Correctly understanding the truth of God's word is never a matter of personal opinion or private interpretation, as Peter says:

2Pet. 1:19  So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the  day dawns and the morning star arises  in your hearts.
2Pet. 1:20 But know this first of all, that  no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,
2Pet. 1:21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
 

Peter reminds us that we have been given the word of God, which is a sure and reliable thing. God has the power not only to deliver His word to us but to also ensure we gain the proper understanding of it. In v.20 Peter says that the correct interpretation of scripture is never found in one's own opinion. In other words, we do not arrive at the truth of God's word through assumptions, opinions or "feelings." No different than the way one arrives at a proper understanding of mathematics or biology, we must study scripture with an expectation that the truth is objective and absolute. It does not bend to the will of men.

On the other hand, scripture also teaches us that our ability to uncover the correct interpretation of scripture is a God-given ability. Notice in v.21 Peter says that all scripture was authored as a result of the Holy Spirit moving a man to record the words of God. Therefore, since the word of God was authored by the Spirit, only the Spirit Himself can properly interpret its meaning. This is why Paul says:

1Cor. 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of  the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,
1Cor. 2:13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
1Cor. 2:14  But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
 

All believers have been given the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so He can teach us the true meaning of scripture. In a sense, the Author of scripture explains its meaning to us as we endeavor to learn it. If men absent the Holy Spirit endeavor to learn its meaning, they will inevitably come away with a false, distorted view of scripture, since they lack the Spirit to guide them and reveal the truth.

Even believers will misinterpret scripture was time to time, but these misunderstandings are merely the consequence of the normal learning process of moving from spiritual immaturity to the fullness of Christ:

Eph. 4:11 And He  gave  some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as  evangelists, and some as pastors and  teachers,
Eph. 4:12  for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of  the body of Christ;
Eph. 4:13 until we all attain to  the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature  which belongs to the  fullness of Christ.
 

In other words, a healthy Christian committed to maturing in God's word will steadily increase in the correct knowledge of God's word. Whatever mistaken understanding we may acquire in the early years of our studies may eventually be corrected by the Spirit, so long as we persevere in our studies and maintain a teachable heart. People who become stubbornly unteachable will cease maturing and may be left with many false views of scripture, since they have stopped listening to the Spirit.

The desire to have Jesus explain everything all at once is understandable and common, but it is also potentially harmful. The Lord expects us to devote ourselves to a lifelong study of His word, for this is the way we maintain a close, daily relationship with Him. Were He to explain everything in His word to us all at once (assuming we were even capable of absorbing it all), we would have no incentive to maintain a daily relationship through His word. 

Our spiritual goal isn't to understand the Bible; our spiritual goal is to know the Lord and grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ through a study of His word.

God does not take the marriage covenant lightly. Throughout scripture, marriage is a reflection of God’s relationship with the Church. The Bible teaches marriage is between one man and one woman and those two should be under the same spiritual belief.

1 Corinthians 7:2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.
 

2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
 

We learn in Scripture that a man is to leave his family and be united with his wife, honoring the commitment he made to her and putting her before all other earthly relationships.

Matthew 19:4-6 "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'?  So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
 

Mark 10:6-9 "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.'  'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one.  Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
 

The Bible does not have requirements regarding age differences in marriage, and therefore a man is under no Biblical obligation to marry a younger woman. The only Biblical requirement in choosing a spouse is that each are of the opposite gender, and each are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. While traditions and culture can and should play a role in some of our decisions, the age difference between a husband and wife is not dictated in Scripture. 

We are in no position to assess someone's state of heart nor their destination upon death. Perhaps she was a believer, who rebelled against the Lord in a severe and lasting way. If so, then she was welcomed into the Lord's presence in the manner Paul describes in 1Corinthians 3:

1Cor. 3:12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver,  precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
1Cor. 3:13  each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test  the quality of each man’s work.
1Cor. 3:14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will  receive a reward.
1Cor. 3:15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet  so as through fire.

If someone never accepted Christ as savior in a sincere way, and after a period of living as a cultural "Christian," she gave up the act and returned to her true nature. If so, then she was demonstrating the truth that Peter taught:

2Pet. 2:20 For if, after they have  escaped the defilements of the world by  the knowledge of the  Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again  entangled in them and are overcome,  the last state has become worse for them than the first.
2Pet. 2:21  For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from  the holy commandment  handed on to them.
2Pet. 2:22  It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “ A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.” 
 

In the first example, the Bible teaches that believers can - and do - stray from the Lord. In their disobedience, their life can resemble the life of an unbeliever. These children of God may even deny the Lord, much as Peter denied Christ during His trial. These denials are, in fact, lies just as Peter's denials were lies. Though it may be hard to accept, a true believer may claim to be otherwise, may sin in egregious ways and make every effort to distance themselves from Christ in this life.

But as Paul wrote:

Rom. 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
Rom. 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from  the love of God, which is  in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 

In the second example, the Bible teaches that people can portray themselves as Christians in a convincing way, even to themselves. These portrayals include confessions of faith, the appearance of godly living, and even a degree of Biblical knowledge and piety. The Pharisees of Christ's day are the best example of this kind of counterfeit religious observance.

Nevertheless, such impostors were never truly born again as one of God's children. The missing ingredient was saving faith. The Bible says that saving faith is a gift of God, not something men acquire for themselves:

Eph. 2:8 For  by grace you have been saved  through faith; and  that not of yourselves, it is  the gift of God;
Eph. 2:9  not as a result of works, so that  no one may boast.
 

This is the "gift of salvation" you mentioned. Saving faith itself is a gift, and once it comes to a person, they confess and believe are are saved forever. The gift comes with the power of the Holy Spirit, Who indwells the person permanently as a down payment on the eternal inheritance God has granted to the believer:

2Cor. 1:21 Now He who  establishes us with you in Christ and  anointed us is God,
2Cor. 1:22 who also  sealed us and  gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a  pledge.
 

Eph. 4:30  Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,  by whom you were  sealed for the day of redemption.
 

Therefore, while we cannot say what happens to someone upon death, we can caution anyone from arriving at a doctrinal understanding through an analysis of any one person's life. Since unbelievers can act like believers and believers can act like unbelievers, we cannot rely on such observations to form conclusions about the truth of salvation.

The Biblical model for raising leadership in the church is provided in numerous places in the New Testament, but perhaps the clearest example is provided in Paul's letter to Timothy:

Titus 1:5  For this reason I left you in  Crete, that you would set in order what remains and  appoint elders in every city as I directed you.
 

Paul speaks of elders being appointed in churches. In contrast, we never hear of leaders being elected in any church body. This observation doesn't prove that congregational elections are wrong, but it does cast doubts. Certainly, the Lord can (and does) work through many styles of church government, but that fact doesn't prove that God approves equally of all style. By analogy, the Lord can speak through a donkey as easily as through men, but that doesn't mean the Lord prefers to use farm animals over men.

Also, consider that the apostate church of the Last Days is represented by the church of Laodicea, which means "the people ruling." The last days church is corrupted, in part, on the basis of it's democratic style of governance. This style allows the "sheep" to rule the shepherds, thus leading to corruption over time.

Therefore, we believe that churches should be led by elders, who are called and anointed (ordained) and sent out by existing elders.

The Bible makes no specific referencing to striking, though it does address the responsibility of workers to their employers:

1Pet. 2:17  Honor all people,  love the brotherhood,  fear God,  honor the  king.
1Pet. 2:18  Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and  gentle, but also to those who are  unreasonable.
1Pet. 2:19 For this finds  favor, if for the sake of  conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.
1Pet. 2:20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if  when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds  favor with God.
1Pet. 2:21 For  you have been called for this purpose,  since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you  an example for you to follow in His steps,
1Pet. 2:22 WHO  COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH;
1Pet. 2:23  and while being  reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;
1Pet. 2:24 and He Himself   bore our sins in His body on the   cross, so that we  might die to  sin and live to righteousness; for  by His  wounds you were  healed.
 

Though Peter is speaking about slavers and masters, his teaching would also apply to employer-employee relationships. Based on this testimony from Peter, we caution against acting in defiance to an employer. If an employment situation gives someone the legal right to strike, then perhaps it would be acceptable, but that decision should be tested in one's heart. As Christians, we have liberty in all things, but we are called to obey the Lord and His word.

Simply put, the Lord's discipline can take virtually any form. The particular form discipline may take is less important than the lesson it teaches us. Anytime the Lord brings discipline into our lives, He will also bring Spirit-given insight to ensure we understand the lesson. As we seek the Lord in prayer and through study of His word, we will receive the Spirit's counsel and come to understand the Lord's purpose in the trial.

For example, when Paul was afflicted by the Lord, he sought to understand his affliction and the Lord answered him:

2Cor. 12:7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself!
2Cor. 12:8 Concerning this I implored the Lord  three times that it might leave me.
2Cor. 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast  about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
 

Notice that Paul was afflicted first, then he implored the Lord to remove the trial, and finally the Lord responded with understand so Paul could learn the lesson. In Paul's case, the Lord was concerned about Paul's pride. Since Paul was granted such extraordinary revelation, the Lord chose to afflict Paul as a reminder that he needed the Lord's strength to succeed. This is the Lord's purpose in bringing discipline in any form.

