Question of the Week

What Is the Difference Between Temptation and Sin?

Question of the Week: When is the line crossed from temptation into sin?

The difference between temptation and sin is the difference between desire and decision. Temptation naturally produces sin, but there is an intentional distinction between the two. In order to establish an informed understanding of the difference between the two, we will look at how scripture defines both in their own context. We will also then apply those definitions consistently to Jesus of Nazareth and how scripture presents Him as our example.

Beginning with the definitions of Temptation and Sin, Temptation is defined biblically by the Apostle James in his epistle. And fortunately for the sake of the question being asked, he also explains how it relates to sin without necessarily being sinful.

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
James 1:12-15 (NKJV)

James defines temptation as being drawn away by desires and enticed. What you’re being drawn away from and enticed into were explained in the verses that led up to when he provided his definition. The claim that God is the one tempting you is impossible because God by nature can’t be tempted and is incapable of being tempted. This is also true of sin, but we’ll establish that in a separate context. Temptation is drawing us away from God’s nature because it naturally follows that God’s nature wouldn’t be to draw something away from Himself. James then goes on to explain the transition from temptation into sin, showing there is a distinction between the two. Illustrating the conception of a human child, the desire he defined as temptation can produce sin if given time and nourishment. The desire that draws you away from God puts you in a state that is sin by definition.

Sin is an archery term that literally means “to miss.” In the context of biblical morality, to sin means to miss God’s nature. Temptation would be the desire to miss this standard, but not the missing in of itself. A desire isn’t an action, but rather a call to action. The reason a Bible-believing Christian needs to clarify the difference is because Jesus demonstrated this first hand. He was tempted, but did not sin. Therefore, it is not a sin to be tempted.

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:15 (NKJV)

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;
1 Peter 2:21-22 (NKJV)

Peter’s quotation of Isaiah 53:9 in reference to Jesus as well as the author of Hebrew’s point about Jesus being tempted in all ways as we are makes the Christian incapable of concluding that temptation is sinful. Having a desire is something Jesus experienced without sin because it did not draw Him away from the Father’s nature in action or attitude. The desire was there because of His adopting of human nature, but the follow up action of sin those desires were leading Him to were never acted upon because of His nature as God. This is the same premise that James establishes when calling Christians to endure temptation like our Lord did. Through the Holy Spirit, we have the capability of choosing God’s nature above our own.

In conclusion, the differences between Temptation and Sin are as follows;
1. Temptation isn’t sinful. Sin is.
2. Temptation is a desire for separation from God’s nature. Sin is actual separation from God’s nature in action or attitude.
3. Temptation was something Jesus experienced and endured. Sin was something Jesus never committed.

“You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from making a nest in your hair.” -Martin Luther

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

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Is the Bible vague on the topic of Abortion?

Question of the Week: Is the Bible vague on the topic of Abortion?

The simple answer is no. The only mindset that would allow this kind of conclusion is one that doesn’t want to hear the answer. Or at least, wants to avoid a conclusion that is unpopular or uncomfortable. If the Bible is going to be clear or vague about anything, we need to first clarify how the Bible presents information. Once our standard for a proper handling of scripture has been set, we can use it to determine whether the Bible’s stance on abortion is vague or clear.

If our standard for something being clear is for it to be spoken in a yes or no format in plain English, we’re reading the wrong books. The Bible is a collection of books originally written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic in order to record history, present the character of the God of Israel, and verify His authority through predictive prophecy. If we were looking for a rulebook, we’d need to limit ourselves to the laws of ancient Israel given in Exodus 20-24. Obviously there’s more to the Bible then a list of ethics. A Christian isn’t using to Bible to determine what set of rules will make God bless them. We establish our understanding of His character through the witness He’s left of Himself throughout history. From that understanding of who He is, we are given more reasons to trust Him and recognize He will do right by us. The relationship is based on knowing who you love. It’s not about memorizing a list of His likes and dislikes.

All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; Nothing crooked or perverse is in them. They are all plain to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge.
Proverbs 8:9-10 (NKJV)

Now that the Bible has been properly defined, how do we recognize its position about certain issues like abortion? Looking for modern terms like Abortion, Pro-Life, or Pro-Choice are non-starters. They didn’t exist at the time scripture was revealed. We shouldn’t expect them to be used. In order to address an issue based on a Biblical worldview, we have to clarify what the issue actually is. The dividing line for those on either side of the Abortion issue is what defines a human life. Those on the side of abortion do not recognize an unborn child as a human life. Thus the accusation of murder is unfounded based on this worldview. Those against abortion believe that life begins at a point within their mother’s womb, rather than at an undefined point outside of it. If Christian scripture makes truth statements that exclude or promote one of these positions over another, then we can come to a clear conclusion about whether the Bible is vague or not.

