Question of the Week

Does God Give Believers Up To Sin?

Question of the Week: Does God Give Believers Up To Their Sin?

This question is in reference to a passage discussing non-believers. While it is true that God allows His people to sin, the passage being quoted to describe the deeper implications of that would not be appropriate to apply to believers.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
Romans 1:28 (NKJV)

If the act of God “giving up” a believer to their sin is possible in this sense, then they would have been mentioned. The problem is that the verse itself specifically mentions this kind of giving over as a direct consequence of people not liking to retain God in their knowledge. A willful rejection of God does not sound like the behavior of a believer.

How then does God allow believers to sin if it isn’t in this sense? In matters of discipline, we have examples of God allowing His children to see the full consequences of their sin with the intention of ultimately saving them from a worse state down the road. (1 Corinthians 5:4-5) In matters of salvation, we are told that acknowledging the sins we commit are a prerequisite for being forgiven for them. (1 John 1:8-10) And in matters of sanctification, we are told that our struggle against sin is a daily one. (Galatians 2:17-20) In order for there to be a struggle, there needs to be a legitimate adversary. The assumptions that God permanently separates Himself from Christians who fall into even the most grievous sins, that Christians don’t sin after coming to Christ, and that our salvation before God is dependent on our ceasing from sin are not biblical ideas. Our salvation is dependent on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross for the sins we struggle with daily. The fact that there is a struggle proves the Spirit had fundamentally altered our natures from what they were. We can’t allow the legalistic and pride-based assumptions to corrupt our understanding of our relationship with God. The best case scenario is that you deceive yourself into never dealing with your sin because of your unwillingness to acknowledge it as God brings it to your attention. The worst case scenario is that you give up on having a relationship with God that was never properly defined to begin with.

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

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

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Will People Have Scars In Heaven?

Question of the Week: Will People Have Scars or Disabilities in Heaven?

The question is an excellent one because it comes from two completely appropriate assumptions. The first assumption is that Jesus’ glorified body is our model for what we’ll be like when we receive our glorified bodies. (1 John 3:1-3) The second assumption is that since Jesus had physical scars on His glorified body that came from His crucifixion, (John 20:24-29) we have physical scars that came from our time on this earth as well. So far, everything makes sense. However, in order for this conclusion to be valid, both assumptions need to be true. Is Jesus our model for what we’ll be like when we are resurrected? And did Jesus retain all of the physical scars He received during His earthly ministry post-resurrection?

Premise 1: We will be like Jesus in our glorified state.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
1 John 3:2 (NKJV)

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
Philippians 3:20-21 (NKJV)

So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, madeof dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
1 Corinthians 15:41-49 (NKJV)

So far, all of these passages would completely support this premise. John directly compares what we shall be to what we’ll see when Jesus is revealed. Paul notes in Philippians that Jesus will transform our bodies into His glorious body. And also in his first letter to the Corinthians, he directly states that we will bear the image of the Heavenly Man upon our resurrection. This premise is entirely biblical.

Premise 2: Jesus kept all of the scars He received on the Cross.

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:24-29 (NKJV)

This is the only passage we are given referring to Jesus retaining physical scars after His resurrection. When He appears to Thomas, three scars in particular are noted by the eyewitness account. He did, in fact, receive nails in His wrists and a spear wound in His side during His crucifixion. The problem is that these weren’t the only scars Jesus received. He was subjected to a full Roman Crucifixion. If you read William D Edwards’ book “On the Physical Death of Jesus of Nazareth” the Roman historians detail for us everything that entailed someone being crucified. To be crucified according to Josephus, Tacitus, and Julius Caesar’s Gaelic Wars, they describe it universally as a three step process. Stage 1 involved a Scourging at the hands of a Lecter. A Lecter was a professional torturer who would use a whip made of metal balls and shards of animal bones and teeth. They would whip someone to the point where organs were reported to be exposed. Most didn’t survive this stage of the process. Once you were reduced to a state without any skin and severe bloodloss, you would be handed over to the Roman Garrison who could do whatever they wanted with you. Most reports include them playing games like Hot-Hand or other forms of violation. The eyewitness reports of Jesus’ death detail that they put a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head, a robe on his back, beat Him with a makeshift scepter, and then tore off the robe to reopen the wounds of the scourging. (John 19:1-3, Mark 15:15-20, Matthew 27:26-31) Following this abuse from the Roman Garrison, they would then be required to carry their crossbeam a full mile to the site of their execution as their crime was announced on a banner in front of them to warn the rest of the city. (Matthew 27:32-33, Mark 15:20-22, Luke 23:26-32, John 19:17) This was the first stage. Stage two involved nailing the victim to the cross in a position where they’d have to pull up against the nails to breathe. Stage 3 began when the victim stopped moving, and thus wasn’t breathing. A deathblow was delivered to verify their death, which in Jesus’ case was a spear between his ribs. (John 19:31-37)

