What Are You Hungry For?

Matthew 5:6 (NKJV)

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,  For they shall be filled.

This past weekend, I had the blessing of helping out with an event dubbed the DiscipleNow Weekend.  The speaker, Brian Burgess, gave two tremendous messages.  I learned some new things, and did some additional study on my own to understand the principles Brian laid out.  This blog is the result of this study.

Hunger and thirst are two of the most basic human conditions.  Merriam-Webster.com defines hunger as “a craving or urgent need for food or a specific nutrient.”  Thirst is defined as “a sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat associated with a desire for liquids; also : the bodily condition (as of dehydration) that induces this sensation”

God created human beings with the need to eat and drink.  When we don’t get the food and water we need, we develop extreme cravings for them.  Hunger is one of the strongest motivational forces on people. This motivation is not just physical in nature, but psychological as well. Science recognizes two types of hungers; one is caused physiologically, and the other is caused psychologically. What makes people different from animals is that we eat not only to satiate physiological hunger, but we also eat to satiate psychological hunger as well.

Haitian Dirt Cookies

Hunger is a huge global problem.  People will go to great lengths to satiate their hunger and thirst.  Even before the 2010 earthquake devastated Haiti, starving people would eat dirt to stave off starvation.  They make cookies out of dirt, salt and vegetable shortening.  The cookies have little nutrition value, but can keep a person alive for a bit longer than not eating at all.

Thirst is also a global problem.  According to http://thewaterproject.org/:

• More than 1 in 8 people in the world don’t have access to safe drinking water.
• 1 out of every 5 deaths under the age of 5 worldwide is due to a water-related disease.
• Nearly 80% of illness in developing countries is linked to poor water and sanitation conditions.

There is another kind of hunger and thirst – spiritual.  God created human beings in His image.  Unlike animals, God created humans to be spiritual beings.  We were created to have a relationship with God.  That relationship between God and mankind was severed when Adam and Eve sinned against God.  Because of that separation, human beings are born in a state of spiritual starvation.  We have a spiritual hunger and thirst for a relationship with God that we cannot fill.

Humans go to great lengths to try to satisfy their spiritual hunger.  We have created many religions; we fill our lives with activities, beliefs, causes, and ambitions.  But, none of these things can satisfy the spiritual hunger and thirst all people experience.  We’re spiritually starved, and we resort to eating spiritual dirt in an attempt to quench the hunger and thirst.

What did Jesus mean when He said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness?”  To be blessed means to have “pleasure, contentment, or good fortune.”  God’s righteousness is the natural manifestation of His holiness. Because He is infinitely pure, He must be opposed to all sin.  When the Bible says that God is righteous, we are guaranteed that His actions toward us are in perfect conformity with His holy nature.  When a person receives Jesus Christ as Savior, God’s righteousness is imputed on the believer.  In other words, God considers the Christian to be righteous, because of Christ’s righteousness.  However, because Christians still exist in in sinful bodies with fallen minds, they cannot actually live righteous lives.  When a Christian “hungers and thirsts” for righteousness, he or she craves the righteousness of God.  God’s righteousness is the only thing that can satisfy the spiritual craving inherent in every human being.  Many things in life can bring a limited pleasure and contentment; but only a relationship with God through Jesus Christ can truly satiate our cravings.

The question is, what do you hunger and thirst for?

If you are not a Christian, do you crave a relationship with God?  Or, are you satisfied with the spiritual dirt you’ve been eating?

If you are a Christian, what do you crave?  Do you crave other people’s approval, success, possessions, or self-worth?  Or, do you crave God’s righteousness in your life?  Is the most important thing in your life your relationship with Jesus Christ, and serving Him?  Or, do you just live for yourself?  When a Christian chooses to live for self rather than for Jesus Christ, it’s like a person being surrounded with the most satisfying food and drink on earth, yet choosing to eat dirt cookies and drink filthy water.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.  The only true contentment that exists for our spiritual craving is a right standing before our Creator.  The craving can only be satisfied when we have received Jesus Christ as Savior, and choose to live our lives completely for Him.

More Than a Conqueror

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Romans 8:31-39:

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² 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? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What is Paul referring to when he says, “What then shall we say to these things?”  “These things” refers to the entire breadth of God’s grace to lost sinners in the letter to this point.  For the Christian, God’s grace and our relationship with Him are the foundation for everything else in our lives.

