Holding on to Reason

Running the Race Set Before Us

The practice of disciplining oneself for the sake of athletics is often used as a metaphor in the Bible for how to be disciplined in our Christian lives.

Hebrews 12:1 (NLT) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

What is the race God has set before us?

If we read this verse in context it will answer this question:

Hebrews 12:2-4 (NLT) We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people, then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

Running becomes easier, both physically and mentally, the more consistently you do it. Disciplined runners are the most consistent in their training and, therefore, the most successful.

Verywell by Alison Czinkota (The 5 Love Languages)

It’s the same with relationships. They require hard work.

The more focus and energy you give towards your relationships and the more disciplined you are in maintaining them, the more rewarding the relationships become. 

God desires a relationship with us, but our sinful natures made that relationship impossible. So, God made a plan: Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross mends the divide between us and God, allowing us to have a relationship with Him. 

Romans 8:1-4 (ESV) There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

After accepting the free gift of Jesus’ payment on the cross for our sins, we are adopted into God’s family and nothing can separate us from God’s love ever again. God’s love becomes unconditional for us because all of the conditions have already been met through Jesus.

John 6:35-40 (ESV) Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Hebrews 2:9-15 (NIV) But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

David Bowman's “Expressions of Christ”

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters…

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 

Disciplined physical bodies are of some value but spiritual things last forever

1 Timothy 4:7-8 (ESV) …train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Our salvation and eternity with God in Heaven is secure no matter what we do after accepting Jesus’ payment for our sins because it is based purely on grace through Faith in Jesus. We are saved through grace (Romans 11:5-6; Ephesians 2:8-9) and we live our Christian lives through grace (Romans 6:14; 2 Peter 3:18).

Saved through grace:

Romans 11:5-6 (ESV) So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Christian lives are lived through grace:

Romans 6:14 (ESV) For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

2 Peter 3:18 (ESV) But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

But, once we have become part of God’s family, we can have a relationship with God. Spiritual Disciplines help us learn how to show love back to God through our relationship with Him.

In “The Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines” by David Mathis, he says:

“‘The essence of the Christian life,’ writes John Piper, ‘is learning to fight for joy in a way that does not replace grace.’ We cannot earn God’s grace or make it flow apart from his free gift. But we can position ourselves to go on getting as he keeps on giving. We can ‘fight to walk in the paths where he has promised his blessings.’ We can ready ourselves to remain receivers along his regular routes, sometimes called ‘the spiritual disciplines.’

Such practices need not be fancy or highfalutin. They are the stuff of everyday, basic Christianity--unimpressively mundane, but spectacularly potent by the Spirit. While there’s no final and complete list of such practices, the long tally of helpful habits can be clustered underneath three main principles: hearing God’s voice, having his ear, and belonging to his body. Or simply: word, prayer, and fellowship.”

Tips for the Disciplined Spiritual Life:

Hear His Voice (word):

Reading the Bible

2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Have His Ear (prayer):

Ephesians 6:18 (NLT) You must pray at all times as the Holy Spirit leads you to pray. Pray for the things that are needed. You must watch and keep on praying. Remember to pray for all Christians.

Belong to His Body (fellowship):

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT) Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

You can download a free printout of this information by going to our “Free Material” Page and clicking on “Running the Race”.

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Historical Evidence for the Resurrection: Part 2- Appearances of Jesus after His crucifixion

There is solid historical ground for the truth that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

“Inference to the Best Explanation”

A METHOD COMMONLY USED TODAY TO DETERMINE THE HISTORICITY OF AN EVENT.

William Lane Craig describes this as an approach where we, "begin with the evidence available to us and then infer what would, if true, provide the best explanation of that evidence." In other words, we ought to accept an event as historical if it gives the best explanation for the evidence surrounding it.

There are three Historical truths about the resurrection which are so strong that they are accepted by all serious historians, even non-Christians.

  1. The tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered empty by a group of women on the Sunday following the crucifixion.

  2. Jesus' disciples had real experiences with one whom they believed was the risen Christ.

  3. As a result of the preaching of these disciples, which had the resurrection at its center, the Christian church was established and grew.

Evidence for the Resurrection Appearances

There is evidence that Jesus’ disciples had real experiences with someone who they believed was Jesus risen from the dead. People don’t argue this fact because we have testimony from the disciples themselves saying they saw, touched, and ate with Jesus after He had been crucified.

There is a Christian creed in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 which was given to Paul way before 1 Cor. was written:

1 Corinthians 15:3–8 (NLT): passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter--and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers--at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.

It is generally agreed by critical scholars that Paul received this creed from Peter and James between 3-5 years after the crucifixion. Now, Peter and James are listed in this creed as having seen the risen Christ. Since they are the ones who gave this creed to Paul, this is therefore a statement of their own testimony. As the Jewish Scholar Pinchahs Lapide has said, this creed "may be considered the statement of eyewitnesses."

Their testimonies are also recorded in the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Of course, just because they claimed to have seen Jesus alive again after He was crucified and buried, doesn’t mean they actually did. There are three possible explanations:

1.       They hallucinated

2.       They were lying

3.       They really saw the risen Christ

Did the disciples hallucinate?

First, the disciples record eating and drinking with Jesus, as well as touching him. This cannot be done with hallucinations. There is no physical nature to hallucinations.

Second, it is highly unlikely that they would all have had the same hallucination. Hallucinations are highly individual, and not group projections. Imagine, if I came in and said, “Wasn’t that a great dream I had last night?” Hallucinations, like dreams don’t transfer that way.

Third, the hallucination theory cannot explain the conversion of Paul, three years later. Was Paul, the persecutor of Christians, so hoping to see the resurrected Jesus that his mind invented an appearance as well?

Fourth, and perhaps most significantly, the hallucination theory does not explain the evidence for the empty tomb.

Were the disciples lying?

To make a decision on this, it’s important to note that each of the disciples suffered greatly throughout their lives in order to defend their claim that Jesus was the Messiah and that He had risen from the dead. They took these claims to their grave.

Jill K H Geoffrion

How the Disciples/Apostles of the Bible Died 

Disclaimer: Other than Judas & John, these are not Scriptural. Some are historical; some passed down by Christian traditions and are consistent with how they would have been treated in their time.

Andrew (brother of Peter): Martyrdom by crucifixion (bound, not nailed, to an "X-shaped" cross) at Patræ, Achaia [southern Greece]. Hung alive for two days, exhorting spectators all the while.

Bartholomew (Nathaniel): Martyrdom by being skinned alive and crucified, head downward by the idolaters of Armenia (Western Asia near Turkey). The most travelled of the Disciples after Jesus death, Preached the Gospel in Mesopotamia [Iraq], Persia [Iran], Ethiopia, Arabia and India.

James the Greater (son of Zebedee / brother of John): Beheaded or stabbed with a sword by Herod Agrippa around 44 AD near Palestine and not far from where he was a local missionary to the Jews in Judea. His accuser was converted by James' courage & the two were beheaded together.

James the Lesser [son of Alphaeus]: Was first Bishop of Jerusalem Martyred in his early 90's by being thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple at Jerusalem , then stoned and head bashed in with club

John (The Beloved) (son of Zebedee / brother of James): Natural Death The only apostle who did not meet a martyrs death. Banished by Roman Emperor Domitian to Isle of Patmos where penned Revelation, the last book in the Bible. Was later freed & went to preach in Turkey and died at 100.

Jude (Thaddeus): Wrote Book of Jude. Martyred by being beaten with a club then crucified 72AD at city of Edessa [Turkey] while on a missionary trip that went to Persia (Iran).

Matthew (Levi): Martyred about 60 AD by being staked and speared to the ground. Preached the Gospel in Ethiopia (Africa) and was killed for questioning the morals of the king.

Simon Peter: Martyrdom by crucifixion at Rome by Nero. Crucified around 68 AD up-side-down at his request because he did consider himself worthy to be crucified like Jesus.

