There are plenty of people today that are questioning the deity of Jesus Christ. Their questions come in the same manner as the question that the serpent asked in the garden, 'has God really said...'? Although they do have a group of verses that they stand on, I believe that their understanding of those verses is wrong. The only reason that they view those verses in the way that they do is because of their false understanding of who Jesus is. They fail to recognize that as a man God limited himself in certain respects.
There are a few passages of scripture that give us very clear definitions of who Jesus is, and who he was before his coming to the earth. 1 John 1, says 'that which was from the beginning...the word of life!'. The gospel of John chapter 1, says 'in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.....and the word was made flesh.'. These passages state very plainly that before being manifested in the flesh, Jesus was the Word of God. Notice that it was not the Son of God that was manifested, rather it was the Word of God that was manifested as the Son of God. There was a point in time that he became the Son of God(psalm 2), but he has always been the Word of God and always will be the Word of God. (Revelation 19:13)
These same verses, along with scores of others, also prove that Jesus' existence is prior to him coming to the earth as a baby. They say that he is from the beginning, that he is the creator that made all things. Col 1:15, states concerning Jesus,... Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. These verses tell us that before there were stars and planets, the Word of God was. Before there was a single thought, before there was time, space, and matter, Jesus existed as the Word of God. It says that, just as an artist may paint a picture by himself and for himself, even so Jesus, as the Word of God, created all things, visible and invisible, for himself and by himself! He wanted everything to consist by him! Hebrews 1 says that Jesus upholds all things by the word of his power! Everything from the smallest atom, to the invisible spirit, to the most vast galaxy, all of it is upheld and consists by Jesus.
Anyway, I feel like I may have been drifting from my topic a bit there, and yet, not really. My point in this article is to show you that Jesus is JEHOVAH of the Old Testament. He is the one that created the heavens and the earth and destroyed it again in days of Noah. He is the one that spoke to Abraham of the land of Canaan and promised it to him and his descendants forever. He revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush and brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. Jesus is Jehovah, the one that parted the red sea and made Israel great! On and on we could go about all the great things that Jehovah has done in times past. It is not very often that we think of these things as being done by Jesus, but that is who it was.
In Isaiah 45 Jehovah is making things very plain to the children of Israel. He wants them to know that HE is God and that there is none other! Five times in this one chapter God feels the need to state that there is 'none else', four times he says there is 'none besides me'. In verse 18 he states, For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. This verse already sounds very similar to the ones that we went through earlier about Jesus in the New Testament, doesn't it? He goes on from there continuing to make it clear that he is God and that there is not another one, and then in verse 22-23 he states that salvation and judgment will come through him, he says, Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Did you catch that? Jehovah says that unto him, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear!! Does that ring a bell at all? Isn't there another passage somewhere that says something very similar to that in regards to Jesus? Yes there is, Philippians chapter 2 says, That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. How could every knee bow, and every tongue confess that both Jesus and Jehovah are LORD unless they are the same person?
There is another passage in Zechariah 12:1 that says, The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Here the LORD again makes it exceedingly clear that he is the one that made the heavens and the earth! He continues in this passage to speak in a personal sort of way, saying, 'I will smite..I will make..I shall seek', and so on. There is no doubt whatsoever who is doing the talking in this passage, it is the LORD GOD JEHOVAH. Now if you go down to verse 10, Jehovah says to the children of Israel in prophecy, '... and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. It is amazing to me that with a prophecy like this the children of Israel still pierced Jesus, but they did, and they gave it little thought. But the day is coming when Jerusalem will be surrounded by the nations of the earth, and Jesus will come down upon the mount of olives riding a white horse, and the children of Israel will look upon him whom they have pierced, and they will mourn at their cruel dealings with their LORD and Savior Jesus Christ or Jehovah! (Zech. 12-14, Rev. 19).
There are many other prophecies in the Old Testament where Jehovah refers to himself, but the fulfillment is found in Jesus. I won't go through them all right now, but I wanted to give you a little taste of this truth in these two passages.
I love the doctrine of the deity of Jesus! It gives me great confidence to know that God was manifested in the flesh, became the perfect man, and the perfect substitute sacrifice for our sins!
