Questioning Sacred Cows

Been thinking a lot lately about Doctrines I’ve been taught as fact my entire life. I decided about a year ago that I was going to put everything I’ve been taught on trial to see if it holds up to scrutiny and hard questions and I’m sad to say many of the things I’ve parroted over the years just don’t seem to add up with the bible or even common sense. There are teachings that you’d think went all the way back to when Jesus walked the earth but they weren’t even taught until the church got to Rome. To even challenge or even question some of these ideas is to be labeled a heretic that is trying to tickle the ears of people. The more I study the less I’m sure of the validity of what I believe. I’ve always been taught that the “True Gospel” is that we are all born sinners because of Adam and Eve in need of a savior and that Jesus came and died for our sins so that we can be right with God. I’m not so sure about that anymore.

Two things recently I’ve really been questioning are the Penal Substitution view of Jesus’ work on the Cross and the teaching of Original Sin. They both raise some uncomfortable questions that I believe are legitimate questions but to even suggest that there may be problems with them gets you blacklisted.

Here in our culture we've primarily accepted a view called Penal Substitution as the reason for Jesus having to come to earth and die for our sins. This view basically has the idea of you being on trial and guilty of a crime with a penalty of death when you are about to be sentenced Jesus comes in and takes your sentence and dies for you. So when Adam and Eve rebelled man was separated from God and inherited their sins. Jesus had to come and pay the price for our sins and take the wrath of God on himself to restore our relationship.  Now that I've gotten the description out of the way here are the questions.

What kind of relationship does this give us with the Father? If it weren't for Jesus he would've destroyed us. It seems like it should make us love Jesus but be wary of the Father.

Was forgiveness of sins done at the cross? Can you really forgive if someone has to pay? If I have an outstanding debt with Bank of America and someone else pays the debt for me did Bank of America do anything special? They didn’t forgive my debt they merely took the payment from someone else.

Also my questions about this lead into my questions about Original Sin. This is the view that man is automatically guilty of sin at birth because we are born with Adam’s sin nature. So we’re all under the Wrath of God just because we were born. How is that fair? If we really believed that then why do most reasonable Christians teach that babies that die go to heaven? If they are guilty of damnation automatically why do they get a pass until a certain age? How can we choose to not be under the wrath of God when we didn’t get a chance to choose if we wanted to be under it in the first place? We acknowledge that it wouldn’t be fair for a baby to assume his parents IRS debt but it’s fair for us to inherit the debt of Adam and Eve?

These are some things I’m wrestling with and the more I study these things the more empathy I have for those that bitterly oppose Christianity and what it projects. These are the questions that get you cursed at and rejected by Christians and it’s a scary place to be and I see why many just say forget it and leave all together. That’s not what I’m going to do but I can understand it.

Gangsta Killa God vs Carrot Dangling God

Gangsta Killa God vs Carrot Dangling God

In my time in church I’ve witnessed and experienced various different views of God and the results on both sides have been very bad. I’ll describe them here and ask where or is there a balance between the two views.

Gangsta Killa God:

I don’t have as much experience with this view and I have to give credit for that label to my friend Chris Echols. This view of God ascribes every atrocity known to man to being a part of God’s Will and eternal decrees. You often hear things like it must have been God’s Will for him to be killed. Or it was God’s Will that I get fired and thrown out on the street. Humans have very little if any ability to affect change in their lives without God directly predetermining it. This view sees that the only way God can be assured that His Will ultimately comes to pass is for Him to directly orchestrate and predetermine every action and reaction from the clothes you put on today to the car accident you were either in or saved from. Yet and still we are held accountable for every event and decision that was already pre-planned for us that happens to us. The unfairness is usually chalked up to “He’s God and who are we to question Him.” Once that statement is made there’s really not much more discussion left. 

Carrot Dangling God:

Now this is the view that I have the most experience with. My background  is primarily Charismatic and Word of Faith. I was listening to clip from a young pastor in my city online and it brought back some ill feelings. In this view you constantly hear how God wants to bless you. God wants to heal you. Everything that you need has already been provided just claim it by faith. The Spirit is here and healing is here just reach out and claim your healing. God is waiting on you to sow your seed of faith so he can open the Windows of Heaven and pour out His blessing on you and on and on. In this scenario you’re constantly trying to get yourself in line with God so you can receive these things that he so desperately wants to give you or things He has already given you that haven’t manifested yet. I often felt like I was chasing a dangling carrot. You feel like it’s your fault that you haven’t received those things you need and you’re constantly making adjustments trying to get in line and find where God wants you to be to receive His provision. The process was almost equated with God’s will. "If it doesn't work it's not God's fault." So if it's not God's fault then whose fault is it because it can't be the formula right??? 