Philip: Said to have been tortured, impaled by iron hooks in his ankles and hung upside down to die. Preaching to death 54 AD in Heliopolis, Egypt. Preached in Phrygia which was in the Roman Province of Asia near Ephesus [Turkey].

Simon [The Canaanite]: Called "The Zealot" because he was associated with that sect. Thought to have ministered mostly in Jordan. Martyred by crucifixion in Britain in 74AD and then sawn in half.

Thomas [Didymus]: Martyred thrust through by spear in India .Preached the Gospel in Parthia [Iran] and in Kerala, [southern India] where yet today the Mar Thoma Church exists.

Mark (John Mark): Was dictated to writing the Book of Mark. Martyred - dragged to death.

Luke: The Physician. Wrote Luke and Acts. Was hanged on an olive tree

Paul meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus

Matthias [Disciple who filled the place of Judas Acts 1:20-26]: Was stoned and beheaded at Jerusalem.

Apostle Paul (Saul): Wrote half of the New Testament was beheaded by Emperor Nero at Rome

James (The half-brother of Jesus): Thrown 100 feet off a wall - done to him after he repeatedly refused to deny his faith in Jesus. He survived the fall and was beaten to death with clubs

12 Men and a Carpenter Who Changed the World, Wayne Pascall

Apologist Sean McDowell carefully states this position:

“The apostles spent between 1.5 to 3 years with Jesus during His public ministry, expecting Him to proclaim His kingdom on earth. Although disillusioned at His untimely death, they became the first witnesses of the risen Jesus and they endured persecution; many subsequently experienced martyrdom, signing their testimony, so to speak, in their own blood. The strength of their conviction, marked by their willingness to die, indicates that they did not fabricate these claims; rather, without exception, they actually believed Jesus to have risen from the dead. While in and of themselves these facts prove neither the truth of the resurrection in particular nor Christianity as a whole, they do demonstrate the apostles’ sincerity of belief, lending credibility to their claims about the veracity of the resurrection, which is fundamental to the case for Christianity.”

New Testament Scholar Craig Keener:

“People of course die regularly for values that are false; they do not, however, ordinarily die voluntarily for what they believe [or know] is false. Intentional deception by the disciples is thus implausible.”

The disciples were not lying and could not have been hallucinating. There is only one possible explanation left: the disciples believed that they had seen the risen Jesus because they really had seen the risen Jesus.

Roman Sleptsuk, The Resurrection

Information drawn from these sources:

- William Lane Craig's Reasonable Faith & The Son Rises

- J.P. Moreland's Scaling the Secular City

- Gary Habermas' The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus & Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?

- desiringgod.org/articles/historical-evidence-for-the-resurrection

You can download a free printout of this information by going to our “Free Material” Page and clicking on “Historical Evidence for the Resurrection: Appearances”.

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Historical Evidence for the Resurrection: Part 1- The Empty Tomb

There is solid historical ground for the truth that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

“Inference to the Best Explanation”

A method commonly used today to determine the historicity of an event.

William Lane Craig describes this as an approach where we, "begin with the evidence available to us and then infer what would, if true, provide the best explanation of that evidence." In other words, we ought to accept an event as historical if it gives the best explanation for the evidence surrounding it.

There are three Historical truths about the resurrection which are so strong that they are accepted by all serious historians, even non-Christians.

  1. The tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered empty by a group of women on the Sunday following the crucifixion.

  2. Jesus' disciples had real experiences with one whom they believed was the risen Christ.

  3. As a result of the preaching of these disciples, which had the resurrection at its center, the Christian church was established and grew.

Evidence for the Empty Tomb

FIRST: the resurrection was preached in the same city where Jesus had been buried shortly before. Jesus' disciples did not go to some obscure place where no one had heard of Jesus to begin preaching about the resurrection, but instead began preaching in Jerusalem, the very city where Jesus had died and been buried. They could not have done this if Jesus was still in his tomb--no one would have believed them.

SECOND: the earliest Jewish arguments against Christianity admit the empty tomb.  In Matthew 28:11-15, there is a reference made to the Jew's attempt to refute Christianity by saying that the disciples stole the body. This is significant because it shows that the Jews did not deny the empty tomb. Instead, their "stolen body" theory admitted the significant truth that the tomb was in fact empty.

The Toledoth Jesu, a compilation of early Jewish writings, is another source acknowledging this. It acknowledges that the tomb was empty, and attempts to explain it away. Further, we have a record of a second century debate between a Christian and a Jew, in which a reference is made to the fact that the Jews claim the body was stolen. So it is pretty well established that the early Jews admitted the empty tomb. Remember that the Jewish leaders were opposed to Christianity. They were hostile witnesses. In acknowledging the empty tomb, they were admitting the reality of a fact that was certainly not in their favor.

THIRD:  the empty tomb account in the gospel of Mark is based upon a source that originated within seven years of the event it narrates. This places the evidence for the empty tomb too early to be legendary, and makes it much more likely that it is accurate. What is the evidence for this? I will list two pieces. A German commentator on Mark, Rudolf Pesch, points out that this pre-Markan source never mentions the high priest by name. "This implies that Caiaphas, who we know was high priest at that time, was still high priest when the story began circulating." For "if it had been written after Caiaphas' term of office, his name would have had to have been used to distinguish him from the next high priest. But since Caiaphas was high priest from A.D. 18 to 37, this story began circulating no later than A.D. 37, within the first seven years after the events," as Michael Horton has summarized it. Furthermore, Pesch argues "that since Paul's traditions concerning the Last Supper [written in 56] (1 Cor 11) presuppose the Markan account, that implies that the Markan source goes right back to the early years" of Christianity (Craig). So the early source Mark used puts the testimony of the empty tomb too early to be legendary.

FOURTH: the empty tomb is supported by the historical reliability of the burial story. NT scholars agree that the burial story is one of the best established facts about Jesus. One reason for this is because of the inclusion of Joseph of Arimethea as the one who buried Christ. Joseph was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrein, a sort of Jewish supreme court. People of this ruling class were simply too well known for fictitious stories about them to be pulled off in this way. Also, if the burial account was legendary, one would expect to find conflicting traditions--which we don't have.

The burial account and empty tomb account have grammatical and linguistic ties, indicating that they are one continuous account. Therefore, if the burial account is accurate, the empty tomb is likely to be accurate as well. Further, if the burial account is accurate then everyone knew where Jesus was buried. This would have been decisive evidence to refute the early Christians who were preaching the resurrection--for if the tomb had not been empty, it would have been evident to all and the disciples would have been exposed as frauds at worst, or insane at best.

FIFTH: Jesus' tomb was never venerated as a shrine. This is striking because it was the 1st century custom to set up a shrine at the site of a holy man's bones. There were at least 50 such cites in Jesus' day. Since there was no such shrine for Jesus, it suggests that his bones weren't there.

SIXTH: Mark's account of the empty tomb is simple and shows no signs of legendary development. This is very apparent when we compare it with the gospel of Peter, a forgery from about 125. This legend has all of the Jewish leaders, Roman guards, and many people from the countryside gathered to watch the resurrection. Then three men come out of the tomb, with their heads reaching up to the clouds. Then a talking cross comes out of the tomb! This is what legend looks like, and we see none of that in Mark's account of the empty tomb--or anywhere else in the gospels for that matter!

SEVENTH: women discovered the tomb was empty. Why is this important? Because, the testimony of women in 1st century Jewish culture was considered worthless. As Craig says, "If the empty tomb story were a legend, then it is most likely that the male disciples would have been made the first to discover the empty tomb. The fact that despised women, whose testimony was deemed worthless, were the chief witnesses to the fact of the empty tomb can only be plausibly explained if, like it or not, they actually were the discoverers of the empty tomb."

