Can Christians Lose Their Salvation?

Most Christians will struggle, at least once, with the issue of losing their salvation. For some people this struggle becomes a lifelong trial of frustration and anxiety. Some protestant denominations, including Methodists and Lutherans, teach that it is possible to lose your salvation. But other denominations, such as Presbyterians and Baptists, teach that once you become a Christian, you can never lose your salvation. So, who has the final say in such matters? We should always look to God and His Word as our first and final authority. He has given us His instructions in the Bible, and we’re responsible to study it diligently so we know the truth. In this article I will make the case that the Bible teaches that a Christian cannot lose their salvation.

What Does It Mean to Be a Christian?

First, let me explain exactly what it means to be a Christian. A Christian is simply someone who has been reconciled to God by repenting of their sins and placing their trust completely in Jesus Christ for their forgiveness. I’m using the term ‘repent’ here to mean when someone recognizes they’ve made moral mistakes and turn to God with a desire for Him to rescue them from their evil ways and transform them into a godly person from the inside out. In other words, a person needs to come to grips with the fact that they’ve sinned against a holy and righteous God. While they may not have committed sins as bad as some other people, repentance means recognizing your own internal rebellion against the God who created you. Our condition is hopeless, and if left alone we’d be completely lost and unable to make things right with God on our own. We should admit we deserve God’s punishment for our sin, which is eternal death, forever separated from the God of all good things. There’s nothing anyone can do on their own to fix their relationship with God, a relationship that’s been broken because of our sin. Every single person since Adam and Eve has been in this same unfortunate condition.

“Just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12, NASB).

A Christian is also someone who has heard of God’s great love for them. Through a pastor, a close friend, a book, or some other means, they have been exposed to God’s solution to their sin problem. They’ve learned that, because God loved us so much, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to become the sin bearer for the entire world. This Person, who was born two thousand years ago, was fully human and fully God at the same time. He lived the perfect life that we all failed to live. Then He died on the cross to take the penalty of God’s punishment for the sins of the whole world.

“Having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:9-10).

Lastly, a Christian is someone who, after hearing this good news, placed their trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. Instead of trusting in their own efforts to please God, they humbly admitted their sin and put their faith in Jesus alone to make things right between them and God. Trusting in Jesus isn’t a work or a task you do to earn forgiveness; it’s simply a way to receive God’s gift of forgiveness absolutely free. The Bible says when someone does this, they are immediately reconciled with God as He removes all the sins from their account, past, present, and future.

“And [I] may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Philippians 3:9).

Many other things happen at that instant in time someone trusts in Christ. The Bible calls it being “born again” because, at that moment, the Holy Spirit indwells you and gives you supernatural power. These powers won’t enable you to fly through the air or lift a car over your head; the supernatural powers from the Holy Spirit are actually much better than that! What the Spirit’s power does is enable you to live for God with your whole life, to turn from sin and selfishness so you can walk with Jesus every day and grow more like Him in all of His kindness and love. Christians still make mistakes, of course, but God works in their life to empower, teach, and correct them, preparing them to spend eternity with Him loving God, loving others, and being loved in return. Sometimes in the Bible this is referred to as the Holy Spirit producing “fruit” in a Christian’s life.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desire” (Galatians 5:22-24).

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Four Reasons Salvation Cannot Be Lost

Now we come to the question of whether or not a Christian can lose their salvation. There are several places in the Bible that help explain why this is not possible. Below we’ll look at four of them:

1. Salvation Is a Free Gift

First of all, we need to remember that salvation is a free gift from God with no strings attached. Since a Christian didn’t earn salvation by performing good works to begin with, but by putting their trust in Christ, it’d be very strange indeed to think salvation could be lost based on performance. We can’t lose our salvation because of any sin or bad thing we may do because salvation is not by works but by faith. God tells us, however, that after He saves us He then empowers us to do good works for others which He’s planned out before we were even born.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

2. You Can’t Walk Away

But couldn’t someone just stop trusting Jesus? No. The Bible teaches that once a person puts their trust in Jesus as their Savior, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in that person and supernaturally protects them from ending their faith in Jesus.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time“ (1 Peter 1:3-5).

To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 24-25).

The Holy Spirit that indwells you when you first become a Christian is described in the Bible as a pledge or “down payment” you receive from God here on earth. A person is often required to pay a pledge or down payment at the beginning of a loan as a promise that they’ll pay the rest of it later or else they’ll lose what they’ve already put down. The Spirit plays a similar role in that His indwelling of a Christian functions as a pledge or a promise of more things to come when we die and go to heaven. Surely we know God will give us what He’s promised, but He’s gone further in giving us a down payment to show He can be fully trusted.

“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of you salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

3. Satan Can’t Take Your Salvation Away

Could Satan or some demonic power take our salvation away? To do so they would have to be more powerful than God Himself!

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:31-39).

4. The Elect Are Kept by God

This last reason is a bit deeper theologically, but the concept isn’t too hard to grasp if you think through it carefully. First, read these verses:

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified” (Romans 8:28-30).

The doctrine of election is a very deep subject, and good Christian theologians take different positions on how best to understand it. I myself affirm what’s called “conditional predestination” or “conditional election,” that God chooses to be saved those who meet the condition of putting their faith in Christ through the Holy Spirit’s empowerment. (To read more about that, see here: Election: God’s Right to Choose.) But regardless of what your position on election is, nearly all Christians agree that the Bible teaches that in eternity past God knew who would become Christians. It’s important to note that these people God knew would be Christians by putting their faith in Christ aren’t better than other people because faith isn’t something we can boast about. Faith doesn’t earn us salvation; faith is only a way to receive salvation. God desires all people to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4) and offers salvation to everyone, but only those who trust Jesus will have their sins forgiven. He knows who these people are and has predestined that they become like Jesus Christ in character and in love. These verses from Romans 8:28-30 are referred to sometimes as the “unbreakable golden chain” because those He foreknew, He then predestined, He then called, He then justified, and He will glorify. There is an unstoppable progression of events from faith to heaven (glorification) that nothing can stop because God orchestrates the process from beginning to end. We can be sure of our glory in heaven because the God who knows all things has predestined it.

Some “Problem” Passages

Now with all that said, there are some verses in the Bible that make it seem like Christians can fall away from the faith and lose their salvation. For example, consider the following:

Can People Partake of the Holy Spirit and Not Be Saved?

For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame” (Hebrews 6:4-6).

A person like this may have experienced the mighty ministry of the Holy Spirit convicting them of their sin and encouraging them to trust Jesus, but if they resist and reject the Holy Spirit, then there is no other alternative but to pay for their own sins by being eternally separated from God forever. These warnings should be taken very seriously but not because they’re teaching that people can lose their salvation. Verses like this are warning people not to reject the Holy Spirit’s wooing and empowerment to trust in Christ. In other words, these verses are describing people who resist the empowerment of the Holy Spirit when God was drawing them to salvation. This empowerment from the Holy Spirit is described in Hebrews 6:4-6 as being enlightened, tasting of the heavenly gift, being partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasking the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. All of these descriptions help us understand just how powerful the Holy Spirit’s empowerment is when the Spirit is drawing someone to trust in Christ. However, according to these verses, this empowerment can be resisted. If someone resists this empowerment from the Holy Spirit and refuses to trust in Christ, then there is no hope for their salvation. This is similarly described in Acts 7:51.

“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did” (Acts 7:51).

Perhaps Someone Only Claimed to Be a Christian

The Bible also talks about people who claim to be Christians for a time but really aren’t.

The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away” (Matthew 13:20-21).

Such people claim to have trusted in Jesus, but in reality they haven’t. Some people know that their claim is false and they’re just faking it. Others may have actually deceived themselves into thinking they trusted in Christ, but in reality they haven’t really put their faith in Him. This is a scary concept, and that’s why the Bible repeatedly tells us to examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith.

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

But what do you examine? How can you measure faith? Faith is simply trusting Jesus, and that is what makes you a Christian to begin with. We can’t see this born-again experience take place because it’s a spiritual transformation, but we can see the effects of it in a person’s life. Jesus explained it to Nicodemus in John 3 using wind as an example. We don’t see wind itself, but we see the effects of it: bustling leaves, swaying branches, knocked over garbage cans! In the same way, we don’t see the new birth when someone becomes a Christian, but we see the effects of it in their life. This is caused by the Holy Spirit, who transforms them from the inside out by empowering them to change their sinful and selfish ways and instead live a life of serving and loving others.

“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

Do We Have to Do Good Works to Maintain Salvation?

Does this mean we are saved by faith but to keep it we must do good things? No. We are saved by faith alone, but after we become a Christian the Holy Spirit changes our life from the inside out. It’s not about cleaning up our lives to look better on the outside. God gives us a new heart so that we want to live for Him and love other people. We should never look to good works in our life as things that earn or merit us God’s love but as evidence that Holy Spirit is really in us and transforming us. If you find that your life hasn’t changed at all since you became a Christian, then you should carefully consider if you’ve truly trusted in Christ as your Savior. It might be the case that you only said you trusted in Christ to impress others, to fit in with a particular group of people, or to alleviate peer pressure from friends or family.

James 2 discusses how our good works serve as evidence our faith is genuine. It’s important to start with James’ question: “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14). It’s a rhetorical question, and the obvious answer is no, that kind of ‘faith’ can’t save him because, as James goes on to explain, it’s a ‘dead faith.’ The hypothetical person ‘says’ they have faith, but they really don’t, and this is evident because of a lack of good works in their life. James’ point throughout this section in James 2 is that this “false dead faith that can’t save” isn’t a real, true faith. He’s describing a false faith, and the evidence it’s false is that it hasn’t produced a changed life, that is, it hasn’t produced good works. So James is describing a faith that cannot save someone. He’s describing a false faith claim (someone who ‘says’ they have faith), a dead faith, and the evidence that it’s false and dead is that it doesn’t produce works. According to James, it’s that type of faith, a false, dead faith, that cannot save.

James here is explaining that if someone has no good works, then that’s evidence their faith is false and dead; they’ve ‘said’ they have true faith, but they really don’t. Conversely, the good works which a Christian does are evidence that their faith is true saving faith. Good works in the Christian’s life are evidence of God’s empowering grace to live a godly life, which they receive only as a result of putting their faith in Christ for salvation. Paul said something similar in Galatians:

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:16-23)

When someone truly puts their faith in Christ, then God changes them from the inside out, and their life changes accordingly in that the Holy Spirit produces fruit in their life; that is, they engage in good works by God’s empowerment to live a godly life. That’s all that Paul meant when he wrote that what matters is “faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6). Jesus also talked about how we can know whether or not someone has true faith by their works:

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-20).

Jesus taught that false teachers will be known by their bad fruit and true teachers will be known by their good fruit. Similarly, James 2 is saying that if someone is a Christian, if they have true saving faith, then there should be fruit that functions as evidence that the Spirit is working in their life. One of James’ main messages throughout his letter is that Christians should “prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22-25). Thus, we can be confident that he’s not talking about doing good works to earn salvation (or earn the right to keep salvation) but is explaining that how people live their lives will be evidence as to whether or not their faith is genuine, real, true faith or if it’s a dead, unreal, false faith.

James illustrates his point in James 2:15-16 with an analogy of someone who “says” they’re concerned about a person who doesn’t have proper clothing and daily food but yet doesn’t do anything to help the person. The fact that he doesn’t do anything shows that his verbal claim of being concerned is hollow, unreal, and false. Similarly, if someone’s life hasn’t been changed at all by God’s empowerment, that can show that his verbal claim of having faith in Christ is hollow, unreal, and fake.

It is in this context that James goes on to drive home the point that good works in the lives of Christians are evidence of true faith. In other words, good works are the way to prove, or “show” evidence of, someone’s true faith that saved them. That’s why James wrote that someone can “show” their faith by their works (James 2:18). He argued that “faith without works is useless” (James 2:20), not only because it’s false and dead and thus can’t save but also because it provides no evidence of someone’s salvation; it can’t “show” that their faith is real. However, if someone “says” they have faith in Christ and is doing good works, then those works can be seen by others and considered as evidence that their faith is genuine and real. James then uses Abraham and Rahab as examples of how this plays out in practice.

