Tilling and Planting

Tag: Bible

  • Fellowship: Skip?

    Fellowship: Skip?

    Intro

    Do I need to attend church every Sunday? Do I need to do this thing called “fellowship with other believers”? Can’t I stay home from church and do my own private thing with my family? And hang out with who I want and still have a deep meaningful relationship with God and be a “good Christian”? These questions have been asked for a long time. And more people ask them every year. And having known more than a couple of people in my life who have thought this, I wish to communicate why I believe that it is difficult to maintain a deep relationship with God when you neglect to fellowship with other believers.

    Reasons and Dangers

    There are a lot of reasons why you shouldn’t skip attending church on a regular basis. And many dangers and risks that you subject yourself to. The list I’m going to go through isn’t exhaustive, but I think will convey my point well.

    Disobedience to God

    Right off the bat, not attending church regularly disobeys the command of God found in Hebrews.

     And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)

    Here the author of Hebrews makes clear that we are to not give up fellowship with one another. In fact, it even gives a good reason to meet with other believers: to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” and we are to encourage one another.

    Worthy of Worship?

    If someone tells you that they love God and follow Him, but they don’t prioritize going to church to worship Him, what would you think? I see two possible impressions you might have. 1. Does this person really love God? and 2. Is God truly worthy of worship? The first impression is a form of hypocrisy. The second impression is a form of trivializing God and denying Him before men. And there’s a serious danger in that according to Matthew.

    But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:33 (NIV)

    God calls us to proclaim His name to all. But, if we give them the impression that God isn’t worthy of worship, then why should they listen to us?

    Can’t Minister

    Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

    Did you know that attending church is more than going to get your own spiritual needs met? It’s true! When we get together to fellowship, we are called to minister to one another and serve each other in accordance with the gifts we have. So, by skipping church, not only do you lose out on your spiritual needs being met, but you lose on being able to minister to fellow believers. And there are studies that show helping people releases endorphins and thus make you feel good as well. It’s a fantastic mood booster and motivator!

    Along with this is missing out on community. The community of believers in a church opens up opportunities for building deep, meaningful friendships and getting encouragement and healing for yourself and encouraging others. We also learn from each other how to live out our faith and hold each other accountable. God gives gifts to all believers for the purpose of ministering to one another. But you can’t exercise it when you skip church. In fact, without attending church and being in fellowship with others, you (and I) will likely be ill-equipped to know how to properly exercise our gift or feel comfortable using it. After all, we need to learn and practice somewhere. What better place than at church?

    A Foretaste

    Did you know that worshipping with other believers is a foretaste of Heaven? God created us to worship Him and Revelation gives us pictures of Heaven being filled with people worshipping God. So, here on Earth when we gather together to worship God, we are joining with those in Heaven already; thus, giving us a glimpse of what Heaven is like. That’s pretty incredible.

    Spiritual Growth

    Attending church allows for spiritual growth to take place. Whether it’s through hearing something in the sermon that you take to heart and implement or being touched supernaturally by God during the worship or talking to someone about a struggle you have and receiving prayer that heals and encourages you. Attending church and prioritizing fellowship with other believers allows for spiritual growth to take place – the way God intended.

    Unequipped

    So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Ephesians 4:12 (NIV)

    In Ephesians, Paul writes that all the offices we recognize today (evangelists, pastors, teachers, etc.) have the job of equipping God’s people (you and me) to do the work of the ministry. What does that mean? It means that you and I are called to go out into all the world and preach the gospel! The pastors, missionaries, and evangelists can’t reach everybody. You and I must do the day-to-day work where we are at. Our places of work, home life, friends outside of church, etc. And in order to be properly equipped, we learn at the feet of those God calls to preach and teach.

    Character Development

    Ever hear the saying “show me your five closest friends and I’ll show you your future”? This saying demonstrates that the people we spend the most time with have the greatest influence on how our character develops. As a Christian, our desire should be to reflect the character of Christ. In order to do that we need to spend time with Him, both privately and corporately. Doing so corporately allows for you to fellowship with people who might be a bit farther along in life and their faith and can pass you wisdom for the roads you walk. You learn to become godlier when you spend time with people who are godly. I find it truly amazing just how much I grow from spending time with other believers.

