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What does it mean to be dead in trespasses and sins? (Ephesians 2:1)

By Jeremy Myers
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What does it mean to be dead in trespasses and sins? (Ephesians 2:1)
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Ephesians 2 is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied chapters of the Bible. This study provides a brief overview of how to understand Ephesians 2, and then takes a deeper look at Ephesians 2:1 as an introduction to the chapter. We also discuss a question from a reader about the problem of peace in the Middle East.

Israel and the Palestinian Conflict

gospel of peaceI recently received this question from Aaron:

Just listened to your recent podcast about Ephesians and with the comments as to the situation in Israel and Palestine. I found the two particularly contrasting – you seem to be so close and yet so far. Theologically, you are on the side which understands the immediacy of the kingdom of God and our participation in it in the here and now through loving our neighbors, and your understanding of deliverance and heaven on earth are testament to that (I thank God you’re not a fundamentalist).  Yet your discourse about Israel and its right to occupy, or in your words defend, was seemingly of stark contrast to your theological position. I’m not sure the argument that the subsequent occupation after the six day war ‘for defensive purposes’ holds much water at all.

Specifically, I wonder what your response is towards the following two videos. Some Israelis seem to be in less denial about what they are doing to Palestinians than the west in general. And for the second video, just provides more context than just the immediate aftermath of six day war.

First of all, let me clarify that I am a fundamentalist, at least, according to the original definition of the term. Originally, the term referred to a set of 90 essays titled The Fundamentals published by R. A. Torrey and A. C. Dixon between 1910 and 1915, published in 12 volumes. But that’s not what the question is about.

I watched both videos, and I don’t disagree with the overall message of either video. There is a history of problems between Hebrews and the Arabs living in Israel, and there are extremists on both sides that want to see the other side destroyed. I have never taught otherwise.

The first video however, with Assaf Harel on Haaretz.com, made some claims I want to challenge. He said, for example, that Israel is an Apartheid state. But it isn’t. At least, not according to the political and dictionary definition of Apartheid. As I stated earlier, Israel is a true democracy and is the only democracy in the Middle East. Israel affords its Arab citizens full rights. Arab Israelis are full participants in Israeli society. They vote in elections and Arab parties sit in parliament. There are Arab justices on the Supreme Court. About 20% of doctors in Israel and about half of pharmacists are Arab. Now, 20% is clearly not a majority, and so I agree that it is difficult for that 20% to rule over the other 80%, but 20% numbers make perfect sense when you realize that Arabs represent 20% of the population, which is exactly what you would expect in a representative democracy. So no, Israel is not an apartheid state.

He went on to indicate that Israel is withholding water, energy, and basic food necessities from the Arab Israelis. But they aren’t. It is Hamas doing that. The Arab Israelis have received billions and billions of dollars in aid from the United States and other countries. In fact, Israel herself has given tens of millions of dollars to the Palestinian Authority. But rather than use that aid to upgrade their infrastructure or provide for the basic necessities of the people, the Palestinian Authority gives most of the money to Hamas who then uses it to buy weapons and train soldiers. Here’s an article from Forbes which shows this and another from the Wall Street Journal which shows the problem persists to this very day. More detailed facts and figures are found here.

If someone is poor and I give them $1000 to buy food and clothing for their children, but they use the money to buy guns and ammo to attack me, I am not going to be too keen about the idea that they are only attacking me because I am starving their children.

Then his whole argument about violent extremists was quite illogical. He basically argued that there was no such thing as violent extremists because the it was only the right wing extremists who were accusing their opponents of being violent extremists, which proves that it is really the right wing extremists who are the violent ones. Assaf Harel is correct in that we tend to accuse others of that for which we ourselves are guilty, but this doesn’t mean that one side is violent and other is peaceful. It means both sides are violent and both sides need to own up to their contributions to violence.

Which brings me to the best line in the entire video. He said this: “If only for once we could be smart enough to reach a peace agreement before the war.”

Yes. But the solution to this is twofold. It requires truth and forgiveness.

church at warFirst, truth. Peace does not require truth about our enemies, but truth about ourselves. Finger pointing always leads to war. But it is only we can look at our own face in the mirror that we can own up to our own violence and bring an end to it.

Second, forgiveness. We must learn to forgive those on the other side. Whether they ask for it or not. Whether they own up to their part in the problem or not.

The sad reality in the Middle East, and indeed, in most human conflict, is that the two opposing sides refuse to perform either of these two requirements. And so there can be no peace.

As for me, I am not blaming the Arab people in Israel for the problem. But I will also not blame the Jewish people. Neither will I let either side off the hook. Both sides are at fault, and both must own up to their own faults and also extend forgiveness to the other side if there is to be peace.

Now, again, they will never do this because it is not what nations do. It is, however, what individuals can do, and maybe, just maybe, as we who follow Jesus learn to love one another with truth and forgiveness in our own lives, we can lead the nations to follow in our example.

Which is a perfect transition into the text we are studying today … Ephesians 2:1.

The Big Picture Message of Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2 is one of the most misunderstood chapters in the New Testament. This is largely due to our tendency to read everything in the Bible through “heaven-colored glasses” so that every passage about sin and salvation is thought to be about going to heaven when we die. So when most people teach and write about Ephesians 2, they see the references to death, sin, and satan in Ephesians 2:1-3 and then the references to grace, faith, and salvation in Ephesians 2:4-10, and think that this passage is about avoiding the consequences of sin so we can go to heaven when we die.

As a result, the text of Ephesians 2:8, “… for by grace you have been saved through faith …” is almost as widely known as John 3:16. So when you hear pastors or Bible college professors teach about Ephesians 2:1-10, the message you usually hear about this passage goes something like this:

We humans are evil sinners, under the control of the devil and our sin nature. We were dead and unable to do anything to change. Worse yet, because of sin, God’s wrath burns against us, and He wants to send us all to hell. But thankfully, God sent Jesus to help us get to heaven and if you believe in Jesus, you can go to heaven when you die.