When Paul asks, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” he does not mean that Christians will never face opposition;  rather, he is emphasizing that the conflicts we do face are greatly overshadowed by God’s love and grace toward us.  The basis for our confidence in God is that He “gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16).  Since God the Father was willing to sacrifice His own Son in order to be reconciled with us, we can be confident that He will also give us the protection and security we need to follow Him.

What does Paul mean when he rhetorically asks, “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect?”  In Revelation 12:10, Satan is called the “accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night.”  Because those of us who have received Jesus Christ as Savior are justified before God the Father through the blood of Jesus Christ, God sees the Christian as if they had never sinned.  The perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for my sin; therefore, God considers me blameless before Him.  Satan has no basis for accusing the Christian before God; the Christian’s sins have already been paid for.  As Paul puts it, Christ makes intercession for us. When Satan accuses the Christian before the Father, Jesus says, “I’ve already got it covered.”

Paul then rhetorically asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” He then lists a catalog of situations that we think might be able to separate us from God: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and the sword.  Often, Christians think that when bad things happen, it’s because God has somehow rejected us.  We think God’s angry, so He’s punishing us by allowing us to suffer.  To emphasize his point, Paul quotes Psalm 44:22:

Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Paul’s point here is that God does not punish the Christian; Jesus Christ already took the punishment.  God does allow bad things to happen to the Christian, but not because God is punishing us.  Rather, God uses trials to produce character and hope.  In Romans 5:3-5, Paul tells the Christian:

“³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Paul finishes Romans chapter 8 with one of the most profound promises found in Scripture.  Through Jesus Christ, the Christian is promised victory – and nothing can take that away from us.  Whether dead, or alive, we have victory in the love of Jesus Christ.  Angels cannot take our God’s love away; neither can demons (“principalities”) or human authorities (“powers”).  Time cannot affect our standing before God; nor can anything else in the universe.  We cannot even throw it away ourselves!  Our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is completely sealed; absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When I am struggling with my faith, or going through difficult times, I come back time and again to this promise for the strength and courage to press onward.  Times may be difficult – but nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus my Lord!  I may be overwhelmed by my sin – but nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus my Lord!  Those I love may let me down – but nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus my Lord!

Yet in all these things I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me.

Did God the Father Forsake His Son On the Cross?

Al Hsu

In an April 4, 2012 article posted on christianitytoday.com, Al Hsu argues that on the cross, Jesus Christ was not separated from God.  God did not “turn His back” on Jesus because of sin.

This is very dangerous theology.

Hsu argues:

One of the major objections that today’s new atheists have about Christianity is that the Christian God is not worth believing in. They argue that Christianity is a primitive backwards religion of punitive bloodlust, of a father who kills his own son. The Cross is divine child abuse, they say. Fathers should love their children, not abandon them, not torture them, not kill them. If the Christian God forsakes his own child, how could he be worthy of worship? We don’t respect human child abusers—why would we believe in a God who forsakes his own perfect son?

Atheists argue against Christianity based on the fallacious argument that God is a child abuser.  Hsu buys into their illogical line of reasoning, and defends the atheists in his argument.

The crux of Hsu’s reasoning is that he believes that when Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me,” He was not saying that God had forsaken Him; rather, He was simply pointing to the fact that the crucifixion was the fulfillment of Psalm 22.

Here’s the key biblical insight that changed everything for me in how I read this passage. It’s a simple historical fact about how Israelites cited their Scriptures. They didn’t identify passages by chapter numbers or verse numbers. Verse numbers weren’t invented yet. Their Scriptures did not have little numbers in the text. So how they referenced a passage was to quote it, especially the first line. So the book of Genesis, in Hebrew, is not called Genesis. It’s called, “In the beginning.” Exodus is “Names.” We similarly evoke a larger body of work with just a line of allusion: “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.” or “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

That’s why Jesus often says, “It is written” or “You have heard it said.” He doesn’t say, “Deuteronomy 8:3 says this.” No, he says, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone.’ ” That’s just the way they did it.

So when Jesus says, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” he’s saying, “Psalm 22.” He expected his hearers to catch the literary allusion. And his hearers should have thought of the whole thing, not just the first verse…

So, Hsu believes that Jesus wasn’t saying that God had forsaken Him; rather, Jesus was simply reciting the beginning of Psalm 22, so that His listeners would think of the entire Psalm.

