Free Will "vs" Predestination

I believe there is a big controversy and argument amoung Christian denominations. Most denominations have their own "signature belief" that makes them stand out as unique. Pentecostal, Calvinists, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Catholic. All have their own unique beliefs. The problem with this is that if "Christian" denominations are different in their beliefs, someone has to be wrong. There is only one truth (not relative) and if that is the case, only one belief can be true. One who might be examining them all may struggle to find which has the most sound doctrine.

In all honesty, I don't think there is a "perfect denomination". I am Baptist because I believe Baptist takes the Bible as it is and does not answer to a higher church authority. The only authority to answer to, as a church, is God himself. However, I do not think anyone should hold too tightly to their denomination. When someone clings to their denomination, they start to worship their denomination rather than God. Rituals, sacraments, policies, traditions. These can actually oftentimes stand in the way of worshipping and following God.

We could talk about all sorts of beliefs that change from denomination to denomination, but I want to talk about a very specific topic that I believe, with exception of assurance of salvation, has the most diversity, and that is predestination. There are many different beliefs as to what predestination is and I want to clear at least some of it up. I also believe that the topic of free will ought to be explained with predestination since those two often go hand in hand.

A common belief is that some people are predestined to be saved and some people not. This would lead into "do we really have free will". If we are chosen into Heaven rather than others, can we do whatever we want? Moreover, if we are predestined to take a certain path in life, do we really have free will and the freedom to make our own choices? Or are all of our choices made because we were "predestined" to make them? If I am predestined to not enter Heaven, but I decide to accept Christ, are all those verses on assurance of salvation a lie? Would that make God a liar when he says "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved?" This is a tough argument and I want to clear some of this up by showing you what I have learned in my studies. 

Let's start with looking at some common verses on predestination. Romans 8:28-30 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." I will explain this in a minute, but let's first look at some other verses.  Ephesians 1:4-5 says, "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will". And 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

These 3 verses would be easy to mistake as being predestination into salvation, but let's take a closer look. There are 3 important methods I follow when examining a verse: What is the context? Are there other verses that explain this verse? And does my interpretation contradict what God says in other parts of the Bible? I would like to examine these verses in that manner. 

I want to first look at Romans 8:28-30 since this one is easiest to explain. Yes, Romans has MANY verses that explain salvation, but it also has explanations on what it means to be a Christian and who we are in Christ. This is the passage where Paul is talking about Christians, not lost people. Verse 28 is strictly talking about those who have been saved (and I will explain that word "called" in a bit). As we go into verse 29, we see the opening phrase "whom he did foreknow". This is very important! God already knows who will accept him. This does not mean that God only selects certain people, but rather that he already knows who will accept him. 

In this passage, we even see what the predestination is: "to be conformed to the image of his Son". Only Christians can be conformed to Christ's image. When we are saved, we bear Christ's name, but conforming to His image must be a conscious decision as explained in Romans 12:1-2. What God has predestined is the path in which we are to walk as Christians. Does this mean we don't have free will? I will get to that in a bit. 

Verse 30, then, says that those of us (Christians) who have been predestined to become like Christ (all of us), are also called into a specific ministry. That ministry may be as simple as witnessing to your neighbor, or as big as becoming a missionary to a foreign country. Every calling is as important and sovereign as the next. From there, he justifies us into that calling and as we conform to the image of Christ and follow Gods calling, we become glorified through him. That is what this passage is talking about. I find this passage easier to explain  because it is straight forward. You don't need to search for the explanation of it in other parts of the Bible; it explains itself.

Let's move over to Ephesians 1:4-5 "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." And 2 Peter 3:9 is similar in saying "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

These verses, and especially in Ephesians, it can look initially that God predestinates people into salvation. I guess that is why so many people believe it. But that belief would contradict the rest of the New Testament which clearly states that "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16, emphasis added) The whole New Testament is clear that if ANYONE chooses to accepts God's gift, he "will in no wise, cast out."

That being said, let's examine these verses. The key word in both verses is "will". Yes the verse in Ephesians states that our adoption is predestined, but the second half is according to his will. However, this is where things change. God wills that we all enter into his presence as seen at the end of 2 Peter 3:9. That is how we were initially created: pure. God designed us to dwell with him forever. But in the garden, when Adam sinned (free will), that cut ties. God cannot allow sin into his presence and that is why salvation is needed. God's created us to be with him forever, but with sin, we now need salvation. God still wills that we enter into his presence and presents the opportunity over and over. This is stated in 2 Peter when it says God is longsuffering and willing that we not perish.

God's will is different from predestination. It is God's will that we all accept him and follow him. Does that happen?  Obviously not. God's will is what he wants from us, but predestination is what God has laid out for us and chosen for each of us. We saw in Ephesians 1:4 that God has chosen us to be holy and blameless. That is God's will. Does that make sense? God wills us to accept him, but predestinates the path for those who he already knows will accept him. He does not predestinate us to be saved, but does predestinate the calling of them who he already knows will accept him. This can be something that is hard to comprehend, but that is the point. God does not reveal all of himself to us. We do not have divine understanding as God does and that is why he is God and we are not. There are some things that God reveals enough to us to know it, but not enough to understand it 100%. Some things we may simply not know until we meet Christ face to face. Just because we may not understand it fully, does not mean we can put our own twist or interpretation to it. This is warned against in Revelation 22:19-21.