So as the Lord chastises us, we can expect He will also "connect the dots" for us so that we may understand and appreciate the purpose in the trial. Then it falls to us to receive that discipline, learn the lesson and profit from it.

The Hebrew word used in Daniel 9:25 is charuts, which can be translated in one of three ways depending on context. First, it can mean a judgment or decision, as in Joel 3:12-14. Secondly, it can mean gold, as in the last word used in Psalm 68:13:

Psa. 68:13  When you lie down among the sheepfolds,
You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with glistening gold.
 

Finally, it can mean a wall or barrier, like a moat. So how do we know which version to use in Daniel 9:25? The answer is to understand the context of the verse. In the case of Daniel 9:25, the context is a construction project. Notice the context of the verse:

Dan. 9:25 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.
 

The word charuts occurs as part of an appositive modifying "it," which refers back to Jerusalem. So it (Jerusalem) will be built with plaza (a large open space) and…charuts. To come to a proper interpretation, let's consider each of the three possible meanings of this Hebrew word.

First, Jerusalem will be rebuilt with plaza and gold. This is logically possible, but historically we know that Jerusalem was not, in fact, built with gold. It was built with stone and wood, like any other city of that day. So the word can't mean gold.

Secondly, Jerusalem will be rebuilt with plaza and decision (or judgment). This statement makes no grammatical nor logical sense. The word must describe the building of the city itself. Notice that the first word is plaza, which describes a physical feature of the city, and therefore the second word would logically also pertain to a physical feature of the building. Interpreting the word to mean judgment or decision does not follow naurally from the context.

Finally, we can interpret the word as wall (or moat or barrier), and in doing so we arrive at a conclusion that is accurate to the context and accurate to history. You can learn much more about this prophecy in Daniel and how to accurately interpret the prophecy in chapter 9 by listening to our Revelation series, especially Lesson 5C, found here:

Revelation - Lesson 5C

Note: The accompanying visual aids are also very helpful in understanding the teaching.

In the case of Ezekiel 36:25, it is important to understand exactly what Ezekiel was describing and whether it relates to baptism.  Was Ezekiel speaking of water baptism or of something else?

Consider the context of that quote:

Ezek. 36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “It is  not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.
Ezek. 36:23 “I will  vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the  nations will know that I am the LORD,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.
Ezek. 36:24 “For I will  take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land.
Ezek. 36:25 “Then I will  sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your  filthiness and from all your  idols.
Ezek. 36:26 “Moreover, I will give you a  new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the  heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezek. 36:27 “I will  put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
 

In this chapter, Ezekiel records the Lord's words spoken to the nation of Israel. The Lord said He was prepared to act to bring Israel back to Himself in a future day. In that future day, the Lord says He will regather Israel from among the nations where they have been scattered, which is a reference to the current regathering that is taking place in Israel.

Next, the Lord says He will vindicate His name among the nations of the world, so that the world will come to know that the God of Israel is the true, living God, holy in all His ways. Once the nation of Israel in in the land, the Lord will accomplish three things for Israel. First, He will sprinkle them with clean water, so that they will no longer have any sin nor ever again turn from the Lord to worship idols. Secondly, He will give each Jew a "new heart" and "new spirit" so they will have hearts to have faith in the Lord forever. Finally, He will put His Spirit within them so they will obey Him and walk in His commandments forever.

As we consider these statements, notice that each refers to spiritual outcomes. The sprinkling of water describes the removal of sin, the new heart symbolizes coming to faith, and the placing of God's Spirit refers to an obedient walk. The Lord is speaking about the way He will bring salvation to the nation of Israel in the last days of Tribulation, immediately before the Millennial Kingdom. (You can learn more about this event in our Isaiah or Revelation studies on our website.) So Ezekiel 36:25 is a spiritual statement describing Israel's justification by faith resulting in the removal of Israel's sin.

By our analysis of the context, it becomes immediately clear that Ezekiel was NOT prescribing a method for Christian baptism. In fact, he was not speaking of baptism at all.  The mere fact that God used the term "sprinkling water" poetically to refer to removing Israel's sin does not permit us to twist the meaning of the passage to explain how believers perform water baptism.  As we demonstrated, Ezekiel was speaking solely about God's plan of salvation for Israel, and in that context he used the term "sprinkling" in an entirely different (and unrelated) context. So, Ezekiel's teaching has nothing to say whatsoever about the proper method for Christian baptism.

On the other hand, other texts found in the New Testament DO offer clear instruction on the manner and purpose of baptism. For example, Paul taught:

Rom. 6:1  What shall we say then? Are we to  continue in sin so that grace may increase?
Rom. 6:2  May it never be! How shall we who  died to sin still live in it?
Rom. 6:3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been  baptized into  Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
Rom. 6:4 Therefore we have been  buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was  raised from the dead through the  glory of the Father, so we too might walk in  newness of life.
Rom. 6:5 For  if we have become  united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be  in the likeness of His resurrection,
Rom. 6:6 knowing this, that our  old  self was  crucified with Him, in order that our  body of sin might be  done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
Rom. 6:7 for  he who has died is  freed from sin.
 

Col. 2:12 having been  buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also  raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who  raised Him from the dead.
Col. 2:13 When you were  dead  in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He  made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions.
 

The New Testament teaches that the manner of Christian baptism follows naturally from it's intended purpose. Since water baptism is intended to depict our belief in Christ's death and resurrection, the manner of baptism was designed to fit that purpose. Therefore, we are "buried" (i.e., immersed into a body of water) and we are "raised" (i.e., lifted out of water) to mimic Christ's death and resurrection.

The early church practiced immersion as the only form of baptism. This is why in the Bible whenever we see the manner of baptism described, we always see new converts in a body of water (e.g., Matthew 3:6; Matthew 3:16; Acts 8:36). Never once is infant baptism or baptism by springing of water ever depicted, described or endorsed by scripture.  

Immersion was the only method of baptism in the church until the Catholic church corrupted the practice by inventing "baptism" for infants. By distorting the Bible's teaching on original sin, the Catholic church began claiming it possessed the power to save children from Hell through infant baptism (which is a corrupt and unbiblical claim). The Catholic church first began to practice infant baptism in 416 AD, and later in 1311 AD, the Catholic church substituted pouring water on the child's forehead for full immersion. (These dates can be found in the Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume V.)

While the Catholic church is ultimately responsible for instituting this meaningless and unbiblical substitute for true believer baptism, sadly, some Reformation churches (i.e., Lutherans, Presbyterians, etc.) chose to continue this practice even after breaking free from Rome. Today, many Christian families perform this ritual on their children completely unaware they are repeating the sins of Rome while accomplishing nothing spiritually. Only a believer can make the decision to be baptized - baptism can't be done to us - so an infant baptism is no baptism at all. It is merely a public bath.

On the second day that my husband was gone last week, my son – how to say this – crossed a major line. This was no barely visible line in the sand. This was a well dug trench, a-river-runs-through-it-cross-at-your-own-peril wide and deep demarcation of acceptable behavior. As a result, I found myself on the phone with my husband negotiating consequences. The situation was serious enough that my husband decided to cut his trip short and come home the following day, a full business day early. In the mean time, he laid out a list of rules for Wil that left him barely moving about the house without explicit permission to do so. His choices were…this and nothing. You get my drift?

While Wil shrunk under the weight of his own guilt and the resulting rules heaped upon him, all he could think about was when his daddy would be home. Now don’t misunderstand. This was not the “wait-until-your-dad-gets-home” anticipation.  My husband is not the disciplinarian. I am. I have inflicted every beating spanking. I have enforced every rule. I have monitored every disciplinary action. That has clearly defined the parental roles for Wil so that he fears me in a uniquely special way (can you tell I’m still a little peeved with him?) and he fears disappointing his daddy. I knew that what my son needed that day, that moment, was his dad’s forgiveness. He needed to see his face and know that love still won, that anger had not erased all previous traces of affection, that disappointment had not wrecked the relationship. But what he was going to get in the mean time was a list of rules to live by.

As I watched my son wrestle with this conundrum, and I grieved both his betrayal and his pain, I suddenly understood something about our God in a new way and with fresh understanding – His Law could not replace His presence.

Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. (Galatians 3:23-25)

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. (Hebrews 10:1)

The rules established for my son were a guardian for him until his daddy got home but they could not replace the man himself. The rules reflected the love that was behind them but they could not replace that love. The rules would hedge him, protect him and guide him, and punishment (not discipline!) would be the result of an infraction, and in place of the man, the rules worked for that 24 hour period. But they were only there to stop the bleeding. They could change the behavior, but they couldn’t heal Wil’s heart.

