Q&A: Why a bronze serpent & how is that a shadow of the Messiah?

Question: Why did Moses use a serpent image and how was that a type of Jesus?

So after church last Sunday I was asked a question that I only was able to answer in part.  It intrigued me so I went home and sought the rest of the answer and decided to give it tonight since there may be others who have wondered the same thing…  The question came from Numbers 21.

Numbers 21:4-9 - From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

The question was, why did Moses make the image that would save the people to look like a serpent and how was this, a shadow of Jesus Christ?

And it is sort of curious considering that the serpent in Genesis is Satan… why a serpent here?  Well, firstly, the serpent in Genesis and the image of the serpent here are not representative of the same thing.  How do we know that?  Well, in verse 9 of Numbers 21 it tells us that those who looked on the image of the bronze serpent were saved from the venom of the bite and they lived.

To give you a context for what’s happening here, the Israelites have been led out of Egypt by God’s hand and now they are making their way towards the land of Canaan.  Edom blocked their way and so after a successful battle they journey south to the Red Sea and then back North to Canaan thereby completely by passing the land of Edom altogether.

Along their journey, as Israel often did, the people began to complain.  Aaron has just died, and Miriam had died a while before him, and they are mourning and their mourning is moving to groaning over their situation.  Apparently having quickly allowed their trials to over power the memory of having experienced God’s power in saving them and providing for them at every turn.

So they complain against God and Moses and ask ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?’  So God allows for their punishment at the hands of or rather at the venom of a deadly snake.

As a result the people realize their sinful ways.  v7a - And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.”

They realize that they have sinned and go to Moses to make intercession with the Lord on their behalf.  Now, Moses does go and do just that.  He prays for them.  In the last half of verse 7 it says, v7b- So Moses prayed for the people.

And God responds to Moses request, but not in the way that the people had requested.  Not in the way that Moses had likely requested either to be honest.  God responds, v8 - And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”

God answers by providing a remedy for the bites.  He does not remove the snakes.  The snakes stay among them for a certain period of time to be a reminder to them.  Every time they would be bitten by or just see one of those snakes they would remember what had brought that consequence upon them to begin with. 

v9 - So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

So God provides for the Israelites, not by removing the snakes, but by removing the ability for the snakes to kill the people if bitten.  He did it by instructing Moses to fashion a bronze serpent and raise it up on a pole high above the people for the whole camp to see.  I would surmise that it was likely centrally located in the camp so that everyone passed by it and saw it frequently.

And the implication is more an issue of when the serpents bit someone and not if they did.  If they bit anyone, that person wasn’t to try and suck out the venom, they weren’t to see the local physician for an anti-venom medication or attempt to treat it in any way on their own whatsoever.  They were to simply look to the image of the bronze serpent on the pole and they would live.

Now, how in the world was this supposed to teach the Israelites about the coming Messiah in whom they should place their trust and hope for salvation?

To get a better understanding we need to look over to John 3.

John 3:1-15 - Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

So Jesus is trying to wrap Nicodemus mind around the idea of the new birth.  Jesus tells him that to see Heaven one day a person MUST be born again.  Nicodemus couldn’t grasp it because his mind was legalistic and prone to think of salvation in terms of what he could accomplish… works he could do to EARN God’s forgiveness.

You see Jesus’ statement has an implied point that someone of Nicodemus’ well educated intellect would have grasped very quickly.  What confounded him was obvious.  It was as if Jesus asked Nicodemus, ‘Nicodemus, how much did you have to do with your physical birth?  Your first birth?’  Nicodemus responds, how can a man be born again?  How can HE re-enter the womb for a second time…

Nicodemus said, there is no work I can do to be born again, which was the whole point.  It wasn’t up to him to be born again, it was up to God to perform this work, that was what Jesus was driving home to him. 

To further explain using something that Nicodemus would be well acquainted with, v14 - as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Jesus compares Himself to the serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness.  He said, just as the serpent was lifted up, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.  That whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.

So we know that the serpent was a type of Jesus... a shadow of the coming Messiah... let's look at the similarities

- both the serpent and Jesus were lifted up, the serpent on a pole and Jesus on a cross.

