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The Role of Faith and Works

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Lots of Christians struggle with the role of faith and works in the life of the believer. Since there are a myriad of positions on this debate, it can become quite confusing to sort through the various views and determine which is right. During my life as a Christian, I have held almost all the various positions at one time or another, but in the last fifteen years or so have settled on a position which seems to make the most sense of most biblical passages surrounding this debate.

role of faith and works

One reason I am sharing this now is because a reader submitted the following question:

I am new to the Christian religion. I thought that I was believing correctly and realized that a relationship with Christ is all about faith and not works. I’m not going to lie, I still have doubts about what I believe and am still learning. Every time I read something about Christianity and faith I get a new outlook on it, then I read something else about works, works, works, there is no faith without works and then I get discouraged and fearful.

I have tried to read books and internet to get some clarification of the bible, I think well this person would be good to learn from because they are so knowledgeable about the Bible and then they speak about faith and works and I get so confused all over again.

I came across your website by accident really and I’m hoping to learn more from it. Thanks.

Thank you for reading.

The question you have asked is one of the most fundamental questions that can be asked, and yet at the same time, a question which never seems to get answered.

As you have discovered, there are a thousand different ways people try to answer this question. Some say “faith alone.” Some say, “faith plus works.” Some say, “faith that leads to works.”

The Role of Faith and Works in the Life of the Christian

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I have a position on the role of faith and works which seems to make the most sense out of most of the troubling and difficult passages of Scripture.

Essentially, when it comes to the role of faith and works, it is critical to understand the important distinction between the free gift of eternal life to all who simply believe, and many of the other benefits of the Christian life which can be gained through following Jesus daily.

Not many recognize this distinction, which causes them to read passages about the cost of discipleship as if they were passages about how to receive eternal life. As you can imagine, this causes them to read the passage wrongly and apply it incorrectly.

Here is a little chart which begins to show some of the distinctions between the free gift of eternal life and the life of discipleship as a follower of Jesus.

Eternal Life The Abundant Life
Free Gift Prize
Received through faith alone Received through faithful living
Once for all time A daily practice
Instant justification Life-long sanctification
Jesus paid the price The Christian pays the price
Believe in Jesus for eternal life Follow Jesus as Lord of your life

There are certainly other distinctions that could be made, but these are some of the basic ideas to get you started as you seek to understand the role of faith and works in the life of the believer.

So as you are reading the Bible and seeking to follow Jesus, remember these distinctions, and many of the tough texts will begin to make a lot more sense.

The Role of Faith and Works in the Bible

cost of discipleship faith and worksIt is also helpful to understand that probably about 95% (or more) of the Bible is primarily concerned with the right-hand column of the chart above. When you read in the Bible about proclaiming Jesus as Lord, following Jesus, taking up your cross, eternal reward, inheriting the Kingdom, life in the Spirit, faithful living, and on and on and on, the author who wrote that text was primarily thinking of how we should live as followers of Jesus so that we can experience the life God meant for us to live.

Let me put it another way: Most biblical authors assume that their readers have already received eternal life by faith. Most biblical authors assume that their readers want to know how to obey God and follow Jesus better.

The Bible is primarily a book for discipleship. While there are many texts which tell readers how to receive eternal life by faith alone, the vast majority of the Bible is intended to encourage and inspire those who have received eternal life to live in light of the free gift they have already received.

There is a lot of confusion about the role of faith and works

As you have discovered, there is a lot of confusion among Bible teachers, pastors, seminary professors, and Christian authors about the role of faith and works in the life of the believer.

I have no desire to criticize these other teachers and writers, so let me encourage you to go ahead and read and learn from as many of them as you can. As long as you understand the basic distinction I have briefly laid out above, and recognize that most teachers and writers are going to be a little confused on this topic, you can benefit from what they teach and write by making the little mental adjustment in your mind to whatever they are saying.

take up your cross daily faith and worksSo, for example, if your hear a pastor saying, “You have to take up your cross daily and follow Jesus in order to go to heaven when you die,” you can look in the text he is preaching from (maybe Matthew 16:24-26 or Luke 9:23-26), and see that Jesus is talking about saving your life (which is NOT the same thing as receiving eternal life) by living in a profitable way here on earth (cf. Luke 9:24-25). You will further see that Jesus is referring to receiving glory, honor, and recognition from Him when He returns (Luke 9:26). Again, this is not eternal life, but is the prize or the reward of living life for Jesus, which has benefits here and now and benefits for all eternity.

One of the key passages which is often debated regarding faith and works is James 2:14-26. I have written previously about James 2, dead faith, and the faith of demons so won’t write about this text here.

Obviously, a lot more could be said on this, and eventually I hope to write a lot more about this important topic. Hopefully this will be enough for now to steer you in the right direction on the role of faith and works in the life of the believer.

By the way, one book I highly recommend on this topic (though it rather expensive) is Joseph Dillow’s Final Destiny. An earlier version of this book was of immense help to me as I learned about the roles of faith and works in the life of the believer, and how to understand most of the tough texts in the Bible on this topic.

Will Lukewarm Believers go to Heaven?

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Have you ever read about the lukewarm believers in the church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:15-16)? I am sure you have. Many people wonder about these lukewarm believers and what Revelation 3 teaches about their eternal destiny.

lukewarm believers hot cold

Here is a question that a reader recently submitted:

What does the Bible mean when it refers to Lukewarm believers? Will they be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

Lukewarm Believers in Laodicea

Almost any Bible commentary will provide some decent background about this imagery of the lukewarm believers in Revelation 3:15-16. These books will probably tell you that the city of Laodicea had water piped in from Hieropolis, which is a few miles to the north. By the time the water reached Laodicea, it was lukewarm water.

Have you ever drunk lukewarm water? It’s not so good. You either want it hot or cold, but unless you are really thirsty, almost nobody drinks lukewarm water. You might even spit such water out, just as John writes in Revelation 3:16.

Though I hear that Europeans sometimes drink soft drinks and beer at room temperature (any Europeans want to confirm or deny this?), I think most people prefer their drinks to be either hot or cold, but not lukewarm. This is even true for Europeans with some drinks (like tea or coffee). I like iced tea and iced coffee (even if neither is sweetened), and I like hot tea and hot coffee, but I will rarely drink lukewarm tea or coffee. Blech!