When my husband walked through the door the next day he gathered Wil in his arms and held him, and through his own hurt, he loved his boy. The rules haven’t changed much since then nor have they gone away; we realize that for his own protection they need to remain in place. But the rules don’t replace the relationship. Dad is here now. And somehow, that makes a difference. That makes the difference.

Thank you Jesus! Thank you Father! For those of us who have not previously known what it’s like to live under the guardianship of rules, who haven't known the tender love of a father which will win out over anger and disappointment, who until now have not known the feeling of being gathered into the arms of living grace to experience mercy…thank you. Thank you for dropping everything to come rescue us with your love.  Now teach us to cling to you like a repentant son to his loving father.

While there is no clear biblical definition of preaching verses teaching, we can offer some observations based on our experience. First, teaching can be defined as expositing (or explaining) the meaning of scripture, while preaching is a call to obey the word of God. Proper preaching is dependent on sound teaching, for how can we obey what do not understand? Therefore, all sound preaching should include teaching, but not all teaching will involve preaching.

Teaching and preaching can look differently depending on the setting. For example, Pastor Armstrong usually performs teaching when addressing a Bible study class, since the classroom format lends itself to didactic delivery without necessarily calling for an audience response in most cases.

Nevertheless even in a teaching situation, the Holy Spirit is constantly active in the hearts of believers to take the word of God as it is taught and use it to convict the hearer of sin and compel obedience to God's word.

Heb. 4:12 For  the word of God is living and  active and sharper than any two-edged  sword, and piercing as far as the division of  soul and  spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
 

2Tim. 3:16  All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for  training in righteousness; 
 

In a different setting, Pastor Armstrong will consciously seek to exhort his listeners to think carefully about the teaching of scripture and consider a particular response. In this case, he preaches the message to encourage a specific response, which he feels properly reflects the teaching of the text. These moments are traditionally reserved for gatherings of the body intended for worship and exhortation  (i.e., Sunday services, devotionals, conference sessions, etc.).

Once again, the proper preaching of the word depends first on proper teaching. If a speaker fails to teach a passage correctly (or to even address scripture at all), then their preaching will carry no authority nor propensity to move hearts. We believe this is may be the issue you have faced in your years hearing ineffective "preaching" in churches. If the preaching is not rooted in proper examination and teaching of God's word, then it is merely speech giving.

“I could not help but see your comments about Rob Bell.  I have not read Rob Bell’s book Love Wins.  I was just wondering.  I grew up in Nepal just above India where most of the people are Hindu.  Having spent much time with these people and witnessing their loving caring nature and their belief in God.  I find it very difficult to believe that they are going to hell.  It does not make sense.  One could quote the Bible literally and say they are going to hell but of course that can’t be the case because they may have never even had a chance to read the gospels.”

Since this is a person who reads our website, I assume (and this could definitely be a bad assumption) this person is a Christian.  If so, he clearly has an unbiblical view of Scripture.    However, I also assume (again, perhaps wrongly) that other Christians may have this same unbiblical understanding of hell.  Therefore, I thought it would be worth showing, again, what the Bible teaches about hell.

Before doing that, I thought it would be interesting to point out that the Catholic church essentially teaches this same false belief.  Paragraph 847 of the “infallible” Catholic catechism says, “Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.”  Sounds like the email above, no?

Essentially, both our friend and the Catholic church are saying that if one believes in God, seeks God, obeys his conscience, and tries to do God’s will, then that person will be saved if he does not hear the gospel.  If that is your view, then the absolute best thing you can do is to NEVER preach the gospel to such a person.  Why risk that person rejecting the gospel if it’s a fact that, apart from hearing the gospel, that person is going to heaven?  It would be cruel to share the gospel with such a person and risk his salvation!  Yet, Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19), which implies preaching the gospel to all peoples.  Who is right?

If we examine our friend’s view and the Catholic church’s view, there are basically three things they are assuming about people whom God will not send to hell:  1) they believe in God; 2) they are basically good (e.g., loving, caring, seek God with a sincere heart, try to do God’s will by following their conscience); and 3) they have not heard the gospel.  Let’s look at what Scripture says about each one of these.

First is the assumption that people who believe in God will go to heaven.  Does the Bible teach that if a person believes in God he will be saved?  Scripture does indeed say that a person who comes to God must believe that He is, but that’s not all it says.  Hebrews 11:6 says, “And 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 seek Him.”  The key point here is that a person must have faith, which, you’ll recall, is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8); that is, those who will have eternal life must have faith, and God is the one who gives faith to those He chooses.  Thus, mere belief in God is not sufficient for salvation.

Furthermore, James 2:19 says, “You believe that God is one.  You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”  Demons believe in God, but they will not experience salvation; rather, they will be thrown into the lake of fire.  So, we see that the Bible teaches that belief in God, by itself, does not save a person.

Second is the rather common, secular, assumption that people are basically good.  Since that’s the case, and since God is a God of love, then of course He will not send good people to hell.  The fundamental problem with this view is that Scripture clearly teaches that people are not good.  Because of Adam’s Fall, we are all born sinners (Romans 5:12).  Because we are all born sinners, we all sin; that’s what sinners do.  We like to compare ourselves to other people so we appear “good”, and surely some people are not as bad as they could be.  But good in the Biblical sense means perfect, holy, without sin.

We are not without sin.  Here is how Scripture describes all of humanity apart from faith in Christ:

Romans 1:  “18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”  Our email friend is right, people know God, but they do not honor Him as God or give Him the thanks He alone is due.  Furthermore, men always seek to worship something, but they exchange the glory of God for a god of their own making.  This is especially evident in Hinduism.

Someone may say, “Yes, but Romans 2 says that those who persevere in doing good will have eternal life (vs. 7, 10).”  True, but keep reading.

Romans 3 says,

“9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Scripture makes clear that we are ALL under sin, there is NONE righteous, no NOT ONE.  In and of ourselves, apart from faith in Christ, we are unrighteous, we are not good, and we do not seek God.  This could not be more clear:  Scripture says people are NOT basically good.

Finally, what about those who have never heard the gospel?  Don’t they get to go to heaven?  Isn’t that a valid “excuse”?

In a word, no.  Again, Romans 1:20:  “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”  The teaching of Scripture is that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  They know God exists by His creation, but do not worship Him as God, so all are without excuse.  Thus, the clear teaching of Scripture is that we all deserve hell because we are all sinners.  Whether or not we hear the gospel has nothing to do with our guilt before God; we are ALL guilty.  When God saves someone, He is like a governor pardoning the guilty on death row, if you will.  The person is guilty and does not deserve pardon, but is released solely at the decision of the governor.

Moreover, salvation is determined by God.  Therefore, the argument that those who do not hear the gospel should be saved is irrelevant.  God chooses who is saved and who is not saved.  To the extent there is even one person among a long lost tribe who has never heard the gospel, God will ensure this person hears the gospel and is saved.  Nothing is too difficult, and nothing is impossible for God.

This leads some to say that if I’m born a sinner because of what Adam did, and God is the one who determines whether or not I am saved, then God is not fair.  Scripture addresses this concern, too.

Romans 9 says, “10 And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”  14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!  15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.  17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.”  18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.  19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault?  For who resists His will?”  20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God?  The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?  21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?  22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?  23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.”

God desires to demonstrate to His creation all of His attributes.  This includes not only grace, mercy and love, but also justice and wrath.  It is not up to the creature to question the motives of the Creator, who is forever blessed.  Besides, if you really want fairness, then true fairness would be for God to send us all to hell.  That He shows mercy on some is all of grace.

Remember, although God showed us mercy, it was not without a cost.  God still punished our sin, because He is a just God.  Instead of believers being justly punished, the wrath of God that we deserved was poured out on Jesus on the cross.  And it is by Christ’s life of obedience that we are made righteous.  This makes God both just and the justifier, as Romans 3 says, “24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.  This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Like Job and his friends who darken counsel without knowledge, Scripture renders silent both our email friend and the Catholic church.

As the Bible teaches us, prayer offers Christians the opportunity to speak directly to God in the name of Jesus Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit as they enter into communion with the Lord. This is a spiritual act of worship glorifying God and a privilege offered to Christians. On the other hand, merely assuming a posture of prayer and "going through the motions" is not - by itself - a spiritual act.

Prayer is a spiritual process and goes beyond just words, and the Holy Spirit plays an essential role in our prayer life. It is an act of worship from the heart according to the will of God, and it depends upon the Holy Spirit directlng our thoughts and guiding our words, whether spoken or thought. As Paul taught:

Rom. 8:26  In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
Rom. 8:27  and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He  intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
 

Furthermore, our prayer is spiritually meaningful and effective because we have a relationship with Christ, Who serves as our High Priest to intercede on our behalf, which is why we pray in the name of Jesus Christ.

