Question #1:
Hi Bob,
I was studying Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus tonight and noticed
that Jesus' explanation also supports the dichotomy of man.
Jesus says that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit.
Two parts of the human:
1) flesh
2) spirit
Praying for you!
In Jesus
Response #1:
Good observation (link)!
Thanks for the prayers.
Keeping you and your family in mine daily too.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #2:
Dr. Luginbill,
It’s been some time since we last talked and I hope you are doing well
in the midst of our current times. I have been recently been trying to
further work out my understanding of
soteriology and have some questions for you if you don’t mind. I
encountered a group of individuals who have some interesting views on
the subject, and with which I have some issues. They can be very
persuasive, and to tell the truth, I’m a bit distraught as to how to
handle some of their claims. Here is a direct quote from one of them:
“Salvation is not the immediate reward of a place in heaven that one can keep or lose. It's an initial deliverance from sin, to do good not evil and includes forgiveness of past sin. The reward of eternal salvation comes after our last breath, after we are judged. That reward is conditional on whether our faith worked through love resulting in obedience.
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Initial salvation is just that. Initial, not eternal. There are numerous scriptures that illustrate this.
(2Ti 2:10 KJV) Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Why don't the elect already have salvation? Because they are not eternally saved, only initially saved [from sin].
(Rom 6:22 KJV) But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Why is everlasting life given at the end of a life of being free from sin? Because the believer is only initially saved [from sin], not eternally saved.
(Rom 13:11 KJV) And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
If they were already eternally saved, why would their salvation be nearer than when they first believed? Because they are only initially saved [from sin], not eternally saved.
(Jas 1:21 KJV) Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Why aren't the souls of these believers already eternally saved? Because they are only initially saved [from sin].
(1Pe 1:9 KJV) Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Why does the salvation of the souls of Peter's audience (faithful believers) happen at the end of their faith and not at the beginning? Because they are only initially saved [from sin], not eternally saved.”
My main issue here is the idea that believers are not guaranteed an
eternity in heaven upon putting their faith in Christ. I don’t mean to
create a straw man here, but it sounds to me like this person is
suggesting that our obedience is actually what guarantees our eternal
safety. The first thing that came to my mind when I read this quote was
John 6:47, “the one who believes HAS eternal life.” Not to mention many
other examples from the Gospels, etc.
Additionally, this same group of people says that “faith” doesn’t mean
“entrusting yourself to Christ”, it means “obedience”. So to them, faith
is always obedience in the sense of being an active performance on the
part of the person. Their rationale is that supposedly “faith” in Greek
is derived from the word for “obedience”. So the whole thing ends up
being a “faith is actually works but also not the kind of works that
can’t save you” game that gets very confusing.
I’m the first one to admit that the process and interaction between
justification, sanctification and salvation is difficult to understand,
especially in light of the huge amount of information in the Bible.
However, the things these people present do not sit well with me.
How would you respond to the things that these people are saying?
Thanks,
Response #2:
After salvation, we are still in the
world. And after salvation, we are charged with the task of spiritual growth,
progress and production – that is the basis of eternal rewards. Also, in the
case of some, faith dies out under pressure, so part of the reason we are left
here is to test the faith that is in us to see if it is genuine or merely
short-lived (Lk.8:13;
see the link).
So, for example, while yet here in the world we still have a sin nature. For
that reason while we are indeed "sanctified" positionally we are however not
sinless. We are "sanctified" in Christ – that is our position in God's eyes, but
we are not yet fully sanctified and unable to sin as will be the case in
resurrection. So the Bible talks of what in theology is called positional,
experiential, and ultimate sanctification:
1) we are holy in our status because we belong to Jesus;
2) so we are called "to be perfecting our holiness" (2Cor.7:1) as we grow in
Him; and
3) when we are resurrected, there will no longer be any disconnect between
position and experience.
The same is true of salvation.
1) We are saved, we are being saved, and we shall be saved; meaning that we have
eternal life positionally now, but obviously we are not experiencing that
eternal life yet and won't until the resurrection; so
2) we are "working out our salvation" (Phil.2:12), trying to do what the Lord
told us to do in denying ourselves, picking up our crosses and following Him
(going backward instead leads in some cases to apostasy); and
3) in resurrection we will have our salvation "experientially", because then
"when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is"
through the eyes of the resurrection body experiencing our eternal life
(1Jn.3:2).
This is a very well-known theological distinction, so either the people you are
talking to don't know much about the Bible – or they are just being
argumentative in support of some questionable position. It does sound from the
other things you say here that they may have a Roman Catholic type "salvation by
works" view – and if they believe that instead of trusting in Christ, then they
are not saved in the first place (Eph.2:8-9).
What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
Romans 4:1-5 NKJV
Here is a good link for this:
"Saved, being saved, will be saved" in BB 4B: Soteriology.
In Jesus our dear Savior,
Bob L.
Question #3:
Hi Bob, and thank you for the reply.
I am actually not a Christian, although I come from a Christian
environment, but I still retain certain beliefs held in the Christian
religion: a belief in the Creator, in a spiritual world, that humans are
spiritual creatures, in magic, curses, spells, witchcraft, life after
death. I am not a miracle worker, but I do believe in miracles and I
think that if miracles can only come from the Creator and some people
really perform do miracles then those people must be of the Creator and
I think to follow and learn from them. (What do they have that I don't,
I wonder?) I think to seek the source of healing first and foremost, the
Creator, but I think that maybe the Creator calls upon us to seek out
individuals sent by our Maker to help us, including miracles such as
healing. Like why did people go to the "Saviour" and his disciples, or
the prophets (like Elijah and the widow's dead boy) to have some of
their desires (like miraculous healings) granted, why didn't they just
pray to the Creator to have sickness healed or a demons cast out and
such? (Or the disciples for that matter: Matthew 17:19 (King James Bible
(KJV)) "Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not
we cast him out?") I do respect your opinion and beliefs, but if you are
not a miracle ministry, that is okay, I respect that and will keep
looking elsewhere.
May your own prayers be answered.
Be well,
Response #3:
If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, then what you really need is eternal life through faith in Him, His perfect person (He is the God-man) and His perfect work on the cross (He died for your sins). See the link.
"For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"
Luke 9:25 ESV
There were many who listened to our Lord, who were fed and otherwise benefitted from the things done by our Lord, and even those who were healed by our Lord . . . who are in hell today – because they refused to believe in Him.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV
As it says in the Psalms (Ps.49:7-11), no one can live forever and there is no ransom large enough to keep a person from his/her appointment with death, so even if a person prospers so greatly as to have "lands named for himself", in the end it is meaningless because all go to the same place – except for believers.
But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.
Psalm 49:15 NIV
So whatever your needs and troubles, while I cannot offer you relief through any miraculous intervention at my personal disposal (no human being can at present do that, in fact), I can tell you that God offers you – free of charge since Jesus paid the horrific bill – life eternal, resurrection, deliverance from death and darkness and the grave forevermore. And the alternative is not even to be considered.
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
Revelation 22:17 NIV
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
2nd Corinthians 5:20 NKJV
In Jesus Christ the Lord, the One and only Savior and way to life
eternal.
Bob L.
Question #4:
What I ask of you Bob, then, is just keep me in your prayers, that I
will find that path that leads to salvation, and settle it in my heart
with the Creator that I will be at "right" with our Maker. Searching for
answers and help by finding miracle workers is just one route, NOT the
only, that I'm taking in seeking a relationship with our Creator, not a
quick fix, but looking for that which will be with my for the rest of my
life and afterwards. One part of my search is seek and obtaining what
the Bible, and what some religious people claim to have that others
don't, is "Godly" love (I confess that I have things like hate,
unforgiveness and ungratefulness in my heart), I want to know if there's
a greater love that I've never experienced or felt. (How can I love my
neighbor as myself when I hate myself and others?). I seek soundness of
mind, peace, joy, etc. If the Creator does intervene in human affairs
and does offer us a direct, personal relationship with It, then you can
prayer that someday I'll eventually "square" with our Creator.
May it be well with you in your journey,
Response #4:
There is only one sacrifice for sin: the blood of Jesus Christ (that is, His death for you on the cross).