Now honestly, I don’t truly have much a problem with those statements. In general, I agree with the basic facts as stated. However, I am convinced that this is NOT what Paul is writing about in Ephesians 2. Though the statements above are taught in Scripture, they are not taught in Ephesians 2.

In the next several podcasts studies, I am going to present a radically different understanding of Ephesians 2 which will help you see what Paul was really talking about, and how his message makes much more sense in the overall flow and structure of Ephesians. You will also discover that Ephesians 2 becomes much more applicable to our lives and to the church today.

But before we start looking at the text, let me just tip my hand and give you a preview of where we are headed. Here are some of the key truths which impact our understanding of Ephesians 2.

  1. Ephesians 1 has just ended with a statement by Paul that he is going to show the church how the church, as the body of Jesus in this world, is the only solution to all of the problems in this world. In Ephesians 2, Paul addresses the GREATEST problem in the world, and shows how Jesus calls the church to fix it.
  2. The central truth of Ephesians 2 is discovered by reverse engineering the chapter. Paul has a clear progression in Ephesians 2, following the “Problem (Ephesians 2:1-3) – Solution (Ephesians 2:4-10) – Application (Ephesians 2:11-22)” format. If all the “sins” we Christians like to focus on were really the issue for Paul, Paul’s train of thought would conclude with an application about how we must stop lusting, lying, stealing, etc. But Paul does not go there at all. Instead, Paul ends his train of thought by talking about how Jews and Gentiles, who used to hate each other, are now brought together in peace and unity as one family. Therefore, since this is the application Paul aims for, then the problem and solution must logically lead up to this application. The problem in Ephesians 2:1-3, then, cannot be about the “sins” we Christians often focus on, but rather, the “sins” we tend to ignore and overlook, which are the sins that create disunity and enmity between ourselves and other people in the world. These are the sins of hatred, accusation, blame, scapegoating, and rivalry. These are the sins that dehumanize us and dehumanize others. In other words, the sin that Paul is concerned with is the bigotry, racism, and hatred that exists between various people groups on earth. Paul wants all such hatred to end, and for there to be unity and love in the world, and Ephesians 2 shows us how to do this.
  3. So, with this in mind, the word “dead” in Ephesians 2:1 does not mean “non-existent,” nor does it refer to “total inability”. Instead, it refers to powerlessness, weakness, corruption. It is to be understood in light of Genesis 3–5 where sin leads to death, which is primarily physical death, and especially the death of murder.
  4. The spirit of the power in Ephesians 2:2 is a reference back to Ephesians 1: 21 and points to the rule and dominion of satan. But satan is best understood in light of what his name means, which is accuser. The course of this world, the spirit of this age, is the spirit of accusation and blame. Religious people are quite guilty of engaging in these activities, which means that the trespasses and sins in view is not the “sins” we Christians often condemn in others, but is actually the true “sin” of accusing and condemning others. Paul is most concerned here with the same thing that Jesus was most concerned with, which is the religious sins which people commit in God’s name. When these things are corrected by God (Ephesians 2:4-10), peace and unity result (Ephesians 2:11-22).
  5. We know this because Paul includes himself in the description of engaging in these practices, and yet he kept the law perfectly. So what sins did Paul engage in along with everybody else? The sin of accusation and blame, which leads to scapegoating violence and murder. These things all come from desire, which Paul also mentions in the context, and also takes us back to Genesis 3–4.
  6. There is no mention of “the sinful nature” in Ephesians 2:1-3. This phrase from the NIV is a tragic mistranslation of the Greek text. Paul is talking about the lusts and desires of the flesh. The “flesh” refers to our physical body, and it is from our flesh that lusts and desires rise, as we imitate and covet what other people have.
  7. Wrath, then, is not God’s wrath toward us, but human wrath directed toward one another (which we then justify by blaming it on God). Wrath is when we engage in violence against others, and do so in God’s name. It does not come from God, nor does it have anything to do with hell or eternal punishment.
  8. The solution to this great problem is found in Ephesians 2:4-10, and is based entirely on the grace of God and accepting by faith what Jesus has revealed on the cross about the problem of humanity and how to fix it.

The bottom line summary of Ephesians 2, then, is this:

We humans live in a world of sin and death, which we inflict upon ourselves by accusing, condemning, and killing one another, and justifying it all by doing these things in God’s name. We did these things because in our flesh, we knew no other way to live. We religious people killed and were killed, just like everyone else. But Jesus revealed the way to peace, and if we believe and follow the way of Jesus, then the church can lead the world into the way of peace as well.

That summary is very different than the first summary above!

I know that’s a lot of information, and is a challenge to comprehend all at once. So over the course of the next several podcasts, I will unpack all of this in much more detail. We begin today with a brief look at Ephesians 2:1

Dead in Trespasses and Sins (Ephesians 2:1)

In Ephesians 2:1, Paul says this:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins … 

This is the beginning of Paul’s description about how our life used to be before we were Christians. Before we learned the truth that Jesus revealed (which Paul will discuss later).

To properly understand this verse, we must grasp what Paul means when he describes humanity as being “dead” and then also what he means when he refers to trespasses and sins.

I will cover both of these terms at great length in my Gospel Dictionary online course, but they are also discussed in my book, Nothing But the Blood of Jesus.

What does it mean to be “dead”?

Many Christian leaders say that the word “dead” means non-existent or completely powerless to do anything. It is not uncommon to hear pastor says, “A dead person can’t do anything. The body just lies there. It can’t talk. It can’t think. It can’t walk or move. So also, a person who is spiritually dead is unable to do anything that helps them move closer to God. They can’t think properly about spiritual matters. They can’t believe in Jesus. They are totally unable to do anything spiritually good.”

