Yet again, I am commenting on a HUGE topic of which I will barely scratch the surface. But if you’ve hung around here for a second, then you know that I am very passionate about this subject in particular; we’re talking about Scripture’s inerrancy and authority. The Bible is 100% true. 100% inspired by God. And it’s 100% infallible. 

This doesn’t mean we beat people over the head with our Bibles, but it does mean that we defer and submit to the only real and trustworthy source of truth: the Word of God. It means we know that all of humanity is flawed and fallible, so we must approach every situation and circumstance with a Biblical worldview. 

Now let’s dig in to the “why.”

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Why should we believe the Bible is true?

If you haven’t listened to “Why You Can Believe the Bible” by Voddie Baucham, head over to YouTube and bookmark that now. But I’ll borrow his explanation, because there’s no way I can top it.

I choose to believe the Bible because…

“The Bible is a reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claim that their writings are divine rather than from human origin.”

Mic drop.

Do your own research in this topic if you still find yourself doubting its veracity. I guarantee that the Word holds up under scrutiny, and an honest and humble look into these historical documents will be a beautiful journey of discovering truth. 

(My husband is currently reading this book that looks at the reliability of Scripture if you want a starting point).

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Why should we submit to the Bible as authority?

“If we get away from the Word of God, then it’s just an opinion…and we don’t need another opinion. We need somebody who will say, ‘Thus sayeth the LORD!’”- Doug Sager 

Once we determine that Scripture is the actual Word of God, then it’s pretty obvious that this is the supreme and reliable source of Truth. So we can trust the Bible when it says,

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

and:

…we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:19-21).

Also, you don’t have to be a Bible scholar to understand that all of humanity is flawed. We lie and cheat and steal and follow after our own agendas. So why would we trust the things that we say, think, and assume rather than the words of the perfect God? We do not understand or have a firm grip on what the future holds, but the Lord does. The choice is clear, and I’m choosing to defer to the Word of God over what any sinful human might tell me. 

We cannot put someone else’s ideas on a pedestal just because we *assume* that’s what Jesus would do. We know we cannot trust our own feelings or follow our own flesh, so why would we blindly trust someone else’s opinions when they are also an imperfect human? We must read Scripture while surrendering to the Holy Spirit for conviction and guidance. We must test everything others say against the Word of God. We can’t just pull a quote from [insert Christian celebrity or author here] and think “Well, this must be compatible with what the Bible teaches” without doing our own digging. This does not mean we sow seeds of discord in our congregations for the sake of being argumentative, but it does mean we are committed to discovering and spreading the Truth above all else. Thanks for listening to my TED talk (But ya know, don’t trust what I say; seek the truth for yourself in Scripture :)

If you find that your pastor is not committed to the authority of the Bible, then he’s following his own agenda. Here’s my unsolicited advice: get.outta.there.

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What are we supposed to do when the Bible seems to contradict itself?

First, we remember that God does not lie and He is never wrong. So we must assume that we are lacking understanding, and we compare Scripture with more Scripture to grasp a bigger picture. 

At first glance, one might assume that the characteristics of God are in discord. I.e. Is He loving or is He just?

But the fact that He punishes the wicked does not make God any less loving. The fact that He offers mercy to the repentant doesn’t make God any less just. We have to stop thinking in either/or; the Lord’s attributes are both/and. All of God’s characteristics perfectly coincide with one another, creating one harmonizing tapestry of beauty and goodness that points to His glory. 

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Let’s look deeper into another example of seemingly contradictory passages.

In Matthew 11:30, we see that Jesus says, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” A few verses earlier, however, Jesus commands, 

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 39 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 10:38-39).

Yeah, carrying a cross and losing my life does not exactly sound easy to me. So how do we reconcile these seemingly contradictory passages spoken from the very mouth of the Messiah? We look at context, context, and more context. Who is Jesus talking to? What just happened? What is the point He is trying to make in this moment? Who wrote the book of the Bible? Who is the author? Who is the author writing to? 

Back to the examples. Matthew is the author of both of these passages and he’s writing primarily to Jews, with great attention to proving Jesus as the Jewish Messiah (he references an extraordinary number of Old Testament passages in doing so). 

Let’s take a deeper look into the “yoke is easy and burden is light” verse first. Starting in Matthew 11:25, Jesus talks about how God reveals truths to little children while it’s hidden from the wise and understanding (in the world’s eyes—i.e. the Pharisees/religious elites at the time). Here’s the full passage in this section: 

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:25-30).

After looking into a bit of commentary, we find out that a yoke is a wooden frame placed on oxen for carrying heavy loads; it was also a common metaphor for keeping the law in this context. So Jesus is saying that we can be free from trying to earn grace and salvation through good works and following the rules. In contrast to the overwhelming burden of keeping the law, Jesus offers forgiveness and rest for those who simply place their faith in Him. 

Now we can look deeper into Matthew 10:

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 10:34-39).

While we’ve established that His yoke is easy (you do not have to earn your salvation by following all the rules and doing all the things), this Matthew 10 passage makes it clear that following Jesus won’t exactly be a walk down Easy Street either.  

Our love for our family members must pale in comparison to our love for Christ. He does not share ultimate devotion or worship; Jesus requires our total surrender and allegiance. In this passage, He uses a crucifixion metaphor for discipleship (prosperity gospel believers are exiting through the back door right about now). These verses point to the fact that followers of Christ must lay down our own selfish desires and submit to Christ as King. He’s in control, not us. 

After uncovering the context of these passages, we can see how the verses are without contradiction. While Jesus offers freedom from crushing legalism, He also requires a constant surrender and total devotion. All of this is good and true simultaneously! 

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Moving on—if after further study there still seems to be inconsistency, then we must acknowledge that we just don’t fully understand it. This is humbling, and it’s okay. I, for one, don’t think I’ll ever fully understand the reconciliation of free will and predestination (I talked about that some here). I doubt I’ll ever completely grasp how Jesus was both fully God and fully man. But instead of wrongly pointing my finger at God’s Word, I will assume that I must be too limited in my interpretations and understandings. I’ll say this louder for the people in the back: The Lord is not wrong, y’all. And He doesn’t lie. So take a deep breath and repeat after me, “It’s okay if I don’t fully understand everything.” 

This doesn’t mean we give up on studying the Bible; our lack of understanding should compel us to study more and lead to worshipping the God who’s got it all figured out. 

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Why do we obey some Scriptural laws and not others?