So, what does Psalm 22 actually say?

¹ My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
² O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.

In the actual Psalm itself, the speaker 1) asks why God has forsaken him; 2) asks why God is far from helping him; and 3) states that God does not hear his cries.  So, even if Jesus is simply pointing to Psalm 22, it means the same thing:  God has forsaken Him.

Toward the end of the Psalm, the tone changes.

²¹ Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!

You have answered Me.

In the end, God does hear the cries of the writer in the Psalm.  Hsu uses this as evidence that God never did turn from His Son on the cross.  However, this misses the entire point of both the psalm and the crucifixion.  In the beginning of the psalm, God does not hear, and forsakes the person speaking.  This person endures great pain and suffering.  The description matches the crucifixion of Jesus.  Only after this occurs, does God answer.  Likewise, when Jesus died on the cross, God did reject Him – until after he had died and paid for the sin of the world.  Then God once again was able to answer His Son’s cries, which He did by raising Him from the dead, and restoring Him to perfect fellowship with Himself.

Another problem with Hsu’s argument is that he assumes a position that is dangerously close to the  “Oneness” view of the Trinity.  This is a heretical view of God.  According to Wikipedia, “the Oneness doctrine… states that there is one God, a singular spirit who manifests himself in many different ways, including as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This stands in sharp contrast to the doctrine of three distinct and eternal ‘persons’ posited by Trinitarian theology.“

Hsu states:

This corrects the dangerous tendency to divide the Trinity. Sometimes we tell the crucifixion story as if God is against Jesus. But Jesus said that he and the Father are one. They can’t be divided. The Trinity was not broken. God doesn’t execute his son.

Hsu argues that the Trinity cannot be divided.  However, the Trinity involves the single Godhead existing as three distinct persons.  God is One, yet Three.

Why does it matter whether the Son was separated from the Father on the cross?

The whole point of the cross is that Jesus Christ took the place of sinful human beings.  The substitutionary death of Jesus is the entire foundation of the Gospel.  Humankind is separated from God because of sin; Jesus took sin upon Himself, and took the penalty for our sin – separation from God – on our behalf.

If Jesus Christ did not suffer separation from God, then there are two possibilities.  The first option is that He did not take the penalty of our sin – separation from God – upon Himself; therefore, we are still liable for that penalty.  In other words, if God did not turn His back on Jesus, then He is still turning His back on the Christian.  The crucifixion and resurrection accomplished nothing.  The second option is that separation from God was never the penalty for sin.  However, if this were true, then why would we need Jesus’ crucifixion at all?

Both of these views are completely anti-Biblical and heretical.  If Jesus Christ the Son was not separated from God the Father on the cross as our substitute, then the Gospel makes no sense whatsoever.  But Hsu writes, “Jesus is not saying that God has forsaken him. He’s declaring the opposite. He’s saying that God is with him, even in this time of seeming abandonment, and that God will vindicate him by raising him from the dead.”  This is dangerous heresy.  While it’s true that God ultimately vindicated Jesus Christ by raising Him from the dead, it’s also critical that God had to utterly reject His Son while He was on the cross, because He bore my sin and yours.  God cannot look upon sin; Jesus Christ became sin in our place, so in order for the Gospel to mean anything at all, God had to turn His back on Jesus Christ the Son, although only while He hung on the cross.

Christian:  Beware of false doctrines such as those proposed by Al Hsu. 

When people reject the straight-forward, plain meaning of Scripture, and instead insert their own ideas into the text, the result is almost always heresy.

¹ But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. ² And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.

2 Peter 2:1-2

A Scout is…Obedient

When asked where religion came into Scouting, Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting movement, replied, “It does not come in at all. It is already there.  It is a fundamental factor underlying Scouting…” (Religion and the Boy Scout and Girl Guides Movement–an address, 1926).

This is the continuation of the series of blogs examining the connection between the values of Scouting and the Bible.

A Scout follows the rules of his family, school, and troop.   He obeys the laws of his community and country.  If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he seeks to have them changed in an orderly manner.

