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Salvation in Christ

Does Our All Powerful God Need Us?

Does Our All Powerful God Need Us?

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God created us, so does that mean He needs us? If He doesn’t need us, why would He create us? To answer these questions fully, we must first clearly understand who God is.

God Does Not Need Us Absolutely

God does not need us in an absolute sense because He is God almighty—eternally self-sufficient. He isn’t deficient because He is lonely. All members of the Trinity provide perfect fellowship. His joy of existing — any aspect of His well-being — does not depend on us. Therefore, God doesn’t need anyone for any reason.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

Acts 17:24-25 ESV

Jesus’s baptism highlights the love shared between Father, Son, and Spirit.

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:16-17 ESV

God is eternal. He doesn’t need anything from what He has created including humans. He lives in perfect fellowship. While this is clearly stated in the Bible, evil powers are always at work to discredit God’s truth. The enemy can weaponize God’s self-sufficiency in an attempt to make us dull, despondent, and defeated. The devil might communicate: You don’t matter to God; you’re on your own. He doesn’t need you. He’d be better off without you. All of these misrepresent God and even move on to malign God’s character.

While God is able to carry on and enact His will without us, He chooses not to.

God Needs Us Relatively

God created us because He is love and wants to share Himself with others. He chooses to need us by partnering with us. He has taken our shame, self-pity, and self-deprecation away by making us His sons and daughters. He has given us His Holy Spirit to teach us all things and love us with the same love the Trinity shares.

Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:5 ESV

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 14:26 ESV

Until you see yourself as worthwhile, you’ll underestimate your significance and limit your contribution to God’s kingdom. You must throw off your worthlessness and fully embrace the reality and identity God has for you.

God has a specific purpose for your existence. You’re a unique creation, so your active participation is essential. He chose to make you a vital part of His plans, part of the body of Christ. In the reality that God has created, each of us is irreplaceable. He desires fellowship with us and wants to see us thrive. In this sense, God needs us. If none of us were to rise up to do His bidding, He could make the rocks cry out, but that’s not going to happen. God made us to praise Him and praise Him we will.

God has great plans for you, but you can’t accomplish anything apart from God. We need God’s strength and determination to work in and through us, just as Jesus relied on His Father throughout His life. When we participate by faith, God empowers us. Instead of passively waiting for God to topple the giants in your life, consider that He may be calling you to fight, as David did, with the strength of God’s Spirit within you.

Since God has committed to partnering with us to the very end, don’t hesitate to step out in faith to discover who you are and to seek to advance God’s kingdom.

Learn more about worshipping God with Joy.
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Last Updated 20250316

Adjust Perspective For Peace And Joy

Adjust Perspective For Peace And Joy

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I like the serenity prayer for many reasons. One is that it teaches us to adjust our expectations for this life — to align them with God’s perspective. Would you rather be only reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy for eternity, or extremely happy in this life and miserable for eternity? Those are the two options that Jesus offers.

Recognize a Temporal Perspective

Loving the world and all it offers more than loving God and all He offers is a sign of a short-sighted perspective. God created many things for our enjoyment, so it isn’t wrong to enjoy them. However, experiencing the connection to God through His Holy Spirit meets a need that nothing in the world can come close to. What satisfies you more? Have you found deeper enjoyment with God or do the things of the world satisfy you enough such that you are not hungry for God?

Looking at his disciples, he said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh… But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.’

Luke 6:20-21, 24-25 NIV

If the world fully satisfies, beware because this means that there is no room to enjoy heaven.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Matthew 16:24-26 NIV

Unhappiness with this life is a positive indicator for desiring all that exists beyond this life.

Pivot to an Eternal Perspective

The serenity prayer reminds us to adopt a posture of surrender to God’s sovereign plan. We should partner with God to bring the fulfillment of His plan — to change what He wants to be different. But when we cannot understand the suffering that God has ordained, God would have us accept what He does not want to be different.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr

We don’t have to understand why we suffer to be at peace, but we do need to trust God to be at peace. The only way to accomplish this is by shifting from a temporary perspective to an eternal one. Suffering makes no sense if there is no end to it, but it has meaning and purpose when it achieves glory for us.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NIV

Don’t give up on God in the midst of suffering. Ask Him what He is teaching you by it. Ask Him to allow you to see the glory that it is achieving.