Heb. 4:14  Therefore, since we have a great  high priest who has  passed through the heavens, Jesus  the Son of God, let us hold fast our  confession.
Heb. 4:15 For we do not have  a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been  tempted in all things as we are, yet  without sin.
Heb. 4:16 Therefore let us  draw near with  confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 
 

So prayer is the unique privilege of God's people, and it is a spiritual act for us. For those who lack a personal relationship with the Father through His Son, prayer is not spiritual; it is merely posing. The Bible says that the Father only hears the prayers of His children, and He does not incline His ear to the prayers of an unrighteous (i.e.,  unbelieving) man.

First, we believe you may benefit from reading this background article on baptism (both water baptism and baptism of the Spirit):

Secondly, the command of scripture concerning water baptism is always the same: believe and be baptized...in that order.  Water baptism is an act of obedience that only a believer can take. An unbeliever (or someone too young to profess faith publicly) simply cannot fulfill the Biblical command to be baptized. They cannot obey Christ until they are able to profess faith and choose to be baptized.

See the following example verses:

Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, “ Repent, and each of you be  baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand   souls.

Acts 8:13 Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed  signs and  great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.

Acts 9:18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized;

Acts 10:47 “ Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who  have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”

Acts 10:48 And he  ordered them to be baptized  in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.

Acts 18:8  Crispus,  the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord  with all his household, and many of the  Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.

Acts 22:16 ‘Now why do you delay?  Get up and be baptized, and  wash away your sins,  calling on His name.’

The Biblical form of baptism is for a professing believer to voluntarily enter a body of water so as to be immersed (for the reasons mentioned in our article referenced above). The form of baptism practiced by some denominations in which a baby is sprinkled with water is not Biblical baptism because it precedes saving faith and is not a conscience choice of the one being baptized. Therefore, it carries no spiritual significance according to scripture. It is a man-made ritual.

If you have come to faith in Jesus Christ but have never stepped into the water to receive baptism as a public display of obedience to Christ, then we strongly urge you to take this step. We believe you have brought this question to our attention because the Holy Spirit is prompting you to take this step, and we know from experience He will bless your obedience. (By the way, scripture permits any believer who has been baptized by immersion to then baptize another believer…pastor not required!)

Family and church traditions (like infant baptism) can be difficult to set aside in our walk of faith, but our allegiance must be to scripture and to the Spirit of the Lord and not to rituals or tradition.  We pray our words will be encouraging and ring true in your heart.
 

Before we answer your specific question on salvation for homosexuals, we wanted to provide some background history and theology to help frame our answer.

To begin, few topics today generate more controversy, emotion and confusion than the issue of homosexuality in society and in the church. Many Christians have become hesitant (and even fearful) to defend a Biblical view of sexuality in the face of growing persecution. In virtually every nation around the world, same-sex relationships have acquired legitimacy and acceptability to an extent virtually unthinkable just a few decades ago.

In many Western nations, homosexual marriage is now legal, and even where homosexual marriage remains against the law, homosexual couples may still enjoy many of the same parental and other legal rights as natural marriages. In the United States, acceptance of homosexuality is also growing fast, and most if not all states will likely permit homosexual unions in the near future.

The same shifting winds of opinion have led many churches to accept openly homosexual members, and in some denominations homosexuals can assume leadership positions, enjoying the full acceptance and encouragement of church members without shame or reproach. Some congregations have begun to sanctify homosexual marriages, while others no longer teach that homosexual acts are sinful or unnatural.

As society and the Church become increasingly comfortable with homosexuality, persecution will undoubtedly increase against those who hold a contrary viewpoint. Many within the church who hold to the traditional view of homosexuality as sin are labeled bigots, extremists and worse. Some nations have passed laws classifying condemnation of homosexuals as "hate speech," and some pastors risk imprisonment for speaking out against the practice.

Though the fight over homosexuality in our culture has moved to the front pages in recent decades, homosexual behavior has always been a part of human society. Ancient records and the Bible stories reflect its longevity in society, including accounts like Sodom and Gomorrah

While most cultures condemned the practice, some cultures celebrated it. Historical accounts record that men in both the Greek and the Roman cultures practiced homosexuality routinely (although it's unclear how pervasive the practices were in the culture overall). Many of the emperors of Rome reportedly engaged in homosexual behavior, and ancient temples often featured male prostitutes for that reason. So while homosexuality has only recently emerged from the shadows in our culture, the practice has always flourished somewhere, whether underground or in full view.

So how should a Christian view homosexual behavior, and how do we make sense of society's increasing acceptance of the behavior? What can we say to friends or family who practice homosexual behavior? Finally, what are we to conclude about a person professing faith in Christ while willfully embracing and enjoying a homosexual lifestyle?
 

Homosexuality Defined
 

First, let's consider a brief history of the term "homosexual." In ancient cultures, the act itself did not have an unique name and neither did the person who practiced it. For example, there is no Hebrew word in the Old Testament for homosexual. Instead, the Old Testament simply describes the act itself, referring to it as "laying with a male as one lies with a female" while calling such an act an abomination, which means it is detestable to God. For example:

Lev. 18:21  ‘You shall not give any of your offspring to them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.
Lev. 18:22  ‘You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.
Lev. 18:23  ‘Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.
 

(We should note how the Lord condemns homosexual acts in the same context as prohibiting child sacrifice and beastiality. Clearly, the Lord holds the practice in great contempt.)

Later after the Lord judged Sodom and Gomorrah for their sexual perversion and wickedness, the names of the cities became associated with homosexual behavior, and so the term "sodomite" came to stand for one who practices homosexual behavior. The term didn't convey an identity or suggest a lifestyle; it simply described a person who engaged in depraved sexual behavior.

In the same way that "murderer" describes someone who kills a human being unlawfully, sodomite described a person who committed an act of sodomy. The term was not a compliment, of course, and no one expected sodomites to unite and demand acceptance within society (no more than murderers might request the same privilege).

Sodomy remained the most common term given to homosexual behavior until our present-day term first appeared in the middle of the 19th century, eventually becoming the preferred name by the early 20th century. This change in terminology was not accidental. It came about as part of a campaign orchestrated by homosexuality sympathizers in medicine, psychology, the media, the entertainment industry and anti-religous groups to legitimize the behavior within the culture.

Proponents hoped the term "homosexual" would invite comparisons to heterosexual, thereby suggesting it was an equally healthy and acceptable alternative, and the effort picked up steam in the 1960s. By the end of the 20th century, homosexual behavior was celebrated rather than condemned, and participants began to be courted rather than ostracized.
 

The Bible's Teaching on Homosexuality
 

What does the Bible say about this practice? As we saw earlier, the Law clearly condemns homosexual behavior, requiring death for any in Israel who practice it.  While Christians are not bound to apply the penalties of the Old Testament Law, the New Testament echoes the Law's strong words against the practice. For example:

Rom. 1:22  Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Rom. 1:23  and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and  crawling creatures.
Rom. 1:24  Therefore  God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be  dishonored among them.
Rom. 1:25  For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,  who is blessed  forever. Amen.
Rom. 1:26  For this reason  God gave them over to  degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is  unnatural,
Rom. 1:27  and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

1Cor. 6:9  Or  do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived;  neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor  effeminate, nor homosexuals,
1Cor. 6:10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will  inherit the kingdom of God.
 

1Tim. 1:8  But we know that  the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
1Tim. 1:9  realizing the fact that  law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the  ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers
1Tim. 1:10  and immoral men  and  homosexuals  and  kidnappers  and  liars  and  perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to  sound teaching,
1Tim. 1:11  according to  the glorious gospel of  the blessed God, with which I have been  entrusted.

Let's consider these three passages in turn. First, in Romans 1 Paul describes the progression into ungodliness experienced by natural men. First, men became prideful thinking themselves wise without God's counsel (v.22). Their foolishness then led them to worshipthe creation rather than the Creator (v.23). As a result, the Lord judged them by handing them over to their fleshly desires. The Lord allowed the sinful flesh of men to gain full control over their instincts and desires, leading them astray into greater and greater depravity.

Eventually, their increasing depravity resulted in men dishonoring their own bodies (vs.24-25). In a sense, Paul says ungodly men became the victims of their own crimes, as they participate in homosexual behavior. In describing the behavior, Paul uses the term "arsenokoites," which is the Greek word for sodomite, though our modern English Bibles have chosen to translate this Greek word as homosexual instead.

It's important to notice that Paul says both men and women "exchanged" the natural for the unnatural and "abandoned" the natural to seek the unnatural. The word of God makes clear that homosexual behavior is an unnatural act that replaces a natural sexual act God has prescribed. Despite popular teaching to the contrary, there is nothing natural or normal about homosexual behavior, according to the Bible.

Finally, Paul describes homosexual acts as indecent and an "error." When the flesh "burns" for something it shouldn't have, Paul says, it is indecent, and this error will lead to a penalty. The penalty begins in their "own persons" (v.27), which is a reference to the degrading and harmful physical effects of homosexual behavior. The penalties don't end with the physical, however, as God is prepared to visit a much greater penalty upon them in eternity.

