Category: What do you think?

Understanding sin in the Christian life

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JEFF TURNER

When Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, he addressed problems of fighting and jealousy among them. He told them they were acting in a fleshly way. Some readers have taken this to mean there are two types of Christians. They think some believers are spiritual while others are carnal Christians who are saved but don’t grow spiritually. I think this understanding misses Paul’s actual message.

The word carnal simply means sinful. The root of the word is the same as flesh. It describes an action, not a permanent state. When someone says they are a carnal Christian, they are really saying they are a sinning Christian, as if this were an acceptable identity. This contradicts the basic meaning of Christianity itself. Jesus came to save people from their sins. This includes both the punishment that sin brings and the control that sin has over a person’s life.

When someone becomes a Christian, sin no longer has power over them. They have been set free from its grip. However, Christians still commit sinful acts because they live in bodies that are not yet fully redeemed. Believers have a new nature inside an old body. They are waiting for the day when Christ returns and their bodies are made new. Until then, Christians will sometimes think and act in sinful ways because of the old nature that remains.

The answer is not to accept sin as normal. Instead, Christians should recognize their sins, turn away from them, and receive the forgiveness God offers.

God’s promise and Israel’s future

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JEFF TURNER

Some people today speak with strong views about what God plans to do with Israel. A key place in the Bible for this discussion is Romans chapters nine through eleven. In these chapters, Paul explains that God keeps His promises and does not turn away from what He has said before. Near the end of chapter eleven, Paul writes that all Israel will be saved. This line has often caused confusion.

The Bible is clear that there is only one way to receive salvation. A person is saved by faith in Jesus Christ. This rule does not change for any group of people. When Paul speaks about Israel being saved, I believe he is pointing to a future time when Israel as a nation will turn to Christ.

The book of Revelation gives more detail about this future. It describes one hundred forty-four thousand Jewish believers, made up of twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes. These believers will come to faith in Jesus and will share the gospel with both Jews and Gentiles across the world. Revelation speaks about them more than once.

Revelation chapter eleven also speaks of a strong spiritual turning in Jerusalem. When two witnesses preach there, the city responds by giving glory to God. The Old Testament prophets add that during Israel’s salvation, two-thirds will face judgment, while one-third will remain. That group will receive the blessings of Christ’s kingdom.

The urgency of baptism for new nelievers

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JEFF TURNER

When someone becomes a Christian, an important question comes up: how quickly should they be baptized? I believe the Bible gives us a clear answer through the actions of early believers.

In the book of Acts, we read about Philip meeting an Ethiopian official. After Philip explains the gospel, the man puts his faith in Jesus. Right away, the Ethiopian asks to be baptized, and Philip baptizes him on the spot. This wasn’t unusual in the early church. Getting baptized immediately after believing in Jesus was the normal practice.

The Ethiopian himself made the connection between faith and baptism. He asked what would prevent him from being baptized, showing he understood this was the next step. The apostle Paul later wrote about one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, linking them together as inseparable parts of following Christ. Baptism and faith belonged together in the minds of early Christians.

Some churches in history created long waiting periods before baptism, sometimes lasting months or even years. But this approach doesn’t match what we see in Scripture. On the day of Pentecost, three thousand people believed and were baptized on the same day. The Bible doesn’t suggest any delay between these two events.

For anyone who has trusted in Jesus as Lord and Savior but hasn’t been baptized yet, the message is direct: this needs to happen soon.

Do the dead see and hear us?

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JEFF TURNER

What will heaven will be like? That’s probably a question you ask when they think about loved ones who may not be there. The book of Revelation tells us that God will wipe away every tear and there will be no more mourning, crying, or pain. This raises an important question about whether we will remember those who did not believe.

I believe the answer is clear. In heaven, we will not spend time thinking about what happens on earth. Some people believe their loved ones in heaven watch over them from above, protecting them and hearing their prayers. This is not what scripture teaches. No one in heaven knows what is happening on earth. No saint, including Mary, has ever heard a prayer from anyone on earth. Only God hears our prayers. Heaven exists in a completely different realm, separated by a vast divide from our current world.

If people in heaven could see what happens on earth, they would experience sadness and pain. Would Heaven be the place of complete peace that God promises if this were the case? Instead, heaven is filled with pure happiness, perfect peace, total contentment, and endless joy. Those in heaven focus entirely on being in the presence of God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. This is what brings complete fulfillment.

Understanding this helps us grasp how different heaven truly is our earthly experience. The joy of being with God surpasses everything else.

The danger of changing who Jesus is

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AMY TURNER

The Bible warns in 2 Corinthians 11:4 that some will present “another Jesus,” not the true one that was first proclaimed. This is not the Jesus found in history and Scripture but a version shaped to fit the spirit of the times. The idea is that if Jesus can be reshaped to match popular thought, then more people will accept him and follow the faith.

But this approach does not introduce anyone to the real Jesus. Instead, it creates a false image, one that has no power to save or transform. What may seem easier to accept is actually empty and misleading.

Followers of Christ do not accept or support any version of Jesus that is not faithful to who he truly is. The world may prefer a softer or altered picture, but Christians are called to stand firm in the truth that has already been given.

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!

Galatians 1:8