This sort of teaching is completely wrong. It is not true and it does not fit with the biblical understanding of the word “dead.”

Dead in sin Ephesians 2:1-3In my online course and my book, I teach that the word “dead” refers to something that is not functioning properly.

Theologically, the words death and dead refer to that which is inactive, powerless, not properly functioning for life as God intended. The words refer to that which is separated from its God-given purpose. To be dead is to be deprived of power. For example, Paul writes in Romans 4:19 that Abraham was dead, even though he was very much alive. What does Paul mean? He means that Abraham was powerless to perform. He was not functioning properly (cf. Heb 11:12). This is the way the words “dead” and “death” can be understood in all the contexts they are used.

So when someone physically dies, they are no longer functioning properly in life the way God planned and intended. Death was never supposed to touch human beings. Similarly, when someone who is alive is described as being dead, it means that something about them is not functioning properly the way God intended. Such a definition fits with all forms of death, no matter what kind of death is in view.

It is important to note that the words dead and death do not mean “non-existent” or to “total inability.” The words never carry these sorts of ideas. A dead body does exist; it is just not functioning properly. Abraham could be described as dead, even though he was alive, because his body was not functioning the way God intended. Similarly, dead plans or dead faith do exist, they just are not being carried out properly.

So when Abraham was described as being dead, even though he was alive, this was a symbolic form of death, in which his body was not functioning the way God intended. Physical death is similar. God never intended for humans to die, and so when our life leaves our bodies, we physically die. We are no longer functioning physically in our bodies the way God wanted or planned.

Then there is spiritual death. When we think of someone being spiritually dead, it means that although they do indeed have a spirit, the spiritual side of them is not functioning the way God intended. They are separated from the God-given functions for which they were created.

Eternal death speaks of the idea that people fail to function in eternity the way God desired and intended. Then the Bible can also use the word dead in reference to inanimate or intangible items, such as faith. In such cases, the words dead or death simply mean that the object under discussion is not properly functioning or being carried out as planned.

So when Paul writes here about us being dead, he is not thinking about total inability or any such thing. He is simply saying that we were not functioning properly as God intended. We did the opposite things God wanted and desired. Paul doesn’t mean we couldn’t think about spiritual things or do anything good.

He is saying that, as humans, we are not functioning as humans should. We are failing to live up to our calling and purpose as humans. The word “dead” here has nothing to do with spiritual death or physical death, but to humanity’s death. The death of the human race as God’s image in this world … and specifically, the death of the church as the body of Jesus in this world. That is the “death” Paul has in mind.

We are dead in that we fail to live up to what God wanted us to do and be. We are alive (Ephesians 2:2), but are flunking at life.

Why did we fail? Rather than do what God wanted, what did we do instead?

Trespasses and Sins

Our failure at life is described in the last half of Ephesians 2:1 with the terms “trespasses and sins.”

This is two different words for the same idea. Again, the term “sin” is a word I will cover at great length in my my Gospel Dictionary online course, and which is already covered in my book, Nothing But the Blood of Jesus. I also covered an explanation of sin in great detail in my podcast studies on Genesis 3-4.

In brief, while sin can be understood as disobeying God, the Bible is much more specific than that about the nature and character of sin. In the Bible, sin is specifically the pattern of rivalry and scapegoating other people that leads to humans committing violence in God’s name.

Sin is a failure to live as fully human beings in the image of God. This is why sin is so closely connected with death here in Ephesians 2:1.

When we sin, we are not functioning properly as humans. We are not living up to God’s standard of us living in love toward one another, but are instead doing the exact opposite by living in hate, anger, and violence.

love vs hate

Sin is not so much about pride and rebellion or thinking we know better than God as it is about living as less than human. Sin is the dehumanization of ourselves and others. It is the problem of broken human relationships between God and one another. Relationships are key to being human, and when we are living as less than human, it surfaces in how we interact with God and with others.

So what is Paul saying in Ephesians 2:1? He is describing the human condition, but in ways that few people have ever really considered before. Paul is saying that the great problem with humanity is that we have failed to function properly as the image of God on earth. Or, to put it in terms related to the church, we have failed to function properly as the body of Jesus Christ on earth.

Instead of live up to what God desired and intended for us, we did the opposite. We have lived in sin. Rather than love one another, we hate one another. Rather than serve and build up one another, we kill and tear down one another. Rather than function as one family of God, we live in bigotry and racism, seeking to portray our enemies as monsters and as less than human, so that we might justify our violence against them, so that we might kill them in the name of God.

To go back to the question from the reader about the problem of peace in the Middle East, one of the big problems is that everyone want to blame and accuse someone else of the problems that exist in Israel. The Arabs blame the Jews and the West, and the Jews blame the Arabs and the Muslims. All groups seek to dehumanize the other groups so that they can attack and kill them or just ignore and abuse them. And since this conflict is religious in nature, all sides claim that God is on their side.

This is the exact problem that Paul addresses in Ephesians 2. Right now, he is just laying out the problem, but he will soon address the solution to the problem and how to apply this solution to the problem of the world. In this way, Ephesians 2 address one of the most significant and long-lasting problems in human history … the problem of two or more groups of people who hate each other and want to see the other group destroyed.

Are you beginning to see that Paul is talking about something much different, and much more practical, than the teaching about how to go to heaven when we die?

Yes, and in fact, Paul’s description here of the problem of humanity is not just about unregenerate unbelieving non-Christians, but is also about those who claim to follow Jesus.

Far too often, it is we Christians who seek to dehumanize our enemies so that we might accuse and condemn them in God’s name, and even call for their death and destruction in God’s name. When we do this, we are living in death. We are living in sin. We are, as Paul will say next, living satanically.

