Question #1:
Dear Prof. I got your mail. Was excited. Thanks sir.
Still having court cases but have learnt (learning) to trust more in the
Lord after the miracle that He did.
God bless you and thanks again
Response #1:
Sorry to hear that you're still having to deal with this. I am keeping this and
you and yours in my daily prayers, my friend.
Nothing is impossible for our God!
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #2:
Dear Bob,
I see that you have a new
series on Hebrews.
This is great news and I believe it will be something that benefits ___ and
others with a similar struggle.
I just want to take the time out to thank you and say, God bless you.
May the Lord bless you and keep you and may He shine His face upon you and smile
on you and all your loved ones.
Praise our dear Lord, Jesus Christ forever and ever.
Response #2:
Thanks! Good to hear from you.
I have been corresponding with ___ but haven't heard after our latest
exchange for a moment.
Hebrews has two parts up, the introduction and chapter one; working on
chapter two at present. Hope to have that up sometime later this spring.
[n.b., now intro plus ten chapters available
at the link]
Thanks for the good words! Hope all goes well with you too, my friend.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #3:
Hey Dr. Luginbill,
Just wanted to give you an update that I got a job and already put in a
week of work. Working for a logistical company cleaning up around the
cold storage warehouse (custodial). They told me there is room to
advance after however many months into a material handler/ forklift
operator position. That is something I want to do because that is a good
skill to have and one I could take with me wherever I go (though I hope
to stay at this place for a career). Only a few years left before the
balloon goes up though, so I have doubts I'll have ended up working
there long (4-5 years max). I don't think it's good to sit around for
too long, even if one is occupied with writing and studying.
I appreciate all the prayers you have offered up on my behalf, so thank
you. The ministry is coming along and I should be ready to launch my
website in January/February of next year, 2023 [now
at the link]. Our brother has been a tremendous help in showing me
how to build it and has helped with all the technical work. I'm glad to
have his help.
Your brother in Christ,
Response #3:
Thanks for the update, my friend. I'll put this promotion on my prayer
list for you.
Exciting to hear about the impending launch of your own e-ministry. Good
for you!
Please convey my greetings to ___. He really is a "rock" and we are all
blessed to know him. I'm sure that his reward will be quite something
special.
Keeping you both in my prayers daily.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #4:
Hi Dr,
Just checking up on you and to see how goes it in Christ.
Take care and my prayers are always with you, your family and ministry.
Please add prayer list for my children, particularly one son who might
be engaged in ___.
God bless
Response #4:
Thanks for checking in, my friend.
Prayers appreciated at present.
I'll be praying for your children and for your boy in particular.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #5:
Good Morning and thank you for your wonderful website!! I know you are
probably busy so I will keep my question short.
I live in (Tampa area); I am wondering if you know of any person/people
who understand and realise what time it is and I would like to share and
encourage one another in the Lord so we are truly equipped and
strengthened as we prepare for the fast approaching Tribulation Train
Wreck.
I thank God for you and your work!
Response #5:
Very good to make your acquaintance! Thanks for the encouraging words.
I haven't been down there in some years, but my parents, when they were
alive, had retired to Lakeland, so I've been to Tampa and environs many
times. Nice place! However, I don't know of any like-minded churches
thereabouts. Of course, that is true of most of the US at present as
well.
There is an Ichthys forum, a get-together place set up by Steven T.
where readers of this ministry can socialize online. I would be happy to
pass your name and email along to him if you would like.
Thanks again for your good words!
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #6:
Hi Bob,
Did you make it safely through the storm? When I was driving home from
work on Friday, I saw a beautiful rainbow in the sky. It always reminds
me of God's promise that never again will there be a flood to destroy
the earth. And I had faith in Him that you wouldn't be flooded either.
I've been praying for the people in Mississippi - Alabama too. It's in
the news over here too. I've watched videos and seen photos and they've
been hit so hard by that tornado haven't they, Bob? It's devastating for
them. I always pray that through this kind of thing people will turn to
the Lord - not only for help but for salvation.
Clocks moved forward an hour here today. One hour less sleep - I'll
survive!
Keep safe, Bob. Praying for you.
In Jesus
Response #6:
Yes, they really got hammered south of us. The scenes from there are much like the ones from western KY a couple of years ago. In fact, it's a rare spring in the US when we don't have something like this, multiple times. Why does the US seemingly get hit with these things more than other places? I'd like to think it's a case of "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth" (Heb.12:6). On the other hand, there are natural disasters aplenty worldwide all the time. And I'm sure it's only the bigger ones that get up on our radar, so to speak, here in the states. I likewise pray for the believers involved in these things. We know that our Lord takes care of us no matter what, whether He delivers us from the storm or whether He brings us safely through to the other side.
No harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
Psalm 91:10 NIV
We trust in Him, no matter what – and are never disappointed in that
trust.
