Question #1:
Hi Bob
Here's another Different" consideration regarding the Trinity. We know
God is three persons, no doubt. However the accepted view may not be
totally correct. I've thought about this and get a lot of pushback when
sharing this unorthodox viewpoint.
So here it is...When God created mankind the Scripture states in the
image of God He created them, Male and FEMALE He created them. We have
God the Father and God the Son and I contend it makes sense that the
Eternal Family of The Godhead includes God The Mother aka God the Holy
Spirit. After all, in a traditional family it is the Mother who
comforts, guides and teaches and encourages, And how can you have The
Son without a Mother? I know this idea is "way out there" But if you
looked at every single reference to The Holy Ghost ,( Spirit) ( I have
not yet) could you come to the conclusion that Yes; The Eternal Family
of The Trinity is indeed God the Father, God the Son and God the Mother
Food for thought
Response #1:
The short answer is that the Spirit is NOT female in gender. His gender
is never specified. God is God and God doesn't have gender. God
represents Himself as He does for our benefit. The Son is a man in His
incarnation/humanity, of course. Since the Son is a man in fact in His
humanity and is called Son in His deity, and since the Father represents
Himself as Father, we call all three members of them He/Him/His.
In the Greek, pneuma, "Spirit" (also "spirit", "wind", etc.) is a
neuter noun, and wherever the word is used of the Spirit, pronouns
referring to it are likewise neuter – which would not be the case if He
were female (which He is not).
That is the gist. I'll give you a few links here where you can read the
details at your leisure:
The gender of the Holy Spirit is masculine even though the noun pneuma is neuter
In BB 1: The Persons of God: The Trinity
The Holy Spirit is not female/feminine 1
The Holy Spirit is not female/feminine 2
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #2:
I have a question. For real this time. So from what you speak on it, you
seem to believe that if we fill our minds with godly attitudes and
beliefs, and thoughts in general, and do so out of love of them, we'll
become motivated to strive after them and grow spiritually? It'll always
produce positive results?
Furthermore, nature of course abhors a vacuum yes? Like a space with no
air in it, something will always come rushing in. Thus, we should fill
it with things that are godly and good, so it'll be easier to resist
temptation and not love the evil.
There are always things that can be done to improve the present moment.
Rather than griping about the situation or seeing it as inadequate for
spiritual growth, one should always make the present be a gift in
regards to trusting and growing in the Lord, no pun intended.
I mean...that makes alot of sense. So many people just gripe rather than
seeing that griping and moping never does anyone any good, and instead
doing what they can. Is this what you were getting at?
I don't diminish the need to give up these burdens to God and trust in
Him. It won't make things or struggles go away (we're not preaching
manifesting here), but perhaps this is what you meant by spiritual
growth always being better for us? If we just rested in Christ and
trusted Him in all things by applying all this, we would be able to have
that peace that surpasses all understanding.
Response #2:
Re: Your first email and "we'll become motivated to strive after them and grow spiritually". Motivation is a funny thing. Every good thing we do is helpful in doing more good things going forward; every bad thing we do is unhelpful and potentially an impediment. But we are the ones who do them. Why do we do what we do? Plato wrongly inferred that if we just really knew what was beneficial to us we would do that and that all "sin and evil", for want of better terms, were really only the result of ignorance. But anyone with eyes in their head and a little personal experience of the temptations and trials of this world knows very well that this is NOT true. We often succumb to doing things that we know in our heart of hearts are bad for us (sometimes very bad). This is a fight. As our Lord told us, "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt.26:41; Mk.14:38). But blessedly, we have the omnipotent Holy Spirit within us. If we will but give our will over to His, we will be able to accomplish all that our Lord desires. Getting to the point of being regular about this is in large part what spiritual growth is all about.
So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.
Zechariah 4:6 NIV
Re: "If we just rested in Christ and trusted Him in all things by applying all this, we would be able to have that peace that surpasses all understanding." Amen! But as you rightly discern, there's nothing particularly easy about it. On the one hand it's not impossible, but on the other hand there is a reason why so few Christians today are actually willing to take up their crosses, deny themselves, and follow our Lord – in spiritual growth, progress and production (the cause to which this ministry is dedicated).
Here are some related links:
Bible Basics 5: Pneumatology: The Study of the Holy Spirit
Peter #7: "The Ministry of the Holy Spirit "
Peter #16: "Leadership of the Spirit"
The Holy Spirit: Pneumatology Questions VII
The Holy Spirit: Pneumatology Questions VI
The Holy Spirit: Pneumatology Questions V
The Holy Spirit: Pneumatology Questions IV
The Holy Spirit: Pneumatology Questions III
In Him,
Bob L.
Question #3:
Hi Bob,
I hope you are doing good?
My plan is to listen to spiritual authorities that (hopefully) God has
told me to listen to in prayer.
Those would be my elders in church, my grandpa which is well know with
the Bible, you, my uncle who is a missionary also with knowledge of the
Bible (in my opinion) and my cousin who is a theologian.