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
Psalm 139:13-16 (NKJV)

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5 (NKJV)

“Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.
Isaiah 49:1 (NKJV)

These passages form the foundation of a Christian’s understanding of abortion. In the Old Testament, we have statements made by David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, where in their contexts we have them being known by God in their mother’s womb. Thus having identities. They are all given spiritual callings while still in their mother’s womb, thus having agencies. And they are speaking these words both in and outside of a poetic context. If an observation is made in exclusively a poetic setting, one could claim these aren’t necessarily doctrines. Symbolism could be an alternative. However, Isaiah and Jeremiah are speaking in the context of prophecy. If God’s perspective of human life includes the ability to know, speak to, and identify people while they are still in their mother’s womb, then the premise of a pro-abortion worldview is something God disagrees with.

And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
Luke 1:41-44 (NKJV)

Moving on to the New Testament, we have the plainest opposition to the truth claims a pro-abortion argument puts forward. The mothers of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth are both pregnant with their future children. If they were not yet human, then the only individuals that should be interacting or reacting are the conscious women involved in this situation. Yet this passage claims that a fetus developing within the first trimester was in fact the same Jesus who was recognized as God outside of Mary’s womb. And to verify this, John the Baptist was the one reacting to the presence of his Lord while still in the second trimester of his mother’s womb. There is no room for this passage to be reconciled with the presumptions made by those in favor of abortion.

Is the Bible clear on the topic of abortion? That depends what you mean by clear. If what you mean by clear is that there is a yes or no statement that denounces or promotes abortion in a modern sense, you’re setting up a standard that most legal documents won’t pass. If what you mean by clear is that there are truth statements made in scripture that recognize the life and agency of a child before they are physically born, then it is absolutely clear. The willful ending of a life is murder. If a Christian justifies murder by redefining life in direct contradiction to scripture, they’re not in line with a biblical worldview and would have a hard time applying the same standards to the very things they believe that make them Christian.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4H
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Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.

Is Isaiah 53:5 Talking About Physical or Spiritual Healing?

Question of the Week: Is Isaiah 53:5 talking about physical healing from the effects of disease or spiritual healing from the effects of sin?

Sherlock Holmes had an interesting method of coming to the truth. Once you have ruled out the impossible, whatever is left must be the truth no matter how improbable. In order to understand the true interpretation of this passage, we are going to take a page from Sherlock Holmes and apply the three rules of reading and understanding the Bible. Context, Context, and Context. Does God heal physical diseases? Is this passage quoted anywhere in scripture as the reason someone’s physical disease was healed? And if not, what did the people who witnessed its fulfillment take it to mean?

Does God heal physical diseases? Yes. We have direct reference to Jesus doing exactly that in His earthly ministry. We have further affirmation that the Holy Spirit does this in the church following the Resurrection. And we have celebration of the Father’s goodness including physical healing. This isn’t an area of controversy at all.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,
Psalm 103:2-3 (NKJV)

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
Matthew 4:23 (NKJV)

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
James 5:14-16 (NKJV)

Is Isaiah 53:5 quoted anywhere in scripture as the reason why someone was healed? Old and New Testament examples of people who were allowed to experience physical infirmities for a purpose beyond human understanding wouldn’t apply here, since they took place before Jesus received the stripes that produced access to this kind of healing. (If the text is in fact saying that) We will allow the man born blind in John 9:3 and Job’s physical affliction from Satan in Job 2:8-9 to not apply to this interpretation. The problem is we have people after Jesus’ resurrection that were allowed to remain sick despite this promise being in effect. This leaves us only two possibilities; They were unaware of this promise, or they understood this wasn’t the meaning of that promise. Paul the Apostle was allowed to suffer a physical affliction of the eyes and Jesus allowed him to remain in that state. Paul’s disciple Timothy was encouraged to take advantage of Roman medicine to deal with his frequent stomach problems. And at the end of Paul’s life, he mentions one of his closest companions wasn’t with him due to the fact he was still physically sick. These passages either suggest God failed to keep His promise (the impossible), or that God was promising something else entirely.

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NKJV)

No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.
1 Timothy 5:23 (NKJV)

Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick.
2 Timothy 4:20 (NKJV)

Since we have ruled out the impossible, where is Isaiah 53:5 actually quoted in the context of healing?

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
1 Peter 2:21-25 (NKJV)

The Apostle Peter quotes Isaiah 53:5 in the context of our dying to sins and living for righteousness. This is made possible by the fact that He had bourn our sins on the tree He was nailed to, and died for them. Thus the healing we have before God. The fancy seminary term for this is substitutionary atonement. Jesus was our legal substitute before the Father on our behalf. If God’s justice understands the penalty for sin is death, (Romans 6:23), the mercy of God complimented this further by fulfilling the just penalty of death to the letter. Anyone who trusts in Jesus shares in His bodily death to sin, and thus will also benefit from what followed three days later. He rose from the death free from the power of sin and death forever. An ultimate and permanent healing took place on Jesus’ physical body through the Resurrection. This is something we also participate in through the spiritual healing that redemption has made available to us. That is what the entirety of Isaiah 53 was talking about and we have further quotation from the eyewitness of their fulfillment to confirm it.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4HFollow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucson
Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.