And I too pray that for those who are not saved – or believers not doing
what they should be doing – that events such as this will get the
attention of all who consider them, in a godly way. I'm sure that always
has something to do with it. For us who are walking close to Him, though
we have to go "through fire and water", He always brings us through
(Ps.66:12).
When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.
Proverbs 10:25 NIV
Thanks for the help! Sorry about the clock! I need about a week to
recover from the spring change (good thing it happened over spring break
this year).
Keeping you and yours in my prayers, and thank you so much for yours as
always.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #7:
Hi Bob,
Amen! The Lord has His good and perfect reasons for allowing these
things to happen. I always think that even if we don't understand His
reasons we know that He is in control, He is perfect, loving, just and
merciful and we can trust Him to take care of us.
I reached CT Part 4 at the weekend.
I've been studying other stuff in between but I'm going to keep my focus
on finishing CT now. I'll
have read everything you've written then (apart from all of the email
postings) and I'll keep on re-reading everything.
Hope you've had a good day!
In Jesus
Response #7:
That is a wonderful statement, my friend. I think if every believer
could say this – and really understand it and really MEAN it – we'd all
be in a lot better shape spiritually.
I'm very encouraged to hear that you're re-reading – and not just
because of your help with the typos.
Keeping you and your family in daily prayer (thanks for yours of
course!).
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #8:
Hi Bob,
Thanks for checking yesterday. I didn’t have a chance to sit down and
write yesterday. Hopefully this email will be two for two in getting
through. I’m not sure what is going on with the email system through my
provider. We have been getting a huge influx of people from the Seattle
area and California in the last few years and our little town is growing
too fast for my liking. They have been trying to update the system as
fast as they can so who knows what happened. Hopefully, it is really
fixed and I will have no more problems.
It looks like the last email I received a reply from you was back in
October of 2021, so I’ll update from there. I was able to keep my job in
spite of the vaccine mandate. Our hospital at the time was down 500+ in
staff and they were mandated by our governor to fire anyone without the
vaccine. They fired over 500+ people (more like a 1,000 from insiders
that I know). They decided that hiring traveling nurses was the way to
go and now they are over $10 million in debt and have fired all the
traveling nurses. With all the people moving here, I hope our hospital
doesn’t shut down.
The dangerous neighbor is GONE! PRAISE GOD!!! I was nervous that he
would do one last thing before he moved but God kept us safe and nothing
happened. We can’t thank you enough for all the prayers and support you
gave us during that time. Those were 5 long years! I learned so much
during that time and grew more than I would have without it, so it was a
blessing but sure a tough one! We have added some security to the
property in case he gets drunk one night and decides to come back. We
have very quiet neighbors right now
Mom turned 91 in July. I am so thankful she is still doing well for her
age and that I still have her. We both had C19 in October but,
thankfully, it was nothing more than a head cold for either one of us.
We were both tired for a few months afterward and my hands felt raw
throughout the winter months but are fine now.
We had crazy hot weather in the summer, crazy smoke from fires in the
late summer and into what little fall we had and then crazy snow for
three months. We are just now getting some warmer and better weather.
I have been finding encouragement with the weekly emails and your recent
Hebrews posting. Other than the daily flak to keep me on my toes and
leaning on the Lord, everything is going ok. I hope things are well for
you and yours.
If you’re still in contact with Pastor Omo, would you let him know I’m
still around? I stopped hearing from him in November (he would send
emails every month). I know his wife isn’t well and he has/had a surgery
recently. If we continue to have good luck in communicating, I will
contact him soon.
Hopefully I will hear from you!
In Him,
Btw, I don’t know if you watch ladies basketball, but ___ of the
Louisville Cardinals is a hometown girl. I don’t know her personally but
she’s been making good waves around here for quite awhile. I see this
morning that their season is over.
Response #8:
Great news!!!
I'm very happy we're back "in comm" . . . and also of course that this
huge weight has finally been lifted. God is good! He always delivers us.
He is absolutely faithful. Our job is to wait patiently for His
deliverance. It took a long time in this case, but I have seen that
before. Your testimony, "I learned so much during that time and grew
more than I would have without it, so it was a blessing but sure a tough
one!" says it all. Kudos to you, my friend, for staying faithful to Him
in this most difficult test. Stars in your crown on the other side, I am
sure.
Great news that you kept your job too when everyone else was losing
theirs! I know that was a concern. You did what you felt was right and
the Lord rewarded you for that. Reminds me of that verse, "A thousand
may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not
come near you" (Ps.91:7).
I have heard from Curt recently (Bible
Academy). I'll let him know I've heard from you.
Thanks for all the good words — and the prayers!
In Jesus,
Bob L.
p.s., don't know the woman; I do know we've got a pretty good women's
team (don't get many sports team members in Greek and Latin, LOL!).
Question #9:
Hi Bob,
Yes, God is very good and I am so grateful for His mercy and His
protection. I am sorry to say that I wasn't the most patient and
certainly not the best mannered Christian I could be during this trial.