We get really tripped up on this one. We read the passages in Leviticus about not touching dead lizards and think, “Umm, that’s weird and seems irrelevant.” In a sense, we’d be right. (Although I’m open to arguments for why we should keep this command; I’m not a big fan of dead lizards.)

I think it’s helpful to understand that there are three categories of laws in Scripture: moral law, civil law, and ceremonial law. While the civil laws and ceremonial laws were given to a particular group of people living in a particular culture, the moral laws are transcendent of these constrictions. While Jesus fulfilled the cleansing laws previously required to enter the presence of a holy God, the Ten Commandments are examples of moral laws which are reaffirmed (often multiple instances) in the New Testament.

1. Shall have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:3; restated in Matthew 4:10)

2. Shall not make idols (Exodus 20:4; restated in 1 John 5:21)

3. Shall not take the Lord’s name in vain (Exodus 20:7; restated in James 5:12)

4. Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8; there is some debate among scholars as to whether this commandment was nullified in Colossians 2:16)

5. Honor your father and mother (Exodus 20:12; restated in Ephesians 6:1)

6. Shall not murder (Exodus 20:13; restated in 1 John 3:15)

7. Shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14; restated in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

8. Shall not steal (Exodus 20:15; restated in Ephesians 4:28)

9. Shall not bear false witness (Exodus 20:16; restated in Colossians 3:9-10)

10. Shall not covet (Exodus 20:17; restated in Ephesians 5:3)

I also recently heard a couple of sermons that pointed out how Jesus was summarizing the Ten Commandments when asked which commandment is the greatest: 

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).

The first four commandments are all about the vertical relationship between us and God, so loving the Lord your God will all your heart, soul, and mind is a summary of commandments 1-4. Similarly, commandments 5-10 are all about horizontal relationships, so the command to love our neighbors as ourselves is summarizing the second half of the Ten Commandments given to Moses. It’s probable that Jesus was reaffirming the initial mandates when answering the lawyer. 

Lawyer trying to test Jesus: “So which of the commandments is the most important?” 

Jesus: “I’ve gotta go with 1-4… but 5-10 shouldn’t be ignored either.” 

 Mmkay. Y’all probably already knew this take, but my mind was blown by this insight! 

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It’s important to reiterate that the keeping of the moral laws cannot earn us a spot in heaven (nor can we fully obey them due to our sinfulness- see Matthew 11 verses above). But we are urged to seek the glory of God by abiding in His commandments. As followers of Christ, we should long to keep in step with the rhythms and patterns God has laid out for us because of an overflow of His saving grace we have received (and our trusting in His supremely better ways). Not only are we supposed to obey God’s moral laws, but we are to delight in them (Psalm 119). His commands are loving, just, and for our good!

If we do not have the desires to please and obey God through the guidelines He has given us in Scripture, then it’s time to take an honest look into our spiritual lives and ask, “Who am I really worshipping?” This is a tough question and one we should investigate often.

In summary, we should strive to obey the Lord’s moral laws (like the Ten Commandments or God’s design for relationships)—not as a way to earn salvation but as a product of our salvation. We are freed from attempting to keep the civil and ceremonial laws given in Scripture (like any cleansing laws), because those were directed to a particular culture in a particular time…. and Jesus has fulfilled all cleansing laws through His death and resurrection. If you want to do more digging on this topic, this is a helpful article by R.C. Sproul.

A note: we all fall short. But there is so much grace and mercy waiting if we humble ourselves and submit to Jesus. He has paid the price for all of our shortcomings. Christ is enough to redeem every single broken part of our lives. All we must do is acknowledge our failures and surrender to Jesus as King! Let’s lay down our burdens and let Him lead. God’s plan is better than anything we could come up with on our own. Hallelujah, what a Savior. 

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How should I start studying the Bible?

“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.” –Charles Spurgeon

 Okay, we covered a lot of ground today. Maybe it all sounds overwhelming to you. I get that. So where do we go from here? 

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Here’s the thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately: even Satan knows Scripture. He slightly twists the words to make them into something that is almost true, but not quite (therefore so do false teachers & the ungodly world). You can know a lot about God without really knowing God. In light of this, we must be diligent about studying the Word of God, meditating on it, and approaching our Bible reading while submitting to the Holy Spirit as our guide. We cannot understand on our own, but it is the Spirit who opens our eyes to truth. This is humbling, but also reassuring to anyone who truly calls on the name of the Lord as Savior. We can spot the counterfeit by knowing the real thing!

There are two main methods of Bible interpretation: eisegesis and exegesis. 

- Eisegesis: interpreting by imposing one’s own experiences into passages. This approach ends up being highly emotive and selective in nature. Stay away from this!

- Exegesis: interpreting by context. This is the method we want to use. We don’t just cherry-pick verses that we like (or ignore the ones we dislike), we must look at the full passages and study the framework in which the words are being written. 

So here’s my two cents for beginning to study the Bible: 

Get a hard copy (yes, it’s nice to have the apps on our phones, but studies show that we retain more if we read on tangible pages). I love my ESV study Bible (here is a similar one) but recommend NASB or NKJV also*. 

PRAY and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Remember that the Bible is not primarily about you; it’s about Jesus. 

Start reading John. Then go back and read the rest of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke). Once you feel like you have a grasp of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus—then start reading the rest of the Bible (you can find reading plans online or read straight through) while keeping in mind that there are 66 books but one overarching story (everything points to Christ). God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are all one. This should fire us up to learning and falling deeper in love with this incredible Triune God!

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Let’s keep writing the Word of God on our hearts and beholding the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 

*You don’t have to read all the studies and commentaries, but there are some helpful ones out there. I have this one and love it, but have heard great things about this one as well!

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but somewhere along the way many pastors stopped talking about sin. In some sense, I get it. It’s kind of a downer to call someone out on their sin, and it doesn’t always fill up auditorium seats. So they choose popularity over Biblical theology. They sacrifice truth on the altar of perceived unity. They don’t want to offend or step on toes, so they water down the Gospel until it looks more like a “believe in yourself” message than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And then they replace Jesus with what they want Him to represent. Frankly, it’s not a good look. This form of ignorance cheapens the cross of Christ.

Here’s the fallout I’m noticing: the good news doesn’t seem so good if the bad news doesn’t seem so bad. To say it another way—if we don’t believe in our totally depraved sinful nature, then why would we need Jesus Christ? Why would God send people to hell if we’re all just doing the best we can?