Does James Say that Salvation Is Not by Faith Alone?

First, James affirmed salvation by faith apart from works when he, like Paul, pointed out that the Old Testament taught that “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (James 2:23). However, James explained that Abraham’s faith was evidentially justified by his action of being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac. James isn’t using the term ‘justified’ in this context to talk about salvation or to mean ‘to be made righteous’ like Paul often uses the term ‘justified.’ No, James is using the term ‘justified’ here to talk about how evidence justifies a certain conclusion. For example, a judge in a courtroom may say that the large amount of evidence justifies his conclusion that someone is guilty. Similarly, James is saying that good works in someone’s life serve as solid evidence that justifies concluding that the person is a Christian, that they have true saving faith. That’s what James was getting at when he wrote that “faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected [evidenced]; and the Scripture was fulfilled [justified, i.e., shown to be true by the evidence] which says, ‘and Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God” (James 2:22-23). In other words, Abraham’s good works were evidence that showed he had truly believed/trusted in God. James concluded that a person’s salvation is “justified [evidenced] by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24), for we can’t ‘see’ a person’s faith, but we can see the works that a true faith will produce. In the same way, James explained that Rahab’s salvation was “justified [evidenced] by works” (James 2:25) when she protected God’s messengers. Both Abraham and Rahab showed evidence of their true faith, and the salvation that results from true faith, through their good works.

On the flip side, if someone ‘claims’ to be a Christian and yet there’s no evidence of good works in their life, then that might be evidence they’ve made a false claim about being a Christian. The reason this is the case is that when someone becomes a Christian by putting their faith in Christ, God then transforms them into a new, morally better person from the inside out. This transformation includes God giving them an inclination to do good works and empowering them with the ability to do them. So, if I have a friend who claims to be a Christian, but I don’t see God’s transforming work in his life, it would be appropriate for me to be concerned and lovingly talk to him to make sure that he hasn’t falsely claimed to trust in Christ when, in fact, he really hasn’t. People make such false claims for various reasons: to get people to stop bothering them, to appease others, to impress folks for whatever reason, to get a job, to convince someone to date them, etc. Jesus talked about this in Matt. 7:15-23 when he warned of false teachers who claim to be Christians in order to take advantage of people. Jesus explained that we will be able to spot them by their bad works, i.e., their lack of good works. That’s the point James was making when he wrote that “faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself” (James 2:17). That is, if someone ‘says’ they have faith but there are no good works in their life, then that’s good evidence that their faith is dead, that is, that they have no true saving faith in Christ at all; it’s a ‘false, dead faith.’

Lastly, it’s important to note that false, dead faith might include believing some true facts about Christianity. This was the point James was making, that mere intellectual agreement on a set of facts isn’t true saving faith, when he wrote to his hypothetical objector that “you believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (James 2:19). This is a type of dead, useless faith; it’s merely intellectual assent, but since it’s not true saving faith/trust, it produces no good works in someone’s life. Real, true saving faith is not merely intellectual assent that certain facts are true; that would be a type of dead, useless ‘faith.’ As I noted above, faith is trusting in Christ, which includes repentance.

What If I Still Struggle with Sin?

In light of the four reasons we looked at above for believing someone can’t lose their salvation, it’s best to understand these falling away verses such as Hebrews 6:4-6 as referring to those people who pretended to be Christians but then later it became obvious they were faking it. Many of these verses are God’s way of trying to reach those who claim to be Christians but really are just faking it. However, these verses have also caused true Christians a lot of anxiety about whether or not they really are saved when they continue to struggle with sin. This can become a difficult and complex issue that we have to take seriously. We don’t want to be too easy on ourselves and not take our sin seriously. But at the same time we don’t want to be too hard on ourselves and question whether or not we’re really saved every time we struggle with sin. Overall, it’s best to evaluate our lives over the long run and see if there’s evidence the Holy Spirit is transforming us into a more godly person. This doesn’t mean that we’ll ever achieve perfection in this life, but there should be a steady growth in the fruit of the Spirit. And when we do sin, we should immediately recognize it as such, confess what we’ve done, pray to God for empowerment to do better, and consciously choose to trust that Christ’s work on the cross guarantees our forgiveness. At all times keep in mind that it is your faith in Christ that has fixed your relationship with God, not your good works, and you can never lose your salvation no matter how badly you mess up.

“The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. …This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us“ (1 John 1:4, 1 John 3:23).

Is it our responsibility to go around and examine other people to see if they are real Christians? No! The verse says to examine yourself, not others. And remember that Christians still sin and make terrible moral mistakes sometimes. There are certain times where it can be more obvious that someone was faking it when they claimed to be a Christian. For example, it can become more obvious if they completely turn their back on Christianity and go back to living their sinful lifestyle.

“They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19).

But even true Christians can go through a period of strong rebellion. So, when we see someone completely turning their back on Christianity, it might be that they never were a Christian to begin with, or it might be the case that they are truly a Christian but are just going through a time of strong rebellion. We can’t know people’s hearts for sure; only God can. But we can know for sure that if someone truly puts their faith in Christ for salvation, then they can never lose that salvation.

Conclusion

If you are struggling over whether or not someone can lose their salvation, go to the Bible for your answers. In His Word God explains you cannot lose what He has freely given you. The falling away verses such as those in Hebrews 6 come from God’s compassionate heart that desires all people to be saved. They are warnings to those who are pretending to be Christians but who haven’t really put their faith in Him yet. If that describes you, delay no longer! Trust in Jesus today and be fully confident that you rest secure in His love and forgiveness.

Recommended Resources:

The Great Book of Romans by Dr. Frank Turek (Mp4, Mp3, DVD Complete series, STUDENT & INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, COMPLETE Instructor Set)

Jesus, You and the Essentials of Christianity by Frank Turek (INSTRUCTOR Study Guide), (STUDENT Study Guide), and (DVD)      

How to Interpret Your Bible by Dr. Frank Turek DVD Complete Series, INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, and STUDENT Study Guide

How Can Jesus be the Only Way? Mp4, Mp3, and DVD by Frank Turek

 

Adam Lloyd Johnson has served as the president of Convincing Proof Ministries since 2023. Prior to that, Adam was a university campus missionary with Ratio Christi at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has also taught classes for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has spent time living and teaching at Rhineland Theological Seminary in Wölmersen, Germany. Adam received his PhD in Theological Studies with an emphasis in Philosophy of Religion from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2020. Adam grew up in Nebraska and became a Christian as a teenager in 1994. He graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and then worked in the field of actuarial science for ten years in Lincoln, Nebraska. While in his twenties, he went through a crisis of faith: are there good reasons and evidence to believe God exists and that the Bible is really from Him? His search for answers led him to apologetics and propelled him into ministry with a passion to serve others by equipping Christians and encouraging non-Christians to trust in Christ. Adam served as a Southern Baptist pastor for eight years (2009-2017) but stepped down from the pastorate to serve others full-time in the area of apologetics. He’s been married to his wife Kristin since 1996, and they have four children – Caroline, Will, Xander, and Ray. Adam has presented his work at the National Apologetics Conference, the Society of Christian Philosophers, the Evangelical Philosophical Society, the International Society of Christian Apologetics, the Canadian Centre for Scholarship and the Christian Faith, the American Academy of Religion, and the Evangelical Theological Society. His work has been published in the Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, Philosophia Christi, the Westminster Theological Journal, the Canadian Journal for Scholarship and the Christian Faith, the journal Eleutheria, and the journal Religions. Adam has spoken at numerous churches and conferences in America and around the world – Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, Boston, Orlando, Denver, San Antonio, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. He is the editor and co-author of the book A Debate on God and Morality: What is the Best Account of Objective Moral Values and Duties? published in 2020 by Routledge and co-authored with William Lane Craig, Erik Wielenberg, J. P. Moreland, and others. He is most recently the author of the book Divine Love Theory: How the Trinity is the Source and Foundation of Morality published by Kregel Academic in 2023.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/4pzpW4l

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If Life Ends at Death, Then Eat, Drink, and Be Merry, for Tomorrow We Die

The book of Ecclesiastes is notoriously difficult to interpret. In this article I share my best attempt at understanding and explaining what this book is about.

Many have argued that the main message of Ecclesiastes is that we shouldn’t look for meaning and purpose in this world or in this mortal life. While that might be a valid application of the truths found in Ecclesiastes, I don’t think that is its primary message. It seems to me that the main purpose of Ecclesiastes is to teach the following conditional:

If life ends at death, then life, and the toil of this life, is vanity because it’s fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd.

Yes, one of the applications we can learn from Ecclesiastes is not to look for ultimate meaning in this life or the things of this world. But I think more so the main message we’re supposed to take away from Ecclesiastes is that death is horrific. In this regard it’s a treatise on how terrible, crushing, horrific, awful, and unsettling death is. Death causes life to be meaningless. Thus, it fits into the overall corpus of Scripture in that it helps us to understand that death, which is the result of our evil choices, is terrible and destructive. Ecclesiastes helps us see how serious and terrible God’s punishment for us, death, truly is. The more we understand how crushing death is, the more we’ll appreciate God’s victory over death and the eternal life He offers us freely through faith in Christ.

Someone may say, “Well, wouldn’t Solomon know that life doesn’t end at death, that there’s life after death?” Maybe and maybe not. God’s revelation is progressive in that He has given more details over time. It’s easy for us to know about life after death now because we have all 66 books of the Bible. But remember that Solomon didn’t have the New Testament, and not even all of the Old Testament had been written during his time. Thus, it might be the case that Solomon didn’t know there was life after death. There are even hints throughout Ecclesiastes that Solomon was uncertain about whether or not there was life after death (Eccl. 2:15-17, Eccl. 3:18-22, Eccl. 4:2-3, Eccl. 6:3-6, Eccl. 7:2, Eccl. 9:5-6, Eccl. 9:10). Also, even if Solomon did know that there’s life after death, he might still have decided to write Ecclesiastes to drive home in a powerful way this true conditional statement: “If life ends at death, then life, and the toil of this life, is vanity because it’s fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd.”

I’ve come to this conclusion about the main message of Ecclesiastes in part because Paul seems to teach the same conditional truth in 1 Corinthians 15—“If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor. 15:32b). Below, I’ll include the pertinent verses from 1 Corinthians 15 so you can see how closely Paul’s message here is to the main message of Ecclesiastes. I’ll underline the sections that are especially pertinent to understanding Ecclesiastes.

1Corinthians15:12

“Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. . . . 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. 20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death . . . .32 If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die . . . . 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. 50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

In 1 Cor. 15 Paul affirmed the conditional truth of Ecclesiastes (if life ends at death, then life, and the toil of this life, is vanity because it’s fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd), as can especially be seen when he wrote, “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor. 15:32b). But then Paul pointed out that the first part of this conditional hasn’t been met – life doesn’t end at death. That’s because the dead will be raised. And Paul argued that in light of this, our toil in this life is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58b). In other words, both of the following conditionals are true:

  1. If life ends at death, then life, and the toil of this life, is vanity because it’s fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd. Both Ecclesiastes and Paul affirm this truth.
  2. If life doesn’t end in death because the dead will be raised, then life, and the toil of this life, isn’t fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd. Ecclesiastes affirms this implicitly at the end of chapter twelve, but Paul affirms it explicitly.

Here are various ideas found throughout Ecclesiastes that reinforce its main message, which is “If life ends at death, then life, and the toil of this life, is vanity because it’s fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd.”