The seventh point of the Scout Law is, “A Scout is obedient.”  According to Merriam-Webster.com, the word obedient means, “submissive to the restraint or command of authority : willing to obey.”  When a Scout is obedient, he submits to those in authority over him.  A key component of the Boy Scout program is for Scouts to learn not only to be obedient to authority, but to learn to be a good leader when given authority over others.

The virtue of obedience is found throughout the Bible.  In the book of Genesis, God gave the first man, Adam, a single command:  Do not eat the fruit of one specific tree.  Adam failed to be obedient to God’s one command, and it plunged humanity into centuries of sin, death, and suffering.

In Genesis 22, after Abraham offered to sacrifice his Son Isaac to God, and God told him not to, God told Abraham, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”  The author of the book of Hebrews tells us, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.”

In many places in the Law of Moses, the Israelites are commanded to obey God’s Law.  For example:

⁹ The Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, ¹⁰ if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 30:9-10).

A Scout is encouraged to obey his parents.  The apostle Paul wrote, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1), and “Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord” (Colossians 3:20).

There are times when a Scout is called on to make a choice between obeying unfair rules or laws, or doing what is right.  In such instances, the Scout is encourages to do what is right, and to work to have unjust rules or laws changed.  In Daniel, chapter 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego chose to obey God rather than King Nebuchadnezzar, and were thrown into a fiery furnace as a result.  In chapter 6 of Daniel, Daniel refused to obey an unjust law; He was thrown into a lion’s den as a result. Because of their obedience to God, Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-Nego, and Daniel were all saved, completely unharmed.

A Scout is called to be obedient to his parents, his troop leaders, his school leaders, and to the laws of his community, state, and country.  A Christian is called to be obedient to those in authority, unless doing so would cause them to be disobedient to God.  The virtue of obedience is yet another example of how the values of Scouting were derived from the values of the Bible.

Being Salt

Matthew 5:13 (NKJV)

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

This weekend, I had the blessing of helping out with an event dubbed the DiscipleNow Weekend.  The speaker, Brian Burgess, gave two tremendous messages.  I learned something new, and have done some additional study to understand the principles Brian laid out.  This blog is the result of this study.

What is salt?  Sodium chloride, also known as salt, has the chemical formula NaCl.  Sodium chloride is the primary salt found in the oceans; it is commonly used as a condiment and food preservative.

Salt is necessary for most animals to survive.  In ancient times, and to a certain extent today, salt was a highly sought after commodity, and common bartering item; it was sometimes even used as currency.  Humans must take in a certain amount of salt, or else they will die.

In his commentary on Matthew 5:13, Albert Barnes says,

Salt renders food pleasant and palatable, and preserves from putrefaction. So Christians, by their lives and instructions, are to keep the world from entire moral corruption. By bringing down the blessing of God in answer to their prayers, and by their influence and example, they save the world from universal vice and crime.

Matthew 5 is part of a sermon by Jesus Christ known as the Sermon on the Mount.  What Jesus is saying by calling His followers the “salt of the earth” is that we are a very necessary part of God’s plan for planet Earth.  Salt is absolutely necessary for life; it is also a preservative.  The Holy Spirit resides in the Christian, and uses them to preserve His influence on the planet.  True, God could accomplish this goal through other means; but He instead chose to work through His people to achieve His goals.  Isn’t it exciting to be a Christian!  God uses us to complete His purposes!  When I have doubts as to why God placed me on this earth, I simply need to remember this principle:  God put me here so He can use me to glorify Himself.  It’s not about me; it’s all about Jesus Christ.

The phrase, “but if the salt loses its flavor,” has been problematic for some.  Salt, or sodium chloride, cannot lose its flavor.  The chemical properties of sodium chloride, including its “salty” taste, never change.  So, what did Jesus mean by this?

In the ancient area around Israel, and even today, much of the salt supply came from the Dead Sea.  Dead Sea salt, however, is not pure; it contains other chemicals, including gypsum.  Gypsum is a powdery chemical that somewhat resembles salt in its powdered form.  It was often mixed in with Dead Sea salt, which reduced the “saltiness” of the product.  Gypsum was a sort of counterfeit salt; its outward appearance looked like salt, but it had none of the flavor or life-sustaining properties of salt.