So this is the imagery that John is using in Revelation 3:15-16 when writing about lukewarm believers in Laodiciea. Through John, Jesus is telling the believers to be either hot or cold, but not lukewarm.

Some pastors like to say that God only wants “on fire” Christians, that a “cold” Christian is not desired. Then they quote this verse to prove it. Well, you cannot use this verse to make that point. Jesus says, “I could wish you were cold or hot.” Don’t read too much into the imagery. There are different ways to follow Jesus, and Jesus isn’t too concerned about how you follow Him; only that you do.

There is not a whole lot in the context which helps us determine who is a lukewarm believer and who isn’t. These lukewarm believers claimed to be rich and wealthy, without needing anything (Revelation 3:17), but in reality, they were wretched and poor. Jesus challenges them to be zealous and to repent, and to let Him enter into fellowship with them (Revelation 3:19-20).

We could probably say that lukewarm believers are those who are self-sufficient and think that they don’t really need anything from God to get through life, and who don’t really think they need to repent of anything, and who don’t think that their life will be much better if they spend time with Jesus.

lukewarm believersA Christian who is refreshing to be around and a Christian who is fired up is a follower of Jesus know knows they don’t have it all together, who knows that they aren’t perfect, and who knows that there is nothing better than hanging out with Jesus as He leads us into the world.

So that answers the first part of this question about the lukewarm believers. What about the second part of the question …

Will Lukewarm Believers Enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

Well … there are two answers here. There is the answer to the question that was asked and then there is the answer to the question that I think the person might have been trying to ask (though I could be wrong).

So first let me answer the question that I think the person was trying to ask. I think they were trying to ask, “Will lukewarm believers enter heaven?” or “Will lukewarm believers go to heaven when they die?” or maybe even “Can lukewarm believers still have eternal life?” I think that this is what the person was asking.

And the answer to these questions is an unqualified YES.

Eternal life is a free gift of God to everyone and anyone who simply and only believes in Jesus for it (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47, etc.). Good works play absolutely no role whatsoever in earning, keeping, or proving eternal life (Eph 2:8-9; Rom 4:5; etc.)

lukewarm believers Revelation 3:16So if a person believes in Jesus for eternal life, they are given eternal life by God. Even if they become a lukewarm believer, they continue to have eternal life. Yes, Jesus says He will “vomit” them out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16), but this has nothing to do with losing eternal life. Jesus is just continuing the imagery of the hot and cold water.

Furthermore, for those who overcome, that is, for those who remain either cold or hot, Jesus does not say, “You get to go to heaven when you die,” but rather, “You get to sit with Me on my throne” (Revelation 3:21). So you see? Being hot or cold does not earn eternal life. Instead, it earns the reward of co-ruling and co-reigning with Jesus Christ in His Kingdom.

And this brings us back around to the question that was actually asked. The person who sent in this question wanted to know if lukewarm believers will be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The answer? No. At least, not as long as they remain lukewarm believers.

You see, the Kingdom of Heaven is not the same thing as “heaven.” The Kingdom is not the same thing as “eternal life.” The Kingdom of Heaven is the rule and reign of heaven, just like the Kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God. Believers who live according to the values and principles of the Kingdom of Heaven can begin to experience the rule and reign of heaven in their life right now! But if believers refuse to live according to the values of the Kingdom of heaven, then obviously, they cannot enter into the experience of the Kingdom of Heaven.

An Illustration

Let’s say someone gives you a million dollars and along with it you get a free membership to a Millionaire’s Club. Wonderful! But let us also say that the only condition to enter the club and enjoy all that it has to offer is that men have to wear a tux and women have to wear a nice evening gown. On the first night you wear jeans and a t-shirt. The guard up front says, “I am sorry. You cannot enter.”

“But I am a millionaire!” you say.

“I am sorry,” he responds. “You cannot enter the club without proper attire.”

This is somewhat how it is with the Kingdom of Heaven. As a believer, you have everything you need for entrance. But if you don’t adopt the principles and values of the Kingdom, this doesn’t mean you don’t belong … it just means you cannot experience it.

What sort of values are needed to experience the Kingdom of Heaven? Well, the sort of values which will make you either hot or cold to Jesus … values such as kindness, generosity, humility, patience, love, self-control, and other such Christlike attitudes.

So just to sum up … lukewarm believers are those who simply do not follow Jesus and don’t really seem to want to. Yes, they are still believers who have eternal life and will go to heaven when they die, but they are missing out on most of what the Christian life has to offer and due to being lukewarm believers, cannot experience the Kingdom of Heaven in all its joy.

What is the sin unto death in 1 John 5:16-17?

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sin unto deathRecently someone sent in a question about the sin unto death.

When I was writing my book about The Unforgivable Sin, I originally intended to include chapters on Hebrews 6, 1 John 5:16-17, and other similar passages that cause trouble in the minds of many. If you have read that book, you know that while it deals with some of the popular teachings about the unforgivable sin and the primary text of Matthew 12:31-32, it doesn’t deal with these other passages that are used to teach that certain sins can lead to God’s ultimate rejection. I have plans for a future expanded edition of that book, but that is still many years off.

So until the new version of that book comes out, maybe I can write a few blog posts once in a while about these other passages. I was given the opportunity recently when someone sent in this question about the sin unto death in 1 John 5:16-17:

Got any thoughts on 1 John 5:16-17? What is the Father telling us about the sin unto death? Most ministries I have heard really don’t know and don’t teach on this.

For some reason, when people read the Bible, they tend to put on spiritual-colored glasses so that words which mean one thing in any other context mean something completely different when read in the Bible.

For example (and I have written about this before), take the word “saved.” If you were reading a book on finances, or energy conservation, or health tips, or almost any other topic, and the headlines read “8 Ways to Save!” you would understand that the word “save” has nothing to do with eternal life.

Yet when people read the Bible, they put on their spiritual-colored glasses so that when they read the word “save” they often put a spiritual twist on the word “save” and interpret it as having something to do with eternal life. Most of the time in the Bible, the word “save” (and saved) have nothing to do with eternal life.

The same is true with the word “death.”