Are miscarriages judgement from God?

Question of the Week: Are miscarriages judgement from God?

The answer is no. Whenever anyone goes through any form of suffering or endures some kind of loss, the first and easiest question we ask ourselves is if we are to blame. Without a solid understanding of the character of God and a sound understanding of how God judges anyone will keep you from this form of self-deception. This will not only keep us from a false view of God, but also prevent us from making an already tragic situation worse.

It is natural to seek solace in the face of something as devastating as a miscarriage. The question we need to avoid asking is the same question Job’s friends asked of him when his suffering didn’t fit their understanding of God. The mindset that God owes a trouble-free life to those who diligently seek Him is an unbiblical assumption to make. Our first foundation to avoid this mindset is the life of Jesus Himself. He died young, was abandoned by His family and friends, was subjected to torture on account of the false accusations of a mob, and endured all of this having lived a perfect life. While Jesus’ death was offered as a ransom for our sins, the things He endured in His earthly ministry had nothing to do with what He deserved or didn’t deserve. People were evil to Him because people are evil. This world was cruel to Him because this world is cruel. It was no more judgement from God for Jesus to endure a difficult life then it would be for us. Since Jesus deserved no judgement from God on account of the ways He lived His life, we can’t informatively conclude the same about us.

When getting into specifics, God’s method of judging sin in scripture is very specific. When the nation of Israel and others were judged in the Old Testament, it followed a specific pattern;
1. A Prophetic Warning is given.
2. A Means of Escape is provided.
3. Judgement Falls on those who reject that means of escape.

Example: Noah’s Flood – Genesis 6:13-22, Genesis 7:1-16
1. Noah is warned of the flood and spends 120 years telling everyone it is going to happen.
2. Noah is told to build an ark available to anyone who wanted to get on.
3. God closes the door of the Ark and only then does the Flood begin.

We can also look at the Judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah, Nineveh, Israel, Judah, Babylon, and dozens of other examples. Without an established covenant that includes an explicit description of the consequences when they violate that covenant, you couldn’t biblically support your circumstances as judgement from God. Even Solomon observed that poor circumstances are a constant regardless of whether you’re righteous or wicked. In fact, Solomon concludes the opposite. The people who actually deserve judgement the most see the least amount of consequences for it this side of eternity.

Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity. Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
Ecclesiastes 8:10-13 (NKJV)

Likewise, it was common for people who were following Jesus to face persecution for doing the right thing. It wasn’t judgement from God anymore than receiving Jesus as our Lord warrants punishment. The world simply doesn’t like those who go against its programs. Paul the Apostle, for reasons he immediately goes on to give, reminds the Roman Church that while they are persecuted, it doesn’t mean God doesn’t love them.

As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 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.
Romans 8:36-39 (NKJV)

He makes the same point to the church in Corinth.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you.
2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (NKJV)

If it can be soundly established that the things we go through in this life aren’t necessarily or even possible to come from God as a form of judgement for the way we lived our lives, the real question is how to properly respond to them. The answer is to grieve. Recognize something horrible has happened and that Jesus will see you through it every step of the way. Take advantage of the people around you, especially in the church, who have gone through similar heartache and receive the necessary comfort. And most importantly, make yourself available to be one of those people for someone else someday.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.
2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (NKJV)

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4H

Follow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucson
Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.

Why do some people get saved in church after hearing certain messages over others?

Question of the Week: Why do some people get saved in church after hearing certain messages over others?

It’s important to remember that the primary goal of church gatherings is not for evangelism. It can include that, but the primary focus of hearing sermons and ministering to each other in fellowship is equipping the saints for evangelism. The pastor’s job is to explain what you have to share. It’s the job of church members to take that information and share it with people who haven’t heard it before.

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:11-16 (NKJV)

The reason some people get saved at certain times over others is because people aren’t robots. People are all individually having, growing, or even developing a relationship with God. This isn’t necessarily happening at a universal rate. Some things may be happening in their lives or have happened in their past that causes them to resonate with or dismiss the information they are hearing about God. It is between that individual and the Lord when they have personally changed their mind about Him and are willing to trust His promises. We can’t assume that people have heard, understand, and are willing to make the same kind of decisions that we have in life. God reaches out to every person individually. If they find themselves coming to a decision in or outside of a church service, the result is what matters. As long as they know salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, where and when they came to that decision is a secondary detail.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4H

Follow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucson
Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.

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What Is the Difference Between Temptation and Sin?

Is the Bible vague on the topic of Abortion?

Is Isaiah 53:5 Talking About Physical or Spiritual Healing?

Are miscarriages judgement from God?

Why do some people get saved in church after hearing certain messages over others?

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