few seem to care. It's
lonely at times!
I see what you say about baptism, and I need to keep things in context
for sure.
I have been searching your site a ton! I want to learn a lot.
I need to see if you have any info on what faith is. Many have taught
that faith is obedience. I am so confused by that, because it is true,
if you believe something, you follow it. But faith for salvation cannot
be of works.
Only the blood can save us. I cannot get around that.
The jewelry and art is trivial in comparison to the Word, and yes,
housework is a lot of work! I enjoy it very much, though.
Yet, I desire to help financially. I fear breaking the commitments means
I am not repentant, thus a false convert.
I ask for prayer.
Also, we have been considering a move to KY a few times. We have had
friends trying to get us there. We have looked at Louisville, is it a
Ladocian place there too?
Also, how can we pray for you?
Response #20:
It's my pleasure.
There's also a lot on the site about faith (especially in the
Peter series). Here are a couple of
major links:
Faith Dynamics: Peter #24
Free Will Faith and the Will of God: in BB 4B
James tells us that faith is not merely knowledge (Jas.2:14-26); but faith is also non-meritorious and the opposite of works (Rom.4:16). Faith is, in essence, the expression of our free will, the image of God we all possess. We choose to consider the truth as such, to accept it, rather than rejecting it. When we respond in a positive way to the truth of the gospel which the Spirit makes clear to us, we are saved. How much faith does it take? As small as a grain of mustard seed, according to our Lord. After we are saved, it's not too much to say that the whole reason we are left here is to build up our faith, to make it stronger and stronger (e.g., Rom.1:17). How do we do that? Exactly as we would build up any muscle, through good nutrition (Bible study with a good ministry) and exercise (believing the truth we are taught and applying it to our lives). If there is no teaching of substantive truth where we are going "to church", we can't grow. If what we are taught isn't true, we can't grow. If we are in a ministry where the truth is being taught but we refuse to believe it, no growth will occur. If we do receive truth and believe it but are reluctant to put it into practice in our lives (preferring our old ways of thinking about things, for example), our spiritual growth will be hindered. But if we do things the right way, our faith will grow stronger and not weaker. And we will find that we are passing tests we used to fail, and that the Lord puts us into situations where we can minister to others too. That is how we earn eternal rewards.
By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:5-6 NKJV
That's a VERY short synopsis. Much more about all this at the site.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
p.s., in terms of Louisville, it's not particularly different from most
mid-sized cities (maybe a little more liberal leaning). I don't notice any
particular thirst for the truth here; it's a very Catholic city (because of its
history); it's very "clubby" which is off-putting for new arrivals; when they
ask you "where did you go to school?", they mean high school (!? no kidding!).
P.S.: If you haven't noticed or already done so, please check out the list of wonderful ministry offerings on the Special Topics page, including Jordan Bomberger's new Bible teaching website: Bible Driven, Mike Ceja's new YouTube channel, "Everything is Fine", John Jackson's Hub pages (anyone with questions about the "church-visible" will find this helpful), the Expanded Index to Old Testament translations at Ichthys, Foundational Principles, by Odii Ariwodo, "The Peter series", Video presentations by Steven Tammen based on the SR series, and Steven's group studies of BB 6A (see also Steven's new website: BibleDocs).