Sin Unto Death

If you read an article in a newspaper with the title, “8 Things that Bring Death,” you would know that the article is probably going to talk about 8 things that ruin your health and bring an early death. It might include things like smoking, not exercising, stress, or jumping out of airplanes.

Yet when most people are reading their Bibles (and they have their spiritual-colored glasses on), and read about some sort of sin that brings death, they put a spiritual twist on it, and think it is referring to spiritual death, or losing your eternal life, or something like that. This is what happens when people read about the sin unto death in 1 John 5:16-17.

A similar thing happens, by the way, when people read James 5:19-20 which talks about saving a soul from death. The word “soul” doesn’t mean “spirit;” it means “life.” So to save a soul from death means to save a life from death. And again, if we read without our spiritual-colored glasses, we will remember to read the word “save” as having nothing to do with eternal life and the word “death” as not referring at all to spiritual death or losing eternal life.

Sin Can Cause Death

In other words, James 5:19-20 is saying the exact same thing as 1 John 5:16-17: there are certain sins which can bring death.

But how should we respond to people who commit these sins? Here is where some of the confusion enters, because John seems to instruct his readers not to pray for people who commit sin leading to death. Does this mean that when Christians commit certain sins which may lead to death, we should not pray for them?

Hardly!

sin unto death

In one of his commentaries on 1 John, Zane Hodges points out that all sins ultimately lead to death, so what John is referring to here are “sins for which death is a rapid consequence” (BKC, 902). So when John says, “I am not saying he should pray about that,” Zane Hodges writes, “But this clearly does not forbid prayer even in the most serious cases. But naturally in such cases believers will submit their prayers to the will of God” (BKC, 903).

If this sort of interpretations seems strange to you, just remember that there are groups of people today who do in fact pray for the forgiveness of people who have already died. Apparently, there were people in John’s day who were praying similar prayers. John is saying that such prayers are unnecessary. If a person commits sin that leads to their death, we don’t need to pray about that. Pray instead for those who are still living, no matter how serious their sin might be.

In other words, it is wise for Christians to pray for people who are caught in sin and help rescue them from these sins so that they don’t die. Once a person has died because of sin, we do not need to pray for them any longer, because they are now in the hands of God. Prayer for the sins of the deceased accomplishes nothing.

Examples of Sin Unto Death

When read this way, the verses about the sin unto death not only make more sense in context, but also make sense in light of the rest of Scripture, and in our own experience as well. For example, we all know that there are certain behaviors and actions which can lead a person to an early grave. But aside from that, there are even some sins which may cause God to discipline a person with early death. Those who did not properly observe the Lord’s Supper are another example (1 Cor 11:30).

There is also the example of the man who was boasting about sleeping with his stepmother (1 Cor 5:5). In 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 there is a whole list of regenerated people who died as a result of rebellion against God. Then there is the account of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). All of these people committed a sin unto death, that is, a sin that led to their untimely death.

The sin unto death is not a sin to spiritual death, but a sin that leads to an untimely physical death.

Conclusion

John’s advice (as well as that of James) is that when we see a brother or sister caught in a sin that may lead to their death, we should pray for them, plead with them to turn from their ways, and do all we can to help restore this person back into fellowship with God and with one another. If they die as a result of their sin, we can learn from their mistakes and plead with others to turn from similar sins, but we need not pray for those whose sin has led to an untimely death. Such people are already dead, and are with God. So we don’t need to pray for them. We can pray instead for those who are alive and in need of our prayers.

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Is it wrong for women to preach in church or be a pastor?

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I have been working my way through dozens of Bible and theology questions which people have submitted through that “ask a question” area in the sidebar. Here is one that was sent in about whether or not women can preach in church.

Is it biblical for the woman to preach in the congregation?

Along with this question about whether or not it is wrong for a woman to preach, I will also briefly address the issue of women pastors.

wrong for women to preach in church

This question has split some churches, which I find odd. Of all the things that can create division within the church, why is it the ones that only have a verse or two one way or the other which seem to be the most divisive? I suppose if there were scores of verses the issue would be more cut and dry, but when there are only a couple verses dealing with an issue, people are more likely to fight over it, especially when the verses are a little vague …

So let’s briefly look at some of the key passages which seem to address the issue of whether or not it is wrong for women to preach in church, and then I will provide one short and simple suggestion for how this whole issue can easily be dealt with.

Bible Passages about Women Preaching in Church

Though there are a variety of passages which people on both sides of the debate appeal to regarding whether or not it is okay for women to preach in church (e.g., various female “preachers” in the Old Testament like Miriam and Deborah and the female prophetesses in Acts 21:9, and the female apostle in Romans 16:7), two of the main texts in this debate about women preachers and female pastors are 1 Timothy 2:12 and 1 Corinthians 14:34.

Let us look briefly at each.

1 Timothy 2:12 and Women Preachers in Church

In 1 Timothy 2:11-12, Paul writes this:

Let a woman learn in silence and with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.

Initially, 1 Timothy 2:12  seems pretty clear, but with a little bit of study, it quickly becomes obvious that the text is not so clear after all.

First, there are numerous times in the book of Acts and in some of Paul’s other letters where women appear to be speaking in the gatherings of the church with the approval of others, so whatever Paul is saying here, it does not seem to be a rule which he himself universally followed (Acts 16:14-15; Acts 18:26).

Second, even if Paul himself did require all women to remain silent in church gatherings, there is some debate about whether Paul was describing his own preference and practice, or whether he was giving instructions for all churches everywhere throughout time to follow as well.  That is, this verse in 1 Timothy was written to a specific person about a specific situation at a specific time. Does that it mean it can be universally applied? Paul even says, “I do not permit …” which is different than “you should not permit …” (though 1 Corinthians 14:34 does phrase it this way).

Most importantly, however, it is critical to understand what Paul means by the terms “silence and submission” and “teach or to have authority.” To understand this, we not only need to study the words in their contexts, but we also need to understand that cultural and historical background for what was going on among this group of believers in Ephesus where Timothy lived.

So, based on these three considerations, a text like 1 Timothy 2:12 is not so clear as some believe about the issue or women preaching in church.  The same is true for 1 Corinthians 14:34.