- both were lifted high above the people (Golgotha could be seen for MILES to some degree)

- both were cures... the serpent cured the bite from a living serpent so that the people wouldn't die, Jesus cures our most serious venom of which we’ve all been bitten by, namely sin

- if the people looked to any cure besides the serpent image... medicine.. anything... they died, if we look to anything but Christ to save us (works, etc) we die... there is no work we can perform that will save us… our good works and efforts to be good don’t amount to squat. We must be born again, forgiven and justified by the Savior who hung on a wicked cross for our sin

- God ordained that looking upon the serpent image to be a cure... God ordained Christ to be the only Savior

- both were a very unlikely method of cure that no one would naturally think would work (the serpent because looking on a pole would do no good under any other circumstances, Christ was a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks... they'd both rather seek "cures" to their sin on their own. 

In John 3:13-14 Jesus makes reference to the serpent when talking to Nicodemus... as a Jew, Nicodemus couldn't wrap his brain around having to trust Christ's grace and not his own works to atone for sin... it was mind blowing to him... and Jesus said, just as Moses lifted up the serpent, so much HE be lifted up...

- and now I think it is THIS one that explains the most about why a snake was used... ok, so what was a snake?  A vile, grotesque thing... especially knowing the history of the serpent in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve compiled with the danger of a snake’s venom, no one wanted to have anything to do with a snake... it was gross, its symbol offensive, YET to be cured of the deadly snake bite, they had to look on this thing that they despised so much... what about Christ?  Beautiful to us because we are born again and have been saved but what was He to the Jews?  For that matter, what is He to any unbeliever... a vile thing, grotesque... He was beaten and bloody... 

Isaiah 52:14 – As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—

Isaiah 53:2-3 - For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

- that which would provide a cure from a snake bite was the image of a snake... that which saves us from our sin, had to become the very thing that killed us spiritually... Romans 8:3-4 - For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

There were no magical powers in that bronze serpent.  They merely needed to look upon Him because that was the stipulation that God had in place in order for Him to heal them.  No other man could have taken Christ’s place.  Because no other man qualified.  The healing from our sin comes from the sacrifice of Christ because He is the Son of God, God in the flesh, not simply because He was a man.  He had to be a man in order for His sacrifice to qualify as a representative for humanity.  He had to be fully God so that He would be able to live a life as human that was unstained by sin and was thereby qualified to be the sin sacrifice for all who would ever be saved.

- The serpent image didn't wound anyone, even though it looked like the thing that caused the wound... again, Christ did not cause our sin, nor did He sin, yet He became the very thing that had caused our sin... as if HE had committed our sins...

2 Corinthians 5:21 - For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

You see, the bronze serpent was a very reddish bronze in color.  In fact, archaeologists have found bronze and copper in that region and it has a very deep red tone to its color.  The event with the Israelites illustrates both the sacrifice of Christ and the faith of His people.

Just as the bonze serpent was lifted up, so Christ, as one born “in the likeness of sinful flesh” was lifted up.  The afflicted Israelites had no other way of rescue than to look at the bronze serpent, just as sinners have no hope for salvation, for being spared from God’s wrath, except faith in the crucified and risen Son of God.

Isaiah 45:22 - Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Jesus Christ, in order to rescue us from our sin and from certain eternal death, put on human flesh, not subject to sin because He was fully God.  The God-man.  Second person of the Trinity, clothed in humanity but retaining full Deity.  Doing this He became our representative before God.  Since the world, under its own reasoning, cannot understand the wisdom of God, Christ was offered up in the foolishness of the cross. 

1 Corinthians 1:21 - For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

That we would look on Him who became our sin.  Just as the Israelites detested looking on the serpent, so too we should detest looking on what Christ had to become in order to save us.  When I look at the cross I see the innocent Savior covered in and paying the fine for my lies, my lusts, my idols… every sin that I should have been made to pay for, Christ willingly stepped in and paid my fine, taking my place on the cross.

Q&A: Gifts of the Spirit

Questions from my inbox. What do you think scripture says about the gifts of the spirit and our having them as believers? Also, The gifts being fully alive today and the canonization of scripture.

Answer:

Ok, so let's break it apart so that I don't miss answering any part of it.

What does Scripture say about the gifts of the Spirit?

The gifts are the Divinely ordained means and powers with which Christ endows His church in order to enable it to perform its task on earth.

We find two lists in Scripture of these gifts really... Rom. 12:6–8; 1 Cor. 12:7–11. Each gift is given for a specific reason and each one has Biblical parameters so that the brethren can examine it to see that it is authentic.

