Death by Suicide

Death by Suicide

“Suicide is defined as death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with intent to die as a result of the behavior.”  From the CDC, the statistics of death by suicide (2020) in the United States can be seen:

  • Suicide was the 12th leading cause of death overall in the United States…
  • Suicide was the 2nd leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10-14 and 25-34 , the third leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 15-24, and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 44.
  • There were nearly two times as many suicides (45,979) in the United States as there were homicides (24,576).

The numbers regarding this topic are horrifying.  The reality behind them is far worse.  Husbands and wives, widowed.  Fathers and mothers, heart broken and shell shocked.  Families weeping over their loss.  Children alone or left with only a single parent.  While communities attempt to do their best to pick up the pieces, the wounds left upon the living from those who commit death by suicide often persist for a lifetime.

God created life in His image (Genesis 1:26).  He created mankind desiring that they be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28).  His direction to mankind is that they be kind, loving, comforting, and walk in a righteous manner serving one another.  He called upon mankind to avoid that which was not good.  His desire was that the union between man and woman that He created would create godly offspring (Malachi 2:15).  To be godly, one works to mold oneself in the image of the creator which I John 4:8 defines as “love” itself.

What leads most individuals to suicide is a lack of loving righteousness.  The individual suffers at the hand of that which is not godly.  They are introduced to that which harms their physical person and their soul.  Mental and physical abuse, mind altering substances, violence, teachings causing the individual to rely upon the judgment of mankind rather than God, jealousy, selfishness, immorality, greed, self-loathing, and a countless parade of influences introduced by the world create chaos within the mind and life of the individual.  The sources are wide ranging, but all have a commonality – ungodly influence – which causes damage to all who encounter it.

As a final thought regarding death by suicide, consider the religious body that you attend.  Are the individual members causing pain and suffering upon one another or are they working together to strengthen and build up? (I Corinthians 12:12-27)  Many congregations today have figuratively slit their wrists and are slowly bleeding to death.  Their actions are those of suicide.  They show up to appointed times, but their actions are political, backbiting, selfish, jealous, uncaring, unsupportive, unloving, and ungodly.  Rather than support one another and give life to other congregations trying to serve God, they demean one another and become a hindrance to righteousness.  Their time is spent fighting and being divisive within the expressed brotherhood of saints, rather than doing good to the household of faith.  If those claiming Christ are engaged in this behavior, they will only find destruction.  Let each one of us honestly examine ourselves, work to strengthen that which remains, and then reach out to the world with a proper shine of a chosen people.  Let us be a people who desire to be fruitful and see godly offspring born into Christ.  If the many do not turn from their ways, their death can only be attributed to their own “self-directed injurious behavior”.

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Faith in His Name

Faith in His Name

The miraculous confirmation of the authority and prophetic message which the apostles delivered in the first century provided wonders which men today long to see.  Some preachers and Christians in this modern era have failed to comprehend such occurrences ended with those upon whom the apostles laid their hands.  Much like the Jews reading the Old Testament should have realized Jesus was the promised Christ, groups of believers today overlook/misinterpret passages such as Zechariah 13:1-6, I Corinthians 13:8-12, Ephesians 4:7-16, Ephesians 1:13-14, and others which together establish the miraculous would end with the full revelation of scripture and unity of the Church bringing Jewish and Gentile Christians together with the destruction of Judaism.  Instead, their claim for the failure of knowledge, prophecy, and wonders is that the believer does not have enough “faith in His name”.Faith in his name

Faith and the miraculous are tied together in a number of passages.  In Matthew 17:14-20, Jesus is approached by a man whose son suffered seizures due to the presence of a demon.  He removes the demon, however, He comments about that generation’s faithlessness.  Afterward, He explained to the disciples their little faith limited their ability to wield the power of God and was the reason for their failure.  With proper faith, they could move mountains.  In Matthew 21:18-22, Jesus declared to His disciples again, that faith not limited by doubt will enable them to fully exercise the power of God and again, even to the extent of moving mountains.  In the context of both, the powers exercised are to those endowed with them within the first century.

The apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians states the following: 1 Corinthians 13:2 – “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”  Paul as an apostle and one who had the prophetic abilities endowed by God also ties the existence of faith to employing the miraculous/prophetic.  In context, he was applying this fact to not just himself, but all who had received the gift of the Spirit as given by God and only able to be imparted to others by the hands of the apostles (Acts 8:14-18).