So if we are predestined to a certain calling, does that mean we do not have free will? I mentioned Adam sinning in the garden. That is the perfect example of free will. God created humans differently than the rest of creation. We are the only ones that he "formed" and breathed life into. We are the only ones created in his image. When God made Adam, he put him in a perfect environment and made him to be the perfect creation, but he also gave him a choice. He gave him certain commands, one being to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave him the choice.

This oftentimes gets me to thinking. God created the perfect beings in his own image (by the way, angels were not created in his image, only us), but since sin is completely contradictory to God's nature, why did he allow Adam to have the choice to sin and go against God's nature? I believe one reason is because God wants us to have free will. Think about it, if God created Adam (and all humans) preprogrammed to love God and follow his commandments no matter what, is that really love? If you force someone to love you, is it true love? I think God gives us free will and choice because he wants us to choose to love him, not because we have to.

Proverbs 16:9 says "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." God has planned our entire lives from the beginning and predestined those he knows will accept him, into a calling that he has laid out for us. We see this is Ephesians 1:4. But we still have a choice to follow that. This verse tells us that we choose which path we take and if we choose to take the way God has for us, he directs us. But we still have the choice whether or not to follow him. Predestination does not mean we don't have free will! This does bring up the question, "If God knows who will accept him and knows what path he will take, is that path what God laid out or does God use that to his glory?" This can send us in circles and thinking all day, but the truth is: God is sovereign. He has ultimate control. Our only job is to follow God's calling and live for him as he tells us in his Word.

You may disagree with all of this, but I encourage you to forget what your denomination claims. I want you to actually examine God's word. We cannot rely on what a pastor or priest tells us, if he does not support it with scripture, and the whole scripture. Oftentimes, a verse is used to support a point, but is taken out of context or twisted to mean what a man wants it to mean. It is too often that we make the Bible support our ideas rather than believing what the Bible has spelled out for us. Again, I encourage you to really read through the scriptures and find for yourself, the truth.

Walking on Water

What does it mean to walk on water, figuratively? I wrote this lesson a while back and as I scrolled through all of my past lessons, this one recaptured my eye. The past four months has really brought me trust God more and more, and when I came across this lesson, it brought to light what it means to trust God. Our passage is not only about trusting God, but Keeping our lives on track with what God has laid out for us.


"And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased." (Matthew 14:22-32)


There are so many messages that we could extract from this one brief passage, but I want to focus on one area. The highlight of this story is the miracle of Peter walking on water. This is something I grew up hearing and learning in Sunday school, but what it really meant never really got through to me until this last year. My questions is, "Why was Peter able to walk on water?" It is an interesting question and the answer can be found within the passage.


In this passage, we see different sides of Peter, just as we oftentimes have different sides: faith followed by doubt. We first see Peter acting on getting out of the boat. Yes, he saw Jesus walking on water, but for him to walk on water must have seemed impossible. Have you ever tried walking on water? Imagine trying to walk on water for the first time, not to mention in a storm. For Peter to have stepped out of the boat, he would have had a tremendous faith in Christ. Verse 29 of the passage says, "And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus." This was Peter's act of faith, trusting that God would allow him to walk on the water.


Peter had faith, but the reason he was able to walk on water, I believe, was two-fold. He had faith, but he also kept his eyes on Jesus. In verse 30, we see that he, for a moment, took his eyes off Jesus. That would immediately imply that to walk on water, he would have had to keep his eyes on Jesus. That ties very closely to faith. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we have faith that He will do amazing things, even though they may seem impossible to us.


As we look at Peter in this situation, we see that he had faith. But he also went the other direction. As I mentioned, in verse 30, Peter took his eyes off of Jesus. Doesn't that happen to all of us from time to time? Peter took his eyes off Jesus which implies Peter lost his faith. In fact, we see this in verse 31 when Jesus says, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Somewhere in this circumstance, Peter began to have doubt and lose faith in Jesus, causing him to sink. Is this not a parallel to our lives?


You see, your life is the sea. My life is the sea. And as we sail our seas, we will run into storms. The questions is ,what we will do when we run into those storms? Just as Peter did, we have two options. We can trust God, keep the faith, and not doubt that God will carry us through. Through our storms, we must keep our eyes on Jesus. Or just like Peter, if we take our eyes off Jesus, we will sink into the problems of our sea. It really is that simple! It's not easy, but simple. When we face our storms, our trials, our problems, our adversity, we have the choice to trust that Jesus will see us through it.