Learn more about finding peace and happiness.
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3 Reasons To Trust God Today

3 Reasons To Trust God Today

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Trust God today because of His faithful, unchanging love. God is not fickle; He does not change His mind but steadily works out what He has planned before the foundation of the world. Whatever He has planned will come to pass.

I know that you can do all things,
    and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

Job 42:2 ESV

God accomplishes His plans but simultaneously cares about the details of your life.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV

God wants us to be successful, although, our ideas of what this means are often different than God’s ideas. God is more concerned about His long-term goals. We can’t see that far out, so we tend to be more concerned about what is happening right now. That’s where trust becomes essential. If we are to give up our immediate happiness and keep a sense of peace, then we must trust God will work out everything for good.

Trust God Because He is Faithful and Supportive

Joshua 1 highlights God’s unchanging presence as well as defines success from God’s perspective. No matter what is happening, God will not abandon you. Of course, this chapter must be understood in context. It doesn’t mean God will grant you whatever you want. However, whatever God wants for your life, which is many good things, He is working to make it happen.

No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

Joshua 1:5,8 NLT

God’s promises for success are conditional. We can’t do whatever we want and expect awesome results. We can’t choose sin and ongoing, willful disobedience and avoid God’s discipline and correction. “Will not abandon or fail” means God will work to conform you to His image.

God encourages us every step along the way during the fulfillment of His plans. This is true for His immediate plans in this life, and certainly for His plans for the next life.

Trust God Because He Died For You

If you are a believer, God has paid the price to save you from spiritual death. He demonstrated His commitment to you through His sacrificial death. God redeems His people, removing condemnation from their lives.

Calamity will surely destroy the wicked,
    and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.
    No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Psalm 34:21-22 NLT

If God was willing to die for you when you didn’t deserve it, He is beyond trustworthy. We owe Him our very lives. Given all that we gain from being His son or daughter, He expects relatively little from us.

Trust God Because He Has Room For You

God is not only faithful and sacrificial but also affectionate. He cares specifically about you. He doesn’t simply love you, He is in love with you. God doesn’t love from a distance; He loves up close. You are constantly in His awareness. People have limited awareness, but God can stay focused on as many things as He wants.

Yet Jerusalem says, “The Lord has deserted us;
    the Lord has forgotten us.”
“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
    Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
    I would not forget you!
See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
    Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.

Isaiah 49:14-16 NLT

What does all this mean? God has room for you in His heart. Trust God because you have your own place in His heart.

Learn more about trusting God:
– more reasons to trust
– trusting God in relationships
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God Is Perfect

God Is Perfect

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Perfection is the highest quality of being which God has never needed to attain. He has always been perfect and always will be exceptional. How do you feel about God? Would you say your experiences lead you to conclude God is the standard of perfection? How much do you trust Him? Nothing is more important than your trust in God.

If there were one truth to rule them all it would be, “God is perfect.” The person who believes this has a strong, unstoppable faith. Try an experiment. Consider God as thoroughly perfect. Recognize how amazing He is. See Him for who He is. How much can you trust the God you envision? Has your hope increased?

When I think of God as perfect, it starts to correct my image of Him. I feel more positive toward Him and then I feel more hopeful. If you can’t believe He is perfect, you may feel discouraged because of difficult life events.

Is God Perfect?

Do you ever find yourself resisting the idea that God is perfect? It can be easy to doubt God is perfect. Globally, many difficult things have happened, are happening, and will continue to happen (in this life). It’s the “continue to happen” that makes it easy to doubt.

Can God be perfect if He allows bad things to continue to happen? This question causes many people to stumble in their faith. God has reasons for doing what He does that we might never completely understand.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT

If you seriously doubt God, you move into a place of judgment. Putting God on trial is the beginning of the end. Nothing good can come from distancing yourself from the only one who can help you. I discuss this and more in my book, To Identity and Beyond.

Until we are in heaven, life will continue to be a struggle. This life is all we know. What happens can have a profound effect on how you see God. Some evidence will support a loving God and others might not. We need to be able to consider God as perfect despite any negative evidence.

Regardless of how good or bad life seems, you have a powerful choice. Will you devote your allegiance to God or turn away from Him in discouragement or disgust? Will you align your spirit with His Spirit? If you refuse, you will experience some natural consequences. Consider what it would be like to be separated from God, your creator, who knows you from head to toe. It makes no sense to give up on God.