    Loss of Discernment

    A big danger of not attending church, is not having a proper understanding of the Word of God. This opens you up to believing in heresy and allowing false doctrines to skew your view of God and consequently, dictate how you live your life (in a less than godly way). I’ve known people over the years who have fallen for things that they never would have just a few years prior to quitting church. It’s a big risk you take not attending church regularly. And if you have any questions about the importance of believing the Bible and its infallibility, here’s a link to my blog about that very subject.

    The worst part about falling into heresy is that it’s usually a slow process. And apart from attending a church that preaches heresy, the process often starts by not attending church at all. This often moves to thinking that the Bible doesn’t have it all right. Then you start picking and choosing what parts of the Bible to take seriously and what parts to ignore. Before you know it, you’re believing something that the Bible explicitly condemns or denies.

    What I’m Not Saying

    I don’t want you to come away from this thinking that you can’t have non-believing friends that you hang out with. Truly the Bible calls us to be witnesses to the unbeliever. And most people come to the Lord through relationship with a believer. Whether that relationship is familial, friends, coworker, etc., having meaningful relationships with people is one of the best was to witness.

    Secondly, if you are physically incapable of getting to church, I’m not condemning you. In those situations, being able to watch services online would be good and having fellow believers come to you and spend time with you and pray and worship with you are all good substitutes.

    Wrapping Up

    If you got to the end with a better understanding of the importance of fellowshipping with other believers, than I have done what I set out to do. It’s my hope that you all prioritize this and help others to do the same. Don’t forget that popular saying found in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” This verse greatly sums up this entire post.

    And one final thing, don’t just willy nilly go to a random church and believe everything the pastor says. Talk to people you know who attend church. Do research and find a church that preaches the Bible and holds themselves to the standards found in it. And most importantly, read the Bible yourself to know if the church is preaching it or not.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • What Age?

    What Age?

    Intro

    If you’ve been around the Christian community long enough, you’ve likely heard the term Age of Accountability. And even if you never heard it put that way, I’m sure you’re familiar with the idea. The basic idea stems from the question, “When are you old enough to be accountable for your sins and thus need Jesus as your savior to go to Heaven?” But where does the innocence that starts at birth end, 5, 10, 12? Let’s take a look.

    The Question

    Most people would agree that infants would have no business going to Hell because they don’t have the ability to grasp simple concepts let alone complicated ones such as theology. This naturally leads us to wonder what happens to infants and other very young children who die. And when they cross that line to needing a savior. As always, we shall turn to the Bible for guidance, but be forewarned, the Bible doesn’t discuss this topic directly. So, we won’t have clear-cut answers.

    Too Young

    I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase “Too young to die.” Whether in a movie or real life, it’s pretty common. And for us as Christians, it creates the question that we need to be ready to answer: What happens to infants and toddlers and other young children when they die? Many a sobbing mother and father have asked some form of this question. And God called us to mourn alongside those who mourn (Romans 12:15).

    God gave us the Bible to lead and guide us along life’s journeys. And to answer our questions about life. So, we should first turn there when we have questions to see what it says. In this case about where these young children go, there isn’t a lot in the Bible that is explicit. But don’t despair! There is hope. There is evidence in the Bible that young children go to Heaven when they die.

    David’s Son

    When David committed adultery with Bathsheba and got her pregnant, God told David that the child would die. And he did. Look at what David said after that.

    But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me. 1 Samuel 12:23 (NIV)

    Notice the phrase “I will go to him”. Here David acknowledges that he will see his son again someday. David was a man who frequently looked forward to the Kingdom of God and eternity with Him. And here David is confident that he will see his son in that eternity. And we have reason to trust David’s faith since he frequently spoke prophetically through the Holy Spirit.

    God’ Character

    Another solid reason for believing in children going to Heaven when they die, is the character of God and His compassion. All throughout Scripture we see God and Jesus loving on children. In various places, God refers to young children as “innocents” (see Jeremiah 19:4-5 for an example). God’s tender mercies and compassion lead to these children being safe in His arms since they cannot understand or comprehend sin.

    Jesus also displayed immense love for children. The most famous example comes from the story of the disciples’ rebuking children and their parents for getting too close to Jesus. And Jesus rebuked His disciples and blessed the children instead.

    Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there. Matthew 19:14-15 (NIV)

    Furthermore, also in Matthew (18:14), Jesus makes this statement “In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these littles ones should perish.” Clearly Jesus and His Father have great love and compassion for the children. And the loving hand of God is the safest place one can be.

    Condition For Salvation

    Yet another reason we can know from Scripture what happens to young children: the condition for salvation. What does Romans say we must do to be saved? We must believe in our heart God raised Jesus and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9). Thinking about an infant, they haven’t even learned their own name yet, so how could they confess Jesus as Lord? No, children that are too young to even comprehend simple things are too young to be held accountable for their actions.

    When talking to the Pharisees in John 9 Jesus put forth a truth that can be easily applied here and sums up this position very well.

    Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” John 9:41 (NIV)

    In other words, if you don’t have the capacity to understand or recognize sin, you are not guilty (or held accountable) of it. This applies very well to infants and other young children who haven’t quite grasped right from wrong or the ideas of Heaven and Hell.

    What About the Unborn?

    How about those who haven’t been born yet? Not to worry! The unborn children fall into the same reasons already listed above. How do I know that? Jeremiah says that God formed him in his mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5) and Psalm 139 declares that we were “knit together” in our mother’s womb and are “fearfully and wonderfully made” and God saw our “unformed body” (vs 13 and on). From these passages and more we can confidently declare that God sees the unborn as human children – even in a physically incomplete stage of life. Therefore, they fall under all the same protections and rules laid out before. This is a great comfort for anyone who has had a miscarriage or an abortion that they regret.

    What About the Mentally Disabled?

    Many people who ask the question about where young children go when they die also ask similar questions about those who have severe mental disabilities, such as Autism and Aspergers and other similar disorders. Personally, I believe that they are covered by all the same things I’ve already talked about. When you think about it, these people have the same mental capacity as very young children and often display those same behaviors. Their ability to grasp complex concepts are severely limited. Consequently, God would grant them the same grace, mercy, and compassion He grants to the children. As someone who has interacted for many years with a couple of different people on the severe end of the spectrum, this brings comfort to my heart.

    The Accountable Age

    So, ultimately, there is no definitive age. It can vary from child to child when they reach the point of understanding and choose to reject God and knowingly choose to do wrong despite knowing and understanding what’s right. While that can sound difficult to hear since some of those kids can still be young, is it any different when that child is all grown up? Every person is a child to someone. No matter the age, a parent has a hard time losing their child.

    Wrapping Up

    Hopefully I answered some of your questions by reading this. Let us remember that one of our chief duties on earth is to spread the message of the gospel to the ends of the earth.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Hell: Eternal Separation

    Hell: Eternal Separation

    Intro

    Man – Woman, Hot – Cold, Up – Down, Heaven – Hell. Opposites. When two things are opposites, there’s little to no similarities between them. In my last post, I talked about Heaven and how we as believers should look forward to it with hope. Today, I’m going to talk about Heaven’s opposite: Hell. Yes, Hell is a real place – and I’ll show that from Scripture – and people really go there. Buckle up. Talking about Hell isn’t for the faint at heart.

    Does Hell Exist?

    The first question I need to address is does Hell even exist? Not all Christians even believe that it does. And if I don’t offer Scriptural evidence, I might as well not bother talking about the rest, because some people might tune it out.

    The short version is that, yes, the Bible does refer to Hell as an actual place. Several verses describe Hell as the place of torment for the unbeliever when he dies. Some examples follow.

    If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut if off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and thrown into the fire of hell. Matthew 18:8-9 (NIV)

    Then the king told the attendants, “Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 22:13 (NIV)

    Notice in these passages how Hell is associated with grief, fire, darkness? Clearly Hell is not a place where you would want to go. As the place of eternal punishment and suffering, you would do well to avoid it at all costs. Jesus used strong illustrations in Matthew 18 to describe the seriousness of it.

    Notice that the examples I gave are both spoken by Jesus. And if you ever need good Scriptural evidence of a particular doctrine, find out what Jesus says about it. While these are only a couple of examples, there are several more I could pull out. But for brevity, I’ll just list the references of a few more: Mark 9:44-48, Matthew 8:12, Matthew 13:40-42. And this is still a partial list. Now I will admit avoiding some very common or popular ones because those reference the Lake of Fire more specifically. And you may be wondering, what’s the difference? I’m glad you asked.

