0 Shares

“Does My Anger Mean I’m NOT Truly Saved?” Live Q&A for August 15, 2024

Does My Anger Mean I’m Not Truly Saved?

From Kinsey T:

If a Christian is struggling with anger, a work of the flesh according to Galatians, does this mean that they are not saved, not truly born again, and will go to hell?

This is a great question, because it deals with the place of sin in the life of the Christian. Kinsey’s question is specifically about anger, but the same principle would apply to many other sins.

Let’s take a look at the Galatians passage that Kinsey referred to:

Galatians 5:19-21

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

[21] Of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past: This shows that Paul often instructed Christians in how they should live, and this wasn’t just an occasional emphasis. Paul knew that we are saved by God’s grace and Jesus’ work alone, not by what we have done, are doing, or promise to do. But he also knew that those who are saved by God’s grace have a high moral obligation to fulfill – not to earn salvation, but in gratitude for salvation, and in simple consistency with who we are in Jesus.
[21] Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God: To walk in these works of the flesh is to be in plain rebellion against God, and those in plain rebellion against God will not inherit the kingdom of God.
What is at stake here? The kingdom of God, which describes where God rules, and the benefits of His rule are realized. Because Paul speaks of inheriting the kingdom of God, we understand he means “heaven.” Paul says plainly, that those who practice such things will not go to heaven. Neither will they know the wonder and the glory of the kingdom of God on earth.
Who are the people in danger? Those who practice such things. This means more than someone who has committed adultery, or fornication, or sorcery, or drunkenness, or any of these. This speaks of those who continue on in these sins, ignoring the voice of the Holy Spirit telling them to “stop.

iii. “The tense of the verb (present) indicates a habitual continuation in fleshly sins rather than an isolated lapse, and the point is that those who continually practice such sins give evidence of having never received God’s Spirit.” (Boice)

Practice “represents a present participle, ‘people doing such things’, and it carries the implication that they do them constantly.” (Morris)
“The verb prassontes [practice] referring to habitual practice rather than an isolated lapse.” (Stott)
Will not inherit the kingdom of God: The strength and certainty of Paul in this verse is striking. Paul may sound rigid or even harsh here, but he is consistent with the Biblical idea of conversion. When we come to Jesus to have our sins forgiven and our soul saved, He also changes our life. It doesn’t happen all at once, and the work will never be perfected on this side of eternity, but there will be a real change none the less (1 John 3:5-9). As Charles Spurgeon is said to have put it, “The grace that does not change my life will not save my soul.” The idea isn’t that a Christian could never commit these sins, but that they could never stayin these sins.

Does struggle with sin mean that a person is not saved?

We Believe

That when someone is born again, there is a life transformation – things are different (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Not all the changes come at once – there is a process of Christian growth, of sanctification.
The changes won’t be complete on this side of eternity, not until the resurrection.
God deals with areas of our life one by one – in God’s eyes, the anger is sin but perhaps not the most serious sin or first on His “list” to deal with.
One important thing is to NOT make a “peace treaty” with sin, or re-define what sin is so that our sinful desires are suddenly OK.

Three Kinds of Sinners

Those who sin through ignorance, either ignorant that something is sin or they are ignorant of paths to victory
Those who sin through weakness, who want to do what is right but struggle to do it
Those who sin in outright rebellion, who have no interest in what God wants them to do.

So, does my anger mean that I’m not truly saved?

Maybe – but not necessarily.
What’s your attitude towards your anger? Do you see it as sin?
Don’t give up in the battle against sin and keep your eyes on Jesus. He is the author and finisher of your faith, not you!

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Galatians 5:19-21

When people fall into sin, is it because of their fallen nature or because of the spirit of the devil working behind them?

The Bible tells us that there are three classic enemies to the Christian life: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Any of these can be the driver or the prompting point for sin. The world can influence us to sin, the devil can influence us to sin, or our own flesh can influence us to sin. Sometimes two or three of them work together in concert to entice us to sin. Sins of weakness typically come because a person doesn’t know how to stand up to the world, the flesh, or the devil. That’s what Christians need to do in their Christian growth. They need to be strong. They need to learn how to stand, and how to stand against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Do you need to have an encounter with Jesus to be radically changed for Him?

Do you need to have an encounter with Jesus to be radically changed for Him? I feel like a lot of Christians talk about this encounter. I’ve prayed and fasted, but I’ve never had this encounter.