Did you know that Christians can be satanic? Yes, that is what will begin to see next time when we look at Ephesians 2:2.

For now, though, I just want to leave you with a word of caution.

love and hate in GodBe careful about accusing and condemning others. If you are into politics, it is very easy to start seeing your political opponents as monsters. As less than human. It is easy to start calling them names and wishing for their death. That is the sin Paul has in view here in Ephesians 2:1.

Or maybe it’s a group of people from another religion. The Muslims. Or the Atheists. Or … more close to home … the liberal Christians … or the evangelical Christians. When we start condemning and accusing them and thinking of them as our enemies, we are falling into sin.

The same applies for issues of race. Hopefully you don’t hate people who have a different skin color than you, but we’re starting to see more and more of this now, especially in the area of accusing other people of being racist simply because they have a certain skin color.

All such things must stop for all such things are sinful and cause us to live in death. We will discuss this concept more next time when we look at Ephesians 2:2.

 

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: dead, dead in sin, Ephesians 2:1, peace, racism, scapegoating, sin, violence

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What is the second death? (Revelation 21:8)

By Jeremy Myers
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What is the second death? (Revelation 21:8)
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/498592344-redeeminggod-what-is-the-second-death-revelation-218.mp3
Note: Make sure you read all the way to the bottom to find out how to download a 2-hour audio teaching that is related to the topic of hell.

Revelation 21:8Revelation 20:6, 14 and Revelation 21:8 describe an event called “the second death.” It is contrasted with those who did not participate in “the first resurrection,” which is the resurrection of all believers at the return of Jesus Christ. Those who are not believers end up experiencing the second death.

So what is this second death?

To put the question another way, if Hebrews 9:27 says that it is destined for humans to die once, then how can John write in Revelation 20:6, 14 and Revelation 21:8 that there is a second death?

Here is what Revelation 20:6, 14 and Revelation 21:8 say about the second death:

Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power … Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. … But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

The “Second Death” is not Annihilation

Some argue that the second death is annihilationism … that is, a person who experiences the second death will no longer exist in eternity. They say that at the first death, people die physically, and then at the second death they die spiritually, which means that they cease to exist.

This view would be possible if “death” means “non-existent.” But it doesn’t. The word “dead” never means “non-existent” in Scripture. 

Instead, “death” means to be separated from the plan and purposes of God.

When something dies, it no longer functions the way God intended. This is true of physical bodies, sexual reproductive organs, interpersonal relationships, and faith.

So here in Revelation 20:6, 14 and Revelation 21:8, the person who experiences the second death will not be living out God’s plan and purposes for them in eternity.

The second death is simply being separated in eternity from what God originally wanted and planned for humanity.

God wanted humans to live in perfect harmony and unity with Himself, each other, and all creation. But when a person dies apart from Jesus Christ, they will experience eternity apart from Jesus Christ as well.

Then how is the Second Death related to the Lake of Fire?

While John describes this eternal existence apart from Jesus Christ as “the lake of fire,” this does not mean that the unregenerate are swimming around in a lake of fire and brimstone any more than anyone who lives in “Salt Lake” is actually swimming around in a large, salt-filled lake in Utah.

the second deathThe “Fiery Lake” might be the place that unregenerate people live for eternity, but this does not necessarily mean that they are suffering and burning for eternity within the lake. Furthermore, as I point out in my forthcoming book on hell, the term “Lake of Fire” referred to the body of water we now call the Dead Sea.

So to say that someone was going to be case into the Lake of Fire, or the Dead Sea, is a symbolic or metaphorical way of saying that such people will end up in a place devoid of life.

This is what John goes on to describe. In the afterlife, as part of the second death, people will be subject to the same “lusts of the flesh” that humans are subject to right now here on earth. Just like in this life, people who live in the second death will be cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and liars.

So what is the Second Death?

The second death is not annihilation or eternal torment in flames of fire.

Instead, it is the continuation for eternity of what we experience in this life, but in an amplified way.

It consists of God allowing human beings to live life completely separated from Him. It is allowing them to live as slaves to hatred, violence, envy, immorality, deception, greed, lust and every evil thing.

As such, the second death is the opposite of eternal life. Eternal life is life lived as God always wanted, planned, and desired; eternal death (or the second death) is life lived in the complete opposite way, separated from everything that God intended for humanity.

It is existence in everlasting death. It is ongoing existence that is filled with all the problems and frustrations of this life, but without any end to them. The first death is a blessed escape from the frustrations of this life (which is why death is a blessing). But the second death has no end. It is an eternal existence without an end, while facing the frustrations of life lived without God.

second death in eternityJust as being “born again” does not mean to “start your life all over again,” but instead refers to the transformation of a person’s life so that they head in the direction God wanted, so also, to “die again” does not mean that a person dies a second time, but that a person’s life goes in a direction that is even further away from God wanted and desired.

The “second death” therefore, is not annihilation, or the death of the eternal soul. Instead, it is the act of being entrenched or solidified in the way of rebellion against God.

The second death is an irreversible step on a path that leads away from what God wanted and desired.

Did C. S. Lewis write about Hell?

C. S. Lewis’ theological fantasy book, The Great Divorce, depicts what this sort of everlasting death might look like. (He claims he was writing fiction … but was this really his view of hell and he was afraid of being called a heretic?)

The Great Divorce is a fascinating story of a man who gets on a bus in hell to take a trip to heaven. In the second chapter, Lewis describes what life is like for those who live in hell.

When people first arrive, Lewis writes that people find themselves in the center of a vast, sprawling town, which is very much like any town you mind find on earth, except that everything is free and nobody has any needs. So people move into any house they want, and start living in their new existence. But within a few days or weeks, they have a quarrel with one of their neighbors, and decide to move to a different street.