In our age of subjective truth and toleration we tend think that we can't tell someone they are false. Well we can, if we are doing it within Biblical parameters.

Gifts of the spirit will always without fail accomplish at least two purposes. One, to Glorify God. Two, to edify the body (the church).

Do we have them as believers? Yes and no. Some we have, and some we don't have. I would say that we still can easily see all of them active today with the exception of speaking in tongues, prophecy, and the laying of hands as a guaranteed healing process.

Now, speaking in tongues. Does it still happen? Truthfully, don't know. I've never personally seen it or experienced it in a genuine form or a form that aligned with the parameters given in scripture for it. I do know that Paul addressed it in 1 Cor 12 & 14. He said that speaking in tongues was done so that people could hear the Word of God in their own language and that it wouldn't be done without an interpreter. If there is no interpreter, then it isn't of God.

You'll notice that most of the charlatans on TV today claiming to speak in tongues interpret their own jiberish. But the Bible says that where tongues is present, someone will be gifted to speak them and someone else will be able to interpret. Furthermore, it will always be for the purpose of glorifying God and edifying the church. If it edifies the speaker, it's not of God.

Laying of hands to heal.

Does God still heal? Without a doubt yes. He healed my daughter of a fatal brain disease. Long story short, the MRI showed it, the subsequent blood tests a few HOURS later revealed it was gone without a trace. God healed her. So does God heal? Yes. Does He respond to our prayers for healing? Absolutely, when healing is in accordance with His will.

Is healing guaranteed in all situations? no. Is it guaranteed when hands are laid? No. Is it guaranteed when you call the elders together as James seems to point to? No. Because what James was talking about with the 'anointing of oils' was a medicinal oil that was like a salve on a wound.

We don't have healing power in our words or hands or part of us. God does. We really don't see much of the laying of hands healings outside of the closed cannon of Scripture (Rev. 22:18 circa A.D 95).

Some of those gifts were for the Apostles for the purpose of giving authenticity to their authority. The already-delivered Word of God, valued and personally applied by Christians for centuries, is sufficient to explain to us everything we need to know of Christ (John 5:18; Acts 18:28; Galatians 3:22; 2 Timothy 3:15) and to teach us, correct us, and instruct us into all righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

Lastly, prophecy. Let's say that God still audibly speaks to people today. He will never say anything that adds to, contradicts, or takes away from Scripture. These folks who say that God gave them a 'new' word, are false. Nothing adds to or takes away from Scripture.

Scripture is all we need. God said so Himself... (2 Timothy 3:16).

Couple of good quotes I found on the subject...

Dennis and Rita Bennett (American Episcopalians):
"We should also be careful of personal, directive prophecy, especially outside the ministry of a mature and submitted man of God. Unrestrained “personal prophecy” did much to undermine the movement of the Holy Spirit which began at the turn of the century....Christians are certainly given words for one another “in the Lord”...and such words can be most refreshing and helpful, but there must be a witness of the Spirit on the part of the person receiving the words, and extreme caution should be used in receiving any alleged directive or predictive prophecy. Never undertake any project simply because you were told to by presumed prophetic utterance or interpretation of tongues, or by a presumed word of wisdom, or knowledge. Never do something just because a friend comes to you and says: “The Lord told me to tell you to do thus and thus.” If the Lord has instructions for you, He will give you a witness in your own heart, in which case the words coming from a friend...will be a confirmation to what God has already been showing you. Your guidance must also agree with Scripture...."

Donald Gee (Assemblies of God):
"[There are] grave problems raised by the habit of giving and receiving personal “messages” of guidance through the gifts of the Spirit....The Bible gives a place for such direction from the Holy Spirit....But it must be kept in proportion. An examination of the Scriptures will show us that as a matter of fact the early Christians did not continually receive such voices from heaven. In most cases they made their decisions by the use of what we often call “sanctified common-sense” and lived quite normal lives. Many of our errors where spiritual gifts are concerned arise when we want the extraordinary and exceptional to be made the frequent and habitual. Let all who develop excessive desire for “messages” through the gifts take warning from the wreckage of past generations as well as of contemporaries....The Holy Scriptures are a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path."

Often, too, what is seen as prophecy is actually a spontaneous, Spirit-worked application of Scripture, a more or less sudden grasp of the bearing that biblical teaching has on a particular situation or problem. All Christians need to be open to these more spontaneous workings of the Spirit.