There have been various theories used to explain away the empty tomb, such as that the body was stolen. But those theories are laughed at today by all serious scholars. In fact, they have been considered dead and refuted for almost a hundred years.

For example, the Jews or Romans had no motive to steal the body--they wanted to suppress Christianity, not encourage it by providing it with an empty tomb. The disciples would have had no motive, either. Their preaching on the resurrection got them beaten, killed, and persecuted. Why would they go through all of this for a deliberate lie? No serious scholars hold to any of these theories today.

The resurrection of Jesus is not just the best explanation for the empty tomb, it is the only explanation around!

What explanation, then, do the critics offer, you may ask? Craig tells us that, "They are self-confessedly without any explanation to offer. There is simply no plausible natural explanation today to account for Jesus' tomb being empty. If we deny the resurrection of Jesus, we are left with an inexplicable mystery."

Because of the strong evidence for the empty tomb, most recent scholars do not deny it.

D.H. Van Daalen has said, "It is extremely difficult to object to the empty tomb on historical grounds; those who deny it do so on the basis of theological or philosophical assumptions."

Jacob Kremer, who has specialized in the study of the resurrection and is a New Testament critic, has said "By far most exegetes hold firmly to the reliability of the biblical statements about the empty tomb" and he lists twenty-eight scholars to back up his fantastic claim.

The information for this blog post was drawn from these sources:

- William Lane Craig's Reasonable Faith  and The Son Rises

- J.P. Moreland's Scaling the Secular City

- Gary Habermas' The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus and Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?

- desiringgod.org/articles/historical-evidence-for-the-resurrection

You can download a free printout of this information by going to our “Free Material” Page and clicking on “Historical Evidence for the Resurrection: Empty Tomb”.

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Blind Faith: Is it Biblical?

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

John 20:29 (NIV) Then Jesus told him (Thomas), “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 (ESV) So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Somewhere along the line in Christian history, someone took Hebrews 11:1, John 20:29, and 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, and simplified what they are saying to the phrase, “blind faith”.

Then society allowed this idea to morph into the belief that Christians have absolutely no logical reason to have faith in God, and blindly have no idea why they are doing anything, other than they “feel” it is right.

To be fair, some Christians do live as if God expects their faith to be blind. This allows them to be lazy in their studies of the Bible and results in choices that are made based on random whims. They use faith as an excuse to do whatever they want, no matter how random or illogical it may be, and act as if they deserve to have things happen in their favor just because they invoked the magic word, “faith”. But this version of “faith” isn’t Biblical.

If we look at Hebrews 11 in context, we see that, “the conviction of things not seen,” simply means that, when God says something will happen--even though we have not yet seen it happen because it is the future--we believe it will happen because God has already proven Himself faithful. 

When Jesus is talking to Thomas, He is just stating the fact that there will be people who don’t get to see Jesus in the flesh during their lives on this earth, but they will still believe He did walk in the flesh.

And 2 Corinthians is speaking about the fact that we can’t be home with God until we leave our physical bodies; and therefore, can’t physically see Him.

We may be blind in the sense that we cannot see the future--or really even the past with our own eyes. We can’t always explain how things will specifically play out. But we aren’t supposed to be blind about who or what we have faith in. We are meant to use reason to determine what we chose to have faith in--the object of our faith

God makes it clear that He values reason and logic

Psychedelic Brain in Vivid Colors by Bruce Rolff

Psychedelic Brain in Vivid Colors by Bruce Rolff

Proverbs 3:13 (ESV) Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding.

Hebrews 5:12–14 (ESV) For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Acts 17:11 (ESV) Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

James 1:5 (ESV) If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

John C. P. Smith from  answersingenesis.org said:

“The very language of the Hebrew Old Testament reveals that our faith is intrinsically linked to truth. The two words for faith and truth—emunah and emet—are even sometimes translated interchangeably in different Bible versions. Both Hebrew words derive from the same root, aman, meaning ‘firmness, certainty, reliability.’ So rather than being nebulous, biblical faith—like truth—is sure and certain.…Some faith may be unwarranted, and no doubt this faith is blind. In contrast, the Christian faith is both reasonable and justified. It is founded firstly and primarily upon God’s consistent and reliable Word.”

Just because we can’t see Jesus with our own eyes, does not mean we don’t have logical reasons to believe the Biblical account of Jesus’ life and death. God left us a ton of archaeological, scientific, and historical reasons to have faith in Jesus. 

(Recommended Reading: “The Case for Christ” and “The Case for Faith” by Lee Strobel; “The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus” by: Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona)

And even though we can’t see the future and have to wait to see God’s promises come to fruition, we still have logical and rational reasons to have faith in who God is: in His character and that He always keeps His Word.

Faith is not supposed to be just a shot in the dark. We are meant to learn who God is by reading the Bible. We test what we learn there through our experiences with Him in our own lives, and our studies of things like history, science, and archaeology. Our faith in God is based on the collection of evidence found.

The Bible, as a whole, consistently shows us why we should have faith in God and that this faith is meant to be rooted in reason. It is full of examples of people who had the type of faith which God commends. We can examine what their faith looked like, so we know how to best put faith into practice in our own lives. Here are a few examples:

The Unclean Woman of Faith

Mark 5:24-34 (NIV) So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

(Also in Matthew 9:20-22 and Luke 8:43-48)

This story when read on it’s own doesn’t seem like much more than a quick little example of a miracle. But when the Bible is read in context, we learn there is more to it.

First thing we must understand about this story is that this woman is suffering through much more than just a health issue. According to the Jewish law, this specific health issue also makes her unclean. And when someone or something is unclean and it comes in contact with someone or something else, it makes that thing unclean too.

Leviticus 15:19-33 (NLT) “Whenever a woman has her menstrual period, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days. Anyone who touches her during that time will be unclean until evening…If a woman has a flow of blood for many days that is unrelated to her menstrual period, or if the blood continues beyond the normal period, she is ceremonially unclean. As during her menstrual period, the woman will be unclean as long as the discharge continues…”

So for twelve years this woman has been considered unclean within the Jewish community, which means she has been ostracized from her friends and family, expected to permanently separate herself from their society until the bleeding stops and she could be made clean again.

Since, their medicinal options obviously hadn’t helped her in twelve years, this woman had given up hope of ever having a normal life:

Mark 5:26 (NIV) She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.

That is, until Jesus came on the scene. This woman heard of the things Jesus had been doing, the Messianic prophecies He had been fulfilling, and she believed He was the promised Messiah. Which meant, she also believed He could heal her ailment. 

But, it gets even more specific than that; Mark 5:28 informs us that she believed the only thing she needed to do was touch his garment. “...If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” (NIV)

This woman obviously had a pretty decent knowledge of the Scriptures, because she is putting her faith in one of the Messianic prophecies in Malachi:

Malachi 4:2 (ESV) But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

The Hebrew word for “wings” in this verse is "kanaph". Strong's Concordance, defines it as follows:

Kanaph (kaw-nawf); Noun Feminine, Strong #: 3671

Wing, extremity, edge, winged, border, corner, shirt

-Wing

-Extremity skirt, corner (of garment)

In other words, this verse is saying:

Malachi 4:2 (ESV) But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in the fringes of its robe. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

This woman knew Jesus was the solution to all of her problems. With one little touch, she could return to life with her family and friends and be made clean in the sight of God. The problem was, Jesus was going to be surrounded by a crowd of people which she wasn’t supposed to get close to because everyone she would come in contact with would become unclean. And yet, because of the crowd, she knew there was no way she would be able to get His attention to ask for healing, especially not from a distance. 

It was a huge risk for her to venture into the crowd to touch Jesus’ cloak. But her knowledge of the Scriptures and of the fact that God’s prophecies always come true, led her to have such a strong faith that she took the risk. She pushed her way through the crowd and reached out to touch the edges of Jesus’ cloak.

And, the result?