So the next time you consider the Old Testament and see the Lord God Jehovah at work, remember that he is also the man that was born to a virgin, lived a perfect life, gave himself as a ransom for all, died, rose again from the dead, and ascended into heaven! He is the man that is sitting at the right hand of the father right now, the one that ever lives to make intercession for us. You can count on his work being effectual for you today! You need not doubt whether your salvation is for sure or not, the same God that created all things is the same God that became a man and secured your salvation for you. The same deity that destroyed Egypt with ten amazing plagues, is the same God that went to the cross and spoiled the devil and his servants. God, who formed you, has also recreated you through Jesus' work on the cross.
Be confident of this one thing, there is one God, beside him there is not another one, and this one God came into human history in the person of Jesus Christ for the purpose of being our savior, that he might have the preeminence and be before all things! HALLELUJAH!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Have you heard the good news?!
ATTENTION, child molesters, porn addicts, liars, queers, hypocrites, rebels, fornicators, thieves, murderers, adulterers and adulteresses, and all other selfish people.
There is good news for one and all. It is found in the Word of God, the Bible! The news is simply this, wicked people can now be accepted by God! You heard correctly, wicked, sinful, ungodly people can be made righteous and have good standing with God.
This is the biggest contradiction of all time! It is not in God's Holy nature to let sinners go. Sinners must be punished. The Bible says that God is angry at the wicked everyday (Ps. 7:11), and that he hates all workers of ininquity (Ps,5:5). How is it possible that God could clear the record of the guilty?! How could God take the worst of the worst and accept them, call them His children, and declare them to be righteous??
Here is how. God made Jesus to be SIN! Jesus that holy man, Jesus, the spotless lamb of God, Jesus, the man that never sinned in his life, Jesus, the one that raised the dead and gave sight to the blind, Jesus, there was no guile found in his mouth, Jesus, the only overcoming man, ever, Jesus, the man that spent his life in ministry to others, Jesus! Do you know HIM?! He was the only person ever to walk on this earth that always, in every way, pleased God! He was the perfect man!
Did you know that God made Jesus to be sin? Well according to 2 Cor.5:21, God did just that. You might ask, 'Why would God do that?'.
Here is why. So that he could take you, evil, wicked, dirty, you, and make you the very righteousness of God! Can you believe it?! You, sinful and selfish, you, the one that has lived for yourself, you, the person that has lied and cheated for the benefit of none other than yourself, you, the one that has taken freely of all of Gods goodness in nature and rarely stopped to even consider Him. You, rotten, filthy, you.
That is the most amazing thing in the Bible. God takes the ungodly with all their sin and misery and calls them His children. Please read Romans 4 and 5.
Do you want to know how you can be called Gods child? The Bible says that God justifies those that believe on His Son Jesus Christ. He took your sin and was put to death in your place, so that you can take HIS righteousness, and have life in HIS place.
You do not deserve a bit of it, and the only way you can be saved is if you accept this salvation as a gift. God wants to give you eternal life and there is only one condition.... you can't do anything to receive it. Thats it. God has done it all, and He simply wants you to believe HIM.
If you believe this good news, thank God, get a Bible (preferably King James), and begin to live for HIM rather than for yourself. Then go find someone else you can talk to about JESUS.
There is good news for one and all. It is found in the Word of God, the Bible! The news is simply this, wicked people can now be accepted by God! You heard correctly, wicked, sinful, ungodly people can be made righteous and have good standing with God.
This is the biggest contradiction of all time! It is not in God's Holy nature to let sinners go. Sinners must be punished. The Bible says that God is angry at the wicked everyday (Ps. 7:11), and that he hates all workers of ininquity (Ps,5:5). How is it possible that God could clear the record of the guilty?! How could God take the worst of the worst and accept them, call them His children, and declare them to be righteous??
Here is how. God made Jesus to be SIN! Jesus that holy man, Jesus, the spotless lamb of God, Jesus, the man that never sinned in his life, Jesus, the one that raised the dead and gave sight to the blind, Jesus, there was no guile found in his mouth, Jesus, the only overcoming man, ever, Jesus, the man that spent his life in ministry to others, Jesus! Do you know HIM?! He was the only person ever to walk on this earth that always, in every way, pleased God! He was the perfect man!