In the second passage taken from 1Corinthians, Paul declared that the "unrighteous" will not inherit the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom refers to the Millennial Kingdom the Lord will establish on Earth and into which all believer enter by faith. To be unrighteous in this context, therefore, means failing to trust in Christ for salvation. The person is unsaved by their lack of faith, and therefore the homosexual behavior is a reflection of an unbelieving heart.

Paul says to the Church do not be deceived by these people. Do not assume that the practice of such behavior is compatible with the righteousness which is by faith. Paul says the righteousness which is by faith will move us away from a lifestyle of persistent sin, whether sin of fornication, idolatry, adultery, homosexuality, etc. Therefore, we are not to be deceived by those who claim that Christian life and persistent sin are compatible. They are not.

On the other hand, Paul is NOT suggesting that a Christian will never sin in these ways or that such sins "disqualify" a Christian from the Kingdom. All true Christians are saved by faith alone, and no sin can separate a believer from the love of God (see Rom 8:38-39). Sadly, some Christians do commit these sins from time to time, but Paul is warning about a very different problem. He is concerned with believers embracing the lie that says Christian belief and practice may coexist with a lifestyle of sin in any form. Paul says do not be deceived by such ungodliness.

Therefore, persistent homosexual behavior is powerful evidence that the person may never have been born again, despite claims to the contrary. At the very least, anyone claiming to be a believer while living the homosexual lifestyle is a source of great harm to the body and should be viewed with great suspicion.

Finally, Paul's third passage from 1Timothy refutes any teaching that homosexuality can be compatible with Christianity. Notice Paul says these behaviors (including homosexuality) are contrary to sound teaching (v.11), and therefore the Law stands ready to correct such sinful practices. Anyone who teaches that homosexuality is compatible with Christianity is not teaching sound doctrine, according to the Bible.

The Law of God is aimed at the rebels and the ungodly, so that it may convict hearts by presenting God's standards for holiness. Acts of killing parents, kidnapping, lying, perjuring or homosexuality are all examples of disobedience to the will and instructions of God, Paul says, and they are incompatible with Christian living and belief.

Therefore, we should have no doubt that homosexuality is ungodly and contrary to Biblical teaching, and it is impossible to harmonize homosexual behavior with following Christ. The Bible says plainly that homosexual acts are depraved, perverted sexual behavior resulting from a sinful flesh left unrestrained. Homosexuality is not a natural condition, according to scripture, but an unnatural choice.  No matter how commonplace or accepted the practice becomes within our culture, it will always be morally wrong.   

The Christian Perspective on Homosexuals
 

The Bible clearly teaches that homosexuality acts are always wrong, but we must differentiate between those who experience homosexual temptations from those who choose to give into their temptations and engage in homosexual behaviors. Any person (even a Christian man or woman) may experience lustful attraction for someone of the same sex, but if they reject those temptations, then they have not sinned. This is the expectation the Bible places on all believers, that we resist temptations to sin.

Some people may be born with a greater temptation for homosexual sin just as other people are tempted into sins of lying, violence, stealing, etc., but the fact that a sinful tendencies was present from birth doesn't validate the lust or give license for us to pursue it absent condemnation. On the contrary, the Bible says flee youthful lusts (2Tim 2:22) precisely because every Christians struggles with lusts (including sexual lusts) that originate at birth. The fact that sin starts early doesn't make it good or healthy.

So some Christian struggle with homosexual lust while others contend with heterosexual lust, but all face a similar challenge. Both groups must resist their desires to engage in inappropriate relationships, whether fornication, adultery or homosexual behaviors. The Bible teaches that we must seek sexual relationships in the context of heterosexual marriage only, and in the case of persistent homosexual desires, it is better to live a single life than to give in to sin.

In summary, the Bible teaches that the only form of sexual intimacy permitted by God comes in the context of a marriage between a man and woman. Christians fighting sinful homosexual or heterosexual desires deserve our encouragement to continue resisting sin, and we do them no favors when we condone or encourage their sinful lifestyles.

Speaking Truth in Love
 

So how should a Christian confront someone who practices (or approves of) homosexuality? The answer depends on whether we are speaking with an unbeliever or a fellow Christian.

If the person is an unbeliever, we must take the conversation in a different direction. We should make our goal to present the Gospel - along with a call to repent and believe - rather than wasting time arguing the morality of homosexual behavior. Seeking to change someone's opinion of sinful behavior without addressing the underlying spiritual cause for sin is like putting lipstick on a pig. Even if such a person agreed with your arguments, they would still be a lost sinner subject to God's wrath.

On the other hand, if we present the Gospel and the person hears it and comes to faith in Christ, then they will receive the Holy Spirit, Who will bring conviction of sin and the power to free them from slavery to homosexuality. This is the Lord's blessing for all believers:

Rom. 6:11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Rom. 6:12 Therefore do not let sin  reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
Rom. 6:13 and do not go on  presenting  the members of your body to sin as  instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as  instruments of righteousness to God.
Rom. 6:14 For  sin shall not  be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

True conversion to faith in Christ is a person's only hope both for obtaining forgiveness and the power to live a godly life, which is the real goal of our witnessing. As you present the Gospel, you may also find an opportunity to declare the Biblical truth concerning homosexuality. The key is to speak this truth in love, while allowing conviction of sin to work in the heart.

Jesus serves as our role model in this approach. In John 4, Jesus encountered an adulterous woman at a well, and in the course of their discussion, Jesus candidly pointed out her sinful lifestyle even as He called her to repent and believe in Him. Ultimately, she came to faith in Christ and spread the news to her town.

Though Jesus boldly pointed out her sin, nevertheless He also offered her the chance for forgiveness, thereby demonstrating God's love for her in the process. Today, Jesus offers the same forgiveness to homosexuals through the appeal we make onHis behaof as His ambassadors sent with the Gospel. Therefore, endeavor to approach your circumstances in a similar manner, preaching the truth of the Gospel in love, while calling for repentance of sin and belief in Jesus Christ.

But what if the homosexual claims to be a Christian? In this case, the Bible give us very different instructions for how to proceed. The Bible says we are not to be deceived by anyone claiming that sinful living is compatible with a Christian walk, but instead we are to separate ourselves entirely from their influence:

1Cor. 5:11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or  an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one.

Paul says unequivocally we are not to associate in any way with a believer who practices an immoral lifestyle. A Christian is not even permitted to share a dinner table with such a person!  Also, notice Paul calls these people "so-called" brothers, reflecting his doubts over their profession of faith. Perhaps such people are true believers, but as Paul reminds us, there is also a good chance they are not.

Though Paul requires a stern response, his instructions produce two important and necessary safeguards for the body of Christ. First, separating from the disobedient Christian demonstrates to all rebellious believers that sinful choices will not be tolerated (much less condoned) by fellow believers. Fellowship in the body of Christ is a privilege that depends upon obedience to God's word, and those who depart from sound teaching are to be set outside fellowship as an example and incentive for all to remain obedient.

Secondly, Paul's instruction protects the church from counterfeit Christians, who infiltrate the body and corrupt it from within. The "so-called" brother or sister is no brother or sister at all, and therefore he or she must be set apart from the body to ensure the enemy has no opportunity to corrupt God's people. As Paul taught:

2Cor. 6:14  Do not be bound together with  unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?
2Cor. 6:15  Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

So whether the person is a true believer in rebellion to God or an unbeliever posing as a Christian, in either case they must be set outside fellowship to protect the flock from their harmful influence. While the world may label our response as "hate speech" or "homophobia," the truth is far different. We are acting in love for the body of Christ and for the offending individual by making opportunity available for repentance and restoration, which rings eternal reward. More importantly, we are living in obedience to the Lord, Who calls us to obey His word and accept whatever consequences may follow.

At the same time, our actions must be taken with a heavy heart and loving concern for the person's well-being. In any conflict with those practicing homosexuality, Christians should never resort to angry rhetoric, hurtful epithets or unloving attitudes toward anyone. Remember, the Bible typically addresses homosexual behavior in the context of other sins like murder, lying, adultery, etc., therefore we shouldn't single out the practice of homosexuality for harsh treatment,. All these behaviors are the natural result of sinful flesh and serve to remind us that lost and dying sinners need Christ. As Jesus said:

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
 

Our duty toward those who practice homosexuality is no different than to any other unbeliever we encounter. We are called to reflect the grace and mercy of Christ in the hope they will believe and be saved. We cannot ignore their sin, much less condone it, but our goal should be to win them for Christ, not to shame them and bully them into our way of thinking. Only the Lord can change a heart, and He does so through a patient, loving witness of the truth.
 

Are Practicing Homosexual Excluded From Salvation?
 

Based on Paul's strong statements, we might wonder if a practicing homosexual may ever enter Heaven? The simple answer is yes, provided the person has been born again by the Spirit. Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved, scripture teaches. On the other hand, this answer avoids the real question: can a true believer follow the homosexual lifestyle without conviction and regret?