The Greek word μωρανθῇ (mōranthē), translated here as “loses its flavor,” literally means to be foolish.  The English word “moron” comes from the same Greek root word.  Jesus was well aware of the fact that salt cannot become unsalty.  Jesus is using a subtle play on words here.  Just as salt cannot lose its flavor, a true Christian cannot lose their importance in God’s plan.  For salt to lose its saltiness, it must be counterfeit salt; if a Christian were to lose the life-sustaining influence of the Holy Spirit working through their lives, they must be counterfeit Christians.  Sometimes, true Christians doubt their value and importance in God’s plan; but, such thinking is foolishness.  Subtly, Jesus is saying that a Christian would have to be a moron to not believe he or she is an integral part of God’s plan for His creation!  This doesn’t mean that Jesus is being unkind or name-calling; it does mean that He is pointing out that when we doubt our value and worth in the Holy Spirit accomplishing God’s purposes through us, we are being foolish.

God’s plan for His people on earth is to use them to reach others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  If you have already become a Christian, then you are an integral part of His plan.  However, if you are one of those people who goes to church, reads their Bible, prays, and does other “religious” stuff, but have never actually placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you are like gypsum – you are a counterfeit Christian.  Jesus said that people like this are “good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”  Going to church and doing religious stuff doesn’t make you a Christian, any more than going into a garage and making car noises makes you a car.  Being a Christian has nothing to do with anything we do, how we act, or what we say; it is all about what Jesus Christ did on our behalf on the cross, and whether we have accepted His gift and applied it to our lives.

The true Christian is like salt.  A Christian’s value and worth are due to the very nature of our relationship with God through the blood of Jesus Christ.  Just as salt cannot make itself salty, nor lose its saltiness, a Christian cannot gain value and worth on his or her own, nor lose it.  Our value and worth come from God’s work in us.  The false Christian is like gypsum.  He or she does not have the “saltiness” that can only come through a relationship with Jesus Christ, and will not be a part of God’s plan for eternity.  The question is, are you a true Christian?  Have you placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ?  Do you have a relationship with Him?  Or, are you foolishly being a moron, and trying to reach Heaven on your own terms?

A Scout is…Kind

I have been involved with Boy Scouting for most of my life.  At the beginning of every Boy Scout meeting, Scouts recite the Boy Scout Oath and Boy Scout Law.  Many Scouts do not realize the connection between the values of Scouting and the Bible.  Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting movement, once said, “Scouting is nothing less than applied Christianity” – (Scouting & Christianity, 1917).

This is the continuation of the series of blogs examining the connection between the values of Scouting and the Bible.

A Scout treats others as he wants to be treated.  He knows there is strength in being gentle.  He does not harm or kill any living thing without good reason.

The sixth point of the Scout Law is, “A Scout is kind.” Kindness is a virtue that is repeatedly encouraged in the Bible.

Dictionary.com defines the word kind as meaning, “of a good or benevolent nature or disposition.”  Kindness involves generosity, compassion, and caring.

The apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 5:22-23, “²² but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”  To the Colossians, he wrote, “¹² Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do” Colossians 3:12-13).

The Boy Scout Handbook describes being kind by saying, “A Scout treats others as he wants to be treated. “  Matthew 7:12 says, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”  The Handbook also says that a Scout “knows there is strength in being gentle.”  Jesus Christ is quoted by Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

In the Scout Oath, a Scout promises to “help other people at all times.”  The Scout slogan is, “Do a good turn daily.”  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:4, “Love is patient, love is kind…”  Kindness is a virtue that is commended by God both in the life of the Scout and the Christian.

The values of Scouting were not simply created by Baden-Powell to reflect the culture of his time.  He strategically chose values that reflect the Christian life as applauded in the Bible.  I thank God that the Boy Scouts of America has continued to uphold these values, despite the pressures from the culture to compromise.  Boy Scouting continues to be a tremendously positive influence on the young men of today, because it continues to hold to the values of the Bible.

Theological Positions I Don’t Understand, Part 3

Losing Your Salvation, or Conditional Preservation of the Saints

According to some, once a person is saved – they have repented of their sin, placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, and received eternal life – it is possible for them to lose that salvation.  This is the Arminian belief that believers are preserved by God in their saving relationship with Him upon the condition of a persevering faith in Christ. If a Christian stops believing, they are no longer saved.

This makes no sense to me.

In order to analyze this position, one must first understand exactly what happens to a person when they receive Jesus Christ as Savior.