Do you know Bible verses which say that I should listen to wise people,
or to elders, and/or follow them in what they do, etc. so I can be sure
that my plan of following spiritual authorities is the right one?
Be blessed, Bob. I hope you had great vacation either way family or
other, if not, still I hope you had a great time with Jesus.
Please pray for me, it seems like I’m quite far away from God.
Response #3:
Choosing your spiritual authority is always the first step to spiritual growth . . . or shipwreck. Because without accepting teaching authority, there can be no growth; but if the authority is teaching what is false, not only will there be no growth but the believer will also find him/herself placed into a very dangerous situation.
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. "
Matthew 7:15-16a NKJV
So choose well (Matt.7:15-20; 12:33; Lk.6:43-45 ; see the link: "The Fruit Test").
Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
Hebrews 13:17 NIV
Here is a link where you will find the details and all the pertinent
scriptures: in BB 6B:
Ecclesiology, part II: The Local Church.
FYI, spiritual growth is the only way to draw nearer to the Lord
(Ps.73:28; Heb.7:19; Jas.4:8).
Keeping you in my prayers.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #4:
Hi Mr. Luginbill,
Hope the snowstorms have moved through all right and you've been able to
get to a regular class schedule again! Most of the snow has melted off
here, it's just been super cold.
Thank you for looking at the text and approving the link! Hopefully
people who visit my site will find you. I shared my site with one of my
coworkers the other day, I mentioned that I was doing some writing, and
she asked if I was writing a book, so I told her that I was working on a
post for my site to encourage women in their faith in the Lord. She
asked for the link.
I've been thinking about the conversation we had this past spring/summer
about talents and how to use them. I know you said that God gives us our
talents with our ministry in mind and how it all works together. People
have told me I have a talent for writing and I do love it (have ever
since I was a little kid).
I have always thought that when you write something or make a movie or
whatever, that you should be super careful in how you do it, since it's
important to tell the truth in whatever you do. Do you think that those
types of art are hard since as a human, when you write things, you are
writing out of the imperfect, human, emotional side and it's much more
apt that you'll make errors since the whole premise is usually made up
of flawed human emotions? As opposed to like, drawing a tree or
something.
I guess the question is, does God legitimately use Christian fiction or
songs in people's lives - or is that largely us just gaining a little
truth out of it (if there is truth contained) but God is using it not so
much as a "good way" to get help but more of "secondary" source? Does
that make any sense at all? Does God gift people in writing stories and
things to help others? God gives people their talents/tendencies right?
So if God made me "artistic" how do I employ that to honor Jesus? I'm
struggling to reconcile my Christian side with the more artistic human
side of me. Cause I don't want to write stories or other things (I'm not
talking of my ministry articles here) that would cause a Christian to
stumble or write things if God doesn't want us to "write fiction".
Christians have argued that they have gained help from songs and stories
written with a Christian perspective and God can certainly use those
things in any way He chooses - but is it His desire for us to do those
things (writing or consuming)? I understand that all human efforts that
aren't Spiritual are ultimately wasted time (movies, stories, sports,
cooking)....I just want to know what place they take in a Christian's
life and not get legalistic and not get permissive.
Of course the answer is probably listening to the Holy Spirit in regards
to how the individual Christian should handle these matters (but then if
I am artistic and the Holy Spirit is telling me not to write secular
things, how do I fill my time with something that still makes me "happy"
and is not wrong - not that you're supposed to be "happy" all the time
but sometimes I seriously do feel like Ecclesiastes 1:2 and I despair a
little haha. Sometimes it seems like we have all this time down here to
fill and it's all largely pointless. Where am I going wrong in my
thinking?
If God made me artistic, is that primarily so I can fulfill my ministry?
And I shouldn't worry/desire any other application?
I wrote several more articles for my site, one about thought struggles
and one about pressing on in our Christian walk. Thank you for all your
prayers for me and the site.
Respectfully,
Response #4:
When it comes to gifts on the one hand and cultural activities on the
other, there is a wide margin here for individual application. We need
to be careful about pronouncing certain things absolutely bad on the one
hand and saying there is no problem with them whatsoever on the other –
just like you have figured out (good for you!). Certainly, many people
will testify to the spiritual benefit they have received from Christian
music, for example, whether from traditional hymns or from modern
"worship" music and everything in between. I have weighed in on this in
opposition to the extreme we see today of "worship" via music virtually
replacing the teaching of the Word of God in church services and also in
the application of individual Christians. Clearly, it's the substance of
the words that really matters and helps (or confuses and distracts if
they are doctrinally problematic).
But I would be loath to say that people who are musically talented
aren't given that gift from God for a godly purpose. The same would be
true of writing and sculpting and painting and just about any other
talent a person could imagine. The question is, as you also rightly see,
to what use does the Lord want us to put our talents. Things that
contribute to the edification of the Church of Christ and to the spread
of His truth, whether directly or in support of other ministries which
do so, whether through conveying truth to believers or drawing
unbelievers to the gospel would, in my estimation, be legitimate uses of
gifts and talents through cultural media that glorify our Lord. At least
they have that potential depending on what's being done, how it's being
done, whether or not the Spirit is guiding the person to such
activities/ministry, and in what spirit it's being done.