The previous passages now being laid out for our understanding consider Acts 3:16:

“And his name–by faith in his name–has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.”

Peter with the power of God by the faith in the name (authority) of Christ had just enabled a lame man to walk.  The faith spoken of is the faith of Peter.  It is not due to any semblance of faith to receive soundness in his legs that the lame man walked.  That man simply wanted something to enable him to eat or help his station in life.  Sadly, many try to approach this passage as if the faith were that of the lame man.  Thus, they declare in their modern teachings that if the lame man by his faith was able to walk, those who are not able to walk today when visited by supposed “faith healers” or by constant prayer, must not have enough faith.  This teaching is a cloud without rain, a fruitless tree, an utterly worthless and false interpretation of scripture.  Again, the faith required is on the part of the one possessing the ability to heal not the one receiving the benefit.  This fact bore itself out in all of the passages examined in this article where faith was a necessity.

Modern day application of scripture to the Christian life is imperative; however, not all applications are proper or factual.  Context, audience, and potential limitations based on factors such as the age, prophecy, and others must be considered.  It would indeed be fantastic to see the abilities given by God in the first century exercised today.  However, this is not possible.  The individual can have full faith in God, but when God binds limitations upon His Will, He is true to His revelation of it.  Have faith in His name based upon the evidence provided in His Word.  Allow that to be the foundation of your life, but do not go beyond what he has brought forth.

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After Three Days

After Three Days

This article will be more easily understood by first reading the previous one.  Our problem is that in the English language there is no way to harmonize three Jewish expressions—“after three days;” “three days and three nights” and “on the third day.” There is no way to harmonize on and after.

However, the Jews used these three expressions to refer to the same period of time.  Even Jesus used these three phrases to refer to the time He was in the grave. If we spoke of time as the Jews did, using their language, there would be no problem. Consider the following to see how the Hebrews had no problem using these phrases interchangeably.

The peace offering could be eaten on the same day it was offered or on the next day, but none could be eaten “on the third day” (Lev. 19:6-7). David made a plan with Jonathan that involved the day of his conversation, “tomorrow” and the “third day at evening” (1 Sam. 20:5). When Rehoboam became king, he instructed men to come back to him “after three days,” but they came back to him “on the third day, as the king had directed” (2 Chron. 10:5-6). They understood that what happened on the third day was precisely what the king meant when he said “after three days.” Consider the same kind of language used by Esther (Esther 4:16; 5:1). The Jews spoke of time differently from Americans!

Jesus was buried on the Preparation day, the day before the Sabbath (Luke 23:53-54). This day of preparation is mentioned in connection with Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus died on the day before the Sabbath (hence on the Preparation day) because the Jews did not want Him to remain that special sabbath (a great, high day that coincided with the Passover sabbath, John 19:31). He was buried before evening of the Sabbath. Then, on the day after the day of preparation, the priests came to Pilate and told the governor that Jesus had said He was to be raise “after three days.” The tomb was guarded “until the third day” (Matt. 27:62, 64). The Jews, unlike Americans, saw all of these terms equally.

Follow the women from the tomb and before the Sabbath began. They quickly prepared burial spice and fragrant oils; rested on the Sabbath; and then early on the next day, Sunday, they went to the tomb (Luke 23:55-24:1). He was buried on Friday, they rested on Saturday, and they went to the tomb on the third day. Remember that Jesus referred to the day of His death as “today” to the thief and earlier had sent a message to Herod about “today, tomorrow and the third day He would be perfected” (Luke 13:32).  There is NO problem in the Jewish language; it is only in our language. He was raised on the third day (Luke 24:21)!

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Giving Thanks Always

Giving Thanks Always

It seems like every year at this time I write a bulletin article about being thankful. It is woefully inadequate for something that we should be doing every day of the week. The Holy Spirit said, “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20). Christians should always be thankful for everything!Always Thankful

Paramount among everything is Jesus Christ. He has the preeminence (Colossians 1:18). Without Jesus, we could not function as we function today. We have the wonderful organization of people that is the church because of Him (Acts 20:28). We enjoy fellowship with God and with one another because of Him. He gives to His people richly in this world all good things (James 1:17). Jesus died for us that we might have forgiveness of sins and be brought together into the church (Ephesians 2-3). For this we should be eternally grateful.