1 Corinthians 14:34 and Women Preachers in Church

Paul says something similar in his letter to the Corinthians as he wrote in his letter to Timothy. 1 Corinthians 14:34 says this:

Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says.

We have a lot of similar issues with 1 Corinthians 14:34 as we have with 1 Timothy 2:12. There are numerous cultural, historical, grammatical, and contextual issues that must be researched if we are going to understand what Paul is saying and why.

womanpreachingOne of the main differences here is that Paul does seem to be giving instructions to the church about what to do rather than just stating what he himself does (as with 1 Timothy 2:12 above). Yet even this does not mean we have a hard and fast rule for every church around the world and throughout time. After all, the Corinthians church was full of problems, and so not everything Paul writes to them can be applied to every church.

Furthermore, few churches who use 1 Corinthians 14:34 to defend the idea that it is wrong for women to preach in church also apply Paul’s instructions that women should wear head coverings (1 Corinthians 11:2-10).

I could go on and on about more of the arguments surrounding this text, but let’s leave it aside for now.  (If you want to read more, here are two good books which lay out the issues: Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and Beyond Sex Roles.)

The Simple Solution to Women Preaching in Church

Most of Christianity’s debates have a simple solution. Did you know that? 

More often than not, when two (or more) groups of Christians are hotly debating an issue (and calling each other heretics in the process), it is because both groups have incorrectly framed the issue, and are arguing about something that should not be an issue at all.

This issue about whether it is wrong from women to preach in church or be a pastor is one of the greatest examples.

The simple solution to the problem is to recognize that the only groups who really argue about this issue are groups of Christians who meet in buildings on Sunday morning and have paid pastors who do most of the preaching.

This issue of whether or not women can preach in church and be pastors is almost never an issue when groups of believers meet in homes, in coffee shops, or at the local park to encourage one another, to edify one another, or to just hang out. In such organic gatherings of the church, it would be unthinkable to tell the women to remain silent. I have often learned more from the women in these gatherings than from the men.

Look, if you attend a traditional-style church service on Sunday morning, it is possible that you also attend a Sunday school class or a weeknight Bible study. Let me ask you, these gatherings also are part of the church. Does it ever occur to you to raise the question about whether or not women should remain silent in your Sunday school class or in your Wednesday night home group Bible study? Of course not! It’s unthinkable!

The only place this issue comes up today is in this strange way we have come to “do church” where everybody sits in rows and watches a performance on stage in which songs are sung and one person gives a 30-40 minute lecture.

(Which raises the question … songs also are a form of teaching, are they not? How many of these churches who condemn female pastors and women preachers have female worship leaders? I would be interested to know what the difference is between teaching through words put to music and teaching through words not put to music?)

So Is it Wrong for Women to Preach in Church?

In the debate about women preaching in church, the primary problem is not found in how we understand preaching or authority over men or what Paul means in 1 Timothy 2:12 or 1 Corinthains14:34. No, the problem is in how we define “church.”

This issue, which has caused so much division within the church, is based almost 100% on a faulty definition and understanding of “the church.” Once we understand what the church is, this debate about whether or not women can preach in church completely disappears and becomes a non-issue. (This is why a definition of the church is so critical … see my book Skeleton Church).

Sure, we still have to figure out why Paul wrote what he wrote To Timothy and to Corinth (for the churches in Ephesus and Corinth too were meeting in homes as well). But since nobody (rightfully so!) is going to tell women to remain silent in home groups and any other gathering of the church. Also, in such gatherings, there are almost never questions about who gets to be called “pastor.” (Or at least, there shouldn’t be.)

So here is my final answer: I believe women can speak and teach in church, because I understand the church to be the people of God who follow Jesus into the world, and so a gathering of the church occurs whenever and wherever believers gather, whether it is two or three around a dinner table, five or six in a living room, seven or eight at a coffee shop, or larger gatherings in some other building.

For those who think that it is wrong for women to preach in church, I would ask them this: “Is it wrong for women to speak in Sunday school or home group Bible studies?”

If not, why not? These also are gatherings of the church, are they not? Men are usually present at these gatherings, right? Why can women speak and teach in one context, but not in others (especially when this other large-group context is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible)?

Once we understand the definition of “church” the whole debate about whether or not it is wrong for women to preach in church or be a “pastor” fades away into insignificance. It becomes a non-issue.

So … comments are open! On your mark, get set, GO! (*Please be nice*)

What about those who have never heard the Gospel?

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The last couple weeks I have been working my way through dozens of Bible and theology questions which people have submitted through that “ask a question” area in the sidebar. This one deals with the age-old question of “What about those who have never heard?” Here is the question that was sent in:

If salvation was via sacrifices etc (Jews) and then via believing in Jesus; what happens to those outside these two faiths?

There is a hidden question within this question. The obvious question is the age-old dilemma, “What about those who have never heard the Gospel?”

what about those who have never heard the gospel

But the question behind the question is “How did people receive eternal life before Jesus?” The assumption is always that the Jewish people received eternal life through obedience to the Law and following the sacrificial system instituted by Moses.

I don’t believe that anyone ever received eternal life through following the Mosaic Law or through the Levitical sacrificial system. Though many people think the Bible teaches this, it doesn’t.

If we can understand how Jewish people were saved prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus, then we can begin to answer how other people around the world may be able to receive eternal life before they have heard about Jesus.

So how did people receive eternal life before Jesus came to earth? The same way we do: by faith alone.

The Mosaic Law Never Granted Eternal Life to Anyone

A careful reading of the Mosaic Law reveals that there was no such thing as a sacrifice for willful sin. Does this mean then that people back then never sinned willfully? Of course not! They sinned willfully just as much as we do. We often know that what we are doing is wrong, but we do it anyway. It was the same for them.

Since there was no sacrifice in the Mosaic Law for willful sin, what could they do when they sinned willfully? The same thing we do! We depend on God for His grace, love, and forgiveness.

The Mosaic Law and the sacrificial system did not grant anybody eternal life.

People who lived before Jesus received eternal life the same way we do: by faith alone.