Let me comfort you in this. A person does not need to have a radical spiritual experience in order to truly be a Christian and truly be saved. Sometimes when people describe these things, it makes us marvel. They’ll say things like, “There I was praying, and I felt that I was transported to an entirely different dimension, and I felt the love of God was pouring over me this liquid of the oil of His love, and I just felt drenched in it.”

When people have experiences like that, I look to the fruit of it. I don’t know if I can absolutely say whether or not their experience was valid. It’s not necessarily my place to judge, unless there is actual heresy involved in it. But here’s the foundational point: we should not regard that kind of experience as normative.

Now, there are some experiences that I think we should ask God for. The Bible talks about the love of God being shed abroad in the heart of the believer. In other words, we can have an inner sense that we are His child, that we know Him and He knows us. It doesn’t have to be an overwhelming spiritual experience, or the kind of thing that somebody would write a book about. That’s not promised to us.

It’s not wrong to expect that there would be some spiritual experience, but we don’t have to think for a moment that it would be just like the experience that someone else has had. The Christian life is not a game of matching somebody else’s experience in order to truly be a believer and truly be loved of God. Those experiences are very subjective. I’m not saying it’s impossible that God would grant such a thing to somebody, but if He does it, He will do it for a very individual purpose for that individual person.

If I see another Christian’s child being influenced in sinful ways, should I notify the parents about it, or just pray?

If I see another Christian’s child being influenced in sinful ways, besides praying, should I notify the parents about it, or is that not my business?

I’m going to assume that you have some connection with this family within your church circle or school. If you think that a child is being influenced in sinful, perhaps even dangerous ways, I think it’s good and appropriate for you to call attention to that to the parents. Do it humbly and simply. Call it to the parents’ attention and then leave it in their hands.

Remember that beautiful promise of the Golden Rule: we are to do unto others as we would want them to do unto us. If you were in their shoes, would you want to know? And more specifically, if you were in their shoes, how would you want to receive the news? You wouldn’t want to receive the news from somebody who’s arrogant or judgmental or condemning in any way. You’d want to receive it from somebody who’s humble. In considering and acting upon that, consider how you would want it to be brought to you in the very same situation. If I was a parent, I’d probably want to know what you’re talking about.

We used to be in a charismatic church with visions and prophecies. Now we’re in a church without those things. Are both correct?

We have been in a charismatic church for most of our lives, in a church with visions and prophecies mixed with tongues and so on. Now we are in a Church that doesn’t have them. We are confused. Can both be correct?

There are a couple matters at play here. You could say there is something supernatural and miraculous in every gift of the Holy Spirit, but some are more obviously supernatural than others. One matter for consideration is whether the more obviously miraculous and supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit continue to the present day. And if they do, should they be made the center of congregational gatherings?

A church can very genuinely believe that God may communicate on occasion to people through visions or dreams, and yet not make the proclamation of visions or dreams part of their congregational gatherings. They would accept those instances as guidance which God may give to a believer on an individual level, rather than having somebody stand up in a church service and say, “I’ve had a vision from the Lord,” and then explain what that might be. There are varied opinions on how such gifts should be carried out in practice within congregational life.

Christians have different perspectives on these things. The simple question is: can both be correct? Well, they could be correct concerning what God wants for that particular congregation. It’s also possible to be in a church who denies these more apparently miraculous or supernatural gifts of the Spirit for today, and I would say that they are incorrect.

I’m a continuationist. I believe that the apparently miraculous and supernatural gifts of the Spirit continue for this present day. However, I do not believe that their exercise should be the focus of congregational life. There are some churches that do that. I think it’s a challenge to do that while remaining within biblical constraints, but it’s possible. I think the exercise of these gifts fits better in smaller group settings.

Again, there are different perspectives on this in the Christian world. If you were a part of a church where the gifts of the Spirit were exercised in a biblical and edifying and good way, praise the Lord for that. In my own experience, I would say that’s somewhat rare in God’s family. I don’t say that to make you dissatisfied with where you’re at now, but just so that you can understand what a precious gift it was to be part of a church which really did have a biblical exercise of the gifts for the time that you were there.

What is the difference between preaching and teaching?

These two terms are used pretty much interchangeably in the Bible, so it’s possible to exaggerate the difference between the two. But basically, preaching focuses more on proclamation, proclaiming the truth of God, and oftentimes with a persuasive element involved. On the other hand, teaching places more of an emphasis on instruction, education, and discipleship.