Mark 5:29-34 (NIV) Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Her faith wasn’t just a random whim or feeling. She knew the Biblical prophecies about the coming Messiah and knew that Jesus had been fulfilling them. Walking into a crowd in her state was too dangerous to risk without being certain of who Jesus was. If she had been wrong, she would have made Jesus, Himself, unclean by touching Him. But she wasn’t wrong. Jesus was the promised Messiah. So, instead of her making Him unclean, power came from Him, through his wings, and He made her clean; just as He does for everyone who puts their faith in Him.  

The Canaanite Woman of Faith

Matthew 15:21-28 (ESV) And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

In this story Jesus tests the Canaanite woman’s faith by testing her knowledge about what God had promised through the Jewish Messiah. 

Jesus made the false claim that He was sent only to help the Jewish nation. But, the woman refused to accept that as an answer the Messiah would give. She was certain that God was not only the God of the Jews but also the God of the whole world. This shows she had knowledge of the Scriptures.

Isaiah 49:6 (ESV) he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Genesis 12:1-3 (NIV) The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 22:18 (NIV) “…and through your (Abraham’s) offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

Psalm 100:1-3 (NIV) Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

The Canaanite Woman’s faith was grounded in the truth of God’s Word. She knew that the Scriptures prophesied that the coming Messiah would be sent to save the entire world, not just the Jewish nation. The Jewish nation wasn’t meant to be thought of as the only people God cared about, they were supposed to be a beacon pointing the entire world to God.

She had diligently done the work of studying the Scriptures. Her knowledge of them allowed her to be certain that God would keep His word. She was so confident in God and His promises that even when the promised Messiah, Himself, questioned her, she was able to stand firmly on God’s truth. And it led to Jesus proclaiming:

Matthew 15:28 (ESV) …“O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Abraham: the Father of Faith

Abraham is not only known as the Father of Israel, but also as the Father of Faith. So, since we are trying to figure out what Biblical faith is, it makes sense that we should look to him as an example. 

Romans 4:16 (NIV) Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

One of Abraham’s most famous faith stories takes place in Genesis 22 when God asks him to sacrifice his son—Isaac—and Abraham obeyed.

Some people in our culture love to get this story wrong, they will claim it means God supports child sacrifice. But, when Abraham’s life story as a whole is considered, it is clear that God was never planning on actually having Isaac killed. God was simply testing Abraham’s faith.

Genesis 22:1-2 (NLT) Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

The most obvious question after reading this passage is, “Why is it considered a test of faith for God to tell Abraham to sacrifice his son, and not a test of his blind obedience?”

To understand that, we need to understand the context. 

First off, God had made Abraham promises which relied on Isaac being alive:

Genesis 15:4-5 (NLT) Then the LORD said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.

Genesis 21:1-3 (NLT) The LORD kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. And Abraham named their son Isaac.

Genesis 21:12b (NIV) …it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.

God promised Abraham he would have a multitude of descendants specifically through Isaac. Abraham knew God always keeps His promises and Isaac hadn’t had any children yet. So, Abraham reasoned that God needed Isaac alive. 

Here is some insight into Abraham’s mindset on the issue:

Genesis 22:5-8 (NLT) On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

As a child, I used to think maybe these statements Abraham made were lies in order to trick Isaac into being the sacrifice. But, after further studies, it has become obvious that Abraham is not lying, he actually believes what he is saying. His faith is so strong he knows both he and Isaac will be returning to the servants and that God will provide the offering. (Just as God does for the whole world by providing His own son, Jesus, as our sacrifice.)

And how did this story end?

Genesis 22:9-14 (NLT) When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”

“Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

The idea that Abraham was walking in faith is also confirmed in what is known as the “Chapter of Faith” in Hebrews when this story is referenced:

Hebrews 11: 17-19 (NLT) It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

Abraham didn’t know exactly what would happen when he put Isaac on the altar (he couldn’t yet physically see the outcome), but he knew that even if Isaac did die, God would bring him back to life. Abraham’s faith was strong, because he was firmly rooted in the knowledge that God always keeps His promises.

These are just three examples of what it looks like to put Biblical faith into practice, but the Bible is packed full of stories like these. Every single person who interacts properly with God in the Bible is doing so through faith. If we want to also live by faith, we should follow their examples. 

Bible stories not only show us what it looks like to live by faith, but they also show us how God consistently acts in response to such faith. They are meant to build a foundation of knowledge in us about who God is and what type of character He has. Based on that knowledge which has been tested and proven over and over, we can know that when we put our faith in God, He will act according to His character and come through on His end.

Malachi 3:6 (ESV) For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

Deuteronomy 32:4 (ESV) The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

Psalm 9:10 (NLT) Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.

We haven't seen God but we’ve seen his handiwork and fingerprints in our lives and the world around us.

“And while faith doesn’t require external proof, it is entirely compatible with physical evidence. God may be invisible, but His qualities are clearly seen in nature.” -John C. P. Smith answersingenesis.org

Romans 1:20 ESV 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.

Biblical faith is belief put into action. It follows the evidence in order to determine what to believe in and how to act accordingly. Then it stands firm on the belief that the results will follow the logical path set forth by the evidence. For example, we can believe that a chair will do its job: “I have sat on this chair before and it held me up, so I believe it will hold me up again.” We have faith that the results will be the same as all the times before and we act in faith by actually sitting on it.

Biblical faith rests on the knowledge that God will stay true to who He is. We see who He is by reading the Bible and learning about how He has acted in the past. We also experience Him in our own lives over and over again. Faith gets stronger, every time God acts according to who He says He is. We can say, “I have faith because it works. Having faith in God in the past has proven to be wise, so it will be wise to do it again, and to keep doing it.”

In Summary:

We may be blind as to how God will keep His word, but not in that He will keep His word. Faith and reason are not contrary to one another, instead, they complement one another. Each helps the other to see clearly.

It’s also important to note that faith in God doesn’t mean life will be easy or that we will always get what we want. It means we trust that even when life is hard, God knows what He is doing and He has our best interests at heart.

Romans 8:28 (NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

“My faith is to rest not in the outcome which I think God should work out for me, my faith rests in who God is…the quietness of my heart is in the fruit of an absolute confidence in God.” -Elizabeth Elliot

“Faith is the art of holding on to what our reason has once accepted, in spite of our changing moods.” -C.S. Lewis

“Faith is not an instinct. It certainly is not a feeling--feelings don’t help much when you’re in the lions’ den or hanging on a wooden cross. Faith is not inferred from the happy way things work. It is an act of will, a choice, based on the unbreakable Word of a God who cannot lie, and who showed us what love and obedience and sacrifice mean, in the person of Jesus Christ.” -Elizabeth Elliot

“You ask me, ‘What’s the greatest act of faith?’ To me is to look in the mirror of God’s word, and see all my faults, all my sin, all my shortcomings and to believe that God loves me exactly as he says he does.” -Paul Washer

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Analyzing Popular Sayings: "Follow Your Heart."

Art by Amanda Cass

“Following your heart” is a spiritual concept. It’s not talking about your literal physical heart that pumps blood, but an intangible abstraction representing our truest nature. “The heart” is who we are at the core of our being. 

The advice to “follow your heart” has saturated our culture. It advises everyone that they should do whatever their emotional desires tell them.

But does this advice fit the reality we live in? 

That all depends on whether or not the heart is a positive, trustworthy force.

Let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say about the heart:

At first glance, the Bible leaves us with a pretty grim image of what dwells at the cores of our beings. We are all born with a sin nature, which means we have the natural inclination to want to defy God’s design.

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Matthew 15:19 ESV For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

Numbers 15:39 NIV You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes.

Jeremiah 22:17 ESV But you have eyes and heart only for your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence.

Sin nature makes hearts evil and untrustworthy. Sometimes our hearts can be so misguided that following them is sabotaging our lives.