More E-mails: Complete archive of previous emails: Ichthys' Emails
Culture and Christianity XXVII
Mutual Encouragement in Christ XXI
Dispensations, Covenants, Israel and the Church III
Sin, Guilt, and Salvation VIII
Confronting False Groups and False Teaching VII
Confronting False Groups and False Teaching VI
Salvation, the Gospel, and Unbelief X
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry XXI
Mutual Encouragement in Christ XX
New Testament Interpretation XI
Finding a Church – or Something Better? III
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry XX
New Testament Interpretation X
The Local Church and Personal Ministry VI
The Holy Spirit: Pneumatology Questions VII
Salvation, the Gospel, and Unbelief IX
Mutual Encouragement in Christ XIX
Old Testament Interpretation XXI
The Battlefield Within: Fighting the inner spiritual Struggle II
Salvation, the Gospel, and Unbelief VIII
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry XIX
Mutual Encouragement in Christ XVIII
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry XVIII
Biblical Languages, Texts and Translations XIII
Faith, Forgiveness, Salvation VII
Mutual encouragement in Christ XVI
Mutual Encouragement in Christ XV
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry XVII
Genesis Gap: Questions and Answers VII
Church: The Biblical Ideal versus the Contemporary Reality IV
Old Testament Interpretation XX
Mutual Encouragement in Christ XIV
The Local Church and Personal Ministry V
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry XVI
Old Testament Interpretation XIX
Old Testament Interpretation XVIII
Mutual encouragement in Christ XIII
Faith, Forgiveness, Salvation VI
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry XV
Biblical Languages, Texts and Translations XII
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry XIV
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry XIII
Culture and Christianity XXIII
Bible Versions, Bible Translation, and Bible Reading VII
Church: The Biblical Ideal versus the Contemporary Reality III
Mutual Encouragement in Christ XII
Bible Versions, Bible Translation, and Bible Reading VI
Bible Versions, Bible Translation, and Bible Reading V
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry XII
Old Testament Interpretation XVII
Mutual Encouragement in Christ XI
Mutual Encouragement in Christ X
Confronting False Groups and False Teaching V
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry XI
Christian Perspectives on Disease and Death
Mutual Encouragement in Christ IX
Mutual Encouragement in Christ VIII
Confronting False Groups and False Teaching IV
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry X
Old Testament Interpretation XVI
Salvation, the Gospel, and Unbelief VII
New Testament Interpretation IX
Faith, Forgiveness, Salvation V
Old Testament Interpretation XV
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry IX
The 'Rapture' and other Eschatological Issues
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry VIII
Salvation, the Gospel, and Unbelief VI
New Testament Interpretation VIII
Old Testament Interpretation XIV
Politics versus Spiritual Growth IV
Old Testament Interpretation XIII
Salvation, the Gospel, and Unbelief V
Politics versus Spiritual Growth III
Faith, Forgiveness, Salvation IV
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry VII
Legalism, Past, Present and Future IV
New Testament Interpretation VII
Eschatology Issues XXIV: the 'Rapture' et al.
Believers in the World VIII: Coping with Family
Salvation, the Gospel, and Unbelief IV
Biblical Languages, Texts and Translations XI
Spiritual Gifts and False Teaching
Genesis Gap: Questions and Answers VI
New Testament Interpretation VI
Old Testament Interpretation XII
Apologetics, Ministry and False Teaching
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry VI
Church: The Biblical Ideal versus the Contemporary Reality II
Salvation, the Gospel, and Unbelief III
The Holy Spirit: Pneumatology Questions VI
Interpretation, Application, Exegesis and Ministry
Baptism: Water and Spirit VIII
New Testament Interpretation V
Apathy, Atheism, Cults and False Teaching
The Battlefield Within II: Combating anger, fear, blaming God, blaming others
Faith, Forgiveness, Salvation III
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry V
Paul the Apostle: Aspects of his Life and Ministry II
Old Testament Interpretation XI
Mutual Encouragement in Christ VII
The Transitional Era of the Book of Acts and its Unique Spiritual Gifts
Old Testament Interpretation X
The pre-Trib 'Rapture': so called 'imminence' and other false proofs refuted
Encouragement, Spiritual Testing and Spiritual Growth III
Biblical Languages, Texts and Translations X
Legalism, Past and Present III: Sabbath observance, tithing, dietary regulations and other issues
Salvation, the Gospel, and Unbelief II
Old Testament Interpretation IX
Christology Questions IX: Christ and His Church
Mutual Encouragement in Christ VI: Perseverance
Faith, Forgiveness, Salvation II
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry IV
Fighting the Fight V: Dispatches from the Laodicean 'Front' II
Old Testament Interpretation VIII
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry III
New Testament Interpretation IV
Biblical Languages, Texts and Translations IX
Peace, Reconciliation and Salvation
Mutual Encouragement in Christ V: Soldiers of the Cross
Old Testament Interpretation VII
Dangers of the Pre-Trib Rapture False Teaching
Biblical Languages, Texts and Translations VIII
The Infinity, Magnitude, Glory, Providence and Plan of God
The Bible and the Canon: The Inspired Word of God IV
Nephilim, Antichrist, the False Prophet and the Mark of the Beast
The Trinity and Messianic Legalism II
Annihilationism, Universalism, Hell and Judgment II
Politics versus Spiritual Growth II
Culture and Christianity XVII: Humor, Self-Defense, Pacifism and War
Culture and Christianity XVI: Alcohol, Money and Dietary Issues
Dreams, Visions, Miracles, Exorcism, Tongues, and False Prophets
Calvinism, Catholicism and Ichthys
Apologetics, Legalism, Cults and Philosophy
Mutual Encouragement in Christ IV
Genesis Gap: Questions and Answers V
Faith and Free Will in Trial and Testing
Free Will and God's WILL in Salvation
Jobs, Money, Finances and Giving: What does the Bible say?
