by Micah Olson | Oct 7, 2021 | Articles
In Part 2 we discussed man’s body and soul/spirit. To review, God created man with two parts: a body and a soul/spirit. As Christians we spend this life investing in our souls. This is the process of dying to ourselves (e.g. Luke 9:23-24 and John 12:24-25), of being conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), of allowing Jesus to increase as we decrease (John 3:30). Investing in our souls during this earthly life impacts the quality of our souls in eternity. But what about our bodies? The bible tells us that bodily discipline is of little profit (1 Timothy 4:8). I may be convicted out of stewardship to invest in a healthy earthly body, but a healthy earthly body does not translate into a healthy eternal body. So, how do I invest in my eternal body? The bible teaches us that there is one area in our earthly lives that impacts our eternal bodies: sexual morality. 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 is one of the New Testament’s foundational passages on sexual morality. In these verses the Apostle Paul teaches the importance of sexual purity, and the connection between morality and our resurrected body. Early in the passage Paul makes a distinction between our temporal and eternal body. Food and the stomach are temporal, and both are perishing (v. 13). But the resurrected body is eternal. That Paul has our resurrected body in mind is made clear when he states that God raised Christ from the dead and He will raise our body up as well (v. 14). In verses 15-17 Paul goes on to explain the connection between immorality and...
by Micah Olson | Sep 23, 2021 | Articles
God created humans with a body and a soul/spirit. Our current, earthly body came from the dust of the earth. Our body is decaying and will eventually die, at which time it will return to the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7, 3:19, Ecclesiastes 12:6-7). Although we lose our earthly body at death (or at the rapture, whichever comes first), at the resurrection we will receive a new, eternal body. Our souls are different. Our soul does not die when we physically die, and we do not receive a new soul at the resurrection. Our present soul remains with us, transitioning from earthly life into eternal life. From the standpoint of our soul, we are as alive today as we will be in eternity (Romans 8:9-10). To summarize, upon death we lose our earthly body, but our soul lives on. And at the resurrection we receive new, eternal bodies, while our soul remains intact. God created our body and soul for His purposes, and therefore both are inherently good. However with Adam’s original sin, sin is now imputed to all of us, and in body and soul we all fall short of the glory of God. As we know, the story does not end there, and with Adam’s sin God set into motion His plan to redeem mankind. At the cross Jesus paid the ultimate price for us. He died physically and He died spiritually. Both were necessary to redeem man. Christ’s propitious death redeems our bodies and redeems our souls. One of the major themes of the bible is the value of our souls. Jesus teaches in Matthew...
by Micah Olson | Sep 9, 2021 | Articles
There is nothing in the human experience quite like the act of sex. It is a uniquely physical act. It is a uniquely spiritual act. It is beautiful if performed within God’s boundaries. But it is destructive to body and soul if experienced outside God’s design. What the bible teaches regarding marriage and sex is fundamentally different than what the world teaches. It is no secret that in recent years our world has undergone a seismic change in regards to its perspective toward sex. Those who seek to uphold a sexual morality based on biblical standards find themselves increasingly at odds with the prevailing culture, mocked for holding an antiquated worldview, and slandered as being intolerant and close-minded. How do we stay encouraged and resolute in our pursuit for purity? Where can we find motivation as we swim upstream against an increasingly hostile environment? How do we teach our children to view sexuality through a biblical lens and impart to them a desire for purity amidst a generation that disdains moral excellence? The pursuit of sexual purity is one of the greatest trials in the Christian life, and the present culture that we live in only amplifies this trial. Like all trials, the battleground for purity begins with a proper understanding of biblical truth. There are two biblical truths that are foundational to understand if we want to give ourselves and our families a fighting chance to persevere amidst this battle: 1) a proper understanding of our body and soul/spirit, and 2) eternal hope, by which I mean living our lives in such a way that the pursuit of...
by Trevor McDowell | Aug 27, 2021 | Articles
Many times in life, circumstances can bring opportunities our way. This could be a new job opportunity, a relocation opportunity, a relationship opportunity or maybe even an opportunity to go the route of vocational ministry. The question sometimes we need to ask ourselves: could the opportunity be a test from the Lord? We see in 1 Samuel 24 and 26, David had two great opportunities to eliminate Saul so that he wouldn’t have to run any longer. In Chapter 24 Saul and three thousand men are pursuing David and his men. Saul decides to go into a cave to relieve himself. Of all the caves he chooses, the one he enters is where David and some of his men are hiding. While Saul is taking care of business David cuts off a piece of his robe. What is very interesting is that David’s conscience bothers him. In verse 4, David’s men tell him that “the Lord has delivered your enemy into your hand”. David disagrees and says the following in verse 6, “Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.” David persuades his men and does not allow them to strike Saul when they had the opportunity. The second instance occurs in Chapter 26. Saul is once again pursuing David in the hill of Hachilah. David decides to go with Abishai and check things out at Saul’s camp. We see throughout David’s life that Abishai was close to David, watching out for him. ...
by Chris Martin | Aug 13, 2021 | Articles
The Apostle Paul instructs us in Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Then again in I Peter 2:5 we are instructed to “offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” As followers of Jesus Christ, it is clear in Scripture that we are commanded to live sacrificial lives. This Biblical truth is one that many may hear and be aware of, but do we really understand and know what it means to live a “sacrificial life?” A working definition of sacrifice is “to give up something of current value for something of greater future value.” The baseball team readily understands this principle. With a man on third and no “outs,” they will next hit a “sacrifice fly ball” most every time. What this means is that the batter will intentionally hit a fly ball to the outfield to be caught, thus securing an “out” for the opposing team. This “out” in our illustration represents the “something of current value.” The “out” is sacrificed because it is then known that it will subsequently result in their runner on third scoring after the “out” was secured. The ability for the runner on third to score represents the “greater future value.” If we are called to live “sacrificial lives” what then does the Christian have to offer that is of present current value? I would suggest to you some of the things we offer as a spiritual sacrifice are our time, energy, mental capacity, emotional...
by Craig McAndrews | Jul 29, 2021 | Articles
King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 23:7, “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so he is: eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee” (KJV). Another way to read this is, we are what we think about. For anyone who has spent time in the Bible, it’s no surprise that the wisest man to live pointed out this truth. What we think about captures our attention, and what has our attention determines our action. Try this exercise for yourself. Write down the two or three things that have your attention in life. What do you think about most these days? As they come to mind, look at how you are spending your time, money, or talents. It’s likely the resources God provides are being used to pursue what has your attention. We move in the direction of our strongest thoughts. Unfortunately, if our direction is off course, it will impact our relationship with Christ. The apostle Paul provides powerful instruction in 2 Corinthians 10:5 when he writes, “We are destroying speculations, and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” If taking every thought captive is an essential practice for the follower of Jesus, what is the best way to do it? Praise God that the answer is found in the pages of scripture. In Colossians 3:2, Paul challenges the church to “set their minds on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth.” The King James translation uses the phrase, “set your affection” on...
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