Polishing off the rough edges is never easy. That's for sure!
Thank you for contacting Curt for me. He reached out with an email, so I
will see if my reply goes through.
I'm sure you don't get many team members in your class. Lol. I don't
follow sports anymore unless it's a baseball game here or there. When I
saw she played for Louisville, I thought of you.
Thank you for your continued prayers. You and your are in ours as well.
In Him,
Response #9:
It's my pleasure – let me know if you don't hear back and I'll be happy
to shoot him a line from this end.
Technology is great – except when it doesn't work. Can't remember ever
having trouble with snail mail getting through.
None of us is perfect and no one probably ever passed such a long test
without any stumbling whatsoever. Not many "perfect papers" here in the
real world. The important thing is that you passed the test!
Thanks for the prayers!
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #10:
Hi Bob,
Hope you've had a good day.
I just wanted to say thank you for your prayers for __. __ is feeling
better and we all are relieved too. Thanks so much, Bob.
Yes, trying my best with my studies while supporting all of my family
with what they want to do too. It's not always an easy task so I rely on
the Lord to help me. I can't do anything in my own strength, but I can
in His strength. One day at a time.
I'm very thankful to have you there too.
In Jesus
Response #10:
Thank you!
It's my pleasure – thanks for sharing the good news!
Life is a balancing act for most people – how much more so for believers who are
trying to do what is right in all critical areas of their lives AND maintain
spiritual momentum at the same time. That is hard enough to pull off when your
near and dear ones sympathize and are trying to do the same. So you have a hard
path – but you are walking it wonderfully well.
Keeping you in my prayers too, my friend.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #11:
[omitted: overworked on the job and struggling to do what is right]
Response #11:
Sorry for not getting back to you before now. Yesterday was a very difficult day
and I didn't even get to finishing posting until very late. I've pulled things
back into shape sufficiently to be ready to go back to work tomorrow.
I did see your emails though and I was (and am) praying for you, my friend. It's
a testimony to the spiritual growth that you have had that you were able to
handle this crisis by trusting the Lord and His truth. So I applaud you for
that.
All jobs are trouble, but some are worse than others. I'm praying for
things to smooth out for you down there – or else find something better.
Hang in there, my friend. We will not always be bearing the heat of the day as
we are presently (Rev.7:16).
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #12:
Dear Bob,
Thank you for your prayers and inquiry, for the Lord has used an expensive
probate lawyer to settle the now sold properties and disperse the monies amongst
the four kids. Though there was much not traceable and improperly documented and
taken unfairly, I have released that to the Lord. My new concern now is for the
wisdom and grace to walk this unique blessing out while keeping it private, not
trusting in it, but always in our Lord.
Though I can now live comfortably after serving the Lord many years in missions,
my heart is severely broken from the treatment of my family, and suicide of the
only cousin who came to my rescue. When the tears flow, I remind myself that our
Lord is near to the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.
Currently bibles and orphans in Pakistan and hospital chaplain work in Hawaii
have been my focus, while gardening at my new home here in Palm Springs.
May the Lord bless and keep you ever close to his heart, and shielded under his
everlasting arms,
Gratefully Yours,
Response #12:
Thanks for the update, my friend. I'm pleased to hear that this
particular problem has been resolved. Legal issues are very troubling
and weigh a person down in ways that those who have never dealt with
them might not understand. Also great to hear that you have found a
profitable venue for your missions activity. I've been praying for that.
Thanks for your good words and wishes – keeping you in my prayers.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #13:
Doc, I just don't know anymore...I know I may have made massages similar to this before, but I've come to a point I truly can't bring myself to care much at all about it all. I feel like none of it really matters even if intellectually I know it's important. Who cares if this world is in spiritual chaos? Who cares if so many people are going to Hell? I can't even truly care that I might. I'm just so burnt out with everything, this endless struggle of life and this fallen world, I don't even give much care to the fact that everything I cherish is going to be blown away eternally. I've truly gotten to the point where I'm just waiting for it all to end, both for me and this world when it all burns to ash. I don't care anymore. Heaven, Hell, what does it matter at this point? I'm looking forward to the conclusion to this insufferable reign of humanity either way.
Response #13:
It matters . . . a LOT.
And even if it doesn't matter to you at the moment, it WILL.
If you want the joy of the Lord, that requires spiritual growth and
consistency therein. Every other path leads away from Him and,
eventually, to nowhere good.
So please take the new year as a time for a new start and commit to
doing what you know you need to do. It is painful? That pain is a sign
of growth - - good pain, as opposed to the despair that comes from
spiritual drifting.
Keeping you in my prayers.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #14:
Instead of splitting up questions into separate emails, this time I have
a few all in one
1. What would be an example of acceptable humor? You say all course
humor and even most that isn't isn't allowed by God. What would be humor
that isn't buffoonish or coarse?