Lewis writes that this process continues forever, until some people get to the point where they live millions of miles away from anybody else.

In the everlasting second death, each person is allowed to be as selfish and mean as they want, and this causes them to eventually separate themselves from everyone else so that they finally live in complete isolation for all eternity, wrapped up in their own thoughts of everybody else’s faults and failures.

The Second Death is Everlasting Existence without God

In this life, there is an end to the choices we make. As we destroy our families, friendships, and health, we draw into ourselves and become more and more separated from others over time. Death stops this process of separation so that we can finally see ourselves and others as we really are, offer forgiveness and be forgiven, and begin to live in love and grace as God desires.

But in an eternal existence without God, where physical death is not an option, people will continue to separate themselves until eventually, they cut off all contact from everyone, and live solitary lives of self-centeredness and complete separation. For people who were created for community and relationships, this truly is a living hell. But it is a hell constructed by their own choices.

So just as eternal life is a life lived in eternity where we live life to its full potential, so eternal death, or the second death is a life lived in eternity where people achieve none of their potential. It is a life of everlasting death. Of no escape from the consequences of selfish human decisions.

Those who experience the eternal second death (living in the realm of death, but never dying) are living in a hell of their own making. Their eternal existence will be a life dominated by the sins mentioned in Revelation 21:8.

In eternity, where there is no death to deliver a person from the devastation they have brought into their lives, this ongoing death will simply continue forever and ever.

What are your thoughts about this concept? Do you agree? Disagree? Does it still sound like “hell” to you? Is it just and fair for God to let people live in eternity in such a way? Would annihilation be more loving? 


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God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: annihilationism, CS Lewis, dead, death, hell, lake of fire, Revelation 20:14, Revelation 20:6, Revelation 21:8, second death

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How did Death enter the world through Adam? (Romans 5:12-21)

By Jeremy Myers
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How did Death enter the world through Adam? (Romans 5:12-21)
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/454862016-redeeminggod-121-what-is-death-in-the-bible-romans-512.mp3

In Romans 5:12, Paul writes that “through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Almost everybody thinks that Paul is referring to the event in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Romans 5:12But is this what Paul has in mind?

It doesn’t seem so …

Let us consider the contexts of Genesis 3 and Romans 5 to see what Paul is thinking. And while we are doing that, we will also seek to define the word “death” as it is used in Scripture.

Death in Genesis 3 (in the context of Genesis 2-7)

Questions about death have plagued humanity since the very beginning. Where did death come from? How can we escape death? What is death? What happens after death? Is there a way to return from death?

The Bible answers many of these questions, and the foundation for these answers is laid in Genesis 2–7. If we fail to understand these opening chapters, this failure has ramifications for how we understand the rest of the Bible as well.

For example, vast segments of Christianity believe that death is a curse from God which came as a result of human sinful rebellion in the Garden of Eden. Many believe that because Adam and Eve ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God cursed them with death, and all humanity as well.

This way of thinking then gets carried over into how we understand other texts related to the gospel, and it also colors our view of God and death.

Genesis 3But a careful study of what Genesis 2–7 teaches about death and dying leads us in a very different direction.

Now, it is true that physical death came upon humans as a result of eating the forbidden fruit. But it is not true that God sent death upon humans or cursed humans with death. Many people do not realize this, but death was built in to creation, as part of creation. If that’s a challenging idea for you, go and listen to Episode 9 of the One Verse Podcast, where I teach about death and creation from Genesis 1:11-12.

So death was inherent within God’s good creation, but this does not mean that God wanted humans to die. This is why God gave humans the Tree of Life. Eating from this tree would keep death from coming upon humans.

When Adam and Eve ate fruit from the forbidden tree, death did come upon humans, but not because God cursed humans with death. Instead, death came upon humans because humans could not longer eat from the Tree of Life.

But is this not a curse after all? Is it not God’s “fault” that humans die? No. While, it is true that God is the one responsible for keeping humans from eating from the tree of life, this is not a curse; it is a blessing.

Death is a Blessing

Despite the way most people feel about it, death is actually a blessing from God. The real curse would be to live forever in a sinful body.

When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they permanently damaged their relationship with each other, with creation, with God, and even within themselves (This is what is seen and described in Genesis 3:7-21).

The only way for God to repair these connections is by allowing our bodies to die so that He could give us new, glorious bodies that accomplished everything He planned and intended for us. In other words, once our flesh was damaged, the only way to repair it is through death.

Death, therefore, is not a curse, but a cure. Genesis 5 shows that everyone experienced this kind of death as time and time again we are met with the phrase, “… and he died” (Genesis 5:5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 31).

Yet this type of death is not the only type of death mentioned in Genesis 1–7, nor is it the type of death that Scripture as a whole is most concerned with. And this is not the type of death Paul has in mind in Romans 5:12-21.

Natural death is natural, and while God did not want or intend for us to die natural deaths, it is not primarily this type of death that Jesus came to rescue and deliver us from.

The first real death in the Bible is encountered in Genesis 4, and it is this death that is most concerning to God, and which Scripture everywhere warns us against.

The Introduction of Sin and Death (Genesis 4:4, 8)

Genesis 4The first death in the Bible is when Cain murders his brother Abel as a result of jealous rivalry (Genesis 4:8). Many Christians believe that the first death in the Bible occurs when God sacrificed a sheep in Genesis 3:21 or when Abel made a similar sacrifice in Genesis 4:4.

But a careful study of these texts reveals that no animal blood was shed. There is no animal sacrifice in Genesis 3:21 or Genesis 4:4. I have podcast episodes on these verses as well. No sacrifice in Genesis 3:21 and no sacrifice in Genesis 4:4-5.

So the first death of any kind in the Bible is when Cain murders his brother in Genesis 4:8.