In other words, a great deal depends on the spiritual I.Q., so to speak,
of the person we're talking about, and whether or not the Lord wants
said person to be doing what they're doing. That is a tricky enough
thing to figure out even when we are talking about the most identifiable
spiritual gifts (such as pastor-teacher) and the most obvious godly
ministries (such as evangelism). Even in such areas, there is of course
a great deal today which passes for ministry which is at the very least
clearly substandard and being carried out by persons of questionable
spiritual bona fides.
As with all things, the solution is spiritual growth. A man with the
gift of pastor-teacher will one day, if he continues to grow as we all
should be doing, become convinced of his possession of the gift and, one
hopes, commit thereafter to preparing diligently to fulfill in a godly
way the role the Lord has given him. That, of course, is rare enough in
Laodicea. I can certainly envision someone with musical talent likewise
being called to a particular ministry or in support of some ministry and
God using said person just as He had planned to do. After all, that was
certainly the case with the singers in ancient Israel and David in
particular (the Psalms are songs, after all).
Since for those who have gained a certain level of spiritual maturity it
is easy enough to imagine the production of various forms of art for
which the person has been gifted which do not honor the Lord, others
which are only marginally "nodding to God", and others which may fulfill
His purpose for us, it really is "just" a matter of figuring out what we
are suited to by the Lord and in prayer and careful attention to
whatever the Spirit is telling us eventually finding our way into what
Jesus wants us to do. On the one hand, it's not going to be an overnight
thing. On the other hand, we probably aren't going to need years and
years of careful introspection to figure it out either. But it is
certainly true that we WILL need to keep growing in order to get
resolution on this issue – and in order to be successful in our
preparation and implementation we will likewise need to keep growing. So
the one thing we need to do in weighing and analyzing this issue of
"what are my gifts/talents?" and "how does the Lord want me to use
them?" is to avoid at all costs letting it paralyze our spiritual growth
and progress – because continuing to grow and to progress is the only
way we'll ever figure these things out correctly and become spiritually
prepared to produce what the Lord wants us to produce.
Keeping you and work in my prayers.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
p.s., it's been TOO cold, but thaw is (finally) forecast starting
tomorrow.
Question #5:
Hi Mr. Luginbill,
I tried to reply to this previously, but it gave me an error message
saying it was spam, and it never delivered. So I am trying again here
and hoping it sends to you.
Thank you for this! This was a huge help and I think I understand more
now. Would you mind clarifying this one point - when you say,
"legitimate uses of gifts and talents through cultural media" - are you
just talking about things relevant to our current culture (not sinful
things of course)?
Respectfully,
Response #5:
Glad you found it!
Re: "legitimate uses of gifts and talents through cultural media",
what I mean is that we have been given gifts and talents by the Spirit
and if we are tasked by the Spirit to spread the Word through these via
cultural media, that would be "legitimate use". This is deliberately not
very specific because 1) we all have different combinations of gifts; 2)
the types of ministries are virtually unlimited; 3) it's our job as
individual Christians to determine what it is we're being asked to do
and what the right way to go about it is. Whatever gifts we're given,
they're not given to no purpose, but as you rightly see, there are
plenty of illegitimate things that are not glorifying to God.
I'm confident that you will figure it all out as you grow and as the
Lord leads you to it. You're already contributing!
Keeping you in my prayers, my friend.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #6:
Hi Mr. Luginbill,
Ok, I think I have it now, thank you! I have gifts, and the Holy Spirit
helps me know how to use them. I'll likely have to sort it all out and I
might not get it perfect, but eventually as I grow, I'll get it.
I guess I'm starting to see that the things of the world are nothing,
but it's hard not to get distracted. Almost like I'm so close to letting
go, but my old sinful human self still wants to indulge. We always have
the fight against sin, and then we also always have the fight against
unproductiveness and distractions that aren't even sinful - sigh.
Humanity is hard sometimes, haha.
Respectfully,
Response #6:
It's good to see you making progress, my friend!
Yes, this world is inimical to believers to its very core. What should
we expect from the devil's world? So not loving this world is actually
where every believer should be, looking forward in hope instead to the
wonders to come – and making the most of the opportunities we have here
and now to serve Jesus Christ. We're none of us perfect. But advancing
believers keep fighting the fight, one day at a time. It's not easy, but
with the Lord, the truth and the Spirit, we can do it. We are not alone.
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 NKJV
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #7:
Dr. Luginbill,
As you know, our family is revisiting your Peter Series and are
currently on #33. While preparing my study notes for that section, I had
to stop and explain the phrase "and to this doom they were also
appointed" (phrased variously in the different translations). This kind
of sent us on a tangent, but these were my thoughts:
When Peter says in verse 8 that unbelievers "were appointed" to this
fate, he is not suggesting that they were deprived of free choice.