If we adopt a view that says that people are still speaking new prophecy, in the manner that the authors of the Bible did, then we at the same time reject the sufficiency of Scripture. If we open that can then the entire Bible becomes subjective. Who determines which areas of the Bible are being revised through 'new prophecy'?

We have to keep in mind that even Pharaoh's magicians were able to work false miracles so they were either done with slight of hand or done by the devil. Things aren't always what they seem.

None of our views, however, should take away from or diminish God's ability to still perform the miraculous. He can and does. How frequently? Don't know. But I do know that when He does and it is genuinely from Him, even if He is working through a person to do it, that person will go to great lengths to give Glory to God for it and take no acclaim to themselves. (Acts 14:8-18 for a proper response).

That's my take. All in all we want to just be taking in whatever we hear taught by anyone and hold it up to Scripture (Acts 17:11). If it ain't there, we toss it out. If it is there, we embrace it and follow in obedience to Christ.

Q&A - Love languages

I received an email question from a friend. Each week this guy takes part in a men's discipleship group. Recently a new guy has been coming and has been talking about something called 'words of affirmation' and how that has improved his relationship with his son. The question in the email was, is this a word of faith doctrine? is it false? what is it!? The questioner was also curious as to whether or not he was being too critical of the man's statement.

Well without knowing the guy or the context the only time I've heard about words of affirmation was when I was reading Gary Chapman's 'The Five Love Languages' book. So assuming that this was what this man meant by it, that's how I answered the question. Enjoy???
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Well I don't know of any WoF doctrine called words of affirmation. It actually sounds like he's been reading a book called 'The Five Love Languages of Teens' by Gary Chapman. Chapman wrote this as a follow up to his best selling book 'The Five Love Languages'. The latter was more geared for adult relationships. The former was bent towards improving your relationship with teens.

It is a Christian book more or less. Basically Chapman says that there are five love languages and we all speak them. We do though have an order in which we speak them. The five languages are Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, Physical Touch. In the book he first has you take an assessment to see what your primary language is that you speak and which one is the primary one you receive.

For example, some people are really good at discerning when someone needs to hear an encouraging word. Now, granted we are all called to do it, but some folks are just way more perceptive at picking up when someone needs to hear it and they speak those words well. (The best way of course is if they are scriptural words of encouragement). For those folks, words of affirmation are probably their primary 'language'. But that same person may best receive love in their life by the quality time they get to spend with their loved ones.

Basically the 5 languages are the ways we want our loved ones to show love to us. In other words, some people receive the language words of affirmation. Meaning that to feel loved they need to hear that people love them.

He points out that we speak the language we want to receive but our kids, for example, may be wired to receive a different 'language' than we speak. So because we love them we need to be aware of that need in them and make attempts to speak that language to them. So not a big problem with it per se.

So what do I think of the whole deal? Well it can help improve a relationship. It can help parents better communicate with their children and husbands with their wives. However, if the whole thing isn't being done so that the Gospel can be better communicated and Christ can be better Glorified by our words and actions, so that we are better living out what God calls us to be as Christians, then it is all for naught.

It's been a while since I read the books so I don't recall how Christ centered it was, BUT, I don't remember anything that just made my blood boil either. As with anything, tools like that book can be very helpful. But if they are used in place of Scripture or they are used as a means to an end instead of a clearer focus on Scripture and Christ-glorification, then they are a waste of time.

Are you being too critical? Depends. ha... If this guy is relying on this rather than Scripture, then no, you are dead on. If he attributes the relationship fix to this and not to God using the 'love languages' as a tool, then no, you are dead on. But if he acknowledges that ultimately God is working in their relationship and that the love languages thing is just a tool that has helped them to identify more of how God has fearfully and wonderfully made them, then give him some slack. Just listen to him with a discerning ear (Acts 17:11). And when, or if, you hear something that is errant get him to explain further and if it is in fact errant, then reprove him with gentleness and love but full of truth.

Question and Answer: About infant death and unreached people groups

Q: What happens to babies when they die? Also, what about remote tribes who've never heard of Jesus?

Response:

"instant heaven" - John MacArthur

In 2 Samuel 12:16-23 David, upon learning that his infant son had died, ceased his fasting and mourning and began praising the Lord. He said that mourning wouldn't bring back his child. No prayers were going to alter that and he knew that one day he would once again be with his son.