The only scars Jesus retained from the Crucifixion were during Stages 2 and 3. Isaiah’s prophecy as well as the Gospel’s descriptions of our Lord’s treatment described Him as unrecognizable as a human being. The Resurrected Christ wasn’t completely brutalized as a result of His Crucifixion. We are only told that the scars that Thomas demanded to see were shown to him. Which is what brings us back to how we will model this. Jesus’ scars in His wrists and His spear wound verified God’s Word to Thomas. It served a purpose. Likewise, it will remind the Jewish nation and all others for eternity what He did for us. (Revelation 1:7) God is glorified as a result. It is an assumption unsupported in the text we have of anyone else retaining their handicaps or injuries in a glorified state. We are only told about Jesus retaining specific wounds for a specific purpose. We do not share that purpose, therefore it should be concluded we will not share those wounds.

Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men; So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider.
Isaiah 52:13-15 (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

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Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.

If God Is Against Abortion, Why Does He Allow Miscarriages?

Question of the Week: If God Is Against Abortion, Why Does He Allow Miscarriages?

In order to properly respond to these kind of questions, the reason this objection came up first needs to be examined. If the moral equivocation of Abortion and allowing a Miscarriage are made out to be the same because the result is the death of a child, then there’s no argument to be had. Both of us agree that abortion is ending a child’s life and is therefore a bad thing to consciously pursue.
If the moral accusation is being made against God for violating His own standards by committing murder, the point still stands that the person trying to justify abortion has admitted to it being murder.
And if the moral justification is being made that God ends the lives of children, therefore we also share that right; then the issue is that of clarifying to the person that they do not share exclusive rights that God has.

The goal in any conversation should be for both parties involved to listen to each other. The problem is that like many terms used in arguments in favor of abortion, definitions of terms are changed on a whim. Listening doesn’t mean agreeing. Talking doesn’t mean that there isn’t going to be a conflict of ideas. And conflict isn’t a bad thing when it’s addressing a serious issue. If those in favor of abortion are correct and legitimate rights are being taken away from people in the name of a lie, that needs to be addressed and corrected. Likewise, if those against abortion are correct and human lives are being ended at the hands and will of their own mothers, that also needs to be addressed and corrected as well.

Good Philosophy has to exist if for no other reason than that bad philosophy needs to be answered. -C.S. Lewis

Claim #1: God Allowing a Miscarriage and a Mother Allowing an Abortion are the same thing.

The goal of this claim is meant to prove that if our beliefs are consistent, then we’re believing in a God who permits the same thing that takes place during abortions. We obviously don’t want to disagree with our God. But we need to be careful to define our terms as well. A Mother aborting her child is a decision she consciously pursues. A Miscarriage is not something God consciously pursues. There is not a single example in scripture of God causing a miscarriage in scripture the way those trying to prove its virtue make it out to be. The loss of the child is the only common factor between a miscarriage and abortion. The only assumption being made in both arguments is that a child is being lost, which is what the person supporting abortion is hopefully trying to disprove and not prove. And ironically, that leaves the actual topic of the conversation on the losing end of the person using this to support abortion. If there is actually something wrong with ending a child’s life, then they’ve admitted what the Pro-Life position is trying to prove. At worst, all that’s been established is that God is as cruel as a mother pursuing an abortion for killing their child. At best, they’ve proven that God’s inaction is the same thing as a Mother’s action. Either way, it’s a nonsensical claim to make.

Claim #2: If Abortion is Murder Then God is a Murderer.