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
John 14:6 NKJV
It doesn't matter who you are or what wonderful things you have done or how much love you have in your heart. Accepting the Gift of Jesus Christ, who He is – the God-man – and what He has done – His work of salvation on the cross in dying for our sins – is the "one way" to life eternal. Everything else is a false path.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV
As to "soundness of mind, peace, joy, etc.", God does provide these and many other blessings in abundance – to those who belong to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, that is, to all believers.
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Isaiah 26:3 NKJV
It is only through the truth that anyone can be saved. And Jesus Christ IS the truth – the way and the life eternal (Jn.14:6). There is no other truth and there is no other way to be saved.
"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:12 NKJV
I am praying for you, but as to "some day", no one has a guarantee of tomorrow (cf. Lk.12:20). We have the days that God has given us and no more. If we refuse to accept the Gift of life, Jesus Christ, before this life runs out, then there is no life eternal on the other side.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!"
Acts 16:31
Written in the love of Jesus Christ my Savior,
Bob L.
Question #5:
Hi Dr.
I pray you are well including your family and ministry. How is school
coming along for the close of this semester?
Quick question. A believer here is Pentecostal denomination but he
believes in Oneness theology.
Can you give me a breakdown or more explanation of this? This has
something to do with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit not 3 persons (i.e.
Trinity) but only one God in three manifestation. To me it doesn't sound
biblical but I need help understanding.
Confusing.
Thank you very much and God bless you
Response #5:
As to the heretical unitarian and anti-Trinity view, it's been around
since the beginning, just with different names, and there are all sorts
of "flavors" of this view as well. If you've still got Walker or
Latourette you can look and see what they say about, e.g., "Modalism",
which is another manifestation of this view. The bottom line is that the
Trinity is the truth and that only the traditional expression of that
view avoids the multifarious heresies that may be committed or fallen
into otherwise: God is one essence, three persons. So that God IS "one"
– meaning an absolute unity of purpose and essence in a way that
mankind, even though "one" in the sense that we are all part of
humanity, could never even fathom being – and yet the Father and the Son
and the Spirit are all three distinct and individual personages. The
Trinity triangle is a good illustration of this (in
BB 1Theo link)
where it is demonstrated that while all three are God and that God is
all three, nevertheless the Father is not the Son and the Son is not the
Spirit and the Spirit is not the Father (etc.).
So I wouldn't worry about the ins and outs of this false theory or just
what twists and turns it takes regarding its misrepresentation of the
truth. Let all that is false try to explain itself in regard to the
truth . . . and be found wanting by comparison.
(4) John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, (5) and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, (6) and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 1:4-6 NKJV
The Father and the Spirit and the Son are clearly distinct here. The
only way they could be understood as not being separate persons
operating as such (albeit with the complete unity of purpose and harmony
that only God possesses) is to reject the clear presentation of
scripture. That is the case throughout the Bible.
In Jesus our dear Lord and Savior,
Bob L.
Question #6:
Dear bob,
I am 62 and grew up in church. I did not have genuine faith as an
unsaved man (as in Hebrews 6:4-6 and the parable of the sower with the
rocky ground). Can these be changed? I am really frightened and scared.
I don't have much money to call long distance. If I give you my number
would you call me?
Response #6:
Apologies, but I don't do telephone counseling.
As to your concerns, here is what I read in scripture:
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
So if you believe in Jesus Christ, if you have faith in Him as your
Savior, believing in His perfect person, the God-man, who died for all
of our sins on the cross, then you are a believer . . . and all
believers are saved.
It's the rare believer who was saved early in life who does not have a
"prodigal son" story to tell. But the Lord deals with us where we are.
If we come back to Him, we have no worries about our eternal future.
Only those who turn away from Him to the point of completely losing
faith are lost – because, as in the passage above, only believers, those
who maintain their faith, are saved.
You clearly are a believer – otherwise you wouldn't care about this
issue in the first place!
I get these sorts of questions and concerns all the time, and it would
be helpful for you, I think, to read some of the Q and A's posted at
Ichthys. Here's a brief sample:
Have I Lost My Salvation? (III)
In Jesus Christ our dear Lord and Savior,
Bob L.
Question #7:
Robert, I went to church I think until I was about 13 and in time have gotten away from everything. l have no flesh fighting against the spirit. I trust in Jesus. I am frightened and scared. I am 62 now I'm afraid all the time. Robert, I have accepted Jesus. Why is it that I don't have the Holy Spirit? I don't sense the present of God in my life. I am so frightened. I can't call long ways. Can you call me please? I am in Canada Nova Scotia
Response #7:
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then you do have the Holy Spirit.
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
Romans 8:9 NIV
Please understand: the ministry of the Spirit is not the same thing as
being emotional. We human beings are very emotional creatures, but the
power of the Spirit to us is manifested mainly in His making clear to us
the truth we have learned and are exposing ourselves to. The Christian
life is all about the truth.
Doubt and fear are the devil's ace trumps and he loves to confuse and
disturb those who are not as solid in the truth as they should be by
causing them to fear for their salvation and fear death (Heb.2:15).
If you wish to be at peace, peace is built on faith and that faith is
built up in turn by learning and believing the truth.
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Isaiah 26:3 NKJV
Faith/trust and the truth/the Word are meant to go hand in hand. Not
enough truth, not enough truth believed, not enough faith in the truth,
and believers are easily "tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown
here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and
craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming" (Eph.4:14).
So the R/x for your situation is the same as the one for all other
believers: read your Bible and access a good teaching ministry regularly
(Ichthys, for example; I also recommend
Bible Academy and
BibleDocs).
If a person is suffering from horrible malnutrition and goes to the
doctor and says, "Doc, what's wrong with me?", don't be surprised if he
responds, "You need to EAT!".
As mentioned, with apologies, I do not do telephone counseling. But I
will pray for you.
In Jesus our dear Savior,
Bob L.
Question #8:
Dear Professor
Interesting times keep on in the USA. I hope you are on the health
improve. Fire still going here to keep us warm, even though today the
sparkies fixed our electric hot water booster - again ( the previous one
only lasted about 8 months). Some questions:
1. How historically accurate are the footnotes in NIV 1984? Mine is
1985, though the general editor is Kenneth Barker. I want to use the
footnotes of Revelation 3:14 and v18 (attached photo), to compare what
is described there to the Laodicea we live in today, in my ‘first’
lesson this weekend. How do you pronounce the word ‘Laodicea’?
2. I am also using a string of passages going from: BB 7. c. The Canon
of Scripture 1st Cor.13:8-10 NKJV [23] which leads to
BB 5, Pneumatology, section II. B. 3d. 1c,
(c) Temporary Gifts 1st Cor. 13:8-10 (again, though with your pertaining
to gifts [inserts]). Love never falls [into inactivity] Also including 2
Peter 1:18-19
I want to equate love to the Word (Jesus and the Bible), rather than
some abstract, or demonstrated “love” that some interpret from these
same scriptures to mean will ‘do away’ with all else - including those
cited in scripture such as knowledge (or “mere knowledge” as some refer
to it). The last interpretation, I suspect will be a useful tactic for
antichrist to promote, then enforce, his version of “love”.
Thank you for your gracious Ministry to the glory of God the Father and
His Beloved Son.
In Jesus our dear Lord and Savior.
Your student
Response #8:
This footnote in the NIV-SB does represent the standard consensus about
Laodicea. There are other things sometimes said about the place based on
such research as may be done about ancient subjects. You could cite the
source: "According to K. Barker" . . . ; the notes in the SB are
generally good where it comes to historical matters (as with all such
things they have to be taken on a case by case basis).
Here is a link
to Ramsay's famous book on the subject of the seven churches (the part
on Laodicea is only about seven pages long). For my take, of course, see
the link in
CT 2A.
On "love", it's important to note that agape is somewhat
different from philia, even though they are synonyms.
Historically, agape is more like "tolerance" or "being
accustomed" to something, "familiarity" and even "kindliness" rather
than a personal predilection sort of love such as philia is. They
do overlap, but agape love is all about the subject and the
subject's attitude to the object. In other words, agape is a
choice. It only exists independently in the case of God who "IS" love.