Rather, their fate is the result of their own willful disobedience to
the Word - meaning their rejection of the gospel which reveals that
salvation is through faith in Christ alone (1 Peter 2:8). The phrases
"the fate that was planned for them," "the doom to which they were
appointed," and "which is also what they were destined for" used in
various translations do not mean that God created them for the purpose
of becoming unbelievers so that they might suffer this fate. God desires
all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; Ezekiel 18:23), but
He has granted everyone free will, and tragically, not all wish to live
forever with God if doing so means surrendering their freedom to choose
evil. For many, the thought of an eternity in which sin and self-will
have no place is not attractive. They prefer autonomy over submission,
even if that autonomy leads away from life itself. Human beings often
equate freedom with the ability to do whatever they please, including
things that are contrary to God's will. But Scripture teaches that true
freedom is only found in God - He is the source of life, truth, and
goodness. To separate oneself from Him is, by definition, to separate
oneself from life. So when people cling to their independence from God
(insisting on governing themselves rather than submitting to His
authority) they are actually choosing a path that leads away from the
only true life there is. Their so-called "freedom" becomes slavery to
sin (Romans 6:16–23), and their pursuit of self-rule leads ultimately to
spiritual death. That means that what many people think of as freedom
(the ability to do whatever they want without submitting to God) is
actually the very opposite of freedom from a spiritual standpoint.
According to Romans 6:16–23, everyone serves a master, whether they
realize it or not. If we choose to obey God, we become "slaves of
righteousness," leading to holiness and eternal life. But if we reject
God's authority and live according to our own desires, we become "slaves
of sin," and the end result of that path is spiritual death - separation
from God, who is the source of life. So when people insist on being
their own masters, they are not truly free, they are under the power of
sin, driven by impulses and desires that ultimately destroy them. What
feels like freedom in the moment (doing what pleases the self) is
actually bondage, because it cuts a person off from God's truth and
leads to ruin. In essence, sin promises freedom but delivers captivity.
True freedom is not the absence of restraint, but the ability to live in
harmony with the One who made us, something only possible through faith
in Christ. In short, some people would rather die (separate themselves
from God, even eternally) than yield their will to God. They prefer the
illusion of self-sovereignty to the reality of eternal life under divine
lordship. This is the tragic essence of sin: the determination to hold
onto independence, even when it costs us everything. To dwell with God
forever requires loving what He loves and rejecting what He hates; it
requires yielding the throne of one's own heart. For some, that
surrender is precisely what they refuse to give. Thus, though salvation
is freely offered to all, it is only accepted by those willing to let
God truly be God in their lives. The choices each person makes (which
God foreknew) are what determined the Plan He decreed.
Choosing eternity with God involves giving up our self-governance and
choosing to submit to God's governance - the very thing Lucifer refused
to do. He wanted to be like God and make his desires be the "Law of the
Land" (and was able to convince a third of the angels to join him as
well). He was successful in deceiving Eve to choose self-governance over
obedience, and Adam (though not deceived) also chose self-governance
when he chose life with Eve over life with God, even though he knew that
choice meant death (separation from God). He didn't understand the
consequences fully (and neither do we) but he understood enough (and so
do we). Since then every person is born with a sinful nature - the
strong desire for self-governance rather than submission to the will of
God (Jesus excepted of course since he was born of a virgin and the
sinful nature is passed down through the father as the result of Adam's
willful choice to disobey.) The choice to submit to God's Will becomes
the only reasonable choice once we understand that choosing anything
outside of God's Will always results in evil (and heartache and pain) -
even if we think at the time it will be good for us. Ultimately, our
decision to choose God means abandonment of self-governance, a
commitment to choosing God's Will over pleasing our fleshly desires
(Mark 8:36, Matthew 16:24, Luke 9:23). That decision will be tested many
times in our lives and we will fail many of those tests. But as we learn
God's truths and learn to apply them, we understand more and more that
God's Will is better for us than any other thing we could choose. That
is why personal spiritual growth is so, so important. And as we better
understand His truths, our ministry becomes helping others understand
through whatever spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit has provided us. So
back to Peter's comment that Jesus has become "a Stone for stumbling and
a Rock for tripping", against which the disobedient collide as they have
been appointed to do (i.e., because of their decision to reject Christ).
In His perfect justice, God allows every person the freedom to choose,
and the consequences of those choices are accounted for in His divine
plan. Those who reject Christ do so by their own decision, and by that
same decision, they bring upon themselves the stumbling (consequence)
that comes from refusing the only true Foundation.
I want to make sure I'm not off in the weeds somewhere. Would you say
overall these thoughts are accurate (not the way you would state them,
I'm sure) or am I missing some application and therefore teaching
incorrectly?
Thank you for your help.
Response #7:
This is excellent, my friend – and right on the money!
I think the translations are part of the "problem" here. As you know, I
have rendered the passage as follows:
. . . and "a Stone for stumbling and a Rock for tripping", against which the disobedient collide as they have been appointed to do (i.e., because of their decision to reject Christ).