The significance of this cannot be overstated. Since the first death is between brothers, it reveals that all violence between humans is violence between family members. When we stop to think about it, all of us are related, which means that any violence against anyone else is violence against a member of our own family.

Cain kills AbelBut beyond this, the source of the violent murder is Cain’s desire to have what Abel has, and the rivalry he engages in to obtain it (cf. Genesis 4:5-7). Furthermore, Cain then goes off to found a city (Genesis 4:17), which shows that murder and violence is at the foundation of all human civilization.

But it is not just the murder of one against another that concerns God. God is concerned with the human tendency to escalate violence through retaliation and revenge. This is why God puts a mark on Cain (Genesis 4:15).

God knows that the death of one tends to lead quickly to the death of many, and He wants to stop the process from beginning with Cain.

This truth is further seen when Lamech kills a young man for hurting him (Genesis 4:23). Lamech goes on to say that if Cain would be avenged sevenfold, then he should be avenged seventy sevenfold (Gen 4:26).

As all humans who engage in violence against others, Lamech feels completely justified in his own actions, and believes that any retaliation against him would be completely unjustified. But note how the sevenfold retaliation has already exponentially increased to seventy sevenfold.

death in Genesis 4In Genesis 6 we see that this seventy sevenfold vengeance has overtaken the whole earth so that now, everyone is only evil all the time and violence has covered the whole earth (Genesis 6:5, 11). The one thing that God did not want to happen has happened. In Genesis 6 all humans are engaged in violence against all other humans. The earth is suffering from an all-consuming contagion of violence.

So the overall truth about death in Genesis 2–7 is that there are two main types of death.

One of the physical death which comes upon all people as a result of being blocked from the tree of life. This death is not a curse, but a blessing, as it is the necessary doorway to the resurrection and the glorified bodies that we have for eternity.

The second form of death, however, is the main concern of God, not only in Genesis 2–7, but also in the rest of Scripture. This is the death that comes as a result of violence, and which is closely associated with sin.

The death that plagues humanity and which Jesus can to rescue and deliver us from is not the primarily the death of humans dying from old age, but the death of humans killing other humans.

Sin has consequences both to ourselves and others. Yes, we die physically from old age because we have been separated from the tree of life, but we also die (as do others) as a result of the consequences of sinful violence.

This brings us then to what Paul is teaching in Romans 5.

Death Through Adam in Romans 5:12-21

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. … Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come (Rom 5:12, 14).

Paul argues in Romans 5:12-21 that sin and death are not linked to the law. Both existed prior to the Mosaic Law (Romans 5:13-14), and the law serves to reveal and exacerbate the human problem of sin (Romans 5:20).

death of Adam death of Jesus Romans 5:12-21Paul goes on to contrast this with the righteousness that is in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:16-18). Therefore, as with many other words in this dictionary, the concept of death in Romans in closely connected with other key words that must also be understood in order to grasp Paul’s overall argument.

For the purposes of this entry, it is only necessary to point out that Paul writes how death came as a result of sin, and sin entered the world through one man, Adam (Romans 5:12). The order of events is that Adam introduced sin into the world, and sin brought death.

Many who read Romans 5:12 believe that the sin Paul is referring to is the act of eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which resulted in Adam and Eve getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden so that they later died of old age.

But when we go back and carefully examine the order of events the terminology used in Genesis 3–4 as we have done above, we see a different truth emerge.

Yes, through Adam’s disobedience, sin was introduced into the world. But in Genesis, sin is not mentioned until Genesis 4:7, where it is connected with Cain’s desire to engage in rivalry and revenge against Abel.

Adam and Eve had previously engaged in some of this rivalry when they started blaming each other, blaming God, and blaming the serpent for why they ate the fruit (Genesis 3:11-13), but the overall picture of what sin is and how it leads to death is not described until Genesis 4 where sin is first mentioned and the first death occurs.

Yes, Adam introduced both sin and death to the world in Genesis 3, but both are not fully revealed until Genesis 4.

So when Paul writes in Romans 5:12-21 that sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, we should not be thinking about Genesis 3, but about Genesis 4.

The death that is most concerning to Paul is the death that comes as a result of violence.

When Paul goes on in Romans 5:12-21 to write about how death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned, we should be thinking about Genesis 5–7, where while some people died from old age, most of the people in these chapters died as a result of violence.

None of this is how God intended or desired for humans to interact with each other. When God created humanity, He planned for us to live and work together in peace and harmony, as partners in the task of multiplying on the face of the earth, taking care of the plants and animals, and expanding the borders of the Garden to cover the whole earth (cf. Genesis 1:26-28).

This was the righteous life that God wanted for us. But instead, we chose the sin of blame, accusation, finger-pointing, rivalry, and scapegoating, which leads to death, the violent death of brother murdering brother. But Jesus came to lead us back into the righteous life that God originally desired. Paul goes on to explain how this works in Romans 6-8.

The transition from death unto life in the book of Romans is a transition from the sins of rivalry, scapegoating, and violence based on the law (Romans 1–3), to the reception of eternal life and the principles of the righteous life as revealed in Jesus (Romans 4–5).

These truths then lead us into freedom from sin and the law (Romans 6–7), so that we no longer have to live in condemnation from God or from one another (Romans 8). Paul concretely applies all these truths in Romans 9–15.

As can be seen, a proper understanding of what the Bible teaches about death helps make sense of Paul’s argument in Romans, and especially what he is teaching in Romans 5:12. While receiving eternal life is part of Paul’s message in Romans, it is only a small part.

In Romans 5:12-21, Paul is more concerned with how we live our lives in Jesus Christ free from slavery to sin and the power of death.

So what does the Gospel teach about Death?

Yes, it is true … the gospel teaches that while humans die from sickness and old age, these things will be done away with in the future.