Believing God Has Faults Harms You

If God is perfect then failing to believe and act accordingly is harmful. All of us may experience a deterioration in our health to the degree we live like God is imperfect. That’s eye-opening!

Believing God is imperfect and then failing to trust Him carries with it consequences like:

  • Increased fear, anxiety, and worry
  • Increased need for control
  • Increased desire to be self-sufficient
  • Increased isolation and loneliness
  • Increased despair
  • Increased frustration and anger

Can it be any other way? If God had faults, how could we trust Him to keep His word 100% of the time? Perfection deserves our full trust.

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
    They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
    They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31 NLT

Meditate on God’s Perfection

Try an experiment this week. Remind yourself of God’s perfection. Whenever you set your mind on God, think about how perfect He is. Notice how you feel. If you feel negative, that’s probably an indicator of some spiritual work you need to do. If you feel more positive, notice how that changed for you. What changed? Trust God despite what happens and you will be blessed.

After you try this for a week, check on what insights you gained about God and yourself. Do you feel more peaceful and hopeful?

Learn more about the consequences of bad theology.
Last updated 2025/01/19

Faith Is Assurance

Faith Is Assurance

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Faith is an indicator of spiritual life. The person with faith is certain about God’s promises. Assurance, therefore, is like the heartbeat, breathing, and blood flow. The Christian without assurance is like a body without a heartbeat.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him

Hebrews 11:1,6 ESV

Is Absolute Assurance Possible?

Christians can have complete assurance, but our feelings and worldly experiences will interfere. We know there is no condemnation for those in Jesus (Romans 8:1). Therefore, absolute assurance is possible, but the subjective side of it–human emotions–can be volatile.

Assurance based on fact is different than assurance based on feeling or experience. One is objective, the other subjective. One stands for all time, the other is circumstantial but necessary and helpful. One is constant, and the other ebbs and flows some.

Assurance of salvation is based on fact, faith, and feeling to varying degrees:

  1. Fact: the words, and ideas of what has objectively happened as the Gospel is described in the Bible. The fact of salvation is either True or False (mathematically 1 or 0).
  2. Faith: the Spirit enabled spiritual sight. If the Fact of salvation is True, then the Faith of salvation must be some positive quantity (mathematically > 0). The person can have faith as small as a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20).
  3. Feeling: the human emotion based on subjective body chemistry. The Feelings of salvation can be negative or positive (mathematically any value).

For a person to be saved, they must know it as a Fact: “I am saved because Jesus lived a perfect life and died for me,” and have Faith as small as a mustard seed or greater: “I know I am saved.” Feelings are not required; however, they are expected to be more positive the greater the person’s Faith.

Faith is neither objective (physical) fact nor subjective (sensual) feeling. It is objective spiritual knowledge relative to God’s kingdom and subjective spiritual knowledge relative to a new creation’s spiritual senses. Faith sees God with certainty (Hebrews 11:1) but the world is spiritually blind.

Confidence is viewed as a subjective conviction. But in Hebrews 11:1, it is not that at all, but ‘the reality of the goods hoped for.’ From our perspective on earth we say that what is visible or tangible is solid, but in the estimate of the writer to the Hebrews, what is visible is what is shadowy, shaky, and subject to destruction. But what is invisible is sure, solid, and to be counted on.

Sure Enough by Dr. John Gilmore, Page 95

Therefore, all of the following are essentially the same:

  • confidence
  • reality
  • assurance
  • faith

Faith is confidence in the spiritual reality. It is hoped for as nothing less than a certain future. There is no “blind faith” because faith is spiritual sight.

How to Increase Assurance

If assurance is faith, then lack of assurance is doubt. Everyone struggles with doubt at some point. Doubt thrives because of weak faith, like gravity can overpower weak muscles. Low faith is under the oppressive weight of doubt–like darkness is the absence of light. The light shines but the darkness cannot overcome it.

Training can strengthen assurance. What causes low assurance?

  • guilt or condemnation
  • negative experiences
  • lack of support
  • lack of theological understanding
  • lack of seeing God clearly
  • lack of correct application

Doubt will thrive in people who shift their focus from Christ to self. Whether they believe they are too unworthy or too worthy, their focus is off-target. Doubt grows when we value our negative experiences more than we value our God experiences. Assurance grows the more we know God for who the Bible says He is.