2. This somewhat toes into the first. Would you say that game I talked
about, Kingdom Hearts, is sinful? Some more details are it's a Disney
game, but unlike almost all of them it's heavily focused on fast paced
combat, and many people do self imposed challenges in it, including the
lv1 which I took up recently and was doing until today where I'm trying
to control how invested I am in it. There also is some humor that while
not exactly coarse by the Bible's definition, would fall into somewhat
buffoonish territory.
3. How do I, who can hardly feel actual emotion for much if at all,
who's very near irreparably seared his conscience, attain some level of
remorse that can spur me to never do such bad things again? Do I just
need to read the Bible and pray until it clicks?
4. Anyone who truly is seeking and growing in the Lord will start to
care less and less about spiritually unprofitable things, even if they
aren't sinful, until they don't really care at all about it anymore,
essentially grow out of it entirely, right? That's OK I suppose, most of
these things tempt me in bizarre and frankly horrific ways anyway...
Response #14:
1) " ... even most that isn't isn't [isn't] allowed by God" – I never
said anything of the sort. As to what is not unacceptable, anything that
doesn't involve sex or sexuality or foul language or blasphemy or make
fun of someone else or involve anything else the Spirit and your
conscience find offensive . . . this is a situational application. "Why
did the chicken cross the road . . . " is OK – not funny, but OK.
2) I don't know anything about the game. Games that don't include the
things mentioned above may not be unacceptable. Playing games is a
choice. You could be reading Ichthys instead. We all need a break now
and again. But if ALL we do is play games . . .
3) Spiritual recovery is a process. Eventually, as you confess, repent,
fight the fight of staying away from sin (defense), and push forward in
spiritual growth, moving closer to the Lord and not farther away, your
conscience will grow less hard. There are no overnight solutions. But
every step backward puts the good days farther away.
4) Just like we no longer care about riding rocking horses and playing
with crayons, so also as we grow spiritually we eventually are less
attracted by pointless things. Tempting things are different, however.
We will be tempted as long as we are in these bodies. We can get better
at resisting – we must get better. Same process as above.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #15:
Someone said in a video that within 10 years (just a year before
Christ's return!) DNA assembly machines will likely be widely available
to the public. Do you think artificially made diseases like what could
be make this way will be part of the Tribulation? I don't want to be
deceived in regards to this.
So Doc...correct me if i'm wrong on any of this: you say that because of
the warning of the "third angel" and because we will not be subject to
the "empowerment of error" as believers, the chances of even marginal
believers taking the Mark Of The Beast is low-But sadly, 1 third of
believers during the first half of the Tribulation, consisting almost
entirely of marginal believers, will apostasize to follow the
Antichrist. Thus, we should grow to spiritual maturity and far beyond
that to prepare so we won't be deceived or coaxed into taking it.
Is all of that right? And what are the implications for me?
I once seemingly woke up from a dream and it was very hard to get
up...then it turned out to be a dream within a dream...and it went into
a cycle of wakeup fakeouts that lasted so long I was truly scared I
would never actually wake up. It was only when I cried out to God to
save me that I actually woke up. This keeps happening though, and it
makes me so scared every time. Please pray this will stop.
Read my last email too, sorry for kind of breaking my new email format,
but another important question came up. You say according to the Bible
the earth isn't a sphere but isn't flat either...are the space pictures
of earth fake then? And you say the universe is a dome surrounding the
earth...am I just misreading what you say in it? Because I don't want to
buy into some massive conspiracy going on similar to what the flat
earthers say is happening just to believe the Bible, I would like to
keep my beliefs logically sound, because if they aren't logically
consistent isn't that similar to cultic belief?
Response #15:
I have no idea about that. But it really doesn't matter. If the Lord
wants us to survive until He returns, that we will do. I think there are
a lot of potentially more scary things in Revelation than this . . . for
those who do not have the Lord's protection, the sealing of His Holy
Spirit as we do.
Clearly, the earth is NOT flat (see
the link). As to "the earth isn't a sphere", here is a link on
how scripture describes it "Does
the Bible ever describe the earth as being round?"
As to believers who apostatize during the Tribulation, that is how I
interpret the scriptures: one third will do so (see the link:
The Great Apostasy). But remember that apostasy is total loss of
FAITH in Jesus Christ. Knowing the consequences, namely, the lake of
fire, what person who still believed in Christ would take the mark?
Especially when the consequences will be proclaimed audibly from heaven
at the time (Rev.14:9-11)?
I am keeping you in my prayers. If you are thinking about God and
looking to Him for help in your dreams, that is a decidedly good sign:
it means that He is becoming more and more the center of your thoughts –
as indeed He should be, sleeping or waking.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #16:
So __ posted the entire discussion that he had with you regarding the
topic "would God ever withhold the truth from us." After seeing some of
the answers you gave in the discussion on the forum in which I am also
involved I felt a need to email you about a few points (this won't be
long). I only ask because it is the truth I am after and I don't want to
strawman and misrepresent your views on this subject in case someone
were to ever ask me "what does the professor believe on this issue?" But
allow me to clarify some things first.