I can't always say I chose to trust God in my storms. When I was young, my parents were divorced which set up many problems for me and my siblings. We had many issues to face and the divorce, I believe, affected us more than we realized. From there, as problems arose, I chose to trust myself, just like Peter, but I continued to sink. I took my eyes off of Jesus and as a result, I sank. I tried my best by any means I knew how to try to swim, but under my own power, I was unable to stay afloat. Turning to drinking, smoking, and an array of other addictions to "fix" my problems. But all those addictions just added weight and caused me to sink faster.


The good news is shown in verse 31: "And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him..." Jesus won't let His children drown. He is loving and wants to help us. He wants us to keep our eyes on Him and trust him. But as natural sinners, we are bound to take our eyes off Jesus from time to time. However, Jesus is right there to take our hands and pull us back up. As Peter was sinking in his own attempts to walk on water, he realized he needed Christ and in verse 30, cried "save me!" When we realize that we have tried to face the storm on our own, under our own power, and begin to sink, Christ will raise us up if we call on him and trust Him. That is what Jesus wants from us: our complete trust. He will forgive us and help us if we simply ask. Verse 31 says that Jesus IMMEDIATELY reached down to catch Peter and raise him back up. What love is that? Jesus has the same love for us, to pull us back up when we start sinking. All we have to do is trust Him, turn our eyes upon Him, and ask for His help.


The awesome thing in all of this is that we don't have to sink! Peter sank because he lost faith, he doubted, and he took his eyes off Jesus. But when we face problems and storms, or even in good times, we can continue to keep our eyes on Jesus. We are told that God will direct our paths if we look to him and trust him. When we continue to follow God and trust in him, the storms will come, but we will be able to hold fast because we have a solid rock to stand on: Jesus Christ.


2 Timothy 4:7 "I have a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."

Finding Peace in Adversity

I think if there is one misconception about Christians, it is the belief that being a Christian means not going through trials. It’s amazing how, when Christians go through some kind of hardship, a non-believer will use that to say God is ruthless or being a Christian means you are bound to suffer. Yes, Christians do suffer to a point as Christ tells us, but just because someone goes through problems does not mean that God is uncaring or that God causes us to undergo suffering.

It’s amazing how some people can think that being a Christian is the reason people suffer. I want to keep this simple in what I have observed: Everyone suffers. Everyone has problems, trials, hardships, and difficulty whether you are a Christian or not. That is why it’s amazing that people can believe that because a Christian is having problems, it is the result of being a Christian, when in fact, everyone suffers. And in contrast, some people believe that being a Christian means never having issues and when issues arise, they must not be a Christian, or they angered God. That is not necessarily true either.

We are told in God’s word that there will always be suffering. We live in a sinful, corrupt world where pain and suffering are a part of life as a result of the curse bestowed on us. It does not matter whether you are a Christian or not in this regard, you will always have trials and troubles. And I want to say that is about where the difference stops. Yes, many of the hardships we face may be similar (financial, family, work, etc.), but in the way we face these problems differ when you have accepted Christ.

Finally, I believe there is a misconception as to what suffering and adversity really is. In summation (because I believe this deserves a post on it’s own), we, in a general sense, have suffering because of the fall of man and because of sin. I know that seems broad and when facing problems, does not seem very helpful. I like to categorize adversity into two categories: saved and lost. I do this because the way we face adversity and the reasons why differs depending on if you are saved or not. For a non-believer, their suffering is a direct result of their sin. They continue to live in sinful lifestyle and are not experiencing God’s forgiveness, grace, and love. And because of that, their sinful choices and lifestyles haunt them.

For a Christian, this is not always the case, though it certainly can be. Christians experienced, and continued to experience, God’s love and grace. We are told in Romans, “For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (8:38-39) But because God loves us, it does not mean we will get by problem-free. God will allow things into our lives for various reasons such as making our faith stronger (1 Peter 1:6-7), helping us to grow to become the Christian God wants us to become (Job 23:8-10), makes us think more about Heaven and eternity (2 Corinthians 4:16-18), and disciplines our sins as a father disciplines his child (Hebrews 10-11). However, just because a Christian is going through problems, does not necessarily mean it is a result of sin, as we see in the book of Job.

That is a long introduction for what I want to share with you. I want to share a little of my heart with personal experience. When it comes to suffering, the biggest (and maybe most important) difference is the peace that can be found in the adversity. As a Christian, we have two options when we face adversity: become bitter and angry with God, or trust God and grow closer to him. For a Christian who is not strong in the faith, it is easy to blame God and become bitter, but that will lead to worse problems as well as consequences and chastisement. I have been on both sides of responding to adversity and becoming bitter is not worth it. I want to give practical verses that I have found is a world of difference when facing trials.

I have grown up as a Christian, so I have never really experienced what it’s like to not have a peace, knowing I’m going to Heaven. Even in the times I have grown bitter against God, I still knew I was saved. I can only imagine the horror of being unsaved through adversity. I imagine a loneliness, a hopelessness that your life has no meaning and no direction. Knowing you don’t have a protector to lean on and trust. No love. A life of despair and emptiness that can only be relieved by addictions which lead you to be more miserable. It’s no wonder there’s a high suicide rate amoung non-Christians.