We thank God not only for all the good things that happen in life, but the challenges of life also. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” When all is said and done in this world, the Christian will glory even in his troubles. Paul wrote, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” God seeks to purify us for His purposes. What a blessing it is to be used by God. Let’s be thankful.

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The Man Who Cannot be Saved (Romans 8 Personal Indwelling)

The Man Who Cannot be Saved (Romans 8 / Personal Indwelling)

Commonly Declared Summary: In the personal indwelling view of Romans 8, one must obey the gospel to be in the Spirit, but one must be in the Spirit to obey the gospel.

It seems to me that the prevailing view in churches of Christ about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit contradicts the very passage cited as establishing position’s foundation: Romans 8.

Romans 8:6-11 reads:

 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

The Romans 8 position of Personal Indwelling leaves man without escape.

The Romans 8 position of Personal Indwelling leaves man without escape.

For many, the passage seems to create a clear distinction between those who are in Christ and those who are lost. That distinction is perhaps best summarized by these words: “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

How could the Bible make the statement any more plainly? To be in Christ is to have His Spirit and to have His Spirit is to be in Him.

The seemingly necessary and reasonable conclusion is that every Christian must the receive the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But a closer examination of this text will show there is at least one difficulty with that approach.

The Personal Indwelling View of Romans 8:9

First, there are four points that the personal indwelling view draws from verse 9:

  • Whenever the Spirit dwells in a man, that man is “in the Spirit.”
  • Every man who is a Christian has the Spirit dwelling in him.
  • Every man who is a Christian is “in the Spirit.”
  • Every man who is not a Christian is “in the flesh.”

These four points do seem to support the personal indwelling view’s foundational tenet that every man who is a Christian has the Holy Spirit, and no man who does not have the Spirit is a Christian. The belief seems to fit the clear words of the text and seems to be in harmony with the rest of the New Testament’s teaching on the universal nature of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Consequences of the Personal Indwelling View of Romans 8

However, it is verses 6-8 that create a great difficulty for this view. Consider the following thoughts:

  • With the understanding outlined above it must be argued that anyone who is “in the Spirit,” is no longer “in the flesh” – “You, however, are not in the flesh . . . if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you” (v. 9).
  • No man who is “in the flesh” belongs to Christ (is a Christian) – “. . . in the flesh . . . Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”
  • Those who are “in the flesh” have the “mind of the flesh” (v. 6) and have their minds “set on the things of the flesh” (v. 7).

Paul’s affirmation is that those who have their minds “set on the flesh” cannot submit to God’s law (v. 7). It follows then that only those who “are in the Spirit” (v. 9) and so have their minds “set on the things of the Spirit” (v.5) do submit to God’s law and “live according to the Spirit” (v. 5).

Also, those who are outside of Christ cannot submit to God’s law (v. 7) because they are:

  • Without the Spirit (v. 9).
  • “In the flesh”(v. 9).
  • And have their minds “set on the things of the flesh” (v. 7).

Again, there is nothing particularly troubling with those thoughts until this question is asked:

“How does the man who is ‘in the flesh’ ever obey the Gospel?”

The act of obeying the gospel is an act of submission to God’s law. Yet, verse 8 unilaterally affirms that those who are “in the flesh” cannot please God. In order to please God, they would have to “mind the things of the Spirit” without ever being “in the Spirit.” The problem can be stated in this manner:

  • If it is impossible for those who are “in the flesh” to submit to God’s law (v. 7);
  • And it is true that all men who are outside of Christ do not have the Spirit (v. 9);
  • And it is always true that those same men have their minds “set on the flesh” (vs. 6-7);
  • Then those men “in the flesh” have no possibility of ever submitting to God’s law.

The Personal Indwelling and Repentance (Romans 8:13)

The personal indwelling view faces yet another contradictory problem in Romans 8:13: The man “in the flesh” cannot repent:

  • Paul affirms that it is by “the Spirit” that we “put to death the deeds of the body” (Romans 8:13).
  • According to the personal indwelling view the man “in the flesh” is outside of Christ and so has no access to the Spirit.
  • If he has no access to the Spirit, he then cannot “put to death the deeds of the body” by the Spirit. How then can he ever repent?

