Here is a link to an article that highlights all that we become when we place our faith in Christ. It is a very encouraging read.
http://bible.org/article/believer%E2%80%99s-unfathomable-riches-christ
December 19, 2011
Why would Christ return if the believers are going to heaven anyways?
Christ returns to earth to play out the drama of human history and because earth, a new earth, is the location of our eternal destiny, as heaven and earth are united. We will live for eternity on a recreated earth.
Rev 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea
What does it mean when it says “memory of them is forgotten.”?
This is from Ecclesiastes 9:5, For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.
This is pointing to the finitude of this life. For the most part when people die, those who live on, don’t remember them. Once a generation or two has gone this is almost always true, except those people about whom we write history.
Do you go to heaven when you die?
Yes, when we die we go to the “presence of the Lord” to await the outcome of human history.
2 Cor 5:8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord
Didn’t Abraham see God in Genesis?
On the one hand the Bible seems to affirm that Abraham saw God.
Gen 18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day
On the other hand the Bible seems to clearly state that God cannot be seen
Ex 33:20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
John 6:46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.
1 Timothy 6:15 God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.
The answer to this confict seems to be that God cannot be seen in his fullness, unhindered and uncontrolled. He can only be seen in toned down physical manifestations. The man in Gen 18, was one of those manifestations. The unanimous opinion of the apostolic Fathers was that this was Jesus talking to Abraham, in Genesis 18. Many today agree.
Does God really forget our sins when we confess them? If so….then what is the deal with judgment?
Quick answer: We are forgiven legally and become Christians, when we place our faith in Christ. Once we are Christians, we can be forgiven relationally when we confess our sin. But relational forgiveness does not mean that we are not accountable for lost opportunities that accompany our sin.
Longer answer: The Bible does promise that he will “forget” our sins. But this promise is not attached to our confession, rather it occurs when we become a part of the New Covenant Community, or when we believe upon Christ. This is found in Heb 10:17Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”(This is a quote of Jeremiah 31:34). What does this mean?
A moment’s reflection causes us to say that God who knows all things cannot actually and literally forget our sins. If he did, it would mean that he does not know all things. Therefore it must be a figure of speech meaning that he does not allow our sin to prevent us from knowing him. This is how it seems to be used in Jeremiah 31:34
“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel. After that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
In the New Covenant (which is the subject here) his law will be on our hearts and we will all know him. And he will remember our wickedness no more. I take this to mean that our wickedness will not prevent us from knowing him and being with him, but not that he literally forgets it. (Longer answer is continued in next question and answer)
What happens when we who are in the New Covenant confess our sin?
1 John 1:9 teaches us that when we who are Christians confess our sin, that we are able to have a healthy relationship with God. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. When we confess we are relationally forgiven (as opposed to “legally forgiven”, which we obtained when we became Christians) and purified. Our relationship with God is back on track, after having been harmed by our sin.
However, even with our relationship back on track, there is still accountability for our actions. If I sin by selfishly refusing to love my neighbor in some way, I can receive forgiveness for that sin, and be restored in my relationship with God, but I have still lost an opportunity to love my neighbor. I am still accountable for that lost opportunity. Relationship is restored, but accountability remains.
The most important issue then becomes, “What do I do with my confession?” In my confession do I find grace, enjoy God as the source of my life, and then love him more deeply because of his forgiveness? Or do I treat confession as a routine religious duty, check off the box and go build up a few more sins for my next bout of confession?
Healthy confession leads to a deeper enjoyment of God and a life that will be rewarded. Even though we have missed an opportunity, the grace and love we experience from God creates more opportunity to enjoy and serve him, and a greater willingness to step out next time.
Unhealthy confession (a term I just made up) is about getting off the hook.
When He returns there could be shame both for sin that is unconfessed and for lost opportunities that accompany confessed sin. Please, enjoy his love in confession, find your happiness in Him and in whatever He calls you to.
If we have full memory in heaven we will have memory of loved ones who are in hell?? So how can there be no tears? I’m confused
For sake of time and to most help I am going to refer this question to Randy Alcorn on his website. Obviously this is an emotional and difficult question, as any consideration of hell must be.
http://www.epm.org/resources/2010/Mar/26/if-our-loved-ones-are-hell-wont-spoil-heaven/
What major events must take place before christs return such as a unified world leader and the mark of the beast?
Though some would disagree, I am of the camp that says that no major event need occur before the return of Christ. The world is ready for His return at any moment. Matthew 24:50 The master will return unannounced and unexpected
Wont all of us, even those who have done many good deeds, feel like Schindler, from Schindlers List, feeling shameful we could have done more?
I suppose almost every person in history could say “I could have done more”, if we mean “I could have done more Christian service or activity”. Yet the call of John in response to his coming is that we “abide” in Christ (1 John 2:28). My experience is that when we do this Christ calls us live joyful, healthy balanced lives. As we abide in him, we avoid sin, and we love one another, according to 1 John 3,4 . Of course we must also work hard and provide for our families. And we must rest. When I “abide” in Him, instead of being on a fear induced frenzy of activity, I am attentive to the direction that comes from the voice of God for that moment.