Deviation from the truth is possible when we sin, take our eyes off Jesus, and put our trust in worldly philosophies or treasures. When we are in the flesh, we are once again expressing our distaste for God.

The only fatal doubt is complete unbelief that rejects God as real and loving (which is impossible for a believer). The best way to overcome doubt is to refocus on the Gospel message to stir up the power of faith which will eventually produce the fruit of good works.

Learn more about full assurance of hope.
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Claim Full Assurance Of Hope

Claim Full Assurance Of Hope

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You can know with certainty that you have eternal life. God desires that you earnestly claim full assurance of hope.

What does eternal life have in common with being pregnant? Just like you can’t be a little bit pregnant, you can’t possess a fraction of eternal life. They are both all-or-nothing. You are either alive or you are dead.

Many life disappointments can stir up insecurity and doubt. You might think, “Maybe I’m not saved. Maybe Jesus doesn’t care about me. Maybe I’m beyond God’s love. Yes, I’ve fallen away and my situation is hopeless.” But God provides so much for us believers so that we do not have to doubt our salvation.

The Holy Spirit Provides Full Assurance of Hope

God wants you to feel secure in His love. If your heart has impurities like anxiety, doubt, and fear, He will want to work out the impurities. As this happens, your faith and confidence will grow. Paul’s prayer in Ephesians should convince you that it’s okay to have a goal to become more confident in your faith.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14-19

Jesus Provides Full Assurance of Hope

Being confident in your faith requires humility as you trust God more. But being confident in yourself, in what you can do without God, is only pride. In this context, I present to you a difficult passage for many Bible readers.

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Hebrews 6:4-6

Is this saying it’s possible to fall away from a believing faith with no return path possible? No. Here’s why.

Hebrews is written to Jewish Christians (read more about this). They were raised under the old way, the law. They converted to the new way, faith in Christ. However, they were tempted to return to their old, familiar ways. They doubted the simplicity of the Gospel. In a moment of weakness, in their insecurity, they considered turning back to the OT (or falling away from the NT).

In Hebrews 6, Paul reiterates that there is no turning back. The only way is the way forward by faith in Christ. Returning to Egypt is futile. “If you come this close to the truth, but reject it and choose to keep looking elsewhere, you won’t find another way.” Paul is emphasizing an all-or-nothing truth. You’re either all-in or all-out. There is no in-between.

Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. If you find that one way, then you gain access to everything that comes with it. You have truth and eternal life.

You must choose which way you’ll tip. The purpose of such scriptures is exactly to sort out the issue. You must know whether you are saved or not. So which is it? State it loud. State it boldly. State it confidently.

God Provides Full Assurance of Hope

Any doubt or concern is proof you’re not one of the ones who fall away. The following verses apply to you (more on this):

Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 6:9-12

God bless you with, “full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish.” Have unhindered energy to pursue the things of God. Amen.

Read more about Eternal Security.
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escape a chained reality

Find God’s Beautiful Reality

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How much of your life do you spend in reality? How much do you spend in a fantasy world whether that is of your making or another’s creative fiction?

Taking a break from reality is healthy up to a point. But what starts as innocent can become harmful. Taking a break can eventually become escaping reality. Then what if you reach the point where you begin to prefer to escape more than you like to be present? You could then become chained (addicted) to a false reality that you find difficult to escape.

Don’t Deny Reality

We are only aware of a fraction of who we are at any given time. Sometimes this denial of who we are is normal and healthy. But at other times, we become stuck denying important information.

If you’re in denial, you could be:

  1. Believing you are better than you are (you are pridefully protecting your ego).
  2. Believing you are worse than you are (you are making a negative experience more important than it is).

Try to become more aware right now. Think through the past couple of weeks. What has been the focus of your thoughts? Is there anything resting just below the surface? What are you half-aware of? What could be buried deep? What is nagging at you in the back of your mind, but you haven’t admitted or verbalized it?

Denying the truth is usually not good. But you must escape what you can’t fully handle in the moment. On the other hand, denying something false is usually good. God wants us to die to (deny) sin and be alive to Him.

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:11 ESV

Focus on God’s Reality

Is there such a place as heaven on earth? How hard should Christians be trying to manufacture a utopia?