  • Solomon explains his purpose was to try and “see what is good for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives” (1:3).
  • IF life ends at death, then all of our effort and work is in vain ( 1:3).
  • IF life ends at death, then there’s never any ultimate satisfaction in life ( 1:8).
  • IF life ends at death, then chasing accomplishments is futile because no matter what you accomplish, in a few hundred years no one will remember you ( 1:11, Eccl. 4:15-16, Eccl. 9:13-16).
  • IF life ends at death, there’s no meaning to our efforts and work because they’re mostly driven by selfish ambition and jealousy of others ( 4:4).
  • IF life ends at death, there’s no ultimate meaning in riches because you can’t take them with you to the grave ( 5:13-17).
  • IF life ends at death, there’s no ultimate satisfaction in riches because no matter how much you accumulate, you’ll always want more ( 4:7-8, Eccl. 5:10-12, Eccl. 6:7).
  • IF life ends at death, then building wealth is futile because when you die, it all goes to someone else, and you can’t control whether or not that person will be an idiot ( 2:4-12, Eccl. 2:18-24).
  • IF life ends at death, then you might as well eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. There is no lasting ultimate meaning, however, in these activities ( 2:1-3).
  • IF life ends at death, being wise has no advantage over being foolish because the wise and the foolish both end at death ( 2:13-17, especially Eccl. 2:16).
  • IF life ends at death, then there’s no real advantage in being wise or righteous ( 7:15-17).
  • IF life ends at death, then there is no rhyme or reason to life’s random events ( 3:1-8, Eccl. 9:1a, Eccl. 9:11-12, Eccl. 10:8-11, Eccl. 10:14, Eccl. 11:1-6).
  • IF life ends at death, then there is no ultimate justice, for in this life bad people often prosper and escape punishment whereas good people often suffer and are oppressed ( 3:16-18, Eccl. 4:1-3, Eccl. 5:8-9, Eccl. 7:15-17, Eccl. 8:9-14, Eccl. 9:2-3, Eccl. 10:5-7).
  • IF life ends at death, then it’s actually wiser to mourn over your mortality than to eat, drink, and be merry ( 7:2-4).
  • Death is destructive, seemingly random, and no one has control or authority over it ( 8:7-8a).
  • The aging process, which is part of death, is devastating, ugly, frustrating, humiliating, and wretched ( 12:1-8).

Sections in which Solomon encourages the reader to “enjoy life” (Eccl. 2:24-26, Eccl. 3:9-15, Eccl. 3:22, Eccl. 5:18-20, Eccl. 8:14-15, Eccl. 9:7-10, Eccl. 10:19, Eccl. 11:8-10) are not positive encouragements to enjoy the gifts God gives us in this life; rather, they are actually sarcastic jabs similar to the statement “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” Of course we should enjoy the gifts God gives us in this life, that’s a true statement, but that’s not the point that Solomon is making in Ecclesiastes. Below are the verses that lead me to believe Solomon is making sarcastic jabs similar to “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” I’ll underline the words that seem to indicate he’s being sarcastic:

There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. Eccl. 2:24

There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility. So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun. Eccl. 8:14-15

Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. Eccl. 9:7-10

Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility. Eccl. 11:8

Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart. Eccl. 5:18-20

In relation to these verses from Eccl. 5:18-20, it’s important to note that a recurring theme throughout Ecclesiastes is people occupying themselves with meaningless pursuits in this life to keep them busy so they don’t think about more serious things like mortality and the meaning of life. If life ends at death, it will be a frustrating waste of time to try to figure out the ultimate meaning and purpose of life. This is because if life ends at death, there is no ultimate meaning to life. Don’t even think about such things but instead just occupy your time with eating, drinking, and being merry (Eccl. 1:13-18, Eccl. 2:10-12, Eccl. 5:18-20, Eccl. 7:13-14, Eccl. 7:23-25, Eccl. 7:27-28a, Eccl. 8:14-17).

Solomon seems exasperated by trying to figure out these deep things about ultimate meaning and concludes it’s a waste of time. We’ll never be able to figure it out, so don’t even try. Just eat, drink, and be merry, and that’ll keep you from wasting time trying to understand what you’ll never be able to figure out. Trying to unlock this mystery will just make you frustrated and depressed so, instead, occupy yourself with eating, drinking, and being merry for tomorrow we die. Again, I see this as a sarcastic jab in light of his overall message that if life ends at death, then life is vanity because it’s fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd. This is especially driven home in Eccl. 6:11b-12a: “What is the advantage for mankind? For who knows what is good for anyone in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow?”

Many have argued that the main point of Ecclesiastes is found in Eccl. 12:13: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” However, it seems to me that this is merely the main application of the book, which follows from the actual main point of the book that’s found in Eccl. 12:14: “For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” In other words, if life ends at death, then we might as well live it up, eat, drink, and be merry, because, after all, you only live once! But because life doesn’t end at death, we can be assured that God will judge us in the next life for all we do in this life. In light of that truth, the application then follows: we shouldn’t merely live it up, eat, drink, and be merry, but instead keep God’s commands, not only out of fear of judgment for the bad things we do, though that should motivate us, but also out of the expectation of reward for the good things we do.

It might be tempting to think that Christians, since we know life doesn’t end at death, don’t have much to learn from Ecclesiastes. Keep in mind, however, that one of the major points of application from Ecclesiastes is that it’s a terrible mistake to look for ultimate meaning and purpose in this world. And unfortunately, Christians often make that mistake; I know I do. We focus too much on success or achievements in this life, or we fixate on accumulating wealth, or we try to find fulfillment in power, influence, and fame. This even happens for those of us in ministry. I confess that I’m very achievement-oriented, and so I tend to seek fulfillment in accomplishments like degrees, ministry positions, getting a book published, speaking at a conference, etc. But if I’m not careful, those things can become more important to me as ends in themselves instead of merely means to serve other people.

When we tend to seek ultimate meaning and purpose in this world, we often end up frustrated and depressed like Solomon in Ecclesiastes because, as this book teaches us, there’s just no lasting fulfillment in this transitory life. So, Ecclesiastes can be a huge help in fixing our thinking and reminding us that true meaning is found in loving God and loving others, for that’s what we were created for. In this regard the main application of Ecclesiastes is similar to what Jesus taught: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21).

It’s interesting to note that Western culture eventually came to this same conclusion, namely, that if this physical life is all there is, then life is utterly meaningless. This was the eventual conclusion of Modernism, that we’re merely the result of an accidental, haphazard process of evolution and there’s no meaning to life except to eat, drink, and procreate. This conclusion threw Western culture into an existential crisis in the 1800s, as Ecclesiastes teaches it should, and it was out of this crisis that Postmodernism was born. The key driving idea behind all of the Postmodern movements, starting with Romanticism in the early 1800s, culminating with Existentialism in the mid-1900s, and continuing through to today, is this: there is no objective meaning to life, but don’t despair, you can create your own subjective meaning by following your heart. I’m sure Solomon would find that idea absurd and futile. I know I do.

Adam Lloyd Johnson has served as the president of Convincing Proof Ministries since 2023. Prior to that, Adam was a university campus missionary with Ratio Christi at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has also taught classes for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has spent time living and teaching at Rhineland Theological Seminary in Wölmersen, Germany. Adam received his PhD in Theological Studies with an emphasis in Philosophy of Religion from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2020. Adam grew up in Nebraska and became a Christian as a teenager in 1994. He graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and then worked in the field of actuarial science for ten years in Lincoln, Nebraska. While in his twenties, he went through a crisis of faith: are there good reasons and evidence to believe God exists and that the Bible is really from Him? His search for answers led him to apologetics and propelled him into ministry with a passion to serve others by equipping Christians and encouraging non-Christians to trust in Christ. Adam served as a Southern Baptist pastor for eight years (2009-2017) but stepped down from the pastorate to serve others full-time in the area of apologetics. He’s been married to his wife Kristin since 1996, and they have four children – Caroline, Will, Xander, and Ray. Adam has presented his work at the National Apologetics Conference, the Society of Christian Philosophers, the Evangelical Philosophical Society, the International Society of Christian Apologetics, the Canadian Centre for Scholarship and the Christian Faith, the American Academy of Religion, and the Evangelical Theological Society. His work has been published in the Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, Philosophia Christi, the Westminster Theological Journal, the Canadian Journal for Scholarship and the Christian Faith, the journal Eleutheria, and the journal Religions. Adam has spoken at numerous churches and conferences in America and around the world – Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, Boston, Orlando, Denver, San Antonio, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. He is the editor and co-author of the book A Debate on God and Morality: What is the Best Account of Objective Moral Values and Duties? published in 2020 by Routledge and co-authored with William Lane Craig, Erik Wielenberg, J. P. Moreland, and others. He is most recently the author of the book Divine Love Theory: How the Trinity is the Source and Foundation of Morality published by Kregel Academic in 2023.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/4515xOn

 

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What is the Gospel?

Recent events have shaken the world. The various murders, and specifically the assassination of Charlie Kirk, have left many Americans with questions of justice, the future, and truth. Our world has never seemed so dark, and the divide in America has never seemed so wide. Yet despite the horror and darkness of the past few weeks, hope is on the horizon. Revival. Never, in recent years, has the Church had such a potential harvest laid at our feet. God is truly turning evil to good with millions of Americans returning to church for the first time (Gen 50:20).

If revival is coming, we must be ready. We need to be prepared for the harvest (Luke 10:2). But how do we prepare? What is our greatest tool? The Gospel. Why is the Gospel so important? “It is the power of God for salvation” (Rom 1:16; ESV)

Hearing and responding to the Gospel in faith is how we enter God’s kingdom, making it the most important message one can hear. If we want to fan the flames of revival, it is vital that we know the Gospel fully so that we can share it with those who need it.

So, what exactly is the Gospel? I argue that, in general, the Gospel has eight essential parts, nine if you include the foundation; that the subject of the Gospel is Jesus and the Kingdom of God. [1]

The Gospel

Jesus:
Jesus is the foundation of the Gospel. The entire Gospel revolves around him. The four gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are centered around the man who is Jesus of Nazareth.[2]

Is the Christ (Messiah-King)
The first fact that must be understood about Jesus is that he is the Christ. Christ is not a last name, but rather a title. The title Christ labels Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, the anointed one, the long-awaited King. In his gospel, John tells his readers that this gospel was written to convince them that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). Each gospel labels Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah.[3]

Jesus being the Christ is essential to the Gospel. Jesus himself proclaimed the Gospel that the kingdom of God is near.[4] If there is a kingdom, there is a king. That king is the Christ, the Messiah, making Jesus the king of the kingdom of God (1 Timothy 1:10). We can also know his title as Christ is important because in every Gospel presentation, he is named as Jesus Christ, or Christ Jesus.

Was sent by God the Father
Jesus’s close connection to God the Father is found in every gospel and is what gives authority to Jesus’s ministry. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus states,

“All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matt 11:25).[5]

Jesus makes several statements indicating that he was sent by God for a purpose. John 3:16, “that he gave his only Son,” is a clear example. Jesus mentions the Father sending him again in John 5:24, “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.”

Took On Human Flesh           
How was Jesus sent? What was his arrival like? Jesus came through the virgin birth, taking on the form of a man. John gives one of the clearest statements of God becoming man in John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. As John clearly states at the beginning of the chapter, “the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). The Word is later identified as Jesus. One only needs to look at the birth stories found in the other gospels to see a clear image of Christ coming in human flesh.

Looking beyond the four gospels, Paul also confirms that God, the Son, took on humanity. Paul writes in a hymn that Christ took on “the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phi 2:6-7). In having Christ take on human form, God has revealed himself to us. Christ is the ultimate image bearer of God.[6] We cannot perfectly bear God’s image as Christ can.

Willingly Died for the Sins of Mankind
There are three important parts of Christ’s death. One is that Christ willingly died for mankind. Matthew writes that Jesus, though asking the Father if there was another way, was willing to obey the Father’s will to go to the cross (Matt 26:39).[7] In John’s gospel, Jesus mentions his upcoming death many times. He even states that his soul is troubled, but because he came for this purpose, he will not turn away from it (John 12:27).

The second part is that Christ actually died. Every gospel mentions his death on the cross in clear terms.[8] Every time the Gospel is preached, Christ’s death is mentioned.[9] In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul retells the Gospel, and the first part he mentions is that “Christ died” (1 Cor 15:3). We find this also in Acts during Peter’s first sermon after the ascension of Christ, after Pentecost. Peter tells the crowd that Jesus was crucified and killed as part of the plan of God (Acts 2:23).