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry II
Mutual Encouragement in Christ III
It is Better on the Other Side
Christology Questions VIII: The Deity, Humanity and Life of Christ
The Lives of the Apostles and the Writing of the New Testament II
Biblical People and Places: Eve, Cain, Noah, Abraham, Hagar, Esau, Joseph and more
Biblical Anthropology V: Body, Spirit and 'Soul', Present and Future
Satan, Antichrist, the False Prophet and the Mark of the Beast
The Holy Spirit: Pneumatology Questions V
Prophets, Prophecy, and False Prophets
Christology Questions VII: The Life and Spiritual Death of Christ and Holy Communion
The Bible and the Canon: The Inspired Word of God III
Culture and Christianity XV: The Bible vs. some Sensitive Social and Political Issues
Christology Questions VI: Christophany, Deity and the Spiritual Death of Christ
Encouragement, Spiritual Testing and Spiritual Growth II
Fighting the Fight IV: Dispatches from the Laodicean 'Front'
The Resurrection Body and our Eternal Future II
Blindness, Disease and Healing
Ministry and Preparation for Ministry
Should I go to seminary or not?
Biblical Languages, Texts and Translations VII
Encouragement, Spiritual Testing and Spiritual Growth
Judaism and Legalism in the church-visible
Confronting False Groups and False Teaching III
The Holy Spirit: Pneumatology Questions IV
Old Testament Interpretation VI
More Questions on the Book of Hebrews: Melchizedek, Esau, and the 'Impossibility' of Being Restored
Believers in the World IV: Making Godly Choices vs. Following Man-Made Rules
Guilt, Sin and Victory through Spiritual Growth
Confronting False Groups and False Teaching II
Politics versus Spiritual Growth
Christian Struggle, Perseverance and Deliverance
The Bible and the Natural World
An Extended Conversation on the 'Unpardonable' Sin
Eternal Realities: Real Heaven, Real Hell
Eschatology Issues XII: Babylon, Armageddon, Israel, 2026
Ministers, Ministry, and Preparation for Ministry
Evangelism in Principle and Practice II
Gospel Questions X: Glory, John the baptist, the hidden talent, the Kingdom of God
Matthew Questions, verse by verse
Politics and Political Action on the Eve of the Tribulation
Bible Versions, Bible Translation, and Bible Reading IV
Mutual Encouragement in Christ II
Genesis Gap: Questions and Answers IV
Culture and Christianity XIII: College, Dating, Marriage and Friendship
Eschatology Issues XI: Trumpets, the Millennium, the Time of the Tribulation and the Resurrection.