As Christians, we have a protector that we know we can lean on and run to, a Father we know that loves us. (Isaiah 63:16)

When facing adversity, we must first “man up”. Evaluate the issue. If it is a result of your own sin, accept the responsibility. I can tell you that you cannot honestly face adversity and rely on God to see you through it without accepting responsibility for a sin and asking forgiveness. This also implies that you learn from your sin and grow from it. But oftentimes, being forgiven doesn’t mean you won’t reap the consequences from it. This can be difficult to live with. You have asked for forgiveness and have started on the path to change things, but still having long term consequences from it. This is when it’s especially crucial to trust God.

A lot of emotions can be experienced during this adversity. Loneliness, fear, anxiety, rejection, disappointment, depression, along with many others. The Bible addresses each of these emotions, but I want to focus on select verses that are universal.

One thing I have learned is that adversity is a crucible for humility. Adversity can humble you if you let it. For a Christian, it is a reminder that we are weak in ourselves. “When I am weak, then I am strong”. When we realise that we need to rely on God and that we cannot get through things on our own, it brings a genuine humility and breaks your pride. This may not initially be a comforting thought in times of trial, but as you progress, you will learn that it has helped you grow as a Christian and that is encouraging in itself. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

God wants to give us encouragement! It’s how we grow closer to him. When we have to rely on him and know that we cannot make it without him, our relationship gains a fullness. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). God does not like to see us suffer, but uses suffering to bring us closer to him as we see in Jeremiah 29: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye seek me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.” (vs. 11-12)

The most important thing to remember is that God is in control of the whole situation and if we dwell on that, it is encouraging. Prayer is essential. God is in control, but won’t help if you don’t seek out his will throughout the suffering. You may never understand his will and reasoning for your adversity, but praying is the way to grow closer to God. Secondly, you should study God’s word. This seems easier to do when we are going through trials than when we are going through a good time (same for prayer). But when we study, not just read, God’s word, we may not always see God’s reason for your trials, but what you will see is God’s sovereignty. You will see God’s perfectness and that He really is in control and that nothing can happen to you without God allowing it. Reading and studying Job is a constant reminder of this. When we adopt this attitude, it brings peace. Micah 7:7 is a great passage to memorize. “Therefore, I will look unto the LORD. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God hears me”. This is a verse that will continually remind you that your prayers do not go unheard. Memorize it! It’s one thing to study God’s word, but when we memorize scripture, it becomes a part of our lives and dwells in our minds.

God WILL answer your prayer. It may not be in a way you expect, but God is faithful to give you, and help you in, what you really need. The Holy Spirit that intercedes in prayer for us knows more than we do, what we need. As we grow through adversity, our prayer begins to change as well. We start to see what is really important. Philippians 4:4-9 is a lengthy passage but is an encouraging verse that not only does God hear us, but that trusting in him gives us a peace. “Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say rejoice... (6) Be careful [anxious] for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus...” I love this verse! This is one of the most important verses to memorize if you are going through adversity. But understanding these principles are not enough: we must give control of our live to God!

When we give up control of our lives to God, it’s amazing that, even through a huge storm, we have a serene peace “that passeth all understanding”. That is so true. That peace you will have cannot be explained. Some of the hardships we go through, we have every reason to be anxious, but yet, have an unexplainable peace. This is proven in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Fully rely on God and give him control, and he will take any fears from you. I know it sounds like a cliché devotional phrase but it is true and real and you can experience it, but only if you give control of your life over to God. (John 16:33)

And again, we see in Isaiah 41 that God WILL give us peace and take our fear and anxieties. “Fear not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee. Yea, I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (vs. 10)  Finally, in Joshua 1:9, we are affirmed “...Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

All of these verses are great and we may have heard of every one of them, but seem like cliché proverbs. But I mind you that these verses can become a part of you. When we hide God’s Word in our hearts, it changes us: not only to keep us from sin, but ultimately gives us a closeness to God. I want to remind you that there is a difference between reading and memorizing. Not only in the mechanics, but in the way the verse affects you.

Praying to God, asking for his direction in your life (and circumstances) and asking for his peace, will result in a peace that you will not be able to comprehend. Your situation may not change, and may even worsen, but YOU will change! God never changes, but we will. We will realise that God is in control and will help us. We realise that God may have even had this planned from the beginning. Romans 8:28-30 tells us “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purposed. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be firstborn amoung many breathern. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” (also see Deuteronomy 31:8) Ultimately, God wills that we use our adversity to grow closer to him and to reflect the image of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Adversity will change you in many ways if you let it. God will provide encouragement and peace through your trials, if you only rest on him and give him control over your life and circumstance; when you learn to let go of control. For me adversity has led me to become more diligent in memorizing scripture, has humbled me, has brought me closer to God, and has given me a peace that God’s love and grace is everlasting. If you go through adversity and trials, I hope that you decide to rely on God rather than become bitter. I guarantee that if you do this, you will grow and you will have peace. But don’t let that end when adversity ends. Christians are notorious for growing close to God in adversity and trusting him, but wane in their faith when times are good. Continue to follow God and in the end, be able to say “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)

Jesus is NOT the Reason for the Season

Everyone loves Christmas! Getting together with family, enjoying a big meal, exchanging gifts. I believe it's safe to say that Christmas is the biggest holiday of the year. I have many memories of growing up and having Christmas with the family, whether it was going out of town to spend it with extended family, or staying home and spending it with our parents. 