Why does a person need to be saved in the first place?  In Genesis, God created humankind (Adam and Eve) to live sinless lives in a perfect relationship with Him.  However, they sinned, and that sin has been passed to all of humanity (Romans 5:12).  Sin separates us from God.  We are all born condemned because of sin (Romans 5:18).

How does a person get saved?  Romans 10:9-10 states, “⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  John 1:12 says, “¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name,”  and John 3:16 says, “¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  So, salvation is based on believing in Jesus Christ and His resurrection, and receiving His forgiveness.

What happens to a person when they are saved?  First, the penalty for the person’s sins is removed, and placed on Jesus Christ, Who paid the penalty for sin on the cross.  Second, they are “born again” (John 3:3-8). When a person is born, their spirit – the part of us that connects us to God – is dead.  When we are saved, our spirit is brought to life.  This is eternal life (John 3:16; Romans 6:23). Third, at the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the new believer; he or she is then sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).  The person becomes a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15).

What does all of this mean?  It means that there is a fundamental change in the person’s nature.  The new Christian undergoes an instantaneous transformation from death to eternal life.  He or she is instantaneously changed from guilty to innocent before God, and immediately saved against the wrath of God.  They are immediately placed into God’s family, and are instantly given the Holy Spirit within them who will guide and direct them.  But, the new Christian does not become instantaneously perfect and sinless. They are still trapped in a fallen, sinful body, with fallen, sinful minds.    But, the process of becoming like Christ – called sanctification – begins immediately.  Christians don’t receive new, perfect bodies and perfect, sinless minds until we arrive in Eternity.

There are numerous Bible passages that allude to salvation being permanent and unable to be lost.  Here is a partial list (links provided for context verification or translation change):

• John 6:35-37  ³⁵ And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. ³⁷ All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
• John 10:27-29  ²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
• Romans 11:29  ²⁹ For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
• Ephesians 1:13-14  ¹³ In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ whois the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
• Hebrews 9:11-15 But Christ came as High Priest … with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption… that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
• 1 John 5:11-13  ¹¹ And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³ These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life,and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

There are several passages that seem to indicate a Christian can lose their salvation.  Under closer scrutiny, each passage can easily be understood to either refer to persons who were never saved in the first place, or refer to something other than salvation.  Here are two of the most problematic:

Hebrews 6:4-6  ⁴ For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

The first question is, what is the context?  The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians of the first century.  The author has just completed a discussion of spiritual immaturity.  He then continues by discussing the consequences of not progressing from immaturity to maturity.

What does Hebrews 6:4-6 mean?  Some would argue that it means Christians can lose their salvation – “fall away” – and can never be again saved.  I disagree; in fact, I believe the author is arguing exactly the opposite.  It appears to me that he is arguing that since it would be impossible for someone to be saved again if they lost their salvation, it is therefore impossible to lose one’s salvation.  In context, the author is arguing that spiritual immaturity cannot result in a loss of salvation!  The author continues in verse 9:  “But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation.”  He is saying that what he just talked about – losing one’s salvation – does not apply to them.  In verse 11, he mentions “the full assurance of hope until the end” – eternal security!  In verse 19, he states that “this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.” Again, our hope – salvation – is an “anchor” that is “sure and steadfast” – eternal.

Another key verse that some claim says that Christians can lose their salvation is Hebrews 10:26:  “²⁶ For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.”  The question is, to whom is this referring?  The saved, or the unsaved?  I contend that receiving “knowledge of the truth” is not the same as being saved.  Many people understand the Gospel message, but reject it.  These are the people Hebrews 10:26 talks about.  The author is saying that when a person fully understands the Gospel, yet consciously rejects Jesus Christ anyway, it makes no difference that they understand.  Belief is more than mere intellectual assent; it involves receiving and applying the truth to one’s life.

There are several other passages that proponents of conditional preservation point to in order to support their position, but a closer examination of each shows that the texts either do not refer to salvation, or else refer to the unsaved, not the saved.

With all of this background information in mind, let us now consider the possibility of losing one’s salvation from a logical viewpoint.  How can a person who has been “born again” become “unborn” again?  How can eternal life become temporary?  If the penalty for sin has been removed by Jesus Christ on the cross, does Jesus give it back to the person if they stop believing?  How can a person who has been eternally sealed by the Holy Spirit become unsealed?