Sin according to the Bible: Hamartiology II
Angelic Issues VI: Cherubs, Guardians, Elders and 'gods'
Sin according to the Bible: Hamartiology I
Bible Chronology, Aramaic and Interpretation
The Trinity and Messianic Legalism
Anger, Anthropopathism, Eternity and Divine Motives
Unbelievers, Free Will, and the Plan of God II
Christology Questions V: the Baptism, Temptation and Spiritual Death of Christ
The Bible and the Canon: The Inspired Word of God II
Believers in the World III: Prosperity Gospel, Tithing, Cults and Legalism
Faith, Hope and Love: Virtue in Spiritual Warfare
Finding a Church - or Something Better? II
New Testament Interpretation III
Faith vs. History, Archaeology, Philosophy
Believers in the World II: Confronting False Groups and False Teaching
The 144,000 and the Two Witnesses of the Tribulation
Predestination, Free Will and False Teaching
Love, Marriage, and Divorce: Marriage and the Bible III
Interpreting Dreams and Analyzing Prophetic Claims
Bible Versions, Bible Translation, and Bible Reading III
Eschatology Issues IX: Amillennialism, Trumpets, and the Seven Days
Spiritual Warfare IV: Demons, Demonic Influences and Satanic Methodology
Atheism and Gnosticism: Denying the Truth about God
Sin, Salvation and Forgiveness: Claiming the Mental and Spiritual High-Ground
Struggling with Salvation . . . and Relatives
Ministry and the Ichthys Ministry II
All about Ichthys II: Mutual Encouragement in the Lord
The Book of Job and Christian Suffering
Genesis Gap: Questions and Answers III: Creationism, Neanderthals, Fossil Record
Christology Questions IV: Jesus' Birth, Baptism, Early Life, and Kenosis
Third Party Testimony III: Near Death Experiences, Revelations and Tongues
Third Party Testimony II: Charismatic Claims of Visions, Dreams and Prophecy
Third Party Testimony I: We Believe God and His Word - Not People
God Heals - in His way (not our way)
Sanctification, Separation and Restraint
Finding a Church - or Something Better?
Culture and Christianity X: Military Service, College, Politics, and Race Relations
Contemporary Churches and Women Preachers
Culture and Christianity IX: Politics, Tithing, Music, Crucifixes, Alcohol, and Gambling
Biblical Anthropology III: Soul versus Spirit, "Soul Sleep", and the Interim Body
New Testament Interpretation II: Who is equal? Grace in vain. Unequally yoked.
Aspects of the Crucifixion II: Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday?
Aspects of the Crucifixion I: Carrying the cross, trials and rooster crow.
The Canon: Content, Chronology, and Criticism
Spiritual Warfare III: Peter's 'Angel', Saul's Death, and Strange Events
Old Testament Interpretation IV: Gehazi's Leprosy, Tyre's Destruction, and Immanuel
Nephilim, Fallen Angels, and Genesis 6
Sin, Atonement and Forgiveness II
Sin, Atonement and Forgiveness I
Annihilationism, Universalism, Hell and Judgment
Noah, the Flood, and the Nature of Animals
The Tribulation: Timing of, Preparation for, and Conditions in
Eschatology Issues VIII: Revelation, Tribulation and Judgment
Antichrist: the Mark, the Number, and the Identification of the Beast
Satan's Revolt and the Tribulation to Come
Old Testament Interpretation III: The Name 'Jacob', the Mark of Cain, Jeshrun.
Old Testament Interpretation II: Urim and Thummim, the Bronze Serpent, the Ark.
Being Saved: Security, Apostasy, and the Sin unto Death
Fighting the Fight III: False Teaching, Local Churches, and the Truth
Fighting the Fight II: Struggling with Sin, Doubt, and Severe Testing
Fighting the Fight I: Accountability, Faith, Sin, Forgiveness, and Reward
Dispensations, Covenants, Israel and the Church II
Dispensations, Covenants, Israel and the Church I
Witnessing: Cults and Christianity II
Witnessing: Cults and Christianity I
Ministry and the Ichthys Ministry
Spiritual Growth, Church-Searching and "Discipling"
Unbelievers, Free Will, and the Plan of God
Biblical Languages, Texts and Translations VI
Paganism, Idolatry, Mythology and the Occult
The Lives of the Apostles and the Writing of the New Testament
The Essence of God and Deity of Christ
1st John: Text and Interpretation
Perseverance in the latter days of Laodicea
Prayer: the Persistence, Purpose and Power of.
Paul the Apostle: Aspects of his Life and Ministry
Gospel Questions VII: The Wedding at Cana et al.
Israel, 'Lost Tribes' and the Star of David
Israel
and Antichrist in Eschatology
Explaining and Defending the
Trinity and the Person of Christ II
The Holy Spirit: Pneumatology Questions III
The Geography of Heaven, Hades and 'Hell'.