One purpose of the Levitical Law was to maintain community standards of health, safety, and well-being before God and before one another. As a theocracy, the Levitical laws functioned much like the laws in a democracy. Today, we have have national and local laws to help maintain order, peace, and security. But nobody thinks that by obeying the speed limit and paying your taxes you get to go to heaven.

sacrificial systemIt was the same for the Israelites. The Mosaic Law was to maintain peace, order, security, and safety. Because Israel was intended to be a theocracy, there were also numerous laws related to the worship of God, but again, these were not intended to grant a person eternal life, but simply to maintain fellowship with other members of the Israelite community.

There were other purposes for the law as well, but I won’t get sidetracked with that issue here. (A new book is coming out by Maxine Armstrong soon which helps shed light on the purpose of the Law… ).

How Jewish People before Jesus Received Eternal Life

Once we understand the purpose and function of the Mosaic law for Israel, we can begin to understand how people receive eternal life, even if they have not heard about Jesus. While I firmly believe the truth of Acts 4:12 that there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved, I have to argue that at least prior to the ministry of Jesus, people could have received eternal life by believing in God’s promises to rescue and deliver them, even if they didn’t know the name “Jesus.”

In other words, prior to the advent, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God gave eternal life to people who believed in Him for it. This does not mean that they simply believed that He existed any more than “believing in Jesus” means nothing more than that Jesus existed.

No, to believe in God means to believe that purely by His grace and out of His love, He gives eternal life freely to anyone and everyone who believes in Him for it.

That, I believe, is how Jewish people received eternal life in Old Testament times.

By faith, the Israelites placed themselves in the hands of God to do with as He wished. They did not know the name of Jesus, but they knew some things about God, and they believed what God had said. They believed the revelation that God had given.

But what about non-Jewish people who lived before Jesus?

So if God gave eternal life to the Jewish person who simply believed in Him based on the revelation He had been given, I think it is likely that something similar took place all around the world. I am not saying that if people simply believe what they learn about God from nature that this will be enough for God to grant them eternal life.

I do not think that natural revelation is enough revelation to bring anyone to eternal life.

However, if a person responds positively to the revelation which God has placed in creation and in the human conscience, I believe that God will make sure that this person receives more revelation.

Romans 1 and other biblical texts state that God has revealed certain truths about Himself in nature so that men are without excuse. I think that as people respond to the revelation they have received, God obligates Himself to provide more revelation to them, so that they receive enough revelation from God to either accept the offer of eternal life by faith alone, or to reject such an offer.

This then helps us understand what may be going on to people today who have never heard about Jesus.

What About Those Who Never Hear the Gospel?

So what about those who have never heard? Again, I believe that if they respond to the revelation they have received, God has obligated Himself to make sure they receive more revelation, until they get to the point where they have enough revelation to receive eternal life.

what about those who never hear the gospelNote that this level of revelation might be different for different people of different ages and of different mental capacities.

Note as well that my proposal here says nothing about children who die before they are old enough to understand the Gospel, nor does it say anything about people who are mentally handicapped who can never understand much of anything about the Gospel. Those are related, but different, questions.

How does God make such revelation available to others?

There are a variety of ways in which God can provide further revelation to those who respond to the revelation they have. Some of these forms of revelation are even mentioned in Scripture.

If a missionary is available, God could send a missionary. If a missionary is not available, God could send angels to teach these people, or through the Holy Spirit moving like wind upon the earth, God could simply whisper more revelation to those who are responding to the truth they have received. Then, of course, there are dreams and visions. We often hear reports even today of people who have dreams and visions about Jesus who may have never heard of Him before.

Bottom Line on Those Who Have Never Heard

I fully admit that some of what I have written above is speculative. The Bible is relatively silent about the eternal destiny of those who have never heard. While some people say that all those who have never heard receive eternal life (universalism), I cannot accept this idea.

Others teach a form of Christian reincarnation so that before a person’s eternal life is finally determined, they get to live a life in which they have the opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel. I reject that view as well.

Then there are some who say that God, in His infinite foreknowledge, looks into the possible futures of a person’s life to see what that person would have done if they had heard the Gospel. This view sounds a bit like that Tom Cruise movie “Minority Report” where people are condemned for crimes they haven’t yet committed.

Some say that God gives people who die without hearing the Gospel an opportunity after death to hear and believe it. This has a bit of merit from Scripture (depending on how you understand Abraham’s bosom in Luke 16:19-31, and the statement in 1 Peter 3:19 about how Jesus preached to the spirits in prison), but again, this view is highly speculative.

The bottom line is this: We don’t know for sure exactly what happens to those who have never heard the Gospel.

But we do know that God is loving, kind, merciful, gracious, and resourceful.

Based on what I know of God, I don’t think it is within the character or nature of God to separate anyone from Him eternally simply because they were unlucky enough to live in an area that didn’t have a Bible. The Bible serves God’s purposes; God does not serve the Bible. God’s work in the world is not limited only to where the Bible is available.

Ultimately and finally, we can do nothing more than depend on the grace of God, that He will do what is right.

What do you think? Weigh in below with your own perspective on what happens to people who have never heard the Gospel.

Warfare in the Old Testament

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For the past year I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about the violence of God in the Bible, and especially in the Old Testament. The reason is that I am trying to figure out how to reconcile Jesus’ command to love our enemies with all the commands of God in the Old Testament to slaughter them. 

warfare in the Old TestamentSo it was with interest that I recently read the new book by Boyd Seevers, Warfare in the Old Testament. Though the book provided very little in the way of trying to justify or explain why God sent His people into war, it was an enlightening and helpful book explaining how those wars were carried out. 

The book essentially looks at the warfare tactics and military weapons used by various cultures in the Old Testament era. It surveyed the methods used by Israel, Persia, Egypt, Philistia, Assyria, and Babylon. 

You might think that such a book would be boring to all but those who were interested in warfare tactics and weaponry, but I found the book to be enjoyable to read and helpful in understanding what people in the Old Testament thought about war and how it was to be carried out. Each section began with a fictionalized story about a person, soldier, or commander within the ranks of these armies, and showed what they thought about their actions and why they were going to war. This helps the reader identify with the soldiers and descriptions that follow regarding the weapons and tactics that were used by the various cultures. 

Two things stood out for me from this book. 

First, every culture tied warfare to worship. To go to war against others was always considered to be an act of obedience to the command and instructions of their god. People went to war because they believed their god was telling them to do so and would protect them in their efforts. Though I already knew this to be the case, this book really impressed upon me how central worship was to warfare in the Old Testament era. 