1st Peter 2:8
The Greek here doesn't have the word "doom"; it merely has a relative
pronoun with a preposition and is coupled with the generic Greek verb
for "put/place" (literally "to which they have been placed").
"Appointed" is not a bad way to render this but since that word has
certain theological connotations it may need the sort of explanation you
provide, especially if one is dealing with hyper-Calvinists who
misunderstand foreknowledge and predestination as being contrary to free
will (I remain unconvinced that such was Calvin's own position): "to
which they have been predestined [on account of their foreknown bad
choice]" is what it means.
Again, nice job!
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #8:
Hi Dr L,
How is the workload? I remember you telling me you had an extra load to
carry.
I just wanted to ask that I know believers are to do things not
according to the flesh or with the effort of the flesh, but with/in the
Spirit. And there have been times I thought, when I would tell myself
and push myself to do this many prayers or read this many Bible
chapters, that it was more of flesh. The only way I've been able to try
to get more doing it via the Spirit is trying to pray first and ask Him
to help me with that, which means I'd end up doing far, far lest, trying
to make sure my heart is lined up right. I hope this doesn't sound back.
Could you give me some words of advice here?
Take care of yourself,
Response #8:
I think you're on the right track with this.
Learning how to follow the Spirit takes time. If we are in fellowship,
that is, if we have confessed any and all sin, then the Spirit is in
potential control . . . but we still have to follow Him. He will tell us
in our consciences what is best, but in the early going these prompts
will be "loud" so to speak; later on they will be more subtle as we
learn how to listen.
Rule of thumb: if we are at peace and experiencing joy in the Lord, then
we are no doubt following Him; if we are angry or upset or feeling
guilty or have a bad attitude, then probably not.
It's not really a question of pain and difficultly. Most good things in
this life involve sacrifice and effort. Just because it's hard doesn't
mean that it's not "of the Spirit" – nor is it absolutely of the Spirit
if it IS hard. The dividing line is whether or not the "it" is what the
Lord wants us to be doing.
At this point in your spiritual growth I'm sure you've experienced both
things definitively. The farther along the road we get, the more obvious
they become long before we reach the extremes of either.
Here are a few links:
The Spirit of Glory Rests upon You (in Peter #36)
Walking in the Spirit: Spiritual Progress (in BB 5: Pneumatology)
Spiritual Discernment (in BB 6A: Peripateology)
Keeping you in my prayers, my friend.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #9:
Hi Mr. Luginbill,
Ok, that makes sense.
Side note, I was working on another post and came across Psalm 51:6,
which I don't quite understand. Can you please explain that verse,
especially the second part? Thank you!
Respectfully,
Response #9:
Glad to be of help.
Psalm 51:6 is speaking about the Spirit enlightening our spirits. That
(the latter – our human spirit) is what David means by " inward parts"
and "the hidden part". Cf.:
(9) But as it is written: "What the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, and [what] has not entered the heart of man, [these are the very] things which God has prepared for those who love Him". (10) And God has revealed [these very things] to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches out everything, even the deep things of God. (11) For who knows the things of a man except the spirit of man which is in him? In the same way too no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (12) And we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, in order that we might know the things graciously given to us by God. (13) And these are the very things we are speaking about, not in words taught by human wisdom, but with words of the Spirit, communicating spiritual information to spiritual people. (14) Now the unspiritual man does not receive the [deeper] things of the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him and he is not able to understand them because they are appreciated [only] through spiritual means. (15) But the spiritual man does appreciate them all, though he himself is not appreciated [in this regard] by anyone. (16) For [as it says] "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who will instruct Him?" But we do have the very thinking (lit., "mind") of Christ (i.e., His truth from the Spirit).
1st Corinthians 2:9-16
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #10:
You know...I feel so much of my grief has not been from trying to "find
a reason to believe God actually is there to help me", but from trying
to reconcile my preconceived notions and perspectives with Scripture
rather than challenging those.
In other words, I was willing to learn, except on the things I didn't
dare think were just assumed, thinking those were "base truths". So many
people fail to do so, hence why we have so many religions and utterly
godless ideals. The mind sees an intellectual threat the same as a
physical one, you know. Religious beliefs are often seen as both because
of sin or salvation things, and in my experience it becomes a feedback
loop. It's said that desires and thoughts and emotions pop up before the
will can percieve them, and perhaps that's something we all to accept.
Please pray for me on this. To question only what I feel comfortable
doing leaves the possibility the 'important things' are destructive
Response #10:
I'll say a prayer for you to learn how to be more attentive to the Spirit. The Holy Spirit always sifts out the truth for us . . . if we're willing to let Him do it.
"But the Encourager, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My Name, that One will teach you all [the truth] and will remind you of all [the truth] which I spoke to you."
John 14:26
For as many as are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the [true] sons of God.
Romans 8:14
For the Spirit Himself testifies to our spirit that we are God's children.
Romans 8:16
And the Spirit helps us in our weakness in a similar way. For we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us also with anguished supplications which words cannot express.
Romans 8:26
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?