There is a time and a place for both. God has a real purpose for both. There are many places in the Bible where they are used pretty much synonymously, but there are other places where I would say there is some distinction.

How can I describe the Trinity?

I’m having trouble defining the Trinity – I know what it is, but the wording isn’t working for my friend. I always use Scripture, but I must be doing something wrong. Could you please help?

Here is the best way that I know how to describe the Trinity. I hope it’s helpful for you.

There’s one God. He is revealed in the Bible as the covenant God of Israel. His Name is Yahweh.

In the Bible, we see God the Father claims to be Yahweh, God the Son claims to be Yahweh, and God the Holy Spirit claims to be Yahweh. These are three separate persons, yet they’re all Yahweh. Therefore, you have one God in three persons.

How exactly does that work? I don’t think we can go into detailed explanation. But there’s one God in three persons. The one God has the covenant name, Yahweh God. The Father claims to be Yahweh God, the Son claims to be Yahweh God, and the Holy Spirit claims to be Yahweh God. No doubt this goes beyond our full comprehension, but there is one God in three persons.

Does God choose who will go to heaven and hell (Revelation 13:8)?

In Revelation 13:8, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain, does that mean God has already chosen us from (before) the beginning? Meaning who will go to heaven/hell?

Revelation 13:8 – All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

2 Thessalonians 2:13b – God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

This is about God choosing people before the foundation of the world. God’s ability to choose should be recognized by Christians. Has God has already chosen us from before the beginning? Yes, that is certainly true, in some sense. How do we know that we’re chosen by God? We know that we’re chosen by God if we put our faith in Jesus Christ. That’s how we know. There’s not a sign on people’s foreheads declaring whether or not they are chosen.

Yes, God has His chosen plan. He knows. It’s no mystery to God. However, in our individual lives, we know that we’re chosen by whether or not we put our faith in Jesus Christ. If a person wants to know that they’re chosen by God, then they should trust in, rely on, and cling to Jesus, who He is and what He came to do for us, especially what He did at the cross and in His resurrection. If a person trusts that good news of the gospel, then they can say, “I know I’m chosen. If I wasn’t chosen, I suppose God would never have brought me to this place where I made this confession of faith.”

It’s that simple. If people want to make it more complicated, that’s on them. The Bible speaks of things from God’s perspective and from man’s perspective at various times. From man’s perspective, we should not regard this at all as being predetermined, leaving nothing that we can do about it. That’s not how God wants us to think about it. Rather, God wants to emphasize for us that we are human beings, made in His image, who have a real choice to make. If somebody believes that the election of God or the choosing of God somehow eliminates the real choice that men and women can make for or against Jesus Christ, then I think they understand God’s election wrongly.

How do we overcome lust?

That is not an easy question, because lust can express itself in many different forms. I’m going to assume that you’re speaking of lust in a sexual way. We can lust after all kinds of things though. We can lust after money, fame, power, comfort, food, and all kinds of things. I’m just going to assume that you’re speaking of lust in sort of sexual sense.

Here’s one way to overcome lust. I’m not saying that this answers everything; this is just one aspect for you to think about. Keep very high standards. Don’t look at or pursue anything that might be even remotely lustful or that would excite your lust in any way. Just avoid it. If something happens to come up on your screen as you’re scrolling through social media, immediately move on from it. Don’t give it a moment. Don’t give it a thought. Just say, “Pass, not for me.” Keep very high standards and strict standards for yourself, and you’ll see that it’s easier to overcome. When we give in a little bit at the edges, allowing things that might be a little bit lustful, but assuming that it’s not really something to worry about, we will find it easier and easier to give into lust for bigger things. So set high standards. Build high fences for yourself.

Who are the dead in Christ? Do we go directly to heaven when we die?

The Bible says the dead in Christ will be raised first. Who are the dead in Christ? Do we go to heaven when we die?

1 Thessalonians 4:16 – For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

2 Corinthians 5:8 – We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

The dead in Christ are simply believers who have died before the second coming of Christ. This resurrection refers to the resurrection of their body. I would say that their spirit or soul is already with Jesus Christ because Paul said very specifically that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. It’s possible that a person may be with the Lord as a disembodied spirit, in some way, just as angelic beings can be disembodied spirits. That can be possible for us as well. But the most straightforward explanation would be that resurrection of our body awaits the end of the age.

“Does My Anger Mean I’m NOT Truly Saved?” Live Q&A for August 15, 2024