But more than that, it made me wonder: Did I really believe that the Egyptians, Persians, or Babylonians were commanded by their gods to go attack other nations? I do not believe that. I believe that this is how they justified their own decisions to go to war. Since that is so, why then do I believe that God actually commanded Israel to go to war? Could it not be that they also were simply using God to justify their own decisions to go to war? Such a thought has numerous theological ramifications for how we understand God and how we read the Old Testament, which I am not sure I have the courage to follow. 

The second element of this book which stood out for me is that one of the longest descriptions in the book about how an army followed Yahweh’s instructions to go to war was in the chapter about how Babylon went to war against Israel. Seevers writes this:

Nebuzaradan then looked at the despondent, confused Judeans preparing for their journey into exile, a journey from which most would never return. Nebuzaradan shook his head. He had grown up in a culture that worshiped other gods, but he served Yahweh better than most of these Judeans had done. He understood well that Yahweh expected real loyalty from his people,which they hadn’t displayed (p. 260). 

Warfare in the Old TestamentIsn’t that interesting? The Babylonians followed Yahweh into battle against Yahweh’s people. I knew the truth of this from the Old Testament passages that talk about this, bu it was interesting read it from the perspective of the Babylonian commander. 

Anyway, if you are interested in Old Testament backgrounds, this book would be a good addition to your library since warfare plays a huge role in nearly all the Old Testament books. If you want to learn about how war was carried out in Israel and the surrounding nations from about 1500-400 B.C., Warfare in the Old Testament by Boyd Seevers will be extremely helpful. 

FTC Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by Kregel for review on this blog. 

Theology is Like a Food fight

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In yesterday’s LONG post about why God delayed in sending Jesus, I promised a short one today. Here it is:

theology food fight

Theology is like a food fight. After eating as much as you can, you throw the leftovers around just to have a good time.

Afterwards, however, the cleanup takes so long you wonder if it was all worth it.

You also realize that not much was accomplished and that there was probably a better use for that wasted food.

But you don’t regret it.

Why not?

You had some fun, you made a good memory, and you learned who your friends are.

Why did God wait thousands of years to send Jesus?

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I have been working my way through dozens of Bible and theology questions which people have submitted through that “ask a question” area in the sidebar. Here is one about why God delayed to send Jesus.

Why did God wait so long to send Jesus?

I have answered similar questions before regarding the apparent “delays” in God’s timetable. For example, we have previously considered the question, “Why did Jesus wait three days to rise from the dead?” and “Why is Jesus waiting so long before He comes again?” Obviously, those questions are different than this particular question, but the answers are similar, which is why I reference them here.

Why did God wait to send Jesus

So why did God wait to send Jesus?

As with many of the Bible and Theology questions I answer, I find it helpful to step back a little bit and get the big picture for this question.

The question is not just about why God waited so long to send Jesus, but about all the seeming delays in the redemptive plan of God. That is, why does God “wait” to do anything?

Why Does God delay in anything?

I mean, if we pray for something, and God knows He is going to give us what we prayed for, why does He sometimes make us wait weeks, months, or even years before granting the request?

There are, of course, a thousand possible answers to this question. Maybe God’s apparent delay had something to do with God’s perfect timing. Maybe God did immediately answer our prayer request, but Satan temporarily stopped us from receiving God’s answer (cf. Daniel 10:12-13). Maybe God was waiting for us to be an answer to our own prayer, and we were the ones who slowed Him down.

There are other possibilities as well, but these go to show that when it comes to delays in God’s timetable, there is really almost no way to know why God does what He does when He does it.

God’s Strange Order of Events

Here is a basic timetable of God’s major redemptive works in history, counting from the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden.  Note that in between each major event, there are larger periods of relatively uneventful history. (The number of years listed below is based on the the most conservative estimates. Obviously, there are more liberal estimates which extend these periods of time out to tens of thousands of years.)

  1. The Fall of Adam and Eve
  2. Wait 2000 years
  3. The Call of Abraham
  4. Wait 500 years
  5. Giving the Law to Moses at Mt. Sinai
  6. Wait 1500 Years
  7. Ministry of Jesus
  8. Wait 2000+ Years
  9. (in the Future) The Second Coming of Jesus
  10. The New Heavens and New Earth

Obviously, God is not silent and is not inactive during these waiting periods, but this outline of events is simply to show that God’s plan of redemption does seem to occur in small steps spread out over long lengths of time.

Rather than that order of events, we often think it would have been nice for the order of events to follow this outline:

  1. The Fall of Adam and Eve
  2. Wait 20 minutes
  3. The Death and Resurrection of Jesus
  4. Eternal Bliss

Honestly, from a human perspective, this second order of evens would have saved a lot of horrible grief, bloodshed, death, sorrow, and sadness. Nobody would have ended up in hell. There never would have been wars, or famines, or diseases. Adam and Eve would have sinned, Jesus would have immediately shown up to fix it, and that would have been that.

No Flood. No Hitler. No Atomic bombs. No raping of little girls.

That sounds like a much better plan, does it not?

So why indeed was there a delay in God’s redemptive plan? Why did He wait so long to choose Abraham? Why did He wait so long to give His law? Why did God wait so long to send Jesus? Why is He waiting so long to send Jesus back?

Some Traditional Answers to Why God Waited Thousands of Years to Send Jesus

People have often wondered why God waited so long before sending Jesus. Here are three of the more common answers:

1. It only seems long to us

The first answer some provide is really a non-answer. It is one of those pat answers to difficult theological questions which really does nothing to answer the question. It is a Christian cliche: “God’s timing is not our timing.”

Those who use this first answer quote 2 Peter 3:8 which says that with God, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousands years is like a day. So in other words, though it seems like God took thousands of years to send Jesus, from His perspective, it only seemed like a couple days.

Peter’s point is valid in the context, but I don’t think we can say that just because God is not restricted by time, this means that God doesn’t comprehend time, or that God doesn’t care that we struggle with how long His plan takes. I know that this is not what people mean when they say this, but to many, that is how it comes across.

