Tilling and Planting

Tag: Grace

  • Sin: What’s the Big Deal?

    Sin: What’s the Big Deal?

    Intro

    Everyone knows what the church preaches against. Sin. Traditional churches especially have this reputation of talking more about the “don’ts” of the Bible than anything else. They make sin out to be this really big deal. And you know something, they’re right. It is a big deal. And while I don’t think the church should be known more for what it’s against than what it’s for, we also need to remind people that sin is sin and it really is a big deal to God.

    That being said, we probably need a good definition of what sin is and why it’s such a big deal.

    Sin Defined

    To understand why sin is such a big deal, we first need to have a good, working definition of sin. People will frivolously throw out a really simple, basic definition of “whatever the Bible says don’t do” or “bad things you’ve done” or “anything that displeases God” or even “disobeying the laws of the land”. And while these are all technically true, they still don’t tell you much. After all, what defines “bad things”? And different countries have different laws that might actually contradict each other, so that’s a problem. And how do you know what “displeases God”? Ultimately, we need to come back to the Bible’s definition of sin. So that’s where we’ll start.

    The Biblical Definition

    There are a couple of good passages that define sin as rebellion against God (see Deuteronomy 9:7) and lawlessness.

    Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.

    1 John 3:4

    So, sin is equivalent to lawlessness. What is lawlessness? Lawlessness is continually breaking the law without any regard for it. However, this begs the question, who’s law? The answer is God’s law. For the Jews that meant the Mosaic law. And while we as Christians do not need to follow all the religious laws (the purity rituals and sacrifices to name a couple), there are plenty of moral laws found in the Mosaic law that we are still to follow, such as the Ten Commandments.

    So, yes, the definition of “whatever the Bible defines as sin” is true. But it’s a matter of knowing where to look. The letters of Paul are really good for calling out different kinds of sin and showing what parts of the Mosaic law are not necessary for the Christian. In addition, the Sermon on the Mount also contains teachings on the standard of living God calls us to (Matthew 5-7 can also read my posts all about these chapters here).

    To dig a little bit deeper, the Greek word for sin is “harmatia” and means “to miss the mark”, that mark being perfection. So, sin is breaking God’s law and not reaching His standards of perfection. That’s a pretty tall order. And in a later section I’ll discuss just how serious sin is in God’s eyes. But first – to clear up any potential confusion that might be out there – I want to address a couple of synonyms the Bible uses for sin and how they are similar, while also being distinct.

    Some Other Words

    The Bible doesn’t just use the word “sin” when talking about sin. You’ll also see words like “trespass”, “transgress”, and “iniquity” – along with different forms of these words. So to provide a bit of clarity, trespass and transgress are equivalent in their meaning. I think most of us know what it means to trespass (hint: ever see a “No Trespassing” sign?) and to transgress means the same thing. They’re crossing a boundary you are not supposed to cross. Iniquity is making a premeditated choice to sin and then continue in that sin without repentance. For this one you can think of a serial killer. Just over and over choosing to commit the same sin (murder in this case) without remorse and without repentance.

    Different for Different People

    Now all this is great, but doesn’t constitute a list of all possible sins. And it’s not supposed to. My intention is not to tell you what all possible sins are. Because frankly, that’s not possible for me to do (especially in a roughly 2,000 word blog!). I already mentioned the letters of Paul are really good for these since he constantly had to deal with sin in the Church. And to make it more interesting, James and Paul both have some fascinating things to say about what constitutes sin. And spoiler alert, it can be different for different people.

    If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

    James 4:17

    In this passage, James challenges believers that if they know they should be doing something good, and they don’t do it, then it is sin for them. I want to point out the phrase “sin for them”. This means that James is not talking about blanket “do good deeds” for all people. He’s referring to specific deeds that Christians feel called to do. He’s saying if God tells you (specifically you) to do this good deed, and you do not do it, that is sin. Because that is in direct disobedience to what God has told you to do. This passage comes at the tail end of rebuking people for arrogantly going about doing things without consulting the Lord and trying to live life on their own terms. James also calls this out as wrong. Now let’s turn to Paul’s statement in Romans.

    Eating Food?

    Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.

    One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

    Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.

    Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.

    So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

    Romans 14:1-2, 5-6, 13-15, 20-23

    Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here. First off, Paul is addressing Jewish believers who say that because of Christ, there is no unclean food and they can eat it all. And even Paul says that he is of that mindset. However, there were Jewish believers who still believed that they couldn’t (shouldn’t) eat unclean foods. And Paul tells those who are okay with eating anything that they should not condemn or judge those who refuse to eat them. Everyone is in a different place and Paul tells those that are okay with it that it would be sinful for those who aren’t to eat unclean food while they still struggle with the idea of eating it. Notice that it’s not sinful for those who think it’s okay, just for those who think it’s not okay.

    For us today, that would be like Christians drinking alcohol. Is it sinful? That depends on who you ask. I know plenty of Christians who have no problem with drinking a beer every now and again. They don’t get drunk, because the Bible explicitly calls that out as sinful. However, there are also Christians (myself included) who won’t touch it at all because for them it would be wrong.

    Notice what is wrong for those who are okay with it. I already referenced the judging and condemning – which are wrong – but Paul also says that being a stumbling block is wrong. To be a stumbling block would be to cause another believer to sin. In Paul’s day that would be pressuring others to eat unclean food, for today it would be pressuring someone into trying a beer when they are convicted that they shouldn’t.

    From Faith

    Paul also says that anything not done from faith is sin. What does that mean? Well without faith it is impossible to please God. And I’ve already defined sin as anything that breaks God’s law – which displeases him. So breaking God’s law is equivalent to doing anything not done from faith.

    Oof. That was a lot. Now let’s turn to the seriousness of sin and why it’s such a big deal.