Regarding the formulation:
2) The problem I have with this formulation is that it generalizes about
things – people – which cannot really be generalized in a meaningful
way. We are all different and God treats us for who we are and where we
are. In that simple sentence are a virtually infinite number of
variations. To drill down a bit and restate, at the heart of this
discussion seems to me to be an assumption that God acts arbitrary and
plays favorites. That is decidedly untrue.
What we can say in all such circumstances, including in every one of the
permutations of this present discussion, is that “God knows what He is
doing” and “He is working things out for our good in so doing” and “there
is nothing whatsoever unfair or biased or prejudiced in what He is doing”.
The parts I have in bold above is something we all agree on but is not
the topic of what we are discussing. That is not what the position we
are taking is suggesting at all. So there is no assumption from anybody
here (we all agree that God doesn't act arbitrarily and play
favorites-nor is He ever unfair or prejudiced) .
With that being said, "do you believe there could be/are other reasons
for God withholding the truth from someone as soon as they really want
it/are ready for it other than hardness of heart- aka, free will?" If
yes or no, then that answers everything for us as far as I can tell. I
just want to know what you think - even if I'm not sure I'll agree or
not - I would have to think about this more.
Hopefully I'm not being pushy (I'm not trying to be). But if I don't ask
you this question, then I (as well as some others) can only run around
in circles trying to guess at where you stand on this. If you don't want
to answer, then don't be afraid to tell me. And if you answer, would you
be ok with me sharing your response on the forum?
In His grace and power,
Response #16:
You're free to share, my friend.
When you say that this "is not the topic of what we are discussing", I'm
not so sure that it's not a necessary underpinning of saying that God
withheld something good for no apparent reason but only because of
arbitrariness – or else the person having it withheld was somehow
flawed. I don't believe either of those propositions.
God is much bigger than we know; and life is too complicated to reduce
things to either/or cases for most things. Certainly that is so with all
matters of application. You and I may make the exact same decision in
what looks to be an absolutely identical situation and I could be wrong
and you right (or vice versa) – because we are not the same (and of
course there are innumerable other differences, most of which we couldn't
articulate if we invested years in the project). So my answer to anyone
who says "God withheld X from me when I wanted and needed it" would
always be, "If so (I certainly don't know that and I doubt you can
really know that), then He had perfect reasons for doing so". And, "But
what is the point of rehashing the past – especially since now He has
given you more truth than you can handle?".
Hope you have a good week ahead.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #17:
Thanks for the response! I completely agree we shouldn't rehash the
past, or make this an issue to any individual we are teaching. But I
have always stuck by the principle (which I think you agree with)? that
the more aggressively we search for something, the faster we will get
what we are after. That is something I would most certainly teach in a
general study.
When you say that this "is not the topic of what we are discussing", I'm
not so sure that it's not a necessary underpinning of saying that God
withheld something good for no apparent reason but only because of
arbitrariness -- or else the person having it withheld was somehow
flawed. I don't believe either of those propositions.
As far as what you believe, do you believe this also applies to someone
(one individual only) who (from day one) started seriously searching for
a serious in-depth teaching ministry but didn't find one until after
10-30 years? Do you think there could be other reasons God would
withhold a good teaching ministry from someone for that long even though
they wanted one many, many years ago? I'm inclined to think that you
would still say there could possibly be other reasons (other than free
will and hardness of heart), am I correct? Or would you be skeptical
like me and just leave it at that and say, "I don't know" (since
skepticism leans in one direction without actually taking a position)?
I completely understand searching for the truth (a good teaching
ministry which is how we get a lot of it) is always a process, which
means it will never be immediate and can take months to even a few years
depending. We are also imperfect human beings with a sinful nature so
that a lot of delays we may undergo no doubt do come back on us. But
10-30 years? Doesn't that sound a little extreme? One argument that I
made is that seeing as how crucial and important good solid Bible
teaching is for our spiritual growth, then I would have a hard time
believing God wouldn't bring it around much sooner since it is such a
critical necessity for our spiritual advance. Of course He will sustain
us during the time when we didn't have a good primary teacher, but I
have a hard time imagining this would take decades and this would give
me the impression that a person who took that long may have wasted a lot
of time which means that said interval was unnecessary (more like
self-inflicted). I would never mention it to them even if I'm not
obligated to believe it had to take that long. I don't think I have to
automatically believe someone just because they told me it was so (I
have every right to be skeptical or unsure since how can I know for sure
what they are telling me is the truth?).
In His grace and Power,
Response #17:
For all of us who HAVE found something good, shouldn't we be thanking
the Lord that we have (rather than grousing about how long it took)? Did
Abraham rejoice at the birth of Isaac? That took a long time too. I
don't remember Abraham complaining about the time after the fact.