We can make the effort to embrace the reality of God’s truth. But this includes the truth that this life, in its present form, is passing away (1 Corinthians 7:31). We can make our lives somewhat better, but we might lose everything if we focus more on present reality over future reality. What is coming next is far greater than what we have today. Jesus said if we focus on keeping our (present) life we might lose our (future) life, but if we focus away from our present life, we will keep our future life (Matthew 16:25).

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

Philippians 1:21-24

The only true reality is the one God says is real. You might lean into other less-than-true realities when the pain is too much and you think you have no other options. But as soon as you’re ready, you should run toward God and His reality.

In what ways are you in denial? Consider how aware you are of your emotions and memories. Put together these determine the worldview you carry around in your heart. Are you avoiding these significant experience by being stuck in a rut of unchanging routine? Ask God for the strength to endure the harshness of reality, but also for the spiritual insight to behold the beauty of His reality.

God is merciful; He allows and even provides for a healthy escape. He provides moments that transcend the difficulties of life (see 1 Corinthians 10:13). When God provides the opportunity for you to enjoy life, be sure to take full advantage.

Learn more about identity and reality.
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Last updated 2024/11/24

Field with many possible directions. Choose the spiritual path, not the sinful path.

Follow The Spirit Not The Flesh

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We Christians know that God wants us to follow His Holy Spirit, not our flesh. But what exactly is the flesh and how do we discern what is flesh and what is Spirit?

Don’t Follow Your Sinful Nature

Those who follow the nature they were born with, are following their flesh, or sinful nature. The sinful nature and God’s nature are opposed to each other. Those who are born again with God’s nature, gain the ability to follow the Spirit.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Galatians 5:16-18 ESV

The NLT version uses “sinful nature” instead of “flesh”:

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

Galatians 5:16-18 NLT

Follow the Holy Spirit

The passage continues, emphasizing that true believers can consider themselves dead to their sinful nature. Being dead to sin doesn’t mean that we will never sin again. Rather, it means that we no longer live in condemnation.

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Galatians 5:24-26 ESV

For comparison again, here is the NLT:

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

Galatians 5:24-26 NLT

For those of us who have been born again as a new creation, we have spiritual life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We can reckon our sinful nature as dead, crucified (Romans 6:11). Because we have Christ, we have eternal life. There is no life without Christ because Jesus is eternal life. It isn’t possible to have eternal life apart from Jesus. Eternal life is not some resource that is separable from Jesus. The person and the life are one and the same.

Having a relationship with Jesus Christ by definition includes having eternal life. In this sense, the relationship comes first. It’s not as if someone finds eternal life that then leads them to Christ. Jesus in the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). People find and know Jesus and therefore they have eternal life.

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.

1 John 5:12, 20 NLT

Follow Spiritual Desires Not Fleshly Desires

If you are a believer, take a moment to sense your spiritual desires as separate from your fleshly desires. Depending on how you are doing spiritually and perhaps how long you’ve known God, this could be easy or difficult. If you sense confusion within you, this doesn’t mean you don’t have Christ, but it might indicate that you need more training (practice) in sensing the difference.

The Spirit desires what God desires. The Bible tells us to focus on the heavenly reality, not the world. We are to focus on what is pure and true, not what is destructive and false. The desires we have to harm others or ourselves by violating God’s holy law come from our sinful natures. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:19-23).

The more we can identify what is evil and what is good within us, the easier it will be to walk in the Spirit. Most people can understand the difference intellectually, but we who have Christ can sense the difference in our hearts.

Learn more about desire.
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Bad Theology Leads To Poor Mental Health

Bad Theology Leads To Poor Mental Health

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Reading time: 4 minutes

Bad theology can lead to poor mental and emotional health. Bad theology results from not understanding what the Bible says. This can happen by blindly trusting other people, communities, or institutions to interpret the Bible for you, instead of allowing Holy Spirit to teach the correct meaning. For the church’s health, all Christians must seek to develop their convictions.

Having Bad Theology Means You Are Deceived

Many beliefs are implicit. This means it is possible to believe something strongly but, at the same time, not be fully aware of what you believe. You might think you know what you believe, but your actions reveal what you actually believe.

This is why it is important to make your beliefs explicit. This is done by externalizing them through writing, speaking, or other form of expression. When you put your beliefs into words, you become more aware of what you believe, so you can compare it to what the Bible says.