    Hell Vs Lake of Fire

    Many people get a bit confused. What’s the difference between Hell and the Lake of Fire? Are they the same place or different? From what I can tell in Scripture, they are two distinct places. And to quickly set up this next verse, another word for Hell is Hades.

    Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. Revelation 20:14 (NIV)

    This passage is perhaps the clearest in showing that the two are different. After all, you can’t throw something into itself. The passage goes on to say that anyone whose name isn’t found in the book of life will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Since unbelievers are dying every day, they have to go somewhere, and Revelation shows that the Lake of Fire is the final judgment and currently no one is in it. However, Revelation tells us that not only will unbelievers end up here, but Satan and all his angels will too.

    Why Hell?

    People don’t like the idea of Hell, and I don’t blame them. Frankly, I don’t like the idea of Hell. I don’t like the idea of an eternal Lake of Fire where billions will spend all of eternity in torment. But that doesn’t negate its existence. However, I should address the questions of why God would create such a place and how could He send people there, because a lot of people ask them.

    Why Did He Create It?

    First of all, Hell (and the Lake of Fire, but from now on I’m going to lump them into the one word) was not originally created for man, but for Satan and his hordes of demons.

    Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41 (NIV)

    Unfortunately, Hell shows us another example of things that (many) humans experience or will experience that we were not meant to. Other examples of that are we were not meant to life live apart from God, we’re not meant to live a fast-paced stressed-out life, and we’re not meant to live in bodies that suffer various physical ailments. Yet humans experience all these things.

    How Could He Send People to Hell?

    The second question that a lot of people have is how could a loving God send people to Hell? Well, the fact of the matter is that we humans have free will. God created us to make choices. And because of the fall, not all of those choices are good ones. God will not force us to love Him or follow Him. Therefore, there needs to be a place for those who reject God. And when they reject God, they choose to go to Hell. And while that sounds ridiculous, think about it. They spend their entire lives saying, “I don’t want your presence in my life.” So, when they die, why would God force them to be in His presence for the rest of eternity? Hell is the one place where they can spend eternity apart from the presence of God, just like they wanted in life.

    And once you die, it is too late.

    Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, Hebrews 9:27 (NIV)

    Understanding Your Fate

    Something else that is interesting is that in Luke 16, Jesus tells the story of a rich man and a beggar named Lazurus. In this story, Jesus describes the rich man dying and going to Hell and being in torment but notice that he does not ask Abraham (whom he sees in a place of comfort) to get him out, but rather asks for water to cool his tongue – to make it more bearable. This suggests that – at least in the intermediate place of Hell – people will be at least passively okay with being there. At least to a certain degree. Whether that’s more of a resigned “I deserve to be here” or if it goes back to what I said earlier about not wanting to be in God’s presence, I don’t know.

    I see this as a demonstration of his accepting his own fate but understanding that it is a terrible fate, and he has a sense of regret. Consequently, he doesn’t want others to end up with him.

    Abraham’s Bosom

    Now something else I’m going to address (really quick) about this story is the existence of a place of comfort that can be seen from Hell. Referred to as Abraham’s Bosom, the Jews believed that the righteous would go here when they died. And it is true that without going through Jesus, there is no way into Heaven. So, the righteous of the Old Testament would need a place to go that is a place of comfort until Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

    And while the Bible isn’t clear about it, it is likely that sometime after Jesus’ death (and possibly after His resurrection as well), God took those in Abraham’s Bosom up to Heaven to be in His presence permanently (some see Ephesians 4:8 as a reference to this event).

    Wrapping Up

    I hope you see the horror of eternal separation and I hope it stirs you to reach out to loved ones and others with the gospel. I know I need to do better in this area. I’ve got many people in my life that needs to know about Christ. I have not been a very good verbal witness. I say verbal witness because I do believe I live a lifestyle that points to God – or at least is different enough from the world to be noticeable. Let us all pray for strength, boldness, and the words to speak so we can save people from this unspeakable horror and to a life of freedom.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Heaven: Home

    Heaven: Home

    Intro

    Heaven is generally thought of as the place where God dwells and where Christians go when they die. And while this is true, it’s so much more. Jesus describes Heaven as a paradise to the thief on the cross. In Revelation, John describes a sea of glass. He also mentions that Heaven has its own temple and ark of the covenant. And this only scratches the surface. Let’s discover the majesty of God’s dwelling place together.