The natural progression of not calling out sin for sin is an inaccurate view of love and hell. If we don’t have a devastating view of our innate sinfulness, then it’s no wonder we don’t understand the eternal devastation in store for those who reject Christ as Savior. It’s no surprise that the lies of universalism are sweeping over our churches. It’s no surprise that opinions are rampant while wisdom is scarce. It’s no surprise that these progressive idealists are laughing in the face of people who are holding firm to the Bible while calling us “bigoted Bible worshipers” and claim that “a loving God would never (fill in the blank here with anything that goes against culture).” 

While these messages that neglect to mention sin are honey for our (depraved & sinful) hearts, they are completely out of line with Truth. We must not fall in line with the world’s definitions of sin, love, Jesus, or eternity—regardless of the names we’ll inevitably be called for going against the grain.

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Christian women, pull up a seat. I want to speak directly to you for a moment. Because there are an extraordinary number of women’s books, conferences, and ministries that seem to be focusing on solutions to our self-esteem issues. They teach self-help, self-care, and self-love as a way to experience grace and freedom in this life.

Girls, we can wash our faces, dare greatly, and repeat the steps to be fierce and full of fire all we want—but these temporal methods will not save us. We do not have a self-esteem problem. We have a self-obsession problem. We have a SIN problem.

Lest I sound like I’m taking the moral high ground in some Pharisaical approach, let me assure you that I have none. I have read the books and tidied the closets and done the cleanses. I have discussed my Enneagram number at length and dissected my appearance and made the vain resolutions. It. all. comes. up. short. These things are not worthy of my devotion and they have never brought sufficiency. I am not just a sinner in need of a new haircut; I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I identify with Paul’s statement to Timothy, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1 Timothy 1:15). Until we repent and turn to Jesus as Lord, we are spinning our wheels in futility.

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I know this all may sound harsh to some of you. While I would love to hold hands and sing Kumbaya with all the people, I refuse to forsake the Gospel to do so. Jesus Himself says that there will be a separation between those who follow Him and those who love the world, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). James also writes about this division, “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

So we have to step back and say, “What are we unifying in? Is it real and true or is it a false gospel?” On Christ the solid rock we must stand, all other ground is sinking sand. And we can know the real and true Christ by opening up His Word.

Maybe I’m being too blunt and repetitive these days, but for the love we cannot keep compromising the truths found in Scripture. I am not a Bible worshiper, but I am a Truth teller and there is only one real source of Truth: the Word of God.  

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So just in case no one has told you the truth lately, I’ll keep stepping on the toes. You are a sinner. If you do not have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ then you “walk as [an enemy] of the cross of Christ” and destruction is your end (Philippians 3:18). You are not just kind of broken or messy-but-in-a-cute way, you are D-E-A-D in your sins apart from God. Jesus tells it like it is after casting out some demons, “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Luke 2:23). You don’t just have some quirky flaws; you are a child of wrath (see Ephesians 2:1&3). Your heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), and there is nothing good that dwells in your flesh (Romans 7:18). The world, your flesh, and the father of lies (aka Satan) will entice you with compelling promises, which seems fun, because they will give you what you want: a life lived your way with utmost priority to your feelings. (You won’t be surprised to hear that I’m not on the “do whatever feels right” train.)

And yes, Jesus loves you unconditionally. You are fearfully and wonderfully made in His image (Psalm 139:14; Genesis 1:27). This is beautiful news, and I do not want to skip over this. Your life is valuable; it matters to me and it matters to God. But you are also dreadfully broken. Apart from Christ, we all are. I am not here to judge you, but I am here to tell you that God will. This is not a scare tactic; it’s just the honest-to-goodness truth. Unlike the narrative of the current culture, God’s love does not automatically mean approval. The Bible is clear: God hates sin (e.g. Proverbs 6), and He is perfectly righteous and holy. He is a jealous God who is after His glory (Exodus 20:5; Isaiah 43:7).

If you have no desire to live a holy life on earth, then what makes you think you would even enjoy heaven? Maybe you don’t actually want perfect holiness in heaven. You want fleeting happiness here on earth. Just a thought for anyone who blatantly disregards the Bible’s commands.

Listen, I’m not here to make you sit in self-pity or self-loathing. I don’t think that would be productive, and I really do care about your feelings. But I care more about where you spend eternity. I care more about loving you by telling you the truth. If I go to my doctor and he finds a life-threatening tumor, I want him to tell me about it. I don’t want him to smile at me and say, “You look perfectly healthy!” for the sake of my feelings. We need to know about this sin-disease we were all plagued with. 

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On the flip side, some of you might be all too familiar with your shortcomings and you might be sitting in guilt over something you’ve done. Lean in closely for this word: your sin is not too big for God. His grace is sufficient; His forgiveness is waiting for you. Drop your pile of baggage at His feet and let Jesus do the lifting. There is so much freedom waiting for you if you surrender it all to the King of kings. While God (through the Holy Spirit) does bring conviction, perpetual guilt is a tactic of the devil. Satan might try to convince you that there’s no way you could enter the presence of a perfect and holy God, but he is lying to you. The blood of Jesus has made the way and paid the price! If you “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). But this confession and belief is not just a checklist to enter heaven, it’s a total heart replacement. It’s the regeneration of your entire life that Paul talks about in Ephesians:

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-7).

Christians are a bunch of dead people that the Lord has brought to life. What in the actual world. Our lives should never be the same after this encounter. We do not keep on living the way we used to (because we were really dead in our sins all along, y’all). We do not haphazardly follow the ways of the world, the flesh, or the devil any longer. We submit to the higher and better Authority. This does not mean we no longer sin, but the Holy Spirit continuously convicts us of our sin, which brings about repentance.

An unrepentant Christ follower is an oxymoron, because God is constantly making His true disciples look more like Him. How amazing is that??

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I say all of this not to dwell on God’s disapprovals or the places He says “No,” but to highlight His better “Yes.” By grace, through faith. So yeah, the bad news is pretty bad: we’re all born depraved sinners destined for hell. But this bleak reality is what makes the good news so very good! God, in His great love and rich mercy, has made a way for all of us undeserving fools through the death and resurrection of His only Son—not just to experience true joy and sanctification here on earth, but to spend eternity rejoicing in Him. 

Oh, how He loves us.

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Friend, if you are living for yourself and your desires, come to the foot of the cross (If you don’t know if you are sinning or not in a particular area, look to Scripture. God has the answers, and He has revealed His will through the Bible). Ask forgiveness from the One who paid the price and turn from your old way of living. Start living for God who loves you so dearly. There is more forgiveness and grace waiting for you than you could ever imagine. Let go and let God take the wheel.

Following God and surrendering to Him as Savior will not be easy, but it will be worth it.