Did you know that God made Jesus to be sin? Well according to 2 Cor.5:21, God did just that. You might ask, 'Why would God do that?'.
Here is why. So that he could take you, evil, wicked, dirty, you, and make you the very righteousness of God! Can you believe it?! You, sinful and selfish, you, the one that has lived for yourself, you, the person that has lied and cheated for the benefit of none other than yourself, you, the one that has taken freely of all of Gods goodness in nature and rarely stopped to even consider Him. You, rotten, filthy, you.
That is the most amazing thing in the Bible. God takes the ungodly with all their sin and misery and calls them His children. Please read Romans 4 and 5.
Do you want to know how you can be called Gods child? The Bible says that God justifies those that believe on His Son Jesus Christ. He took your sin and was put to death in your place, so that you can take HIS righteousness, and have life in HIS place.
You do not deserve a bit of it, and the only way you can be saved is if you accept this salvation as a gift. God wants to give you eternal life and there is only one condition.... you can't do anything to receive it. Thats it. God has done it all, and He simply wants you to believe HIM.
If you believe this good news, thank God, get a Bible (preferably King James), and begin to live for HIM rather than for yourself. Then go find someone else you can talk to about JESUS.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
'Spiritual Death'?!
A response to the teaching that a Christian dies spiritually every time he sins
I came across a list of verses that supposedly prove that when a child of God sins they die spiritually. This teaching says that if a believer sins they automatically become a child of the Devil and are on their way to hell. My desire is to show that the verses that are used to support this theory are unfounded and taken out of context.
We will consider each of these verses in light of who the writer is speaking to and the context in which they were written.
The first verse that was given as a proof verse for the theory that born-again believers die ‘spiritually’ when they sin is found in Genesis.
Gen 2:17, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
First of all it should be obvious to any one reading their Bible that we are not Adam and Eve and we do not have the same relationship to God as they did. In fact we are not even a part of the same race of people as Adam any longer! We are in Christ, not in Adam.
Secondly the type of death that God meant when He said that Adam and Eve would die, is made clear in the death of the animals that took the place of Adam and Eve. They did not die spiritually! No one dies spiritually. I looked up every time the Hebrew and Greek word for die was used in the Bible and it is never used in reference to a spirit dying, or someone dying spiritually. Just look up the word spirit in your Bible and you will see unregenerate sinners having their spirits stirred up by God on many occasions. Many people respond to this saying, I don't mean that their spirits die but just that they are separated from God. If what you mean is that people are separated from God, then say they are separated. Separation from God is not death, it is separation.
This is a not a very effective verse for people to go to if they are trying to prove this point. The verse says nothing about spiritual death and even if it did it is in reference to Adam in the garden, not born-again believers that are in Christ, who have their lives hid together with Christ in God!
Next verse
Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
The context of this verse is one of distinguishing between believers and unbelievers. If someone says that they are a Christian and is known as any one of the things listed in this passage, then you can rest assured, they are clearly not a believer. This passage says nothing at all about a Christian dying by committing these sins. It says that people that commit such sins are not Christians at all.
I may be very simple in my understanding of scripture, but the passage just very simply does not prove that believers die spiritually when they sin.
The next verse in the list,
Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
The context leading up to this passage is this,
Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; Heb 10:21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
The issue in the book of Hebrews is holding fast the profession of our faith without wavering! Anyone that has extensively studied the book of Hebrews should know this. The Hebrew Christians were being tempted to turn their back on Christ and His redemptive work. They were tempted to stop holding their profession of faith, they were tempted to turn again to trusting in the Jewish religion and to stop trusting in the finished work of Christ. This is the ‘willful sin’ of the book of Hebrews. I have seen these two words so misused that is is sickening. When the Bible speaks of willful sin, it is not talking about lying, stealing, lusting, or being angry, it is speaking of the ultimate sin of turning your back on the finished work of Christ and seeking peace with God through some other means. It is the sin of unbelief. Read the book of Hebrews with this in mind and it will make a lot more sense. There is a difference between sin and this 'willful sin' that Hebrews is speaking of and it is made clear right here in the book of Hebrews 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. (Notice that what would cause us to depart from God would be a heart of unbelief, not a willing lie, or lusting).
Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (The author makes a distinction right here between the SIN of departing from the living God and sin that hardens the heart to the point of departing from the living God).
Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
All of the ‘IF’s’ in the book of Hebrews are warnings to not quit the faith, to continue to trust in the work of Christ or else Gods soul will have no pleasure in you. The book never says that if a man tells a lie, or gets angry that he has died ‘spiritually’! The book is a warning to Hebrew Christians not to depart from holding fast to the simple gospel. The gospel being that Christ has forever perfected them that are sanctified through one sacrifice made by himself, taking care of our standing with God forever! Don’t ever turn from that to some other thing to make you right in the sight of God.
Besides all of this, shortly after the authors warning to ‘not depart or be lost’, he reaffirms his confidence in them by telling them,
Heb 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Again, there is nothing here in regards to believers dying spiritually after a single sin!
I will take the next two verses in one, because they are both saying basically the same thing.
1Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
The entire book of 1John is very clear, it is a book written to distinguish between Children of God and the Children of the Devil. 1John 3:10. It is not a book that tells us of how a Christian can lose his salvation and die spiritually. If it did then it would also instruct us to not even pray for a Christian that has sinned, seeing that he has sinned a sin unto death.1 John 5:16. Which obviously would be ridiculous.
If you look at the word light in the New Testament you will find that Christians are not in darkness, they are in the light. It is not and in and out thing. You are either, saved and in the light, or else you are lost and in the darkness even until now.
The last four verses that were in the list were all found in the book of Revelation, so I will group them all together.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Anyone should be able to tell that this passage is in reference to unbelievers, not ‘spiritually dead’ believers!
Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Again, nothing in this verse about the ‘spiritual death’ of believers. Obviously all names of believers are written in the Lambs book of Life.
Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
No use in saying much here, this is talking about sinners, not believers that sin once! There is not even one hint in this verse about believers dying spiritually and going to hell. In fact, 1 Cor. 6:9, Eph. 5:5, and Gal. 5:21, all say something similar in regards to these types of sinners. It warns that we should not be deceived, none of the people that are known as these things shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
The way to get your part taken out of the book of life according to this passage, is by altering the book of Revelation. By either taking words out of it, or by adding words to it. This passage does not say anything about believers dying ‘spiritually’ upon sinning.
Now, I’m sure there are many more verses that could be thrown my way that would supposedly prove this ‘spiritual death’ theory, but if they all fall apart like these did when examined in the light of context and reason, then there isn't much for them to stand on, is there?
There is no doubt about it, the Bible does say that the wages of sin is death, and the soul that sinneth it shall die, but the death is physical. Even a sinning Christian is in danger of death coming upon him prematurely.
In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul says that a sinning Christian should be handed over to Satan for the destruction of ...what? the spirit? No, it says the destruction of the FLESH! Notice that is also does not say that he should be handed over to Satan to be separated from God, it says for the destruction of the flesh, that the soul might be saved. In the book of James there were certain Christians that were sick and ‘dying’ because of their SIN. They were not dying ‘spiritually’, they were on their sick bed.
When a Christian sins he can find hope and peace in the fact that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. If a Christian continues in sin, like all good fathers, God chastens them, usually by bringing some physical calamity or sickness upon them. He does not cause His children to die ‘spiritually’ if they sin.
This may not be enough evidence for some to be convinced against this teaching, but it should be obvious that the verses that are used to support this theory do not do so at all.
This type of teaching comes out of a response to what we see around us. We see so called Christianity naming the name of Christ, but living like the Devil. The Bible is clear about such matters, be not deceived they shall not inherit the Kingdom of God, if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. Our reaction should not be to prove that Christians never sin, nor should it be to prove that if a Christian does sin that he has again become a child of the Devil. If someone claims Christianity and yet does not live like one, our conclusion should be that they are still darkness and are in need of the saving power of Jesus.
