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Lord, Please Bless This Poison

I’m hoping to live to be 100. So far, so good! At 55, I’m more than half-way there—although statistics indicate that my chances of reaching my goal decrease annually. Since I’ve learned that there are currently 53,000 people in the United States who are over age 100, however, I know my dream is possible.

Why do I want to live to be 100? First, more years mean potentially more fruitfulness for God’s kingdom. Since God entrusts those who are faithful with more, then more years mean more opportunity to earn His trust, in hopes that He might grant more opportunities, responsibilities and spiritual gifts. More years also means more Bible study, prayer, experiences and mistakes, all of which means more wisdom. I could then help 55-year-olds avoid mid-life folly!

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A Lot of Profit from a Little Exercise

At the close of last month’s e-Teaching titled Lord, Please Bless This Poison, I promised that this month I would reveal a simple exercise for weight loss that requires very little effort and only requires seconds each day. So I’m going to keep good on my promise.

The secret to effortless weight loss is obviously something that interests many of us, judging from the numerous articles in supermarket magazines with titles such as, “Lose Ten Pounds in Ten Days…by Eating Twice as Much!” In the United States, the weight-loss industry is huge. In the quest to slim down, Americans annually spend $60 billion on diets and weight-loss programs.

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Sell Everything? Part 2

As I endeavor this month to address some final questions that have followed April’s e-teaching titled, Five Modern Myths About Jesus’ Conversation with the Rich Young Ruler, I suspect that some readers will be surprised by my answers. Did Jesus expect the rich ruler to liquidate business capital? Is it wrong to save or invest money? How much should we give? What did Jesus mean when He said that no one can be His disciple who does not give up all his own possessions (Luke 14:33)? If you have not read my initial and subsequent articles in this series, it would be best if you did. As always, your feedback is appreciated. — David

Last month, we began to explore the degree of dispossession that Jesus expected of the rich ruler if he was to inherit eternal life. This is of interest to us, as I have shown that Jesus’ words to the rich ruler have undeniable application to every one of us, rather than uniquely to him, as is often thought.

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Sell Everything? Part 1

We’ve been giving away free copies of my little book Forever Rich for some months now, but at the end of this e-teaching, we’ve got a free offer for a much more significant book that I wrote on stewardship some years ago titled, Through the Needle’s Eye, and subtitled, An Impossible Journey Made Possible by God. It covers everything that the Bible has to say about stewardship, from Genesis to Revelation. I hope you’ll take advantage of our free offer. — David

This e-teaching is another follow-up to April’s e-teaching titled, Five Modern Myths about Jesus’ Conversation with the Rich Young Ruler. I would strongly encourage you not to read this e-teaching unless you’ve first read that one, otherwise you will likely be confused. In that e-teaching, I presented compelling biblical evidence that Jesus’ words to the rich ruler have application to all of us, contrary to what so many professing Christians think. I made a very strong case, and I wish that I could persuade every professing Christian in the world to read that e-teaching and the two that followed (The True Grace of God and All Christians Believe “Works” are Essential for Salvation), because neglecting the poor, according to Jesus, is a barricade to eternal life. If you are shocked by that statement, then I beg you to read Five Modern Myths about Jesus’ Conversation with the Rich Young Ruler.

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All Christians Believe “Works” are Essential for Salvation

This month I’d like to continue answering questions I received in response to my e-teaching from two months ago titled, Five Modern Myths About Jesus’ Conversation with the Rich Young Ruler.

Last month I answered the question, “How can we reconcile what Jesus required of the rich young ruler if he was to inherit eternal life with what the Bible teaches about salvation by grace and not works?” If you have not yet read that e-teaching titled, The True Grace of God, please do. You must understand that God’s grace is not unconditional, as is so commonly thought, but rather, conditional, in order to grasp what follows below.

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The Rich Young Ruler

Five Modern Myths about Jesus' Conversation with the Rich Young Ruler

I’ve often wondered what would happen if professing Christians would believe the plain and simple truths that are revealed in Jesus’ conversation with the rich young ruler. So in this eTeaching, I’d like to take an honest look at a story that God felt was significant enough to include in three of the four Gospels. Doing so exposes at least five widely-held (and spiritually-deadly) modern myths about the story. If you believe any one of those five myths, reading this short teaching could well be, without exaggeration, the most important thing you ever do. You be the judge of the truthfulness of my bold claim!

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The Faith of an Atheist

I sat next to an atheist on a recent flight to Mexico. He was from England, where it is reported that only about 40% of the population believes in God.

Once he learned that I work for God, he didn’t hesitate to tell me that he didn’t believe my Boss exists. The very idea of God was absurd to him. Why would anyone believe in God? he said. But then he courteously asked me why I believed. So I told him.

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The Hell Debate, Part 3 – Annihilationism

Annihilation or Eternal Torture?

I so appreciate all the feedback I’ve received regarding my last two e-teachings. The majority has been positive and encouraging, and those that expressed disagreement have been, for the most part, written with kindness and respect. I am amazed at the interest in this topic, and that people take the time to read these especially long e-teachings.

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I have discovered that the subject of the nature of hell can be a very touchy subject for some folks. And I’ve also learned, from feedback I’ve received, that many Christians and Christian leaders who believe in just punishment followed by annihilation keep their belief secret for fear of the repercussions. So let me declare again, from the outset, my love for those who see things differently than me. I was on their side of this issue for four decades, and I know how difficult it can be to have long-held beliefs challenged. The important thing is that we strive to be “Bereans” who “examine the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things are so” (Acts 17:11).

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The Hell Debate, Part 2 – Annihilationism

A Continued Look at Annihilationism

This month I’d like to continue building on last month’s e-teaching, in which I gave a brief introduction to what theologians refer to as annihilationism, the doctrine that the unrighteous will not suffer eternal conscious torment, but that they will, after being justly punished according to their deeds, be annihilated and cease to exist. A related doctrine, known as conditional immortality, embraces the idea that immortality is not automatically possessed by all, but is only granted as a gift to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (as we read in Rom. 6:23).

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Annihilationism is definitely a minority belief among Christians. Most of us believe that the unrighteous will be tortured forever in the lake of fire. Yet I would bet that most of us would prefer not to believe that. We must, however, stick with what the Bible teaches whether we like it or not.

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The Hell Debate – Annihilationism

A Consideration of Annihilationism

How difficult it is to escape a theological rut. Once my doctrinal wagon wheels roll into one, they just want to remain in the path of least resistance. So I avoid listening to anything that might challenge my position, and I keep moving straight ahead…in the rut carved out before me.

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Blessed are those whose wagon God occasionally jars, giving them a chance to see some light. Still, it is quite easy to fall right back down into that rut—where it seems so much safer. Down in the rut there is no risk of being criticized by everyone else whose doctrinal wheels are following the same well-worn groove. So we all keep singing I Shall Not Be Moved while the Lord is singing Amazing Boneheadedness.