But this truth about death is not the primary teaching in the Gospel about death. The Bible is not just concerned about future death, but present death.

The gospel contains truths about death for this life here and now, and how to avoid it. The Bible says that the big problem of death is not that we will eventually die from old age or disease, but that we engage in the practices of death every day when we accuse, slander, and blame our fellow human beings.

We engage in the practices of death when we approve of scapegoating, condemning, and killing other human beings. The first death in the Bible is when Cain murdered his brother Abel, and when we call for the death of other human beings today, we are following in the way of Cain.

death of Jesus Romans 5

Jesus came and died to reveal this truth to us, and to call us to stop it. Rather than seek revenge and retaliation, we are to love and forgive. This is the way of Jesus and this is the call of the gospel.

The gospel reveals how we participate in the killing of our brothers and sisters, and calls us to abandon these practices and follow Jesus in the way of love.  This is what Paul is talking about in Romans 5 as well.

The main concern of Scripture regarding death is the death that comes from scapegoating violence. This is the foundational sin of the world, and is the type of death Jesus subjected Himself to so that He might reveal to us how we humans are enslaved to death and show us a different way to live.

We gain deliverance from this type of death by choosing to follow Jesus in the way of love and forgiveness, rather than in the worldly way of rivalry, accusation, and blame.

Once we have seen what death is and how we have deliverance from all forms of death in Jesus Christ, it is then that we lose our fear of death. It is then that we can say with Paul:

Death is swallowed up in victory.
O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

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God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: abel, blame, cain, dead, death, Genesis 1:11-12, Genesis 3:21, Genesis 4:4, Genesis 4:8, gospel dictionary, Romans 5:12, Romans 5:12-21, scapegoating, Tree of life

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What does it mean to be dead in sin? Ephesians 2:1-3

By Jeremy Myers
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What does it mean to be dead in sin? Ephesians 2:1-3

Dead in sinThe passage that is used most frequently to defend the idea of Total Depravity is Ephesians 2:1-3 where Paul writes about people being dead in sin.

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others (Ephesians 2:1-3).

How Calvinists Understand “Dead in Sin” (Ephesians 2:1)

Due to the popularity of this passage among Calvinists, it would be possible to produce scores of quotes from various authors and writers who quote this text as proof for their doctrine of Total Depravity and total inability. I have already listed several of these quotes in an earlier post about how Calvinists understand the phrase “dead in sin,” so let me provide just a few additional quotations here which are fairly typical of how Ephesians 2:1-3 is understood.

The Calvinist often equates Paul’s image of being dead in sins for total inability (Palmer, Five Points of Calvinism, 16-19; Spencer, TULIP, 35).

To be dead in sin is to be in a state of moral and spiritual bondage. By nature we are slaves to sin (Sproul, Grace Unknown, 130).

Now it will surely be admitted that to be dead, and to be dead in sin, is clear and positive evidence that there is neither aptitude nor power remaining for the performance of any spiritual action (Boettner, Predestination, 65-66).

Boice writes approvingly of John Gerstner’s idea that unregenerate humans are like zombies:

John Gerstner … compared Paul’s description of our sinful state to what horror stories call a zombie. A zombie is a person who has died but who is still up on his feet walking around. It is a gruesome concept, which is why it appears in horror stories. But it gets worse. This upright, walking human corpse is putrefying. It is rotting away, which is probably the most disgusting thing most people can imagine. But this is a fair description of what Paul is saying about human nature in its lost condition. Apart from Jesus Christ, these sinning human corpses are “the living dead” (Boice, Doctrines of Grace, 74).

The basic approach to explaining Ephesians 2:1-3 is to focus on the phrase “dead in trespasses and sins” and then draw an analogy from this that just as physically dead people cannot do anything, so also, those who are “dead in sin” cannot do anything spiritually.

Those who are dead in sin are incapable of doing anything good, of comprehending the things of God, or of believing in Jesus for eternal life. In order to do these things, the Calvinist contends that the person who is dead in sin must first be regenerated by God, and only then can they believe in Jesus or obey God in any way.

Since Calvinists focus on the word “dead” in their quotes, the best way to approach Ephesians 2:1-3 is to similarly focus on this word to see what it means. Rather than make this post too long, I refer you to yesterday’s post where we looked at the word “dead” in the Bible, and saw that the best definition and synonym for the word “dead” is “separated.”

dead in sin

What is Paul Saying in Ephesians 2:1-3?

This helps us better understand what Paul is saying in Ephesians 2:1-3. In Ephesians 2:1, where Paul says that as non-Christians, we were “dead in trespasses and sins,” he is not saying that we are unable to believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life, or that the capacity for faith is non-existent.

Rather, Paul is simply (and clearly) saying in Ephesians 2:1 that as non-Christians we were separated spiritually from God. As we saw in the discussion on Romans 7:15-20, those who are spiritually dead are separated from God and cannot interact with Him as they were meant to. But this says nothing about their ability or lack of ability to do anything good, let alone their ability or lack of ability to believe in Jesus for eternal life.

dead in sin Ephesians 2 1-3Quite to the contrary, in the immediately following verses, Paul writes that when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, God made us alive in Jesus Christ.

How did this happen?

It was not by regenerating us prior to us believing in Jesus for eternal life, but the other way around.

After stating that God made us alive in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:5), Paul explains that this life is given to those who believe (Ephesians 2:8).

Yes, the offer of eternal life by grace through faith originated with God (we will look at the so-called “gift of faith” of Ephesians 2:8-9 in the next post), but the fact remains that the way to be transferred from death to life is not by waiting for God to regenerate us, but rather by believing in Jesus for eternal life.

Rise Up, You Dead People!

We know that is what Paul means because he later calls on people to wake up and rise from the dead so that Christ may give them light (Ephesians 5:14).