To me, here is how this answer sounds:

“Oh, life is hard and you are wondering why God is taking so long to answer your prayers and set things right? Well, God’s timing is not our timing.”

This is a Christian way of saying, “Life sucks; then you die. Deal with it.” In other words, “Shut up. Nobody cares. Not even God.”

God does care. He knows that although our lives are less than mere breaths before His infinite existence, the years of our life are often full of pain, hardship, trials, burdens, sickness, fear, and sorrow.

2. To teach humanity about the depth of our sin.

If Jesus had shown up 20 minutes after Adam and Eve sinned, we never would have understood the depth and breadth of our sinfulness. Nor would we have understood how desperately we need God. It could be argued that one reason Adam and Eve sinned is because they didn’t fully comprehend how horrible it would be to live life disconnected from God.

Due to the long period of time in which we have wallowed in our sin, we now know — do we ever! — how wicked, evil, and brutal people can be.

One great benefit to this way of viewing God’s delay is that it seems to be supported by Scripture. Over and over again in Scripture we see this cycle:

  1. Human development (e.g., the Law, the Land, Judges, Kings, Prophets, etc.)
  2. Great expectations for human utopia
  3. Greater evil than ever before

I like this explanation, except that it seems like a bit of overkill. Pun intended. Do we really need thousands of years of bloodshed, rape, murder, torture, war, famine, pestilence, and disease to tell us that sin is bad? I don’t know… maybe we do. After all, human history reveals that every so often, people think that humanity has progressed to the point that worldwide peace and prosperity is just around the corner, that human utopia is almost assured. Usually, not long after these rosy predictions of our future are made, humanity enters into one of the most violent and bloody eras of its history.

In fact, you can almost predict future events based on how rosy of a picture is being painted about that future. The rosier the picture, the bloodier the future. (This is one reason I am not a postmillennialist.)

3. To teach the angels about God’s redemptive purpose

This idea comes from 1 Peter 1:12 and a few other verses which seem to indicate that one reason God created humanity and is carrying out His redemptive plan is to teach something to the angels. Nobody really knows what God might be trying to teach the angels that they don’t already know, but apparently, the angels are learning from watching how God deals with rebellious humanity.

Some have even suggested that God’s plan of redemption may eventually include the angels as well! If so, the Bible says absolutely nothing about this …

Anyway, if God is teaching the angels something, then apparently, it takes a long time to teach them.

4. To wait until the time when the Gospel could spread the quickest

Sometimes, and specifically in connection to why Jesus came when He did, some people say it had something to do with the Roman empire. The Roman empire built roads and had a common tongue which allowed the message of the Gospel to spread more quickly and with greater ease than it could have at other times.

God sent Jesus

I suppose in theory, this is somewhat true, but if God was waiting until there was a common language and good lines of communication before sending Jesus, He could have picked no better time than right before humans decided to build the Tower of Babel. There was only one language at the time, and it seems their communication was so good, there was nothing they could not accomplish. That is partly why the text says that God scrambled human communication (Genesis 11:6).

Furthermore, if God was really waiting for the quickest and most worldwide method of communication, He should have waited for Twitter.

Ha! I’m kidding.

Kind of …

Look, when we say that God waited to send Jesus until there was a common tongue and a good road system, what we are also saying is that the only part of the world that God really cared about was the part under Roman rule (Most of Europe, Northern Africa, and Western Asia). The rest of the world did not have access to the Roman road system, nor did they speak the common language of the Roman empire. So are we saying then that God didn’t care about most of Africa, most of Asia, and all of North and South America?

That was why I was kind-of only half-joking when I mentioned Twitter. If God was waiting until the quickest form of communication was available to all the world, then He could have waited until a worldwide system of instantaneous communication was in place … a system much like Twitter.

So anyway, while I do think the Roman road system and common language helped the spread of the Gospel, I don’t think we can say that this was why Jesus came at the time and place that He did.

5. To fulfill prophecy

Then there is the explanation that Jesus came when He did because He had to fulfill prophecy.

There is some truth to this, especially depending on how you understand the prophecy of Daniel’s 70 Weeks (Daniel 9:24-27). It may be that Jesus had to come when He did to complete the prophecy given 490 years earlier.

Also, in relation to this, Paul writes that Jesus came “at the appointed time” (Galatians 4:4). Other New Testament authors say similar things.

While there is truth with this answer, it really doesn’t answer the question. All it does it move the question back. If Jesus came at that time to fulfill prophesy, then why did God prophecy that Jesus would come at that time? Why didn’t God move prophets to predict that Jesus would come a two thousand years earlier … or later? Why then? Why there?

(My! This post is getting long … Let’s see if I can wrap it up.)

6. To wait until human theological development had evolved to the point where we could understand Jesus

One final view is that God waited for so long because mankind had  to develop socially and spiritually enough in order to understand and receive the revelation of Jesus Christ.

This idea is based on the concept of progressive revelation, that God has slowly explained Himself and unfolded His plan and purposes for the world over time. The reason is that we could not understand and grasp it all at once, and so He has had to teach us bit by bit, one step at a time.

God's timing in sending JesusI am teaching my daughters math, and while I know Calculus, I cannot attempt to teach them everything I know about math on day one, from basic arithmetic all the way to calculus. Not only is there not enough time to do this, they would not comprehend most of it, but would instead get overwhelmed and as a result, would not even understand the most basic concepts in math.

So also, this theory goes, God had to slowly teach humanity about Himself and His ways, so that over time, we would grow and develop into the people He wanted us to become.

Progressive revelation is a definite fact of Scripture, but I am a bit wary of this idea, for it seems to fall prey to what C. S. Lewis called “chronological snobbery.” Lewis often criticized other scholars for thinking that just because they lived in 1960, they knew more about how the world worked and what God was like than people who lived in say, 60 AD. Just because we are further along in years, C. S. Lewis argued, does not mean we necessarily know more. We may, in fact, know less.

But, for the most part, I think this view has some merit, and does help explain what Jesus might have meant in John 16:12 where He said He had much more to teach, but could not do so because they were not ready to hear it. Verses like this are everywhere in Scripture (cf. Matt 13:10-13), which seems to indicate that God only provides further revelation after we have incorporated His previous revelation into our thinking and practice (for the most part).

