Author Archives: Dave
How do we earn rewards in Heaven?
Does Jesus teach the existence of purgatory?
In Matthew 5:25 Jesus warns that a person who owes another and does not settle the debt with them will be thrown into prison until all is paid. What is the prison Jesus warns about? Some have said this prison is purgatory.
According to those who believe in purgatory, if a Christian is not reconciled to his brother during this life, then after life ends the sinner will be held in a place of spiritual punishment until the entire debt is paid. When the sinner is purged of all their sin they will then be allowed to enter Heaven.
Interpreting the prison in Matthew 5 as a spiritual prison is defended on the grounds that the Sermon on the Mount is talking about spiritual things. Therefore, the prison must also be a spiritual prison. Jesus is teaching what is necessary to enter Heaven, but the Sermon on the Mount is not a list of instructions on how to get there. In Matthew 5:20-48 Jesus shows the impossibility of gaining Heaven by following the Mosaic law or a list of religious regulations. To enter Heaven a person has to be as perfectly righteous as God Himself. (Matthew 5:48)
Furthermore, the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 5 involved real, physical things. He speaks of marriage, divorce and adultery. He speaks of giving away a cloak and a tunic, of responding to a slap on the cheek and of going the extra mile. Those were all physical realities that Jesus’ first century audience would have experienced first hand. The coerced mile of Matthew 5:41 was not an allegorical mile, but a genuine journey taken at the command of a Roman soldier.
In Matthew 5:29-30 Jesus does use figures of speech when He speaks of plucking out an eye or cutting off a hand. Those two statements are the only ones which need to be understood as figurative. All the surrounding verses make the most sense as literal descriptions of familiar things. Therefore, the prison Jesus referred to is best understood as a real debtors prison, not a spiritual one.
The great problem with applying Matthew 5:25 to purgatory is the assumption of purgatory itself. Those who teach the existence of purgatory teach that the mercy of Jesus enables the person to become righteous. Each person is responsible, by the grace of Jesus, to put away their sin and make themselves righteous. Sin not put away by the person is punished after this life. Because the person has received the grace of Jesus, Heaven is waiting for them. Because the person still has unresolved sin, he must be punished before he can enter Heaven. Purgatory exists as a theological concept because some sin is left unpunished. Those seeking Heaven must have a means of satisfying the demands of justice on their unpunished sin. The Bible clearly teaches otherwise.
In Hebrews 10:17 God says, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Verse 18 adds this most important truth, “Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.” God promises those who trust Jesus as their Savior that He will forgive all their sin: past, present or future. First John 1:7 says, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” Since God completely forgives all a person’s sins when that person receives Jesus for salvation, then no more offering, punishment, purging or purgatory is needed.
Why do we call them “Gospels”?
What is in the Bible?
February 25, 2024 Pastor’s Roundtable
Pastor Dave Chambers
Pastor Ted Jolls
Pastor Tom Schierkolk
Pastor Jon Michael
Who Wrote the Bible?
How should I respond when I am discouraged?
Should Christians “Cancel” Alistair Begg?
Alistair Begg is the pastor of Parkside Church outside of Cleveland. His preaching ministry is familiar to many through the Truth for Life radio program. Pastor Begg recently became the subject of controversy when he discussed his counsel to a grandmother whose grandson was marrying a transgendered person. The grandmother wanted to know if she should attend the wedding. Begg related that he asked if her grandson knew she did not affirm his lifestyle and marriage. When she answered that he did, Pastor Begg said, “I suggest that you do go to the ceremony. And I suggest that you buy them a gift.” (You can find the full interview here: https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/christian-manifesto-interview and a follow up response to his congregation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2bmFuA40T4)
Begg received a lot of backlash from Christians for his advice to her. American Family Radio removed Truth for Life from its lineup and others called for Begg to repent. In response, Pastor Begg said that he has no need to repent of his words.
Marriage is a major battleground today. Many Christians continue to proclaim the Biblical teaching that marriage is the permanent union of one man with one woman. Opposition to this teaching has been intense at times. Many in Christianity have found reason to soften or deny the Bible’s teachings about marriage.
Pastor Begg is theologically conservative with a long history of affirming the truths of the Bible, including a Biblical view of marriage. He has proclaimed without apology that homosexuality is a sin and that marriage is reserved for a man and a woman. In his response to the grandmother he made clear that the marriage in question is contrary to Scripture.
The issue Begg was addressing was not the legitimacy of homosexual marriage but the advisability of a grandparent attending what many conservative Christians would consider a gay wedding. Her question is entirely different from the permissibility or morality of homosexual marriage. Begg’s response does not indicate a difference of belief about marriage. His response suggests a difference of belief about the role of congregants at a wedding and a difference of belief about how best to show love to others.