The Resurrection Body and our Eternal Future.
Christ the First-Born, High Priest in the Order of Melchizedek.
Bible Versions, Bible Translation, and Bible Reading II
Bible Versions, Bible Translation, and Bible Reading
Hermeneutics, Typology, Christophany, Theophany and Anthropopathism.
No, Hebrews does not teach that you lost your salvation.
Gospel Questions VI: the Long Ending of Mark et al.
Judas and the Betrayal of Christ
Doubting Salvation and Questions of Sin
The 144,000: God's Seal vs. the Mark of the Beast
Atheism: Putting Truth to Death
The Holy Spirit: Pneumatology Questions II
The Holy Spirit: Pneumatology Questions I
The Law, Love, Faith-Rest and Messianism
Sin and Salvation, Confession and Forgiveness
Have I Lost My Salvation? (III)
The Battlefield Within: Fighting the inner spiritual Struggle.
Putting Christ in Christmas: Loving Jesus, the Star and the Magi, Wonderful Counselor.
Healing, Miracles, and Dreams: Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff by biblical Means
153 Fish: Explaining some Difficult New Testament Passages
Kenosis: Our Lord's Self-Limitation during the 1st Advent
Biblical Anthropology II: 'Soul sleep', & dichotomy vs. trichotomy
Biblical Anthropology I: The Nature of Human Beings and Human Life according to the Bible.
Genesis Gap: Questions and Answers II.
Culture and Christianity VII: Jury Duty, Witnessing, Biometry, Military Service et al.
Culture and Christianity VI: Halloween, Holidays, Aliens, and Christian Applications.
Angelic Issues V: Michael, the Angel of the Lord, Christophany, demons, cherubs, and Satan's revolt.
Angelic Issues IV: Satan's Revolt in the Plan of God.
All about Ichthys: Mutual Encouragement in the Lord.
Fallen Angels, Demons, Nephilim, and the Devil's Methodology.
Salvation, the Gospel, and Unbelief.
The Bible and the Canon: The Inspired Word of God.
Communion and the Spiritual Death of Christ.
Israelology, Anti-Semitism, the Remnant, Gentiles, Lost Tribes, Jewish Myths.
"Soul Sleep" versus our true Heavenly State.
Christology Questions III: The Angel of the Lord, the Lamb Slain, monogenes.
Angelic Issues III: Demons, Satan, Elders, Female Angels and Guardians.
Against Universalism III: Unbelievers in the Plan of God.
Waters Above, the Firmament, and the Genesis Gap.
In Need of Guidance and Encouragement.
Biblical Languages, Texts and Translations V.
Servants, Slaves, Disciples, and Ministers.
Evangelism in Principle and Practice.
Scripture versus Personal Experience.
Calvinism, Covenants and Catholicism.
Culture and Christianity V: Temporal Authority vs. Biblical Application.
False Doctrine of Absolute Eternal Security III.
The Dangers of Messianic Legalism IV: Unclean and Impure?
Things to Come III: The Wrath of God and the Fate of the Beast's Army.
God Works All Things Together for Good.
The 7 Trumpets, the 7 Kings, Nephilim, Antichrist and Revived Rome.
The Coming Tribulation and the Kingdom of God.
Sin, Confession and Forgiveness.
Mutual Encouragement in Christ.
Biblical Languages, Texts and Translations IV.
Eschatology Issues V: "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons".
Ichthys and Contemporary Christianity.
Gospel Questions V: Help my Unbelief, Respecting our Enemies, etc.
The Two Witnesses of the Tribulation: Moses and Elijah.
The Apostles, the Jerusalem Council, and Legalism then and now.
Aspects of the Christian Walk: Gambling, Lying, Christmas, Judging, Worrying, et al.
Believers in the World: Using our Free Will to Respond to the Lord
John's Water-Baptism versus the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The City of David, the Star of David, Solomon's Wisdom, and the Song of Solomon.
The Israelites at Kadesh and 'not entering the Land of Promise'.
Genesis Gap: Questions and Answers.
Sin and Spiritual Transformation.
One Baptism: the True Meaning of Peter's Words at Acts 2:38.