    Which Heaven?

    This might surprise some of you, but the Bible talks about multiple heavens. Crazy right? Because of that, I’m going to briefly cover all three heavens and then get on with the main event.

    The First Heaven

    The first heaven (not called that specifically in the Bible, but a good label for clarity) is what we call the sky, or atmosphere. James 5:17-18 contains a great example of the Bible calling the atmosphere “heaven”.

    Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. James 5:17-18 (NIV)

    The Second Heaven

    As we move up the list, we also move “up” in a more literal sense. What we call outer space – or the cosmos – is also referred to as “heaven” by the Bible.

    And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon, and the stars – all the heavenly array – do not be enticed into bowing down and worshipping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. Deuteronomy 4:19 (NIV)

    The second heaven consists of all the stars, galaxies, planets, and everything else that exists in the cosmos. There is far more majesty here than in the first. And that pattern continues when we move on to the third – and final – heaven.

    The Third Heaven

    When we get here, we have now entered God’s dwelling place. God sits enthroned above the universe from the third heaven. This is the only one of the three that is explicitly referred to by the name “the third heaven”. Found in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul tells the story of “a man” that he knew that had been caught up to the third heaven. Many scholars believe this man was Paul himself, but because of all the things he couldn’t talk about, avoided questions by not naming himself.

    I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows. (NIV)

    After laying all this groundwork, I’m now going to turn my attention to describing what the Bible has to say about this third heaven and what it means for Christians.

    The Descriptions

    The Bible records various things about heaven including physical descriptions, what life will be like, who will all be there, etc. I’m going to cover some of these and try to show you through these passages the incredible home we have to look forward to.

    What Does Heaven Look Like?

    Humans are visual people. That’s why pictures are so popular. And if you lived before the invention of the camera, it would be paintings – though you had to be fairly wealthy to get one of those. So, it’s no surprise that one of the first questions people have about Heaven is “What does it look like?” And while the Bible doesn’t give details about every aspect, there is some pretty powerful imagery to give us a glimpse of the majesty and beauty of our future home.

    Heaven’s Throne Room

    The throne room of God Almighty is a sight to behold according to John in Revelation 4. Look at the descriptions he gives it. “A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne…From the throne came flashes of lighting, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing…Also in front of the throne was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.” Wow! I’m trying to picture this concept of a rainbow shining like an emerald, and I admit, I have questions. But what I can picture is amazing. And I know that it falls short of the truth.

    The New Jerusalem

    Revelation also gives a description of the New Jerusalem, the city that comes down from Heaven to be the home of the saints for all of eternity. Now you could argue that this is the future home and not the current home. I say, so what? Whether the New Jerusalem will be current Heaven brought to Earth or something God creates (or has created and is currently waiting) as separate, is entirely irrelevant because they have the same designer and are going to have similar majesty and beauty. This gives me confidence that many of the features of this city reflect what Heaven is like today.

    And those descriptions include walls made of jasper, streets made of gold, foundations made of various precious stones, and the gates made of pearls (Revelation 21). Talk about incredible! Talk about majestic! I can’t wait to live there for all of eternity. The majesty of it is only topped by the majesty of God Himself – who will be living there among us.

    What Will We Do In Heaven?

    For some reason, an idea got started and circulated that living in Heaven will be boring because all we will do is sit on clouds, play harps, and maybe fly around and talk to other people. There is so much more than that! Ever hear of the marriage supper of the Lamb? That’s right, there’s food in Heaven! As my pastor likes to say, “If you’re looking for me, I’ll be over by the chocolate fountain.” So, we’ll be chatting with friends and family over food. Coming from the Midwest, this will be both fun and normal.

    Incredible People

    And speaking of talking to others, what’s so boring about that? Being able to hang out with people who have died before you and talking to them. Talking to people in your family tree whom you’ve never met or hardly knew. Or how about talking to Biblical characters? Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, Paul, etc. Or other people throughout history. The Bible indicates that we will see them and be able to interact with them. Talk about all the stories we don’t have written in the Bible. And if you’re worried about seeing someone you had a rough relationship with here on Earth, don’t worry, all things are made new – even relationships.