What is my view about why God waited thousands of years to send Jesus?

What is my view on all of this? I hold some strange mixture of all of the above. 

Essentially, I believe that whatever we say about God’s timing in sending Jesus is similar to what we should say about God’s timing in doing anything. There are a variety of answers at any given time, and any action of God can have a variety of explanations.

I know, I know. Such an answer is not neat, pretty, and tidy. But then, life is not neat, pretty, and tidy, and neither is theology. Theology, like life, is a big mess of guesswork and scrambled answers.

While I believe that faith in God includes faith in God’s timing, I am not always sure we can understand God’s timing …

How about you? Which of the answers above is most helpful to you? Which is least helpful? What did I leave out? Why do you think God waited so long to send Jesus for the redemption of mankind?

PS., This post turned out be so LONG (2500 words!!!), I will post something nice and short tomorrow (for my and yours).

The 8 Most Dangerous Christian Prayers… #5 Ruined my Life

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There are different forms of Christian prayer, but whether you have a set prayer time or seek to communicate with God throughout the day (or some combination of both), here are 8 Christian prayers that are extremely dangerous to pray.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pray them … we should! It just means that when we pray them, we should watch out!

Watch out for these dangerous prayers

1. Teach me humility.

After you pray this Christian prayer for humility, be ready for people to badmouth you, slander you, and drag your name through the mud. If you pray for humility, be ready for false accusations, for that “skeleton in the closet” to be revealed, or for people to belittle you and talk down to you as if you were inferior.

The only way to learn humility is to be placed in humbling situations, so if you pray for humility, be ready!

2. Teach me patience.

If you pray for patience, get ready to be surrounded by the most annoying people you have ever met. Get ready for your car to break down when you are late for an appointment. Get ready your children to go bonkers. Get ready for prayers to not get answered. Get ready for setbacks, roadblocks, and pitfalls.

Just like with all the other Christian prayers on this list, God teaches us patience by taking us through trying times.

3. Lead me wherever you want me to go.

One way this Christian prayer is often prayed is with the words, “Here I am, Lord, send me.”

Usually when we pray this Christian prayer, we think that God is going to send us into high profile ministry positions, places of honor and glory, and opportunities to be heard. This is why ministry leaders almost never “feel the leading of God” to go to smaller ministries and places of lesser significance. God always seems to “call” pastors and ministry professionals to bigger churches, richer ministries, and positions with greater power.

While I do not deny that God sometimes leads people in these directions, I think that more often than not, God wants to lead us downward, but we refuse to go. Of course, this does not mean that we will stay in the gutter if God leads us there. God may very well lift us up out of the gutter to a place of prominence, but when He does so, He gets the glory instead of us.

That’s why this is such a dangerous Christian prayer. We want to be used by God for great things in His kingdom, but God’s path to greatness usually does not mirror what we had in mind. God’s path to greatness usually leads to prison, death, and the gates of hell.

Also (and this fits with #1 above), when we pray this prayer, we will often be faced with a choice between two ministry positions, one that leads to honor, glory, and fame, and one that leads to obscurity and insignificance. Though the temptation is to choose glory and honor, such decisions may actually be a choice to follow Jesus downward into humility.

I once heard Francis Schaeffer say in an interview that if given the choice between two ministry positions, we should choose the one with less fame and glory.

Christian prayer

4. Help me understand the plight of the poor.

This Christian prayer is like asking God to make you poor. Yikes! How can you understand the plight of the poor unless you become poor yourself?!

So do you like your nice house, your two cars, your steak dinners, and your Caribbean vacations? Don’t ask God to help you understand the plight of the poor.

5. Make me more like Jesus.

In one way or another, this has been a constant life prayer of mine. A couple years back, I realized that this prayer ruined my life.

I had my life all figure out, and it was all going according to my perfect plan. Then I started praying this prayer. Before long, all my hopes and dreams lay shattered around my feet. I often tried to pick up the pieces and glue everything back together, but God would come through with His baseball bat and smash it all to hell (almost literally… all of my plans and dreams deserved nothing more).

When you pray to be like Jesus, God will begin to break down, burn away, and slough off anything and everything in your life that does not look like Jesus. This sounds nice until you begin to experience it. The purification of our life may be with God’s refining fire, but it sill burns!

6. Give me more faith.

Christians like our beliefs in nice, neat packages. But life is not like that, and neither is life with God.

When Christians pray for God to give us more faith, we are likely to enter into some of the difficult and doubt-filled times of our lives. You will begin to question everything you have never known and everything you have ever believed. You may even begin to doubt God’s goodness and maybe even His existence.

This is not bad. Embrace the doubts. Understand that if what you believe it true, it can stand up against all questions. Truth does not fear a challenge. There is no other way for your faith to grow than for your faith to be tested.

7. Give me victory over sin and temptation.

Christian prayerHow do you think victory comes, except through ever-increasing cycles of temptation? Sure, God does not send the temptations, and He never allows us to be tempted with more than we can bear, but if we pray for God to give us victory over sin and temptation, this is the same thing as asking God to strengthen us so that we can stand up under greater and greater temptations!

So if you pray this Christian prayer, be ready for an onslaught of all the wiles of the devil.

8. Please help my annoying neighbor/coworker come to Christ.

This is a great Christian prayer. Except guess how God is going to help your annoying neighbor or coworker come to Christ? That’s right. He’s going to use you.

I once heard a story of a Bible study group who decided to make a prayer list of all the people they “disliked” the most, and then pray for these people every week as part of the Bible study. Over the course of the next ten years, all but one of the people on that list became believers, and almost all of them became Christians because the members of that Bible study showed grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness to these “annoying” people.

If you are going to pray for someone, be prepared to answer your own prayers.

What Dangerous Christian Prayers have you prayed?

Have you prayed any of the prayers above and learned the hard way how dangerous these Christian prayers really were? Share some of your story in the comment section below. Also, if you have any dangerous Christian prayers to add to this list, let me know!

Do you want to pray like never before?

Do you what to talk to God like you talk to a friend? Do you want to see more answers to prayer?

If you have these (and other) questions about prayer, let me send you some teaching and instruction about prayer to your email inbox. You will receive one or two per week, absolutely free. Fill out the form below to get started.

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