1st Corinthians 3:16 NIV
(17) Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord's Spirit is, there is freedom. (18) And everyone of us, if we reflect the Lord's glory with no "veil" obscuring our faces (i.e., with unsullied Christian witness), is being transformed into the same image [of God] (i.e., become more Christ-like as we use our will to respond to Him) so as to reflect an ever greater degree of [God's] glory [as we do so] (lit., "from glory to glory") – exactly what is to be expected with the Lord's Spirit as the agent [of our transformation].
2nd Corinthians 3:17-18
And it is God [the Father] who has fashioned us for this very purpose [of resurrection and eternal life], and it is He who has given us the pledge of the Spirit [to guarantee that eternal future].
2nd Corinthians 5:5(16) But I tell you, walk in the Spirit and you will not carry out what the flesh lusts for. (17) For what the flesh lusts for is contrary to the Spirit's will, and the Spirit is opposed to what the flesh lusts for. Since these are diametrically opposed to each other in this way, what you are doing is not what you yourself choose.
Galatians 5:16-17
And don't get drunk with wine – which is dissipating – but instead keep on being ful-filled (i.e., making progress in spiritual growth) by means of the Holy Spirit (i.e., the means to edification in contrast to dissipation).
Ephesians 5:18
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #11:
[omitted]
Response #11:
I think you've provided your own spiritual diagnosis here. When you were
moving forward spiritually, everything was fine. When you backed off,
some of these old problems resurfaced.
We never fully "arrive" in the Christian life, not this side of heaven
home. We ALL need the Bible and Bible teaching every day, myself
included.
I like to tell the story of that famous violinist Jascha Heifetz who
once said, "If I don't practice one day, I know it; two days, the
critics know it; three days, the public knows it." In other words, no
one is "so good" that where important things are concerned they don't
need to keep at it every day.
I'm praying for you, my friend!
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #12:
[omitted]
Response #12:
We are ALL in need of the Lord's forgiveness every day . . . which is why it's
in the Lord's prayer.
Best policy is to confess and move on. It's hard not to stumble moving forward
when a person is looking backwards.
Make the most of today for the Lord, "as long as it is called 'Today' "
(Heb.3:13).
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #13:
[omitted]
Response #13:
Good for you, my friend!
That is handling things just as a mature believer should. I'm very proud
of you as a fellow believer in Christ. Keep on growing and these things
will become more second nature the farther you progress. Listen to the
Spirit and He will guide you into all truth.
I wouldn't worry about __. As long as you don't put any doctrinal weight
on the issue, it doesn't matter if you buy them or not. I mean, it's no
virtue to not buy them and no harm if you do. So don't worry about it.
I am keeping you in my prayers daily, my friend.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #14:
[omitted]
Response #14:
I seem to remember us having connection problems with your email account
in the past. It's hard sometimes to figure out just why servers reject
responses but it's rare for Ichthys to reject mail (so I'm guessing this
issue is on your end).
Re: buying from this particular vendor. We can say that the Bible
doesn't forbid buying and selling, and that even meat sold in the
"shambles", the pagan temple butcher shops, was alright to eat along
with all other edibles because "because it is consecrated by the word of
God and prayer" (1Tim.4:5 NIV). However, Paul does advise believers in
Rome and Corinth NOT to eat certain things if by their eating they will
offend weaker believers who think there is an issue. I glean from this
that it is no problem for you NOT to buy from any vendor for whatever
reason. Teaching or telling others not to do so would be problematic,
but if this is just something you are personally concerned with, I
wouldn't let it bother you (as I said). To paraphrase Paul, "you're no
better off if you buy there or if you refrain from buying there" since
it's not really a spiritual issue. When things offend our conscience, on
the one hand we don't want to violate it, but on the other hand we also
want to make sure that our conscience is "calibrated to the truth". If
we aren't sure about something like this, there is no problem refraining
until we are, moreover . . . as long as we are not carrying such
"hyper-scrupulosity" to a paralyzing extreme (THAT would definitely be a
mistake). So, as with many things, we need to apply a little "spiritual
common sense", listen to the Spirit, and have peace. If what we are
doing (or not doing), one way or another is not giving us peace, then
we've got something wrong.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:3 NIV
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #15:
[omitted]
Response #15:
Re: "How do I do this?" If you mean "consecrating" food, that is done by
"saying grace", i.e., asking the Lord to sanctify the food you eat,
remembering Him as we do so. Clearly, we don't give up our common sense.
If something doesn't "pass the sniff test" and we are not starving to
death, or if something is known to cause us trouble, or if there is any
other legitimate reason to refrain, then we are wise to do so. But we
also don't need to be hyper-worried about what we eat, either from a
health point of view (again, assuming the exercise of common sense) or
from some legalistic over-scrupulousness on account of the dietary
regulations of the Law (e.g.).
As to personal application, if what you are presently doing and not
doing is not causing you grief, anxiety or problems, then I would advise
just letting things develop as you continue to grow in grace through the
Word. No need to force things which are not really problems. Listen to
the Spirit (see the link: Peter #16: Leadership of
the Spirit).