We love God, and the object says it all; He has the merit. We love our
brethren – in spite of who they are – because we love God and He has
told us to love them. We are choosing to love God (in response to what
He has done for us) and our brethren (because the One we love tells us
to do so). We are not walking around in some amorphous cloud of
ill-defined emotion. Without a proper object (God or those who belong to
Him) and/or without the proper motive on the part of the subject
(choosing to honor/love/make one's top priority what is genuinely worthy
of love) directed towards that proper object, we may demonstrate
sentimentality, we have shows of emotion, we may have desire or lust,
but we do not have the agape love of the Bible.
So in short I commend your approach and your correct assessment of the
deficiency of the use and the frequency of the abuse of this
word/concept in Christendom and its outliers. We love the Word of God
because it is worthy (object) and because we are moved to CHOOSE to
esteem it (proper motive/choice on the part of the subject).
In Jesus Christ our dear Lord and Savior,
Bob L.
Question #9:
Dear Professor
Thank you for the additional reference to Laodicea. I have now read the
sections in Ramsay’s famous book that you sent me. As you know lesson 1
will be “Read Your Bible” - Why RYB - looking at it from the era
we find ourselves in - Laodicea. I tend to diverge so this lesson may
even go for several more. Indeed, the many examples of why we need to be
reading, are probably each one a complete lesson in themselves.
Back on the tractor in my break. Rain forecast for tomorrow and my last
opportunity to finalise and print out the lesson materials before
Saturday (we have the lesson this day/night as one of the group works
Sundays). __ cancelled Bible study group this last Tuesday so I was able
to do a bit more reading. Got a call that the new generic reading
glasses were in, so it has been timely, not half the squinting now, or
headaches.
Thank you for your generous help.
In Jesus our dear Lord and Savior.
Your student
Response #9:
I'll be "at it" on Saturday too as usual!
Glad to hear that you're getting some needful glasses! There are SOME
basic tools we can't really do without after all.
In addition to "Read Your Bible",
Basics 7, Bibliology is now also available.
Looking forward to your report.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #10:
Hello brother Bob,
(Forgive me for the length) I recently stumbled on your website, and
have been finding your writings to be so insightful and are restoring
hope for me. I, like many others, am afraid that somehow I’ve either
gone too far and have hardened too much as to have lost my salvation or
I am discovering through a really long, arduous process of failures that
I’ve never been saved. Just to give you a background, I am a 29 year old
man and come from a single parent home (mother) and I was raised in the
Church from my youth and experienced everything a kid would. Despite not
remembering I apparently accepted the Lord along with other kids and
eventually joined classes in doctrine. After finishing this class I was
eventually screened by leadership about what I had learned and if I
believed and wanted to be baptized. I don’t personally remember this and
am not sure If I ever truly understood the Gospel. I certainly don’t
remember being greatly convicted of sin, nor having a deep personal
conviction regarding the things of God at that age. I suppose I just
wanted to be obedient to my mother and the church and do what was
expected. I went on to get baptized sometime in my early teens no
earlier than 10. Despite this, I cannot recall a change of life: growing
in grace, wisdom, righteousness, and care for the things of God. I never
evangelized to my family or friends, nor did seek for Christian
friendship or leadership. I was addicted to video games and struggled
with ___ (from childhood after being exposed early). I
was willing to date unbelievers even though it would never work. Despite
all of this, I never considered believing in something other than
Christ. Never considered walking away from church. I cannot recall ever
being approached by a peer or a friend challenging the validity of my
faith. Eventually, I stumbled on some apologetics videos and really got
into those. They kind of got me really interested in the things of God
for the first time. So I would look up all these different arguments for
God’s existence, Why Christianity is true, evidence, etc. It was all
very exciting and I enjoyed sharing this info with others when the
discussions arose. I was more excited for Sunday school and other
gatherings where we could talk about these things and share. I was
becoming more involved in this way. Some had noticed these things and
eventually I’d be called to preach for a youth service. I put together a
message on being lost and found and used Israel’s 40 years in the
wilderness as the focus to send the message. Don’t really remember
focusing on repentance and faith in Christ in the message tho. All of
this was exciting and I really felt like I was a part of the church and
I was doing God’s work. I continued to study apologetics and began to
regularly read scripture and pray everyday. Meanwhile, I still was
addicted to video games, was still struggling with ___, still didn’t
have mentors, still didn’t have real accountability, still didn’t have
meaningful Christian friendship, still didn’t necessarily feel convicted
to grow in the fruit of the Spirit. The only thing I saw that was off
was the sexual sin. Every time it would happen afterwards I’d feel bad
and would pray for forgiveness. Time went on and I started taking things
a bit more seriously and I became more well versed in understanding the
Gospel despite my life not quite looking like the Gospel embodied. My
knowledge seemed to be increasing and To some degree I was expressing my
faith in defending the Gospel and sharing it in posts on social media
(admittedly, I feel I caused more arguments and possessed an air of
Phariseeism). I say this because looking back I felt I made things more
about me than about Christ and the lost I was addressing. Being trained
in arguments, reasons, evidence, etc. it was like it was all about
winning the argument against the “nay-sayers”. Despite this, there were
times where I really felt compelled to help people would they come
sincerely seeking help and I never thought not to point them to what I
knew about the Gospel. Regardless, I can say I was a very defensive
Christian still (never on the attack, never going out my way to
evangelize, participate, seek to do God’s will, etc.) It was always by
convenient chance, someone approaching me, when I wanted. Fast forward a
bit and I meet a girl in church to whom I find myself attracted to. We
started talking, dating, then getting more serious and others began to
notice and voice their support for us. When we were getting close to
coming together something would not allow me to go further. I could not
commit to her despite at least thinking that I wanted to. Up to this
point I was always seeking to get closer to her, spend time, go out on
dates, have fun over hobbies and shared interest, have deep convos about
the things of God, talk what we wanted for marriage and the future, etc.
This eventually led to trouble and we felt convicted about it. We got
counseled on it and after we both agreed to take a few steps back. We
continued and I still couldn’t commit to her. One day I just made up my
mind to go forward and asked her to be my gf and she was excited and I
thought it would be good. I immediately felt unsure I made the right
choice and regretted it no long after and admitted this and pulled it
back. This back and forth went on for a long time and I hurt her a lot,
but I also really was trying to figure this all out never having had a
serious and Christian relationship. I though I was just nervous or had
some issues. This led me to look up Biblical courting videos (Notice I
still wasn’t really looking for local leadership, counsel, etc. from my
congregation until any time I really messed up). I stumbled upon videos
talking about the Gospel and having to be a genuine Christian etc.
before considering marriage. I started being convicted by these videos
and was just beginning to see my sin as a problem. Regardless, I
continued to keep going on ahead just trying to be better, but I was
realizing that I needed to take this Christian life more seriously and
deal with this sin, get more involved in church, and work towards
committing to this girl. It was evident over the years that she was my
focus. At this time, after a series of failing leads on what I wanted to
major in, I Had transferred to a Christian college thinking that maybe
my calling was ministry only to change my mind and transfer out to a
state college and going for graphic design. Seemed like I was focused on
church life, girlfriend, school, and videogames/having a good time.
Where was Christ in all of this? I thought He was right there with me.
My life was like Christianish with a focus on me and trying to tag Jesus
along. I also was greatly struggling here and there with feelings of
doubts regarding my faith and this was complicating everything, but it
had not yet destabilized the way I was walking. I was still getting
opportunities to preach and was still studying and trying to be involved
in the church. By 2019 I had gotten together and separated with my gf
numerous times and many of those time separated on valentines or around
the day because I would get so nervous and feel compelled to show love
when I didn’t feel it. This made me always panic and question everything
and doubt our relationship. Finally, she was having enough and so was
her sister and they decided we should be indefinitely separated and not
have contact. This broke me (I had even said that if she wasn’t the one
I didn’t know who would be or what I’d make of the last 5 years we
spent). Did I just waste her time and was I just deceived all the way
through? This would make me into a horrible person. I had more fuel to
doubt my faith. At this point I thought God was trying to wake me up to
the fact that I had all these idols in my life and that I needed to
repent. And so I ended up selling all my games, I really made it of a
priority to stop the ___ and letting go of the relationship and just
getting back to the center of the Gospel message Christ in order to know
Him. I thought He wanted me to let go of everything and finally just
trust in Him and focus on Him. And so I resolved for that to be the case
and that began what were probably my strongest years spiritually by
experience. I was waking up differently feeling incredible. I was
seeking to study scripture and spend time with the Lord every morning
and felt like I was learning more than I had been before and actually
able to take His word seriously and open up to it personally. I was
seeking more opportunity to live daily with Him in mind a share the
Gospel through my life. I felt more compelled to go out and evangelize
so much that I arranged to go out and pass out tracts and preach on
Halloween despite never doing this before. At this time, I had taken on
the role of a teacher in church and enjoyed putting classes together and
seeking to get the children to really understand the Gospel. I saw a lot
of myself in the youth boys with their interest in games and thought it
a good idea to set up a day where we can come together to play games but
also fellowship. I was seeking to get closer to some of my Christian
brothers and have real fellowship and accountability amongst each other.