When a person is saved, there is a fundamental change in the person’s nature.  The human spirit, which is born dead, is brought to life.  For a person to lose their salvation would mean that they would have to spiritually die again.  The fundamental change known as being “born again” and becoming a “new creation” would have to be reversed.  The Holy Spirit would have to leave them.  And, according to Hebrews 6:4-6, they could never again be saved.

The Christian is promised eternal life upon trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior.  If this can be lost, then it isn’t eternal.  If a Christian could lose their salvation, then John 3:16 should read, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in and remains obedient to Him should not perish but have everlasting life, as long as they continue to believe and remain obedient.”  However, that’s not what it says.

What then of those who have professed to be Christians, but later deny Jesus Christ?  I see two possibilities.  By far, the most common view is that they were never truly saved in the first place.  Many people have an intellectual understanding of the Gospel, but never actually put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.  I believe these are the people Hebrews 6:4-6 talks about.  Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23:

²¹ “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. ²² 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?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

How horrible it will be for those who understood the Gospel, but never received Jesus Christ as Savior!

The second possibility is considerably more controversial.  I believe there are some true born-again Christians who later change their minds, but are still destined for heaven nonetheless.  I believe some people can come to true faith and trust in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life, but at some later time are deceived by Satan, and intellectually conclude that Christianity is false.  Perhaps they backslide to the point where they no longer care; or perhaps they suffer a hurt so deeply that they blame God, and want nothing more to do with Him.  Whatever the circumstances, they are deceived into the intellectual conclusion that Christianity is false.  However, since they are eternally saved, and have eternally received the Holy Spirit, they will still go to Heaven when they die.  And, since they still are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, Who continues to convict them of their sin and unbelief, they are probably the most miserable people on the face of the earth.  Some of the so-called “angry atheists” may fall into this category.  The only way they can maintain their intellectual atheism is by actively ranting and persecuting anything related to God, the Bible, and Christianity.  I do not think there are many who fall into this category, because it would be extremely difficult for a person to deny the Holy Spirit when He lives inside of them, but I think there are some that do.  How extremely miserable they must be!

In conclusion, I do not understand the belief that a Christian can lose their salvation.  I understand where the belief comes from; but, I don’t understand how it makes any sense whatsoever.  As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:12, “for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”  If eternal life can be lost, then it wasn’t eternal life to begin with.

The Conversion of Patrick Greene

Numerous news sources have recently reported the story of Patrick Greene, the former atheist who converted to Christianity.  Greene grew up Catholic, but became an atheist as a young man.  According to the Christian Post,

He says he used to believe in God as a child too, but that ended one Christmas Eve when the members of his family became drunk. He went outside to play with the family dog, and afterward he looked up at the sky and began to wonder why nothing in nature – the dog, the trees – seemed to treat Christmas as a special day.

“That’s what got me…nothing in nature was acting any differently than any other day of the year,” he said.

He also became disillusioned with the Catholic Church when he discovered there were other viewpoints than the ones he had been taught by the church. He says the church taught him they held the only correct view of things, which he disagrees with.

Patrick Greene

Why did Greene become an atheist?  He had questions about his Christian beliefs that apparently nobody could answer reasonably.  1 Peter 3:15 tells Christians to “…always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.”  Apparently, the Christians around Greene either could not or did not do this.  December 25 is in all likelihood not the actual date on which Jesus was born; it is merely the date His birth has traditionally been celebrated.  Even if it were the actual date, there would be no rational reason to expect dogs or trees to act any different on that date than on any other.   As for viewpoints that differ from the teaching of the Catholic Church, I would actually agree somewhat with Greene’s disillusionment.  Neither the Catholic Church, nor any other denomination, has a monopoly on truth; only the Word of God, the Bible, is 100% accurate regarding the truth.  Human interpretations and understanding of God’s perfect truth contained in the Bible are sometimes flawed, because humans are sinful, and have fallen, limited minds.  Perhaps if Greene’s questions had been answered in a reasoned manner, based on Scripture, he might not have become an atheist in the first place.

Greene has been known as a long-time atheist and somewhat as a militant atheist activist.  He hosted an “intro to atheism” show on a local television station in North Carolina, and has sued several cities for their Christmas displays.  He recently threatened to sue Ray Comfort because of  a bumper sticker from Comfort’s ministry suggesting April Fool’s Day should also be called “National Atheist’s Day.”  He received considerable notoriety for threatening to sue Henderson County, Texas, over a Nativity scene that was placed on public land outside the county’s courthouse in Athens.