He obviously knew that God, being just, would parson his son's sins. Now, are children born sinful? sure they are... Psalm 58:3 'Even from birth the wicked go astray...' However God is just, Genesis 18:25 '...will not the Judge of all the earth deal justly.'

It means that as they grow, when given the chance to choose to sin or not. They will, as we all do, choose to sin. They are born with that sin tainted heart that is bent towards evil until God gives them a new heart.

For whatever reason, and we can't even begin to speculate on the why here... but for whatever reason God has chosen for some children to die before what is commonly referred to as the age of accountability. It is that age when we are not just able to discern between right and wrong but able to understand that our sin has offended a Holy God and His justice demands our eternal punishment.

My kids understand some right and wrong but only because we've taught them what is right and wrong. They know about God and sin, but neither are old enough to have put those two things together. The same principle would apply to someone born with a mental handicap. They may grow to an age where normally they could respond to God's call of Salvation, but because of some debilitation from birth they are never able to comprehend. God is just, loving, and merciful and to punish them would be unjust, so teaches Scripture, and so we can say with some authority and assurance that for those it is instant heaven.

The fact though that God is merciful to them should in no way exonnerate us as parents from teaching them the things of God and pointing them towards Him their whole life. Some parents have told me that they aren't worried about stressing Biblical truth to their children until they surpass the age of accountability when there will be danger for them at judgment if they die.

That is absurd for two reasons. 1.) We have no clue what age a person is able to respond. I could guess at it just based on mental understanding and such. But I have no clue. That age is probably different for everyone. God knows when He will draw them to Him and we'd be well advised not to step in and take His role on that one.

2.) If we don't show them the value of Jesus from birth, they'll be less likely to see His value later in life. It can't be some cute trite thing that doesn't matter much. It must be taught and explained from birth on through! What a privilege that we get to do that!

About those who are in some remote tribe and have never heard of Jesus? No one will go to hell because they haven't heard of Jesus Christ. The unregenerate sinner will go to hell for murder either literally or merely of the heart, rape, adultery (literal or not), lust, theft, lying, blaspheming, idolatry, etc. Sin is not failing to hear the gospel. Sin is the transgression of the law. Ephesians 2; 1 John 3:4.

Sin is the problem, Christ is the answer. Now, what about those in remote tribes who die and have never heard of Jesus or seen a Bible or anything... what about them? Well if they have never responded to their conscience and sought out the Creator (God) having turned from their sin and trusted in Christ they will go to hell. Ignorance of the law is not the same as lack of understanding.

God has revealed Himself to all of creation. Even the remotest tribes of people. Psalm 19:1 - the heavens declare the glory of God.

Also, we are all born with a conscience.

Romans 2:14-15

For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, (NASB)

God has programmed every individual to know that certain things are right and certain things are wrong regardless of whether the laws are put into legislation by human governments.

The existence of these moral laws points man to a Moral Lawgiver that transcends (or is over and above) human governments and man made laws.

Both testimony of creation and conscience fall under the heading of: General Revelation. General revelation refers to God's revelation that reaches

--all people

--of all times

--in every culture

All throughout the Bible Scripture teaches that if someone seeks after God then He will not hide Himself (Jeremiah 29:13). God ordains who will and will not be saved and so for those who are among those remote tribes that God has chosen to save He will draw them to Him and they will respond to the Holy Spirit's conviction on their conscience. God will do it by a dream or a vision or He'll send them a Bible or a missionary or something. But the remote nature of their location cannot negate God's ability to draw them to Him. All Creation bows before Him. If He is going to save them, He'll make a way when to us there may seem to be no way.

Now, does that excuse us from ministering to those folks? Absolutely not. It could be that we are to be the missionaries to that tribe and we are the vessel God will use to speak to them. Or our money is the money God will use to fund the Bibles sent to them and pay the workers to teach them. Or maybe God will call one of us to find such a tribe and place organize a Bible drive effort missions effort to get the Word to them in their language. Who knows... If we are truly concerned about those groups then lets pray harder for them and do something about them.

Typically, some of these tribes will respond to their conscience that there is something out there bigger than them... a god of some kind. But rather than seeking Him they build up an alter to the false god they create for their culture. You see it ALL throughout history. Typically they end up worshiping an element of nature or some fictitious being that controls nature.