Apostasy and the Sin unto Death, the Conscience and Sanctification.
The Plan of God and Individual Salvation (excerpt from BB 4B)
In Your Anger, do not Sin: Ephesians 4:26 and the Sin Nature
On the Firing Line: Encouragement in Christian Trials
Eschatology and the Old Testament
Prayer and our Walk with Jesus.
Issues of Canonicity II: Aramaic, Enoch, KJV, and the Pastorals
Bible Vocabulary and Bible Word Studies
Satan, his Demons, and the Gnostics
Antichrist: Alive and Well and Living on Planet Earth?
Our Eternal Future: Life after Death for Believers in Jesus Christ
Giants and Nephilim, Sumerian Myths, and Sea Monsters
Free-Will Faith and the Will of God
The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy: explaining James 4:5.
Free-Will Faith in the Plan of God.
The False Doctrine of Absolute Eternal Security II.
The Dangers of Messianic Legalism III
The Dangers of Messianic Legalism II
The Dangers of Messianic Legalism.
Mega-Churches, Emergent Christianity, Spirituality and Materialism.
Epignosis, Christian Epistemology, and Spiritual Growth.
Jephthah's Daughter, Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage.
Christian Unity and Divisiveness.
Death, Martyrdom and Resurrection.
Blessing, Cursing, and Prayer.
Fighting the Good Fight of Faith.
Only-Begotten, Mother-of-God, On-this-Rock: English-only Interpretation is Dangerous.
The Greek Text of the New Testament and some Issues of Textual Criticism.
What does the name 'Christian' mean?
Christians Beware: Internet Frauds and the Need for Spiritual Discernment (part 2).
Christians Beware: Internet Frauds and the Need for Spiritual Discernment.
Spring Special: The Millennial Regathering and Purging of Israel.
Last Things and Last Judgments
The Local Church and Personal Ministry IV
The Local Church and Personal Ministry III
The Local Church and Personal Ministry II
The Local Church and Personal Ministry I
Aspects of the False Doctrine of Institutional Security
Chronological Order of the Books of the Bible II
Biblical Languages, Texts and Translations III
Biblical Languages, Texts and Translations II
Biblical Languages, Texts and Translations I
Satan and the Existence of Evil.
The Holy Spirit: Blasphemy against,
Restraining Ministry, and Gender.
Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Growth
Christian Love, the Golden Rule, Christian Military Service and Self-Defense.
Issues of Canonicity: Apocrypha, Enoch, and Inspiration.
Church: The Biblical Ideal versus the Contemporary Reality.
Numbers, Letters, and the Mark of the Beast.
Gospel Questions I: Jesus' Life, the Gospels and Cherubs, and who Wrote Matthew.
Naaman, Nero, Nineveh, and Senacharib.
The False Doctrine of Absolute Eternal Security.
Choosing Hell: Questions about Salvation and the Love of God.
The Route of the Israelites in Crossing
the Red Sea.
Some Issues of Transmission,
Translation, and Transliteration: The Camel and the Needle, etc.
Aspects of the Life of
Christ: Jesus' siblings, the man born blind, et al.
Redemption, the Blood of Christ, Christ our Passover, and The Passion of the Christ.
Eschatology Issues II: Angelic bodies, heaven and hell, Satan and the Nephilim, etc.
The Book of Job and Biblical Interpretation.
Some Questions about Eternity.
Who Controls our Thoughts and Emotions?
Dispensations, the Church, the Rapture, and the Destruction of the Universe.
Christianity versus Contemporary Kitsch.
Purpose Driven Life, Oprah's New Age Religion, et al.
Lot, Esau, and Cain: Learning through
Negative Examples.
Against Universalism II:
Only Believers are Saved.
Against Universalism I: Free
Will and the Image of God.
The Seven Edens and the Eden of Adam and Eve.
Opposition to the Genesis Gap from the Creation Research Institute et al.
The Beast: Some Questions about Antichrist.
The Book of Revelation: Some Questions.
Red Hot or Lukewarm? Bible Teaching versus Sermonizing.
The Last Judgment and the Great White Throne.
Christology: Some Questions on the Life of Christ.