When seeking to understand the Bible, it’s important to see the big picture message. This is done by observing how the Bible speaks to foundational truths, like the Gospel message, across many verses, chapters, and books. The Bible does not contradict itself, so passages that seem to present opposing ideas must be studied in context and reconciled to a coherent teaching.

Imagine believing that it’s possible that God can change His mind, break His promise to never abandon us, and revoke His love. The consequences on a person’s mental and emotional health would be devastating. If this were true, it would be normal to live in constant apprehension.

Fortunately for the true believer, the Bible teaches that perfect love eliminates fear. Everything God is doing in your life, because He is love, is to reduce your anxieties and increase your faith and trust in Him.

Good Theology Sees the Gospel Correctly

Good theology starts with an accurate understanding of the Gospel. The Gospel is the foundation of biblical teaching. Once an understanding of the Gospel is established, it can interpret other, less central, passages. Everything in the Bible depends on understanding the Gospel correctly. If the understanding of the Gospel is wrong, everything else will be wrong. If the Gospel has been interpreted correctly, it will be difficult to misinterpret less central passages.

The Gospel is the foundation for mental and emotional health. An accurate understanding of who God is leads to healthy thinking, feeling, and actions. An inaccurate understanding leads to unhealthy thinking, feeling, and actions. For example, believing God’s acceptance is conditional upon performance, will encourage a fear-based relationship with God. This “bad theology” leads to fear which leads to a need to continually ask, “Have I performed sufficiently today to remain in good standing with God?”

How this is bad theology becomes clear when we consider the consequences of not performing. What happens if performance is not good enough? The Bible says that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient to cover all sins and imperfections. But bad theology would say that God might remove a believer’s salvation so that she is no longer a child of God.

Such a consequence would be traumatizing because it would mean being abandoned by God. The Gospel is only effective if, by faith, a person relies 100% on Christ’s effort and 0% on self-effort. Because a person cannot gain salvation through self-effort, any amount of self-effort (whether large or small) cannot disqualify someone as God’s child. Salvation is God’s gift that He does not take back.

Any amount of faith in Christ less than 100% would indicate a similarly sized doubt in Christ’s sacrifice. The question becomes, is Christ’s sacrifice sufficient or lacking in some way? If people conclude it is lacking, then how can they put faith in it?

It is certainly possible to be permanently saved by Christ’s efforts, and simultaneously consider it essential to continue to cooperate with Christ to work out one’s salvation. Suppose God purchased a multi-million dollar house for you. You can enjoy the house and work to maintain it without the danger of God seizing it and kicking you out. God is committed to teaching stewardship, not setting a time limit for His children to get their act together.

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable [for He does not withdraw what He has given, nor does He change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call].

Romans 11:29 AMP

God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. But during the remainder of this life, we constantly need renovation. The born-again person is a new creation who is spiritually aligned with God. The animosity resulting from being God’s enemy has been crucified, leaving only a spirit that desires fellowship with God. Therefore, there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38). He can continue to remodel us for the rest of our lives. God finishes what He starts (Philippians 1:6).

Learn more about correct theology.
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Trust God To Save You

Trust God To Save You

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Reading time: 5 minutes

God will not save everyone, but that doesn’t mean you need to be insecure about your salvation, if you are a born-again believer. Place your full trust in God’s power to save you and you will enter into God’s rest.

The Bible does not teach universal salvation – that everyone will be saved. So then, what does 1 Timothy 2:4 mean? “God … wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4 NIV). Doesn’t this verse teach that God wants to save all people, and if He wants it then it will happen? Here are some possible meanings of “wants” and “all people”:

  • A: “Wants” is a general statement of compassion, different from “wills”. “Wants” says more about the nature of God than it does about what will happen. What God wants may or may not happen. What God wills, will happen; it cannot be stopped or thwarted.
  • B: “Wants” is the same as “wills.” What God wants will happen.
  • C: “All people” means “all kinds of people”, not every single person that has ever existed.
  • D: “All people” means literally every single person that has ever existed.

Given these two possible interpretations for the two phrases, we can consider four (2×2) overall meanings:

  1. Universal Salvation: God wills (B) that every single person (D) that has ever existed will be saved.
  2. Universal Inclusion: God wills (B) that all kinds of people (C) will be saved.
  3. God Frustrated: God wants (A) every single person (D) to be saved (but it won’t happen).
  4. God Satisfied: God wants (A) all kinds of people (C) to be saved (and it will likely happen – there is no reason to say it won’t happen because the statement is reasonable – it is essentially the same meaning as #2 Universal Inclusion).