If they err in that way, their first clue that they still haven't found the true God should be in the fact that they are having to climb on top of their idol that they have constructed and clean the bird droppings and other debris from it! ha

Also keep in mind that we are all descendants of Adam and then Noah after the flood... so at some point in all our ancestry the truth of God has been spoken to us. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. So they've heard... how far down the line it went before getting lost and distorted or which ancestor abandoned the faith... who knows...

God has revealed Himself in numerous ways to every man and woman who has ever lived. Those who die in their sins did not do so because they never heard... they did so because they never responded.

Hope that helps...

Q&A: A question about the Gospel

The Question:

Hi sir, I have a quesiton. I am a pretty new believer, close to two years now, All glory to God for it was His work in me and His great love. I have found a church here where i live; i just recently started attending (about 3-4 weeks). They are a baptist church, however, they preach salvation as accepting Jesus into their heart via the "sinner's prayer". My question is, will this theology if you can call it theology mess up the true gospel? In my opinion this belief makes the gospel very puny and weak, and makes the rest of our relationship with God focused on ourself. What do you think? and If i am to be concerned, how should i handle this situation? Should i do anything since i haven't been there that long? To me its frustrating because every church i can go to around here holds that type of belief.

It appears that they have the right thinking in that we are sinners and are in need of God's grace, but idk what to think or if i should even bring it up and maybe keep searching for a new church. It took me a long time to get into this one.

Thank you sir for any imput in this.

My Answer:

Well you are dead on correct that it distorts the Gospel. It makes it look like Jesus somehow needs our acceptance in the saving of our soul. He's God... He doesn't need our acceptance. We need His. A great illustration would be the Prodigal Son account. That Son came home and did not need to accept his father. The other way around. He came home (repented) and needed forgiveness from the Father. He came home to trust that his father's household and rules and such was truth and everything else false.

How should you handle it? Well the sad thing is that you WILL find this in many churches these days. But rewind 50 years ago and you won't find it anywhere. I think that the Biblical prescription is to go to one another and confront the issue in a loving manner. (Matthew 18)

I think you need to prayerfully lay out your case and do the leg work to find Scripture backing your position and then take it privately to the pastor. If he is a true man of God who truly wants to shepherd his flock towards Christ and not just a man concerned about getting "decisions" for Jesus then he will at the least listen to what you have to say.

A few pointers to remember in this. Please be sure you use Bible verses and approach him humbly. He is your pastor and an elder so you want to do as Paul admonished Timothy and be respectful. At the same time, you have scripture on your side and you have the authority of the Word of God to stand on and need not feel any reason to back down or give in to a faulty way of thinking. Consider these verses.

Galatians 2: 20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 6: 14, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

the sinner's prayer puts the focus back on man, not God's amazing kindness in Salvation. It steals a portion of His glory.

Also, look at how 'evangelism' was done in the Bible. One of my favorites is Jesus and the rich young ruler. When that man asked about eternal life did Jesus say... 'Well just pray and receive me into your heart and if you really mean it I mean REALLY mean it... you'll be saved.'

NO, He took Him to the Law and brought the knowledge of sin to the man. the man went away sad because He didn't want to forsake his wealth for the sake of Christ. He wanted eternal life with no change in his mortal life.

Can someone be saved by praying the sinner's prayer? Sure they can, God can save anyone anytime in spite of our pathetic attempts at relaying the message. But when you play on the heart strings and dumb it down with a 'repeat these magic words and you're in' type of thing you severely increase the possibility of a false conversion.

No where in scripture will you find the sinner's prayer. Someone who is truly feeling conviction of their sin by the Holy Spirit will not have to be led through a prayer of repentance. Once they know of their sin, its consequences, and what is required to be saved. They will figure it out pretty quick.

A great friend of mine will tell in his testimony how his prayer for salvation when he came to that point was simply 'God save me.'

The question of saved or unsaved isn't one of whether we have prayed a prayer at some time in our life... it is a matter of whether or not we are still living for Christ from that point. Are we praying with David in Psalm 51 that God tear out any sin and create in us a new heart! Are we growing to hate the sin we once loved.

Truly a pastor or teacher ought not to push the sinner's prayer but to explain the Gospel and then explain the the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 13 that we need to EXAMINE ourselves to see that we're in the faith.

No where in Scripture am I given Pope-ish authority to lead someone in a prayer and then declare them forgiven. That's God's role... not mine...