If Paul really meant that the dead cannot wake from their sleep, cannot see the truth, and cannot hear the Gospel, how then could he call on the dead to wake up and respond to the offer of eternal life in Jesus Christ? He could not logically do so.

For Paul, those are dead in trespasses and sins can remedy their situation by responding to the call of the Gospel and believing in Jesus for eternal life. When this happens, God sends light and life into their heart and mind, so that they can respond further, and live in the way God desires for them.

Dead in Trespasses and Sins

So the one who is “dead in trespasses and sins,” is not unable to respond to the Gospel or believe in Jesus, for “dead” does not mean “non-existent” or “unable,” but refers instead to the separation from God that the unregenerate person experiences.

Paul himself described their condition earlier, when he said they were “strangers … without God … far off … alienated from the life of God” (Ephesians 2:12-19; 4:18). These sorts of synonyms reveal that being “dead in sins” is not inability but separation. Nor is their situation is hopeless, for Paul invites those who are dead to awake, arise, and believe (Ephesians 5:14; 2:8-9).

If you want to read more about Calvinism, check out other posts in this blog series: Words of Calvinism and the Word of God.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Books by Jeremy Myers, Calvinism, dead, dead in sins, Ephesians 2:1-3, Theology of Salvation, Theology of Sin, Total Depravity, total inability, TULIP

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7 Uses of the word “Dead” in the New Testament

By Jeremy Myers
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7 Uses of the word “Dead” in the New Testament

In the New Testament, the word “dead” (Gk., nekros) means “lifeless, useless, or separated.” Never does it mean “nonexistent” (Vance, Other Side of Calvinism, 220).

Dead in sin Very rarely does it refer to something that is completely unable to act.

Examples of “Dead” in Scripture

So, for example, the prodigal son was “dead” to his father while he was separated from him (Luke 15:24, 32). While the prodigal son was in the far country, he certainly existed and was certainly active, but was not functioning properly in his role as a son.

In James 2, faith is described as “useless” and “unprofitable” when it is separated from works. Dead faith is not a nonexistent faith, but a separated or useless faith. This means that even Christians can have dead faith.

This idea is brought out by the Apostle John as well in the last book of the Bible, when he records the Letters to the Seven Churches. In Revelation 3, even living Christians can be described as “dead.”  In the Letter to the Church of Sardis, the Christians are described as having life, but being dead, because there was a problem with their works (Rev 3:2-3).

In all these examples, the word “dead” can be best understood as “separated,” or “ineffective and useless at its intended purpose.”

7 Different Kinds of Death in the Bible

Once we begin to see that this is the definition of “dead” in Scripture, we can discern at least seven different kinds of death (or separations) in the Bible.

  1. There is spiritual death, where the spirit is separated or cut off from God, and so is ineffective or useless in helping the person connect with God and live as they should (cf. Gen 2:17).
  2. There is physical death, which is where the body is separated from the soul and the spirit (Heb 9:27; John 11:11-17). It is physical death that most people think of when they refer to “death.”
  3. Thirdly, there is eternal death, which is when a person is separated eternally from God (Rev 20:14; Matt 25:46).
  4. There is positional death, which occurs when believers die to sin as a result of undergoing death and resurrection through Jesus Christ (Rom 6:3-6; Gal 2:2).
  5. There is relational death, which occurs when we are separated from friendships and relationships as a result of sin (Luke 15:24; 1 Tim 5:6; Rev 3:2-3).
  6. Sixth, there is an operational death, which is when we are unable to function and operate for our intended purposes because we rely upon works of the flesh or refuse to act upon what we believe (Jas 2:14-26; Heb 6:1; 9:14).
  7. Finally, there is sexual death, which occurs when a person’s sexual organs are no longer able to function as they were intended (Rom 4:17-19).

“Dead” Means “Separated”

As can be seen, in every single case, good synonyms for “death” might be “separation” or “uselessness.”

  1. Spiritual death is separation from God, or uselessness for God.
  2. Physical death is the separation of the soul from the body, and when this happens, the body become useless.
  3. Eternal death is separation of the body, soul and spirit from God forever.
  4. Positional death is separation of the believer from what he used to be in the old man, so that in our new man, are no longer useful for sin, death, and the devil.
  5. Relational death is the separation of fellowship from friends, family members, and even from God.
  6. Operational death is separation from right living, and a right testimony toward others.
  7. Finally, sexual death is a separation from the ability to physically reproduce.

Dead Does not Mean “Total Inability”

Obviously, none of these uses of the word “dead” in Scripture imply “total inability.”

Quite to the contrary, we often find that after people are described as being “dead” in one of the ways listed above, they are then invited in the following context to turn from death and practice life.

So in passages like James 2:14-26 and Revelation 3:1-6, people are called to reverse their state of death by energizing their faith or repenting and returning to the way they used to live.

At the same time, when Paul writes that in Christ we are “dead to sin” (Rom 6:3-6; Gal 2:2) this does not mean that Christians have a “total inability” to sin, or that there is no sin in the Christian’s life. Far from it! We all sin every day. What Paul means is that the Christian is separated from sin. We are no longer ruled by sin. We are no longer in bondage to sin. But we do still sin, as every Christian knows.dead in sin

I included this study here today because tomorrow we are going to look at Ephesians 2:1-3, which is a popular Calvinistic proof text for total depravity and total inability, and I wanted to get the definition of “dead” out of the way now. What are your thoughts on the word “dead”? When you read this word in Scripture, how do you understand it?

If you want to read more about Calvinism, check out other posts in this blog series: Words of Calvinism and the Word of God.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Books by Jeremy Myers, Calvinism, dead, dead in sin, Ephesians 2, Theology of Salvation, Theology of Sin, Total Depravity, total inability, TULIP

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