Train up a Child in the Way he should Go.
Unbelief and its Consequences.
Explaining and Defending the Trinity and the Person of Christ.
Free Will and Faith under Pressure.
Bible Interpretation I: Academics, Versions et al.
Faith in the Word of God: the Basis of all True Worship.
Aspects of the Resurrection II.
Faith and Encouragement in the midst of Fiery Trials.
Jethro, Amenhotep, Iraq, the Catacombs, and the KJV.
Eschatology Issues: The Fig Tree, Ezekiel 38, Joel 3, and the Trumpets.
Christ the Rock, the Rooster's Crow, and the Cross.
Applying Faith II: Production, Forgiveness, Circumcision, Truth over People.
Applying Faith: Eating, Drinking, and Vacation.
The Tree of Life, Communion, and the Virgin Birth.
Can Prayer Be Offered From Heaven? & Some Genesis Questions.
Walking the Path of Faith through the Light of the Word of God.
Salvation on the battlefield, truth revealed to infants, and damnation.
Preparing for
Tribulation.
Divine
Sovereignty and Divine Judgment.
The Events Surrounding the Birth of Christ.
Zechariah,
Demon Possession, Marriage,
Spiritual Experiences,
and Bible Prophecy.
No Grounds for Divorce?
The Shape of the Universe, Hominids, and the Genesis Gap.
Taking Personal Responsibility: Interest, Bankruptcy, Gambling, and Employment.
The Seven Churches, the Judgment Seat of Christ, and other issues in Eschatology.
Great White Throne, the Last Judgment, and the Outer Darkness.
Pursuing a Deeper Relationship with Jesus and Christian Epistemology.
The Origin and the Danger of the Pre-Tribulational Rapture Theory.
The Divinity of the Spirit and the Percentage of those who are Saved.
Enoch's Walk with God and Some Questions in the Gospels.
The Influence of the Renaissance and Rationalism on the Church and Cutting off Arms in Malachi 2:3.
More on: Spiritual Gifts; Hats & Hair; the Age of Accountability.
Who will populate earth during the Millennium? and Asking for Wisdom: James 1:5.
Was Judas Saved?, The Gospel of Judas, and Issues of Canonicity.
Is 'My Son' Israel or Jesus in Hosea 11:1? & How do you Prove Sin to Someone?
Christian Crowns, Pagan Names, and the Time of the Cock-Crow.
Child-like Faith, Mark vs. Matthew, the Mahdi, and 'Who was with God in the Beginning?
The Genesis Serpent, Using "it" to refer to the baby Jesus, and more on Tattoos.
Why did Jesus choose John over James to take care of His mother Mary?
Does God really want us to be sick and poor? Revisiting the prosperity gospel.
What will our relationship be in heaven with children who died young?
The baptism of the Holy Spirit as distinct from speaking in tongues.
"Are the children of unbelievers lost if they die before receiving Christ?"
"The dragon of Revelation 12 and the talking idol of Revelation 13."
"Doubts about the Nephilim in Genesis 6" and "Ezekiel 9:4 and the Mark of the Beast"
"Word Counts in the Bible", "Him whom they Pierced (Rev.1:7)", and "Necromancy".
"Waiting for a Savior" and "The Direction East in the Bible"
Why doesn't the Bible mention all of the prophets of the children of Israel?
Why were Christians being regarded as "evil-doers" in 1st Peter 2:12?
Phylacteries and the Mark of the Beast, and "What about Joseph?"
Assembly of the local church, and Jesus' use of "I AM" from Exodus 3:14 in John 8:58
The "burden of the Lord" in Jeremiah 23:32-40, and judgment for idle words in Matthew 12:36-37.
Is there any
value to the Apocrypha?
The Communion
Ceremony outside of the
local church.
Corporate prayer in Matthew 18:19: "when two agree on earth".
How could a loving God order the destruction of the Canaanites?
The few saved, the door in heaven, visions of heavenly realities, and Christmas.
Does exceptionally sinful behavior indicate that a Christian has lost salvation?
Pastoral Support, Pastoral Preparation, and the Purpose of Assembly.
The Day of the Lord in 2nd Peter 3:10.