    Seriousness of Sin

    So now that I’ve defined sin, what’s the big deal? Let me go back to my statement that sin breaks God’s law. As well as my statement that sin is missing the mark of perfection. Why is that a problem? Well, the only way to be in God’s presence is to be perfect. Sin cannot enter His presence. In fact, Jesus commands us to “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48 NIV).

    Okay, so sin is big deal because we can’t live with God for all of eternity because of it. Well, yes, but it’s goes further in that we can’t even have a relationship with God because of sin. The Bible indicates that sin creates a barrier between God and humans (Isaiah 59:2). It’s kind of like when someone you trust lies to you and breaks that trust. It damages the relationship and can be difficult to mend it again. In a similar way, the sin of Adam and Eve broke the relationship between God and mankind. And all mankind has inherited that tendency toward sin ever since. Consequently, our sin dooms us to Hell and the Lake of Fire for all of eternity – totally separated from God. It’s pretty messed up. So what can be done?

    The Solution

    Hebrews 9:22 says that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”. That’s why the animal sacrifices were instituted in the Old Testament. The shedding of the blood of animals temporarily covered and forgave the people’s sin. It was a brutal, bloody, way to receive forgiveness, but it was what God required of them. However, if you read through the entirety of Hebrews 9, you’ll see that while those could cover the sin temporarily, it could do nothing for the guilty conscience or give people the strength to overcome their natural tendencies to sin. And God knew that. That’s why the entire Old Testament points to a newer and better covenant where God would totally forgive all sins and cleanse people’s hearts and minds of sin.

    The Old Covenant was sealed in blood sacrifices. A lot of them. The New Covenant was also sealed in a blood sacrifice. Notice I made that singular? Because only one was needed. Because the one who sacrificed Himself was Jesus Christ – God in the flesh. Jesus never sinned and never inherited the sinful nature from Adam. Therefore, He had no sin of His own to die for. God actually took all the sins of all the people for all time (past, present, and future) and laid them upon Jesus when He hung on the cross. And Jesus bore the sins and then bore the wrath of God so that you and I don’t have to experience God’s judgment upon our sin (I cover this more in one of my Easter Posts).

    How Serious?

    So how serious is sin to God? Serious enough to send His only Son, Jesus, down to die the most brutal type of death found in human history and bear the weight of all sins from all time and bear the entirety of God’s wrath and judgment upon sin – all so you and I can have a relationship with God. Wow. That’s intense. So, yes, sin is a very big deal to God. However, if you are saved and have a relationship with Him, He no longer sees your sin, He sees the righteousness of Jesus which covers your sin. Now that’s incredible. God transferred your sin to Jesus, in order to transfer Jesus’ righteousness to you.

    Wrapping Up

    I hope this post gave you a bit of clarity when it comes to sin and what it is. As well as why God sees it as such a big deal. God longs for us to be in relationship with Him and He fought for us to be able to have the opportunity to be in right standing with Him. And He still fights for us today. Let us praise and worship our God who loves us so unconditionally even when we mess up. All He asks is for us to come to Him and repent and He will restore our relationship with Him.

    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!

  • Beatitudes of Jesus

    Beatitudes of Jesus

    Intro

    When I say “The Beatitudes”, I think you all know what I’m talking about. They are the opening statements of Jesus’ most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. They have been immortalized in so many different ways that I couldn’t count them if I tried. The number of sermons preached about them and in so many different ways is only known by God. Even in our culture that wants nothing to do with God, a few of these can still be found in some form. And yet, despite all this, many people don’t fully understand what Jesus was telling the people of His day – much less what He’s telling us today. And as my pattern has been for all my posts, I aim to bridge the gap between knowing about Biblical truths and understanding Biblical truths.

    Just to give you a heads up, this post is the opening to a series of posts on the Sermon on the Mount. Stay tuned! There’s going to be quite a few, so subscribe if you haven’t so you don’t miss a single one (it’s free!).

    The Beatitudes

    First of all, some review. What exactly are the Beatitudes? They were a series of blessings that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 5 – the opening to His Sermon on the Mount I referenced. Jesus gives these as a roadmap to living a God-pleasing life. They are also promises of values that lead to prosperity and salvation. By following the principles laid out in the Beatitudes, Christians can live a life pleasing to God and positively impact the world around them.

    However, it is worth noting that many of these would have shocked Jesus’ listeners as they go against what they had been taught in Synagogue. One person I read describes them as “laser-guided bombs” and “grenades”. Which is pretty heavy stuff. As I go through, I’ll point out any I can find that differ from what the culture expected.

    Oh, by the way, I’ll be posting snippets of the passages as I go, but if you want to follow along with the entire thing, here’s a link to the whole passage: Matthew 5:1-12. All of these will be in the NIV.

    The Poor in Spirit

    Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (V3)

    I mentioned that when Jesus spoke these, they were not what His listeners expected. Here’s a great example of one. The Jews believed that because they were descendants of Abraham, they had the Kingdom of God. But Jesus didn’t say that. He also didn’t say Jews or Pharisees, or even good, moral people. He said the poor in spirit, that’s who inherits the Kingdom of God.

    And just what does it mean to be “poor in spirit”? It means humility. Specifically people who admit their fragile nature and choose to lean on God and let Him change their lives. It’s those who recognize that they have a spiritual need that the law – or their own good deeds – cannot fulfill and cannot save. When you humble yourself before God and admit your need for Him, you will see His Kingdom manifest in and through your life.

    The Mourning

    Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (V4)

    The mourning described here isn’t necessarily a grieving over someone (or something) you’ve lost. The type of mourning Jesus describes here is a mourning over sin. God promises His people in the Old Testament that anyone who mourns over the sins of Israel will be comforted. I think Jesus echoes that here, but for those of us Gentiles (and in light of the new covenant), Jesus is also calling out those who mourn over their own sinful state.