    Worship In Heaven

    But more importantly, we will worship God. Again, in Revelation, John describes numerous scenes of worship around the throne. Look at Chapters 4, 5, 7, 13, 15, and 19 to see incredible scenes of worship to God and to the Lamb. There will be no end to the worship of God. Does that mean that all we will do is fall on our face and sing to Him? No, how can you eat and sing at the same time? What it does show is that there will always be someone singing in worship. And further, it also shows that worship is more than just singing. It’s a lifestyle. And once we get to Heaven, we will be perfect so everything we say and do will be a form of worship to the one who created us.

    Learning New Things

    The Bible hints that all throughout eternity we will continue to learn and discover new things. New things about God and new things about all that He has created. That’s a lot of discovery and I’m excited about it.

    Who Will Be In Heaven?

    And now, perhaps the most controversial question: Who will be in Heaven? What are the criteria to spend eternity in this incredible place? The reason this is controversial is because no one wants to spend eternity in the alternative to Heaven. Consequently, various religions put up very lax requirements to get to their version of Heaven. Even within Christianity, there are some differences on who goes to Heaven and how you are saved. This post is not about the criteria for salvation – though I’ll get to that at some point since I’ve been covering a lot of the basics since I started blogging – so I won’t go into the details about that.

    Those Included

    That said, here’s some verses that tell us exactly who gets to go to Heaven.

    And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV)

    Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 (NIV)

    Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3 (NIV)

    A good summary of these verses is that only those who are children of God, or born again, will be in Heaven. Again, I’m not going to define all that it means to be born again, or saved, or even “what about the Old Testament saints” question. I’ll address those at a later time.

    Those Excluded

    Equally important to know is who won’t make it into Heaven. People you see here will not enjoy God’s presence for eternity and will instead suffer for that same period.

    Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Revelation 22:15 (NIV)

    Anyone who loves and practices these things (and this isn’t a comprehensive list) will not be enjoying the marriage supper of the Lamb. Of note, it says those who love and practice these things. If you are someone who struggles with it and are praying through it and fighting to be free, be rest assured that this verse does not apply to you. It applies only to those who do it, love it, and have no intent or desire to change.

    And I bring to you a warning as well. A warning found in Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Beware that you do not fool yourself into believing you are good just because you “do good works for God”. It may be good. But is it what God asked you to do? Are you in His will? Do you truly know Jesus? Or are you trying to earn your way into Heaven?

    Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7:21 (NIV)

    Wrapping Up

    While we’ll never fully comprehend heaven here on earth, the Bible gives us a glimpse that gives me assurance that no matter how bad it gets here, this world is not our ultimate home. Take confidence in that, my brothers and sisters. Let that knowledge fill you with hope today.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Replacement Theology

    Replacement Theology

    Intro

    I apologize for the one-day delay of this post. I had a lot going on this past weekend and wasn’t able to finish it Monday evening. But here it is. So, without further ado. In my last post (catch up here) I talked about God adopting us into His family. I also mentioned an erroneous way of thinking called Replacement Theology. This belief supposes that God rejected the Jewish people and that the Church replaced them. No room for coexisting as people of God. With today’s growing Anti-Semitism in the world, the church needs to be the Jewish people’s strongest supporters. That’s why I feel the need to address Replacement Theology.

    The Theology

    I’ve already given a short definition of Replacement Theology. But I’m going to expand upon it here. Replacement Theology is the idea that the Church replaces the Jewish people as God’s chosen people. When the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah, God rejected them as His people. And God transferred any prophecies and promises that were written for Israel to the Church.

    The Text

    When it comes to truth claims, there needs to be something to back it up. And when it comes to doctrines of the Christian faith, that something needs to be in the form of Biblical text. So, what Scriptures do proponents of Replacement Theology use to back up their claims? The major ones include Matthew 21:43, Romans 2:28-29, Romans 9:6-8, Philippians 3:3, and Galatians 6:15-16. I intend to go through each of them individually and show where they are skewed to say something they don’t. Then I’ll offer up a more accurate interpretation based on larger context. And context is so important when it comes to interpreting Scripture. False doctrine always crops up the moment you take something out of context.