I even brought them into the youth boys game nights and they taught and
found it edifying and a blessing too. Don’t get me wrong I was still in
pain missing this girl and really hoping for God to bring her back into
my life as things got better, but overall I felt I really was
experiencing a changed life for God. That in no Could this just be just
more of me and my own efforts at righteousness from the flesh and not of
God, simply using God for my own selfish reasons, or more deception.
Everything I was involved in was taking its toll and I found myself
falling into old habits. The games we played on our retreats had hooked
me back in, stress got me also compromising, And overall I was not being
as diligent in the things of the Lord as I had set out. I confessed my
slip up with the brother I was getting closer to but the struggle
persisted and ended up __ after asking God for forgiveness the first
time. This impacted me deeply. I barely finished my semester up
resulting in my first non A grade in 2 years. And when January 2020 came
around I felt deeply convicted to examine myself after a conversation
with a leader explaining that I felt I had to step down from all
ministry and really deal with my increasing doubt. I experienced a deep
sense of dread on many mornings that I had not experienced in years that
I would occasionally in the past. I eventually fell again. And this was
after I had done something really strange in my own eyes looking back
making this drawing of Christ on the cross and all these different sins
I had committed being written around Him and underneath I wrote a vow
down about ___ and that the blood of Christ covering it and that I
wouldn’t do it again. I felt horrible when I failed and all the more
when I started thinking this drawing/vow wasn’t biblical at all and
maybe even something that greatly offended God upon later consideration.
I later deleted it along with my journal entries that I was writing
about my struggles with sin. At this time, was no longer involved in
anything in my congregation and wasn’t sure If I made the right choice,
but I just felt I couldn’t serve in good conscience. I resolved to get
to the bottom of things and truly examine my ways to see if I was in the
faith. In what seems like the first time ever I really went to the word
and decided I don’t need anyone to falsely reassure me I want to go
straight to God’s word and find out if I really am in Christ. I read 1
John and began to really apply it to my life and assess and consider
everything I had been through and I could not be assured. I felt the
word was condemning me. I started reading Timothy, peter, James, Jude,
Hebrews and felt that all the descriptions regarding the unbelievers,
deceivers, false teachers, etc. were all pointing to me. The finishing
blow sort of speak was when I read John 1 that the Love of God is not in
you if you don’t love your brothers. How can you love God who you don’t
see if you don’t love them? At that time I kept feeling randomly
irritated when a certain sister would ask for multiple prayer requests
every week for absolutely no reason. Almost like I was thinking stop
asking for so many prayers. And immediately I was just be taken aback
and wondering what was I thinking? This woman has the love to be
concerned enough about her trials, family, and friends to exercise her
faith and ask for prayers every week on their behalf. More than most
others. Things like this along with many other failures to be focused on
serving others and fellowship were really bothering me. With everything
that had been going on up to this One service by the end I had this
sudden thought, “I do not truly love anyone here”. I felt so lost in
this moment and just walked out failing to greet and ask about everyone
as I normally would. I woke up in a dreadful condition. I went to school
and was lost in my head. I actually could not function to do any work
and simply stopped doing my work and could not focus in class. I thought
this would just pass as I never experienced this extent before. But it
didn’t. Everyday the whole week I could not do any of my work or focus
on anything at all and I felt lost at home and at my services. I kept
asking for forgiveness from God, crying tears to Him, calling out to
Him, seeking for genuine repentance. I could not find repentance and I
was starting to panic. I started looking up Scripture on repentance, was
reading books, watching videos, and any resource on the matter. What I
didn’t do is go to leadership or my pastors right away. I thought that I
could just go to God myself. I let my mother and step father know and
they began to start interceding for me. I scheduled an appointment with
a Christian counselor thinking it might help, and it she didn’t help at
all. She wasn’t really a specialist on these matters (she didn’t even
know what reprobate meant). I just kept praying, reading, seeking
everyday nonstop. My parents were truly worried about me. I would pray
and then start to cry while looking at scripture and meditating on them
and would feel as though God had responded then later I wouldn’t feel
good and would conclude I was working up feelings rather than truly
repenting. This happened many times. I started to think I was condemned.
I then had a series of very discomforting dreams and what seem like
supernatural experiences when I went to sleep. I felt myself twitch
while half asleep and breath in deeply through my mouth randomly. I felt
sleep paralysis at times and had these dreams that were ___. I’d wake up
in shock because of how often it was happening despite praying To the
Lord for protection. Some of the dreams were showing me lose Christ,
being condemned, etc. one day I woke up and for the first time in my
life I experienced suicidal and violent thoughts against others. And I
was starting to wonder If I took the mark, If I was possessed, or even
If I was the antichrist. After this, I was just totally afraid. I missed
service for two days in a row and missed a Eucharist service because I
was afraid that taking it unworthily would result in something really
bad. Brothers were texting me and I did not reply because I felt like I
couldn’t. I was just paralyzed. This is when things started to spiral. I
would not reply to any messages and when the next service came I was so
afraid to go and also face everyone. I didn’t know what I would say and
I thought I was condemned. My mother had to convince me to come to
service and that all would be well. I went and felt like I no longer
deserved to be there. I was so lost at what was happening. I knew I had
struggles but I did not see this coming. I just kept saving face and
saying I was ok when people would say hello, but I wasn’t, and felt
compelled to not say anything. Covid came in on the very day that I
thought I would be able to save face any more. I thought, “what are you
up to God”? Thus began months of trying to repent and believe and return
to functioning normally (felt wrong to eat, enjoy anything, relax, go
outside, meet with friends, join zoom services with brothers). Friends
and family were starting to realize something was wrong with me, many
checked in to talk, talked to pastors, many prayed over me and I
welcomed it all because I just wanted to be free. All of this was to no
avail. I reached out to people online to no avail. At the end of the day
everything was saying that you are either damned or you need to make a
choice to believe by faith and there’s no one and nothing that can get
you out of this. I stopped doing college work and almost dropped out,
but instead to incompletes which I have been trying to finish. My whole
summer was spent going between feeling absolutely hopeless thinking that
something horrible was going to happen to me. Like I was being handed
over to the Satan, that I had been given to a reprobate mind, or that I
could not be renewed unto repentance. I just couldn’t see how all this
could happen and I could be saved, or anything but damned. I just went
into hiding. The psychological stress and anxiety of what was happening
plus what was going to become of my soul caused me to just start
shutting down as a way to protect me from losing my mind. It was
becoming harder and harder to keep praying, keep reading, to keep crying
(It was becoming harder to physically shed), and as the days went on to
weeks and months I was just numb. Everyday I was just doing nothing in
paralysis and indecision not knowing what to do. I felt like my life was
stripped from me and I couldn’t stop it. But I kept praying even tho my
prayers were so weak, I kept asking for mercy and for God to show me
what to do, to grant me genuine repentance, to rid me of guilt and
shame, to bless me with real faith and to keep me from giving into
emotions and feelings. After all this I was being exposed for who I
really was I felt. I was just broken. And I realized I needed to start
eating normal and moving more because my body and mind were really
feeling it. So despite feeling it was sin to even eat and exercise I
started to do so. Physiologically everything felt off so that I was not
only suffering spiritually and mentally, but also physically (my head Is
always feeling heavy and I get headaches often, eyes are heavy and feel
strained always, body hurts, Stomach is off) and this was feeding into
the narrative. I was being absolutely punished. This brings me to now. I
want to literally get up and forget everything and truly trust in Jesus
Christ for my salvation. I have no desire to go into the world or to
denounce Christ (even though I sometimes I feel like I have done just
that through my actions). I’ve felt like I've just been in a continuous
state of unrepentance and sin for months even though I’ve been doing
everything to come back. I realized I've been working and I just want to
rest in faith in Christ maybe for the first time ever. But every time I
step forward with that it feels like I’m working somehow or trying to
prove something, I feel insincere, my words and actions feel weightless,
and I’m dealing with emotional numbness, feelings of apathy, and a lack
of genuine enthusiasm. When I pray I struggle to address The Father as
my Father, I struggle to interact with my brothers and sisters, and to
just move on. I’ve thought that I’ve had to get baptized again
(properly; for the first time) after now truly understanding the need
for and declaring actual faith and commitment to die with Jesus Christ
and be washed, but I could never shake the fact that I may just be
trying to do another work to reassure. But in my mind I thought it would
be a active step towards repentance, Obedience, and thus belief. But I’m
really not sure how to proceed. I just want to believe this is a simple
as believing that it doesn't matter what I am feeling or not feeling or
what happened yesterday, I’m simply going to have faith in Jesus Christ
alone and believe that what He says is true and live accordingly. My
fear is that I will move on thinking I have faith and I’m just going
into deeper deception of flesh works and ultimately deceiving and
hurting my friends, family, brothers and sisters and losing myself more.