God does not save everyone, but He will not let everyone perish. God wants all kinds of people to be saved, but He does not intend everyone to be saved.

God Saves All Kinds of People

The overall point of 1 Timothy 2 is focused on believers avoiding discrimination as in James 2:1-7. God wants His people to not favor one kind of people over another, but realize that the Gospel is not exclusive to one race, income level, or sex.

The context of 1 Timothy 2:4 speaks of various kinds of people:

  • Kings and those in authority contrasted with regular, everyday people
  • Gentiles contrasted with Jews

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—  for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

1 Timothy 2:1-4 NIV

The point is that the Gospel is for all kinds of people. It is not only for Jews. It is not only for the poor. It is not only for men. The Gospel levels the playing field. No one should judge whether a person is fit for salvation by their outward appearance (James 2:1-7).

How Do We Know that God Doesn’t Save Everyone?

The reason we know that everyone won’t be saved is the power to save is fully with God and not in the least with man. God chooses who will be saved (John 6:44), who will repent (2 Timothy 2:25–26), who is appointed for salvation (Acts 13:48). John Piper links this 2 Timothy passage with the 1 Timothy passage by the phrase “knowledge of the truth”, counting it as evidence that God must grant repentance before a person is saved.

Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

2 Timothy 2:25-26 NIV

God must grant repentance to people. God is the gatekeeper, deciding who will come into His kingdom (John 10:3-16). God will eventually sort everyone by their relationship to Him. He knows His sheep and He will move them to eternal life; He also knows the goats and He will move them to depart to eternal punishment (Matthew 25:31-46).

We know that at least one person (such as Abraham, Moses, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) will be in heaven. We also know that at least one person (such as Judas) will not be in heaven. The only way to guarantee this is if the power of choice is in God’s hands, not in man’s. Otherwise, Jesus’s sacrifice would have failed to save even one person.

We don’t know who God wants to save. So, we preach the Gospel to everyone, indiscriminately. The power of the Gospel and the Spirit working is what saves a person.

How is this relevant to a person’s mental health? We know that because God chooses to draw His people to Him and because He will never abandon His people, that truly saved people are secure in their salvation. God is responsible for authoring and perfecting their faith (Hebrews 12:2). Stand on the truth of the Gospel to dispel all anxiety. Rest in God.

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

In repentance and rest is your salvation,
    in quietness and trust is your strength…

Isaiah 30:15 NIV

Learn more about being secure in God’s love.
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Holy Spirit Makes The Heart Right With God

Holy Spirit Makes The Heart Right With God

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Reading time: 4 minutes

Salvation happens in the heart. The spiritual heart (not the physical one) is the key to understanding salvation. Circumcision, similar to baptism, is a picture of what happens to a saved person.

Physical Circumcision and Baptism do not Save a Person

The spiritual heart is invisible, internal to a person, and therefore only accessible by God. During physical circumcision, physical flesh is removed from the body. During Old Testament times, God used this sign to mark His people. Circumcision was simply a way to differentiate God’s people from other nations (though this does not mean that circumcision saves a person).

There are two Israels. There is the physical nation, which is God’s people of the Old Testament. And there is the spiritual nation, which is the true believers in Christ. Circumcision was a sign of faith, given to the physical nation, chosen by God over all other nations. Likewise, baptism is a sign of faith, given to the spiritual nation, those chosen by God out of all people.

Both circumcision and baptism take place after people become true believers. Their purpose is to publicly identify with Christ, not to save a person from sin. They are a sign of what has happened; they offer no value toward saving a person. They are a physical (external) sign of a spiritual (internal) reality.

Abraham was circumcised after his faith. Non-believing infants were circumcised and non-believers today can be baptized, but there is no reason to do this. NT believers are baptized only after the testimony of their faith. This is why Paul can argue that circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing (Galatians 5:6).

For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

Romans 2:28-29 NLT

Circumcision of the Heart Permanently Identifies a Person With Christ

To become a believer, Christ must perform a spiritual circumcision on the heart. He must cut away the sinful nature, causing the spiritual heart to come to life. Once done, the person’s union with Christ is complete and irreversible.

For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.