The more the time passes, the more I see what Christmas really means and this got me thinking: not everyone knows what Christmas is really about. 

Christmas is the second highest grossing holiday in America (Halloween being number one) and I believe there is more than one reason for this. One of the reasons is a misunderstanding of Christmas. Big meals, presents, Santa, elves, snow, Christmas carols, bells, sleighs, green and red, Christmas trees, lights, family gatherings, and more. Most people focus more on these things than what is really important. 

I work in EMS and it seems like after the holidays, we get an outburst of depressed patients and suicides. Why is that? Most of the reasons involve a feeling of loneliness or sense that they don't belong. And I think the reason is because they do not understand what Christmas means. If it's all about getting together with family, then being alone is devastating. 

There's a popular slogan amoung Christians for Christmas: "Jesus is the reason for the season". It's a nice little slogan that many Christians use innocently to try to keep Christ in Christmas (which is getting harder these days). But that is not the whole truth and is only half the story. 

I want to call you to think through the Christmas story a bit. I'm sure all Christians can agree that Christmas is about the celebration of Christ's birth. But I want you think about why Christ came to earth. Too often we celebrate the baby Jesus in a manger with the Christmas story and stop there. But why did He come and why was His birth so glorious? 

Romans is a great book that spells out what it means to be a Christian and what it is to be saved. Chapter 5 give the reason why Christ came. Verse 12 says "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned". John 3:16 tells us "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." When we look at these two verses, amoung many others, we see the real reason Christ came down. Christ came because we are sinners. If we were not sinners and did not sin, would Christ have come as He did, to die? Would we even have Christmas?

As I thought long about this post, my answer to "what is the reason for the season?" I would have answered that WE are. We are the reason Christ came, because of who we are as sinners. But I also believe that it goes deeper than that. Yes, we are the ones that Jesus came here to die for, but He did not have to come. The moment Adam sinned in the garden, God could have wiped humanity from existence and start over. The reason why we are still here, why Jesus came to die for us, and why we have Christmas is because of God's love. Think about that for a minute!

From the minute Adam sinned, God prophesied that Jesus would be born to die, thousands of years before it happened. And what I find amazing is that Jesus voluntarily left a perfect Heaven, born into a sin filled world, just to die for us so we can spend eternity with Him. Is that not love? John 3:16 tells us that God sent his Son. But Jesus also voluntarily came. John 6:38 is the account of Jesus saying "for I came down from Heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him who sent me". And in the account of when Jesus was in the garden, preparing to be arrested, he asked to not have to go through with the crucifixion. Jesus was a servant that loved us enough to stoop down lower than the common man and die for us. That is really what Christmas is about: Gods love. 

This is why it bothers me to see all these people who are so wrapped up in having to see family, getting the meal fixed in time, getting the "right" gift, and obsessing over Christmas decorations. Our country has changed Christmas into a winter holiday revolving around gifts and "holiday" trees. I think this is why it's harder for people to reflect on the real reason for Christmas. I have come to the point where I don't like Christmas decorations or celebration norms. Instead of following tradition of celebrating the modern version of Christmas, I take time reflect and remember Gods love and forgiveness. When that is your focus instead of what everyone else focuses on, your Christmas will be much more meaningful. 

But if you haven't experienced the forgiveness of God, you have not experienced what Christmas really is. Christmas becomes an empty holiday that revolves around greediness and holiday tradition, followed by depression because you know there must be more. If you haven't accepted Gods forgiveness, his Son and love, I encourage you to accept Gods gift, the greatest Christmas gift you will ever receive. 

"Don't Make Me Adult"

More and more on social media, I see the same thing: "don't make me adult", "I don't want to grow up", "don't make me get out of bed", "I don't want to adult". What I see is the attitude of irresponsibility. Many young people say they don't want to grow up (or some say they are grown up when it's the opposite). But what does it really mean to grow up?

Let's look at our terms. When we think of the word adult, we are meaning the legal age when you can have your independence. When I say "grow up", what does that mean? Does it mean to get a house or apartment, get a good job, work 40+ hours a week, give up fun and hobbies, do things you don't want to do, and pretty much give up your life as you know it? Many people think so. They think that when you graduate high school, you are forced into a grownup life involving work, college, and no longer living an enjoyable life. I don't believe this is necessarily the case. These people think they are a grownup because they are forced into that position. I hope I can explain clearly what it truly means to grow up. 

As I see it, today's norm of growing up involves the things I previously stated, but there are a lot of people who get jobs, move into their own place, go to college, even raise kids. Unfortunately, many of these people do not grow up. 1 Corinthians 13:11 states "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." This verse is the definition of growing up (along with Luke 12:42-46). 