The third part pertaining to Christ’s death is that he died for the sins of mankind. His sacrifice for sins is typically mentioned in tandem with his death. Paul writes that “Christ died for our sins” (1 Cor 15:3). Though sins are not explicitly mentioned, Jesus says in two of the gospels that he is dying for mankind. Matthew quotes Jesus as saying that he came “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28).[10]

Was Buried
At first glance, his burial may look like a minor point, but it gives evidence of his physical death. His burial is mentioned in every gospel after the crucifixion narratives.[11] Paul mentions it when he retells the Gospel to the Corinthians, “that he was buried” (1 Cor 15:4). Paul also mentions Christ’s burial in Colossians to show the connection between our baptism with the form of Christ’s life (Col 2:12).

Was Resurrected by God
Just as the death of Christ is essential to the Gospel, so also is his resurrection. After all, as Paul wrote, “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor 15:14). If Christ was not raised from the dead, then our faith is false. Christianity is false. This is a major reason why his resurrection is so important.

All four gospels write about his resurrection, with John’s gospel giving the most information about his post-resurrection appearances.[12] Christ’s resurrection is actually mentioned more than his death, demonstrating the importance of his resurrection to the Gospel.[13]

Ascended Into Heaven at the Right Hand of the Father
The ascension, though important, is an often-neglected part of the Gospel. Many often end the Gospel message at the resurrection, but the importance of the ascension cannot be emphasized enough. Two of the gospels mention his ascension at the end of their narrative, often after he gives a commission to his disciples.[14] Luke also describes the ascension of Christ in Acts, just before the event at Pentecost (Acts 1:6-11).

During his earthly ministry, Jesus himself foretells his ascension back into heaven at the Father’s side.[15] Paul also mentions the ascension of Christ. He writes, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name” (Phi 2:9). His ascension back into heaven is his exaltation. God exalted him and gave him the throne (Matt 26:64). His ascension indicates the success of his work on earth, and it inaugurates his kingly reign. When Paul retells the Gospel in Romans 1:3-4, Christ’s ascension, that is, his enthronement and declaration as the Son of God, is the climax.[16]

The apostles emphasize this in their sermons in Acts. Peter mentions several times within the first several chapters.[17] What is also neglected about the ascension is that it is only because Jesus is now king that he can “give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31). As king and Lord, Jesus has the ultimate authority to forgive sins.

Will Return as Judge 
Now that Christ is the reigning king, the final part of the Gospel is his second coming as Judge. Jesus tells of his second coming and the future judgment. Matthew writes,

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left” (Matt 25:31-34).

The end of the book of Revelation speaks of this judgment. John quotes Christ as saying, “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done” (Rev 22:12).

Peter also preaches about this. In teaching Cornelius, he tells him that Jesus has been appointed by God to judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42). As the reigning king, Jesus has the authority to judge all of mankind. It is this judgment that will result in the final destination of every person. Those who are in Christ will be with him forever, and those who oppose him will be cast into the lake of fire.

Conclusion

The Gospel is all about King Jesus and the work he has done and will do. King Jesus has come, by the Father’s will, to die for the sins of mankind. He was raised back to life from God, as vindication of his ministry, ascended back into heaven, and is now reigning on the throne of God as our King and Judge.

There is a revival coming. We need to know the Gospel. Whether you use this summary of the Gospel or read the gospels until you know the story by heart, we need to be able to teach it at a moment’s notice. For it is not only our responsibility to give our allegiance to King Jesus, but to spread his Gospel far and wide, giving all people the chance to give their allegiance.

Thomas Moller writes for FreeThinking Ministries on topics including suffering, theology, and cultural engagement. He brings a thoughtful perspective to difficult questions and helps believers think more deeply about faith and life.

References: 

[1] My work here was inspired by Matthew Bates’s work in his book Gospel Allegiance. Though my parts do not conform exactly with his own summation of the Gospel, his structure did influence mine. Matthew W. Bates. Gospel Allegiance (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2019), 86-87.

[2] Matt 1:1; Mark 1:1; Acts 1:1; John 20:30-31

[3] Matt 1:1, Mark 1:1, Luke 4:41

[4] Matt 4:23; Mark 1:15

[5] Also found in Luke 10:22

[6] 2 Cor. 4:4; Col 1:15

[7] This same prayer is mentioned in both Mark and Luke (Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42).

[8] Matt 27:45-50; Mark 15:33-37; Luke 23:44-46; John 19:28-30

[9] Rom 1:4; Col 1:18, 2:13-14; Phi 2:8; Heb 2:14-17

[10] This saying is also found in Mark (Mark 10:45).

[11] Matt 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23: 50-56; John 19:38-42

[12] Matt 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:11-18

[13] Bates, 95.

[14] Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:50-53.

[15] John 6:62, 7:33-34, 20:17; Luke 24:49

[16] Bates, 97.

[17] Act 2:33, 5:31, 7:56

Recommended Resources:

The Great Book of Romans by Dr. Frank Turek (Mp4, Mp3, DVD Complete series, STUDENT & INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, COMPLETE Instructor Set)

Jesus, You and the Essentials of Christianity by Frank Turek (INSTRUCTOR Study Guide), (STUDENT Study Guide), and (DVD)      

How to Interpret Your Bible by Dr. Frank Turek DVD Complete Series, INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, and STUDENT Study Guide

Reflecting Jesus into a Dark World by Dr. Frank Turek – DVD Complete Series, Video mp4 DOWNLOAD Complete Series, and mp3 audio DOWNLOAD Complete Series

 

Thomas Moller writes for FreeThinking Ministries on topics including suffering, theology, and cultural engagement. He brings a thoughtful perspective to difficult questions and helps believers think more deeply about faith and life.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/4aGhtIG

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Was the Messiah Predicted in the Old Testament?

In Galatians Paul wrote that the Law served as a “tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24). Even though Paul was specifically referring to the Mosaic Law, the same could be said concerning the Old Testament as a whole. The Messiah, His person, His work, and His ministry were anticipated through allusion and imagery, not the least of which was the establishment of a theology concerning substitutionary atonement. This laid the groundwork for understanding our need for a Messiah because it explained how we came to be the wretched beings that we are, why God’s moral righteousness means our situation is so dire, and what must be done to reconcile us back to the loving relationship with God we were created for.

Beyond providing a general framework of anticipation for “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), the Old Testament also makes very specific predictions concerning the Messiah. When the first few disciples encountered Jesus after He had been baptized by John, they exclaimed, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45). The purpose of this article is to consider several of these specific predictions and show how Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled them.

General Prophecies

Many Messianic prophecies are general in nature and could be argued to be so to such a degree that they lack strong evidential value. For example, many Christian theologians believe that the first reference in Scripture to a coming Messiah was given shortly after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden.[1] As part of God’s punishment on the serpent for his involvement in the Fall, God said to him, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Gen. 3:15).

Considering that the rest of this indictment dealt with the serpent’s physical form, and especially since he was cursed to crawl on his belly as opposed to ostensibly walking upright, some, including John Calvin, have wondered if this enmity should be taken more literally. Namely, that the descendants of the woman, being humans in general, would be at odds with the descendants of the serpent, or snakes in general. Since they have been banished to the lowly position of crawling on the ground, the discord between the two descendants could simply be that snakes will bite people on the foot and they in turn will step on their heads. In other words, some believe this should be taken literally instead of spiritualizing it as referring to a future Messiah.

Paul does seem to allude to this as a Messianic prophecy in the New Testament when he writes, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20). However, here it is the church, the followers of Christ, who will crush Satan. Another possibility is that it has a literal fulfillment in terms of humans with snakes and a spiritual fulfillment in terms of Christ and Satan. Many Old Testament prophecies have similar near-term fulfillments in addition to far-term fulfillments. For example, in Genesis 12:3 and Genesis 22:18, God promised Abraham that through one of his descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed. This was fulfilled in the near term when “the people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth” (Gen. 41:57) in addition to being fulfilled in the long term by the Messiah when he provided salvation to the world (Gal. 3:8).

More Specific Prophecies

If the prophecies thus far discussed seem too nebulous, Daniel’s prediction concerning the precise time Messiah would arise should alleviate any qualms. Daniel was told by the angel Gabriel that “from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks” (Dan. 9:25). This decree was given by Artaxerxes to Nehemiah in 445 B.C. (Neh. 2:1-8); hence, this is the starting point of Daniel’s prophetic timetable.

After the beginning of the seventy weeks is established, we can dial the clock forward from there to discover exactly when the time of Messiah was supposed to have taken place. From Daniel’s perspective this was obviously a prophecy of coming events, but we can look back in history and see its fulfillment. After the decree is issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, there will be seven weeks, which is forty-nine years, and then sixty-two weeks, which is 434 more years, for a total of 483 years until Messiah.[2]

The term Messiah is an adjective that means anointed. Specifically, Daniel refers to Him as Messiah the Prince. This is not a fairy tale prince as we think of it but instead is the ruler or leader of a people, much like a king. It is at Jesus’ triumphal entry when He, in fulfillment of Zech. 9:9, is presented to the nation Israel as their anointed King (cf. Matt. 21:1-11). Since we began our starting point at 445 B.C., it would at first seem the only thing left to do is to come forward 483 years. Doing so brings us to AD 38 but unfortunately this is after the crucifixion of Christ.

However, it’s important to consider how the Jews calculated their calendar years. Walvoord explained that “it is customary for the Jews to have twelve months of 360 days each and then to insert a thirteenth month occasionally when necessary to correct the calendar. The use of the 360-day year is confirmed by the forty-two months of the great tribulation (Rev. 11:2; Rev. 13:5) being equated with 1,260 days (Rev. 12:6; Rev. 11:3).”[3] Robert Anderson has used such a methodology to determine that the 483 years culminated “in A.D. 32 on the very day of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem shortly before His crucifixion.”[4] There is some controversy over Anderson’s calculations, but “the plausibility of a literal interpretation, which begins the period in 445 B.C and culminates just before the death of Christ, makes this view very attractive.”[5]

It seems to me that this prophecy is incredibly impressive. It even predicts that the Messiah would arrive sometime in the AD 30s. After all, Daniel’s prophecy isn’t about days but seven-year periods (what Daniel calls ‘weeks’). In other words, if someone predicted a meteor would fall from the sky and break my arm next month, I would be impressed whether that happened at the beginning of next month or the end of next month. Similarly, since the time period Daniel’s prophecy uses is seven-year periods, I would be impressed as long as the Messiah appeared within the seven-year period in which He was predicted to arrive.

Daniel’s prophecy continued by stating that after the sixty-two weeks (Dan. 9:26) the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing. After the second of the first two periods are over with, so after 483 years from when the seventy weeks begins, it is said that the Messiah just introduced in verse 25 will be cut off. This term is most often used to refer to cutting something down but is also used to mean “killed” in the Old Testament. It also says he will “have nothing” (Dan 9:26), possibly in the sense that what was entitled to him as Messiah he will, in fact, not receive. How could the Messiah accomplish all of these things listed in Daniel 9:24 by being cut off, i.e., killed? Another remarkable Old Testament prophecy, Isaiah 53, explains how this will happen. Therefore, I agree with Walvoord when he wrote that the “natural interpretation of verse 26 is that it refers to the death of Jesus Christ upon the cross.”[6] (For a more detailed explanation of the prophecy of “seventy weeks of years” in Daniel 9, refer to “Seventy Weeks of Years: A Commentary on Daniel 9:24-27.”)

Unfulfilled Prophecies

It should also be noted that there are numerous Messianic prophecies that the historic Jesus of Nazareth did not fulfill literally. For example, many of the prophets said the Messiah would be “given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him” (Dan. 7:14) and that He would rule over a “kingdom which will never be destroyed” (Dan. 2:44). Among those who believe the Old Testament is God’s inerrant Word, there have historically been three ways to interpret this situation.