Our motivation for victory over sin should not be the fear of death and hell, but rather our motivation should come from the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and our participation with him. We are dead and freed from sin according to Romans 6. We are alive from the dead and now are told to live as though that is the reality.
I have nothing personally against the people that teach this and I do not respond with this article because I hate them. I am responding to this false teaching simply because I love the truth, and because I want God’s children to walk in the liberty that He has purchased for them. I did not say I want them to walk in loosness and sin, but rather in liberty. I want them to have the confidence that the finished work of Christ is effectual even for today’s sin, and that when they sin they would not despair, but rather look again to the advocate that we have with the Father, Jesus Christ, ....and be humbled and thankful!
God bless, Dan Blatz
I came across a list of verses that supposedly prove that when a child of God sins they die spiritually. This teaching says that if a believer sins they automatically become a child of the Devil and are on their way to hell. My desire is to show that the verses that are used to support this theory are unfounded and taken out of context.
We will consider each of these verses in light of who the writer is speaking to and the context in which they were written.
The first verse that was given as a proof verse for the theory that born-again believers die ‘spiritually’ when they sin is found in Genesis.
Gen 2:17, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
First of all it should be obvious to any one reading their Bible that we are not Adam and Eve and we do not have the same relationship to God as they did. In fact we are not even a part of the same race of people as Adam any longer! We are in Christ, not in Adam.
Secondly the type of death that God meant when He said that Adam and Eve would die, is made clear in the death of the animals that took the place of Adam and Eve. They did not die spiritually! No one dies spiritually. I looked up every time the Hebrew and Greek word for die was used in the Bible and it is never used in reference to a spirit dying, or someone dying spiritually. Just look up the word spirit in your Bible and you will see unregenerate sinners having their spirits stirred up by God on many occasions. Many people respond to this saying, I don't mean that their spirits die but just that they are separated from God. If what you mean is that people are separated from God, then say they are separated. Separation from God is not death, it is separation.
This is a not a very effective verse for people to go to if they are trying to prove this point. The verse says nothing about spiritual death and even if it did it is in reference to Adam in the garden, not born-again believers that are in Christ, who have their lives hid together with Christ in God!
Next verse
Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
The context of this verse is one of distinguishing between believers and unbelievers. If someone says that they are a Christian and is known as any one of the things listed in this passage, then you can rest assured, they are clearly not a believer. This passage says nothing at all about a Christian dying by committing these sins. It says that people that commit such sins are not Christians at all.
I may be very simple in my understanding of scripture, but the passage just very simply does not prove that believers die spiritually when they sin.
The next verse in the list,
Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
The context leading up to this passage is this,
Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; Heb 10:21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
The issue in the book of Hebrews is holding fast the profession of our faith without wavering! Anyone that has extensively studied the book of Hebrews should know this. The Hebrew Christians were being tempted to turn their back on Christ and His redemptive work. They were tempted to stop holding their profession of faith, they were tempted to turn again to trusting in the Jewish religion and to stop trusting in the finished work of Christ. This is the ‘willful sin’ of the book of Hebrews. I have seen these two words so misused that is is sickening. When the Bible speaks of willful sin, it is not talking about lying, stealing, lusting, or being angry, it is speaking of the ultimate sin of turning your back on the finished work of Christ and seeking peace with God through some other means. It is the sin of unbelief. Read the book of Hebrews with this in mind and it will make a lot more sense. There is a difference between sin and this 'willful sin' that Hebrews is speaking of and it is made clear right here in the book of Hebrews 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. (Notice that what would cause us to depart from God would be a heart of unbelief, not a willing lie, or lusting).
Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (The author makes a distinction right here between the SIN of departing from the living God and sin that hardens the heart to the point of departing from the living God).
Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
All of the ‘IF’s’ in the book of Hebrews are warnings to not quit the faith, to continue to trust in the work of Christ or else Gods soul will have no pleasure in you. The book never says that if a man tells a lie, or gets angry that he has died ‘spiritually’! The book is a warning to Hebrew Christians not to depart from holding fast to the simple gospel. The gospel being that Christ has forever perfected them that are sanctified through one sacrifice made by himself, taking care of our standing with God forever! Don’t ever turn from that to some other thing to make you right in the sight of God.