    But it can also be applied to those who mourn for other people in our lives. That kind of mourning leads to us reaching out to others to provide encouragement. Or even to bring witness to them about the love of God.

    I don’t think this one shocked the listeners so much – just because of the Old Testament parallels.

    The Meek

    Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (V5)

    All too often people associate meekness with weakness. But that’s just not the case. I actually covered this definition in my post on the Fruit of the Spirit. Here’s what I had to say about meekness there.

    When applied to wild animals, the Greek word actually means “tame”. In other words, the wild animal has not lost any strength. But it knows how to control it and when to use that strength….And we must be like that. Humble, knowing our strength, but not lording it over people.

    Those who choose to be meek and submit to God’s will can expect peace and tranquility in the next life when the earth is remade.

    I could see some people being shocked by this one. After all, the religious leaders tended to lord their authority over the common people. And that’s nothing compared to how the Romans lorded their authority and strength over the conquered people. Furthermore, the people at this time were looking for a conquering Messiah to rescue them from oppression. So the idea of being meek and inheriting the earth likely sounded foreign to many of those listening.

    The Hungry

    Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (V6)

    In our next of the Beatitudes, we have the people who hunger and thirst after righteousness. These people long for virtue in their lives. They recognize that they have no righteousness of their own and need to rely on God’s righteousness. People who hunger after this rely on God’s righteousness for salvation, for transformation, etc.

    Pharisees and other religious leaders likely felt stung by this one. Jesus tells them here that their self-proclaimed-righteousness does not make them blessed.

    The Merciful

    Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (V7)

    Luke writes that we must “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Jesus tells us by showing mercy to others, we ourselves will be shown mercy. Mercy from others and mercy from God Himself. How do you show mercy? By caring and acting for the good of others, especially when they don’t deserve it nor can repay it. After all, God in His mercy sent His Son to die for our sins. How can we repay such an act? And if we are to be merciful as He is, then we should perform acts of service towards others when they can’t repay us.

    Taking it a step deeper, this includes forgiving others even when they aren’t sorry for whatever they did to you. And I think this is one of the things that would have made it difficult for those listening to Jesus to accept this statement. After all, the Law of Moses allowed for retribution in different ways – depending on the offense. This will actually come up in a later post, Jesus addresses this more directly later on in the Sermon on the Mount.

    The Pure in Heart

    Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (V8)

    The pure in heart. First thing to say about this is that it does not mean free of all wrong thinking or sin. Which is good, because otherwise this blessing would be next to impossible to receive. Rather to be pure of heart means you are free of selfish purposes and self-seeking motivations. It means your heart is undivided, you’re going after one thing and one thing alone. And when you are free of selfish ambitions and are in genuine pursuit of God, you will find Him. And He will cleanse your heart and will fashion His righteousness and character in you.

    It’s pretty easy to have a divided heart. Just look at all the stuff around us to distract us. All in pursuit of “The American Dream”, whatever that is. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day certainly had divided hearts. They loved attention, wealth, power, etc. And they desired to be perfect in the Law and obtain salvation to be with God forever. I imagine there might have been some who felt like Jesus targeted them with this one. Some might have even felt a tug of conviction on their hearts.

    The Peacemakers

    Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (V9)

    I like this one a lot. Mostly because I feel like I am one of these peacemakers. As a kid/teenager, I mediated arguments and debates between my sister and her friend. It seemed all my sisters would come to me to vent any frustrations they had with any of the other sisters. And that continued for a long time. And I’ve taken different types of personality tests, and if any of the defined ones included something about striving for peace and harmony or had the label “Peacemaker”, I always got it at the top. Never failed. I always seek to live a peaceful life. Peace between me and everyone around me. And I want others to live in that as well, so I’ll do what I can to help others achieve that. And this is what Jesus is talking about here.

    However, in order to do this we need to cultivate peace within ourselves. We can’t give to others what we do not possess. And this has been an up and down in my life. I don’t always have the peace I need and desire in my life. But I continue to strive for it and pray for more of God’s peace in my life.

    The other thing that falls in this one is sharing the truth of God’s peace and love with other people so they can achieve peace in their own lives. And peace does not mean perfect lives with no conflicts, but it does come with it a sense of “Everything will be okay” as God spoke to me.

    Jesus’ use of the phrase “children of God” likely caused a stir. After all, as children of Abraham they’re also children of God. Right? Not according to Jesus.

    And now we turn to the last of the Beatitudes.

    The Persecuted

    Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (V10-12)

    The last of the Beatitudes is one of the hardest to swallow. After all no one wants to be persecuted, right? No one wants people jeering them or hating them simply because of their beliefs. But Jesus promised that we would face persecution in this world. He never said it would be easy, in fact He said the opposite multiple times (John 15:20-21; John 16:33). Of all the Beatitudes, this one probably makes the least sense in terms of being blessed. But rest assured that in the end, we will receive great reward for enduring such persecutions. And in the short term, the Spirit of God remains with us and draws us closer to Him in those moments of trial. That’s a blessing in and of itself. Praise God!

    And for the Jews, persecution was normal from the Romans. So this one for sure would have stung. As I said, it makes no sense that there could be blessing in persecution. And then His statement that it would be on His account. Not because of being Jewish, but because of being followers of Jesus. That’s radical, unless of course you intend to revolt against the social norms. Which is precisely what Jesus did. And what He expects us to do. Don’t follow society, follow Jesus. Expect ridicule and other forms of persecution, but hold steady. You are and will be blessed.

    And that’s the Beatitudes in a nutshell. Peace be upon you all and stay tuned for my next post on the Sermon on the Mount.