Here's a link to a great article by A.W. Tozer. Give it a look if you have time.
http://annawood.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/whats-wrong-with-the-sinners-prayer-by-a-w-tozer/

After speaking with your pastor and praying for him, he may or may not change. God has to convict him of his error before he'll change. So don't leave discouraged if he maintains his position. Isaiah 55 says that the Word of God will not return void where it is sent out without first accomplishing that which God intends. You will have defended the faith (Jude 3) and that's all you can do. The results are up to the Lord.

What should you do if he doesn't change? I can't tell you that you should or shouldn't leave. I can tell you we are called to be a part of a God-fearing, Bible believing church. We are NOT called to go in and make a stinky church better. You have to determine what your church is and whether or not it is a place you can serve and worship God and stand behind the doctrine taught from the pulpit and the classrooms... If you can't, then you should leave because it will only cause you to be bitter and resentful and ultimately stumble.

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Questions/QA120

Good on you though man for seeing the serious issue with all of this. I hope this was of some help.

Q&A - Can a Christian lie and still be saved?

Periodically I will get an email from someone asking Bible questions or in this case, someone has told this friend that they aren't a Christian because they told a lie... here was the question and my answer... just thought I'd post it in case anyone else has the same question or knows a similar situation. All names have been kept private for the sake of the one who wrote me. If you are familiar with the situation please don't make a personal comment about the situation or guesses as to who it is. Thanks!

If you have a question or anything, feel free to email me and I will do my best to answer it or point you to a trusted and sound resource that can help you find the Biblical answer.

The Question:

hey! i have a friend but somebody is telling her that she's not a christian b.c. christians don't lie and the devil doesn't get to christians and all of this stuff. I wanted to give her some bilble verses...do you know of any good ones?

The Answer:

Well this can be a tricky question... the question is really two fold... do Christians lie? yes, we are saved... not perfect... we can't be perfect and that's why we needed a Savior...

Should a Christian lie? no, Romans 6:1 says that we shouldn't use the Grace of God as a license to go on sinning. basically... just because we have been saved doesn't mean we should abuse that salvation by continuing to sin... we should live moral and ethical lives because we are eternally thankful for the mercy poured out to us via the cross.

Now, if a person who calls themselves a Christian is lying does that mean they are not saved? Well first we need to be very careful that we don't get into the business of pointing out the saved and unsaved among Christians. Jesus said wheat (Christians) and tares (non-Christians) will grow up together and that we shouldn't try to tear out the tares because we won't always be able to distinguish them... meaning, within those who are Christians and they believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God we shouldn't engage in saying "you're in and you're out" because we truly don't know, only God does...

You can lie and be saved, you can steal and be saved still... the question is 1.) how does that person react to themselves having told a lie? Are they ok with it? if they are ok with lying then I would lean towards the possibility that they aren't saved because when God saves He changes the heart and we begin hating the sin we once loved... we don't go on living lives of intentional lies (or any other sin) because it demonstrates that no change has taken place. As Christians we want to live a life of repentance that constantly seeks out how we can better Glorify the Lord with our lives and express our unyielding thanks to Him for saving us from our sinful depravity.

2.) is lying a pattern? are they remorseful? when they lie, are they seeking forgiveness? not just 'God forgive me for this lie' to clear their conscience about it but praying the way David did in Psalm 51 where he pleaded with God to give him a new heart and a contrite spirit. that he hated sin and loved only God and wanted God to cleanse him of sinful things in his heart that he might live a life pleasing in the sight of the Lord.


as for whether or not they are saved... The Bible is very clear that someone who is saved does not seek to live in intentional lifestyles of sinful behavior... they don't try to rationalize their sin to keep it in their life, a born again Christian tries to identify it and put it to death by the power of the Holy Spirit living in them. the bible says in 2 Corinthians 13 that we are to examine ourselves to see that we are in the faith... I would encourage your friend to go and read through that and see how she measures up... just tell her to get alone and for her to be honest with herself and most importantly honest with God... tell her to read Matthew 6:33 - does her life line up with that? can she say that is a true statement for her life? if no, then maybe she isn't saved... if yes, then she needs to examine her life and make sure that she IS living for the Glory of God alone (Soli deo Gloria)... and nothing else... does her life reflect a life of a person who has seen the seriousness of sin and has repented of it (turned from it) and trusted in the Savior? lives for the Savior? loves the Savior? Wants to be good not because of self-righteousness but to better Glorify God?

try that...