Hell?

QUESTION:
There is so much talk lately about the importance of, who goes to, or the outright existence of hell. Does believing in a place called hell really matter? What does the Bible say about hell? Many have asked what resources The Heights would recommend when studying these questions.

RESPONSE:
There are two incredible articles that present very clearly what we at The Heights believe concerning the reality of hell.

Pastor Tim Keller - The Importance of Hell
Pastor Mark Driscoll - To Hell with Hell?

Will those prayers be heard?

QUESTION:
Because of recent things happening in our family, I have had a lot of people say they are praying for us. My question is: If the subject of the prayers is a believer, but the person praying is not a Christian (may think they are i.e. Mormon) will those prayers be heard?

RESPONSE:
First of all, let me say that when things happen in our lives, good or bad, it always helps to travel those roads with a community of people. The relationships we have with believers and non-believers alike are important. They shape and mold us in ways that strengthen our ability to serve God and impact our communities. It is wonderful that your friends know how seriously you take your relationship with God and that it causes them to turn to God in prayer on your behalf. God uses situations like these to bring people to a saving knowledge of His Son.

God has many incredible and awe-inspiring attributes, one of which is His omniscience. He knows everything that is seen, said, heard, and done on this earth. Proverbs 5:21 says, “For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths.” Psalm 139:2-4 says, “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.” From Scripture, we know that God does indeed hear everything; including the prayers of non-believers.

In truth, God responds to the prayers of believers and non-believers in the same way: sometimes He answers yes, sometimes no, and sometimes He tells us to wait. The difference is that the believer can take comfort in the fact that God is working His will out in our lives, no matter the answer to our prayer. For the believer, prayer bridges the gap between Heaven and Earth in such a way that it draws us into a closer relationship with Him. Our prayers are two-way streets in which we communicate our desires to Him and, more importantly, He communicates with us.

1 John 5:14-15 says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

When we communicate with God, and listening is an important part of communication, we can discern the will of God for our lives. Ephesians 3 says that God is able to do more than we ask. His plans for our lives are much broader than our immediate needs. He thinks long-term and has a special route marked out for us. When our non-Christian friends are praying for us, we can help draw them to that saving knowledge of God by celebrating or suffering well, seeking out and deferring to the will of the omniscient God we serve.

How can God continue to forgive?

Question:
I have a friend that has a very close relationship with Jesus. They have been a Christian since a very young age...watches numerous preachers on TV, listens to numerous preachers on the radio, reads the Bible faithfully, etc. They appear to be a true example of a Christian. My question is this: I know that Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins. I know his forgiveness. When a person (like my friend) continues to choose to make bad decisions, how can God continue to forgive them? It's like they feel like, I love God, I know I'm forgiven, this is wrong for me to do but it makes me feel good so I'm going to do it because I know that God will forgive me...AGAIN. This is a huge concern of mine for this friend because I worry about their salvation and whether they will still be going to Heaven. :(

The Answer:
The answer to your question lies in the Gospel & nature of forgiveness, forms of religion vs. faith in Jesus, and our spiritual fruit.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is how God reconciles humanity back to Himself. God created humanity in His righteous image and He created the world entirely good (Genesis 1 & 2) but through sin humanity died, and that once righteous image became distorted (Genesis 3). Because of our sin, we were rightly doomed in death to hell to suffer apart from God forever (Romans 3:23). God therefore did something to remake the world and to fix humanity so we can be what we once were: pure, holy, and worthy of God’s righteous presence (Revelation 21). Jesus Christ has intervened on behalf of humanity through the cross; he took on the penalty and debt of our sin, removing us from its consequences, and enabling us through faith no longer to be distorted and dead but rather, righteous, alive, and capable of once again dwelling in the presence of the Holy God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Now back to your friend: Forgiveness took place on the cross. Therefore, forgiveness is not doled out incrementally each time your friend sins. Forgiveness for humanity’s sin was a massive event that was paid for on the cross by Jesus Christ. Salvation comes from God; everywhere we turn in Scripture our forgiveness and righteousness is enacted for us by God (Romans 5:9; 8:30) and not through our own actions (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5). This act of God through Jesus Christ is called “Justification” and thankfully is not dependant on our own effort or intelligence. Through the faith that God gives us, we experience all Jesus did through the cross and we are made righteous (Philippians 3:9).