    Wrapping Up

    By taking to heart all that Jesus said here in these Beatitudes, we can find peace, comfort, and a practical guide on what Jesus looks for in His followers. I hope that you all will seek after God and submit to Him that way you can see all these things manifest in your own life. God bless!

    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!

  • Jesus’ Triumph

    Jesus’ Triumph

    Intro

    After my last post I wouldn’t blame you if you felt a little depressed or defeated. The Son of God betrayed, beaten, crucified, died, and buried in a borrowed tomb. That’s rough. The disciples certainly felt depressed and defeated. They scattered while Jesus hung on the cross. Fearful for their lives, they dared not stick around. What they didn’t seem to recognize (despite Jesus’ predictions) was that Jesus was supposed to die, but that His death was not the end. In fact, with Jesus’ death came the greatest triumph in all of human history. Come explore Jesus’ triumph over death with me. (I realize Easter is over, but there’s much more to talk about.)

    Importance of Resurrection

    Thinking about the resurrection, what makes it so important? After all, Jesus’ death accomplished the sacrifice needed to pay for all our sins and satisfy the wrath of God. Furthermore, none of the animals from any sacrifices came back to life, they all stayed dead. So, why should Jesus come back? What makes His resurrection so necessary? While many reasons can be given, I’ll only present four here.

    Proof of Sufficient Sacrifice

    Jesus’ triumph over the grave by coming back to life was proof given by God that He accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as sufficient to cover our sins. God vindicated Jesus by bringing Him back to life because “the wages of sin is death” and Jesus lived a sinless life, therefore He didn’t deserve to die in the first place. And to make this argument stronger, Paul relates that without the resurrection, our faith is useless and in fact, we are still in our sins.

    And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith….And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 1 Corinthians 15:14, 17 (NIV)

    So, Paul saw the connection between the resurrection and the forgiveness of our sins. That’s a pretty big argument for the resurrections importance!

    Proof of Deity

    In addition to proving the sufficiency of His sacrifice, Jesus’ resurrection also proved His deity. Psalm 16:10 claims that God’s Holy One would never see corruption (or decay). By rising again, Jesus’ body never saw that corruption. Thus proving that He is God’s Holy One. Time and again, Jesus declared Himself the “Son of God” and equated Himself with God (don’t believe Jesus ever claimed that? check out my post on who Jesus is). And to take it a step further, Jesus predicted His own death and resurrection. So by rising again, He proved to everyone that He was indeed the Son of God. The long-awaited Messiah and Savior of the world.

    Death Has No Power

    Here’s a fun reason. When Jesus rose from the grave, death lost it’s power and was forever defeated. As Peter proclaimed in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost:

    But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. Acts 2:24 (NIV)

    Notice he said that “it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him”. This actually goes back to the fact that Jesus lived a sinless life and death had no right to hold Jesus.

    To make this even better, Jesus’ triumph over death extends to us as well. As His followers, He defeated death for us too! Hallelujah! If you keep reading Paul’s discourse in 1 Corinthians 15, he says that because Christ was raised, we too shall be raised from the dead. Now all believers who die a physical death will immediately go to be with the Lord in Heaven, but someday God will raise these physical bodies and recreate them into something glorious.

    So hold on, sickness, suffering, and death do not have the final word. Jesus does. And He defeated all those things on the cross and through His resurrection.

    Matter Matters

    This might sound confusing but let me explain. The resurrection means that this physical world (matter) matters to Him. And this is hugely important since just a few decades later, something called Gnosticism would start spreading. This teaching claims what we do in the physical doesn’t matter. Our spirits are perfect so we can live how we want and we’ll still go to Heaven. However, by rising again in a physical body, Jesus refutes this by proclaiming that the physical creation matters. It’s important to Him. This also gives us hope that creation itself which groans under the weight of sin (Romans 8:22) will be redeemed (Revelation 21).

    Resurrection Foretold

    The triumph of Jesus recorded in the New Testament as His resurrection was prophesied a number of times. Most people recognize that Jesus prophesied His own death and resurrection on several occasions (I’ll cover some of those later), but not everyone realizes that the Old Testament records prophesies of Jesus’ resurrection as well. They acknowledge OT prophesies of His death, but don’t always recognize the resurrection ones as well. I wish to open up your eyes to these prophesies and show you yet more evidence that Jesus was who He claimed to be.

    Old Testament Prophecies

    David utters a line in Psalm 16 that really makes no sense at the time he wrote it. I imagine it confused a lot of people. At least until more prophets started prophesying about a coming Messiah, then people might’ve started connecting it to the Messiah.

    because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. Psalm 16:10 (NIV)

    I referenced this verse earlier and noted that the Messiah would not see any physical decay. Nor was His spirit left in the realm of the dead (called Sheol by the Jews). A pretty clear picture of rising from the dead here. And Peter in his Pentecost sermon makes reference to this very Psalm.

    Less specific than this one are simply various prophecies about the Messiah that demand His resurrection. What do I mean by that? Various prophecies place the Messiah as sitting on the throne of David, ruling the world, establishing peace and justice throughout the ages. He can’t do that if He’s still in the grave. Zechariah, for example, offers different images picture of a suffering Messiah who comes in humility and lowliness (think riding on a donkey) who is pierced and a Kingly, Ruling Messiah. These differing images demand a resurrection takes place between piercing and ruling.

    I don’t have time to go into all the prophecies of Zechariah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or the other prophets, but they are all littered with these contrasting images of suffering Messiah and conquering Messiah that demand a resurrection.

    Jesus’ Prophecies

    As I mentioned already, you may be more familiar with Jesus’ prophecies about His own triumph over the grave by rising again. Real quickly I’m going to list some of them out here.