I believe there are truths in both camps but I also believe that a balance needs to be found because I’ve found that these are two of the main camps that have caused people to quit God altogether and reject Him. Any thoughts?

Thoughts on Predestination

Predestination stuff

Here is the the definition from a theological standpoint. Unfortunately the Calvinist view is the dominant definition.

Predestination in its broadest conception is the doctrine that because God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and completely sovereign, he “from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass,” (Westminster Confession). “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11).
http://www.theopedia.com/Predestination

Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others.[1] Explanations of predestination often seek to address the so-called "paradox of free will," whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination

These definitions alienate those of us that believe that God has given men Free Will or the ability to make choices that are not His Will. People that believe in Free Will believe that God's Will can be resisted. Those that don't believe in the same Free Will don't believe God's Will can be resisted. So the question then becomes if God's Will can't be resisted then why doesn't God save everyone? That question is reasoned away by placing it on the mystery of God's plan. The Free Will person would say that God wants everyone to choose Him but He won't force Himself on you. God is love and you can't have love without a choice.

The reason I object to the earlier definitions of Predestination is because of the numerous times in scripture God seems to be upset and angry about the decisions of people. For example God regretted making man in Genesis before He sent the flood. God gave the Israelites a king ahead of the time that He wanted them to have one and was upset that they had rejected Him as their king. The Holy Spirit can be grieved and Jesus didn't seem to live as if everything was working according to God's Will. He often seemed frustrated with the people's lack of faith and understanding.

Personally I've been associating myself loosely with what is called Open Theism. I believe that God does have a plan for our lives but he gives us the choice of following His plan or not following His plan. If you accept Christ and follow God's plan you're predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus. I don't believe that God has every detail of our lives written and mapped out. For example I don't believe the child that was molested in foster care was predestined to have that experience. People have the ability to make choices and those choices have far reaching affects on others. Here is where I think it glorifies God in the end. No matter how bad a hand you've been dealt in life God can turn it around in such a way that you'd swear that He had to have put you through that on purpose because it worked out so perfectly in the end. Romans 8:28 is my favorite verse for that reason.

I like to use the story of Joseph and his brothers in Genesis to illustrate my point. God gave Joseph a dream and in the dream he was in charge and his brothers were bowing down to him. The got angry and jealous and sold him into slavery and acted as if he was dead. Joseph goes through a series of events and prospers everywhere he goes whether in Potifar's house or in prison after Potifar's wife frames him. He gets out of prison and is placed over people in Egypt in preparation for a famine. In the end his brothers and the rest of his family were able to live and the Israelites were born in Egypt.

But as for you, you meant evil against me;  but  God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as  it is  this day, to save many people alive. (Genesis 50:20 NKJV)

Some believe that this proves that all that happened to Joseph was according to God's will but personally I believe God could've gotten Joseph where He needed Him to be without having to go through all that He went through but ultimately he was predestined to be in that position in Egypt. 

I guess this is a good start. I wasn't sure what you wanted to know about Predestination so I gave you a summary of the common way I hear it talked about.

To Forgive or not to Forgive: That is the Question Part 2

In my last blog I addressed some of the things that forgiveness is not. Hopefully those things will help in this study to remove some of the hurdles we have about forgiveness. This will be a scripture heavy blog because as I stated in the previous one walking in Forgiveness requires faith. Let's look at what the bible has to say about forgiveness.

“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25, 26 NKJV)

And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.” (Luke 11:4 NKJV)

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14, 15 NKJV)

Jesus here is connecting answered prayer and God's forgiveness of our sins with our commitment to forgiving others.

In Matthew 18:21-35 Peter asks Jesus how many times we should forgive a person.

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:21, 22 NKJV)

Here we see that God has a higher standard in regards to forgiveness. In a natural sense if a person wrongs you more than once you feel like it is your right to not forgive them. Peter here thought he was going over and above when he offered to forgive seven times but Jesus essentially said keep forgiving no matter how often. Of course there is some wisdom assumed here. Jesus is not saying you should constantly allow yourself to be hurt. If it is in your power remove yourself from the situation.

Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. (Matthew 18:23 NKJV)

Here we have a snapshot of what God's Kingdom looks like. The Kingdom of heaven is God’s way of doing things. The parable goes on to tell the story of a king that decides to settle accounts with his servants. One servant doesn't have the ability to pay what he owes and when the king is about to punish him the servant begs for mercy. The king listens and forgives him of the debt.

But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. (Matthew 18:25-27 NKJV)

The man then comes across another servant who owes him much less than what he owed the king and this is his response.

“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. (Matthew 18:28-30 NKJV)

So even though the servant had experienced the King's forgiveness he wasn't willing to extend that same forgiveness to his fellow servant. What was the King's response to this?

Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. (Matthew 18:32-34 NKJV)

So the King was upset because he forgave the servant and he wouldn't do the same for his fellow servant. I think another key point here is looking at how the servant felt when he couldn't repay the King and knew he deserved punishment and received mercy. He then turned around and caused that same burden to be placed on another person when he had the power to be like his King and remove that burden but he chose not to.

“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” (Matthew 18:35 NKJV)

God equates His forgiveness of us with our forgiveness of others. So for us to not be willing to forgive others is akin to disrespecting His gift of forgiveness. As you can see this is a faith area all the way. You have to have confidence in the forgiveness God has already given you.

“I,  even  I,  am  He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. (Isaiah 43:25 NKJV)

In 2 Corinthians 2 we have Paul basically telling the Corinthians to let this person off the hook. The church was upset with this person and the person was legitimately sorrowful. Paul is showing the crime of extending a person's punishment by withholding forgiveness. Most cases of unforgiveness seem to be towards people that could care less about us being upset with them but in cases where the person knows and is legitimately sorry and repentant what is our goal? How many hoops must we make this person jump through to earn our forgiveness? What if God held our forgiveness on this same scale? What if God said my forgiveness is no longer based on what Jesus did on your behalf but on how many hoops you’re willing to jump through?

This punishment which was inflicted  by the majority  is  sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you  ought  rather to forgive and comfort  him,  lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive.  For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices. (2 Corinthians 2:6-11 NKJV)

Paul also implies here that unforgiveness opens the door to Satan. Peter tells us that Satan is like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour.  1 Peter 5:8.

In the most elementary sense Forgiveness according to the bible is mostly for our benefit and not the benefit of the others. Let’s look at a few of the consequences of unforgiveness based on these passages.

1.       God won’t forgive you.

2.       You open the door for Satan.

3.       You can get caught up counting how many times someone offends you.

There are more consequences than this but based off of those three is your unforgiveness worth it?

I recently heard a great visual of what unforgiveness really is. Unforgiveness is like drinking poison hoping that someone else will die. That is a great way of looking at it. How many times has someone offended or hurt us and went on with their lives? They don’t even know we’re angry at them and every time we hear their name or see them we get angry all over again. Our anger and unforgiveness is taking a toll on us but that person could care less. What are we really trying to accomplish in this instances? All we are doing is hurting ourselves.

In the next and probably final addition I will take a few real life examples from the bible of forgiveness in action and break them down. As always I pray this has been helpful to someone.

To Forgive or not to Forgive: That is the Question

I remember reading in a book called “How Faith Works” by Dr. Fred Price and in the book he said that the most important subject a Christian should learn once they are saved is the subject of Faith. A person may say “I disagree with that. The bible says that love is the most important thing.” Yes that is true but I’d argue that it takes faith to love the way God calls us to love. I’d also argue that it takes faith to do anything that God calls us to do. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Even at the most elementary level each of God’s commands rely on faith that He actually exists and He is a reward of those that diligently seek Him.

I bring this up to say that it takes faith to walk in forgiveness. Forgiveness is not a natural response to a wrong. It takes faith that God is a just God and He is telling the truth when He says “Vengeance is Mine” in Deutoronomy 32:35.

Before I get into what Jesus says about forgiveness I want to cover a few things forgiveness is not. Sometimes it’s a misunderstanding of what forgiveness is that makes it so hard to do.

Forgiveness is defined as the disposition or willingness to forgive.

Forgiveness is not ignoring the wrongs that have been done to you. For example if you steal money from me or deceive me on something forgiveness does not mean I ignore that and continue to put myself in a position to be taken advantage of.

Forgiveness is not giving up or acknowledging that a wrong hasn’t been done against you. An example of this is if someone has slandered you or accused you of something hurtful. Forgiveness does not mean that you are condoning those accusations. You can still resist the slander and accusations and still be in a position of forgiveness.

I think this one is a big one. Forgiveness and Restitution are not the same thing. Restitution means a restoration to the former or original state or position. Forgiveness is immediate and is not based on the response or any actions on the part of the offender. Restitution is a joint effort by both parties and takes time and often includes counsel and accountability. An example of this is a woman in an abusive relationship. Forgiveness does not mean that she has to stay and continue to suffer abuse. She can get away from that relationship and still forgive that person.

Most people can see the ability to forgive more clearly once the misconceptions are removed. My next part will deal with what Jesus commanded in regards to forgiveness and scripture examples of forgiveness in action. I pray this helps someone to begin the forgiveness process.

Negative Confessions

Do Negative Confessions cause bad things to happen? If I say ‘You make me sick.’ Will I get sick?