Also, I have a real problem with dividing up into simple A or B
categories things that are for all essential purposes incongruous. Just
look at the different life experiences of the patriarchs. What a
difference between Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the latter's children,
especially Joseph. All great believers, but they were "treated" in quite
different ways . . . if we were to subject them to this sort of
analysis. On the other hand, God was completely faithful to them all. To
me, that is what counts. After all, He knew them . . . and knows us . .
. better than they did themselves.
I really don't think it is possible to hypothesize believer A or B
because in practical terms none of us is A or B – we are all unique; we
are all different. God loves us all. We all belong to Jesus Christ. But
our life experiences, the plan God has for us individually, is different
in each case. We can wonder why. If we search with wisdom, we may get
some insights. But in the end, we are only spinning our wheels if we get
fixated on this sort of thing. And believe me when I say that I have
seen many believers hamstring themselves by focusing on the past over
issues that are related closely enough to this issue to give me concern
about even discussing it in depth. We need to trust God. And while it
may be true that a lack of faith or trust is not necessarily at the root
of such discussions, if a person becomes defensive or comes to feel that
he/she was not treated fairly vis-à-vis some other believer, these
things can sow such seeds.
For example, although Joseph was a man of humility and integrity, his
brothers sold him into slavery, his master's wife falsely accused him
and he was sent to prison for no fault of his own, quite the opposite,
and he spent a good deal of time in captivity. God, of course, worked it
all for good (Rom.8:28) as Joseph certainly came to see when he tells
his brothers, "you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good"
(Gen.50:20). In between, in all the years of struggle, he maintained his
integrity as his close walk with God. And speaking of waiting, Abraham
is one of the greatest believers of all time, but he had to wait many
years for an heir.
One of the things that strikes me about the patriarchs and other OT
believers, as I had mentioned in a prior discussion, is that while the
Bible tells us some things about them, we don't see their daily walk
with the Lord, what that was like. Similarly, when a brother or sister
says something about their spiritual state in the past, we might well
wonder, were you "like that" 24/7? I really don't think I could do a
very good job explaining my precise spiritual status or fairly
characterize how well or poorly I "fought the fight" on any random day
ten or twenty or thirty years ago. That might be difficult enough to do
for last week. The point is that we are ever in flux in our spiritual
status as we fight our way forward (one hopes!), three steps forward,
two back, one to the left, two to the right, back on track. And of
course, this familiar analogy cannot begin to reckon on all the
innumerable thoughts we are having, how we are or are not focusing on
the Lord and His truth.
A person may have access to good Bible teaching, but what are they doing
with it? How much time are they spending on it every day? How well are
they paying attention when they are focusing on it? Are they really
bearing down in the Spirit so as to "get it"? Are they accepting it? Are
they taking pains to remember it and apply it throughout the day? One
could go on. And the same sorts of questions apply to reading one's
Bible and to prayer and to every thought and decision large or small we
make day by day. The point is that one can want something good but not
have the capacity to really appreciate it or exploit it – or the
willingness to do what it takes to do so. We know that is the case
because even though "we", in my opinion, have access to some very good
teaching, and lots of it, "we" are not doing everything we could be
doing to exploit. That is not an accusation. That is human nature. We
could all do better, even if we are doing pretty well. God knows this,
obviously, since He knows all, and there can be no doubt but that such
considerations do come into play in His fashioning of the perfect plan
for each of us.
So that is one side of the equation. God knows when we will be able to
benefit from and handle whatever it is He is giving us, and it wouldn't
be long before we were complaining and making excuses if we weren't able
to handle something good He gave us before we really were ready for it.
That I know was certainly the case in my own life. And it brings to mind
what Adam said when interrogated after the fall: “The woman whom YOU
gave to be with me, SHE gave me of the tree, and I ate” (Gen.3:12 NKJV).
That would possibly be funny . . . except when we remember that 1) we
would have done/said likewise, 2) we have undoubtedly done/said things
similar enough in our own lives too (at least in our thoughts), and 3)
we are all as embarrassingly wrong to blame God for blessing us as Adam
was.
The other side of the equation is the fact that God can do much with
little since nothing is impossible for Him (e.g., Eccl.10:10). Recalling
the patriarchs again, none of them knew much about eschatology. All that
wonderful information had yet to be revealed. We know that they only saw
Jesus through shadows (1Pet.1:10-12), yet He and His sacrifice are the
bedrock of our faith. If Abraham had been moved by the Spirit to write a
"Bible Basics" series, what, pray tell, would have been in there – there
was at that time as yet not a single scripture. And yet who can doubt
his extreme spiritual maturity? Yes he did have direct revelation from
the Lord, but not the sort of "Bible teaching" that we access today. Not
even of the sort available BEFORE Ichthys and
Bible Academy, before
Berachah, before Chafer, before Scofield, before Hodge (not to equate
any of these, but just to give examples we all probably are aware of).