The personal indwelling view places the lost man in a position where he cannot repent, cannot submit to the law of God, and so therefore, he can never be saved.

Romans 8 and Titus 3

The situation becomes even worse when these thoughts are put together with how many personal indwelling advocates view Titus 3:5-6:

 [He] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior . . .

From that passage we are told:

  • It is in baptism (the “washing of regeneration”) that we receive the “renewal of the Holy Spirit.”
  • The renewal equates to the gift of the Holy Spirit found in Acts 2:38.
  • The function of the renewal is explained by Ezekiel 36:26-27:
    • And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
  • In baptism, God’s work is the renewal of our hearts.
  • The heart of stone is replaced by the heart of flesh of which Ezekiel speaks.
  • The renewal occurs at baptism when God makes His Spirit to dwell within us.

In other words, the work of God described in Titus 3:5-6/Ezekiel 36:26-27 occurs:

  • The moment that we become the possession of Christ.
  • The moment that we are transferred from being “in the flesh” to being “in the Spirit.”

Further, we are told that after conversion the indwelling of the Holy Spirit strengthens us and provides us the “moral power” to stand against sin and empowers us to “put to death the deeds of the body.”

From a redemptive standpoint, Titus 3 puts the personal indwelling position in a worse condition than Calvinism. The Calvinist allows for the Spirit to come upon man BEFORE he obeys the gospel. In fact, they argue the Spirit’s irresistible influence is necessary upon those who are “in the flesh” because those “in the flesh” cannot obey God on their own. In that one point, their view is consistent with the prevailing understanding of Paul’s declaration in Romans 8.

In our stand against Calvinism, we (until recently) in churches of Christ have vehemently argued that those in the world cannot and do not receive the Spirit. We argue that the Spirit comes upon man only AFTER he obeys the gospel.

But in so doing, we create a great difficulty from these texts (Romans 8/Titus 3). That difficulty is summarized as this:

  • Those who are in the flesh are those who have the heart of stone.
  • It is impossible for those who have a heart of stone and have their minds set on the things of the flesh to obey God’s law.
  • The Holy Spirit is necessary to “put to death the deeds of the body.” And no man “in the flesh” has access to this power.

If it is only at conversion the heart of stone is replaced with the heart of flesh; we are renewed by the Holy Spirit; become those who are now “in the Spirit;” and the Spirit’s indwelling strengthens us in our fight against sin, then:

What mechanism exists to move man from having a heart of stone that cannot obey God’s word to having a heart of flesh that God “causes to walk” in His statutes?

In answer to that question, we have quickly and rightly argued that it is the preaching of the gospel that calls a man to salvation. But that is precisely the dilemma the personal indwelling view of Romans 8 faces.

The personal indwelling view uses this text to establish that the indwelling of the Spirit is not a “word-only” operation. We are told the indwelling of this passage is the special blessing of Christianity. It is the gift of the Spirit only Christians receive. It is the seal of the fact that we are Christians.

All those “truths” necessitate that no lost individual can ever receive the benefits of the indwelling of Romans 8 – in any way. The personal indwelling view of Romans 8 necessarily precludes the Spirit’s indwelling from influencing one who is not yet a Christian. Yet, Romans 8 demands that it is only those who are influenced by that same indwelling that can obey God. The result is this self-contradictory conclusion:

In the personal indwelling view of Romans 8, one must obey the gospel to be in the Spirit, but one must be in the Spirit to obey the gospel.

The man “in the flesh” can hear the preached gospel but can never respond to it. He cannot be “in the Spirit” because so long as he resides “in the flesh” he cannot have the Spirit of Christ. And as the personal indwelling view excludes a direct operation of the Spirit upon the heart of the sinner (i. e. Calvinistic influence), proponents of that view have no mechanism by which a man can be saved.

Conclusion

In short, the challenge faced by the personal indwelling view of Romans 8 is to find a way for a man who is “in the flesh” to have his mind “set on the things of the Spirit.” The view must show how a man can be “in the Spirit” without the Spirit of Christ dwelling in him. The problem for the personal indwelling view is that is the very condition Paul defines as “impossible.” Unless one turns to Calvinism, another understanding of Paul’s meaning of “flesh” and “spirit” is needed.

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