Hebrews 10:26 again, and two other notes on Arthur Pink and the Greek word diakonos.
Some questions about Nimrod and Christmas trees, Tongues, and Healing
What happens to people who were born and died prior to the birth of Christ?
Which is better, the King James Version or the New King James Version?
How can we know whose interpretation of the Bible is right (Part 2)?
How can we know whose interpretation of the Bible is right (Part 1)?
Is Jesus literally seated on the throne at God's right hand?
Melchizedek and the high priesthood of Christ: two questions et alia.
Confession of Sin, Fellowship, and the Filling of the Holy Spirit.
A Miscellany of Questions and Answers (Nineveh, the beast, tongues, demons, Sadam, etc.)
Some Greek Questions in the Gospels (John 1:3; 2:19; 8:58; Luke 23:43)
Is Man trichotomous, and does that mean that salvation is three-tiered?
Does the Bible prohibit women from preaching or teaching in the Church?
An Extended Conversation about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Three questions on three verses in Isaiah (Is.21:4; 28:10, & 66:24).
Availability and use of Ichthys materials: several questions.
The Hebrew word for 'one' (`echadh) and the uniqueness of God.
Did the witch of Endor really conjure up the spirit of Samuel?
Why did God the Father wait so long to send Jesus into the world?
How does being "slain in the Spirit" relate to being baptized in the Spirit?
What does it mean "the spirit returns to God" in Ecclesiastes 12:7?
Is there any Connection between biblical Gemstones and Moral Characteristics?
Can those in organizations which teach "salvation by works" be saved?
Cast thy Bread upon the Waters: What do the seven and eight portions in Ecclesiastes 11:2 mean?
What does it mean in 1st Corinthians 7:14, "the unbelieving husband is sanctified"?
The Re-institution of the Feast of Tabernacles in the Millennium.
The Author of Hebrews and Jesus' Perfect Completion of His Mission.
How old was Jesus at the time of His crucifixion and resurrection?
The New International Version of the Bible and some issues in Bible translation.
Are those in Hebrews 6:4 who "crucify the Son of God afresh" lost?
What exactly is the "red heifer prophecy", and how does it relate to the events of the end times?
Sin,
Baptism, and the Book of
Revelation
Tithing
and the Book of
Life
Why does Judah get greater honor than Jerusalem in Zechariah 12:7?
What is the meaning of the 1290 days versus the 1335 days in Daniel 12?
What does it mean to "overcome" in Revelation chapters 2 and 3?
Are women required
to wear veils or hats in
church?
Is the world
about to come to an end?
Who
wrote the King James version?
The meaning of the
divine name יהוה.
Aspects of the Unseen Angelic Warfare and 666, the Mark of the Beast.
What does it mean to "remember the Sabbath and keep it holy"?
Forward progress necessary for salvation and spiritual growth.
The "seven days" of
human history.
1st John 1:9 and
confessing sin.
Can you recommend a good survey for the Old and New Testaments?
What is your opinion of the Abingdon one-volume Bible Commentary?
Why does the devil have access to God while man cannot stand in His presence?
What is meant by
the "10 days" of Revelation
2:10?
Dragons in the Bible?
Are there apostles in the
Church today?
What is the meaning of the
word "chosen" in
the Bible.
The Passover.
What are the most common Bible
names?
What is the biblical significance
of the number forty?
What does the Bible have
to say about witchcraft?
Are the Masons
wrong according to the Bible?
Six Questions.
Can the faith of
"backsliders" be
restored?
Are there biblical origins to
mythology?
What does the phrase "sides of the pit" mean in Isaiah 14:15?
Can you give me some information on divine names in the Bible?
Is there a "gospel
of Thomas"?
Is the nature of Man
dichotomous or trichotomous?
Does
the Bible require supporting
the pastor
financially?
How
can Jesus be a man
and God at the same time?
How did people
atone for intentional sin
in Old Testament times?
What is the symbolism of the
Lamb of God in Revelation?
Does the
Bible teach ex nihilo
creation?
When did Jesus first know He
was God's Son?
Are there prophets today?
How could
Christ have been three days and
nights in
the grave?
Do Muslims worship the One true
God?