The heart also likes to play the blame game. Even when it’s our own fault that bad things happen, an unwise heart will refuse to take responsibility for its actions and will blame God for the natural consequences of our choices.

Proverbs 19:3 ESV When a man's folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord.

Fortunately, this is not everything the Bible has to say about hearts. We may be born with a sin nature, but thanks to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross we can put that sin nature to death.

1 Peter 2:24 NASB and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

Romans 6:6 NASB knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

Galatians 5:24 NASB Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Just as faith in Christ’s death pays for our sins and brings us into God’s family, faith also gives us the ability to walk with God throughout this life. With God’s help, our hearts can be trained in wisdom, and cultivated into a more trustworthy and helpful force.

Psalm 51:10 ESV Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Proverbs 23:19 ESV Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way.

Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

Proverbs 4:23 ESV Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Ecclesiastes 10:2 ESV A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left.

Psalm 119:11 ESV I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Proverbs 28:26 ESV Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Psalm 19:14 ESV Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

When we turn to God and let Him guide our hearts in wisdom, he is able to help us through life and work all things for our good.

Romans 5:5 ESV And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 8:28 NIV And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

Psalm 73:26 ESV My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 37:4 ESV Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The Bible makes it clear that this world is plagued by sin. If we are honest with ourselves and really do the work of digging deep down into the choices we make and why we make them, it becomes obvious that at our core, we are sinful. Our very natures are tainted by sin. This means we can’t always trust what our hearts tell us. What we want for ourselves may be selfish and is often misguided. 

This doesn't necessarily mean that everything we want is bad, it just means we should be wary of trusting our hearts blindly. If we seek out the guidance of the Holy Spirit and study the Bible to gain wisdom, we can make better choices.

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Do I have to keep the Law to keep my Salvation? (Eternal Security and the Book of Galatians)

“I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?”
— Galatians 3:2-3 NIV

Many Christians feel they have to consistently follow a to-do list like the Ten Commandments or God will take away their salvation. They live in constant fear that they will inevitably make a mistake and God will cast them away. 

The Jewish Christians in Galatia were being tempted with this same mentality. They had grown up in the Jewish culture where they had to follow all the laws and traditions set in place in the Old Testament. And even though they had accepted Jesus as the Messiah, they were struggling with the idea that they no longer had to follow the Mosaic Law in order to be right with God. 

In Galatians 1:6-9 Paul explains the reason he is writing to the churches of Galatia:

Galatians 1:6-9 (NIV) I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

These verses bring up two questions: What is the Gospel Paul preached? And, how were people perverting that Gospel?

What is the Gospel Paul preached?

The answer to this question is thoroughly illustrated in the Old Testament and repeated over and over again throughout the New Testament, but Paul also answers it in Galatians 2:15-16:

Galatians 2:15-16 (NIV) …a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

(For more information about the Gospel see: “How can I explain the Gospel to my friends?” and, “How does God decide if we’ve been good enough to get into Heaven?”)

How were people perverting the Gospel?

The Galatians were being told by false teachers that in order for the Gentiles to truly become and stay children of God, they would need to start following the Jewish traditions which include, but are not limited to, the Mosaic Law.

Let’s take a look at how God used Paul to address this issue:

Paul starts Galatians off by giving his credentials. He reminds them that he used to be one of the best at following the Jewish traditions and laws.

Galatians 1:13-14 NIV For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

There was nobody more zealous about Judaism than Paul, nobody with more bragging rights. But then Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus and everything changed (Acts 9:1-19; Acts 22:6-21; Acts 26:12-18). Paul was shown the truth of the Gospel that day and he accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Then God sent him into the world to preach among the Gentiles.

Acts 26: 15-18 NIV “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

In Galatians 2 Paul begins to address the Galatians’ desires to enforce their old traditions by using circumcision as an example from the Jewish covenants (Genesis 17:10-13). He explains that not even Titus (a Gentile and fellow preacher of the Gospel) had felt compelled to get circumcised (Galatians 2:3). Paul goes on to explain that the idea that Gentiles who had accepted Jesus as their Savior needed to also be circumcised, came from false teachers.

Galatians 2:4-5 NIV This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

Paul is saying that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross gives believers freedom from their sins and from the conviction of the Law. If they allowed themselves to be put back under the rules of the Law it would be like becoming slaves again.

Paul goes on to explain that forcing Gentiles to follow the Jewish Laws and being ashamed of them for not following the Laws, is hypocritical. 

Galatians 2:11-14 NIV When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

Paul was claiming that the Jewish Christians knew that salvation comes through faith in Jesus and that they no longer had to follow the Law. Yet, they were still shamefully holding the Gentiles to the standard of the Law.

Galatians 2:15-16 NIV “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

This, of course, leads to the following question: “If we don’t enforce the Law, are we encouraging sin?” Paul foresees this question and explains:

Galatians 2: 17-21 NIV But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!

Does refusing to hold ourselves to the standard set by the Law make us sinners? No, we already were sinners, the Law simply pointed out our sin. It is impossible for humans to follow the Law perfectly, which means following the Law was never the path towards Salvation. The Law was only there to show us how far we had fallen and to convince us we needed help. The Law was set in place to lead us to Christ. 

Furthermore, after the Law leads us to Christ, we are meant to be done with it. It has finished its job and cannot help us with our walks with God. We are meant to live our Christian lives by faith and grow in our walks with God through grace. The Law brings guilt and shame, but God wants us to use grace and faith to follow Him.

Galatians 3:1-14 NIV You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Our salvation and the lives which follow are BOTH accomplished through faith in Christ, not through works of the Law. Christ rescued us from the curse of the Law, He does not want us to bring that curse back into our relationship with Him. All He wants is our faith.

Paul explains further by pointing out in Galatians 3:15-22 that God’s promise to Abraham came before the Law anyway. And since it came before the Law it was not replaced by the Law and it is not dependent on the Law. 

Galatians 3:17-18 NIV What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.

God always keeps His promises, and nothing we do could cause God to break a promise. God is not so weak or feeble of character that we as humans can stop Him from keeping His word.

Galatians 3:23-29 NIV Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Just like Abraham before us, it is faith that makes us righteous. Being under the law made us slaves to the law, but Christ took our place by being born under the law and defeating the law. Jesus freed us from slavery and made us children of God. 

Galatians 4:4-10 NIV But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

Once we accept Jesus’s payment for our sins we become adopted as children of God. Trying to obey the law after becoming saved through faith, is like inheriting a tax-exempt, amazing new home which you could have never afforded, but deciding to go sleep out on the streets again until you can earn enough money to buy the house for yourself. This would be foolish and prideful. Christians are children of God and God wants us to confidently live under the “roof” and security which He has provided. Why would anyone want to go back to how life was before becoming a child of God?

Jesus suffered and died so that we could be free. If we foolishly decide to keep trying to be made right with God by obeying the law, we need to understand that we will be made responsible for keeping the entire law, and that is impossible. 

Galatians 5:1-6 NIV It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

We cannot rely on both Christ’s sacrifice, and on following the law. Grace cannot be earned, it is the unmerited and freely given favor of God. Trying to follow the law, is trying to earn God’s grace. It is illogical and foolish to try to earn something which, by its very nature, is given to those who are unable to earn it. If we insist on earning our own way to Heaven and to being sanctified we are turning down God’s grace, alienating ourselves from Christ. And without Christ, we will fail. 

John 14:6 NIV Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

God’s grace, given to us through Christ’s sacrifice, is the only hope we have at being accepted by God and we attain this acceptance by faith, not by works.  

Trying to follow the law doesn’t make anyone righteous, all it can do is point out how terrible we are. Jesus set us free from the guilt the law brings. We should live our lives basking in that freedom, grateful that we will not be judged by God for how inadequate we are at following the law.

Paul finishes up his letter to the Galatians by claiming the only reason people were insisting on following the law was so that they would look good outwardly to other humans. He says they were scared of being persecuted for relying on Christ’s sacrifice and just wanted to disguise themselves to look more like the world around them. 