To this question, the Bible would answer no, since every true believer is disciplined by the Lord and experiences conviction whenever they sin:

Heb. 12:5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
“ MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD,
NOR  FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;
Heb. 12:6  FOR THOSE  WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,
AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”
Heb. 12:7 It is for discipline that you endure;  God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
Heb. 12:8 But if you are without discipline,  of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Heb. 12:9 Furthermore, we had  earthly fathers to discipline us, and we  respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to  the Father of  spirits, and  live?
Heb. 12:10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good,  so that we may share His holiness.
Heb. 12:11 All discipline  for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the  peaceful fruit of righteousness.   

Notice in v.6 the writer quotes from Proverbs by saying the Lord scourges (i.e., disciplines) every son (i.e., believer). No true believer goes without discipline when he sins, and so if a Christian chooses to engage in homosexual behavior, they will inevitably experience regret and receive the Lord's discipline. Their spiritual conviction betrays them, since it demonstrates they are the Lord's child and yet their actions are displeasing to Him.

Though a Christian engaging in homosexual conduct may claim to feel no regret, they will be burdened by guilt, scripture teaches. Such feeling and thoughts are unavoidable, for if disobedient believers did not experience these things, they would be illegitimate children (i.e., not truly believers), according to Hebrews.  So believers may practice homosexuality, but they cannot do so without regret and conviction.

These rebellious believers usually justify their behavior as the result of "how God made me" or a natural variation on human sexuality, but inside their conscience says otherwise. As they experience the chastisement of the Lord and the conviction of the Spirit, perhaps one day they will exhibit repentance and remorse and seek to please the Lord. In other cases, they may never repent, fulfilling the warning of Hebrews 6:

Heb. 6:4 For in the case of those who have once been  enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
Heb. 6:5 and  have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
Heb. 6:6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

These believers may persevere in their sin, but if they do, they will see the Lord's displeasure evident in various consequences, including loss of eternal reward. Though they can never lose a salvation that was given to them by grace, nevertheless they are in jeopardy of receiving a harsh judgment when they stand before their Lord, and as Paul says in 1Corinthians 3, they will enter as through fire, with all their reward burned up.

In summary, based on Paul's teaching, we can safely assume that the majority of practicing homosexuals are not Christians, including many of those who claim to be followers of Christ. At the same time, a small minority of practicing homosexuals may, in fact, be Christians who have chosen to live in serious disobedience to their Lord. While they may pretend to have no regrets, they will experience conviction by the Spirit, and their conscience will be burdened. Since they grieve the Spirit living in them, the Lord will discipline them with severe consequences. 
 

On Tuesday it rained. All day.

I went to the grocery store Wednesday. In line at Aldi, I was behind a woman pushing a cart and pulling a walker. She had some trouble unloading onto the belt. Behind me and my week’s worth was a woman with only an arm full. In the parking lot was a homeless man who asked me for a ride somewhere, and money.

Thursday I had a little email exchange with one of my son’s teachers who had treated him unfairly.

Friday I had a meeting with a woman from my church. My last meeting with her felt like an inquisition instead of a friendly getting-to-know-you lunch shared by two potential friends and daughters of Christ.

During my walk yesterday morning I saw a lawn crew beginning work on the neighbor’s lawn. The man in uniform was waving his arms around at the man in dirty jeans and grubby white tee-shirt. He kept turning this way and that as he barked orders at the Hispanic man who was desperately trying to keep up – with the physicality and the language.

Today as I was driving toward the farm around the corner from my house I saw that their goats were on the road.

What was your week like? Did it include selling all your possessions and giving the money to the poor? Did you just return from a week in the Amazon tracking down lost tribes so that you could share the gospel? Did you “take India for God” by rescuing an orphan from the sex-trade? Maybe, oh I know, maybe you put the finishing touches on your translation of the New Testament into Marshallese.

No?

None of that?

Really?

Well, what good are you?

Seriously.

I. Am. So. Tired. Of. This. Message.

You know what I did this week? I prayed for my husband and son. Urgently. Authentically. Desperately. And with the understanding that in God’s sovereignty I might lose them all. I thanked God for His bountiful provision, His faithful protection, and His sovereign license. And I interceded for people whose children are dead.

I trusted God that there is purpose in every day. Even rainy days that make you want to cry. All day.

I helped a lady unload her grocery cart and let another go ahead of me in line. Then I apologized profusely and wrestled with God because all I had was a debit card and an unmitigated standing order that I WILL NOT GIVE RIDES TO STRANGERS.

I blew it. And I asked God’s forgiveness. And found it.

I prayed. And prayed some more. And went in faith. And was blessed.

I did nothing to intervene in the human drama common to my community. I wished a uniformed man a good morning, and hoped that it would be…for the sake of the man who had lost his dignity.

I knocked on a neighbor’s door to tell them their goats were in the road.

I won some. I lost some. But none of it was insignificant. It was exactly the week God planned for me. And there is nothing in His plan that is insignificant. I did not have to go looking for something significant to do. There was no need to seek out something radical to make me “really” a follower of Christ. I just had to breathe in and breathe out.

I want you to think about your week. For me, the most radical things God asked me to do were to give up my place in line, forgive someone who hurt me, overlook an offense and seek a humble attitude, give over everything I own and the people I love to His care, fling myself prostrate at the altar for people I don’t even know, act in love toward a neighbor and be happy anyway!!!

What about that is not radical?

Why does that have no value to the American church right now?

Why does radical have to look like it’s all about me? (I give. I go. I do. I build. I teach. I serve. I lead. I adopt. I rescue. I share. I. I. I. I do these things to prove to others that I am really a follower of Christ. So…follow me.)

Why isn’t my common daily obedience an act of crazy love?

Why hasn’t loving my family, submitting to my husband and keeping my home become an irresistible revolution?

What do I have to do to prove to the church that I’m not a fan?

When is it good enough? When is it, simply, enough?

And who is taking care of all that God has entrusted to me while I’m off on some search for significance by being a crazy irresistible radical?

I wonder this. Do you wonder this? Or has the desperate attempt to keep up with the new Jones’s suffocated you with the fear of failure? Or have they (these crazy, irresistible radicals) convinced you that you’re not really saved or you’d be proving it…so prove it!    

I had a fight with my small family last week. It was a doozie and all of us were in on it. At the end of it I felt that nothing I did mattered - to anyone.  I didn’t sleep. I didn’t pray. I fumed. I plotted. I drafted speeches in my head. But in the wee hours of the morning I heard the voice of God. I heard Him say, “This is your reward”.

This.

This. Is. Your. Reward.

And I understood that we don’t have to make God see. He sees. He sees every struggle that comes from a heart that is desperate to get it right… just… one… time. (Please, Lord!) He hears every word formed on our tongue that we don’t say. He knows we desperately long for a world where it’s OK to give a homeless man a ride – or where there are no homeless men. He feels every beat of our heart when it is turned toward someone else’s pain. And He is pleased for us to understand that even the neighbors' goats are important. He sees all this because these were the appointments He planned for our days. He was watching to see what we would do, how we would respond, what we would learn, and how each of those things brought us back to Him. Because this is all about Him. His plan. His appointments. His ways of being crazyily, irresistibly radical.

Live your life. Be faithful. Be kind. Be gentle. Be meek. Be humble. Bite your tongue. Obey. Win some. Lose some. Confess. Repent. Start again. Surrender. Struggle. Let go. Hang on. Lead. Follow. Just do life.

Just.
Do.
Life.

There is nothing more radical than simple daily obedience and walking in “the way”. Leave the opportunities to God. And as 4 year old Nathan Parizek says, “You know it was a good day if you didn’t hit or bite anyone”.

Go. And as you go, don’t hit and don’t bite. Then teach someone else the secret to your success.

Be blessed you crazy irresistible radical!! 
 

(With all due respect to those whom God has called to do other crazy, irresistibly radical things which look different from our crazy, irresistibly radical things!) 

Think of the hybrid car. A hybrid vehicle has two motors. One motor is a typical internal combustion engine (we’ll come back to that) and one motor is battery-run electric. When you start the vehicle, it uses the internal combustion engine. When you pick up speed, the vehicle switches to the electric battery engine. When you need more acceleration power, the vehicle uses both engines. In any case, the car is programmed to utilize the appropriate power source under specific conditions.

Got all that? Pretty simple really. I can cut to the chase here and just tell you that the Holy Spirit is the only engine we need and we need Him full time under every condition – start, stop, power up, accelerate, coast – every condition. But you know and I know that we alternate back and forth between our own steam and His control. We are by nature a hybrid. And sadly, more often than not, we are internally combusting because we fail to access the power available to us (told you I’d circle back around).

Every moment of the day we automatically shift into action when habit and experience are piqued, thereby operating under our own internal engine. Fight with the spouse? “I got this!” And the engine of the Holy Spirit powers down to let us operate on our own strength. Trip to the grocery? “No problem”. (*SNORT*) And off we go full throttle without His contribution. In order to have more of His power, we have to let up on our own. We power down so He can power up.

Which engine drives your day? Unfortunately, unlike the pre-programmed hybrid vehicle, we actually have to decide when to switch over to Holy Spirit power. It doesn’t come automatically. And that, my friends, is why most of us (is that too much of an assumption?) operate under so little real power.