First, some have concluded from this that Jesus of Nazareth was not the true Messiah and are still looking for His arrival. Orthodox Jews today would obviously fall in this category. Second, some have affirmed Jesus as the Messiah and claim He fulfilled these types of prophecies not literally but spiritually. For example, some Christians, such as preterist theologians and some covenant theologians, hold that with the kingdom prophecies, the “the inference is to a spiritual kingdom, not an earthly one.”[7] In other words, Jesus spiritually rules today as the King of people’s hearts. They refer to other various New Testament texts such as Col. 1:13, Mark 1:14-15, John 18:36, and Rev. 1:9 to support the idea that the Messiah’s kingdom is only spiritual. Third, some believe that Jesus qualifies as the Messiah because of all the literal prophecies which He did fulfill and then look still to the future for Him to fulfill the others literally as well. These Christians, such as dispensational theologians, believe that someday Jesus of Nazareth will return and rule the world from David’s throne in Jerusalem.

An important question in this disagreement between Christian theologians is this: are there any precedents in Biblical prophecy for two events being described as seemingly taking place simultaneously, or continuously, but that we know from their fulfillment actually occurred at different times with a chronological gap in between? Jesus Himself seems to propose this understanding of Isaiah 61:1-3 where the first half of the sentence concerns the proclamation of good news and freedom and the second half discusses God’s day of vengeance. Jesus read the first half of this section in the synagogue and explained He was the fulfillment (cf. Luke 4:18-19), but He ended the quote before it talked about vengeance. Therefore, it seems at least reasonable to expect that Jesus will eventually fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah in a literal sense.

References:

[1] Norman Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2006), 610.

[2] [Editor’s Note: The word translated as ‘weeks’ is actually “sevens.” So, seven “sevens” would be forty-nine sevens, and sixty-two “sevens” would be 434 years. Together those equal 483 years.]

[3] John F. Walvoord, Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1989), 228.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid., 229.

[7] Jessie E. Mills, Jr., Daniel: Fulfilled Prophecy (Bradford, PA: International Preterist Association, 2003), 18-19.

Recommended Resources:

Why We Know the New Testament Writers Told the Truth by Frank Turek (mp4 Download)

The Top Ten Reasons We Know the NT Writers Told the Truth mp3 by Frank Turek

How to Interpret Your Bible by Dr. Frank Turek DVD Complete Series, INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, and STUDENT Study Guide

Old Testament vs. New Testament God: Anger vs. Love? (MP3 Set) (DVD Set) (mp4 Download Set) by Dr. Frank Turek 

 

Adam Lloyd Johnson has served as the president of Convincing Proof Ministries since 2023. Prior to that, Adam was a university campus missionary with Ratio Christi at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has also taught classes for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has spent time living and teaching at Rhineland Theological Seminary in Wölmersen, Germany. Adam received his PhD in Theological Studies with an emphasis in Philosophy of Religion from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2020. Adam grew up in Nebraska and became a Christian as a teenager in 1994. He graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and then worked in the field of actuarial science for ten years in Lincoln, Nebraska. While in his twenties, he went through a crisis of faith: are there good reasons and evidence to believe God exists and that the Bible is really from Him? His search for answers led him to apologetics and propelled him into ministry with a passion to serve others by equipping Christians and encouraging non-Christians to trust in Christ. Adam served as a Southern Baptist pastor for eight years (2009-2017) but stepped down from the pastorate to serve others full-time in the area of apologetics. He’s been married to his wife Kristin since 1996, and they have four children – Caroline, Will, Xander, and Ray. Adam has presented his work at the National Apologetics Conference, the Society of Christian Philosophers, the Evangelical Philosophical Society, the International Society of Christian Apologetics, the Canadian Centre for Scholarship and the Christian Faith, the American Academy of Religion, and the Evangelical Theological Society. His work has been published in the Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, Philosophia Christi, the Westminster Theological Journal, the Canadian Journal for Scholarship and the Christian Faith, the journal Eleutheria, and the journal Religions. Adam has spoken at numerous churches and conferences in America and around the world – Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, Boston, Orlando, Denver, San Antonio, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. He is the editor and co-author of the book A Debate on God and Morality: What is the Best Account of Objective Moral Values and Duties? published in 2020 by Routledge and co-authored with William Lane Craig, Erik Wielenberg, J. P. Moreland, and others. He is most recently the author of the book Divine Love Theory: How the Trinity is the Source and Foundation of Morality published by Kregel Academic in 2023.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/49OfHVC

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Ambiguous Islam

[Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in 2011 in Christian Research Journal, vol. 34, no. 6, and reprinted online in 2014 at: https://www.equip.org/articles/ambiguous-islam/. Any additions are in [brackets]].

Usama Bin Laden was a moderate. Right?   

Was he not a tragic peace-loving hero with a grand vision for a democratic Afghanistan? Like a photograph overexposed, zeal overcame him, his greatness o’er shadowed by bright dots of violence. Seal Team Six made sure his violence met violence and his vision was ended. We might expect that portrayal from Afghan extremists or Hamas radicals. But that’s also the Bin Laden you find in the short-lived May 4 press release from moderate group Muslim American Society (MAS). They say of him, “I do not believe that any human being relished the terror and the loss of blood that came with his death.” [1] Cooler heads prevailed and MAS retracted this press release six days later. Smart move. This statement does not officially reflect MAS. But this press release does show that MAS either has a bad jokester in its midst, or there are sympathies for UBL [Usama Bin Laden] among its members. MAS has already raised concern elsewhere for, apparently, serving as a public front to the political-Islam group the Muslim Brotherhood.[2] Bear in mind that MAS is the largest official Muslim advocacy group in America.

Consider another case. The popular U.S. based group CAIR, the Council of American Islamic Relations, lost in court when accused of financial ties to (Palestinian terrorist group) Hamas. CAIR has yet to call Hamas or the Lebanon-based Hezbollah “terrorist organizations.”[3] Having headquarters in Washington DC and branches in twenty US states, CAIR is a major player. CAIR and MAS are two of the biggest, most respectable Muslim organizations in America, and even they cannot shake the burrs of extremism. These two groups illustrate Islam’s often-futile effort to be moderate. To many of us, “moderate Islam” looks oddly plastic, like fake food. Many try to cook up a “moderate Islam,” palatable to the world and authentic to Muslim tastes, but MAS, CAIR, and others have already spit in the soup. Consider some of the following attempted recipes.

AVERAGES

“Moderate Islam” could mean the majority of world Muslims caught straddling non-Islam and fundamentalist Islam. They don’t speak Arabic, live under sharia law, or promote religious violence.[4] Otherwise they may be poster-children for Islam. This is moderation by averages.

The problem with this definition is that if a person qualifies as Muslim, his religion must qualify as Islam. But Islam isn’t defined by how some Muslims happen to act, but by texts, traditions, and Muhammad’s example. The Islamic world could stray from orthodox Islam and yet there would remain, in texts and traditions, a way to tell Islam from imitations. A self-proclaimed Muslim may claim nonviolence, but claims count little if he’s also a “hardened secular” (i.e., Tarek Fatah).[5] Unless one’s religion is Islam, he hardly counts for moderate Islam.

NONVIOLENCE

Others aren’t “average,” they just reject violence while supporting most everything else of radical Islam. These questionable “moderates” may advocate worldwide Muslim expansion so long as it’s nonmilitant; forcing nations into sharia law, so long as it’s nonmilitant; and attacking Judeo-Christian influence in the western world, so long as it’s nonmilitant.

However, people may be peaceable themselves, but dangerous in other ways. They may justify Islam’s bloody history of militant expansionism. They may support Sharia law, anti-Semitism, or suppression of women. This sense of “moderate” isn’t helpful. Such “moderates” stretch the term beyond credulity.

Equally guilty are those who stoke and those who light the flames. One supposed bridge builder, Muslim Abid Ullah Jan, swears off Islamic violence in one turn, but in the next employs the same rhetoric typical of jihadists. He says Islam was not behind the 2006 terrorist plots in Toronto and London and then proceeds to list (purported) beliefs he shares with terrorists: “9/11 was an inside job” and “[George W.] Bush and [Tony] Blair are neck deep in the blood of innocent Muslims”; Israel is an “illegitimate racist state”; “the present world order is unjust”; “aggression and oppression” such as American “colonial fascism…should be resisted”; and “Muslims…should struggle to live by Islam, free from colonial interference.”[6] He does reject murdering “innocent civilians.”[7] But in distributing guilt so broadly, no innocents remain. Now, I’m not attempting to justify the present world order, and Jan does well in saying it’s wrong to murder innocent civilians, but his words serve to inflame and aggravate while he indicts all of America and all of Israel as guilty. Does that justify the murder of Americans and Jews? The silence is deafening.[8]

Jan’s “moderation” is more dangerous than helpful. He translates “jihadism” into “freedom fighting” and “the American way” into “terrorism.” Yes, he rebukes violence against “innocent civilians,” but American military aren’t civilians, so they can be killed justifiably, whether or not they are on duty. American causes, by his thought, are borne out of oppressive colonialism, so American causes deserve violent opposition. Jan goes farther than modest critique, stretching his anti-Americanism to cover most every American cause that can be named. His “moderate” positioning dissolves to nothing. Jan’s rhetoric is dangerously immodest and hardly “moderate.” Relabeled dynamite is no less explosive. If Jan does not want to start more fires, he should speak with more light and less heat.

MODERATELY MUSLIM

Still others see “moderate” as a compromise, like “halfhearted” or “nominal.” Turkey’s prime minister, [Recep] Erdogan, explains, “The term ‘Moderate Islam’ is ugly and offensive; There is no moderate Islam; Islam is Islam.”[9]

Despite objections, the lingo has stuck. The public has appropriated the term. Plus, Erdogan is arguably Islamist himself (depending on one’s definition), representing a far more fundamentalist and Islamocentric Turkey than the prior (modern) heritage of [Mustafa Kemal] Ataturk.[10] “Moderate” may be offensive to him, but apt for other Muslims who distrust Hamas more than he does or who prefer the “old” Turkey.

While some take offense at the term, perhaps it need not offend. “Moderate” is relative to whatever it divides. It need not divide committed Muslims from noncommitted Muslims. A Muslim may be committed and willing to die for the faith but would never kill for the faith. One may be extreme about learning Arabic but moderate about sharia or jihad. The elephant in the living room is not “extremely faithful” or “extremely peaceful.” The elephant is terrorism; that’s the extreme.

IS “MODERATE” ISLAM REAL?          

Admitting the elephant in the living room, and that it’s wearing a bomb vest, it’s evident we probably wouldn’t be debating this phrase if not for jihadism. At minimum, “moderate” means peaceable, broadly nonviolent in word and deed. This person opposes forced conversion and militant expansion, and allows violence only for self-defense or for [restrained] police and military [measures]. Still, we must ask, Is “Moderate Islam” a Muslim category or is it more diplomacy obscuring danger with thin veneers of misinformation?[11] Scholarly talk persists, often to legitimize “moderate” Islam, but rarely does it drown out the militant minority that has hijacked the conversation.

Surely the extremists aren’t all of Islam; that’s evident. But they are some of Islam. So the suspicion remains. Perhaps the “moderate” category is a foreign intrusion, not a native distinction. Even with the important contributions of Islam in world culture, those would seem to be the attractive face splattered in blood after centuries of violence.[12] Were such violence a medieval memory, this question would be outdated. But hostilities are hot. The search for a moderate Islam is as important as ever.

Scholars such as Muqtedar Khan (Debating Moderate Islam) and Daniel Pipes (Militant Islam Reaches America) say moderate Islam is possible, and Islam can trade its masked militancy for enlightened lenses. Zuhdi Jasser (the film Third Jihad), a Muslim, actively campaigns against jihadism. Yet others, such as Wafa Sultan (A God Who Heals) and Ayaan Hirsi Ali (Infidel and Submission), living under threat of death for leaving Islam, argue that Islam is fundamentally violent, peaceable only in its compromised forms. While it’s true that at least one (small, lonely, but encouraging) Muslim organization openly rebukes jihadism (Free Muslim Coalition[13]). Islam does not seem reformed enough in width or depth to escape that reputation. Whatever innovations Islam has had, a dogged contingency of fundamentalist militant Islam persists, linking it back to terrorism.

IS MILITANCY HERETICAL?