Galatians 6:12-15 NIV Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.

When the book of Galatians is read in context as one complete letter, it is obvious that God does not want Christians to place themselves back under the law. The law was fulfilled by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and its only job in the lives of Christians was to point us to Christ for salvation. Trying to follow the law after we have accepted Christ’s payment for our sins will only stunt our growth as Christians. We cannot grow in grace, faith, and love if we are living under fear, shame, and judgment.  

1 John 4:18 NIV There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Hebrews 4:16 NIV Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 

Recommended Reading: “Disciplined by Grace” by J.F. Strombeck, “This insightful and practical book demonstrates that the Christian life is to be lived the same way it began at salvation―all by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.”

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Can they take my God from me?

Artist: Sue Perez

It is true that the church is the Body of Christ and that the body functions best when all members are meeting together and working together towards the goal of bringing glory to God. However, it is also vital to make sure that your own personal relationship with God is not dependent on any other human being. If every other Christian in your life were to disappear, your personal relationship with God should still have such a solid foundation that it stands strong on its own.

Just the other day, a friend and I were talking about a woman we know and care about. We were worried about her, and heartbroken for her, because it seems she has gone from one abusive relationship to another and continues to be a target for manipulative abusive men who promise her an amazing love story while starting out, but only end up giving her nightmares. And the rub is, every single one of these men were professing Christians who had upstanding reputations in Christian circles. 

In our frustration, our initial reaction was to think, “It’s amazing that she continues to trust God and believe in God when these Christian men keep destroying her life.” 

This touches on an unfortunate truth. Many Christians gauge their walks with God based off of their experiences with other Christians. 

Some kids only believe in God while under their parents’ roof. As soon as they are off on their own, it becomes obvious that what seemed like a relationship between God and them was only a relationship between their parents and God. Other people start going to church because their boyfriend or girlfriend wants them to go but their connection to God always travels through that other person, instead of creating their own connection with Him. And when the human relationship falls apart, they throw God out with the rest of it. 

Your relationship with God should be its own thing: a back and forth between only you and God. Otherwise when life gets hard and other Christians crumble under the pressure, you will crumble with them.

This may seem like a troubling and even daunting realization, but while I was sitting in church a few Sundays ago, I had an epiphany which caused me to see this from another perspective.

I have always been a hopeless romantic. I am a big fan of the friendship turned to love trope. I love the idea of finding someone who knows you completely and will be by your side through everything in life. But, I’ve started to wonder if a romantic relationship is even worth the cost. Because in my life, and in the lives of many of my friends, the cost has been immense. 

Over the last few years many, not all, but many of the men in my life have “dropped the ball” in colossal ways. Now, I know that men aren’t the only ones destroying love in the world, but in my personal life, it has been a bit gender specific lately. 

Here’s a quick summary of the bigger examples just so you can understand my emotional and logical journey at the time of my epiphany (note: all of these men are Christians).

  • My now ex-husband kept his bi-polar disorder a secret from me and became dangerously violent.

  • A close friend and father of four got arrested three times within a month for dealing meth.

  • Another close friend is on trial for rape accusations. I’ve since found out he used to abuse his ex-wife and has abused at least one other friend of mine while they were in a relationship. He targets vulnerable women and manipulates and abuses them.

  • Another friend had to leave her emotionally and physically abusive husband.

  • Another friend’s husband has now confessed to cheating on his wife multiple times.

  • Ravi Zacharias, my favorite apologist, apparently used his position to rape women.

Each of these men had life destroying secrets; a part of their identity which they kept behind closed doors and thought they could get away with.

My heart was hurting, not only because of the obvious damage they caused, but also because I had thought we were all working together to spread God’s Word. It felt as if they had not only abandoned the rest of the team, but had taken a bat and kneecapped everyone. 

When stuff like this happens, people start asking the obvious question: “How can we still trust in God, when His people are doing such terrible things?” 

And I couldn’t help but wonder… “Are they right? Are the actions of my brothers in Christ capable of destroying my relationship with God? Can they take my God away from me? If I get married again, and that man also turns out to be a monster, will I start to hate God? How many more blows can I take from people I had trusted, before I am so weakened and blinded by pain that I no longer trust God?”

Throughout my life God has been my rock, my one constant companion. Because of Him, I know I will see every loved one I lost and will loose who has put their faith in Christ, again. And even though God hates divorce, He held me tight in His arms every step of the way as I escaped my dangerous marriage. I can not, and do not want to imagine what it would be like to go through this life without God by my side.

Psalm 46:1-3 NIV God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Matthew 11:28-29 ESV Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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.

Without God I would be empty: without purpose or hope. He is my everything, and everything good in my life comes from Him. Even the slightest chance that something could shake my faith enough to have me deciding to try life without God, had me terrified. 

So, I was sitting in church that Sunday wrestling with my jaded heart, wondering if trying to date again was worth the potential cost, when God opened my eyes to this life altering truth:

I don’t have to let anyone influence my relationship with God, besides me and God. Only God and I have any say in our relationship.

If I get married again and that man decides to be an atheist. My personal relationship with God can still stand strong on its own. Even if every single Christian friend I have turns out to have a secret identity that gut-punches the Body of Christ, I can still choose to turn towards God for help and comfort instead of away from Him. 

My relationship with God is its own separate relationship, it is not tied to any other relationship I have. My brothers and sisters in Christ are not God. Just because a human being has messed up, doesn’t mean God has messed up.

(Also see: “If God loves us why does He let bad things happen?”)

God is His own being and He is always faithful.

God even promises that when it comes to His side of the relationship, He will not falter. 

Hebrews 13:5b NIV God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

No matter what other people do. They cannot take your relationship with God away from you. No matter what you go through, or how alone you feel, God will always be with you. 

Romans 8:38-39 NIV For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Yes, it is tragic when people fall away from the church because they depended on the walks of other Christians instead of cultivating their own relationship with God. It can seem daunting knowing that each person has to form their own relationship with God. But just as we can’t rely on other Christians to create and maintain our relationship with God, we also don’t have to give them any power to damage it. The responsibility is ours, alone, the choices are ours, alone. And our place in God’s family is always secure because of the priceless sacrifice Christ made for us.   

Romans 5:18 NLT Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Romans 5:8 ESV But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Revelation 3:20 ESV Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Analyzing Popular Sayings: "God won't give you more than you can handle."

In the grand scheme of things, my life has been pretty great. I am blessed in ways I couldn’t have even imagined. But even for me, this saying--which is meant to be encouraging--stings like salt in an open wound. Because, there have been quite a few periods of my life which I was not strong enough to handle. 

Painting: “Forgiven” by Thomas Blackshear

Painting: “Forgiven” by Thomas Blackshear

  • The time when I was nineteen years old and my hormones slid out of whack, throwing me into a deep depression. I was sleeping a minimum of 18 hours a day and felt zero emotions about anything. 

  • The time my father died of cancer. I had no idea how to properly handle my emotions and I spiraled into chaos.

  • The time I married an abusive man. I had believed he had great self-control, was emotionally stable, and was slow to anger. It wasn’t long after our wedding when I found out that he was the exact opposite. Being with him was a threat to my life and the lives of everyone else I cared about. I was heartbroken, confused, trapped, and scared; and I had no idea what to do. And after I was free of him, the residual damage on my psyche left me with a miscalibrated fear reaction where even the smallest of terrible possibilities gave me illogical panic attacks. 

  • The time when my baby died in my womb and I had to have surgery to survive the miscarriage. I have never felt more hopeless or helpless than when I had to come to terms with the idea that I could do nothing to keep my own child safe. 

“God won’t give you more than you can handle.” Well…I wasn’t even close to being able to handle any of these situations. So, how did I get through them? 

Because, even though it was more than I could handle, it wasn’t more than God could handle. 

