Forgiving Yourself

I received the following question:

Is there any verse in the Bible which says anything about the concept of “forgiving yourself”?  Just a thought.

That is a good question. The concept of forgiveness and pardon in the Bible is largely an issue that relates to the interaction of the LORD with people. He is the one who forgives their iniquities and their sins.

Psalm 130:4:
But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.

“In My Father’s House”

As we study through the book of John, we come upon a very interesting passage in John 14:2-3.  Many have lauded this as a very beautiful passage, and indeed it is.  Yet this is another one of those passages that it is very difficult to deal with.  This is not because it is hugely difficult to figure out what the Lord is talking about, or that what He intended to say is unclear.  The reason this passage is hard to deal with is because it has been used by many as a passage relating to death, and to comfort people whose loved ones have died.  This passage is often quoted at funerals, and many are the mourning relatives who have been comforted by the thought that the Lord Jesus has received a deceased loved one into a mansion in heaven.  Yet, emotions or not, it is necessary for those of us who deal, not with popular interpretations, but rather with truth, to examine this passage and see if this is indeed what the Lord was saying, or if there is another explanation that the Word of God would set forth to us.

Souls in Genesis

In our last message, we had been studying the meaning of the words “spirit” and “soul” as they are used in Scripture. To do this, merely looking at all the occurrences of these words in our English Bibles is not enough. Many times, our translators have hidden the truth concerning these words, and what the Lord means when He uses them, by translating the Hebrew and Greek words by different words when their usage doesn’t fit the modern conception of what these words mean. To get God’s truth, rather than man’s re-written truth, we must examine the original Hebrew words that are translated “spirit” and “soul.”

The Hebrew word for “spirit” is ruach. In our last message, we examined all the occurrences of ruach, and established the different meanings that this word has in the book of Genesis. We discovered the following four meanings of the word “spirit” in the book of Genesis:

Spirits in Genesis

I do not know if there is any one topic in the beliefs of most Christians that is so lacking in Biblical backing and so corrupted by traditional thought than what is believed regarding the nature of man in relation to his spirit and his soul. These two words, though they are found in Scripture and play an important role in regards to God’s teaching about mankind, are not viewed in the light of Scriptural truth by most of those who take up the study of them. A thousand and one traditional ideas are firmly entrenched in the mind of the student before he ever takes up God’s Word to see what It has to say on the subject of these two important concepts.

In order to change this unfortunate circumstance, and to come to a real understanding of what these words signify and what God truly would have us know concerning them, it is necessary for us to leave all preconceived ideas behind. It is difficult to do this. Indeed, for many it may be impossible. Yet for the believer, for the student of God’s Word, it is what must be done if we are to be found believing, acknowledging, and keeping all that God has said.

The Word of God

The words of the Lord are pure words:
Like silver tried in a furnace
Of earth,
Purified seven times.
Psalm 12:6

Your word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:105

“Your word is truth.”
John 17:17b

The entrance of Your words gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple.
Psalm 119:130

All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
Psalm 138:4

But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.
Deuteronomy 18:20

If you would take a concordance of the Bible and run down the listing of the occurrences of “word” in Scripture, you would find it a very imposing list.  And if you would go further and delve into the occurrences, you would find that many times it is used in the phrase “the word of the Lord.”

Do You Want Fries With That Salvation?

It is common practice in the so-called “fast food” restaurants of today that, if a customer simply orders a sandwich, the employee taking the order will ask, “Would you like fries with that?” The object of this is two-fold: firstly, to know the customer’s mind on this, and secondly to try to sell fries to the customer, because, of course, the restaurant then makes more money. If you do order fries, you might be asked if you want a drink, or if you order both you might be asked if you want a dessert. The restaurant is always eager to sell the customer on more food.

Now we do not usually think of ever receiving anything extra along with our salvation. The idea of getting salvation “with” something is foreign to most believers today. It seems that many are convinced of an idea that I like to call “spiritual socialism.” That is, that the only way eternal life can possibly be perfect is if everyone there has everything exactly equal and the same.

Can Believers Not Live For God?

Those who have read my messages on “Election” and on “Predestination, Omniscience, and the Foundation of the World” know that I believe that we all have the choice whether or not to believe in Christ for salvation. It has probably also become clear through my writings that I believe in what is also often called “eternal security” for the believer of today, and that once one is saved, that one cannot lose that salvation. I believe and teach that it is grace alone which saves us through faith, and that is apart from works. I firmly believe and have never doubted in the power of Christ to transform our lives.

Yet there are certain passages in the Bible that many use to suggest that those who display no fruit for God in their lives cannot truly be saved. Thus the question arises: were these people never saved in the first place? Is it possible for one to be saved, and then live a life of sin and godlessness, never showing forth the fruit that one would expect in the life of a believer? Or is there a rule that a true believer MUST show forth fruit in his life? If one seems to be a genuine believer with a changed life at one time, but then later seems to fall away from that and go back to a worldly lifestyle, does that mean that his salvation was never real? Or could it have been real, and he simply fell away?

Spiritual Israel and Galatians 3

I received the following question:

I was recently involved in a conversation about Spiritual Israel and obviously my thoughts being that we are not.  He brought up Galatians 3 where it says something like all who believe are Abraham’s offspring.  I don’t buy this for a second because I know I’m not.  The only similarity to Abraham that I have is that we both worship the same God.  What is a rebuttal to this verse?

Galatians 3:5-9 reads,

Universalism “Proof Text”

I received the following question:

How would you explain the Universalism proof-text of 1Tim 4:10? “…Who is the Savior of all people – especially of believers” 1Tim 4:10b [TransLine]

I would be happy to offer my interpretation of this verse. The reason Universalists get mixed up about this verse, and the reason others have difficulty answering them, is because first of all we have an insufficient understanding of the word “save.” It is pretty much universally accepted that when God “saves” us, He delivers us from sin and death and gives us eternal life. Thus, we tend to define the word “save” as meaning that any time it occurs in the Bible. Yet this is totally ignoring what the word actually means, and how we use it otherwise in everyday conversation. For example, I save my money in the bank. Yet my money never sinned, was never in jeopardy of death, and certainly has not had eternal life granted to it by me. Nevertheless, it is accurate and correct to say that my money has been “saved.” If you look at the way “save” is actually used in English, it means either to deliver (as from danger,) or to preserve (as when one saves a seat for someone else.) The Biblical use of the word is in line with what “saved” actually means, not with our “Christian lingo” meaning of the word. In Biblical use, it can also mean to “restore,” although that is not a common use in English. When God saves, He can deliver, or He can preserve, or He can restore. Moreover, He can deliver from many dangers besides those brought about by sin and death, and He can preserve to many things besides eternal life.

The Jews’ Position

I received the following question:

Were the Jews only (Gentiles excluded) promised the land of Israel? Why are not the Jews more honorable since God chose them first?

I would be happy to answer this question. I have eight points in reply.

1. Yes, only the Jews (Gentiles excluded) are promised the land of Israel.

2. The Jews have a special place in God’s future plans and in His heart.

3. Just because the Jews were chosen first does not necessarily mean that they are more honorable. Remember, “many of the last shall be first and the first shall be last.” (Matthew 19:30, 20:16; Mark 9:35, 10:31; Luke 13:30.) This statement is full of meaning, and might mean a different thing in the different places Christ used it, but my point is that “first” doesn’t necessarily mean a better position than “last.”