    From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Matthew 16:21 (NIV)

    When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief. Matthew 17:22-23 (NIV)

    “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” Mark 10:33-34 (NIV)

    Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. John 16:19-22 (NIV)

    Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

    They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. John 2:19-22 (NIV)

    Wow, that’s quite a few times Jesus states that He’s going to die and rise again! And this isn’t even all of them! Makes me wonder how the disciples missed it. But sometimes when we get certain ideas in our heads, everything else just flies right over our heads. The disciples had the Kingly, conquering Messiah image in mind and thus couldn’t comprehend a suffering, dying Messiah.

    I’m going to go in a different direction for the next section. Get a little more apologetic if you don’t mind. And even if you do mind, I’m still going to do it.

    Contradictory Accounts?

    One of the greatest criticisms from skeptics of the Bible and the resurrection is the stark differences between the resurrection accounts found in the 4 gospels. None of them are identical and they even appear to contradict each other on some of the details. While I noticed the differences, I also inherently understood that the different writers recorded different pieces that they had available. Maybe they talked to different people or at the time of their writing only certain people were available (or alive) to get their account. Or perhaps the gospel writers wanted to focus on specific people or aspects of the resurrection. As you can see, just off the top of my head I listed several possibilities to explain the inconsistencies. And I’m sure there’s more.

    Harmonizing the Accounts

    However, this isn’t good enough for the skeptic. So, I found a harmonization of the 4 accounts. I can’t take credit for this so here’s a link to the original article.

    In Summation

    As you can see, we have a pretty strong example of a consistent, non-contradictory series of events that make up one cohesive resurrection story. And it’s very likely that this isn’t the only one out there. But regardless, what’s important is that despite the inconsistencies between the 4 gospels, it can’t be proven that the accounts contradict.

    Wrapping Up

    From everything I’ve said in these last couple of posts, it’s pretty clear that Jesus’ suffering had to occur in order for His triumph – the greatest in human history – to take place. Let us keep these things in mind with gratitude and rejoicing all year long – not just during this season.

    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!

  • Jesus’ Suffering

    Jesus’ Suffering

    Intro

    Easter season is upon us. We all know what that means. Easter candy!!! Lol, in all seriousness, though, we know this as the time Jesus suffered and died a horrible death to pay the penalty for our sins. We’ve heard it said that Jesus’ suffering bought us right standing with Father God. Kind of crazy to think about, right? Just thinking about all that He endured humbles me. I don’t feel like I’m worth it. Do you? But that’s the love of God on full display right there. No matter how much any of us have messed up, He died for us. While we were still sinners (see Romans 5:8); still lost and not caring at all about knowing God.

    I do wonder, however, how many of us fully comprehend Jesus’ suffering. Or how many of us take this time of year for granted (guilty). Here I wish to open all of our eyes to His suffering in two distinct areas: His physical suffering and His spiritual suffering. But before I do, I’m first going to show you how Jesus fulfilled Scripture by going to the cross. (All Scripture here comes from the NIV.)

    Prophetic Suffering

    The Jewish people looked for a Messiah. However, the Messiah they searched for was a kingly Messiah. A conqueror who would free them from Roman oppression. That’s why no one expected Jesus. And when He hung on that cross, most of His followers thought they got it wrong. And it is true that Old Testament prophecies speak to a conquering, kingly Messiah. However, there are also many prophecies that point to a suffering Messiah. But because of all the oppression that the Jews went through, they all clung to the conquering Messiah. In another post I’ll reconcile the two and how Jesus did and will fulfill these.

    But for now, I’ll focus on how Jesus’ suffering fulfilled the suffering servant Messianic prophecies found in the Old Testament. And these prophecies cover both the physical and the spiritual suffering. As well as some other details such as His betrayal.

    Betrayed By Friend

    These prophecies include the prediction and fulfillment of Jesus’ betrayal by a friend and the prophecy of the money the religious leaders paid said friend to betray Him.

    Prophecies

    Psalm 41:9, “Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.”

    Zechariah 11:12-13, “I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.”

    Fulfillment

    Matthew 26:14-15, “Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.”

    Matthew 27:5-7, “So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners.”

    Sham Trial

    These prophecies include the false witnesses that appeared as well as Jesus not responding to any accusations.

    Prophecies

    Psalm 27:12, “Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.”

    Isaiah 53:7, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

    Fulfillment

    Matthew 26:59-60, “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.”

    Mark 15:3-4, “The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.”

    Forsaken

    These cover the prediction of all who forsook Him in some way.

    Prophecies

    Zechariah 13:7, “‘Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.’”

    Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?”

    Fulfillment

    Mark 14:50, “Then everyone deserted him and fled.”

    Matthew 27:46, “About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).”

    Misunderstood

    These prophecies include the mocking Jesus endured and the fact that He was counted as a criminal rather than the Messiah.

    Prophecies

    Psalm 22:7-8, “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. ‘He trusts in the Lord,” they say, ‘let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.’”

    Isaiah 53:12, “Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

    Fulfillment

    Matthew 27:39, 43 “Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads…’He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, “I am the Son of God.”‘”

    Luke 23:33, “When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.”

    Lots Cast For Clothing

    Even what happened to His clothing was prophesied!

    Prophecy

    Psalm 22:18, “They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.”

    Fulfillment

    John 19:23-24, “When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did.”

    Family & Friends Witnessed

    Have you ever considered that Jesus’ suffering was witnessed by His own family and closest friends (not just the 12 disciples)? Awful when you think about it.

    Prophecy

    Psalm 38:11, “My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away.”

    Fulfillment

    Luke 23:49, “But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.”

    Physical Body

    A lot happened to Him physically. Whether it was the injuries or even just being given vinegar to drink. All these forms of Jesus’ suffering were prophesied centuries before.

    Prophecies

    Isaiah 50:6, “I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.”