Outward forms of religious culture are completely distinct from a life of faith (2 Timothy 3:2-5). Blending in with other churchgoers is easier than becoming more like Jesus. Whether or not your friend is a believer in Jesus Christ I do not know. However, our lifestyle says a lot about what we believe and who we really are inside. Jesus Himself blasted the Pharisees over their phony outward religious culture on account of their internal spiritual bankruptcy (Matthew 23:25-28). A life of faith in Jesus will produce visible examples; we call these examples “Spiritual fruit” (Galatians 5:22-25) and the process of becoming less like our natural sinful self and more like Jesus is known as “Sanctification” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Our fruit is visible in the way we treat others, the things we say, and the choices we make. The good news is that the same God who “Justified” you by grace through the cross of Jesus also “Sanctifies” us through His Spirit. Jesus is both the “Author” and “Perfector” of our faith (Hebrews 12:2); he doesn’t just start our story, He leads us progressively by faith to be more like Him in this life (Philippians 1:6) in preparation for being in His presence for all eternity (Revelation 11:15).

Your friend needs Jesus just like you and I. Without Jesus we are doomed to live according to our natural desires and impulses. Through Jesus we become free of these things, and are able to live in a way that pleases the Father. Pray for your friend, be humble and live well around your friend (Galatians 5:26), and tell your friend about Jesus. Jesus is your friend’s only hope.

Is speaking in tongues wrong?

QUESTION:
Is speaking in tongues wrong?

RESPONSE:
Many conversations, debates, and disagreements have taken place and continue to take place over the subject of speaking in tongues. The Bible lists tongues or speaking in tongues as one of the mentioned spiritual gifts given to some followers of Jesus by the Holy Spirit at the sovereign discretion of God. Where the debate most often comes in on some of the gifts that sometimes are associated with being more supernatural in nature such as tongues, prophecy, and healing is whether or not all of the gifts are still given by God.

The two main camps in this debate are the cessationist camp and the continuationist camp. In short, cessationists believe that some of these gifts such as tongues have ceased while continuationists believe these gifts, including the gift of speaking in tongues, are still given to some by God.

Regardless of which camp you may side with, we believe that God is sovereign in the bestowing of all spiritual gifts. We also believe that when the Bible is silent or not dogmatic on an issue, it is wise for us to take the same approach. The Bible clearly indicates in various Scripture references mentioned below that tongues is one of the listed spiritual gifts given by God to some people at least when the New Testament was written. To whom or if God still chooses to give those gifts today is not for us to determine or to be dogmatic about since the Bible is not dogmatic one way or the other.

It is, however, the believer’s responsibility to attempt to develop their sovereignly given spiritual gift(s). The baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at conversion and is the placing of the believer into the Body of Christ. We also believe that particular spiritual gift(s) such as speaking in tongues are neither essential, nor prove the presence of the Holy Spirit, nor are an indication of deep spiritual experience (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11, 13; Ephesians 4:7–8). We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accordance with His own will, for the sick and afflicted (John 15:7; 1 John 5:14, 15). We believe that it is the privilege and responsibility of every believer to minister according to the gift(s) and grace of God that is given to him (Romans 12:1–8; 1 Corinthians 13; 1 Peter 4:10–11).

In conclusion, it is not wrong to speak in tongues for those who have been given that spiritual gift by the Holy Spirit according to what the Bible teaches. It is wrong to try and manufacture a gift or to portray a gift that has never been given to a particular individual in the first place be it the gift of tongues or any of the other mentioned gifts listed in the Bible.

12 Tribes - 12 Members of a Jury?

QUESTION:
In Joshua when God is dividing the land to the 12 Tribes and sets land off for the bad people...Does this have anything to do with our current system of government and the 12 members of a jury? I maybe reaching but I was thinking that with 12 jury members and from all different areas like the 12 tribes getting the lands we were using this thought process when the idea came about?

RESPONSE:
Throughout the history of the United States, there have been questions about the connection between the Bible and our system of government. Whether it is the references to the Creator in our founding documents or the laws that derive from the Ten Commandments, the two link together in a number of ways. However, we need to take a closer look at the two issues referenced in this question to come to a proper conclusion.

The twelve tribes of Israel were formed from the 12 sons of Jacob. These sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, and Joseph (Genesis 35:22-26). While these men were the ancestors of the 12 tribes of Israel, this list does not match exactly the names of the tribes allotted land in Canaan. The ancestors of Joseph were in two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were Joseph’s sons (Joshua 16). Also, the tribe of Levi received no land but they inherited cities in which to live (Joshua 21).

The sixth amendment to the United States Constitution provides for trial by jury. The amendment states, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a…trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law….” Misdemeanor cases in many states have juries of six, but felony cases operate with 12-member juries. By the time the framers of our Constitution wrote the sixth amendment, 12-member juries had 700 years of history behind it. England had been using juries since early in the 12th century. Henry II asked that 12 free men be assigned to arbitrate the cases. It was thought that 12 would be an accurate cross-section of the population.