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Next time: I’ll be jumping back into my “Common Questions” series, which will be all about why we should believe the Bible and submit to it as authority—feel free to send me additional questions concerning this matter in the meantime!

Read Part One & my disclaimers about this series here.

One more disclaimer: I am neither a pastor nor a teacher. I’m basically a nobody from nowhere just sharing what the Lord is teaching me. Please don’t take my word for anything, but test everything against the Word of God. 

[Using ESV translation of Scripture]

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Does God give people free will or is it predestined that someone goes to heaven/hell?

Let me start by saying that I think there are sound Biblical teachings and Scriptural evidences behind both of these theological viewpoints. Theologians (much smarter people than me) have argued about this topic for centuries, and I don’t expect to solve this ever-elusive conundrum in a blog post (or ever, for that matter). Honestly, my head spins in circles when I think about this subject matter for too long (praise God He’s got it all figured out, and I don’t actually have to solve anything). But there seemed to be a good bit of interest in engaging the predestination vs. free will discussion, so I’ll attempt to cover as much ground as I can in this limited capacity. I also think it’s always worthwhile to look into Scripture, so even if we fall into different camps here—we can still open our Bibles together and marvel at the Lord’s goodness!

When it comes down to it, I am neither fully Arminian (typically supporters of free will for everyone) nor Calvinist (typically supporters of predestination of the elect). I find myself taking up residence somewhere in No Man’s Land, and I think that’s okay as long as I am looking to Scripture to shape my worldview. I do believe in free will, and I will give you some passages that shape my theology here in a second. But I just want to make it clear that I don’t think you have to exclusively believe one or the other in order to follow Jesus. This is not the hill I want to die on, friends…so I will try my best to be brief. (Laughing out loud at this. “Brief” is a relative term, right?) 

At the end of the day, if God does indeed give us all free will, then praise the Lord! He is good and sovereign. If it turns out that He predestines an elect group, then praise the Lord! He is good and sovereign. God does not change based on our opinion of Him, and He is always worthy of devotion.  

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To hit the highlights, here’s how I think about free will and predestination: God’s sovereign will gave us free will for His utmost glory. We can break that down a bit further to say that—yes, God is always in control and there’s absolutely nothing we can do to earn salvation, but He gives us a choice to surrender to Him through Jesus Christ as our intercessor (and the Holy Spirit as our guide) or reject His Lordship and succumb to the darkness rather than the light… because He is most after His own glory (which is also for our good). God alone does the saving but humanity’s sinfulness does the rejecting. This is all determined ahead of time because God is above time (He does not experience time like we do), and He knows every action, thought, and desire of our hearts. God knows ahead of time whether or not we will ultimately trust and obey Him. The Jews are God’s chosen people and Israel is God’s chosen nation, but when Jesus came to earth, He broke down the barriers between Jews and Gentiles; anyone can have a relationship with Him. And God always knew that Christ would be the redemption for our sins—that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Does that sound confusing enough yet? Like I mentioned, I don’t expect to ever fully understand the reconciliation of both free will and predestination, but Scripture supports both of these concepts, so I believe both are true in certain respects.

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Okay, let’s dig into some passages for further study.

First, let’s look at a well-known story from the New Testament, which is often referred to as “Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler.”

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions (Mark 10:17-22).

When asked how to inherit a spot in heaven, Jesus answers with the commandments. Obedience to the commandments is a sign of a heart following the Lord. But it is not all; I think a heart of surrender is the key idea here. In this passage, Jesus looks straight into the man’s heart and sees his love of wealth. Jesus knows that the rich man has not fully surrendered his possessions to God, so He instructs him to give up his belongings and follow Him. The kid has followed all the rules and done the good deeds, but he didn’t want to give up his stuff. In other words, he was rejecting the salvific pathway of laying down your life to find it. I think he had a choice in doing so.

Gosh, I don’t want us to miss the beauty in verse 21 though (right before Jesus digs deep into his soul): “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him...” What a God we serve. I love that Mark includes this in his book. This tidbit of information hits home, am I right? He knows each of us intimately, and HE STILL LOVES US. 

Here’s the way I see it—Jesus died on the cross for every single one of us. He does not desire “that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). And while the Lord knows who will ultimately come to salvation, we all have an opportunity to have a relationship with Him because of Jesus as out intercessor and the Holy Spirit as our guide. And although there is nothing we can do to earn salvation, I think we can refuse the call; we can unrepentantly reject the Holy Spirit’s pull on our lives (if the Holy Spirit is not yet dwelling in us). Through our unrighteousness we can “suppress the truth” and receive the wrath of God (Romans 1:18). I see this reflected in the discussion of the one unforgivable sin in Scripture:

Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come (Matthew 12:31-32).

We cannot unrepentantly reject the Holy Spirit and enter the kingdom of heaven. Saying it another way, no true follower of God blasphemes the Spirit. Personally, I think anyone and everyone has the opportunity to accept Christ as Savior and receive the Holy Spirit. Once we do so, there will be evidence of sanctification (God setting us apart & making us look more like Him). But this does not mean everyone will surrender to this narrow path.

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Let me paint an imperfect illustration for ya. Say I know for 100% certainty that my daughter is going to make a really bad decision (clearly hypothetical scenario). I am still going to fight for her to make the right decision the whole way. This not-giving-up mentality can look different for the circumstances and kid. Sometimes it might mean allowing her to experience the consequences of her sinfulness. Sometimes it might mean discipline in response to disobedience. But as her parent, I am still going to present the better option even though I know she’s going to make the bad decision. Now multiply this imperfect mama’s love and commitment times infinity, and I think that might scratch the surface of God’s loving faithfulness toward us. Even though He knows that some of us will refuse the call to salvation, He continually offers us a better way. The only way worth walking. 

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Last point before I switch gears to dive further into predestination. My dad brought up this idea the other day when we were talking about this age-old debate, which goes something like this: God would not ask us to lie. We are to share the good news of Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sins. But wouldn’t we be lying to others while evangelizing (saying “Jesus died for your sins”) if they are not part of the “elect” and they reject the true Gospel? I’m sure we could dig further into this, but I’ll leave room for further reflection up to you guys.

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Alright, let’s examine the flip side. Unarguably, the Bible talks about predestination. So what’s that all about if you believe in free will? 

(Okay, I know what some of you are thinking, “She said she was going to be brief.” This is my brief version, y’all.) There are lots of other passages I’d love to look at, but I’m just going to dive into one more to address predestination a bit. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:3-10).  