A short time later, Greene was diagnosed with cataracts and glaucoma, and discovered he was going blind.  Because of his condition, he had to quit his job as a taxi driver.

A local church, Sand Springs Baptist Church, organized a fund-raising campaign for Greene’s medical expenses and other bills.  This caught Greene completely off-guard; why would the very Christians whose beliefs he had ridiculed and threatened to sue over do this for him?  Because of that act of kindness, Greene reconsidered his beliefs.  Again, according to the Christian Post:

“There’s been one lingering thought in the back of my head my entire life, and it’s one thought that I’ve never been able to reconcile, and that is the vast difference between all the animals and us,” Greene told The Christian Post on Tuesday, as he began to explain his recent transformation from atheist to Christian. The theory of evolution didn’t answer his questions, he says, so he just set those questions aside and didn’t think about them anymore… He eventually began to realize that evolution would never have the answer to his questions, he says, and it was at that time he began to believe in God.

Two things seem to have brought Greene to Christ:  Christian love, and the irrational presuppositions of Atheism.  I’ve written about the irrationality of Atheism in other blogs, so I won’t address it again here.  However, when we look again at the end of 1 Peter 3:15 – “…with meekness and fear” – we get a better understanding of what happened to Greene.  Rather than having a prideful superior attitude toward Greene, local Christians showed gentleness and respect toward him, and demonstrated God’s love in a tangible way.  The Holy Spirit then used these actions to melt Greene’s hardness of heart toward God.

Reactions have varied to Greene’s conversion, both from atheists and Christians.  Some say the only reason he converted is because he wants more money.  Atheist PZ Myers ridicules him and calls him a “crank” and an “idiot,” which is pretty much what Myers calls anybody who disagrees with him.  Many Christians are thanking God for his conversion.  A few atheists are blaming themselves for not helping him more in his time in need, and allowing Christians to show more compassion than they did.

What can the Christian learn from the story of Patrick Greene?  First, we should never give up on anyone.  The Holy Spirit can draw anyone to faith in Jesus Christ – even a long-time militant Atheist.  Second, Christian love and compassion will draw more people to Jesus Christ than criticism and condemnation.  And third, Christians must be able to rationally defend the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 5:43-44 (NKJV):  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

Mexico Mission Trip Update – April 9, 2012

Here’s the latest update on our fund-raising efforts for Stacey’s and Joey’s mission trip to Monterey, Mexico.

We’ve raised $1,344 toward the trip; we still need to raise another $884.  We‘re currently selling Little Caesar’s coupon booklets for $5.  The youth group will be having a rummage sale/car wash on May 19^th.  There are some other fund raisers in the works, but the bottom line is, we could really use a few more donations.

From June 2nd – 8th, 2012, Joey and Stacey have the opportunity to join our church, Fairfield First Baptist, on a mission trip to orphanages near Monterrey, Mexico.  The team will be serving the children in 10 Christian Casa Hogar’s (Children’s Homes), and two churches in the Rio and Cadereyta communities.

Joey

Stacey

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The cost is $1,114 each for them to be able to go.
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Their efforts will include:

• Construction work to improve the facilities, programs, and living conditions
• Sorting and preparing donations for the daily distribution to the children’s homes
• Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ though interaction and relationship building

For more information about the trip and how you can support Stacey and Joey, you can download the flier from my website: http://www.web-ling.com/mexico.rtf.  Even if you aren’t able to make a donation, we covet your prayers, both for the fundraising, as well as for the trip itself.

If you’d like to make a donation, send a check payable to:

Fairfield First Baptist Church

Attn:  Mission Trip

1072 Hicks Blvd.

Fairfield, OH 45014

 Please enclose a note that the money is for Stacey and Joey Wendling.

Thank you for your prayer and support!

Fairfield First Baptist Church is partnering with Back 2 Back Ministries for this mission trip.

Back 2 Back Ministries

He Is Risen!

Matthew 28:1-9

New King James Version (NKJV)

1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. ³ His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

⁵ But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. ⁷ And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

⁸ So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

⁹ And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

Romans 10:9-10

⁹ … if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.