Life can be terrible, it can crush us and destroy us. Sometimes we suffer as the result of our own choices, and sometimes we are victims of circumstance. Either way, God wants us to rely on Him through it all.

Where did the saying, “God won’t give you more than you can handle”, come from?

The idea comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV):

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

As you can see, this verse isn’t claiming that life won’t be harder than we can handle. It is specifically talking about overcoming the temptations which the world throws at us. But even for those temptations, we aren’t supposed to rely on ourselves to overcome them:  it is God who “provides the way to escape”.

What does the Bible say to do when life starts to crush us?

It says to turn to God. He is our Savior in everything and anything. Ask Him for help, and trust that He will provide. Here are a few examples of the many verses which illustrate this:

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (ESV) But he (God) said to me (Paul), “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV) Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Philippians 4:11-13; 19 (ESV) Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation, I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me...And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 34:4 (ESV) I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

John 15:5 (ESV) I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Proverbs 18:10 (NIV) The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe.

Psalm 50:15 (ESV) And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV) God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

We don’t get our strength from ourselves, God is our strength in trouble, our shelter in storms, and our deliverer through the trials of life.

Painting: “The Hand of God” Havenlight Yongsung Kim

Painting: “The Hand of God” Havenlight Yongsung Kim

The story of Peter walking on the water is a wonderful illustration of this truth. As long as Peter focused on Jesus and His ability to keep him above the water, he experienced the impossible. But as soon as he changed his focus to the strong wind blowing around him and the reality of his own lack of ability to walk on water, he began to sink. Thankfully, he had the wisdom to call out to Jesus for help, and sure enough, Jesus did as He always does: He reached out and saved him. (Matthew 14:22-33)

The tales of the Old Testament are meant to teach us this truth as well. All the grand heroic stories we learned about in Sunday school have one thing in common. The people involved trusted God to get them through the hard stuff. They didn’t rely on themselves. 

For example:

David didn’t kill Goliath by his own merit, God killed Goliath--David’s faith in God to keep his promises to him and the nation of Israel gave David the courage he needed to step forward and put his life in God’s hands. (1 Samuel 17) 

(Also see: “How did David know he could beat Goliath in a fight to the death?)

In contrast, when David took a census of Israel to determine his own strength, God punished him for not trusting God to handle the security of the nation. (2 Samuel 24)

And when Moses and the Israelites trusted God to free them from the Egyptians, God performed miracle after miracle to keep them safe: the plagues on Egypt, parted the Red Sea, made water pour from a rock, and so on.

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But when it was finally time to enter the Promised Land, the Israelites were afraid. They lost faith in God’s abilities, gauged the possibility of their success on their own skill levels, and decided there was no way they could win in a fight against the gigantic Amorites. Because of this they were forced to wander around in the wilderness for forty more years. 

This theme is repeated over and over in the Old Testament: trust God and succeed; do things on your own and fail. Hebrews chapter 11 (the Faith chapter) provides a great list of these examples as well. 

God wants to draw people to Him, so He uses us to show the world His strength. 

Christians have also been given specific tools which are meant to help us through life.

He gave us the Church--our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Romans 12:4-16 (NIV) For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your a faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

(Also see Hebrews 10:24-25; Ephesians 4:32: Galatians 6:9-10; Acts 20:28)

Christians are meant to be each other's support systems: to encourage one another in times of trouble and to help each other grow in our knowledge of Biblical truth and our walks with God.

He gave us the Bible. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

If we study God’s word properly and thoroughly then when life shakes us to our core we can have a foundation of truth which stands solid through it all.

He gave us the Holy Spirit. 

John 14:16-17 (NIV) I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

Romans 8:26-27 (NIV) In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

We are never alone. God’s presence is constantly working within us and through us.

I am beyond grateful for everything God provided as I faced the major trials of my life.

When my family grieved the loss of my father, the church ministries flooded our house with food. Christians who owned local businesses helped offset the costs of the funeral with discounts and donations whenever possible. And my foundational knowledge of the Biblical truth of salvation, gave me hope, knowing I will see my father again in the life to come.

When my marriage became life-threatening, women messaged me and showed up at my house to tell me their similar experiences. My sisters and brothers in Christ went out of their way to make sure I had the strength and support necessary to break free from the nightmare I was living in. They even assisted in practical matters like advising me on things like restraining orders and therapy programs.

And when I lost my baby, the outpouring of love--through thoughtful gifts and through people simply sitting with me, sharing the grief--was exactly what I needed.

Painting: “Trust in God”

Painting: “Trust in God”

But even beyond the utilization of the tools He provided, God, Himself, was pouring out His mercy, using His power to weave circumstance and free will into an intricate design of love inspired miracles, the likes of which I am constantly in awe of. 

God carried me through every situation. From the big moments: like when I was on my knees weeping in my garage, silently begging God to somehow find a way to get my now ex-husband out of my house without anyone getting killed. To the “smaller” quieter miracles which kept me breathing day-to-day as I lay drowning in depression. God has answered all of my needs, even the ones I never even knew to worry about. 

Romans 8:26-27 (NIV) In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

In conclusion, I’ll say it again:

It has always been, and it always will be, God who was strong enough to handle the trials of my life. Our sin cursed world will give us more than we can handle, but never more than what God can handle.

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

What is the Unforgivable Sin?

Matthew 12:31-32 (ESV) And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

These two verses have made thousands of people anxious. Many are terrified they will accidentally commit the unforgivable sin. There are lots of theories about what it might be: Some think it’s using the Lord’s name in vain. Some apply whatever the most popular (or unpopular) sin of the day is to it. Some think blasphemy against any Biblical truth is Blasphemy against the Spirit. The ideas and possibilities are pretty much as endless as the number of different churches there are in the world. 

When one thinks too hard about the words, “Blasphemy against the Spirit” the idea starts to feel a bit vague and ethereal. So, what’s the point? How are we supposed to figure out what the unforgivable sin is?

Well the answer is frustratingly simple and is the same answer I give with any Biblical question. We find out what the Bible means by reading the Bible.  

Context is Key. Matthew 12:31-32 wasn’t meant to be plucked out of the Bible and read on its own. It is part of a larger story, and the larger story is the key to understanding what these verses mean.

Historical context also matters. Each book of the Bible was written at a specific time in History, with a specific purpose in mind, and to a specific group of people. The rest of us learn about God and how He works in the world by understanding the lessons He was trying to teach these historical people and applying them in logical ways to our own lives. To truly understand the lesson, we have to understand what was going on historically with the original audience of each book of the Bible.

So, let’s take a look:

The Old Testament is full of prophecies proclaiming the coming of a Messiah who will be a King from the line of David and will sit on His throne forever. The nation of Israel is always searching for this Messiah. (David’s story can be found in 1 Samuel 16:1- 1 Kings 2:10)

Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The book of Matthew was written to convince the nation of Israel that Jesus is the King of the Jews--the Messiah they had been waiting for.

In order for people to know who the Messiah was when He came, God also gave prophecies which describe stuff this King will do including what are called the ”miracles of healing” which would prove His identity.

Isaiah 35:5-6a (ESV) Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

Isaiah 26:19a (ESV) Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!

Isaiah 29:18 (ESV) In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.

Isaiah 61:1 (ESV) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor

In other words, the entire Jewish nation knew that if a man shows up who fulfills all the prophecies--including these miracles of healing--he is the Messiah they have been waiting for. Jesus did exactly that.

The fulfillment of each of these miracles of healing are outlined in the book of Matthew leading up to chapter 12 where the “Blasphemy of the Spirit” happens.

Healing the blind:

Matthew 9:27-30 (ESV) As Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened.

Healing the lame:

Matthew 9:1-8 (ESV) Getting into a boat he [Jesus] crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Cleansing a leper 

Matthew 8:2-4 (ESV) A leper came to him [Jesus] and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

Healing the deaf (the same Greek word can mean “deaf” or “mute,” and both were often found together.):

Matthew 9:32-33 (ESV) As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him [Jesus]. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”

Raising the dead:

Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26 (ESV) While he [Jesus] was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples…. And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district.