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Romans 14:17 NIV
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #16:
[omitted]
Response #16:
Good to hear from you.
Let me start where you end. It's important not to get the wrong idea
about confession and repentance (lots written about this at Ichthys; see
especially the link in
BB 3B: "Repentance, Confession, and Forgiveness"). It does NOT
matter how you "feel". It does matter what you think, say and do. If a
person has committed some sin and confesses it, we are told that God
forgives us when we confess (1Jn.1:9; cf. Ps.32:5). Clearly, it's of no
particular value to confess if said person has no intention of leaving
off committing said sin in the future. How would that be a valid
confession? But just because a person weeps and wails and beats their
chest doesn't guarantee that they've actually "repented". Biblical
repentance is a change of direction in the heart. It may or may not be
accompanied by outward shows of emotion, but it is often the case that
such performances never result in genuine change. So I would be very
wary of making "how you feel" the litmus test. If you've confessed,
you're forgiven. If you persevere in staying away from similar errors in
the future, then how was your "change of heart" (repentance) not
legitimate?
The second thing to say is that sin is a continuing and continual
problem for all believers as long as we are here in this world and in
these bodies of sin. Yes, we are supposed to be perfect, but there is
little worse than claiming to have "arrived" on that score since no one
actually ever has apart from our Lord. We do, we should get better at
warding off sin, and especially gross and particularly dangerous sin,
but it's probably impossible for any believer to ever free themselves
from sins of the heart or even to go a single day without becoming angry
or jealous or covetous or fearful (etc., etc.), and that is not even
talking about sins of the "ungovernable tongue". So while we do strive
against sin and make no accommodation for it (Rom.13:14), we also have
to keep firmly in mind that "If we say that we have not sinned, we make
Him a liar, and His word is not in us" (1Jn.1:10).
The upshot of the above is that believers who are trying to "live a good
life" often fall into the situation you found yourself in. Why? Because
we cannot stand on the defensive for long without falling backward. To
be successful in the Christian life requires spiritual growth; that is
our "offense". Yes we need to "be good" and fight against sin
(holiness). But we'll never get anywhere with that or start to gain
confidence in passing tests – or come into the specific ministries the
Lord has for us to produce a crop for Him – if we are not moving forward
in spiritual growth (faithfulness). That requires more than prayer and
reading the Bible (which are of course essential); it requires growing
in the truth through taking in the truth. If that is not happening "at
church" (and it's rare these days if it ever is), then believers need to
find some source of Bible teaching in sufficient substance to be able to
grow. That is our spiritual nutrition. That is the purpose of Ichthys
(and of course you are welcome here any time), but there are other
places you can grow as well (Bible
Academy being one of them; see the link). Churches ought to be
providing this service – that is the only biblical reason to have a
church. But by and large they are not (as your experience indicates).
A few other short points.
1) Re: "Right now I’m in the process of trying to make things right
with the people I’ve hurt over the last few years." You really need
to be careful with that. You are forgiven by God when you confess to Him
(cf. "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your
sight"; Ps.51:4 NIV). Putting someone else in the position of God and
putting your forgiveness in their hands is a deadly dangerous mistake;
on the other hand, if you take the position that, "well, I tried and
they didn't want what I offered", then how are you not placing yourself
in the position of God? Confess to Him. I'm not saying that if you stole
someone's guitar that giving it back is not the right thing to do, but
when it comes to having treated others poorly in the past, the only real
solution is to treat them in a godly way going forward – if you are
still having anything to do with them. But seeking them out to "make
amends" is just stroking one's guilty conscience. It is not biblical and
it is fraught with potential trouble.
2) Re: "I’ve also been getting rid of everything I can find that
might contribute to a relapse of the same kind of behavior." This is
also something one has to be careful with. Sin is the problem. So stop
sinning. I'm not saying that if a person is an alcoholic that getting
the booze out of the house might not be a good idea. But we are forgiven
when we confess – an act of grace by God since Jesus died for those
sins. We are not forgiven because we give things up. If we are feeling
"good about ourselves" for giving things up, then it was probably a
mistake rather than a good thing to do so. All self-righteousness and
legalism is built on this principle, and that is a long broad road to
perdition.
3) Re: "I’m afraid that I may have passed the point of being able to
return". All believers are saved; only unbelievers are not saved
(Jn.3:18). If you believe in Jesus Christ (as you clearly do), you are
saved. If you are not "feeling" saved or spiritual, you need to recommit to
spiritual growth and draw closer to the Lord through the truth. Wringing
one's hands accomplishes nothing. Praying is good, but you already know
the answer so getting with it is better. Apostasy is the complete death
of faith (see
the link). You clearly love the Lord. So "be up and doing" in
getting back close to Him through spiritual growth. Agonizing about the
past accomplishes nothing good.
Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.
James 4:8a NET
I have been keeping you in my prayers.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #17:
Dear Teacher,
Thank you so very much for your prayers and your encouragement too.
Thank you for the update.