On first glance at this passage, we are all probably thinking, “Well, so much for free will.” But let’s dig a bit deeper. Verse 4 says, “…even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…” 

He chose us (I believe He chose all of us and many reject this choosing), but this passage is highlighting salvation through Jesus Christ. “In Him” are keywords that we can’t skip over. He always knew that those He saved would be saved through the sacrifice of Christ. I think it’s important to keep that lens when looking at this passage. He predestined our adoption THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. He set this redemptive act in motion “as a plan for the fullness of time” (verse 10). This redemption through Christ is what has been predestined, not necessarily everyone’s fates (although He knows our fates, so it is already determined in that sense—this is where my head starts spinning in circles again…)

The text continues to refer to predestination and says,

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will… (Ephesians 1:11).

Here are those words again, “In Him…” We cannot miss the beauty of the Gospel while looking for the theology here. God knew all along that He would redeem His people through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Wow, wow, wow. He has always been—and always will be—a good, merciful, and loving Father. His grace is sufficient when we fall short.

Okay, now what is it talking about being predestined in this verse? Our inheritance. God knew that Jesus would provide the way for people to experience eternal life with Him. He works all things according to the counsel of His will, despite people’s rejection of the Gospel (I believe free will is involved in His will). This passage goes on to discuss how the indwelling of the Holy Spirit serves as the guarantee of this predestined inheritance. Once we come to faith in Him, He will never leave us. Again, just wow. 

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Now, if you are scratching your head and thinking, “If God wants us all to come to salvation and obviously that’s the best outcome we could have, then why doesn’t He just make us obedient and repentant to Him?” Good question, good question. 

In God’s design, we should be perfectly obedient to Him. But there’s this thing called sin. I’m guessing you’ve heard of it. You’ve definitely experienced it. We’re all pretty rotten, down to our very core. And just because things in the Garden of Eden went so very wrong—this doesn’t mean God isn’t still in control. Without getting too sidetracked into Satan’s initial rebellion against God and his dominion over the earth, I’ll just say that the enemy is prowling around trying to thwart God’s plan and destroy His Church. (He hasn’t and he won’t, but the devil can and does lead people astray). This all sounds like free will is involved (from my limited point of view). Also, the Lord softens and hardens people’s hearts for His plan and for His glory (see Exodus 7 for an example of this). After all, God is most after His glory (which is also what’s best for us).

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For me, I see God’s love and glory through the gift of free will. I might sound like a broken record here, but I believe He ultimately lets us choose Him (He already chose us). This is not a form of earning salvation, but a kind of anti-action, a surrendering to Him as Savior. On the flip side, I believe He allows people to reject Him as Savior. And when one unrepentantly rejects the call of Christ, God gives them what they want most, which looks something like this:

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator... (Romans 1:24-25).

Yikes, that’s not a spot you want to find yourself in. If God gives you the truest desire of your heart and your desire is not for Him, then you will pay the consequences for your misplaced devotion. 

I’m realizing that I’ve written far too many words on this subject already, so I promise I’m going to wrap this up. 

Here’s a little recap/summary:

God alone does the saving (say it with me: we cannot earn our way into heaven!), but humans have personal responsibility. Are we going to surrender to Him, to lay all of our stuff and very lives down at His feet like Jesus commanded the rich young ruler to do? Those who refuse to acknowledge and obey Jesus Christ as Lord will be held accountable (see previous post for more on this). But praise God that He has offered us redemption through the blood of His Son. He offers us mercy (sparing punishment for what we deserve) and grace (rewards that we do not deserve) which reveals His glory and His overwhelming, can’t-comprehend-it love for us through the death and resurrection of His only Son, Jesus Christ.

And if that’s not the definition of good news, I don’t know what is. 

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Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed digging into Scripture + theology with me. Again, you can totally disagree with my stance on free will and it’s okay (as long as you’re okay with me making jokes about how you were always predestined to disagree ;)

[If you want an alternate, Biblical-based breakdown of predestination/election from a Calvinist point of view, here is a podcast episode that does just that.]

I will pick up this series after the new year and possibly bounce around with other topical posts as well, but feel free to keep sending topics/questions you’d like to discuss!

Merriest Christmas to y’all.

Come, thou long expected Jesus
Born to set thy people free
From our fears and sins release us
Let us find our rest in thee.

If you know me personally, then you know that I rarely engage in arguments or controversy (Enneagram 9 Peacemaker over here). But gosh, I’ve come to the conclusion that we don’t need more people to appease the masses. We need more soldiers marching the narrow path. We don’t need more complacent Christians. We need more devoted disciples. The world doesn’t need more woke warriors; it needs more Truth tellers. We need less people worshipping at the altar of political agendas or popular opinion and more people worshipping at the foot of the cross. 

I guess I’m tired of seeing bad theology and watered-down teaching spread rampantly, so here I am—a little out of my comfort zone but passionately in love with my Savior and committed to the truths found in Scripture. Before we dive into some common questions, I want to give a little more background on where I am coming from. 

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A time is coming (if we aren’t there already) when proclaiming the Bible’s veracity and inerrancy will be qualified as hate speech. So at the risk of offending the thought police and virtue signalers, here’s where I stand: I believe the Bible is true; I believe it is without error. And I believe it is the authoritative Word of God. If we are not coming from the same place, then you probably won’t agree with anything else I say. You are still welcome here. I know this is a crazy statement in today’s world, but my disagreement does not equal hatred. I want to tell you the truth that can set you free.

The Word of God is trustworthy whereas feelings aren’t always to be trusted. If you are struggling with a question regarding salvation or sinful behavior, I can write out all of my thoughts and opinions… but at the end of the day, I will still tell you to seek truth for yourself in the Bible. Look into the context, the author, the purpose of the passages. Do the digging and if you truly want to know the truth, I believe that God will reveal it to you.  

For those just looking to Scripture to confirm your predisposed opinion, you will probably find a way to justify that too…but be warned: eisegesis is a dangerous and slippery slope. Once you start crossing out sections of the Bible based solely on your experiences, you will be left with a false gospel and a fake god. The God of the Bible is so much better. 

My goal with this new series is not to try to scare you into trusting Jesus or to induce anxiety about the state of the world, but to share with you what I am learning based on the Word of God. I’m also not trying to defend God, because I don’t think He needs defending. My hope in this series is to point heavenward and to spread the Gospel story which goes a little something like this:

A great garden. A bunch of fallen fools. A repeatedly gracious God. Messiah in a manger. A Christ who came down & willingly died for the bunch of fallen fools. A true Prince of Peace. Death defeated. Serpent slaughtered. A King who is coming again.