    Matthew 21:43

    Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. (NIV)

    Knowing that Jesus was talking to Jews at the time He made this statement, one could conceive that Jesus was telling the Jews they were no longer God’s chosen and were being replaced. However, let’s back up and find the context. In verse 23, the chief priests come up to Jesus (who was teaching in the temple courts) and challenged His authority. Jesus responded to that challenge and then proceeds to tell two parables. Verse 43 comes after Jesus tells the Parable of the Tenants (verses 33-39). Afterwards He asks the priests what the master would do to the tenants. They answer that the master would kill those wicked tenants (verses40-41). Jesus then not-so-subtly compares those priests to the wicked tenants (verse 45).

    When you take in the wider context of the passage, you see that the people losing the kingdom of God were those who were regarded as the Spiritual leaders of Israel. And their chief responsibility was to guide the Jews to God and worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. But they failed. Therefore, God was replacing the “Spiritual leaders” of that day with those who would do what God desired them to do and lead people in accordance with the will of God. And that replacement doesn’t exclude Jews. After all, the early church was exclusively Jewish for a time.

    Romans 2:28-29

    A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God. (NIV)

    Proponents claim that this Scripture teaches that an unsaved Jew is not a Jew at all and therefore has no claim to any blessings or promises of God. But this is not the case at all. To claim that would be to make God out to be a promise breaker (more details in a later section). A major topic found in Romans is that the Jewish law cannot save and cannot give people true righteousness. That’s why Jesus came and died as the perfect Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. And that’s what this passage is on the heels of. Verses 17 through the end of chapter 2 talks all about the Jews and the Law. Here, Paul is saying that to be a Jew that truly pleases God, you must be circumcised in the heart, not just in the flesh.

    As Isaiah 64:6 puts so eloquently, “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (NIV). Paul argues time and again that what we do in the flesh is simply not enough. The Law – though good as it is – cannot save us. We need Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile, we need Jesus. That’s all he’s saying here in Romans. To claim anything else is quite a stretch.

    Romans 9:6-8

    It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. (NIV)

    Romans 9:6-8 really could sound like Paul saying that the church has come in and become “Israel”. Even though they may be Gentiles and not Jewish by blood. However, the broader context here demonstrates Paul’s love for Israel, even though Israel has by and large remained unrepentant and has rejected Christ. In earlier verses (3-5) Paul makes note of the benefits of having received the covenant, the law, having the patriarchs, etc. Paul’s clear that it is of great benefit to be a Jew. So why would he suddenly say, “but the nation of Israel has been replaced by the Church, so there’s no real reason to be proud of your Jewish heritage.” Talk about contradicting yourself!

    Here Paul expresses that just being a Jew does not make one saved. And simply being a descendant of Israel or Abraham does not automatically make one an inheritor of all of the promises of God. Paul used the examples of children of Abraham that did not inherit all of God’s promises to Abraham. Ishmael is the best-known son of Abraham that didn’t inherit the promise, but Abraham also had 6 other sons besides him and Isaac. And yet, only Isaac inherited the promises. Going down the line a bit further, Jacob inherited the promises from Isaac while his brother Esau, did not.

    Once again, Paul makes no claim that the church replaces Israel. He’s arguing as to why the Law and simply being a Jew isn’t enough to be saved. There’s more to it than that, the Jews need Jesus just as much as the Gentiles.

    Philippians 3:3

    For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh (NIV)

    Again, people misconstrue and twist this passage to make the claim that the Church replaced Israel. After all, the “we” refers to Christians. And these would have been Gentile Christians to boot. Then of course you have the statement of being “the circumcision”. And since circumcision was the physical sign of being a Jew – of being one of God’s people – it could certainly sound like Paul’s making the argument that the Jews are no longer God’s people. In this passage, Paul is merely saying that the believers fulfill the spiritual meaning of circumcision. We don’t need to be physically circumcised to serve God and be counted among His people. By accepting Christ, we become spiritually circumcised.

    Furthermore, this passage comes immediately after Paul gives a warning about “evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh”. Paul is addressing a group of Jewish believers spreading the false teaching that Gentiles had to be circumcised in order to be saved – in addition to believing in Jesus. Hence why Paul explains that true circumcision – in regard to serving and pleasing God – comes from Holy Spirit circumcising the heart.