Your answer was a great help too. I adjusted my writing as a result.
Thank you, Sir.
I have another question. We can pray for things with the absolute
confidence that the Lord can give them to us, but when do we know to do
as Paul instructed Timothy, that is, to take a little alcohol along with
water for his stomach troubles? Do specifics decide these things? Also,
we don't hear from the Lord now like Paul did in his own turn, so how
would we know when the Lord is effectively saying no about something
like when He told Paul that His grace is sufficient for him and His
strength is made perfect in weakness?
[omitted] Thank you for your prayers for them, Sir.
Your student in Jesus,
Response #17:
Always my pleasure, my friend.
When it comes to living our lives, we are given a great deal of general
information, commands and guidance, from scripture, but not "take the A
bus to work today, not the B bus", etc. These are matters of application
(which you seem to be asking about).
In my experience and observation, the Spirit guides us subtly when we
are willing to listen, informing our consciences and giving us the sense
that A is the right way, B not as good, and C to be avoided. Of course
we frequently do what we prefer and it is easy not to listen on the one
hand and rationalize what we want instead on the other. It's also the
case that the more we want to dig down into specifics the more we tend
to lose the big picture (and subsequently mess things up).
Here are a couple of links on this:
Spiritual Discernment (in BB 6A)
Discerning between Good and Evil (in HE 5)
Just finishing up spring break here. I got everything on my list done
(taxes, plumbing, yard work, clean up some, etc.), so I'm pretty happy
about that. I need to get back to teaching to have a rest!
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #18:
Praise the Lord... can you explain to me the spiritual death of Jesus Christ? I read this in your intro to soteriology..did this occur on the cross when Christ cried out to the Father of being forsaken..thank you pastor..love you and thank God for you..to God be the glory, in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior!
Response #18:
Good to make your acquaintance.
The main place you will find this discussed at Ichthys is in the prior
basics study, BB 4A: Christology at these
links:
You might also see the recent email posting where this is discussed, "Christology
Issues XV" (see Q/A #18).
To answer your question briefly, our Lord paid the entire penalty for
all human sins while still alive physically on the cross (that was His
"spiritual death"). This happened during the three hours of darkness.
That is what saves us (not His physical death when He gave up His
spirit). Our Lord's quotation of Psalm 22:1 was given for OUR sake AFTER
His death for our sins: He was forsaken, judged by the Father in our
place as our Substitute, in order that WE might be saved. This is also
why He said, "It is finished" (i.e., salvation: Jn.19:30), after His
victory over sin in the darkness.
He made Him who had no [personal] experience of sinning [to be] sin (i.e., a sin offering) for us, so that we might have (lit., “become”) God's righteousness in Him.
2nd Corinthians 5:21How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Hebrews 9:14 NIV
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we might die to sins and live to righteousness. By His wound you are healed.
1st Peter 2:24
Thanks much for your good words! Do feel free to visit Ichthys and write
me any time.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #19:
Thank you very much Bob..I understand. So grateful the cross of Christ and for you..Thank you my brother..God bless you!
Response #19:
My pleasure!
Feel free to write any time.
In Jesus,
Bob L.
Question #20:
Hey Dr. Luginbill,
I was going to respond to this tomorrow but figured I'd get to it
tonight because I had nothing else to do (not tired enough to go to
bed). I'm done with everything for the day anyway. Took some PTO at
work. I'm off till Friday! Gonna try to get a lot of ministry stuff done
and get some hiking in.
Not much left for me to say. Understood and agreed. It's funny because
someone used the fact that cessationism is disappearing as an argument
that the gifts are still around. People say the same about the pre-trib
rapture. They'll say, "Fewer and fewer people accept post-trib these
days." The reality is that the greater acceptance of these false
teachings this late in time is more of a confirmation that our views are
correct and that we really are getting closer to the tribulation. More
and more people are being set up for failure.
Two last things. Maybe I already asked you this, but the spiritual death
of Christ was His taking on all the sins of the world of all time,
correct? I thought I asked you that, but I can't remember.
I do remember asking you (a long time ago though I don't have the email
anymore) about the idea of God the Father leaving/forsaking? the Son
while on the cross; is that true, and if so, in what way did the Father
forsake/leave Christ? I may not be using the correct wording but that is
only because it's been so long.
That's all I have left!
Response #20:
1) Spiritual death: Yes, this is my (inherited) way of explaining/describing
"the blood of Christ", His suffering for the sins of the entire world in the
darkness on the cross (see links in BB 4A:
"the blood of Christ"
and "the
spiritual death of Christ").
2) Forsaking: Yes, when our Lord says this, it is after the fact, "Why did you
forsake Me?", a question also answered on the cross: "It is finished". Our Lord
was judged by the Father for our sins (rather than being rescued from having to
do so). If He had not been judged, of course, we would all be doomed to the lake
of fire. See the link:
"Kenosis and the cross" in BB 4A.
Why was He forsaken? For us! And praise God for that, because that is how we are
saved!
In Jesus our dear Lord and Savior,
Bob L.