After Death? Hello, My name is Noah.I am a 14 year leadership member in my church. I was reading your article on what happens after death. Unfortunately I saw some things that were questionable, I would appreciate it if you would try to clear these up for me. Firstly The issue of gods presistance in his being god is unchanging so the sentence out of you article that I quote "Despite Saul's disobedience to God, God made an exception here" From the previous quote I ask how you explain the point of view Secondly The issue of eternal security " Saul at this point in his life was out of God's will and because the Spirit of God had left him, he could not receive any word from God" If god is dwelling in you then god can always work through you and I believe that once you accept god then he will stay with you for all time. Thirdly You stated that everyone will be judged from their works and god will credit their works on the day of judgment but this is not the message in this parable the message is revealed to me as we will be judged by how we use the gifts that god has given us but if we don’t use the gifts that god has given us then we will lose those gifts and the ones blessed with many gifts and use them wisely will also receive our gifts because he has proved himself responsible. You said "The lesson for the Christian is that each of us will give an account for our time here on earth. This is not the same as being judged on our salvation status. Christ's death on the cross allows all who believe to enter God's kingdom. We will be judged on our works done since the time of our salvation." I would appreciate it if you would get back to me. In his love,
Dear Noah, Thanks for reading my article. You ask some great questions. Let me first address the issue of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit was not given to all believers until Pentecost in the Book of Acts. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would rest upon the prophets or the kings of Israel but the Holy Spirit could also depart from those individuals. That is why David prays in psalm 51 "...take not your Holy Spirit away from me." In the Old Testament, the dwelling of the Holy Spirit was not permanent. That promise was prophesied and fulfilled in the New Testament. In regard to Saul, he had walked away from God and there was no prophet to speak to him. In desperation he turns to the witch of Endor. The vision she sees is Samuel the Prophet. Some believe this was a demonic counterfeit. This may be true. I believe it was Samuel for he makes a prophecy that comes true. In this case, God allowed Saul one last word as an act of His mercy but of judgment as well. God allowed Saul to here a word from God but this was a word of judgment. Finally in regard to spiritual gifts. The New Testament teaches that the Holy Spirit indwells believers permanently (Ephesians 1:13). Along with the Holy Spirit are the gifts He gives. I do not believe the gifts are taken away from believers who do not use them. I believe they remain unused and will be accounted for on the day Christians are judged for their rewards. Thanks for reading the article. Write again any time. |
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