    Galatians 6:15-16

    Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule – to the Israel of God. (NIV)

    Proponents twist the phrase “the Israel of God” to make the claim that it’s referring to the Church. Now Paul did use “Israel” in a bit of a broader sense here, but he’s still not saying that the Church replaced Israel. The passage here says much the same as the passages from Romans. Being a Jew, being circumcised doesn’t make one saved or an automatic inheritor of the promises of God. What matters is accepting Jesus as Lord and being made into a new creation. Paul addresses this more than anything else (at least it certainly seems that way!) throughout his many letters.

    After all this, I now turn my focus to defend the Jewish position in the eyes of God by bringing out passages that clearly demonstrate God’s ongoing love and faithfulness toward Israel.

    The Defense

    Contrary to what proponents claim, God has not rejected Israel. The New Testament declares His support and love all over. I’m only going to give you a few examples.

    Romans 3:1-4

    What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (NIV)

    Paul points out here that even though some Jews don’t believe God, God’s faithfulness to His people and to the promises He made to their ancestors remains. And we can see this throughout the Old Testament as well. Especially in the book of Judges. The Israelites repeatedly turned their backs on God and He continued to honor His covenant and rescue them when they cried out to Him.

    Romans 11:1-2

    I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. (NIV)

    “By no means!”, Paul says, did God reject His people. We find a similar phrase in Romans 11:11 “Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all!” (NIV). Paul dedicates a lot of Romans to defend the Jewish nation while also showing how the Gentiles fit in God’s Kingdom. And he makes it clear that God has not and will not reject His covenant people.

    Old Testament Prophecies

    In addition to the New Testament passages, the Old Testament prophets prophesied many things concerning Israel that have not been fulfilled. The borders of Israel as promised by God are much larger than anything Israel controlled in its history. And as you’ll see in the next section, assuming that the Old Testament prophecies and promises can be transferred to the church is inherently dangerous.

    The Dangers

    Choosing to adhere to Replacement Theology brings with it some inherent dangers. They’re not obvious from the surface, but all it takes is a peek under that surface, a following to the logical conclusion that exposes these. Here’s but a few.

    God as Promise Breaker

    Replacement Theology misrepresents God as one who breaks His promises. The Bible states that “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he not speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”, Numbers 23:19 (NIV). And logically, if God breaks promises like any man, how can we be confident in our own salvation – which is the whole point of Romans 9-11? The claim that Old Testament promises and prophecies have been transferred to the church makes those promises broken promises.

    Anti-Semitism

    Replacement Theology led to many anti-Semitic policies and actions within the church, which spills out into the rest of the world. This encourages violence against the Jewish nation. And violence against any human is sinful in God’s sight. And God frowns upon encouraging such violence just as much as actually committing the act.

    Revulsion Towards Jesus as Messiah

    Replacement Theology brings many Jews to revulsion at the idea of Jesus being their Messiah. The Church is supposed to provoke Israel to jealousy to come back to God and embrace their Messiah (Romans 11:11).

    Reduced Understanding

    Replacement Theology results in there being a smaller number of Jews coming to faith. Which in turn leads to a lack of people more knowledgeable about the language, culture, Mosaic and rabbinic law and tradition that would greatly benefit the Church.

    Mocks Old Testament Promises

    Replacement Theology actually makes a mockery of Old Testament promises. You can spiritualize some promises, but not all of them. The land that God gives to Israel is a great example. Genesis and Ezekiel lay out the borders of the promised land (much larger than what Israel has ever actually controlled by the way). So, how does this promise get transferred over to the Church?

    Reduced Evangelism Among Jewish People

    Replacement Theology birthed an even more dangerous theology: Two Covenant Theology. Two Covenant Theology supposes that the Jews and Christians related to God via two different covenants. You’ve got Judaism for the Jews and Christ for the Gentiles (and any Jew that wants to follow Him). This led to a drop in attempts at evangelizing the Jewish communities across the world. Which is worse than Replacement Theology! At least Replacement Theology encourages reaching Jewish people for Christ. Two Covenant Theology says that Jews already have a right relationship with God and don’t need Jesus at all!

    Wrapping Up

    Coming to the conclusion, I hope you see that Replacement Theology is not only wrong, but it’s dangerous. And I hope you can see that God loves His chosen people now just as much as He did when He brought them out of Egypt. And God’s plans for them are far from over.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!