Jesus is our ultimate Hope. He is so good and worthy of praise, so we should be devoted to discovering more about Him. Not to earn our way into heaven, but as a natural overflow of loving and being loved by the God of the universe.

Okay, hopefully we’re on the same page. Let’s look into some questions!

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Why do bad things happen to good people?

“Why do bad things happen to good people? That only happened once and He volunteered.” –R.C. Sproul

Not once has there been a “good” person besides Christ Himself. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). If you don’t believe that you are a sinner, go and take a look at the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever wanted something that isn’t yours? If so, you are in direct disobedience to God’s commandments. Ever since Adam & Eve’s rebellion against His perfect plan, we are all born with a sinful nature that will send us to eternal damnation if we aren’t followers of Jesus (I’ll address this a little later). 

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Now, if we are asking, “Why does God allow His faithful followers to suffer?” then we can look into that too. Suffering definitely happens in this life, and we know it’s not a desirable time of sunshine and rainbows. 

Sometimes suffering happens because of a consequence of our actions. Sometimes it’s for the testing of faith that produces godliness. James talks about this in his letter to fellow Christ followers,

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4). 

Encountering trials can not only strengthen our relationship with the Lord and make us more like Him, but it can also strengthen our relationships with fellow believers, allow the church to act as the hands and feet of Jesus, and point a watching world heavenward. In my own experience of waiting on a baby, I can confidently say that the Lord has used my season of suffering in all of those ways and more. He has placed people in my path whom I can now come alongside and say, “I’ve been where you are. I know your pain. And I can tell you that the Lord is not going to leave you in that pain forever. He is going to use this for your good and for His glory.” 

And then there’s the possibility that we won’t know why the suffering happens on this side of heaven. But we can still be confident that God’s plan is bigger and better than our own because His Word tells us so (see Romans 8:28). We have such a limited view of what is happening, and God does not. He can see the bigger picture and He’s holding onto us, friends. 

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Would a loving God really send people to hell?

This question has been asked a million times, and I imagine it will continue to be asked until Jesus returns. Unfortunately, some notable “Christians” have started giving incorrect and unbiblical solutions to this subject in the form of universalism. In all their high-and-mighty-prestigious studies, they have come to the conclusion that God doesn’t actually send people to hell. This is wrong, dangerous, and they will be judged accordingly for their false teaching. 

Listen, y’all. WE HAVE TO STOP THINKING WE ARE MORE GODLIKE THAN GOD HIMSELF. 

If it seems like I’m frustratedly shouting, that’s because I am. This way of thinking is the root of sin, isn’t it? We attempt to undermine God’s commands because we think we know better than God. Spoiler: we do not.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). In the Bible, Jesus talks more about hell than He talks about heaven. He talks to the rich and the poor and the rulers and the sick –not only about God’s love and mercy, but also about His justice and righteousness. 

Let’s take a look at what Jesus says to Nicodemus in one of the most well-known passages of Scripture (but let’s not stop at verse 16),

“‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.’” (John 3:16-19).

We are all sinful, but God sent His Son to save us from our own corruption and the consequences of our innate natures because of His great love for us. We have an opportunity to trust in Christ, the Light of the world, and spend eternity with Him. But if we do not do so…if we do not have faith in Jesus, then there will be a final judgment for those who loved the darkness of the world more than the light of Christ. 

In Scripture, we discover that there will be two different judgments—followers of Jesus will stand in front of the Bema (the Judgment Seat of Christ) and unbelievers will stand at the Great White Throne judgment. If we belong to God before the rapture, then we will not have to face any possibility of condemnation (see Romans 8:1). We will never have to be separated from Christ. The Bema is a place for handing out rewards. But for those who have rejected the Gospel, they will face the Great White Throne judgment and will be sent to the lake of fire along with Satan and his fallen angels.  

 “…and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:10-15).

Okay, I’m not trying to get too deep into end-of-the-world stuff here, but I think it’s important that we look at the bigger picture when talking about hell and punishment and the reality of eternity. If our names are not written in the book of life, the eternal punishment sounds pretty grim.

Here’s my two cents: we don’t have to understand all of His ways. We don’t even have to agree with all of His ways. But we do have to trust in His ways. He is perfect and we are not. He is a God of justice (while we are ruffling feathers, please note the lack of the word “social” here), and we are neither gods nor perfectly just.

But here’s the good news: He is also a God of mercy and grace, and He is far more loving than we can even imagine. 

The better question to be asking is “How can a perfectly righteous God send a sinner like me to heaven?” This brings me to tears, friends. I am so underserving of a spot in heaven, yet He has saved a place for me there. Jesus died for me. He took the wrath of God for me. He suffered for me. And He did for you too. Trust in Him and Him alone, and we can worship God together forever. This is where the real party will be.

Scripture for further digging: Mark 9:43, Luke 12:5, Matthew 23:15, John 5:28-29

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But would God really send someone to hell who has never heard the Gospel?

This is the last question I’ll be addressing today (I haven’t exactly earned the short-winded star). If you want the short answer: yes. Does this sadden me and make me scratch my head a little? Also yes. 

But like my grandfather used to say, “If ignorance of the Gospel would allow a person to go to heaven, we ought to burn every Bible and close every church” (–Dr. Doug Sager).

However, Jesus tells us not to hide the truth, but to proclaim it:

“‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:19-20).

We are also told that there is a God-shaped hole inside all of us. He has set eternity in our hearts (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). We all know deep down that there’s something missing until we find that ultimate satisfaction in Christ. As far as someone never hearing the Gospel, I believe that there are extraordinary ways that God can reveal Himself. Not only does He call missionaries to remote locations to share the good news of Jesus, but all of creation points to His goodness. 

“The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.” (Psalm 19:1-2).

He is meant to be worshipped. If we are looking, we can see that nature reflects His goodness and gives us glimpses of His glory. Every culture and person worships something. We are all just meant to be worshipping the Lord. 

“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).  

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That’s all I’ve got for today, folks. I pray these words point to the love of the Father and the truths He has laid out for us in Scripture.

I hope to discuss more questions in the future, so if you have any topics you’d like me to dig into… send them my way! I’d love to hear from you. I can’t promise I’ll have the answers, but I do promise to faithfully seek out the truth.

Y’all, go ahead and pour another cup of coffee and open up your Bible to Jude. It’s a short book (only one chapter), so dive right in and I’ll wait here. 

Now that you’ve finished reading, let’s chat. 