    Isaiah 52:14, “Just as there were many who were appalled at him – his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness.”

    Psalm 22:16, “Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.”

    Zechariah 12:10, “…They will look on me, the one they have pierced.”

    Psalm 34:20, “he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.”

    Psalm 69:21, “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.”

    Fulfillment

    Matthew 27: 26b, 29a, 30, “But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified….and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head….They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.”

    John 20:24-25, “Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’”

    John 19:33-34, “But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.”

    John 19:29, “A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.”

    Suffered for Sins

    Isaiah made clear that sin was the reason for Jesus’ suffering.

    Prophecy

    Isaiah 53:4-6, “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

    Fulfillment

    Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

    1 Peter 2:24, “‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’”

    Spirit Committed & Burial

    Prophecies

    Psalm 31:5, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”

    Isaiah 53:9, “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death.”

    Fulfillment

    Luke 23:46, “Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.”

    Matthew 27:57-60, “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.”

    Physical Suffering

    I realize that this post is already getting pretty long. Bear with me a while longer. I now want to turn from the prophesies of Jesus’ suffering to what He actually endured physically. And not just restating what the Bible says He went through. I want to comment on what Roman Crucifixion actually did to the body and what the person went through. I’m using extra-Biblical sources in this research and I’m sure you’ll recognize many of them since the Bible directly references much of what the Romans actually did when crucifying people.

    Flogging

    Romans flogged every person slated for crucifixion – except for Roman senators, soldiers (except for desertion), and women. A typical flog consisted of a short whip with several single or braided leather thongs of variable lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of bones were tied at intervals. The iron balls and bones dug deep into the skin and underlying tissue and literally tore flesh off bone. People were flogged just short of death. Roman soldiers often taunted the people during and after the flogging took place. Per the law, Roman soldiers whipped a person at a maximum of 39 times, though it’s unknown how often they broke that law simply because they wanted to. Especially when the person was slated for execution anyway.

    The Art of Crucifixion

    Odd heading, I know. But truthfully, the Romans perfected crucifixion. They didn’t invent it, but man did they perfect it to maximize pain and suffering while delivering a slow death. The Romans couldn’t have selected a worse way to bring about Jesus’ suffering and death.

    The physical cross consisted of a vertical post with a horizontal crossbeam. The condemned man carried the crossbeam from the flogging site to the crucifixion site outside the city. (So all the images/movies of Jesus carrying both parts…probably not accurate.) The upright posts outside the city were permanent structures and reused from person to person. The posts often had a crude seat-like thing for the sole purpose of prolonging the person’s death.

    The Romans affixed the victim’s arms to the crossbeam through either nailing or tying the wrists. Nailing seemed to be the preferred method. Once attached, the crossbeam and victim was raised up and attached to the vertical post. At which point the Romans nailed (or tied) the feet to the post. Above the head of the person, a soldier attached a sign with their name and charge(s) written on it. (Any of this sounding familiar?) Interestingly, law dictated that bitter wine mixed with myrrh (gall) be given to the victim as a mild pain reliever. In addition, the soldiers commonly divided the cloths of the victim amongst themselves.

    If the Romans desired to hasten the death of the victims, they would break their legs below the knees. And they used a spear to stab their victims through the heart to check to see if they were dead (and to ensure it if not).

    The Medical Side

    Any medical students, nurses, or doctors reading this? Ever thought about what Jesus’ body went through during the crucifixion process? Here’s a short list of different things I found when researching what Jesus’ body went through.

    • Hematidrosis, aka “sweating drops of blood”. This occurs through great stress, anxiety, and/or fear.
    • Flesh torn from his body as a result of the flogging. Not to mention the extreme pain here.
    • The crown of thorns brought even more bleeding around the scalp. Furthermore, the soldiers hit his head multiple times with a staff – driving the thorns deeper into him. And more pain.
    • The robe that the soldiers put on him likely stuck to clotting blood and when ripped back off opened those wounds back up and caused excruciating pain. (Are you seeing a painful theme here?)
    • Shock. The human body can endure only so much before going into shock. Jesus likely experienced it before the soldiers attached the crossbeam to his back.
    • Once on the cross, the shock lowered His blood pressure and increased His body’s demand for oxygen. Problem is that breathing caused intense stabbing pain throughout His body.
    • The blood and water. Blood and water-like fluid pouring out of Jesus’ side fits with rupturing the sac around the heart.
    • Likely cause of death: cardiac and respiratory arrest, due to shock, due to crucifixion.

    Spiritual Suffering

    Jesus’ suffering wasn’t limited to the physical. It extended to the spiritual as well. I promise to be brief here.

    • Jesus took on all the sins of the world for all time. That means all sin from every person since Adam & Eve. And all the people that have yet to be born.
    • Isaiah 53 says that Jesus paid for our healing. The word imagery here indicates He paid for our spiritual healing, our mental/emotional healing, and our physical healing. That means that Jesus took upon Himself all physical disease, mental disorders, emotional disorders, etc.
    • The wrath of God. God literally poured out His wrath upon Jesus. As painful as that was for Him to do, He had to in order to open the way for us to Him.
    • Lastly, and perhaps the worst thing of them all, separation from the Father. For the first time in His eternal life, Jesus experienced separation from His Father. The pain of such a separation must’ve been awful. Technically, God stayed by Jesus’ side through it all, but there had to be a short term spiritual separation once all sin and God’s wrath was placed on Him. I say that because the Bible says sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2) and it also says Jesus became sin so we could become righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, a separation between Father and Son must’ve occurred. Gut wrenching, but true.

    Jesus’ suffering encompassed body, soul, and spirit. It happened this way so Jesus could be the perfect sacrifice and could relate to us in every way. This enables Him to be the perfect High Priest for us.