The number 12 has no connection to the 12 tribes of Israel according to the biblical scholars and historical sources that were consulted in this research. For the purposes of the United States Constitution, our 12-member juries came from England. The fact is, evidence of juries can be found as early as ancient Greece. But those juries included several hundred members.

Numerology speculators may find limited success in different areas of the Scriptures, but we cannot let these side issues distract us from the story of hope and redemption that is found throughout Scripture, even in the Old Testament. It is beautiful to see the number of chances God gave to Israel and remember the opportunity He gives to us when He sent His Son to die on the cross. Staying focused on the redemptive story in Scripture will never lead us astray.

Proverbs 31:10-31

QUESTION:

I heard that the first letter of each verse (10-31) is an acronym in Hebrew. If so, what does it say/mean? (I've attempted online translations with no luck.) Secondly, how can this passage apply not only to married women, but all women, and how should men approach/respond to the same?

RESPONSE:

Proverbs 31:10 – 31 is a piece of Hebrew prose written in an alphabetical acrostic form. This means that the first word of each line begins with each letter of the Hebrew alphabet in alphabetical order. Many times in Hebrew poetry this was a device used to aid one’s memory in learning and memorizing. It is therefore not a “secret code” within Scripture with hidden meaning, but rather something beautiful and artistic that has been lost in the midst of time and translations. The good news is that we 21st century English speakers can still learn from this, being that this passage was set apart to a degree to carry an important and timeless message about the qualities and character of godly women.

Throughout this passage, the woman of Proverbs 31:10 – 31 is described as an incredible benefit to her husband (v. 11 – 12, 21, 23), family (v. 15; 27 – 28), and others (v. 20). This is a result of her character (v. 10) and wisdom (v. 26) that are rooted in her faith and obedience to the Lord (v. 29 – 30). This example of a hard working woman of faith (v. 17, 26) is worth the attention of both single and married woman, for according to Scripture, a woman exhibiting such traits is to be praised (v. 31).

For men, the lesson seems to be one of singular focus: The wisdom and character of a godly woman is far greater than her outward beauty (v. 30). Such a companion in life is rare and beyond any value that can be assessed (v. 10). Such a woman will build him up (v. 23) and make him better, and he will have great comfort and trust in this relationship (v. 11 – 12). Men, therefore, should honor and seek a woman who exhibits these emblems of high spiritual value above all else (v. 10, 30).

Finally, the acrostic form of this passage is a good indication that it is well worth studying and even memorizing. Women who strive to reflect the woman in this passage are praised for their immeasurable value and strength (v. 28, 31). Men who evaluate a woman’s beauty based on such standards find themselves benefitting from a life focused on virtue and not simply what is pleasing to the eyes (v. 30). These universal and timeless applications have made this passage well known and wisely studied for generations.

What is the difference between man’s spirit and soul?

QUESTION:

“What is the difference between man’s spirit and soul?”

RESPONSE:

This question is one that is laced with nuances when viewed through a clearer lens that the original languages of the Bible were written. However, the majority of the population does not count Hebrew and Greek as two of their fluent languages. Even those who do will likely tell you that although there are differences, they are very subtle. The Hebrew language of the Old Testament and Greek language of the New Testament do indicate that there is a difference that may get a bit lost in translation when read in English. Without getting swamped in too much religious smart guy talk, there is a pretty good explanation that speaks to your question from a biblical resource book called Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words that is helpful when dealing with words in the Bible in the original languages. Hopefully this will help give a bit more of a handle to the posted question and be a trusted resource for consultation in the future.

As it pertains to these words from a primarily New Testament perspective:

“The language of a passage like Hebrews 4:12 suggests the extreme difficulty of distinguishing between the soul and the spirit, alike in their nature and in their activities. Generally speaking the spirit is the higher, the soul the lower element. The spirit may be recognized as the life principle bestowed on man by God, the soul as the resulting life on man by God, the soul as the resulting life constituted in the individual, the body being the material organism animated by soul and spirit…

Body and soul are the constituents of the man according to Matthew 6:25, Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:20, Acts 20:10; body and spirit according to Luke 8:55, 1 Corinthians 5:3, 1 Corinthians 7:34, James 2:26. In Matthew 26:38 the emotions are associated with the soul, in John 13:21 with the spirit; cf. also Psalm 42:11 with 1 Kings 21:5. In Psalm 35:9 the soul rejoices in God, in Luke 1:47 the spirit.

Apparently, then, the relationships may be thus summed up ‘Soma, body, and pneuma, spirit, may be separated, pneuma and psuche, soul, can only be distinguished.”