Were that militancy a baseless offshoot then we could slough it off as cult aberration—like Christianity rejecting Mormon polygamy. That practice does not fall within historic Christianity.

But jihad is Islamic. It is an Arabic term with a well-known dual meaning of greater jihad (inner struggle of self-discipline) and lower jihad (militancy against former and non-Muslims). Its roots run deep in the Qur’an and Hadith.[14] Historically there’s a rich tradition of Islam spreading the faith coercively in threats and warfare. Today, numerous bomb attempts and hijackings often begin with shouts of “Allahu Akbar.” Border violence, like in Chechnya, is often jihadist. Iran’s aggression is hardly a secret. Militancy in Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Syria, and Libya is well known. The newly reopened Gaza Strip [as of 2011] promises anti-Israel violence.[15] Pakistan arose from violent Islamic independence movements. Nigeria is torn over sharia courts. Recent riots in France were by largely disenfranchised Muslim youth who saw France’s ban on head wraps as “just cause” for violence (see Surah 17:33).

These scenes on the world stage are diplomatic nightmares and to even begin understanding them, we must understand the doctrine of jihad. Islam traditionally teaches (1) land claims by Islam cannot be revoked;[16] (2) Islam will spread and conquer the world;[17] and (3) God uses His followers to advance His kingdom through warfare.[18]

POINTING FINGERS   

One may try to justify immoderate violence as the backlash from American or colonial abuses. But Islam is older than these. Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)—these are historical newborns. Islam was violently engaged with its neighbors before Columbus set sail and many centuries before modern Israel was formed. Jihadist roots are centuries deep before the Declaration of Independence was a glimmer in our founding father’s eyes. Of course, superpowers get no free pass, but neither should their supposed victims be allowed free rein for destructive responses. Even if America needs housecleaning, jihadism, with blood spattered throughout its own house, is in no condition to condemn the structures built by others. Jihadism must justify itself as an independent entity, not as a fruitless visceral reaction with cures more brutal than any disease.

Violence is the native history of Islam no matter its neighbors. The Prophet Muhammad himself, living by the sword as much as the word, led seventy-four raids, expeditions, and battles.[19] Sure the Qur’an has peaceable passages (4:36; 5:32), but Muslim scholarship widely admits they are trumped or “abrogated” with militancy by the later Medinan verses.[20] After Muhammad, Islam continued its militant spread through his successors. Though Islam is not supposed to force conversion (2:256), countless people have faced the trilemma: (1) pay the jizya (subjugation tax ransoming one’s life), (2) convert to Islam, or (3) die. Moreover, I know of no widespread reformation where Islam outgrew its old warring ways. Whenever a peaceable Muslim seedling sprouts, roots movements, like weeds, sprout up to choke back its growth.

So we see that militancy is a common ingredient in historic Islam. There may be a strand of nonviolent, moderate Islam but there is good reason to doubt its claim over all Muslims given Islam’s bloody text and traditions. Islam needs real reformation if the world is going to take seriously its claims of peace and moderation.

REFERENCES:

[1] [Editor’s Note: “The quote, ‘I do not believe that any human being relished the terror and the loss of blood that came with his death,” is part of a retracted press release issued by the Muslim American Society (MAS) on May 4, 2011, following the death of Usama Bin Laden. The press release was later withdrawn by the organization.” Source: Google AI.]

[2] Noreen S. Amed-Ullah, Sam Roe, and Laurie Cohen, “A Rare Look at Secret Brotherhood in America,” Chicago Tribune (online), 19 September 2004. Accessed 22 October 2011 at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/chi-0409190261sep19,0,3008717.story.

[3] CAIR has become known, of late, as a front organization for Hamas, according to testimony from FBI Agent Lara Burns in a juried trial on anti-Israeli terrorism (Jason Trahan, “FBI: CAIR is a Front group, and Holy Land Foundation Tapped Hamas Clerics for Fundraisers,’” Dallas Morning News (online), October 2008; http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/10/fbi-cair-is-a-front-group-and.html, (Accessed October 29, 2011). For more discussion of CAIR as a front organization for Hamas and its unwillingness to call Hamas and Hezbollah “terrorist organizations” see the website www.anticair-net.org.

[4] Dr. Wafa Sultan suggests Islam is fundamentally Arabic in its culture and language; yet ninety-five percent of Islamic teaching remains untranslated in the Arabic (Dr. Wafa Sultan and Dr. Daniel Pipes, “Moderate Islam: Western Ally or Western Myth?” [debate], December 1, 2009, FORA.tv.; http://fora.tv/2009/12/01Moderate_Islam_ Western_Myth [accessed December 20, 2010]). She estimates eighty percent of world Muslims are non-Arabic in descent, language, and location and so have only a compromised sense of Islam (ibid.). It’s well known that many Muslims do not read or speak Arabic. That language barrier enables theological compromise. “Arabic unified the Muslim countries as it spread to every land that embraced Islam.…Muslim societies that are ignorant of Arabic are in general less knowledgeable about Islam…[and] more prone to stray from the straight path.” (Fatima Barkatullah, “Arabic: The Key to Understanding the Qur’an,” Islamic Network [UK], n.d.; http://www.islaam.net/main/display.php?id=503&category=2 [accessed December 20, 2010]).

[5] Tarek Fatah, “From an Ex-Muslim True Islamophobia,” National Post, March 12, 2010, http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/ fullcomment/archive/2010/03/12/tarek-fatahfroman-ex-muslim-true-islamophobia.aspx (accessed December 20, 2010).

[6] Abid Ullah Jan, “Why the Terrorist Plots Are False,” Media Monitors, August 13, 2006; http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/34172 (accessed December 1, 2010).

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid. Jan’s words might be read in a moderate way, except his overall tone is blatantly inflammatory. Moreover, this tactic of qualifying people and civilians with “innocent” (as opposed to guilty people or civilians) has been exposed already with CAIR. CAIR coordinated a fatwa stating, “Islam strictly condemns religious extremism and the use of violence against innocent lives. There is no justification in Islam for extremism or terrorism. Targeting civilians’ life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is haram or forbidden – and those who commit these barbaric acts are criminals, not martyrs.” (CAIR, “25 Facts about CAIR,” CAIR.com;  http://www.cair.com/AboutUS/ 25FactsAboutCAIR.aspx (accessed October 22, 2011). This language sounds innocent enough until it is shown that CAIR has refused to call Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist organizations. Those two groups have claimed responsibility for dozens of known terrorist attacks. But, apparently, CAIR refuses to consider those activities as “extremism” or “criminal.”

[9] Recep Tayyip Erdogan, interview (Milliyet, Turkey: Kanal D, August 21, 2007); http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/2595.htm (accessed December 1, 2010).

[10] Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, president of Turkey from 1923–1938, modernized Turkey. Despite his influence, Turkey has become Islamocentric under Erdogan through his Hamas affiliations and sympathy for sharia law (Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalomattis, “Why Westernized, Secular and Democratic Turks Voted for Erdogan,” American Chronicle, July 23, 2007, http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/32902. See also, “Turkey’s Erdogan Bears Responsibility In Flotilla Fiasco” (editorial), Washington Post, June 5, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/04/AR2010060404806.html).

[11] See Ibn Warraq,“The Dogmatic Islamophilia of Western Islamologists,” New English Review (April 2010); http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/61227/ sec_id/61227 (accessed December 22, 2010).

[12] The Muslim Renaissance is a case in point.

[13] http://www.freemuslims.org/. See also the YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQHYbguJkKM.

[14] Jihad, abrogation, and interpretation are much debated. Nevertheless, there are allegedly 164 verses from the Qur’an (not counting the Hadith) that support militant jihad. See Yoel Natan’s lists at http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Themes/jihad_passages.html. Examples include: Surah 2:190–191: “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you…191 and slay them wherever you catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out.” (Qur’anic quotes are from the Yusuf Ali translation [2001] unless otherwise noted.) Surah 2:216: “Fighting is prescribed for you.” Surah 9:5: “Fight and slay the Pagans wherever you find them, and seize them, beleaguer them and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war).” Surah 9:14: “Fight them [unbelievers] and Allah will punish them by your hands.”

[15] [Editor’s Note: The October 7, 2023 war in Gaza confirms that suspicion]

[16] Surah 9:39. “Agreed are the Salaf, the Pious Predecessors [early Caliphate], all people of understanding, and the Muhaditheen that in all ages of Islam: ‘That if a piece of Muslim land the size of a hand span is infringed on, then jihad becomes Fard Ayn (global obligation) on every Muslim male and female.” Shaheed Abdullah Azzam, “Defence of the Muslim Lands” (Brothers in Ribatt translation), n.d.; http://www.kalamullah.com/ Books/defence.pdf (accessed December 26, 2010).

[17] Surahs 61:9, 48:28, and 9:33.

[18] Surah 9:14.

[19] James Arlandson, “The Truth about Islamic Crusades and Imperialism,” American Thinker, http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/11/ the_truth_about_ islamic_crusad.html (November 27, 2005).

[20] Surah 2:106, 16:101, 13:39. Arthur Jeffery, Islam: Muhammad and His Religion (Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1958), 66.

Recommended Resources:

Answering Islam by Dr. Frank Turek (DVD Set, Mp4 and Mp3)

Counter Culture Christian: Is the Bible True? by Frank Turek (Mp3), (Mp4), and (DVD)        

Jesus, You and the Essentials of Christianity by Frank Turek (INSTRUCTOR Study Guide), (STUDENT Study Guide), and (DVD)      

How Can Jesus be the Only Way? Mp4, Mp3, and DVD by Frank Turek

 

Dr. John D. Ferrer is a speaker and content creator with Crossexamined. He’s also a graduate from the very first class of Crossexamined Instructors Academy. Having earned degrees from Southern Evangelical Seminary (MDiv) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (ThM, PhD), he’s now active in the pro-life community and in his home church in Pella Iowa. When he’s not helping his wife Hillary Ferrer with her ministry Mama Bear Apologetics, you can usually find John writing, researching, and teaching cultural apologetics.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/4oiQHJH

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The Role of Apologetics in Student Ministry

I have recently become involved in student ministry as a Family Life Pastor over the last few months. As a trained academic with a PhD in Apologetics, I wondered how much of my training I would really be able to use in this capacity. Would students care about apologetics? Would they even need it? What I quickly learned is that apologetics can and really should have a major role in student ministry.

Students Have Access to More Challenges than Ever Before          

As someone that had mainly been involved with college students for the past decade plus, I was shocked at some of the questions that I received within weeks at the new ministry. One student said she had seen someone on TikTok claim that the New Testament was untrustworthy. Others asked about things like, Can I believe the Bible? Why is the Bible important? How do I even know that God exists? These are students between 12-18 years old. However, because of the wide impact of social media and the internet, they had been exposed to ideas that previous generations had not been hit with until much later in life.

Students Have Questions and Doubts About Their Faith and Identity       

Another thing that quickly came to my attention was the fragile state of many students’ faith and their confusion about their own identity. This is not limited to my own youth group; these questions and struggles are common throughout this age. Students have questions about why they should trust a Bible that attacks things like transgenderism or homosexuality. Why should they trust the Bible over other ancient texts, or even why should they trust any religious system at all? Gone are the days in America or the West at large where parents and pastors can take for granted that their kids will be predisposed to accept Christianity over other religious systems or secularism in general. This really hits home for students that have friends or family members that are a part of the LGBT movement. They struggle with saying the Bible is correct and their friend or family member is wrong. The days of saying, “Well, the Bible says so,” and expecting that to be an adequate answer to questions is long gone.

Apologetics Can Have a Major Positive Impact in Student Ministry          

Apologetics can become a major tool in the toolbox to counter this change in the culture and student ministry. Explaining to students why we can trust the Bible and why it is the Word of God can go a long way in giving the Bible the credibility they need to challenge the objections of their friends. Apologetics can explain how and why these students were created, that they were created in the image of God, and that God loves them and cares for them. This gives them a renewed sense of purpose in their lives, something that the secular world has tried to eliminate through things like nihilism and evolutionary theory. Indeed, don’t think your students are ever too young to learn some basic apologetic arguments and defenses of their faith. The odds are, they are already struggling with many of these issues in their own lives, even if they don’t know how to ask the right questions or where to look for the right answers. The time is now!