That’s why I’m struggling to move back into the lives of all those
around me too. While it all may seem impossible to me I know nothing is
too hard for God. And I just can’t leave Jesus Christ. Whether I am
wrought with unbelief, hardness, faithlessness I don’t see any hope in
the world, nor do I have any desire to turn to the world and away from
Christ as satisfying to me (I think this is why I feel bad when I feel
at all settled or enjoying anything remotely while seeking for Him).
It’s why I’ve been stuck. I’m afraid to move forward in life without Him
at the risk of slowly fading into carelessness and apostasy. I’m looking
to bring to Him my unbelief believing He could even save me from that
like that man who pleaded help for his unbelief. I just don’t want to
take his grace for granted any longer and remain where I am. I feel I’ve
already lost much sense of urgency and sorrow at least from an emotional
level. Though in conscience I remain awake to my need and understanding
that I’m living wrong and that I have set my sets on Jesus Christ as my
only hope. I do not see myself not fighting to get right with God for
the rest of my life. I also do not believe that hypothetical that there
is someone who wants Christ and can never get Him and are just damned.
You either live to love Him or to eventually hate Him and become a open
outright lover of the world. If that is correct (and you can correct me
if not). That is a scary humbling thought to me. How can I overcome
these roadblocks? Can I be sure that I’m not just completely hardened
and truly incapable of genuine faith in Christ? That I am not lying to
myself and am just looking to save myself or my image in some way or
another? I know it’s a lot but I wanted to give you a good idea of where
I am? I really appreciate your work. Thank you in advance. May God Bless
you.
Response #10:
Good to make your acquaintance.
The devil is very good at torturing believers with guilt, especially those who
do not have sufficient truth to combat him and his attacks.
I read this in your epistle: "I just want to believe this is a simple as
believing that it doesn't matter what I am feeling or not feeling or what
happened yesterday, I’m simply going to have faith in Jesus Christ alone and
believe that what He says is true and live accordingly".
There are two important points here that the Spirit has made clear to you, but
you do have to embrace them and reject anything that seeks to supplant them: 1)
"feeling" has nothing to do with it; the emotions are not who we are; we are who
we choose to be, through faith; 2) faith is our free will, the image of God we
have been given; we have a right to believe the truth – and once it IS believed,
to stick with it.
This life is all about the truth. It would take far too long to dissect all of
the mis-impressions you have about the truth as contained in your long email –
from years of "church" wherein you obviously learned very little of the truth
but were fed much that was not true – a far too common occurrence in our era of
Laodicea. Suffice it to say first that you ARE a believer in Jesus Christ (no
unbeliever would ever care about all this as you do or afflict him/herself as
you are doing):
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
John 3:18 NIV
Second, God has forgiven your sins every time you confessed them to Him:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1st John 1:9 NIV
Remember: Jesus Christ has already paid the entire, terrible price for all of
your sins . . . and mine and the entire world's.
It is very simple. What you need is 1) to stop focusing so much on
yourself and
focus instead on Jesus Christ; 2) this can only be done through spiritual
growth, that is, committing yourself to serious Bible study under a ministry
that teaches the truth in sufficient depth for you to grow (in addition to
Ichthys, I also recommend Bible Academy); 3) when you hear the truth, when you
are taught the truth, when the Spirit makes it clear to you that something is
the truth, it is your responsibility to BELIEVE that truth, to retain it, and to
apply it to your life.
Spiritual growth is the only R/x for your "condition" – just as is the case for
every believer on this planet. Many Christians are content to bump along in
spiritual immaturity in this life, but for some, like yourself, only following
Jesus diligently will provide peace and joy. To get there requires
self-discipline and commitment, not only in submitting to the teaching but also
in committing to believing it . . . and very importantly giving yourself over to
the guidance of the Spirit in spite of what your "feelings" such as guilt may
tell you. The devil speaks to the emotions, the emotions lie to us; if something
is from the Holy Spirit, there is peace and confidence that this is so. Fear is
of the devil (Heb.2:15). We do have reverence for the Lord indeed: Godly "fear"
is good (Ps.19:9); but panic, anxiety and terror have nothing to do with the
Lord Jesus Christ – except for unbelievers (who have in many cases completely
buried such feelings).
You are most welcome at Ichthys. I usually recommend the Peter series as a
starter, but I think you would also benefit from reading many of the email
exchanges on the site related to this issue – you're not the first Christian who
has had similar concerns to cross my path (far from it!). Here are just a few
links (which will lead to others):
In Jesus Christ our Savior, the One who has died for all of our sins,
Bob Luginbill
Question #11:
Thank you for the quick reply and sorry again for the really long email.
I could have probably done without about 80% of it. I just got carried
away in the details, which is probably somewhat revelatory as to how
caught up I've been over what has happened. But I did find your reply
encouraging and I am thankful for that.
I have a few follow up points that I just want to go more in depth with.
I want to be sure that my current condition, as I am perceiving it, does
not compromise my capacity to sincerely believe and truthfully have
faith in Christ as I believe I have this day. It is the only concern
that causes me to question my own claim to truly believe, and I believe
that if I can be settled about it I can truly move on even though it may
require a lot of intentional effort and determination on my part. I also
want to be sure that this effort is not of works, as I’ve also had a
hard time distinguishing the line between working of works and working
of faith in my own walk. Admittedly, to some degree, even as I ask these
questions, I feel as though I am only intellectually exercising points
of faith in the first place. Would I have to even consider such
questions If I had genuine faith? I also would like to know if I should
consider being baptized again (or technically for the first time
properly?). And finally, how do I make good decisions in my circumstance
i.e. after having lost all momentum amounting to almost a year of lost
time and dealing with all the above? I feel like there is so much I need
to work on and don't know where to start and how to find balance.
(pulled this from one of your writings that resonated with my situation:
“All this involves choices, and choices produce momentum; i.e., if we
are in a positive pattern overall, positive decisions will be easier on
a case by case basis; but if we are not, then doing the right thing in
any individual situation will be that much harder”.)
Some background for the first question
The condition: I recently vocally acknowledged as many of my sins as I
could while praying a confession to the Lord regarding those sins and
asking for forgiveness. I also confessed my belief In Jesus Christ for
my salvation and my determination to follow Him. Although, this of
course wouldn’t be the first time doing so. I tried not to be minded on
expectations of experiences and or feelings and just on what God’s word
says. Now, I still am in this state where I don’t FEEL or have
EXPERIENCED anything that would give me an indication that I am now in
good standing with God. Fine. I have His word for that, which is
sufficient IF my repentance is genuine. But. I also don’t FEEL or can’t
recognize the joy, peace, or enthusiasm that reasonably would follow a
true belief and faith that I’m free, forgiven, saved, and complete in
Christ, no? Or is it wrong to assume that we would experience or feel
those things right away, regardless of where we are coming from? If the
latter is the case, is action of turning to Christ the only standard of
indication of genuine repentance? I’ve also got to say that in terms of
what I’ve been experiencing in feelings as of now, it’s either nothing
or not good. And it’s just perplexing and like a weight over me given
the prospect that I truly believe, am saved, and am moving forward. As a
disclaimer, I admit that I’ve always had trouble navigating, regulating,
and understanding feelings and emotions in the context of relationships
all of my life. Relationships are a weak area in my life to this day.