    Wrapping Up

    Just researching for this post and writing it makes me more appreciative of Jesus’ suffering. I’m also once again humbled by it. I hope you are all too. I hope you see with new eyes what Jesus endured physically and spiritually. Let us all go through this season with a gratitude that we’ve never had before.

    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!

  • Baptismal Regeneration Logical Problems

    Baptismal Regeneration Logical Problems

    Intro

    Here in my final post regarding Baptism and Baptismal Regeneration, I give you some parting thoughts about the subject. Some logical problems that I challenge you to think about and then decide for yourself if Baptismal Regeneration can truly be compatible with what the Bible says about God and Salvation. (To catch up on any posts you missed, click here.)

    Incapable of Baptism

    Let’s think for a moment about people who physically cannot get baptized. Take for example an elderly woman dying of cancer in the hospital. She’s been running from God for so many years. Her children, on the other hand, love Jesus and have prayed for her all these years to be saved. And here, on her deathbed, she chooses Jesus. So, she prays, repents, and accepts the free gift offered to her by God. The joy and peace she receives in her final hours lift her spirits and those of her children. However, because of her physical state, her doctor won’t allow her to be moved for baptism. Now let’s say that her children don’t consider baptism necessary anyway so they don’t press the matter or do anything else to replace immersion in water. She dies a few days later. Does she go to Heaven, or Hell?

    How to Handle

    How do believers in Baptismal Regeneration handle such a situation? By sprinkling them with water. And that suffices. Let me repeat that: They sprinkle water on them and that suffices. Sprinkling water on people equals dunking them under water? Writing that sentence makes the logical parts of me squirm and groan. But then again, centuries ago people decided that dunking infants under water wasn’t safe, so they started sprinkling them with water to cleanse them of their sinful nature that they’re born with. Unsurprisingly that carried over to that working for anyone. Though they still prefer immersion – wonder why if all you need to do is get your hand wet and flick them with some water. In fact, let’s make it fun. Let’s just get water guns and squirt all the people for Baptism Sunday! 😄

    But in all seriousness, how can dunking people under water equal sprinkling them? Especially since the New Testament says nothing about sprinkling of water when discussing baptism. Nothing, zilch, nada. And just ignore modern dictionary definitions of “baptism” – which include sprinkling – because the root Greek word means “immersion”. I do acknowledge that many Jewish cleansing rituals include the sprinkling of water, but none of those things carried over to New Testament believers. So, why does it exist without Biblical precedent? Exactly for situations like the one I mentioned earlier. Believers in Baptismal Regeneration need sprinkling of water in order for their doctrine to still work for everyone. Did you catch that? They need, need sprinkling for baptism. What does that sound like? Adding to salvation. Adding to what Christ accomplished on the cross.

    Read my earlier posts on baptism for a more in-depth analysis on how this doctrine makes salvation works-based.

    Heaven or Hell

    How would believers in Baptismal Regeneration answer that question about where the elderly woman went? Based on my personal interactions with them, they would answer that question with “Hell”. To their credit, they’d be remorseful about it, but honest. However, this again goes to show how Baptismal Regeneration inherently makes salvation works-based. And how it claims that Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t enough on its own. We need to do something to complete it.

    In conclusion to the first of the logical problems of Baptismal Regeneration, if a person desires baptism but can’t for one reason or another and want water sprinkled on them, I don’t have a problem with it. So long as they understand that it adds nothing to their salvation. I personally don’t care and I don’t believe God does either. After all, God looks at the heart (see 1 Samuel 16:7). And if their heart is for Him and fully trusting in Jesus for salvation, then sprinkle them with water. I’ll support it.

    The Gap Problem

    The next of the logical problems for Baptismal Regeneration I call “The Gap Problem”. What is this? Well, Baptismal Regeneration teaches that a person receives the remission of their sins (i.e. born again) during baptism. The “gap” comes from a period of time when a person might have a measure of faith but is forced to wait until they can arrive at a site with a water source to be baptized in order to be saved (if they believe that’s true).

    The Gap Example

    For example, John meets Dave for lunch out and says, “I’ve been reading the Bible you gave me, and I want to be saved.” Dave replies, “That’s fantastic! Let’s go down to the river. While I’m baptizing you, we can pray for the remission of your sins since this is how salvation works.” John says, “Okay.” Though in his heart he questions the necessity of baptism since what he has read in the Bible makes it sound like all he really needs to do is believe. John agrees that the Bible places importance on baptism, but he didn’t think it equated it with salvation. But then again, Dave’s the expert, not him. On their way to the river, a car runs a red light, hits Dave’s car, and kills John instantly.

    Dave’s belief in Baptismal Regeneration led to him restricting the timing and location of John’s salvation to the river. This led to a gap in time in which John had some measure of belief – but hadn’t made the full commitment – and when he was going to be saved. This gap time allowed for Satan to take his life before he made the actual commitment to follow Christ. Thus, John has died in his sins and will spend eternity separated from God.

    I believe this to be a major problem with Baptismal Regeneration. You run this type of risk all the time. Churches who preach this had better be prepared to baptize people spontaneously any day they are open to the public. If they don’t, I cry foul. That defines hypocrisy. Claiming you need baptism for salvation and then not being able to provide it in church when people give their lives to God at a random Wednesday service, or a Tuesday night Bible study.

    The Flip Example

    On the flip side, take that previous example and assume that Dave does not believe in Baptismal Regeneration. John meets Dave for lunch and says, “I’ve been reading that Bible you gave me, and I want to be saved.” Dave replies, “That’s fantastic! Let’s pray for the remission of your sins right now.” They pray and John puts his faith in Christ. Afterwards, Dave says, “You know, Jesus commands all believers to be water baptized as a way of publicly identifying yourself with Christ, so let’s go down to the river and baptize you.” John agrees – the Bible certainly emphasizes it. On their way to the river, a car runs a red light, hits Dave’s car, and kills John instantly. In this scenario, John already put his faith in Christ and received the remission of his sins. Therefore, he will spend eternity with God instead of apart.