For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

Collosians 2:9-14 NLT

Just like it is impossible for a man to become uncircumcised, it is impossible for a true believer in Christ, who has been spiritually circumcised in the heart, to return to spiritual death. The Christian who has been circumcised has had his physical nature cut away. It cannot be “glued back on.” The person who has become alive in Christ is fully identified with Christ. Just as Christ lives forever, so will the person whose record of charges has been crucified.

God resurrects His people to spiritual life. He will never then kill them, returning them to spiritual death. The Christian is a new creation in the sense that his heart is spiritually different than the non-believer’s. If you are saved, recognize your circumcised heart and rejoice in what God has done for you. God’s saving is a profound alteration that brings a person to such fullness of life that it can never die.

For further reading:
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/circumcision-heart
https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/how-do-circumcision-and-baptism-correspond
https://christianconcepts.com/guard-your-heart-or-you-will-become-lost
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Should Feelings Be Trusted Or Discounted?

Should Feelings Be Trusted Or Discounted?

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Reading time: 4 minutes

Feelings are God-given and helpful. They should always be considered and used to make decisions. But the way they are used makes all the difference. Feelings should always be acted upon, but discernment is necessary to know how to act. Do not ignore feelings, but do not consider them to have absolute authority either.

Impulsivity and Feelings Do Not Mix Well

One way to view feelings is as an impulse. An impulse is feedback gained over a very short period. Therefore, it can be highly unreliable. Doing something on impulse means taking action without first reflecting on its consequences. The result will be extremely variable. They could be disastrous, wonderful, or anywhere in between.

Impulse shopping often leads to buyer’s remorse. We’ve all been there. And there is a place and time to act impulsively–within predetermined limits, acting impulsively is how we have fun. It’s the lack of limitation that creates significant problems.

Imagine feeling incredibly sad, not knowing why, and acting in the first way that comes to mind. Our first instinct will be to act according to our conditioned response (habits). Unfortunately, that action is usually destructive rather than constructive. The result might mean feeling good at first but suffering even more later because of it.

Discernment and Feelings Are a Perfect Match

When should you trust your feelings? When should you not? God gave us feelings for a reason. But it’s up to us to learn how to use them for gain rather than loss.

To use a feeling for good, the first step is to identify what the feeling means. What is the feeling communicating about your condition? For example, if you are feeling sad, stop and figure out why before you act. There can be numerous reasons why you feel sad, each one having its optimal response.

Consider the following reasons and how your optimal response might be different for each one:

  • A loved one recently died.
  • You are lonely.
  • You recently went through a divorce.
  • Your favorite food is no longer being sold.
  • You are experiencing a hormonal imbalance.
  • You didn’t get enough sleep.
  • You lost a game, event, or race you expected to win.

Much better than returning to your dysfunctional coping of over-eating, you can use discernment to determine the root cause of your sadness.

Feelings Help People Make Better Decisions

It’s possible to experience negative feelings and use them to alter your direction in life. Think of your feelings like your ability to taste or smell. You don’t continue eating if the food tastes bad. But you can be glad you can taste spoiled food and stop eating.

Just because you feel like you want to steal something, doesn’t mean you should. But the urge to steal something should help you learn what you need emotionally. Perhaps you need to ask God for what you need more often.

Always consider how there could be a legitimate way to satisfy your feelings. You might feel hungry for junk food, but how about eating healthy food to satisfy your hunger instead?

Or, you might have a goal to lose weight to be healthy. Without a healthy option, the healthiest thing to do might be to not eat. You’ll feel unsatisfied, but you have a higher purpose in mind: enjoying being in shape.

You might feel angry like you want to get revenge. If you follow through with revenge, you’ll likely only create more problems for yourself and harm others. But feeling angry tells you that some changes are needed. You could recall the saying: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Emotions are an excellent catalyst for learning life lessons. Sometimes this means learning the truth, but at other times this means unlearning what is false.

Emotions are indicators that require interpretation. They aren’t a green light to act inappropriately. If you continue to act spontaneously on your feelings, then you’ll eventually find yourself someplace you’d rather not be. Wouldn’t it be helpful if we could taste the regret before we act?

When you have to make a decision that requires discernment (a decision that isn’t clearly right or wrong), your feelings can act more like faith, intuition, or gut instinct. Thank you God for this gift of discernment. Help us all to grow in wisdom by your Spirit.

Learn about loneliness.
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Last updated August 4, 2024.