Thinking About "Whether or Not I'm Saved"

OK -- I hope this is hugely helpful and taken in the friendly spirit I intend. It's a bible verse related to whether or not someone truly knows God. 1 John 2:3 says, "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments." Which is to say that if we don't keep God's rules, then we don't have the same assurance that we actually belong to him. On the other hand, it's a good sign if you care! That "assurance of salvation" is of extremely heavy importance, second only to salvation itself, the heaviest topic, due to how great God and heaven are, how terrible hell is, and the duration involved. As they say, forever is a long time.

If you think you're "saved", but you don't follow God's ways at all, why should anyone believe you? Are you sure you're saved?

About salvation...it's indeed a free gift, given to those who have faith (John 3:16; Romans 3:20-22; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9, etc.). At the same time, after you come to faith in Jesus, bring on the good works!

Please look for yourself. Read 2 Peter 3-11, and notice what it says about leaving your past ways behind, and making sure about your calling and election. Notice also the progression in verses 5 through 7, where it starts with faith, but adds "virtue", which may also be called "goodness" or "moral excellence". Keep God's commandments, by faith!

Ephesians 2:8-9 (referenced above) teaches that people are saved by the grace of God, through faith. But verse 10 says that believers are "created in Christ Jesus for good works." That's such a profound statement, and directly correlates with keeping God's commandments...the very purpose for our re-creation is so that we may take part in good works.

If you consider yourself a believer, you must trust the Lord to help you do all the things he wants you to do. There are actually many, many verses in the Bible about the importance of following God's ways, keeping his commandments, and the idea that if you won't follow God's ways, you lose your certainty of being saved. If you want me to propose some additional verses, please leave me a comment. Or ask any question you'd like to ask.

May the Lord bless you and keep you!

Yes, You Sure Can...Be Absolutely Sure of God's Affirmative Answer, When You Ask for Wisdom Without Doubting

Last night, Zachary, my 21-year-old son, asked me out of the blue if I'd ever thought about praying -- without any doubting whatsoever -- for wisdom. (That concept is from James chapter 1, which he had recently studied.)

I answered that I'd just read that same chapter that very morning! Zach and I have this serious "same wavelength" thing going on.

We then talked about the wonderful promise that a believer can make this request of God, and then just know that God will give the needed wisdom. It's such a strong promise that it's said the person who doubts shouldn't expect to receive anything from the Lord. (What a joy to have these conversations with an adult son.) Friends, we're clearly told to ask and not doubt!

So...make the request, believe that you'll receive it, and wait for that certain wisdom! God is so good to us!!!

The "Weakness" of Jesus Christ, and His Power in the Church

This post is for the church.

"He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God." (2 Corinthians 13:3b-4a, ESV)

How strong is Jesus Christ? Infinitely.

We should never forget!

To be sure, He exercised power at the Cross, but there He exercised it through weakness. (Would that be properly called irony?) In weakness that was phenomenal for such a being as Jesus, He made the (only) way for all our sins to be dealt with. He absorbed the full wrath of God so we'd never have to, if only we'd believe. At the present time, He's powerfully, actively, and intimately involved in His church - building, teaching, rebuking, cleansing, and pouring out grace. He knows us personally, through and through, and He works in us constantly, individually and collectively. The details of our lives are not random, as they sometimes appear, but are always parts of His plan to make and remake His church, sanctifying each of us with precision.

And talk about an extreme makeover! When Paul wrote, "He is not weak in dealing with you," the context was that of confronting ongoing sinful behavior, dealing with it in the power of Jesus. Amazing. Part of the love of Christ is working to cleanse His people. Sometimes He uses us to remind each other of things we should have already been keeping in mind. Sometimes He uses circumstances to bring discipline. Regardless, it's done by Christ out of love for the church, His bride. As Paul said, it's "for building up and not tearing down." (2 Corinthians 13:10)

These reflections make me want to revere Him more, to draw near to Him, to receive and submit to everything He has for me, with appreciation that everything He has for me is a gift born of His love. They also make me want to be deeply involved with God's people, the church, including my home church, knowing it's a crucial context for all this precious work to be done by our awesome Lord. Hopefully, we'll always be telling each other things we need to hear as we grow together in Him.

May the Lord bless you today, and every day.

The Wonder of the God-man, Back from Death

Last night I happened to read about the death of Christ, from Matthew 27. This time through the gospels, the wonder of the God-man has me in especially awe. And that part of the story...it's as gruesome as it gets, though stated in very simple and brief terms, seemingly - nearly - on the verge of - almost casual mentions of Jesus being scourged and crucified - brief mentions, yet packed with dread and meaning, and somehow...GLORY!!!


Knowing what was coming next, I set the book aside for the night, leaving the tension unresolved, allowing the weight of his death to linger in my mind. How bizarre that the royal Son of God would endure such ignominy, subject to the wrath of God, and for what? Christ's death shows us the terror and gravity of our sins against God, and the lengths he was willing to go to redeem us - amazing love!!!