And as I explained in my last email I suffered addictive streaks all my
life (videogames, __ in tandem) and really became led by them in my
decision making. I really want to experience and believe I should be
experiencing peace and rest, joy, excitement, enthusiasm in and for
Christ, and able to look forward to all the possibilities with God, but
I don’t want to get stuck and regress if I’m not quite experiencing
those things.
Thanks again Brother Bill, God bless you
Response #11:
So here is how it works. When we are saved, God gives us a "new start for the
heart" and indeed we experience joy and peace in Him right away. But that is not
a long lasting or permanent state UNLESS we move forward spiritually (you can
find all the details on this at the link: BB 4B:
Soteriology). Peace is something we have IF we are "stayed on Him" through
faith – trusting in Him (cf. Is.26:3). But how can we trust Him if we know
little about Him or don't make any effort to see and walk with Him with the eyes
of faith illuminated by the truth of the Word? The more we learn about the Lord,
the more confidence and faith in His care for us we develop; this in turn builds
peace, joy and hope (Rom.5:1-5; Jas.1:2-4). All these virtuous things build on
each other in an ever intensifying "virtuous cycle" as we grow spiritually
through believing the teachings of the truth of the Word of truth. But if
instead we do not advance, if instead we allow ourselves to slide backward, then
instead of peace and joy and hope, we do find ourselves beset with anxiety and
doubt and dis-ease in a "vicious circle" of spiritual decline. Also, even if we
understand that sinning is a problem, and even if only for the purpose of
avoiding divine discipline we try to stay away from serious sin, we will find
that difficult because you cannot "defeat something with nothing", or to put it
another way, defense never wins, only offense can win in the end – and in
spiritual terms offense is spiritual growth.
As we bump along in this world NOT growing, we pack scar-tissue on our hearts
which makes everything spiritual harder and less fulfilling. Sometimes,
Christians do apostatize, that is, abandon Christ entirely; sometimes they do
give themselves over to such gross conduct that the Lord takes them out of this
life via the "sin unto death" (see
the link for a discussion of both of these eventualities). More often,
however, Christians in this lukewarm era of Laodicea do what you are doing /
have done, namely, they bump along not growing and looking for short term fixes
instead, going from one minor crisis to another, never feeling good about their
relationship with the Lord and never getting around to actually doing what is
necessary to fix it. And even more common is not caring much about spiritual
things at all and being content to merely occasionally "nod to God" by
continuing to keep going to some church where there is no spiritual growth going
on and where all manner of non-biblical practices are occurring (such as
water-baptism when the only baptism for the Church is that of the Spirit: e.g.,
Matt.3:11; Acts 1:4-5; 1:8; Eph.4:5).
At least you are looking for answers; that is good. But the solution is as I
told you, namely, to commit to a serious course of spiritual growth. That is the
biblical solution:
(11) Christ Himself appointed some of us apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers (12) in order to prepare all of His holy people for their own ministry work, that the entire body of Christ might thus be built up, (13) until we all reach that unifying [goal] of belief in and full-knowledge of the Son of God, that each of us might be a perfect person, that is, that we might attain to that standard of maturity of the fullness of Christ; (14) that we may no longer be immature, swept off-course and carried headlong by every breeze of so-called teaching that emanates from the trickery of men in their readiness to do anything to cunningly work their deceit, (15) but rather that we may, by embracing the truth in love, grow up in all respects with Christ, who is the head of the Church, as our model. (16) In this way, the entire body of the Church, fit and joined together by Him through the sinews He powerfully supplies to each and every part, works out its own growth for the building up of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:11-16
So my advice is to throw overboard all of these subjective considerations that
are plaguing you along with all these internal autopsies and stop
worrying about yourself and start focusing on Jesus Christ and His
truth. That is what is needed to grow, through the truth as taught by a good,
doctrinal Bible ministry. As mentioned, along with Ichthys, I also recommend
Bible Academy at the link.
I have prayed for you and if you decide to get cracking with what is needful I
will continue to do so. But this really does have to come from you. You are
clearly not happy with the status quo. Your "problem" is the same one that most
Laodicean Christians of our time have, namely, a lack of truth in the heart.
You, at least, are not content to let things stay as they are and that is
definitely in your favor. But this desire will only end up a positive thing if
you do what is necessary to fix things, namely, grow up spiritually through
hearing, learning, believing, and applying the truth of the Word of God.
In Jesus Christ who is the very truth.
Bob L.
Question #12:
Alright brother Rob. Let's get cracking! I've accepted that no matter
what my circumstance is, I am either going to repent or perish trying.
But what's for certain is I cannot just let go of Christ. My desire is
to truly know Him, My God, as He is. Even though I've had thoughts for
many reasons that I am either spiritually dead/apostate in denial or a
deceived, self-righteous unbeliever never saved, ultimately, I just
haven't resigned to it as the case and still have a hope that goes
beyond my reason. That being said, I don't see any reason for me to not
consider myself saved because I've acknowledged I'm a sinner who's
certainly missed the mark and that if there is any solution it can't be
in me, nor in anyone, or anything else except through Christ because of
what the Bible says about Me and Him. And I am also resolved to change.
Just a couple of clarifications:
You recommended your Peter series first and the Bible Academy. Where do
you think I should start in the Bible academy? Also, do you have any
counsel and advice on how to not fall into the trend of reading/studying
of the word becoming stale, routine, and ineffective? I'm coming from a
place of having heard/read so much of scripture more purposefully for at
least 5+ years and all too often I just haven't learned, believed, and
properly applied it consistently enough in my life. It becomes
Christianese (void and powerless words). It's exciting to think that I
could have time in the word where that is always the experience and am
always being edified, renewed, and refined, knowing and speaking them in
power and truth. Common stumbling blocks to avoid? Any best practices
for effective daily consumption/meditation?
Secondly, this question is about The Holy Spirit, Faith, and one's own
conscious efforts and responsibility. How can one discern if the Holy
Spirit is speaking vs one's own thoughts? Or must one have faith that
any thoughts or impulses that lead to anything Godly are of the Holy
Spirit and anything otherwise is of the enemy/flesh? When one takes
action how can one be sure that it is being done in faith rather than a
performance of fleshly works? Are these just more things I shouldn't be
bothered to consider?
Thank you for your prayers brother. I cannot thank you enough for your
willingness to help and answer questions, though I know this is what you
were called to do and the Lord has blessed you with this ministry. And
seasoned with such grace. I thank God for you. May the Lord continue
blessing you and this ministry. I would love to be able to reciprocate
the love. I feel in debt to you, though I know this is simply service of
love. If there's any petition I can pray for specifically let me know. I
hope you are well. In the meantime, I will pray for you generally.
May God bless you abundantly for His Glory in return
Response #12:
As quoted to you before . . .
"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. Unbelievers are not saved. You are a believer. You are saved. You don't have to seek to be saved . . . again – in fact it is somewhat blasphemous to doubt what the Lord has told you about that and what you know in your heart to be true.
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 NKJV
This is a promise. Don't doubt God's promises to you. You have repented and confessed. You don't have to be in some sort of constant state of repentance like in the RC church. In fact it's somewhat blasphemous to have such an attitude. God told you He forgives you. Believe Him – and don't doubt it.
(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). (16) But with respect to the progress you have made, keep on advancing in the same way!
Philippians 3:12-16
Like Paul tells us, we ALL have to let go of what is behind and focus instead on
what lies ahead. This seems to me to be your biggest potential stumbling block.
We all have failed. But the great believers do not let past failures color or
undermine present spiritual growth, progress and production. We are here to MOVE
FORWARD – not to look backward. If you keep fixated on looking backward you will
never move forward.
