The Importance of Jesus!

Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” (John 12:7-8; ESV)

In 1897, a preacher named Charles Sheldon (1857 – 1946), from Topeka, Kansas, wrote a book entitled In His Steps.  In that book, Sheldon imagined how much better the world would be if Christians would ask themselves “What would Jesus do?” before every decision.  This book was a best seller and was an important piece of the “Social Gospel” revolution of the late 19^th century and the early 20^th century.  The Social Gospel movement was a loosely organized effort from North American Christian communities to formulate a Christian response to the rapidly changing social conditions brought about by the Industrial Revolution, World War I and the Great Depression.

Does the Devil “Make Me Do It?”

Question: Are people born good and still sin because of the devil tempting them, or are people born bad and it is in their human nature to do bad things. Also, if people are inherently bad, do people become good once they become Christians and the sin dwelling in them is not really them (kind of what Paul talks about). It seems like Paul says Christians are truly good but either they sin still because the devil tempts them or because there sinful human nature.  But if they still sin because of their sinful human nature how could they be good?

Answer: Looking at your first question, the only people who were born without a sin nature (outside of Jesus Christ) were Adam and Eve.  When God created them, he declared them “very good” (Genesis 1:31).  Adam and Eve were morally innocent in that they had the potential to choose between good (obeying God) and evil (disobeying God).  Once they chose evil by disobeying God and eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God punished them by pronouncing the curse upon them.

Future Glory, part 1

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30; English Standard Version)

There aren’t too many people who actually enjoy working out.  Exercise is tiring, repetitive and sometimes painful.  Most people work out, not as an end in itself, but as a means to an end.  The end could be weight loss, greater health, more energy, etc.  The point being we work out in order to achieve one of those aforementioned ends.

Does God Ever Stop Drawing Us?

Question:  In John 6:44 it says, “No one can come to [Jesus] unless the Father who sent me draws him.”  Does the Father ever stop drawing?

Answer:  The short answer to your question is “no.”  In John 10:16, Jesus says that he has “other sheep that are not of this fold,” and that he “must bring them also.”  When Jesus said this, he was talking about the sheep that the Father has given to him (John 10:29).  The “sheep” primarily refer to the children of Israel to whom Jesus was their Messiah, but when he says “other sheep that are not of this fold,” he must be referring to Gentiles-people who will be brought in through the work of the apostles and those that follow them.

Heirs with Christ!

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15; English Standard Version)

It would be safe to say that most parents love their children.  The Bible says that children are “a heritage from the Lord” (Psalm 127:3).  They are a blessing and a tremendous responsibility.  In Old Testament times, it was a mark of status for women to bear children, many children, to their husbands.  One only needs look at the anguish in the heart of Rachel as she was unable to bear children for Jacob until the time the Lord opened her womb (Genesis 30:1), or recall the story of Hannah as she poured her heart out to God to give her a child (1 Samuel 1:10-11).

Can a God of Love Consign People to Hell?

Question:  Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:27 Jesus said “Love your enemies” and in Matthew 22:39 He said “Love your neighbor as yourself”. Does this apply only on earth and only to us? As when that enemy dies and hasn’t accepted Jesus as savior God throws my enemy that I am commanded to love as myself into a lake of fire. It seems as if God loves and forgives while we are on earth but when we die He doesn’t love and forgive, as there is a condition placed on receiving His love and forgiveness. Is His love and forgiveness really conditional because that doesn’t seem like perfect love? Perfect love would include all. Does He really wash His hands of it by saying we had a chance while we were on earth and so it is our fault. How can love do that? It does seem odd to me that Jesus commands us to love our enemy and God throws that enemy in a lake of fire!

Answer:  After reading over your questions, it seems your fundamental issue is how can a God of love consign people to an eternity in hell?  It is true that God is a God of love, in fact the Bible says that “God is love” (1 John 4:8).  So if God is love, why would he send people to hell?  That certainly doesn’t seem like a loving thing to do.

Life in the Spirit!

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11; English Standard Version)

If you’ve been a Christian for long, you will know that the Christian life isn’t easy.  We are constantly battling with three things:  The world, the flesh and the devil.  The Bible says that the world is under control of Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 5:19).  What that means is the world systems (political, cultural, educational, etc.) are under the control of Satan.  You will find that the more secular a society is, the more intolerant it is toward true Christianity.  There is no such intolerance toward apostate Christianity or other false religions because they all basically teach the same thing, but true Christianity stands in stark contrast to these other world religions, and therefore runs counter to the satanic world system.

What Does the Bible Say About…Angels?

“Are not [angels] ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14; ESV)

One of my wife’s favorite movies is City of Angels starring Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan.  In that movie, Nicholas Cage plays an angel named Seth who falls in love with a mortal woman, Meg Ryan.  He learns from an ex-angel (played by Dennis Franz) that an angel can “renounce” his immortality and become human.  Seth does just that and pursues his relationship with the Meg Ryan character.  They get together long enough to share some intimate moments, but Meg Ryan’s character is killed when she is struck by a truck while riding her bicycle.  Seth then has to learn how to deal with the emotional pain that follows by seeking guidance from his ex-angel friend, Dennis Franz.

Are Our Future Sins Forgiven?

Question:  Where in the bible does it teach that for the saved person their future sins are forgiven as well? How many times can you continue to shame God by committing sins?

Answer:  There is probably no clearer passage on this truth than in Hebrews 9-10.  In these chapters the author of Hebrews repeats the phrase “once for all” several times to emphasize the fact that Jesus, our High Priest, sacrificed himself for sin “once for all.”  In that passage, there is one verse that succinctly summarizes what Jesus did on the cross:  “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12; emphasis added).  The one sacrifice of Jesus was enough to atone for all sins.

The Law and Sin!

“For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.” (Romans 7:14; English Standard Version)

One of mankind’s most “endearing” qualities is our propensity to shift blame for our actions onto others.  Worse even than that is our ability to endorse that “quality” through pop psychology.  The reason your life is screwed up isn’t your fault, it’s your parent’s fault, or your circumstances, or your lack of quality education, pick a reason there are plenty to go around.  We’re even spending millions of research dollars to “prove” that the fact you’re an alcoholic, or the fact that you’re homosexual, is genetic.