The goal of this claim is meant to prove that the act of taking a child’s life is immoral for all people at all places at all times. This includes God. The problem with this attempt to dodge the issue is the same as the previous blunder. It fails to understand that there is a difference between us and God. God can create out of nothing. We can’t. God existed before the universe without a beginning. We didn’t. God is the standard for morality and ethics. We aren’t. God is the giver and taker of life. We aren’t. If the accusation of biblical murder is being leveled against the God of the Bible for ending lives, then at least define the term murder biblically. The only reason why taking someone’s life is ultimately deemed an evil is because it’s taking an exclusive right of God into our hands. If you’re going to accuse God of a crime you decided was evil, He isn’t going to care about your opinions. If you’re going to accuse God of a violation of His character without understanding what is meant by; “God, violation, and His character” then we shouldn’t pay any mind to their conclusions. Ultimately, the problem with this claim is that it falsely equivocates murder with killing, and grants the Pro-Life position the main point it’s trying to prove. People shouldn’t be given the power to determine when their baby dies. That power belongs to God alone.

Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
Genesis 9:5-6 (NKJV)

“The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.”
1 Samuel 2:6 (NKJV)

Claim #3: God Kills Babies So Why Can’t Their Mothers?

Hopefully anyone reading this out loud can conclude why that doesn’t make any sense. In light of what’s been said, the problems the assumptions behind these claims cause for the person trying to prove something from them, and the fact that the real issue is granted to the Pro-Life position in every one of them, these aren’t the kind of arguments that someone trying to justify abortion should make unanswered and uncorrected. Just because God allows something doesn’t mean He’s the cause of it. Just because God does something doesn’t give us the right to do it. And just because a life is ended in one instance without being anyone’s fault doesn’t mean that ending the lives of children in every instance should be viewed the same way.

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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Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.

What Will Heaven Look Like?

Question of the Week: What Will Heaven Look Like?

If you’re looking for a religious text that gives us extensive and sensory-based descriptions of what Heaven in like, the Bible is not for you. When it comes to what we know about Heaven itself, we can count on one hand the number of passages that give us anything as far as a description of what “seeing” Heaven is like. It is for this reason that people who overemphasize its appearance and what it felt like pertaining to the senses should be met with harsh skepticism. This has not and never has been God’s focus whenever Heaven is brought up. In order to have an accurate understanding of what makes Heaven paradise, we should allow scripture to be and remain our authority on the matter.

Fact #1: The Reliable Eyewitnesses of Heaven Couldn’t Describe It

Every Christian’s final authority on what the Afterlife is like should be from the ones who have actually been there. Starting with Jesus of Nazareth and continuing with the eyewitnesses of His Resurrection that spoke with His authority, the Apostle Paul was given credibility by the Apostle Peter (2 Peter 3:15-16) and treated his writings as if they had the same reliability as his own. In one of his letters, Paul described a vision he was given of paradise and said that it would be a crime to put it into human language. To ask what Heaven is like is to ask something so incredible that our very language couldn’t properly express it. Therefore, attempting to do so is either a losing game on our part, or a deception on someone else’s.

It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven.And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
2 Corinthians 12:1-4 (NKJV)

Fact #2: Scripture Itself Isn’t Explicit About What Heaven Is Like

All accounts of Heaven in the Bible are limited to one area of focus. The Throne of God. Ezekiel 1, Isaiah 6, Revelation 4-5, and Revelation 20-21 give us some details, but not enough to come to a complete understanding of everything that is in store for us there. Attempts are made by using the Tabernacle as a model, but its focus is on the same material given in Ezekiel and Isaiah. People point to the streets of gold in Revelation, but fall short when they leave out the fact that this will be part of the new Creation and that this gold is like transparent glass. City gates composed of a single pearl, foundations of a city the size of our moon filled with precious stones, and the like are all things we simply couldn’t compare anything else to in this life. And that’s the point. We can’t compare it to anything. Therefore, we can only go off of what we already know.