Recommended Resources:

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Paperback), and (Sermon) by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek 

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist’ [FOUR unique curriculum levels for 2nd grade through to adult] by Frank Turek 

Stealing From God by Dr. Frank Turek (Book, 10-Part DVD Set, STUDENT Study Guide, TEACHER Study Guide)

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl (Book)

 

Daniel Sloan is an Assistant Professor at Liberty University. He was mentored by the late Dr. Ed Hindson. After Dr. Hindson’s untimely passing, Dr. Sloan was allowed to teach some of Dr. Hindson’s classes. In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Sloan serves as an Associate Pastor at Safe Harbor Community Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. Daniel graduated with his PhD in Theology and Apologetics from Liberty University. His research and expertise is in Old Testament studies. He and his wife, Natalie, live in Lynchburg, Virginia. Along with his extensive knowledge of the Bible, Daniel is an avid sports fan.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/487YFzi

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The Bible Tells Us That We Need Apologetics

Paul met the Lord on a road (Acts 9:1-9), Peter fell down before him by the sea (Luke 5:1-11), the Ethiopian eunuch came to him after having the scriptures explained to him (Acts 8:26-40), and the man possessed by a legion of demons believed after experiencing a liberating miracle on his life (Mark 5:1-20). The same gospel which unites us reaches us in different ways.

Many people encounter Jesus and come to faith immediately when the Bible is preached and explained to them. Becket Cook is an example that immediately springs to my mind. Others encounter Jesus after a long and detailed analysis of the evidence, and after having their friends engage them with the evidence for Christianity. Nabeel Qureshi is a big example here. Still others encounter Jesus after seeing him in a dream or witnessing a miracle.

Humans are complex beings made in the image of the infinite God (Genesis 1:27), and the gospel draws in and unifies a host of people from all sorts of different backgrounds. The way we receive the gospel isn’t uniform, programmed, and mechanical. The unifying factor is the gospel we receive (1 Cor 15:3-8), not the way we receive it.

Evangelism Is Helped By Social Intelligence 

As we evangelise, we do well to have social awareness in understanding that people respond to the gospel in different ways.

Some people may need to witness a miracle before receiving the gospel, others may need to have the evidence for Christianity explained to them, and others may simply need the Bible preached to them plainly.

Some may need all three or a combination thereof!

This should be an obvious thing to say. But I’ve recently and repeatedly heard the absurd claim that apologetics is not necessary for the gospel, because the supposed key to every single human heart, and the only way to do evangelism, is by preaching the Bible and only the Bible to every unbeliever we encounter. . . without any need, ever, for apologetics.

Now of course, preaching the Bible is an eternally wonderful thing, and the Bible really does have all the answers to life’s most important questions. And there is no question that some people convert immediately when the Bible is simply preached to them. Charles Spurgeon is an example of such a person.

The Bible is a source of never-ending wisdom and insight that is a greater treasure than all the money in the world, and apologetics itself is empty without it, because without the Bible, apologetics leads nowhere. Christians who are privileged enough to own a Bible need to be reading it daily.

There is no dispute, regardless of theological conviction, that the Holy Spirit softens people’s hearts as they read and hear God’s word. But how can anyone who’s socially aware of the unbelieving world say that apologetics isn’t ever necessary . . . especially when the Bible itself tells us to use it?

The Bible Tells Us To Use Apologetics          

Peter (in 1 Peter 3:15) says that we always need to be ready to give a ‘defense’ for the hope that we have (‘apologia’ in Greek – the word from which we get the English word ‘apologetics’). Apologetics isn’t a random modern Christian word. Apologetics is a biblical word.

Paul – who uses apologetics in Athens (see Acts 17) – uses the same Greek word ‘apologia’ in writing that God has placed him to ‘defend’ the gospel in Philippians 1:16 (see also 1:7).

Are Peter and Paul wrong? Do they just need to understand that all we need to do is preach the Bible to each and every non-believer, without ever giving a reasoned defense for the Christian faith?

Paul also writes that if Jesus has not been raised then Christianity is false (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17). How are we to investigate whether Jesus has been raised? Are we only allowed to investigate that question by looking at what the Bible says?

“The Bible says Jesus was raised; therefore, Jesus was raised.” Is this really sufficient evangelism that will convince every single unbeliever in the world?

The “Bible-only, ever” method is inconsistent        

And there’s something awkward that needs to be pointed out:

Does the “Bible-only, ever” evangelist realise that they first have to use their philosophical, linguistic, and reasoning faculties to decide which part of the Bible to open up for every evangelistic conversation with an unbeliever?

It’s the “Bible-only” evangelist’s own philosophical and linguistic reasoning which directs them to show their non-believing counterpart John 20, say, and not Song of Songs 5:3.

So, if I were to grant that we should only use the Bible to evangelise and nothing else – never engaging in philosophy or apologetics with the unbeliever – then I’d be committing myself to an inconsistent epistemology and self-defeat. That should never be the case for the people of God who belong to the Truth!

Jesus himself isn’t a “Bible-only, ever” evangelist  

We must remember that Jesus himself demonstrates social awareness when, for example, he uses two different evangelistic methods in two different situations after his resurrection.

In John 20, Jesus convinces Thomas not by the scriptures but by the evidence of his broken body. Yet over in Luke 24, Jesus convinces the two disciples on the road to Emmaus not by his broken body but by unpacking the scriptures!

Here is my point:

With the Holy Spirit’s help, we need the social awareness and intelligence to understand the needs of the unbeliever in front of us.

Some will need apologetics. Some will need miracles. Some will just need straight preaching. Ask people “How did you come to faith?” and you’ll get a range of answers, appealing to different lines of evidence, apologetics included.

Recommended Resources: 

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Paperback), and (Sermon) by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek 

Stealing From God by Dr. Frank Turek (Book, 10-Part DVD Set, STUDENT Study Guide,TEACHER Study Guide)

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl (Book)

Can All Religions Be True? mp3 by Frank Turek

 

Sean Redfearn is a former Community Youth Worker who now works for Christian Concern in Central London, UK. He completed an MA in Religion at King’s College London, is in the process of completing the MA Philosophy program at Southern Evangelical Seminary, and is a 2022 CrossExamined Instructor Academy graduate. Passionate about Jesus, he is grateful for the impact that apologetics has had on his faith.

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How To Prepare Your Kids Faith Before They Leave For College, Part 2: Faith-Based Preparation

It’s doubtful parents would send their kids to college without some sort of meal plan, but are parents as diligent in helping set up a spiritual meal plan for their children? Once that dorm key is issued, there will be no more spoon-fed lessons by the youth group. When our kids head to college, it’s time for them to feed themselves, or they could spiritually starve to death.

In our previous blog, we addressed the top four preparations to keep your kids on FIRE for God: faith-based, intellectual, relational, and environmental. In this blog, we’ll discuss how to prepare your kids spiritually for college, specifically through spiritual disciplines.

Developing Good Faith Habits  

Helping your child establish the habits of personal Bible study and prayer while they are still living in your home is an important part of encouraging them to remain connected and committed to their local church and their Christian beliefs. (I contend it’s not too late, even if they’ve already gone off to college and even if they have already graduated. If we’re still breathing, it’s not too late.)

If you are at a parenting stage where you can model this for your kids, go for it. If that discipline has not yet been developed, don’t let a guilt trip or excuses stall you into inaction.  Why not express your current desire to engage and use it as an incentive for both of you to start? You could even hold one another accountable and/or share what you’re learning.

Need some help? Host a get-together with other college-bound Christian friends to encourage and equip them to dig into this discipline. Call in a trusted Christian mentor to share their personal insights on the importance of reading the Word, committing to prayer time, and using trusted tools and resources. Research shows that maintaining relationships with parents and having other adults they respect invest in their lives helps young adults stay connected to church through and after college.

Ways To Nurture Your Kid’s Faith

Devotionals
Devotionals can serve as an appetizer to prepare the palate for the main course, like a warm-up to a workout. Encourage your child to use a devotional book that quotes Scripture daily. If they never get to the main course, at least they will have had a taste of God’s Word that day.

Although there are many modern-day devotionals that are great, don’t be afraid to introduce your kids to classic devotionals. The writing and theology are rich, and these writers connect your kids to our shared Christian heritage and history. (Consider Oswald Chambers, Charles Spurgeon, and A.W. Tozer to start. Want something from the 21st century? Try Paul David Tripp.)

Bible Study
Talk about a smorgasbord! There are so many approaches to Bible study, it’s often hard to know where to start. Why not ask your child what appeals to them? A historical biblical figure? A book of the Bible? A theme? A word study? Use this list to help if they aren’t sure:

  • Basic theology. Studying basic theology can be helpful and grounding for students. An introduction to the orthodox Christian tenets is key to recognizing heresy (anything that denies the teaching of Jesus). (Try Wayne Grudem and Norman Geisler.)
  • Attributes of God. Studying the attributes of God can develop your child’s understanding of God, fortifying their trust in Him. Knowing our never-changing God provides a compass in an ever-changing culture. (Try A.W. Tozer, R.C. Sproul, and J.I. Packer. We also recommend a book by Lydia White for parents and kids ages 4-11.
  • Fruit of the Spirit. Studying the fruits of the Spirit help develop spiritual maturity in college (and it’s a way to personally measure their growth).
  • Specific passages. While still at home, have your child study the passage your pastor preaches from on Sunday morning. Then, when they join a campus ministry and a local church while at college, they can continue the habit.
  • Wisdom literature. A chapter a day from Proverbs is easy to digest and gives great insight into both wisdom and warnings. (Help your child keep in mind that these pithy sayings are principles, not promises.)
  • Apologetics (we’re kinda partial to this one!). The Apologetics Study Bible has great articles on pertinent faith questions that will come up in college, a worldview chart explaining what other religions believe, and sections called “twisted scripture” about passages commonly misused or misinterpreted. It’s a great reference tool and study Bible. You can sign up for 52 weeks of free apologetics content and use that to spur study. Online videos also offer tough questions. If your church offers a RightNow subscription, use it!
  • The ESV Study Bible continues to get high marks both for the translation and the study materials. Download the free app for robust resources and reading plans.
  • Consider teaching your child the inductive Bible study method. This discipline will set them on a lifelong trajectory of rich study that they can do on their own without Bible study books.

Go Digital
Since our students are such digital natives, engage them through their thumbs and earbuds. Bible study and prayer apps might be the best way to get them connected, literally.

  • YouVersion has access to multiple translations of the Bible at your fingertips. Plus, Bible reading plans can be chosen both by topic as well as by length of time to complete the study. Includes video, audio, and much more. Be discerning about the content.
  • Blue Letter Bible has a Bible reading plan in addition to devotionals, dictionaries, lexicons, Bible studies, maps, charts, free online books, and more. Those who want to can really “nerd” out here as they deepen their study time and tools.
  • Bible Gateway has a verse of the day upload, a Bible reading plan with a daily reminder alarm, and an audio version of Bible readings, which could be nice to listen to on the way to class or while they are working out.
  • The Bible Recap app is an excellent way to read through the Bible in a year with succinct commentary.

Don’t forget: While there are advantages to digital–based content, reading a printed Bible has even more benefits. If your child doesn’t have a Bible of their own, consider getting them one before they leave for college.

Prayer
There’s no better way to learn how to pray than by actually praying. Use an acrostic like ACTS (Adoration/praise, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication) – it’s instructive, biblical, and focused. The ACTS method can help your children develop their relationship and trust in God. Teach your child as they read the Bible to highlight these four aspects of prayer.

Another thing you can try is praying God’s Word — in context, of course. While there are tremendous books and studies on prayer, learning to use your Bible to pray will be rich and requires no other material.

There are apps for prayer as well. YouVersion includes a prayer module with guided prayer prompts, a way to create your own prayer list and track answers, and a tool to set a daily reminder to pray.