What are the childish things that Paul mentions? Are they playing with toys, making childish jokes, laughing at farts, and hanging out on the playground? I don't think so. I think sometimes adults can partake in some of those things (especially with their kids) and still be grown up. Childish things can involve these to a point, but there's a deeper issue. What I believe this verse is talking about is the heart issue. Growing up involves thinking before you speak, learning to listen, learning to give up things to take on responsibility. 

You see, the meaning of growing up is to take on responsibility because that is what God calls us to do. It is following God's commands, not because we have to, but because we love God and choose to. The Bible is full of instruction for daily living, dealing with work, raising kids, marriage, and every aspect of life. It means to take on responsibility with integrity because it is the right thing to do, being good stewards as God commands. (Titus 1:7-9, Colossians 3:23, 1 Corinthians 4:2, Luke 12:42-46)

I know a lot of people who believe the opposite. They are "grown up" because they have a job, car, maybe an apartment, and supporting themselves. But to grow up means also to manage your money in a God-honoring way, giving sacrificially to others, making good use of the time given us, and sometimes doing something we don't want to but know it needs done. It's called maturity. Not just physical and mental maturity, but spiritual maturity. 

What I have been seeing is more young adults and youth deciding to only do things because it is required to live. They do the bare minimum just to get by, then squander their time on video games, TV, and useless hobbies. These are not inherently wrong, but when they stand in the way of responsibility and following God, they become sin. It is sad to see these young people with absolutely no desire to take on responsibility and waste their time. 

We should strive to grow into mature Christians and into the people God intends us to be. The Bible has clear instructions to grow spiritually and it should be our continuous goal to follow those instructions. We should make good use of the time given us as told in Colossians 4:5 "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time." As you consider these things, remember the passage Luke 12:42-46 "And the Lord said, 'Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful"

Is Lying Really THAT Bad?

Recently, I did a study through Genesis chapter 3 and found something that astounded me. As I dwelled on it, more truths came to life. Some things seeming to be almost paradox, others profound. And some things I found continue to remain an enigma. I have read through Genesis more than once, but one certain truth stood out to me that never really occurred to me before. I am talking about the subject of lying. For those who have read through Genesis, and particularly the fall of man, we know of the obvious lie that Satan told to Eve. But is there something deeper than just a "simple" lie? This was the question that peaked my curiosity and later on, I taught the same topic to our youth group.

Before we can go further and deeper into the subject of lying and lies, we need to look at God's perspective on lying. Today, we take lying as a norm. We are lied to in the news, in magazines, on TV, on the radio, at school, at work, and even with friends and family. Because of this, we often downplay the seriousness of lying. We rate is as much less serious than say, theft or abuse.

In Proverbs 6:16-17, God calls lying and abomination. He states that He hates lying not once, but twice in this passage. He even calls it an abomination. Abomination is translated from the Greek word "Toebah" which is translated literally into "dangerous, sinister, repulsive". We don't normally think of lying in this aspect, but we see clearly that God hates it as also seen in Proverbs 12:22.

When we read in Isaiah 32:7, "he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right", we see that God not only calls lying an abomination, but also calls it destructive. How often do we see the evidence of this? Abortion, evolution, gay marriage, relative truth, atheism. We see destruction come about because of a single lie. Currently we are undergoing the issues of the invasion of Islam. They are lied to, made to believe that if they go to war with non-Muslims, they will make it into Heaven. Look at the destruction, war, and death that lie has caused. That is ultimately the end result of lies: death. Revelation 21:8 says "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Lying not only results in physical death, but God lists it specifically as a sin that leads to Hell. Let's look at the proof of this.

If you have never read Genesis chapter 3*, I recommend doing so. In this passage, we see the account of the fall of man. But this fall resulted from the first sin on this earth: a lie. We oftentimes agree that Satan lied to Eve, but when we compare this chapter with the previous, we see that Eve had lied as well. In chapter 2, verses 16 and 17, we see that God told them not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but in this account, He does not specifically say to not touch the fruit. Eve exaggerates by saying "Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." Following this lie, Satan gave a cut and dried lie. He tells Eve that they will, in fact, not die. And from here, everything started. The result was destruction, ending in death. Even in this single chapter, we see and abundance of death.

The first death is apparent in verse 7 where we read "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." Here, we see the death of innocence. Before this, Adam and Eve had no understanding of sin, right and wrong, good and evil. The second they believed the lie and sinned, they were become sinners and no longer innocent.

We see the second death in the next verse: "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden." We actually see two deaths here, but the first one in this verse is the death of a relationship with God. We could also call this separation from God. Because of this death, humankind was (and is) doomed to an eternal death, resulting in the need for a propitiation (Christ). Adam and Eve walked every day with God and communed with Him just as you do with your friends, but now they no longer had that privilege.