Let’s look at some scriptures and a quote from Dr. Fred Price.

Proverbs 18:21

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

James 3:2-5 

2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3Indeed,[a] we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

See how great a forest a little fire kindles!

Matthew 12:33-35 

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart[a] brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

“If you form the habit of saying negative things, even jokingly, then where do you separate the joke from the reality? When does it get to the point where you are really “saying” out of your heart? Because you have formed the habit of saying negative things so much, after a while, you begin to apply that negativism to the positive things that you want to say and you end up getting the wrong thing.”

Dr. Fred Price (Name it and Claim it pg 16)

Matthew 12:35-37
³⁵ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart^[a] brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. ³⁶ But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. ³⁷ For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The idea behind Negative Confessions isn’t that if you say “Step on a crack break your mother’s back” your mother’s back is actually going to break. Faith comes by hearing and if you are constantly speaking negatively it will eventually get into your heart. There are many people that have more Faith in “Murphy’s Law” than in what Jesus has done for them on the Cross and God’s promises in scripture. What I mean by this is some people have convinced themselves that "bad things always happen to them" and all they talk about is how bad life is and "If anything can go wrong it's going to go wrong for me." That kind of talk is usually a sign of a heart issue and it is expressing itself through the person's words. This is where the idea behind Negative Confessions negatively affecting your life comes in. 

2 Corinthians 5:21

21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The point of confession is not to make this promise true to God or get God to do anything but to get the reality of the promise into your heart. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God and confession is a way of constantly reminding yourself of God's Word to build your faith daily.

If a Christian continually talks about how unworthy they are and never acknowledge what Jesus made available to them they will never be rooted in a full knowledge of their Righteousness and as a result will never walk in that reality.

Bottom line is don’t get crazy. If you go to the Doctor tell them your problem. Don’t tell them you don’t want to speak a Negative Confession. That’s foolishness. Let the Doctor know the problem and once the two of you have figured out a plan of action then put your faith and confession on that plan being successful. Hopefully this will remove some of the bondage that false ideas of Negative Confessions have placed on people.

What is Positive Confession?

In this installment I’ll be dealing with Positive Confession. 

Romans 10:10

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Luke 6:45

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

“Faith begins where the Will of God is known.” --Pastor Michael D. Moore

 In other words if it’s not God’s will you have no basis for faith.
1 John 5:14-15          

14And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

15And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Positive Confession is not the belief that we can force God to do anything nor do we have any power outside of His will. On the contrary it's just talking the way God talks.

Romans 4:17

¹⁷ (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”^[a]) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

Let’s define ‘confession’

 “Confession in Greek means that you “agree with” or “say the same thing that God says about you/or your circumstances.” Fred Price (Name it Claim it pg 8)

What this is saying is confession means to say what God says about your situations. For example God says in Philippians 4:19

19But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

So an example of positive confession would be saying that “All of my needs are met according to the riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Confession is about finding what God says about your life and speaking in line with that. Notice how this is rooted in a promise from the scriptures. It is not denial of the circumstances. You don’t say I have no needs. That would be a lie. With positive confession you acknowledge the need but you acknowledge that God is the source that will meet that need.

Here are some examples of a non-bible based confessions.

I have no problems.

I am not sick.

The difference may seem like semantics but in the mind of a Word of Faith person they are light years apart. In biblical confessions you are saying what the bible says about your life so the truth in the bible is elevated above the truth of the circumstances. The other view is just a denial of the circumstances with no truth to lean on.

I have to mention that some do take Positive Confession too far and end up putting people into bondage. They sort of set themselves up as the Confession Police and they want to arrest you for every perceived negative word you speak. This can be troubling to a person that is young in their faith and is now afraid to share their struggles because they don’t want to speak a negative confession. I have a Negative Confession portion where I’ll deal a little more with that.

This is definitely an area where you have to hear the whole message because if you don’t you will do some crazy things in the name of Positive Confession. There are some people that are teaching it that have no idea what they are talking about. On the other side if you only hear part of the message you won’t understand it. I know when I first heard that I can have what I say. I wrote out a long list of everything that I wanted like a Christmas list and put it on my bedroom door and would read the list every night. I didn’t know any better. I also didn’t understand that my confession was for building my faith and not for God. I had the thought that there was a certain amount of times I need to confess this or that before it manifests. A bill paid takes 15 consecutive confessions of 'My needs are met' and a headache takes 32 consecutive confessions of 'I believe I'm healed'. I now know that was incorrect and that my confessions don’t move God. They are a tool to keep me in remembrance of God’s Word and continually acknowledge Him as my source.

So from my misunderstandings I can’t come down too hard on someone that may be critical of the idea of Positive Confession.