This goes to show just how much God is able to accomplish with a very
little information in the hearts of those who really are determined to
trust Him.
That is the critical thing. In the end, it's not about knowledge – it's
about faith. Believing a little bit of truth to a great depth is
superior to knowing a lot about the Bible but still operating on only a
small amount of faith in that truth. Clearly, the best situation is
maximum information and maximum faith applied to that truth. In
patriarchal times, we see plenty of examples of great faith deployed
even though their knowledge base was far less than ours can be
(potentially, for those who exploit the opportunities). Who would dare,
for example, to compare themselves to David in this regard? Reading the
psalms, studying his life, we are struck by how much he loved the Lord,
by how much he trusted the Lord – and that was his strength and his joy,
focusing on Him more intently than intensely than most if not all
believers today. And we too have the Holy Spirit as David did, only not
as a special unction which might be removed as it was with Saul (cf.
Ps.51:11); we have the indwelling of the Spirit permanently.
And so, it might be asked as well, "why did God wait so long to bring
the ministries above (and like ones) onto the scene?" Wasn't that a
disadvantage to those who went before? For believers prior to the cross?
In all those prior centuries of the Church Age before the ministries
mentioned above? What is an advantage to us surely was not as readily
available to them or in such depth. But again, many believers of the
past did more with less. This is the other side of the coin of why I
think this issue is not an issue. God knows and knew what each of us
would do with what we actually were given. If He chose to demonstrate
that believer A would do a lot more with a little than believer B would
do with a lot, that strikes me as just what we see throughout the plan
of God in every respect (e.g., seeing also unbelievers existing in every
clime and time and not being willing to believe no matter the
circumstances, good or bad). What I do know about that is that no one
has been truly disadvantaged even if everyone has received different
levels of provision of the truth – or provision of anything else, for
that matter. God has perfectly tailored everyone's life experience to 1)
give that person everything they would actually use, in terms of the
truth, and 2) gain as much reward as they were actually willing to gain.
If that looks different in every case it is because every case is
different.
This all being so, it is possible to see the events of late-day Laodicea
as a sort of reproach from the Lord and a demonstration of His absolute
justice. He might well observe about our day and age that even though He
provided the truth and detailed, quality teaching about the truth in a
depth and quantity not previously available, and made it available to
virtually everyone through the internet, nevertheless the thirst for
said truth overall was less, significantly less, than in generations and
Church eras past. That is certainly the trend. Our job as
pastor-teachers – and as believers first – is not to be lukewarm about
all these benefits and advantages we HAVE been given. Rather we should
be appreciating them and making the most of them, spending more and more
time and effort on them, quality time and effort, making use also of
every waking moment to appreciate the Lord through that truth in a way
approximating David (and all of the spiritual heroes in the Bible). They
did much with little. Should we not take pains to not be found to have
done much less with much more?
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 KJV
It's all about faith, day by day, moment by moment trusting the Lord more and more in all we do and say and think.
"For assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."
Matthew 17:20b NKJV
In Jesus our dear Savior,
Bob L.
Question #18:
Fair enough, and I think I agree with the overall gist of what you are
saying. I'm gonna have to read your response through a few more times
though, although other than this email, I don't think I will have any
more questions for you.
Would you say the word "withhold" is a good way to describe what you are
saying? As in, since there could be plenty of other reasons why God
would not give us the truth immediately (other than just free
will-hardness of heart), does this mean that God does actually withhold
the truth from us at times? Is "withhold" a good way to put it as long
as we explain what we mean?
In Christ,
Response #18:
No, I don't like "withhold" at all since that seems to presuppose that there is something God could be doing for us that we would actually benefit from which He isn't doing for us. In my experience and observation, God does "more than the most" for us at all times and in all things – if we are willing to accept that in faith:
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Romans 8:32 NKJV
Here is something I wrote about David in BB 6A apropos of this discussion:
Through many lonely days and lonelier nights, David spent the time he had to spare not in day-dreaming but in contemplating the truth he knew, in praying to the Lord and fellowshiping with Him, in remembering and applying the scriptures to everything he was experiencing, not just learning and considering the Word, but in actually living the Word – and so much so that the Lord truly became His joy and His one true love. David did this without many – or perhaps any – of the advantages we have today. So he stands as a premier example of what can be accomplished spiritually if the will is there, if the joy is there. This love and joy for the Lord with which David was thoroughly imbued sustained him even in times of the most severe testing (e.g., 1Sam.30:6), and even on those rare but notable occasions when David was in the wrong. For we see Him pouring out his heart to the Lord when forgiveness is needful too, not in cowardly fear but in great confidence of the grace and mercy of the One He knew so well, our dear Lord and Savior. Truly, this was a man after the Lord's own heart (1Sam.13:14), one who perhaps came closer than any other believer to loving the Lord with all the joy He is due.