Listen, I cannot even deal. I don’t know if we are in the end times, but gosh—it’s like Jude wrote this little letter in 2020. I read it this morning 3 different times and I am sitting here, shaking my head a little uncomfortably and muttering “Wow” over and over. I’m not going to lie, I teared up around verses 14-16 because my heart breaks for those lost souls. But I also rejoiced in Jude’s confident doxology in the last few verses, because say it with me: “God. Is. In. Control.”

Before we take a closer look at some of the passages, let’s go over a little background on Jude. The book opens up by saying, “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James.” And who is James? You know, the fella who wrote the book of James—he’s a little bit of a go-getter, a lot of a faithful follower, and the half-brother of Jesus. So if James is the brother of Jesus, then Jude is probably the brother of Jesus too (I know what you’re thinking, “Way to state the obvious conclusion, Alex!” You’re welcome.)

I don’t know about you, but I find it interesting that both James and Jude open up by identifying themselves as servants rather than relatives of Jesus. 

“Hey, do you know the guy who came & performed miracles & gave His life for the salvation of humanity & rose from the dead? He’s the Son of God and I’M HIS BROTHER.” I mean, I would probably say a little something like that if I were them. 

But they don’t. Both Jude and James call themselves servants of Jesus, and I think that tidbit of an introduction is worth noting here. Sounds like they may have eaten a few slices of humble pie at some point. 

Okay, moving on.

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Jude’s audience is made up of Christ followers. We don’t know for sure whether they are Jews or Gentiles or a combination of both, but they are clearly familiar with the Old Testament so they are at least aware of Jewish teachings. 

In verses 3-4, Jude reveals why he’s writing: 

“…appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

In other (less eloquent) words, “I want to encourage you to hold tight to your faith, because there are false teachers sneaking in the backdoors of churches and sometimes even standing behind pulpits. They may claim to be Christians, but they really value feelings and emotions over the Word of God. They aren’t actually following the Messiah. They forsake holiness on the altar of appeasement and they mistake grace for a hall pass to do whatever they want. God is not surprised by any of this, but y’all should be aware.” (Again, I’m not Mr. Humility Jude, so this is a very loose & Southern paraphrase). 

Jude goes on to warn these Christ followers. He says (again with the imperfect paraphrasing), “Hey—remember how God delivered his people out of Egypt?” At this point, I’m sure the readers are thinking, “Yeah, that was awesome! Go God!” But Jude keeps writing, “…[The Lord] afterward destroyed those who did not believe (v. 5).

*crickets* 

Jude’s cheeriness continues as he discusses how the fallen angels are “kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness” and points to the consequences of the sexual immorality in the areas of Sodom and Gomorrah— how they “serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire” (v.6-7). Those parts in quotations are not paraphrased in the least bit, just in case you were wondering. (Funny how I’ve never seen these verses embroidered on a throw pillow.) I think that if Jude was a modern-day preacher, he’d be labeled as “doom and gloom.”

If you don’t know what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah, flip your Bible over to Genesis 19. It’s not gonna be a story you read to your children before bed (Honestly, maybe Noah’s ark shouldn’t be bedtime reading material either, but I’ll get off my soapbox). Sodom and the surrounding cities are cesspools of unrepentant sin with blatant disregard for the ways of God, so the Lord rains sulfur and fire down on them. While Lot (Abraham’s nephew) and his family are fleeing, his wife looks back and becomes a literal pillar of salt. Mmkay.

Not that I would question the Sovereignty and goodness of God ever (I’ve got jokes), but sometimes I find myself (incorrectly) thinking, “Wow. God can be kind of harsh.” Good thing Jude’s talking about the Old Testament God and not the New Testament God who is all sunshine and rainbows, right? (I hope you’re shaking your head at my sarcasm right about now.) 

What I often fail to remember, though, is that God’s justice is good. God cannot do or be anything that is not good, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Our definitions of “good” may be different, but the Lord is the only Being in the whole universe that is entirely good, entirely loving, and entirely just, so I think I’ll let Him tell me what is and isn’t okay. 

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Now that we’re done with our little field trip to the land flowing with malice and perversion (and fire), let’s get back to Jude. He goes on to say, “Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones” (v.8). 

Sound like anyone in 2020? Asking for a friend. 

When Jude says “these people also,” he’s referring back to false teachers. The wolves in sheep’s clothing. I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard a few people say to “follow your dreams” and “do what feels right” and “you do you.” Just a wild guess, but I don’t think our boy Jude would agree. 

He goes on to warn against these false teachers: “Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion” (v. 11). Remember Cain? Yeah, killed his brother. Not a dude you want to be associated with. You can read Balaam’s story in Numbers 22-24, but for now what you need to know is that he “loved gain from wrongdoing” (2 Peter 22:15). As for Korah, he went up against Moses and Aaron, and I think we can make an educated guess how that turns out (Numbers 16). 

All of these people were unhappy with their status, so they pushed back against God’s commands and tried to make their own selfish dreams come true, no matter the cost. Listen, I’m not here to judge because I am a selfish sinner too, but it seems like they should have submitted to God’s authority. He seems to know what He’s doing. 

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Full disclosure— I didn’t intend to go through this letter in such detail, but here we are. I had one-too-many cups of coffee and my baby is finally napping, so let’s do the dang thing. Anyone else straight-up excited about diving into the rest of Jude? (Not sure if this is the coffee or Holy Spirit or both, but I am FUELED). 

Let’s take a look at verse 12: 

“These [false prophets] are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.” (v. 12-13)

The English Lit. major in me is h e r e for all of these metaphors. Jude is bringing it. The desperate Jesus-follower in me is heartbroken for the reality of what he’s saying.

Hidden reefs: Bad news for boats. Can sink a ship. The passengers would’ve never seen it coming.

(At your love feasts as they feast with you without fear): Take part in communion, church services, but do not fear the Lord. One might call them “cultural Christians.”

Shepherds feeding themselves: Hey, shepherds? What about those sheep? 

Waterless clouds swept along by winds: Fooled into thinking it might rain. The wind blows and the cloud is like, “Oh yeah, that sounds good. Let’s go that way instead.” 

Fruitless trees: Again, fooled into thinking that you might get some fruit from the tree that looks promising. But in reality, that tree is d-e-a-d. Actually, it doesn’t even have roots. You ain’t getting any food from that thing.

Wild waves: Wreaking chaos. Dangerous. Actually unhappy and unsatisfied while sitting in their own crushing shame. 

Wandering stars: Not the kind of stars you want for guidance. 

…

You’d think that Jude had finished making his point by now about the whole watch-out-for-false-teachers thing, but he continues to hammer it home. 