The words “marriage” and “wedding” are not synonyms. Marriage is a union of people in a legally and socially approved bond. A wedding is a ceremony where the marriage union is joined. Marriage has a lifelong union as its ideal outcome. Sitting through a wedding may feel interminable, but, ideally, it is not a lifelong event.
Many believe attendees at a wedding are playing an active role in the ceremony as witnesses who give their support to the couple and affirm the legitimacy of the union. This belief has a long history. This view of attendee as participant is seen in the familiar ministerial injunction, “If anyone can show just cause why these two may not lawfully be joined in holy matrimony, let him speak now or forever hold his peace.” For those who hold this belief, attending a gay wedding gives unspoken approval of the marriage.
On the other hand, many see attendance at a wedding as nothing more than observation. The person attending may be expressing their affection for the participants, but attendance plays no active role in the joining of the couple in matrimony. For those who hold this belief, attending a wedding does not necessarily offer an opinion on the propriety of the marriage.
The Bible is clear about the nature of marriage, but says nothing about the responsibilities or role of those attending a wedding. Legitimate applications to weddings can be drawn from the Biblical teachings on marriage. Those applications must be recognized as responses to the Biblical truth, but not the Biblical truth itself.
The Bible does not speak about the congregant’s role in a wedding. Therefore, attendance at gay wedding must be treated as a matter of conscience. Sound, Biblical reasons can be offered for attending, or refusing to attend, a gay wedding. Each believer must carefully, prayerfully and Biblically consider his own response to this issue. Each believer must permit other Christians the liberty to do the same. Christians should not reject or malign someone like Pastor Begg, who has a long history of faithful Biblical teaching, because they disagree with the counsel he gave on a subject not addressed in the Bible.
What is the Bible
Can Christians call God “Mother Earth”?
Wicca and certain forms of paganism revere the earth as a goddess. Gaia, the Great Goddess and Maya are just a few of the many names given to Mother Earth. The common understanding of the earth goddess is that she is one deity among many. She is revered by some as the creator of all life and by others as the giver or the sustainer of life. This worship of the earth as divine is in direct opposition to the Biblical teaching that God alone is God, Creator and Sustainer. However, can Christians use Mother Earth as another name for God?
A person intending to give all credit to Jehovah, the God of the Bible, for the work of creation and for the work of sustaining creation might desire to call Him Mother Earth. Despite good intentions, the God of the Bible must not be referred to as Mother Earth. In common use “Mother Earth” is understood to be a reference to something other than the God of the Bible. This means identifying God as Mother Earth is confusing and misleading to the hearers.
More importantly, God does not permit His worshipers to innovate in their worship of Him. The book of Leviticus is a rule book for the Israelite’s worship of God. The Old Testament gives repeated examples of the consequences of worshiping God in a way other than the way prescribed by Him. The death and resurrection of Jesus in the New Testament ended temple worship and the Old Testament rituals. Jesus’ death did not alter the character of God or the necessity of worshiping Him as He prescribes. God must still be worshiped “in truth.” (John 4:24)
God has revealed Himself exclusively with masculine names and pronouns. None who desire to worship God rightly can refer to Him by feminine names or pronouns. God is declared in Scripture to be “Our Father,” never “Our Mother.” Those who desire to worship God in accord with His revelation cannot call Him by names or titles not given to Him in the Bible.
A handful of passages in the Old Testament describe God with feminine imagery. In Deuteronomy 32:18 God is said to have given birth to Israel. In Psalm 17:8 and Psalm 91:4 God is described as sheltering His child like a hen shelters her chicks. Do these and similar descriptions of God justify referring to Him as Mother? Every description of God using feminine imagery is a description of the work God does. God is never called by a feminine title. Instead, His care for His children is said to be like that of a mother, a nurse or a hen.
The Old Testament uses an abundance of images to describe God’s interactions with people. He is described as having horns, a mighty arm and an all-seeing eye. He is described as riding on clouds and breathing fire against His enemies. None of these are literally true, but are figures of speech intended to teach something about God’s interactions with mankind. The use of feminine imagery does not justify referring to God as Mother Earth any more than the use of barnyard imagery justifies referring to God as Mother Hen.
God has revealed Himself to humanity. God’s revelation to man defines God and in so doing limits the way humans can speak of God. God truly does care for His people like a mother cares for her children, but the people of God must not refer to God by any name other than those revealed by Him in His Word.
Everlasting Truths 