I wish I could tell you that beyond having a grasp on the principle here that I have actually mastered the shift. I haven’t. I live too much in my own head. I am far too used to my own ways. My habits are engrained. My decision-making reactive rather than reflective. I am a hybrid under the control of my own engine and burning a lot of gas. But I drive the hybrid anyway, hoping, always hoping, for better mileage from my day; shifting over and giving up control in quarters-of-miles. Maybe soon half-miles, and a bit further down the road whole-miles until finally, the Lord powers the whole trip. If you’re managing to run on all-electric, kudos to you on your green footprint (wink). Those of us still in herky-jerky mode could use the occasional reminder to switch over when our engines run a little hot. Be patient as you power by us in the passing lane!
 

Cherry-picking. Oh how I hate it. I don’t mean picking sweet delicious fruit from a summer-sun dappled tree. I mean plucking a Bible verse out of its broader context and using it to promote your latest feel-good phase. Christian…stop it. Immediately.

Get your Bible handy. I mean it. This is serious business. Bring it up on blueletterbible.org or grab your desk top leather bound, and turn to 1 Corinthians 2. We’re ‘bout to come to Jesus. Go straight down to verse 9 and read it. Does it make you sigh? Does it strike some romantic chord within you? Does it heighten your emotions to think that God has some big surprise awaiting you? Well, snap out of it! (I’m begging your grace with my tone throughout today. I tell you, if I see this verse out of context one more time, I’m gonna have a moment.) Now go back and start reading in verse 6 through the end of the chapter. In fact, because I don’t believe you’re actually there with me now, here it is in the simplest paraphrase I know. (*NLT and words in bold for emphasis)

Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God —his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8  But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord.9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared
for those who love him.”

10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. 14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For, “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

Now, reason with me if you will. (Taking a deep breath here…letting it out slowly.) Just by reading the words I emphasized (and if there was a “shout” option, I would have added it too!) do you see anything that might cause you to interpret verse 9 differently from the way it’s typically used as a stand alone thought? Is it really good news to you that you can’t know what God has planned for you?? Is that good news to anyone? Would that entice someone lost in the world’s darkness to turn to the light and say, “Now, that’s some good news!”?

Let me help you. What Paul is essentially telling the Corinthians is, put simply, that it is unbelievers who can not know what God has planned for those (of us) who love Him. Because of their ignorance, they crucified Christ! But (did I emphasize that enough?) we have the mind of Christ and the Spirit of Truth so that we can know all the wonderful things God has freely given us. Why on earth would He not want us to know all the good things He has freely given and has planned for us?

Christian, do you see it? Do you see the lie Satan is spreading throughout the world every time you use this verse out of context as if it is good news – posting it to your Facebook page and pinning it to your Pinterest board? The lie says that God is secretive. God is not forthcoming. God is unknowable – far off. God withholds from His own children what is good and hopeful. Do you see the damage Satan is doing to God’s reputation? Do you see the damage he’s doing to yours? Perhaps an unbeliever would not understand the spiritual truths being unveiled here, but they can certainly read with intelligence, and if they took the time, would see what is plainly spelled out in scripture. Our scripture. The Word to which we have entrusted our eternal souls! And yet we use it as if we are ignorant of its message. Are we? Shame on us. No wonder the world mocks. They should.

Alrighty. That’s enough finger wagging, I promise. I pray, however, that that particular bite of cherry pie just fell in your lap and stained your shirt on the way down. I pray that conviction moves you stand up under its weight and run…run…to the Word and embrace it as if your life and eternity depend on it. I pray that you might become a workman approved to rightly handle and hold out the Word of life to a generation that is perishing in unbelief. You won’t always get it right, none of us do, but we can certainly be without the kind of error that would be obvious to anyone with time, inclination, and two seeing eyes. Let’s endeavor to stop cherry-picking. Make it so, dear Lord.

Now, let’s talk about Jeremiah 29:11… 

(* In the newest translation of the New International Version this passage is handled with clarity, not breaking the grammatical train of thought  between verses 9 and 10. If you pulled up blueletterbible’s version of the NIV you read it as it is newly translated. Most of us, however, are still carrying around our 1984 translations which have the unfortunate break in thought. Please, if nothing else, memorize this passage in its new, better, more accurate phrasing and repeat it as GOOD NEWS!)

Before we can answer your quesiton, we need to define "heaven" according to the Bible. Heaven is not a single place, according to scripture. Heaven is a state of being, which takes place in multiple places throughout God's program. During the period of human history prior to the fall of sin, Heaven was the state of Adam and Woman's existence in the Garden. They walked with God, knew God and were not ashamed of anything.

After the fall of Adam and Woman, heaven was taken away from them on earth, and only after the death and removal of the sinful body did they have opportunity to return to a blissful existence in God's care. Heaven was a place called Sheol in the Old Testament. This place held the souls of the departed saints until Christ came and died to make atonement for sin. You can read more about this place in our article on Heaven and Hell.

As explain in that article, all who die in faith today are taken (in spirit form) to be with Christ in the heavenly realm. Even this existence is not a permanent home, since the saints return to the Earth with Christ at His Second Coming, according to Revelation 19. At that point, we live in a "heaven" on Earth for 1,000 years until the Earth is destroyed and a New Heavens and Earth are created. Finally, the New Jerusalem becomes our heaven according to Revelation 21.

In answer to your question, the Bible mentions the presence of animals in at least some of the places we call "heaven." Specifically, in the Garden, Adam and Woman enjoyed the companionship of animals. Secondly, in the 1,000 years of living and ruling on Earth with Christ, the Bible describes the presence of animals living with men in harmony and without conflict:

Is. 65:17  “For behold, I create  new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come to  mind.
Is. 65:18 “But be  glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for gladness.
Is. 65:19 “I will also  rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of  weeping and the sound of crying.
Is. 65:20 “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,
Or an old man who does  not  live out his days;
For the youth will die at the age of one hundred
And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred
Will be thought accursed.
Is. 65:21 “They will  build houses and inhabit them;
They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
Is. 65:22 “They will not build and  another inhabit,
They will not plant and another eat;
For  as the  lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones will  wear out the work of their hands.
Is. 65:23 “They will  not labor in vain,
Or bear children for calamity;
For they are the   offspring of those blessed by the LORD,
And their descendants with them.
Is. 65:24 “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will  answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
Is. 65:25 “The  wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the  lion will eat straw like the ox; and  dust will be the serpent’s food. They will  do no evil or harm in all My  holy mountain,” says the LORD. 
 

Notice that the Lord says in the 1,000 year kingdom to come there will be animals living, and they will lie down together in harmony. We do not know if the animals in the kingdom will include pets, but it's reasonable to assume that we will find dogs, cats and other domesticated pets among the animals in the Kingdom. 

On the other hand, will we find our own pets resurrected and retaining a memory of us from our years together on Earth? This seems unlikely. The Bible teaches that all life on Earth that comes from the ground (i.e., men, animals and plants) will return to dust because of the curse God pronounced after Adam's sin in Genesis 3. Furthermore, God only gives "help" (i.e., a plan of redemption and resurrection) to men, according to the BIble. He doesn't give a way for angels (or presuambly the animal kingdom) to be redeemed from the curse, according to Hebrews 2:16.

So while we would love to say that all our pets will be in the Kingdom waiting for us, it's safer to assume we will have an opportunity to enjoy new pets without the worry of death or pain or suffering.

Of course, poodles are excluded.

Bell is a man who rejects much of the fundamental beliefs that define a person as a Christian, and this is what makes him a false teacher.  As Jesus warned us, "15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits." (Matthew 7)  Bell’s “fruits” are his false teachings.  Furthermore, we read in 1 Timothy 6, "3 If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain."  Bell contradicts several of Jesus' teachings, which we consider below.

• In his book, Sex God, Bell says, “To the Jewish mind, heaven is not a fixed, unchanging geographical location somewhere other than this world. Heaven is the realm where things are as God intends them to be. . . . Now if there’s a realm where things are as God wants them to be, then there must be a realm where things are not as God wants them to be. Where things aren’t according to God’s will. Where people aren’t treated as fully human. It’s called hell.”

Scripture does not view hell this way at all.  This world will be gone one day (2 Peter 3:7).  Hell is a literal place, and Jesus spoke more often about hell than other subjects (Revelation 20:14-15).  This is a direct contradiction of Scripture, which makes Bell a false teacher as described above.  Furthermore, Bell demonstrates a superficial knowledge of God.  There is no realm where things are not as God wants them to be.  Even though this world is full of sin, it is all according to God’s will.  God is not the author of sin, yet Scripture makes clear that the Fall, Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross, His resurrection and our justification and sanctification are all part of God’s plan.  Ephesians 1 says God chose believers in Christ before the foundation of the world, and predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself.  We learn through God’s word that God is a sovereign God, and nothing is able to happen anywhere apart from His will.