On "becoming stale, routine, and ineffective", I can just about guarantee you
that this will not happen if you are reading the materials at Ichthys and
listening to the series on Bible Academy. If this has happened to you in the
past it is because a) you were "DYI"-ing it (and we all need the benefit of a
good Bible teacher); and/or b) going to the wrong place (where they were "Bible
teachers" in name only). As to Ichthys, in addition to the
Peter series, I would also recommend at
a minimum that you read the weekly postings at Ichthys (at
the link) every week. Going into the back postings (there are years worth of
these) is also a good idea (link).
Also, if you have time, the Basics series is very important (link);
that's probably the best place to start with pastor Omo's materials as well (link).
As to "How can one discern if the Holy Spirit is speaking?", there is a
great deal about the Spirit's guidance on the website (one entire section of
Bible Basics, for one thing: BB 5: Pneumatology).
The short answer to your question is that as you grow spiritually this will
become ever more clear – so that spiritual growth is the answer to this question
too. When you were first learning to drive you swerved all over the road, but
now you can adjust your place in the lane without any seeming effort or
discernible movement. Likewise in spiritual things you get better with
experience at discerning the Spirit's subtle guidance to you – His "still, small
voice" (1Ki.19:12).
In the meantime, anything you think the Spirit is telling you that comports with
scripture is worthy of consideration with prayer; anything that does not comport
with scripture is not the Spirit communicating to you (and if you are consumed
with guilt about "it", more likely it's a case of the evil one's influence
instead). The Spirit's communications, moreover, are always manifest through the
truth, that is, reminding you of truth you know and have believed in your heart
and helping you to apply that truth to your life. So if there is not much truth
in there and it is conflicted and compromised by belief in things that are not
true, it can be difficult to hear a clear message from the Spirit. In my
experience, in such cases the Spirit reserves His guidance for big things – as
in your case right now, He is leading you to get serious about spiritual growth
(which is the basis of everything else).
Thanks for your prayers too, my friend! That is more than sufficient
"recompense".
In Jesus Christ our dear Lord and Savior,
Bob L.
Question #13:
Very well said my friend. I will take all of this to heart moving forward. I found a lot of hope in that promise tucked in that portion of Philippians in verse 15. He says if you are otherwise minded or in your translation “attitude off-center”, that God will reveal this (If we are progressing in spiritual growth as you have added). This speaks to me very much considering the way that I feel. It’s almost as though he is saying that it is ok to not necessarily be in tip top shape mentally, emotionally, physically, etc. but press on forward! And this all comes after his exhortation to forget what’s behind and look forward to what’s ahead. This is very encouraging. Thank you for all of the wisdom and counsel. Glory to God.
Response #13:
Amen! It's not about how we feel – it's about whether or not we are doing what Jesus has called us to do, namely, deny ourselves (i.e., ignore how we feel), pick up our cross (i.e., stop wringing our hands over the past or even the present and resolve to get cracking) and follow Him (i.e., actually follow through on that good intention to get moving no matter what).
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me".
Matthew 16:24 NIV
Keeping you in my prayers.
In Jesus our dear Savior,
Bob L.
Question #14:
I have just come across your work by accident (although maybe not by
accident) and I am reading it voraciously.
We always have to use discernment when reading the work of others. I
find your work to be one of the most accurate that I have read.
Your knowledge is very impressive. Praise God for you.
Response #14:
Good to make your acquaintance – and thanks for the kind words!
Please feel free to write any time.
In Jesus Christ our dear Lord and Savior,
Bob L.
Question #15:
Hi Bob and family,
Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed last Saturdays postings –
not so much in a glad way but more of a realisation that what that
gentleman from Africa was saying over and over and it made me think of
my own struggles in my 76 years, struggles that are most probably not
over yet as well. And I well know that some sins are, or seem much
harder than others to overcome and I think that is the ultimate goal –
we all want to be an overcommer. Remembering what you’ve told me before
– “all believers are saved no matter what sins they commit in bad
conduct, unbelievers are not, regardless of good conduct. And even
though all believers are saved, not all believers are overcommers”.
How much we all know the seeds of doubt that Satan sows and is possibly
one of his major weapons he uses against us and it seemed to me that
doubt was/is possibly his biggest problem – always doubting and of
course, allowing doubt to continue and grow without taking the necessary
steps to overcome it and stop it, it can lead to a breakdown of faith.
Satan is not our friend and he will never stop trying to take as many of
us with him to his end – we just need to keep our armour on at all
times. And sometimes from previous battles our armour can become damaged
from those battles and as soon as we notice the armour is compromised we
must repair it as soon as we notice it. I once mentioned an analogy that
you liked and that was thinking about Nehemiah, when the walls of
Jerusalem were broken down and they were in danger of being attacked, he
encouraged them to rebuild the wall and they all held a sword in one
hand and worked with the other. How often do we have to rebuild our own
wall?
I know that what I’ve said in this short email is small indeed but if
it’s possible, if you can forward it to him, he can know that he isn’t
alone in these struggles.
As always dear Bob, with brotherly love in Jesus,
Response #15:
Thanks for this encouraging email, my friend! I haven't heard from our
RSA friend in a while, but I will forward your email on to him. There
were actually several people in these emails with similar refrains
(that's not always obvious from reading these as they post), so I'll
send this to (at least) the other similar one as well.
Grateful for you and your persistence in coming through the struggle –
and as you say, it's never fully over until it's fully over. To "doubt"
I would add "guilt" and also "fear" – all horrible mind-sets which
should tell us experienced warriors that something is "not right"
whenever we are experiencing them.
As to your quote, while I don't necessarily entirely disagree with it,
it doesn't sound like something I wrote. "Overcoming" is gaining the
victory and believers do that through faith, trusting the Lord and in
His truth, walking in that truth by faith, and helping others do
likewise.
This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
1st John 5:4b
In Jesus our dear Savior,
Bob L.
Question #16:
Dear Teacher-
In reading the most recent email postings on Ichthys, it both saddened
and angered me to consider the games the evil one plays with us to keep
us focused on things that are, at best, meaningless. For these
brothers/sisters who have written to you, I could wish to take away that
pain I know all too well by somehow imparting the fundamental solace I
have finally found, but I also know all too well that they must endure
the struggle themselves to find it. Our Heavenly Father - Who did not
even spare His Beloved Son Jesus, Who endured more than we can
comprehend for our sake - has always known the struggles we would face,
and His Holy Spirit will help us through them all if we but trust Him.
As for me: There was enough *something* in my childhood for me not to
remember a time before taking it as a given that “Jesus Loves Me.” As I
came into adulthood, I began to seek that Jesus, but missed the mark in
various ways (covering a broad spectrum of churches to confusion) before
throwing my arms up in exasperation and moving on - but unable to
completely cast aside that child’s “Jesus Loves Me.” It wasn’t until I
tuned everything out and began to just look and listen within myself
that *something* happened - an early waking to a waning crescent moon
that struck me as the brightest of lights. I followed the moon’s phases
and dabbled in astrology; but I was following the physical moon in the
physical sky, which wasn’t matching up to the astrology. So I continued
to follow the physical moon and stumbled across so-called biblical
astrology - a glancing blow, quickly set aside after it deposited me at
the foot of the cross, looking to that Jesus I had sought before. But
*something* was different. “Jesus Loves Me!”
That was about two years ago now. I could wax poetic about how I was
formless and void, with the Spirit hovering over me, until God called
forth the light of an uncommonly bright sliver of moon that morning and
began to get my spirit in order to truly be brought to life. Really, I’m
just grateful that Jesus was the One Who found me out in that dangerous
wilderness, and that His was the Voice that resounded!
I’m grateful that the first thing I was led to do was to read the Bible
every day - without getting overly attached and led astray by the
website that encouraged me to do so. I’m grateful that I was then led to
loving acceptance and enough spiritual food to strengthen me - without
getting overly attached and led astray by the church where I found them.