Personally, having a prayer partner in college with whom I studied a book on prayer (and who held me accountable to pray daily) changed the trajectory of my prayer life. (We’ll talk more about how to pray for your kids in college in a later blog in this series!) While corporate prayer is extremely important (prayer groups are popping up on college campuses everywhere), personal prayer time lays the foundation.

Model prayer for your kids. We recommend our book, Honest Prayers for Mama Bears, to help you. It’s topical, so it’s easy to find a prayer that fits your particular situation. To help you get started, we’ve created these images that you can download and print. There are two for boys and two for girls. Pick your favorite, print it out, and then put it up to remind you to pray for your kids.

Time
Encourage your child to find the time that is best for them, so they will stick with a plan. Chances are that if they have an 8 a.m. chem lab, they are not going to get up and have quiet time. But if they have a break on campus in the early afternoon, maybe they can find a nice spot to spend 15-20 minutes in the Word and prayer. Be willing to share your own struggles and successes with maintaining a consistent personal study and prayer time.

A Faith They Can Own 

So, before that last duffle bag is packed, consider giving your child a special new study Bible, pocket Bible, or leather-bound devotional book with a personal inscription in it. Wrap it up with a new set of earbuds with a note to “plug in daily” to God’s Word. Challenge them to weave Scripture reading and prayer readings into their playlist. And don’t forget the value of Scripture memorization, which requires active mental engagement. (Mama Bear Hillary recommends the BibleMemory app) You can also check out this classic tool from Navigators.

A nourishing daily diet of God’s Word and prayer will go a long way to help our college students resist the temptation to ingest the spiritual junk food offered by some of their peers and professors.

Recommended Resources:

Jesus, You and the Essentials of Christianity by Frank Turek (INSTRUCTOR Study Guide), (STUDENT Study Guide), and (DVD)    

How to Interpret Your Bible by Dr. Frank Turek DVD Complete Series, INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, and STUDENT Study Guide

Intellectual Predators: How Professors Prey on Christian Students (DVD) (mp3) (mp4 Download) 

Can All Religions Be True? mp3 by Frank Turek

 

Julie Loos combined her passion for prayer and apologetics in her contributions to three Mama Bear Apologetics books. Her apologetics training came from campus ministry and certificates from Biola University and the Crossexamined Instructors Academy. Julie has been teaching, writing, and speaking on prayer for Moms in Prayer International for more than 23 years. She lives in Missouri with her husband, Todd, has two married sons, two grandchildren, and enjoys working out, Bible study, chocolate, coffee, and deep conversations.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/3JoRnic

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How Do I Help People Care About Truth, Not Just Know About It?

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If a person knows about God and knows about absolute truth, how does he come to accept it? How can I help that person care about that truth, not just know about it?

That is a good question. I’m so glad God brought this question my way because I’ve been struggling through this myself lately too. I don’t have all the answers, but I’ll share with you what He’s been teaching me.

I struggle with this question often because I’m a teacher at heart. I love to learn, assimilate, process, summarize, and pass it on to others. God has just built me to do that very thing. Granted, I’m not the best in the world at it, but I do the best I can for the glory of God. What frustrates me the most is when I do my job in helping someone understand something but then they don’t care about it. I feel like I’ve done all I can, and so it leaves me at a loss. I’m not sure if this is exactly the situation you’re facing, but it sounds similar.

There are three things I’ve been learning about this:

  1. Teaching facts by themselves is not enough. I understand this is trite, but I’ll say it anyway: people want to know how much you care before they care how much you know. This doesn’t mean we have to spend five years developing a relationship with a person first before we share the truth with them. This can simply play out in the attitude we take in our teaching/sharing. Are we truly doing it for their benefit or for ours? How can we share in a way that makes it crystal clear we’re doing it because we love them?
  2. The church is diverse for a reason. If you are into teaching like me, then you need to make sure you are functioning in a healthy, well-balanced church where all the spiritual gifts are allowed to be exercised. God wired me to teach, and forever that is who I’ll be. I can work on the relational side until I’m blue in the face, but that will never be my strength. This isn’t to say I can’t improve and get better at it, but teaching information is just what I do best. The reason God has gifted us differently is so that we would learn how to depend on each other. I’m better at the informational side of ministry, but others are better at the relational side. If you are going witnessing, it may be wise to go in pairs so that there is one of each type! Learn from those that are relationally oriented around you at your church. Allow them and encourage them to exercise their gifts – exhortation, service, helping, mercy, etc. The church really shines when everyone is exercising their own unique gift. It may be helpful for you to introduce this person to one of your friends at church who is more relational.
  3. Ultimately, it’s the work of the Holy Spirit. I’ve come to the humbling conclusion that my praying for someone is more powerful than my teaching someone. As much as I want to make my teaching and presentation as clear as possible, in the end the only way someone’s eyes are opened and the information actually gets to their heart is if the Holy Spirit is at work. So, I would encourage you to pray for this person over and over and over again. God wants us to be persistent in prayer.

 

[Adam’s unedited bio from his website: About Adam Lloyd Johnson – Convincing Proof] Adam Lloyd Johnson has served as the president of Convincing Proof Ministries since 2023. Prior to that, Adam was a university campus missionary with Ratio Christi at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has also taught classes for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has spent time living and teaching at Rhineland Theological Seminary in Wölmersen, Germany. Adam received his PhD in Theological Studies with an emphasis in Philosophy of Religion from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2020. Adam grew up in Nebraska and became a Christian as a teenager in 1994. He graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and then worked in the field of actuarial science for ten years in Lincoln, Nebraska. While in his twenties, he went through a crisis of faith: are there good reasons and evidence to believe God exists and that the Bible is really from Him? His search for answers led him to apologetics and propelled him into ministry with a passion to serve others by equipping Christians and encouraging non-Christians to trust in Christ. Adam served as a Southern Baptist pastor for eight years (2009-2017) but stepped down from the pastorate to serve others full-time in the area of apologetics. He’s been married to his wife Kristin since 1996, and they have four children – Caroline, Will, Xander, and Ray. Adam has presented his work at the National Apologetics Conference, the Society of Christian Philosophers, the Evangelical Philosophical Society, the International Society of Christian Apologetics, the Canadian Centre for Scholarship and the Christian Faith, the American Academy of Religion, and the Evangelical Theological Society. His work has been published in the Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, Philosophia Christi, the Westminster Theological Journal, the Canadian Journal for Scholarship and the Christian Faith, the journal Eleutheria, and the journal Religions. Adam has spoken at numerous churches and conferences in America and around the world – Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, Boston, Orlando, Denver, San Antonio, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. He is the editor and co-author of the book A Debate on God and Morality: What is the Best Account of Objective Moral Values and Duties? published in 2020 by Routledge and co-authored with William Lane Craig, Erik Wielenberg, J. P. Moreland, and others. He is most recently the author of the book Divine Love Theory: How the Trinity is the Source and Foundation of Morality published by Kregel Academic in 2023.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/46GbAcc

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Charlie Kirk’s Message Lives On

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I couldn’t sleep last night.

I’ll never forget where I was when I first heard the news. I was at the dentist, sitting in the chair getting a cavity filled by my dentist—who, years ago, was in my youth group. After numbing me up, he left the room to let the medication set in. I pulled out my phone, opened Facebook, and saw Graham Allen’s post (seconds after he posted it) asking for prayers for Charlie Kirk. My heart sank.

I immediately googled “Charlie Kirk.” Nothing came up. I refreshed it twice, and finally one lone article came up simply noting that Kirk was shot in Utah. No other details were given. A few minutes later, my dentist walked back into the room. His face was pale and shaken. He told me he had just seen the video of Charlie getting shot. He showed it to me. I yelled, “Oh God!” Then we just sat together in silence—crying, stewing in anger and confusion. Then, right there in the exam room, he prayed for Charlie and his family.

When the prayer ended, I looked at him (my mouth still numb) and asked, “Do you feel like working on my teeth?” He shook his head. “Not really.” I said, “I don’t feel like it either.” I stood up, hugged him, and left. When I got to my Jeep, I yelled at the top of my lungs. Deep down, I knew Charlie wasn’t going to survive that gunshot.

I never met Charlie in person, but I feel like I’ve known him for years. I’m friends with some of his friends, I’ve listened to him speak countless times, usually in front of hostile crowds. Charlie did it better than anyone. He was one of the sharpest minds of our time. His extremely quick wit, his grasp of complex topics, and his courage to engage critics on any topic head-on were unmatched. He was afraid to discuss no topic and invited those who opposed his views to speak.

“If you disagree with me,” he often said, “come to the front of the line and let’s talk this out.”

That’s who Charlie Kirk was—a man unafraid of disagreement, committed to rational dialogue, and grounded in truth. He championed free speech, debate, and the respectful exchange of ideas. And it was his refusal to back down from those convictions that ultimately cost him his life.

As one of my friend’s said about the Leftist assassin:

“Tell me you’ve indisputably lost the debate without telling me you’ve indisputably lost the debate!”

But more than anything—more than politics, more than debate, more than the movement he built—Charlie Kirk loved Jesus. He made it clear over and over again: “It’s all about Jesus!” That wasn’t a mere slogan. That was the center of his life. His love for Christ defined him, fueled him, and gave shape to everything else.

And that is what we must remember as we mourn his loss: his life pointed to something bigger than himself. Evil may have celebrated his death, but Charlie pointed to the One who defeated evil once and for all.

Carrying on Charlie’s Legacy

Charlie Kirk’s murder is a gut-wrenching loss for his family, for his friends, and for all of us who cherished his voice. But we must not allow evil to win by silencing him. The best way to honor Charlie is to carry forward the message he lived and died for.

He believed in the power of persuasion over coercion. He believed in conversation over cancellation. He was proof that one person with conviction can inspire a massive movement. His debates on campus weren’t just about scoring points; they were about showing that truth can stand up to scrutiny. He showed young men and women that it’s possible to be bold, articulate, and respectful—even when surrounded by hostility.

That lesson will live on for generations!

But again, at the core of all this was not politics, not even free speech itself. At the core was Jesus Christ. Charlie’s confidence, his courage, and his commitment flowed out of his faith in Jesus. That’s why he could say without hesitation: “It’s all about Jesus!”

That must be our anthem, too. If we truly want to keep Charlie’s memory alive, we must keep pointing others to Christ. That means refusing to celebrate violence, refusing to dehumanize those we disagree with, and refusing to let anger eclipse the gospel. Make no mistake: I am angry, and righteously so! Evil wants us to sin in our anger. Evil wants us to despair, to divide, to lose heart. But the cross reminds us that God brings life out of death, victory out of suffering, hope out of heartbreak.

“What you meant for evil, God meant for good” (Genesis 50:20).

So let us grieve—but let us not grieve as those without hope. Let us pray for Erika, his wife, and their children. Let us stand boldly for Truth in our classrooms, workplaces, and communities. Let us vote against the woke Left until this evil mind-virus is extinguished. Let us persuade others as Charlie did, with love, logic, facts, and reason. Let us reject the voices celebrating this wickedness and instead choose to live out the gospel Charlie proclaimed.

Evil thought it could silence him. But Charlie Kirk’s message lives on.

Closing

Charlie Kirk may be gone from this world, but his words still echo: “If you disagree with me, come to the front of the line and let’s talk this out.” That posture—courageous, curious, Christ-centered—is exactly what we need today.

So let’s carry it forward. For Charlie. For truth. For Jesus.

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Recommended Resources:

Correct not Politically Correct: About Same-Sex Marriage and Transgenderism by Frank Turek (Book, MP4, )

Was Jesus Intolerant? (DVD) and (Mp4 Download) by Dr. Frank Turek 

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl (Book)

Legislating Morality: Is it Wise? Is it Legal? Is it Possible? by Frank Turek (Book, DVD, Mp3, Mp4, PowerPoint download, PowerPoint CD)

 

Tim Stratton (The FreeThinking Theist) pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Nebraska-Kearney (B.A. 1997) and after working in full-time ministry for several years went on to attain his graduate degree from Biola University (M.A. 2014). Tim was recently accepted at North West University to pursue his Ph.D. in systematic theology with a focus on metaphysics.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/47acHRv

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