• Bell effectively teaches universalism, although he is careful not to be explicit about it.  In Jesus Wants to Save Christians, he says, "Jesus is the representative of the entire human family. His blood covers the entire created door. Jesus is saving everyone and everything."  In an interview, in response to the question do you believe in a literal hell that is defined simply as eternal separation from God, he said, "Well, there are people now who are seriously separated from God. So I would assume that God will leave room for people to say ‘no I don’t want any part of this.’ My question would be, does grace win or is the human heart stronger than God’s love or grace. Who wins, does darkness and sin and hardness of heart win or does God’s love and grace win?"

This teaching denies the Bible's explicit teaching that God will save some people, but not all.  It also denies that Christianity is the only way to salvation.  John 3:18 makes clear that if one does not believe in Jesus he is condemned already.  John 14:6 makes clear that one is saved solely by faith in Christ.  Again, Bell's teaching is shown to be false.  Note that this is not merely incorrect interpretation of Scripture.  This is much, much more serious.  This type of teaching denies the true gospel, and this makes Bell a heretic.  This may sound harsh, but read Galatians, where Paul says that anyone who preaches “another gospel” is to be accursed (Galatians 1:8-9).

• Bell effectively denies the gospel.  In his Love Wins promotional video, Bell says, "And then there is the question behind the questions, the real question:  What is God like?  Because millions and millions of people were taught that the primary message—the center of the Gospel of Jesus—is that God is going to send you to hell, unless you believe in Jesus.  And so, what gets, subtly, sort of caught and taught is that Jesus rescues you from God.  But what kind of God is that; that we would need to be rescued from this God?  How could that God ever be good; how could that God ever be trusted?  And how could that ever be good news."

This is blasphemy.  Scripture makes clear that if you do not believe in Jesus, you will go to hell.  Jesus explicitly stated in John 8:24, "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  If one dies in sin, one will not be written in the Book of Life, and will be cast into the lake of fire (see Rev. 20 above).  Furthermore, Jesus does not rescue us from God, but He does rescue us from God's just and righteous wrath:  "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him." (Romans 5:9)  That is why the gospel is good news, we are sinners saved by Jesus' atoning sacrifice on the cross and given His perfect righteousness.

• Bell teaches that people will have a second chance to believe after death.  In Love Wins, he states, "[There will be] endless opportunities in an endless amount of time for people to say yes to God.  At the heart of this perspective is the belief that, given enough time, everybody will turn to God and find themselves in the joy and peace of God’s presence.  The love of God will melt every hard heart, and even the most ‘depraved sinners’ will eventually give up their resistance and turn to God."

Again, this directly contradicts Scripture.  Hebrews 9:27 says, "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment."

• Bell affirms homosexuality.  In a Christian Post article on Bell, he says, "I believe God [is] pulling us ahead into greater and greater affirmation and acceptance of our gay brothers and sisters and pastors and friends and neighbors and coworkers."  And then, "I am for fidelity.  I am for love, whether it's a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man.  I think the ship has sailed and I think that the church needs to just … this is the world that we are living in and we need to affirm people wherever they are."

Again, this is clearly un-Biblical.  Bell obviously does not understand that marriage is a picture of our union with Christ, and to pair men with men and women with women is to pervert the symbol that God intended marriage to represent.  By making these statements, Bell proves himself to be the person described in Romans 1:32 (speaking about, among other sins, homosexuality):  "and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."  In addition, Scripture makes clear that practicing homosexuals will not enter the kingdom of heaven:  "9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6)  Only Christians go to heaven.

As you can see, Bell has very serious false teachings.  Based on his rejection of God's very clear teaching in Scripture, I think it is plain that Bell is not a Christian.  He fits the false teacher warning that Jesus gives us.  Not only that, if he was truly a believer, he would not reject what God clearly teaches, as I have demonstrated above.  Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." (John 10:1-5)  Jesus' voice is Scripture, and that is whom we should follow.  Bell's voice is a stranger, and believers should not follow him, since his voice leads us away from the truth.

In Scripture, there are many references to the glory of God, or the glory of the LORD.  A good example of this is found in Psalm 19:  “1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.  2 Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.  3 There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard.”  Creation is a testimony to God’s handiwork; it brings Him honor, distinction, and glory.  Yet, as we have seen in examining the Five Solas of the Reformation, man in his sin does not give God the glory He is due.

As we’ll see in this final sola, God’s word and the salvation He proclaims in it is all of God.  This is why the final sola declares that it is to God alone that glory belongs.  Man plays no part in his redemption, for if he did, he would be due glory as well, small as it may be.  Indeed, Scripture also tells us that God does not share His glory with anyone.  Isaiah 48:11 says, “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned?  And My glory I will not give to another.”  That which God accomplishes and brings Him glory He will not share with another.  It is in this sense that the Reformers came up with the fifth and final sola.

The other four solas (Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus) speak to our salvation and our sanctification.  We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, by the hearing of God’s word alone.  We are transformed into Christ-likeness by God’s word and by His Holy Spirit.  All of this is by done by God alone, and it is done for His glory.  Speaking about those who are called by His name, Isaiah 43:7 says, “Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

God’s word as the sole rule of faith for our life brings God glory.  All false religions add something to God’s word so as to diminish it, and to give glory to men who do not deserve it.  Catholicism adds Tradition and the church magisterium, Mormonism adds the Book of Mormon, Jehovah’s Witnesses have changed key parts of the Bible, and Islam exalts the Qur’an.  These and other false religions always contradict the Word of God, thereby stealing the glory that is due to God alone.  We are to live solely by His word.  That is why our Lord responded to the evil one with Scripture, and stated, “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”  Therefore, Sola Scriptura brings glory to God alone.

That we are saved solely by God’s grace also brings God glory.  As we saw in Sola Gratia, no one can come to God apart from Him granting the grace (i.e., unmerited favor) necessary to believe in Him.  Throughout church history, there have been men who taught lies that said man is either not fallen at all, or not totally fallen.  Rather, they taught that men have the goodness within themselves to believe in God, apart from His grace.  These include men like Pelagius in the 5th century and Charles Finney in the 19th century.  These men sought to get glory for themselves rather than give all the glory to the one true and living God.  But, God’s word clearly teaches that it is by grace that we have been saved, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2).  Therefore, Sola Gratia brings glory to God alone.

Similar to Sola Gratia is Sola Fide, that we are saved by faith alone in Christ alone, and this brings God glory.  All the false religions either say we are saved by works, or by faith plus works, as we saw the Catholic church teaches.  If there is even one small contribution we make to our salvation, then we have something about which to boast.  Sadly, even today, most Christians believe that we have the “free will” to accept or reject faith in Christ, a belief that is the polar opposite of what Scripture teaches.  Christians have told me that even though faith is a gift, we still must choose to receive it or reject it.  They say this without thinking through the logical conclusion of the statement.  If I chose to believe the same gospel that my friend rejected, then there MUST have been something in me that was better than my friend that caused me to believe.  I was either smarter, humbler (which, in this case would be quite ironic!), or something that my friend was not, which means I now have something about which I can boast.  Again, Scripture makes clear that apart from God’s grace and faith, we are spiritually dead.  Spiritually speaking, dead men can do nothing apart from God.  Ephesians 2 says we were dead, but God made us alive in Christ; not man, God alone.  Therefore, Sola Fide brings glory to God alone.

That Christ alone propitiates the wrath of God, and that Christ alone is our righteousness brings glory to God.  Our sin separates us from God, and God has provided one, and only one, mediator to reconcile us to Him.  Yet, sinful men, always seeking to rob God of His glory, devised other ways to be reconciled.  Catholicism adds penance to Christ’s once for all, fully sufficient atonement.  Islam says if our good works outweigh our bad, we go to heaven.  False religions always seek to direct us away from Christ.  Similarly, Scripture requires us to be righteous, and our righteousness is found in Christ’s obedience alone.  But again, false religions teach that our good works make us righteous.  If anything we do adds to our salvation, then we rob God of the glory that is due to Him alone.  Scripture teaches that Christ’s one time sacrifice is sufficient for all of our sins (Hebrews 7:27), and that we are made righteous by Christ’s obedience (Romans 5:19).  Therefore, Solus Christus brings glory to God alone.

Nearly three thousand years ago, God declared beforehand what He would do to reconcile His children to Himself through the person and work of His Son, Messiah Yeshua.  He declared this well in advance, so that what occurred would be attributable to Him alone, and therefore He would receive the honor, distinction and glory that is due Him.  Isaiah 42 says,

“5 Thus says God the Lord,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it,
6 “I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness,
I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
7 To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
8 “I am the Lord, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to graven images.
9 “Behold, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

The five solas of the Reformation give us a helpful way to remember what God, and God alone, has done for us in Christ Jesus.  All we can do is rejoice and give Him thanks and praise, glory and honor, since He alone has accomplished our salvation.  Like the apostle Paul, we proclaim, “33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!  34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?  35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?  36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

SOLI DEO GLORIA!