Some of the questions we received were concerning the same topic, but were worded differently. Both Ken and I thoroughly enjoy answering questions, but not so much that we want to answer the same question three different times! So, the question that will appear on the blog is usually the first one we received.
And away we go...
I know Jesus forgives me, but how do I forgive myself?
Most of us struggle from time to time with some form of guilt over something in our past, and one of the true struggles of the Christian life is seeing ourselves the way God sees us. It is clear from Scripture that if we have trusted Christ, God does forgive us fully and completely (Hebrews 8:12; 2 Corinthians 5:19). I think a lot of Christians wrongly believe that beating ourselves up over our sin demonstrates a stronger connection to God. Actually, holding sin against ourselves longer than God does demonstrates a lack of faith that Jesus' cross is enough to pay our debt. If you're struggling in this area, you might spend some time reading Ephesians 1 and 2, praying that God would allow you to see yourself the way He sees you: "once far away... brought near through the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13).
Why did Jesus have to be resurrected? How do we know He really was resurrected?
Stay tuned on Easter Sunday for a more complete answer to this question. But briefly, 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 indicates that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, our faith and preaching is useless (v. 14), the apostles who said they saw Him alive are liars (v. 15), and our sins have not been paid for (v. 17). 1 Corinthians 15:25-26 also adds that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, He is not the Conquering King over mankind's greatest enemy: death. Also, Jesus had to rise from the dead in order to fulfill Old Testament prophecies like Psalm 16:10 which pointed to a resurrected Messiah.
1 Corinthians 15:5-6 offers the most convincing proof of the resurrection: 511 eyewitness accounts. When Paul wrote, many of those people were still alive (v. 6), and could have been questioned. Yet history never records a single defector among all those people. Additionally, the Romans and the Jewish leaders had a vested interest in squashing Christianity before it got off the ground. If the resurrection did not happen, all they had to do was produce a body, and Christianity would have gone by the wayside as quickly as it began.
For more information on the proof of the resurrection, check out the appendix to chapter 4 of "I'm Glad You Asked," by Ken Boa and Larry Moody.
Does God punish believers for their sin even if they ask for forgiveness?
God does not punish believers for their sin, period. Jesus Christ received the satisfactory punishment for our sin (1 John 2:2; 1 Peter 2:24). We often face the consequences of sin (both our sins and the sins of others), and endure godly discipline from time to time (Hebrews 12:7-11), but that discipline is never punishment for sin, or done out of God's wrath. Godly discipline is corrective so that we can be trained to do the right thing, because God loves us and wants us to live in the freedom of the holiness He enjoys (Hebrews 12:10-11).
Since Jesus did not NEED to suffer for anything, do we NEED to suffer for anything?
Jesus did not need to suffer in the sense that He did not deserve to suffer the consequences or penalty of our sin. He was perfect, but suffered the consequences of our sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). We, on the other hand, have all sinned (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:10). We certainly deserve to suffer for our sin, but we do not need to suffer for our sin, because Christ has suffered for us.
With that said, Jesus promised that suffering would come to people who are identified with Him, because the fallen world system in which we live hates Jesus (John 15:19-21; Matthew 24:9). When we are identified with Jesus through faith in Him as our Savior we no longer deserve to suffer, but we still do. When that happens, Jesus reminds us we are joining a long line of people who looked to Him before us (Matthew 5:10), and that our suffering will not be in vain (Matthew 5:11-12)
How does the Catholic view of the cross differ?
The Roman Catholic view of the cross is based on the philosophy and theology of Peter Lombard and Thomas Aquinas (12th and 13th century theologians, respectively). Roman Catholics believe the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as foundational to a system of what they call the "sacraments." These include baptism, confession, eucharist (communion), penance, unction (last rites), orders (clergy), and matrimony. The Roman Catholic view is that a person receives merited grace through those sacraments.
Evangelicals believe that the term merited grace is an oxymoron. Grace is by definition unmerited. We believe that because of Christ's death on the cross, God gives unmerited favor (grace) to those who trust His Son (Ephesians 2:8-10).
If we are no longer obligated to sin (after our redemption), could we live a sinless life?
Some great Christians from the past have attempted to make this argument (John Wesley, for example), but we believe sinlessness on this side of eternity is impossible. The book of 1 John was written to believers, and John makes the case very early that although Jesus Christ has purified us from sin in a positional sense (1 John 1:7), we still sin in the practical sense (1 John 1:8-9).
As a believer we can rest assured that our sins have been paid for (1 Peter 3:18), we have been freed from the slave market of sin (1 Peter 1:18-19; Romans 6:22), and we have the Holy Spirit living inside us Who can help us in our struggle against sin (Romans 8:9-10; 1 Corinthians 3:16). Prior to trusting Christ, we lived as God's enemies (Romans 5:10; James 4:4). As God's enemies, we couldn't do anything but sin. Now, although we will not reach perfection on this side of eternity, we have the ability to grow in grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18), and walk worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1).
So how close can we get to perfection? If you're like me, closer than we were yesterday...
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