He then draws attention to the future—about how the Lord will come back for judgment. It doesn’t sound like it’ll end well for those who don’t belong to the Almighty. (Remember the lady who was turned into a pillar of salt? I’m gonna guess that their fates might be worse than that.) Jude goes on to call these fake Christians a few names like, “grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage” (v. 16). 

Again, these aren’t verses you’ll find displayed in calligraphy inside a Hobby Lobby frame, but they are important and true. (Not knocking displaying Bible verses in your home-I have them and I make them, so don’t clutch your pearls. I just think it’s important we value ALL Scripture instead of just the words that sound pretty or feel good. My hand is raised in confession over here.)

…

If you’re still here, then congrats. You get a gold star. I know we’ve chased a few rabbits along the way, but we are almost done with Jude. And don’t quit just yet, because we are getting to my favorite parts. 

In verses 17-22, Jude urges his fellow believers to respond to these wayward souls with faithfulness, a vibrant prayer life, and uncompromising convictions. He encourages the readers to show mercy to “those who doubt,” but to “show mercy with fear” to those caught up in immorality. Jude is adamant about not compromising our obedience to God’s commandments, saying to hate “even the garment stained by the flesh” (v. 22). Love the sinner, hate the sin. That’ll preach. 

And then Jude wraps up the letter in a beautiful doxology/reminder:

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (v. 24-25).

One last imperfectly Southern paraphrase for you (with a few of my own interjections):

“Don’t worry, y’all. God has you in his hands… and if you are truly one of His, He is not letting go or giving up on you. Not only that, but when it’s all said and done—you will be presented as BLAMELESS WITH GREAT JOY. This exclusively happens through the one and only Christ our Savior (also, my brother!!). This God who sent His only Son to take our place? He deserves all the things and should be adored—He holds the greatest & most honorable spot and rules over all creation, always. Let us remember these truths as we await His return.”

This world may be crazy and filled with lots of confusion, but God remains on His throne.

Hallelujah. What a Savior.

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”

— Romans 7:21-23

I want to take a moment to talk about spiritual warfare, because there is a real and sometimes overwhelming battle going on between darkness and light. If you don’t believe in the workings of the enemy, then you are probably hiding out in a bunker…because gosh, the world just seems to be filled with all sorts of darkness these days. The devil doesn’t seem so behind the scenes anymore. And although it’s tempting to point fingers and place blame on political parties or social agendas or your high school friend on facebook, we mustn’t become distracted by the chaos.

Because what would happen if we prayed for those people we disagree with more than we criticized them? What would happen if we recognized the sin in our own lives before casting stones? What would happen if we stopped allowing ourselves to be caught in the current of distractions but instead showed up in our battle gear? I think Satan would start running scared.

We must remember who the real enemy is.

…

Honestly? It doesn’t thrill me to talk about the devil. Now that I think about it, it would be super weird if it did, actually. I’m just not all that eager to acknowledge that there is a battle going on for my thoughts and sins and words. But I think it’s important that we push through those fears and remember the fight. 

When I imagine Satan, I don’t think of him as the red creature with a pitchfork and horns that we often see depicted. Nope, my imagination thinks of him as the kid catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang because this is clearly the most terrifying character in cinematic history. Go ahead and keep any arguments to yourself. Because yeah, Voldemort and the Joker are scary; the Trunchbull and Ursula are plain mean. But I have zero hesitations about the kid catcher’s supreme evil. Thank goodness for Dick Van Dyke’s flying car, because they really needed to get the heck away from that creepy kidnapper.  

Back to my point: the father of lies is itching to dig up our roots and make us doubt our worth. And while he can’t separate us from the love of God, the devil can give us Job-like circumstances; he can attack our thoughts and halt our growth. He will do everything in his power to lead us deeper into fear and anxiety and depression, to immobilize us so severely that we no longer show up in our battle gear. He can wreak havoc and cause panic and distract our focus from the things that really matter. 

The difficult truth is that we still have to show up to the fight, and we might get a few bruises along the way. We do not know how many scars we will get in the battle. We don’t know how many days we will want to bow out of the struggle, how many times we will cry out to God in desperation. 

Whoever says that following Jesus will bring nothing but happiness is just plain wrong. I know I’m being less-than-gentle here, but this is a war we must take seriously. There is a lot of heartache involved, as most of us have learned from experience. 

The good news? God wins the war. We know the final outcome; we don’t have to show up shaking in our boots every day. We can go into the battle with confidence that our God is bigger and better than anything that Satan and his demons can throw our way. The end of the story has already been revealed through the most horrible, beautiful cross. We know the scoreboard at the end of all this, and we can rest assured because we also don’t have to go into battle alone. 

…

We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, which is crazy-amazing when you think about all of the wonderful implications of this. God Himself is dwelling in us, which sounds more insane than the plot line of The Matrix. The Lord of the Universe wields a power deep in our souls! What in the actual world are we all running around like crazy for?

So we have this Spirit of God inside of us (which is incredibly reassuring), but we also possess the tools He has generously gifted us: the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. All of these are defenses against the enemy and necessities in this realm of warfare. I like to imagine all of these pieces coming together for a fight like my personal team of Avengers showing up to save the day.  

If you happen to be a Hey-Now-All-Star Christian, then you’ll notice I left one piece of armor out of the list. That’s because this is arguably the most notable piece of armor, and I want to take a little extra time here. It’s the only item that is used more for attack than defense: the sword of the Spirit. In Ephesians 6, Paul even spells out what the sword is for those of us who need a little extra help. He calls it the “word of God.” 

 Are you sick of me talking about the necessity of Scripture yet? Cool, cool. Me neither. 

In those good seasons where we are flourishing and growing, when we are walking down the road singing Zip-a-dee-doo-dah with the sunshine on our face, we should be storing up a reservoir of truth. We cannot stroll down Easy Street and have amnesia about God all of the sudden; our relationship with God and His Word should not be a genie in a bottle to us, because that is not a real relationship. We write the Word of God on our hearts because His unchanging Truth keeps us grounded and focused. We write the Word of God on our hearts in the good times so they will be our weapons of attack when the going gets tough.

And when we find ourselves deep in the throes of battle, when we are grieving or suffering or the panic attacks keep coming, there is so much power in opening up His Word. Even if we have more unbelief inside of us than belief at the time, when we turn to Scripture we are throwing a sucker punch to the enemy. We are holding tight to our roots while showing up and saying, “Not today, Satan. Not today.” 

So let’s keep marching into battle with confidence, friends. Open eyes, sword of the Spirit, can’t lose.