The third death (and the second one in this verse) is the death of peace. Before the sin, they had no need to fear. They had an ingrained sense that God was with them and would take care of them. In fact, I'm led to believe that they weren't even conscious of the fact that God was taking care of them because they never knew the need for it in a perfect world. But now we see that they had no peace. They hid in the garden knowing they were naked, and knowing that they were no longer innocent. They walked with God up to this point and had never hid from God. But we see that they hid from Him because they were scared and no longer had peace. This death of peace goes beyond the personal in verse 15 where we see "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." This is a promise of conflict, of wars. Not only will people not have an inner peace, but this world will no longer have peace.

The fourth death is closely related to the third and is found in verse 10: "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." They had a death of security. Because God protected them and they lived in a perfect world, they had no fear. Can you imagine having no concept of fear, then within a split second, are scared for your life? I can guess this is what Adam and Eve had. They knew that they were separated from God and no longer would have His protection.

In verses 12-13, we see the fifth death. This is when Adam tries to escape his responsibility by blaming his wife. Then his wife tries to escape her responsibility by blaming Satan. This is the death of healthy marriage, or more generally, the death of a healthy relationship. This was Adam and Eve's first marital conflict. We don't know exactly how much time had passed between their creation and this event but they would have never had a fight or disagreement until now. Now we have drama, fights, divorce, hate, resentment, abuse, and conflict in relationships because Adam and Eve believed a lie.

The sixth death is seen in verses 16-19. This is proof of death of an easy life. We could also say the death of a perfect world. Now don't get me wrong, working is not a curse. God designed us to work. But after the fall, work became significantly harder. God sustained all plant life. Adam never had to water the garden, pull weeds, or fertilize. But now, work has become back-breaking. And before this sin, childbirth was not painful.

The seventh death is in verse 21 where we see God making clothes for Adam and Eve to hide their nakedness. We see God making these clothes out of skins. The skins were taken from a lamb where we have the first bloodshed: the first physical death. In addition, we see in verse 19, the phrase where we get "ashes to ashes, dust to dust". This is the death of life. This is our physical death here on earth, our growing old, our sickness and pain and diseases. This is restated in Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death..." and again in Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned". And this is the reason (along with the second death) why we have the final death.


The final death is actually seen in verse 15. With some reading into it, we see the prophecy of Christ's coming to die for us. Because of Adam and Eve believing a lie, God the Son had to come to earth to die not only physically, but to become our sins. We see the death of our LORD. This is proof, though, that we have a loving God. As soon as Adam and Eve sinned, God could have erased their existence and started over. But instead, He allowed them to continue, knowing that the world would reject him. He saw one of His creations (Satan) tear down another one of his creation that was actually made in His own image. The world, at one point, grew so much of a hate for God that He flooded the earth, only allowing Noah and his family to live. He gives chance after chance after chance for His creations to come to Him.

Jesus came to this earth with the purpose to die. He was born to die. As he hung on that cross, he cried "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" This was the first time Jesus ever referred to God as "My God" and that is because there was a separation of the Godhead. Jesus literally became sin which was completely contrary to his nature. He did all of this because he loves us.

On an ending note, I would like to share something I found interesting. Satan could have used any lie to drag Eve down, but he used the lie "you will not surely die." Don't you find it interesting that the very thing that Satan lied about was the exact result of Eve believing the lie? Because of that lie, we now have the world we live in: with death. Today, we see the world rampant with sin, atheism, blaspheme, and an absolute hate for God. These chances that God gives us will soon be up. When judgment comes, only those who have accepted Christ will enjoy God's presence. But that leads to a final point. The lies did not stop in the garden. We continue to face Satan's destructive lies today and we must decide whether we will believe him or God. Eve had a choice of whether to believe God (you will surely die) or believe Satan (you will not surely die). We are faced with the same predicament: who to believe. We Christians have calling to inform others of Satan's lie and offer the gospel and present Christ. What will you do?




*Genesis 3
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
² And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
⁷ And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
⁸ And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
⁹ And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
¹⁰ And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
¹¹ And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
¹² And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
¹³ And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
¹⁴ And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
¹⁵ And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
¹⁶ Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
¹⁷ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
¹⁸ Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
¹⁹ In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
²⁰ And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
²¹ Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
²² And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
²³ Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
²⁴ So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

How "Miraculous" Were Biblical Miracles?

All throughout the the Bible, both Old and New Testament, we see many miracles. Some of these miracles were performed by prophets, God allowing them to have the power to perform the miracles. Others were performed by the apostles, particularly after Christ's ascension. And of course, many miracles were performed by Jesus himself. In Exodus, we see the account of Aaron turning his staff into a snake, but followed by Pharoh's magicians doing the same (Exodus 7:8-13). This brings up the question of "were these miracles actually 'miraculous'"? And if so, how miraculous? What separates a miracle from say, an illusion or an amazing feat? We are going to look at a few miracles and the impossibility of them.

Several times in the Bible, people were raised from the dead. Jesus, Lazarus, and the centurion's daughter to name a few. We marvel in awesomeness of bringing someone back from the dead, but what impossibilities makes this a true miracle? Let's simply take a look at blood glucose. 