Reading again this morning, I imagined myself there with the women as they came upon the empty tomb. The Bible says an angel met them (a fearful proposition), but he said, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said." The women apparently believed right away, hurrying to tell the other disciples, their minds no doubt ablaze with thoughts of their dear Jesus, not only the most profoundly impactful teacher and miracle-worker they had ever seen and heard, but at the same time the dearest and closest of dear close friends - and though he had died, he was back, and they would surely see him before long! So they hurried, off as instructed, in the direction of Galilee. But then, suddenly: THERE HE WAS, back from the dead, he greeted them, in person, fully alive, standing upright with no problem, better than ever (so to speak), again breathing our air and using it to speak words of life. Of course the ladies embraced Him, but not with the hug we might expect - they "took hold of his feet and worshiped him."

And so we worship!!! This same Jesus is as alive today, every bit as near (if not nearer) to those who worship. And the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a life-giving reality for us who believe. #constantblessedness

Next in the story, the women went to tell all their friends...

Is the Word of God Inerrant?

It's foundational to logic that A and non-A cannot both be true.

(BTW, I love these discussions, and although I know the consequences of what we believe are often super-heavy, the conversation can still be polite and enjoyable, even in the face of major disagreement.)

I believe the word of God to be inerrant because of passages like John 10:35, where Jesus says, "Scripture cannot be broken," also Proverbs 30:5-6, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, and don't forget the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:18, "For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished."  Every mark that was made can be trusted.

How can these passages have any meaning at all if the Scriptures aren't completely true? (Read: inerrant.) For the Bible to make sense, these have to be true, and if these are true, the Bible is true, reliable, etc. On the other hand, if the Bible isn't true, we should throw it out. But we have excellent reasons to believe the Bible. So we (Bible-believing Christians) talk about the Bible being our ultimate authority for faith and practice.

It's important to remember that inerrancy extends only to the original writings, not the copies, but the copies do bear witness to the originals. Great & thorough witnesses they are!

If anyone disagrees with me, I trust they will respect me and intend me no harm. As has been affirmed by others, yes, we should respect and love people who hold different opinions than we. However, saying, "We must respect others' views..." is too nebulous to be obeyed without qualification. We do no favors when we acquiesce, acting as if opposing views can always be reconciled - they can’t. “A and non-A cannot both be true.”

Many people don't like to hear certainty in theological discourse. It's arrogant and offensive, they'd argue. I agree that we should be perfectly willing to change our views if the evidence demands. In fact, this is a hallmark of being a humble person! However, we should hold tightly to our views when the evidence is overwhelming. If you EVER find the truth, don’t let go!

What comes to some minds at this point: “What evidence do you have that the Bible is true?” Others will argue, “You’re using circular reasoning, using the Bible to prove itself!” Probably the best answer is found in the Resurrection of Jesus. Multiple witnesses attest to the Resurrection of Jesus, and Jesus affirmed the Bible. It's that simple, but it’s really a topic for another post. The point for now is that it makes perfect sense to affirm the whole Bible, to the exclusion of other views, the Scriptures being 100% accurate in the original writings.

Let's Talk Some More About Race

It has been said:

Majority groups in a fallen world
will inevitably behave oppressively.

One of my points today is that "whites" must be sensitive and responsive to an unfortunate reality: many non-whites feel that "white oppression" or white "cultural imperialism" is widespread and extremely hurtful.

In a recent online discussion, I read the suggestion that the baby's face on the Gerber jar is a token of white dominance - the image should be changed, the man wrote. Also in question was the voice we might hear at an automated store checkout counter - just another "white voice". Other examples were proffered as well.

Are the folks at Gerber seeking to oppress? More precisely, should the image on the baby food jar be understood that way? Certainly not, considering its origins. At the same time, maybe Gerber would be wise to change it if a misunderstanding has arisen. And the lady's voice at some checkout stands...  Some say she sounds Caucasian (part of the world takeover!). Who's to say? Should she speak with an accent to make some people feel better? That would be strange, to say the least.


One writer mentioned Barbie dolls as an example. In past times, in some settings, children outside of the U.S. wanted that pale blonde doll! Dark skin was deemed inferior - for some the hurt remains today. But who is to blame that children around the world have many times wanted a light-toned Barbie doll? Are the lighter-skinned people of the United States somehow at fault? On a personal note, should I feel guilt because others feel bad about their skin color? Yes, it is truly sad that many darker-skinned people wish they were lighter. And the history of oppression of various kinds is undeniable and horrible. It's also terrible that many people in general make judgments based on skin color and ethnicity. But bring in the long-term perspective: we all came from Adam and Eve (who probably had darker skin than I); we were all made by One Creator. We should love one another!

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God... (1 Jn. 4:7)

Obviously one may latch onto particular examples to illustrate apparent unfair dominance of "white culture". Whether or not the examples used are good ones, we can all practice sensitivity toward people who may be different than we. We must make a habit of going out of our way to show love to people of all varieties of backgrounds and ethnicities. Many people feel  victimized - wouldn't it be great to heal that?!? (But part of the healing would be to help people to stop believing that they are victims!  Another part would be to work to end all oppression.)

Friends, it is not a superficial or simple approach to say, "Let's love one another." Institutional change can play a role, but the power to change the world has to work in individual lives. It's like yeast working through a batch of dough; it spreads one small step at a time. Connect with people, be a servant, reach out, show that you care. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Pray to the Lord God to shine His light through all His people, to all nations.