On the other hand, claiming to be zealous and issuing that as a sort of implicit complaint is exactly what we ought to know we should not do – for that is what Elijah did:And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” So he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
1st Kings 19:9-10
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #19:
The above was helpful, but I didn't understand as much as I thought. Do you agree with the statement- " God will give the truth to those who want it as soon as they are ready for it." Or do you believe there could be reasons the Lord would not give it to us even if we are ready for it?
Response #19:
Are these my only two alternatives?
Question #20:
I take this as in indirect answer. You believe there could be many other possible reasons why the Lord would delay giving us the truth other than us being ready or not being ready to receive it. In other words, even if someone is ready, the Lord could still delay in giving it to them for many other possible reasons. Am I right on your view here? If so, I might be answering my own question.
Response #20:
I think we should learn to trust the Lord. In fact, as pastor-teachers,
we not only need to learn to be doing that better day by day, but we
also need to be training up our congregations to do so.
What I mean by that is the Bible doesn't really work this way: it's not
a tool for giving specific answers to difficult questions of application
like the "Magic Eight Ball". On top of that, spiritual growth doesn't
work this way either. You have been growing spiritually by reading
Ichthys. That is the way it is supposed to work, namely, a Christian
accesses a good teaching ministry, learns biblical truth broadly – not
idiosyncratically. Then by believing the truth taught to them, and by
learning to listen to the Spirit, a growing believer gets better at
applying principles of truth to all manner of situations.
A lot of people think they can read the Bible for themselves and grow.
That is not true, not even, initially, even for those with the gift of
pastor-teacher. And many also believe they can just "go to the Bible"
when they have a problem or a question they want help with – ignoring it
all the rest of the time. But the Bible is not Wikipedia. It tells us
things we didn't know we needed to know, and it is often silent about
things which, for us personally, are pressing concerns. Any good
teaching ministry will do that as well. Take our Lord's ministry as the
prime example – or any epistle in the New Testament. In neither place do
we generally find answers to questions people were asking (except
obliquely to refute dangerous heresies). "How can I find a good job?"
Instead, our Lord tells us that we shouldn't worry, that God always
takes care of us (Matt.6:25-34). "How should I find my desired spouse?"
Instead, Paul tells us that marriage brings trouble (1Cor.7:28).
I tell you this because as a prospective pastor-teacher you're going to
have to resist just this kind of plaintive appeal from members of your
congregation. It is certainly alright to answer such questions – within
a biblical framework, not going "beyond what is written" (1Cor.4:6).
And, most especially, you'll want to be steering said person back on
track, back to thinking about and asking about things that may not be
pressing life issues to them but which are critical to know, understand
and believe in order to run a good Christian race. Most "churches" today
pander to these sorts of questions and concerns – to the exclusion of
any true teaching. And it can get to the point of sinking a person's
spiritual boat. If you haven't already done so, please read last
Saturday/Sunday's posting and you'll see what I mean. It's not really
terribly different, in my view, from hashing and rehashing the past over
hypothetical and theoretical questions which are not spelled out in
scripture. In my last long email to you, I did the best I could to
explain how I see this issue: God is faithful. He has never been unfair
to us. Whatever He did or didn't do (in our myopic estimation) was
always for our own good. And our job is to move forward, not look
backward. We should appreciate the truth He's made available to us now,
not worry about what may or may not have happened in the past. Is there
anyone out there who is really exploiting all the truth presently
available to us? I don't think so. I could certainly do better myself.
God sees to it that we get all that we need always, regardless of
circumstances.
As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack."
2nd Corinthians 8:15 NKJV
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #21:
Understood. I no longer take a position in the discussion we had. It has
died down but I've dropped out of it for good and I'm glad to have done
so because it was giving me brain cramps. There were some things worth
discussing but a lot which I feel aren't things we need to focus on and
get our minds wrapped around. Some things are just unknowable and
shouldn't be our focus. I have nothing left to ask you, so don't worry,
lol. You are probably sick of us at this point. I don't understand how
you manage to get everything that you do done. Work and everything else
makes ministry challenging for me. I'm tired. Admittedly, these
discussions we have been having were preventing me from getting other
stuff done, so I'm glad to have been productive yesterday.
Congratulations on completing the first chapter of
Hebrews! I can't
get to it now but hope to in the (hopefully) not too distant future.
Response #21:
Thanks [now available with
intro and through chapter 10]!
No, it's not easy to work full time as you are doing and get everything one
would like to get done accomplished. The only way I have found is to keep on
plugging consistently day by day – and that is not easy.
I consider it a great privilege to lend a hand to you guys along the way. I do
concur with your latest conclusion, however, that there are better ways to spend
your time. If you two (and the others) had spent the same amount of time and
effort on, say, going over BB 4A: Christology, it
would have been more enjoyable – and more beneficial.
Keeping you in my prayers daily, my friend.
In Jesus,
Bob L.