*Something* kept me coming back to the Word every day even as the evil
one told me how unworthy I was, how sinful I was, how many opportunities
I’d wasted in the past. *Something* kept me coming back to the Word
every day even as the evil one reminded me that it was foolish to
believe in such superstition, it was unreasonable to think there was
only one Way to the Truth, it was unrealistic not to try to save the
planet instead. *Something* kept me coming back to the Word every day
even as the evil one pointed out how weak I was, how slow I was, how
unchanged my life seemed to be. I’m grateful that Jesus used the
emotional certainty that *something* was happening to see me through
until I found a much better solace under the influence of the solid
teaching at Ichthys. The evil one still tries to take me on guilt trips
and lead me down the dark alleys of worldly thinking, but the Holy
Spirit has been quietly using that daily return to the Word to build up
my armor and stock up my weapons to use against the attacks. I’m so very
grateful...
Sorry to ramble, but I was just so moved reading the emails this
morning, I couldn’t contain myself! (Well, actually, I did contain
myself somewhat - I could ramble on more about the past six months, but
I have some thought for your time!)
In Our Dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
In Whom is found true solace,
Your grateful student,
Response #16:
I appreciate this, my friend! Whenever I post something like this, I'm
always second guessing and wondering if it is really helpful for most
readers. But then I am reminded – as you have reminded me – that most of
us have similar if not identical stories of struggle – wrestling against
God as Jacob did – before we were "pinned" and changed our attitude to
not letting go of Him ever again (see
the link).
I appreciate your testimony and the affirmation that God keeps at it
with us and faithfully so until we finally come around – for all who
were never willing to let go of Jesus Christ. I praise God that you are
in that number of those who "wrestle on", my friend!
Feel free to "ramble" any time!
In Jesus our dear Savior,
Bob L.
Question #17:
Dear Teacher-
Thank you for highlighting for me that rambling that can’t be contained
may just be for the benefit of another! A nice little lesson on mutual
edification, which brings a little bit from an old hymn to mind:
I love to tell the story
For those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting
To hear it like the rest
I never get tired of repeating how that story was told in the specifics
of my own life, never mind hearing how it was told in the lives of so
many others - and yet all fundamentally the same story!
Interesting that you should bring up the account of Jacob wrestling with
God, as the account of his life was particularly illuminating during my
last reading of Genesis a few months ago, including the recognition that
all of those old efforts to find Jesus had been done in my own way,
anticipating positive results. It was when I stopped looking for Him and
started simply looking that He was most unexpectedly found to be there
(all along - or so it seems to me now)! I came across a translation
which rendered the famous “Be still” of Psalm 46:11 as “Let go” instead.
I will, of course, give way to your knowledge of Hebrew regarding its
legitimacy as an alternative, but that “let go” struck me. It seems so
simple now. I really did just have to “let go” of my own way of looking
for Jesus in order to see and take hold of His hand (and the letting go
continues under His guidance!).
In Our Dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Who will never let us go!
Your student,
Response #17:
Thanks for the encouraging email!
"Let it go" is a good translation for הַרְפּוּ / harpu at Psalm
46:11, better than "be still" which sounds as if it's talking about not
making noise when it's really talking about relaxing mentally and
emotionally and trusting God.
"And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."
John 10:28 NKJV
Amen?
Keeping you in my prayers.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #18:
Thanks Bob,
Your Gunga Din made me laugh. I've heard the name but didn't know the
expression. I read the poem -- Boy it won't pass any "woke" muster
anytime soon. How you ever are managing to survive in "deplatformville"
during cancel culture as a career is beyond me. I think you may be more
Gunga Din-ier after all!
Whenever I think of Piper I think "P is for Piper and also Pablum".
Still scritching my head over "Christian Hedonism"?! Can we not just
retitle Charismatics as "The Sensualists"? It seems more apt.
I need to pick your brains again. The next video I want to do is on
Salvation, so it has to be completely right. I thought it better to
concentrate on that alone as it is so important. It is so important
though that I am a little daunted by my approach to it and yet I realise
that we all need to be able to give an account to whoever ever asks
about the hope we have in us.
Is it better to stick to the basics or to bring in Adam and Eve and the
fall of man and then the sacrificial system or just stick to the fact
that we are all sinners and so need a saviour (or should I give a
complete biblical overview?)
If you could help me out with the odd bullet points that would help a
great deal. I want to leave water baptism out of it and not mention it
at all to prevent confusion. This way I can completely focus on the
Spirit Baptism at point of faith.
Please let me know your thoughts.
I don't bother to look at other ministries any more. Other than yourself
and Pastor Omo, I
haven't found anyone else remotely interested in the truth and even less
willing to teach it. I've realised (the hard way) that looking anywhere
else is a huge waste of time and let's be honest, time is something we
all could do with a little bit more of when it comes to bible study and
ministry!
In Jesus our saviour,
Response #18:
Thanks for this, my friend! I appreciate you.
On your question, since this is a video and aimed, I'm guessing, at
unbelievers, less is probably more; that is, concentrating on the main
points of salvation and not getting off into the weeds is better,
because the Spirit will only illuminate basic, gospel truth to
unbelievers.
BB 4B: Soteriology is all about that topic
but pitched at believers who are already saved; what I have for those
considering the issue is MUCH shorter at the link:
"Salvation: God's Free Gift".
The main thing I would suggest is to focus on making the issue of
salvation through faith in Christ crystal clear and avoiding even a hint
of "other things" – which are very tempting to get into after all,
especially when one knows so much as you clearly do. Try to focus on the
cross and deliverance from condemnation through faith in the person and
work of Christ and you'll be fine. Happy to have a look at your outline
ahead of time.
Yours in Jesus Christ through whom alone we have salvation "by grace
through faith".
Bob L.
Question #19:
Dear Professor
Thank you for your answer on the Church age. Another one I was wondering
about. Luke 14:26 does say hate wife and own life. That is as you write
in your latest email posting. Q 39 (Struggling With Faith and Sin). I
can not find any reference to hating husband. It has been suggested to
me that this too is also implied, and I am sure that this is so
concerning earthly husbands. I was wondering if husband is not mentioned
because Jesus is our eternal husband - and we are definitely to love and
put Him above all other considerations. This leaves no room for
confusion anywhere in scripture as to whom we should take up our cross
and follow.
If I am a bit off the mark on this, can you let me know.
Thank you. Keeping you and your Ministry in my prayers.
In Jesus our dear Lord and Savior.
Your student
Response #19:
I think that your first impression is correct – it's implied. Cf. the companion passage in Matthew:
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."
Matthew 10:34-39 NKJV
Nothing about husbands or wives here either, but it's clear that our Lord is talking about all earthly relationships – none must be allowed to be placed above our relationship with God, not even concern for our own lives – which is the main thing.
They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
Revelation 12:11 NIV
Thanks for your prayers, my friend! Keeping you and your family in mine
day by day.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #20:
Hi Bob,
Your ministry is such a blessing. Thank you for the faithful work you
put into these studies. They have been a great benefit to me and the men
that I minister to. Thank you so very much!
Response #20:
You're most welcome, my friend!
I appreciate your good words.
In Jesus our dear Savior,
Bob L.
Question #21:
Matthew 18: 15 - 17 has the outcome of the brother being banished to be
like a heathen and a tax collector by the church for not showing
repentance. (This may reflect more on a corporate level.) NO forgiveness
towards 'your brother'? Now Peter comes (Matthew 18: 2) and applies a
principle of forgiveness up to seven times. He is then corrected to
forgive up to seventy times seven (18: 22)! Here it seems that
repentance on behalf of the wrongdoer has no effect on being forgiven.
Yet is not looked upon as being like a heathen or a tax collector. (This
may reflect on a personal level.)
Why the different outcomes?
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
Response #21:
The last verse in this chapter (and in this passage) reads as follows:
"So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
Matthew 18:35 NKJV
We are not to bear grudges is the main thing. Also, in the second example, the person who sins against us actually comes to us and asks for forgiveness (along the lines of the two men in the parable). But in the first instance, the brother refuses to be reconciled, even when others intervene. That's not saying that we shouldn't forgive in the first instance too – indeed we should. No grudges. But it is also the case that if there is abusive conduct, while we must forgive, we are not required to socialize with other Christians who are problematic in their behavior. Indeed, if their behavior is decidedly un-Christian, we are required to separate (as our Lord tells us here too).
But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.
1st Corinthians 5:11 NKJV
Forgiveness MUST be our policy (Matt.6:15; 11:26); not stupidity (Matt.7:6;
10:16).
In Jesus Christ our Lord,
Bob L.