Preaching good news to the poor:

Matthew 9:35-36 (ESV) Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

These are just a few examples of the many miracles Jesus performed. By fulfilling each of these miracles, Jesus was proving He was the Messiah they had been waiting for. And people were taking notice. Many had open hearts and minds and began to follow Jesus, but others--specifically the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders of the day--feared losing their power more than they cared about discovering the truth.

That brings us to the infamous section of Scripture which contains the unforgivable sin: 

Matthew 12:22-37 (ESV) 22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” 

24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 

25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 

29 Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. 

30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 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.

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Let’s look at this section piece by piece:

The first thing that happens in this situation is Jesus casts a demon out of a blind and mute man. This action causes people to ask, “Can this be the Son of David?” 

It’s important to understand what they are asking here:

As we discussed earlier, the nation of Israel has a promise via prophecy that the Messiah will be from the line of King David and He will sit on David’s throne forever (Isaiah 9:6-7 ESV). So, they weren’t asking who Jesus’ literal direct father was (Joseph), they were saying, “Can this be the Messiah we have been waiting for? Is this our prophesied King?”

This was a defining moment in history and for the nation of Israel. They had been shown the signs and wonders they needed to see in order to know Jesus was the Messiah. And now all they had to do was follow Him.

Many people of the nation of Israel were ready and excited to welcome Jesus with open arms, to celebrate the arrival of their King. They had kept their eyes and hearts open, watching and waiting for God to fulfill his promises and prophecies. 

But the Pharisees--Jewish religious leaders of that time--had a different agenda. Instead of acknowledging the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, they decided to try claiming Jesus got His powers from the Devil (Matthew 12:24). 

Of course Jesus responded to this claim with logic and reasoning, explaining why it would be ridiculous to think someone who was harming the Devil’s work would be working for the Devil. 

It is during this explanation where Jesus mentions the unforgivable sin (Matthew 12:25-32).

Jesus tells them it’s a choice--either they believe His power comes from the Spirit of God or from Beelzebul:

Matthew 12:27-28 (ESV) And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 

The Pharisees witnessed irrefutable evidence that Jesus’s power came from the Holy Spirit, but they still decided to claim it was from the Devil. They were not ignorant of the truth, they knew the Messianic Prophecies were being fulfilled. They stood in front of God Himself as He offered up every possible bit of evidence they needed. They knew the time for the Kingdom of God—the promised King, the Messiah—had come. But they chose to turn a blind eye to the truth and slander the Spirit by claiming Jesus came from the Devil instead of from God.

And in that moment, because the Pharisees were in a position of power, they influenced millions of Israelites throughout history to turn away from God’s truth and from the Messiah.

Furthermore, when the Gospel of Mark talks about this same event in Mark 3:22-30 a little explanatory caveat is offered at the end:

Mark 3:28-30 (NIV) “...I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”

Instead of proclaiming Jesus to be God, they claimed He was evil. 

This was the unforgivable sin: to witness Jesus Himself--in the flesh--perform miracles, fulfilling Messianic prophecies, and accuse Him of being an agent of the Devil. Jesus was using the Power of God--the Power of the Holy Spirit--to perform the miracles, and the Pharisees Blasphemed the Spirit by proclaiming His power came from Satan. 

Good news for us is, the unforgivable sin can’t be duplicated by anyone today because it was unique to that moment in history--the moment when Jesus walked among mankind, fulfilling the prophecies of the Messiah. 

As gotquestions.org says:

The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, specific as it was to the Pharisees’ situation, cannot be duplicated today. Jesus Christ is not on earth, and no one can personally see Jesus perform a miracle and then attribute that power to Satan instead of the Spirit. The only unpardonable sin today is that of continued unbelief. There is no pardon for a person who dies in his rejection of Christ. The Holy Spirit is at work in the world, convicting the unsaved of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). If a person resists that conviction and remains unrepentant, then he is choosing hell over heaven. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6), and the object of faith is Jesus (Acts 16:31). There is no forgiveness for someone who dies without faith in Christ.

God has provided for our salvation in His Son (John 3:16). Forgiveness is found exclusively in Jesus (John 14:6). To reject the only Savior is to be left with no means of salvation; to reject the only pardon is, obviously, unpardonable.

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

I Don't Feel Welcomed in Church, Why Should I Go?

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When asked this question my dad used to always tell a story about when he first became a Christian. I’ll share it with you, but first we need a little background information:

My dad was in his early twenties when he first accepted Jesus as his Savior. He was an alcoholic. He was addicted to gambling. He had two young kids. My mom was pregnant with a third, and she was on the verge of divorcing him. Needless to say, his life was a bit of a mess. But God had reached into that mess and brought my dad to his knees at the foot of the cross of Christ. 

My father was a new believer, on fire for the Lord--gobbling up everything he could learn about God and the Bible. He was determined to save his marriage, stop drinking, stop gambling, and rebuild our lives. Unfortunately, becoming a Christian is one thing, while being accepted by other Christians is entirely different. 

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My dad drove coal trains for the railroad so his schedule was unpredictable. More often than not he would come rushing in late to church or Bible-study--right after working a thirty-six hour run--in old worn-out sweats which were covered in oil and grease. Some people would view this as dedication; others as disrespectful. He was also very outspoken, if he had a question--he asked it. If he disagreed--he’d argue his point until someone could prove him wrong. To say in short--whether good or bad--he was a disruptive force and constantly, inadvertently, made people feel uncomfortable in the “boxes” they were living in.

Now I need you to understand that there were some amazing Christians who loved my dad just as he was, and did their best to bring our family into the fold--especially the pastor of our church (who was the man who led my father to the Lord in the first place) and the youth pastor (who is now the current pastor at Grace Chapel in Scottsbluff). I will always be incredibly grateful to them. 

However, there were others at our church who looked at my dad like he was a dangerous bomb, ready to explode his sinful life all over their nice clean picture-perfect existences. And as anyone can tell you, all it takes is one sideways glance and a few poorly timed whispers, to make a person feel out of place and unwanted. Needless to say, he started struggling with feeling like he belonged and that brings us to our story.

I’m telling this story, not from my memory (because I was very young) but from memories of my dad telling it. We were on a short family vacation somewhere in South Dakota. Since we were there over a Sunday, my dad found a local church for us to attend. When we walked in the door a nice young lady realized we were new, so she came over to welcome us to their church. My dad’s not the type to just shake hands and move on, so he struck up a conversation. He ended up telling her that he often felt like a fish out of water in his home church, so he was considering not going there anymore. 

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That’s when she told him her story. A few years earlier she had been addicted to drugs, living on the streets, and working as a prostitute. When she accepted Jesus as her Savior, she worked hard to turn her life around. But, like my dad, she had found herself in a tough position with some church members. She felt unwelcome; like a dark stain on their perfect congregation. She had also been about to stop attending church, and to write off all other Christians as judgmental hypocrites.

Then, the following Sunday, as she sat in the church service, she saw a face she recognized. It was another woman who had worked the streets with her. Right after the service she rushed over to say “hello”. This other woman ended up accepting Jesus as her Savior as well.

The lady finished her story by saying this to my dad:

“If I stopped going to church, and if you stopped going to church, who will be here for the next person like us that comes through those doors?”

Needless to say, my dad did not stop going to church, and countless people, including me, are all the better for it.

As Christians, each and every one of us is “the church”. We can’t control the actions of others, we can only decide what to do with ourselves. It is as much my responsibility to make sure people feel welcomed as it is anyone else's. 

Keep going to church. Reach out to other people who may be feeling like outsiders as well; welcome them as you wish you had been welcomed. Spread God’s love.


Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near (ESV).


1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing (ESV).

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.