But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
Revelation 21:22 (NKJV)

Fact #3: Jesus Himself Described Heaven As “Knowing Him”

What makes Heaven paradise is the fact that Jesus is there. What makes Heaven beautiful is the fact that Jesus is there. What will prevent Heaven from ever getting boring is the fact that Jesus is there. Anything else we attempt to add or take away from what we’re told is settling for less than the best part. Heaven’s greatest feature is something we can already enjoy today. The more you abide in a relationship with Jesus, you’re getting a taste of what will be fully known and enjoyed by us forever. That is why Heaven is so often referred to as Eternal Life. He isn’t offering us a new living arrangement or preserving us for a particular length of time. We’re restored to Eden and are able to enjoy fellowship with Him again. Living forever is one thing. Living with Life’s true meaning and fullness is what will make living forever worthwhile.

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
John 17:3 (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

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Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.

How Do We Have A Relationship With God If We Can’t See Or Hear Him?

Question of the Week: How do we have a relationship with God if we can’t see or hear Him?

This kind of objection had more teeth before the age of the internet. Before we regularly interacted with people in very personal and meaningful ways despite never having physically seen or heard from each other in person, the idea of the “Hiddenness of God” was a stumbling block to some people. The problem with leveling this kind of objection today is that we are all too familiar with exactly how a relationship with Him is possible this way. There are benefits and hindrances to having the kind of relationship with God that doesn’t exclusively depend on sight and hearing. All of which are acknowledged in scripture.

whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory
1 Peter 1:18 (NKJV)

Benefit: The Relationship is Based on His Character

The foundation of all meaningful relationships begin with trust. Trust is something properly determined by proven character over time. God has established this through the promises He’s made and kept. The more He has demonstrated Himself worthy of our trust in history, the more reasons we have to trust His character as a whole. Over and over again in scripture, and in every category, trusting what God has promised was and remains the standard by which the saints experienced a fulfilling and personal relationship with God despite having never seen Him. You don’t need to see someone to know whether or not they’re trustworthy. You just need examples of them demonstrating how worthy they are of your trust. We have this through the historical, poetic, and prophetic observations made throughout scripture.

“And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.
2 Samuel 7:28 (NKJV)

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;
For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
Psalm 9:10 (NKJV)

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NKJV)

Benefit: The Relationship isn’t Coerced through His Majesty

If God were to physically interact with us the way He did in Exodus 19 by physically appearing to Israel, there would be two problems creating in having a genuine relationship with Him. Most people would see His sheer power and submit to His authority out of fear. This isn’t what God wants. He is the source of all power and good things. The lifelong process of sanctification is the miraculous work the Holy Spirit does in our hearts to see Him as the better option above our idols and impulses. If all of this was brought to the surface before a work was done in our hearts to see Him as better, then the moment God’s majesty wasn’t in view we’d just go back to our counterfeits. A physical appearance wouldn’t solve the real issue between us and God. It would just force a surface level acknowledgment of reality and no more. A heart that sees God as wonderful without actually seeing how wonderful He really is, they’ll continue to do so the moment they see their beliefs proven true. This is the fine line between a relationship and being intimidated into service. God wants us to know Him before we enjoy Him to the fullest.

Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all.Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.
1 Chronicles 29:10-12 (NKJV)

Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Revelation 1:12-18 (NKJV)

Hindrance: We don’t enjoy God the way we were created to

Jesus Himself longed for the fellowship He had with the Father for all eternity. As a man and as God, He rightly identified even a superficial separation from the Father as a problem to be fixed. He even told His disciples that they should rejoice that He was returning to the Father. The reason being that to be with the Father is a far better place to be than on this earth. We think the opposite, ironically, for the same reason. We don’t see a physical separation from our loved ones as a good thing even if they’re with someone far better than anyone they could know on this earth. This is the point that is made. Where we are now is less than ideal when it comes to our relationship with God. Scripture doesn’t dismiss that. The key is to use that longing as further incentive to look forward to and prepare yourself for Heaven while there’s still time.

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
John 17:3-5 (NKJV)

You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because ^[h]I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.
John 14:28 (NKJV)

Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Romans 8:23-25 (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.comFollow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucson
Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.

Follow us on our social media platforms!

Does God Give Believers Up To Sin?

Will People Have Scars In Heaven?

If God Is Against Abortion, Why Does He Allow Miscarriages?

What Will Heaven Look Like?

How Do We Have A Relationship With God If We Can’t See Or Hear Him?

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