    Do you see the difference? And the problem? I mentioned that churches that preach this should always be ready to baptize people. But so should every single person who believes in it. And this leads into the next of the four logical problems I find with Baptismal Regeneration.

    Who’s in Control?

    The prior problem also highlights another problem. Did you pick it up? Here it is spelled out: People that embrace this doctrine effectively control when and where a person is saved. Does that scare you? It should. The Catholic Church used this amongst other things to control the masses for centuries. The Catholic Church claimed you had to be a part of the church and do XYZ to be saved. XYZ included various sacraments such as baptism, taking communion, going to confessions, and more. And the church controlled when and where these sacraments took place. Catholic priests forgave people’s sins. The church claimed it could kick people out of Heaven via excommunication from the church.

    Granted, Protestants who embrace Baptismal Regeneration oppose what the Catholic Church did and say that they don’t claim such power or authority over people’s salvation. And to a certain extent that’s true. They don’t require ALL the sacraments, and they don’t require continual need to perform all these rituals. Plus, they don’t emphasize a specific denomination nor confession to priests or pastors, etc. You get it. They don’t require nearly as much as the Catholic Church used to.

    The Truth

    However, to tell a person “To receive salvation, you must confess and repent of your sins at the same time of your baptism” means the same thing as “That’s great that you want to be saved right now, but you only get saved when repenting of your sins while someone baptizes you”. Which puts that person’s salvation off to a future moment, i.e. telling them a time of salvation. That gives the saved person control over when a person receives salvation, regardless of whether they recognize it.

    In addition to the when, they control the where. This is a little more obvious since there is a limited number of locations where you can baptize a person. If you aren’t already in a church building with a baptismal, or a house with a bathtub, or next to a lake, river, or other body of water, then the saved person has to take the seeking person to another location, i.e. controlling where a person is saved. I give people who believe in Baptismal Regeneration the benefit of the doubt. I think that most people who embrace this are ignorant of the fact that by their words and actions, they are controlling when and where that person’s salvation occurs and opening the door for Satan to steal, kill, and destroy that person before they get to that location at that time. (Which goes back to the Gap Problem from earlier.)

    In Summation

    To summarize, by believing this doctrine a person ignorantly takes some measure of control over another person’s salvation. Jesus commands us to proclaim the message of salvation. But that doesn’t give us the right to dictate when or where people can receive salvation. Unfortunately, across denominations there exists a mindset of only being saved at church events. (Unintentional, but that’s how society sees it.) God help us all overcome that mindset and show people it doesn’t matter. However, when people add Baptismal Regeneration to the message, it complicates matters. Because now instead of an altar call in a land-locked park of “Come forward and surrender your life to the Lord,” it becomes “If you want to surrender your life to the Lord, come to this address at this time and there you can receive salvation at the time of your baptism.” Can you see the difference?

    This approach turns some people off since they may wonder why they can’t do it in a park with no water. It creates greater confusion and more questions. Which could manifest more from the children. And we claim that all you need is child-like faith (see Matthew 18:3). After all, the Bible claims children can grasp and understand salvation. Granted, believers in Baptismal Regeneration probably will never do outreaches somewhere they can’t immediately baptize people. However, this type of approach creates more limitations on salvation. And that creates more control – even though ignorant and unintentional they may be.

    What Kind of Salvation Plan?

    The fourth, and final, of the Baptismal Regeneration logical problems has to do with what kind of salvation plan the God of the Bible would create. Yes, I believe that looking at the nature of God and who He is will tell us all we need to know about what His plan of salvation would look like.

    God’s Desires

    First, God is a God of love. And not just any kind of love. Unconditional love that desires only the very best for those He loves. Second, God desires everyone to come to salvation (1 Timothy 2:1-4, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20). If God desires the very best for us and desires everyone to come to salvation, wouldn’t it be logical for God to make the plan of salvation as simple as possible and with as few limitations as possible? Yes, He would! Therein lies the problem with Baptismal Regeneration.

    The Problem

    As I discussed earlier, Baptismal Regeneration places limits on the where and when salvation can occur. A second person must be present, and they must be at a location where water can be used to baptize (sorry soldier on the battlefield). Those are some hefty and unnecessary limitations for God to require. After all, large parts of the world don’t have nearby water sources. (Looking at you Sahara Desert!) And large parts of the world don’t have modern conveniences that would allow for quick access to water. God is God and can create any plan He wants and make any requirement He wants. But if God truly wants the best, and truly desires all to become saved, then the extra requirements make no sense and contradicts God’s desires.

    The Plan

    Lastly, God intended for the new covenant to be 100% handled by Him since mankind messes up anything requiring them to do things to get God’s forgiveness. Just think about all the requirements of the old covenant and how many additional things the religious leaders of Jesus’ day added on. Or even the amount of stuff the Catholic Church added on. How is Baptismal Regeneration any different from those? When the Bible talks about the new covenant, it always points to what God planned and what Jesus fulfilled. It’s all about God doing all the work for all time so we wouldn’t have to do anything except receive it by faith – which has always been His requirement (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4, Hebrews 11, Ephesians 2:8-9).

    Wrapping Up

    Given all that I’ve written now about the subject, I hope you see clearly the truth that Baptism is not necessary to be saved. These logical problems that I’ve shared about Baptismal Regeneration in this final post are not the only ones out there. And truly my thoughts in this post and my previous ones are incomplete in their analysis of the subject. I’d encourage you to read more about it.

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    Outro

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