While God expresses the importance of loving one another. Would you consider this to be a commandment? Can or will we be judged by this?
Clearly loving one another is a command. 1 john 3:23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us
Yes we will be judged by this.
How do we confront what holds us back from loving others when we might not love our self based on experiences in our life?
I think it begins with honest confession to God and others. Then receiving forgiveness, forgiving others, and building our lives on the truth of God instead of the lies of our experience. It is very helpful to go on this journey with a friend. Or go to Celebrate Recovery. It is a great ministry. Or sometimes a counselor is the thing that can help. You are not responsible for what happened to you, but only for what you do with it now.
What if u don’t like your body?
Me: We probably can’t understand what a glorified body looks like completely, just as we can’t completely understand how incredible the new heaven & new earth will be. Also, some of our struggle with our current bodies has to do with societal pressure. If we look at societies through out history there are many different body types that are considered ideal or desired. We won’t have those pressures
December 14, 2011
Questions from Dec 11, 2011
Posted by dts84 under John, Sermon Series, UncategorizedLeave a Comment
Could God have created a world that was not dependent on him?
No- because he is God, everything is dependent on him. A wolrd cannot exist that is independent of him.
Regarding sunday’s service – when I was young I used to see the promise of eternal life as bribery. Now I see those promises as putting the sufferings of this Temporary life in its true perspective but could use some help resolving this.
First, let’s define bribe. A bribe is “a gift bestowed to influence the recipient’s conduct”. I assume you mean that God is bribing us with the promise of eternal life. So he would be giving us a gift, eternal life, to influence our conduct. I assume you mean he gives us eternal life, so that we would choose to love him and obey him.
A couple of thoughts aobut this.
One, God does not need us to love him. A bribe is illegal because it is an attempt to influence a person of power. We have no power over God. He needs nothing we have. He does not need our love or our good works, nor our obedience. He needs nothing from us.
Furthermore, while he calls us to obedience, he does not hold eternal life over us, incase we don’t obey. Heaven will have some Christians who did not obey very well, and are unrewarded, yet are in the new heaven and earth.
Eternal life is a gift, given to desperate people to prove he is good and to allow us to experience his goodness. Obedience then brings reward, both for this world and certainly the world to come. Neither of these fits as a bribe because he has the power and we are the needy ones.
Did God know that Adam and Eve were going to eat the forbidden fruit before they did?
God, who knows all things clearly knew that Adam and Eve were going to eat this fruit. In fact Christ was chosen to enter the world and die before all things were created. 1 Peter 1:18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. He knew that they would sin and prepared for it.
Why did God create Satan and allow evil? How does evil exist if everything God crated is good?
God created Satan as a good creature with the free will to sin. His decision to sin is generally thought to be described in Isaiah 14:12-14, in which he decides he wants to be like God. C.f. Ezek 28:12-18.
God allowed evil to exist because he wanted to give mankind freedom to choose to follow him or not. If he wanted a loving relationship with mankind, then he had to allow for evil.
It seems like there is no free will in heaven. Is this true? Will we have the choice to love God in Heaven? Will there be consequences to our choices? What makes Heaven different from Creation before sin entered it?
Heaven will be filled with redeemed and glorified people. People who have already made their choice and have now “seen God”. They do have free will, but they would never choose sin once they are redeemed, glorified and in His presence. There is no hint of people choosing anything but to follow Christ and love God in the new heaven and earth.
Heaven is different from the Garden in that Adam and Eve were innocent but not redeemed and glorified. They did not comprehend the full Goodness of God, that we will have access to, for to us, he will be the one who rescued us.
How do we as believers approach people who are blaming god for a tragedy in there life?
Weep with them and respond with compassion. Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Allow the comfort we have received from God to enable us to comfort others.
2 Cor 1:3ff Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
In the midst of comforting others and loving them through tragedy, we can start to address the “why did God allow this?’ question. I want to approach this issue really seeking to understand why they are blaming God. So asking questions is really important. What did God do that you are blaming him for? Why is he responsible? Why must he give us something different? What right do we have to blame him? Or to demand a different outcome? Why does God owe us a life with no adversity? Is it possible God has a reason for allowing this? Does it help you to blame God? Etc.
I ask questions to help understand where people are coming from and to get people thinking.
One thing that has helped me is to understand that this response is often emotionally based and not at all logical. We as humans get hurt and we want to blame someone, and God is the likely target. As long as that explanation works for someone, it might be hard to convince them otherwise.
December 7, 2011
Here is the link to the Youtube video I mentioned that uses Monty Python to help explain the historical struggle of the church to describe who Jesus was. I hope you enjoy it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yXY-q2at_Y