Besides all of this, shortly after the authors warning to ‘not depart or be lost’, he reaffirms his confidence in them by telling them,
Heb 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Again, there is nothing here in regards to believers dying spiritually after a single sin!
I will take the next two verses in one, because they are both saying basically the same thing.
1Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
The entire book of 1John is very clear, it is a book written to distinguish between Children of God and the Children of the Devil. 1John 3:10. It is not a book that tells us of how a Christian can lose his salvation and die spiritually. If it did then it would also instruct us to not even pray for a Christian that has sinned, seeing that he has sinned a sin unto death.1 John 5:16. Which obviously would be ridiculous.
If you look at the word light in the New Testament you will find that Christians are not in darkness, they are in the light. It is not and in and out thing. You are either, saved and in the light, or else you are lost and in the darkness even until now.
The last four verses that were in the list were all found in the book of Revelation, so I will group them all together.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Anyone should be able to tell that this passage is in reference to unbelievers, not ‘spiritually dead’ believers!
Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Again, nothing in this verse about the ‘spiritual death’ of believers. Obviously all names of believers are written in the Lambs book of Life.
Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
No use in saying much here, this is talking about sinners, not believers that sin once! There is not even one hint in this verse about believers dying spiritually and going to hell. In fact, 1 Cor. 6:9, Eph. 5:5, and Gal. 5:21, all say something similar in regards to these types of sinners. It warns that we should not be deceived, none of the people that are known as these things shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
The way to get your part taken out of the book of life according to this passage, is by altering the book of Revelation. By either taking words out of it, or by adding words to it. This passage does not say anything about believers dying ‘spiritually’ upon sinning.
Now, I’m sure there are many more verses that could be thrown my way that would supposedly prove this ‘spiritual death’ theory, but if they all fall apart like these did when examined in the light of context and reason, then there isn't much for them to stand on, is there?
There is no doubt about it, the Bible does say that the wages of sin is death, and the soul that sinneth it shall die, but the death is physical. Even a sinning Christian is in danger of death coming upon him prematurely.
In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul says that a sinning Christian should be handed over to Satan for the destruction of ...what? the spirit? No, it says the destruction of the FLESH! Notice that is also does not say that he should be handed over to Satan to be separated from God, it says for the destruction of the flesh, that the soul might be saved. In the book of James there were certain Christians that were sick and ‘dying’ because of their SIN. They were not dying ‘spiritually’, they were on their sick bed.
When a Christian sins he can find hope and peace in the fact that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. If a Christian continues in sin, like all good fathers, God chastens them, usually by bringing some physical calamity or sickness upon them. He does not cause His children to die ‘spiritually’ if they sin.
This may not be enough evidence for some to be convinced against this teaching, but it should be obvious that the verses that are used to support this theory do not do so at all.
This type of teaching comes out of a response to what we see around us. We see so called Christianity naming the name of Christ, but living like the Devil. The Bible is clear about such matters, be not deceived they shall not inherit the Kingdom of God, if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. Our reaction should not be to prove that Christians never sin, nor should it be to prove that if a Christian does sin that he has again become a child of the Devil. If someone claims Christianity and yet does not live like one, our conclusion should be that they are still darkness and are in need of the saving power of Jesus.
Our motivation for victory over sin should not be the fear of death and hell, but rather our motivation should come from the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and our participation with him. We are dead and freed from sin according to Romans 6. We are alive from the dead and now are told to live as though that is the reality.
I have nothing personally against the people that teach this and I do not respond with this article because I hate them. I am responding to this false teaching simply because I love the truth, and because I want God’s children to walk in the liberty that He has purchased for them. I did not say I want them to walk in loosness and sin, but rather in liberty. I want them to have the confidence that the finished work of Christ is effectual even for today’s sin, and that when they sin they would not despair, but rather look again to the advocate that we have with the Father, Jesus Christ, ....and be humbled and thankful!
God bless, Dan Blatz
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