Every cell in the body requires energy to function and that energy comes from what is called adenosine triphosphate or ATP. This ATP requires 2 main factors: glucose and oxygen. Normal blood glucose levels in the body is 70-120. When it gets too high or low, the body, and particularly the cells, have to compensate. When a person dies, immediately the process of glucose breakdown begins. Someone who is alive uses aerobic metabolism (using oxygen) to creat the ATP needed for cells to function. When someone dies, anaerobic metabolism (without oxygen) takes place and the glucose is converted into lactose or lactic acid. Essentially, when we die, the two important factors for cell energy are gone and cells begin to die off. That is a partial factor in decay. 

When someone is brought back from the dead, it would be impossible for the cells to function because of the absense of glucose. That would mean the heart couldn't beat, the diaphragm couldn't allow breathing. For this miracle to take place, not only would the person need to be revived, but glucose levels restored along with essential amino acids and proteins that are already broken down. Not only would these need to be restored but blood coagulates when not circulating. When someone is revived like this, the blood would have to be restored to its original viscosity without a single embolism. This would require a supernatural divine intervention. And glucose and blood are a single factor in many factors that would need a divine miracle. 

Let's look at the brain. The brain as well needs oxygen to function. When someone has a stroke, blood supply is cut off, inhibiting the oxygen and nutrients from reaching the cells. That is why people have immediate deficits when having a stroke. When someone dies, the blood supply stops and the brain cells are no longer receiving oxygen and essential nutrients. Immediately, brain cell death begins to take place. Within 10-15 minutes, the brain will no longer (normally) function. If the person is revived, they will not have a normal life and would probably be a vegetable their whole life. For someone to be revived and have normal brain function immediately would take none other than an act of God. The amazing thing is, sometimes God intervenes like this today. People will be down for a length of time and after CPR, are revived and have normal brain function. Under ordinary pathophysiology, these people would have mental deficits but some come back with their original mental capacity. 

Let's take a look at another miracle: the lame man walking. In John 5:1-9 we see the account of Jesus healing a lame man. According to this passage, the man had been unable to walk for 38 years. When a muscle group is not used for a length of time it undergoes a process called atrophy. The muscles begin to shrink up and the muscle cells degenerate or die off. Today we see this happen. When someone has say, a broken limb, that limb isn't used for the time the cast is in place. When the cast is removed, the person doesn't have full movement and requires physical therapy to restore full movement. This miracle can seem very real to us because we see atrophy like this is short term. Now imagine a man who has been unable to walk for 38 years. His legs have completely atrophied. When Jesus restored him and allowed him to walk, we see that the man stood up and began walking. Thinking through this, we know that the man would have had to undergo major physical therapy to be able to walk again. Jesus would have not only had to restore his ability to walk but also restore his muscles and create new muscle cells that had died off. A true miracle. 

Let's take a look at one more miracle. In John 2:1-11 we witness the account of Jesus turning water into wine. When we read this, we think of it as a good miracle (Jesus' first miracle) as well as an elementary Sunday school story. But what would actually be involved when turning water to wine? We know that water is a combination of 2 hydrogen and 1 oxygen molecules (H2O). Now if we turn our attention to wine, we see that wine includes acids, sugars, proteins, many minerals, glutathione, esters, along with many other organic compounds. If it was a sparkling wine, it would also contain carbonation (or CO2 compound). For Jesus to turn water into wine, he did not just change the look and taste. He changed the complete chemical makeup. He would have had to creat molecules, minerals, and nutrients that did not currently exist in the water. And if he was turning WATER into wine (where none of these ingredients were present), he would have to create all of these from nothing. Again, this was a true miracle that could only take place by the hand of God. 

As we look at all of the miracles and realize the impossibility of each one, we realize the awesomeness and omnipotence of God. We realize just how marvelous the hand of God is. We should be awed at the power of God, but should not be surprised or shocked. God is the One who created the entire universe from nothing, as we see in Genesis. He simply spoke and everything that exists came into being. Why should we view the God, who created our world from nothing and created us from the world, as limitless in our world. Oftentimes, people are baffled at the works of God but if He can create everything from nothing, he can create organic compounds to make wine; he can create the proteins, cells, and nutrients that are no longer present in the body. He can cause a virgin to become pregnant and give birth, he can consume whole cities in fire with just His will for it to happen. For a God who created the universe, these miracles are trivial. We really do serve an amazing God. And in that, we should all the more have the desire to worship Him and live for Him as He asks of us. 

The most amazing thing about all of these miracles? The God who created the universe with simple words, who created everything from nothing, and who sustains the universe and maintains its order, also loves us enough to come to this earth and die for us so that we can dwell with Him one day. The almighty God who has the power to destroy the entire universe and eradicate sin, rather chose to come die for us. That is amazing love. Don't think that you are not important, not special, or unloved. God loves each of us and has a specific plan for each of us. He died for everyone, even people like you and me. And to think that He has individual plan for each one of us: the God who created the universe and makes the impossible, possible!