Q: Is depression a sin? Or is it an idol?

Tim Chester, from the UK, has a great post on this very issue. Read it in its entirety here. Chester writes the following:

Depression can have a number of underlying causes – guilt, disappointment, trauma, bereavement, betrayal and so on. (Depression is sometimes linked to chemical imbalances in the brain, but medical science is unclear which is cause and which is effect. In my experience and the experience of others pastors to whom I’ve talked, chemical imbalances are never the only cause. You have to remember that medical practitioners look at all problems in medical terms because that is what they are trained to deal with – they almost inevitably ignore the spiritual dimension.)

We are not responsible for most of those causes. But we are responsible for how we respond to them. We all at different points in our life have to respond to adverse circumstances. Those circumstances may be external (bereavement, failure, disappointment, relational difficulties). They may be internal (illness, chemical imbalances). They may involve both external and internal factors. But we are responsible for how we respond and we will respond with different degrees of faith. Where we are not trusting God’s grace or God’s care or God’s goodness then that response will be expressed in ungodly ways.

The word ‘depression’ covers so much that it is impossible to say depression is a sin or not a sin. Many of those causes (guilt, disappointment, trauma and so on) will make us sad. They may sap our energy and our zest for life. They may feel like an overwhelming darkness. All these are classic symptoms of what people call depression. All of them are, I think, natural and often quite proper responses. But God also tells us to rejoice in the Lord. So in some people features of their depression can reflect a failure to have faith in God in some sense. They may doubt God’s grace and so be consumed by guilt. They may doubt God’s goodness and so be consumed by disappointment. They may doubt God’s care are so be consumed by fear. For some people their depression becomes an identity that enables them to avoid taking responsibility in life.

I am always surprised that people are so reluctant to say that sin might be involved in depression. People seem to think this is cruel. But it should not be shocking to evangelicals to discover that we are sinners, and that our sin affects us in profound and significant ways. And seeing the sin that is involved also offers profound and significant hope because we have a Saviour who rescues us from the penalty and power of sin. Often the process of change is slow. Complete change takes a lifetime. But change is always possible because of Christ’s work for us and the Spirit’s work in us. That is not cruel. That is good news.

Summarily, it is difficult to say definitively whether or not depression is a sin. Depression can arise as the result of sin. One thing is for sure however: How we respond to depression can be sinful. When we fail to trust God (in essence, we commit idolatry; we end up trusting/loving/serving something or someone more than God), then it will expressed in ungodly and sinful ways.

I think Chester's final comments are worth-noting:

It is simply not true that Christians with depression are in any way lesser Christians. In fact it’s a horribly, ugly distortion of the gospel. But the issue is not whether some people think depression is a sin or not (as if Christians without depression are not sinners in a myriad of others ways?!). The issue is people believing anything we might do could make us more or less a Christian. That is the lie. I guess it’s a lie many people operate with, but it is a lie. Our identity is entirely based on God’s electing love, Christ’s finished work and the Spirit’s regenerating power. I can’t add to that and I can’t take away from that.

Friend, remember our identity, significance, security and worth is found in Jesus. When you are faced with depression or anything else, remember this truth!

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: Clean hearts or clean minds?

We are always saying that our hearts must always be "clean" and etc. But I'm very confused because isn't it our minds that control our thoughts and feelings? Why do we always mention the heart, rather than our mind?

Think about your being as an onion with many layers, with the spirit being the innermost layer and the social relationships a person has as the outermost layer:

       Spirit/will/heart --> mind --> body --> social

The Spirit/Will/Heart (SWH) of a person is the inner core of being from which actions flow. Our SWH has the power to do what is good or evil. It’s the center of who we are and ultimately who we become. According to the Scriptures, this is what is enslaved to sin (Rom. 6:14-20), is desperately sick (Jer. 17:9), is full of evil (Mark 7:21-23), loves darkness rather than light (John 3:19), does not seek for God (Rom. 3:10-12), and cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14). No matter how hard a person tries, she cannot change this state through a focus on external behavior (e.g. changing the way you dress/behave/talk; attending all sorts of programs, etc.). It is because the SWH is "bent away from God" and only "toward sin." 

If, however, we put our faith and trust into Jesus, then Scripture declares that we are given a new SWH that is now responsive, alive and warm to God (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Our SWH - before faith in Christ - was "stone" (i.e. completely unresponsive, dead toward God). Consequently, we were "free" only to choose sin. When The Holy Spirit enters our being, we are given a new spirit (heart, will) that has the POWER to fight temptation and thus sin.  

Let me illustrate with an example. You are confronted with a temptation to sin (e.g. your friends are talking badly about another friend behind her back). That’s when your spirit comes into play. In order for you to commit sin, your spirit/heart ("will") must say “yes” to that sin. If there is no inner yes, there is no sin. Even if you think about sin, that’s not a sin (that’s not even temptation!). Remember, temptation is the thought plus the inclination to sin. It's when you linger over the thought. Sin is when we inwardly say yes to the temptation; when we decide to do it.

Here's the connection between the mind and SWH ("the heart"). Your mind is the "processing center" of your being. Thought enter your mind; your SWH lingers over those thoughts and it commits to a course of action; and your body acts it out. This is why Paul tells us to "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind..." (Romans 12:2). Elsewhere he tell us to ensure that we "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). Why do we need to take every thought captive? Because thoughts can be influenced by Satan. The Devil is always scheming to fill your mind with thoughts which are oppose to God's plan (often, he uses the media and culture to do so). He plants ideas into your mind to lead you away from God. This is why its so crucial to "take every thought captive" and to "renew your mind" and to do focus upon godly things (Philippians 4:8). When we do so, it gives the Devil less of a chance to fill your mind with his thoughts; and thus it gives your SWH less of a chance to linger over sin. All your behavior flows out of your SWH; but it's your mind that feeds your SWH with what it decides upon. 

Hope that was helpful. As a church, we need to strive for BOTH clean hearts and renewed minds - not one OR the other.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: How do you let go of bitterness? God teaches us not to be bitter and anger and learn to forgive our enemies. How are we suppose to do this if these are people who are acting very mean to us (such as spreading gossip, etc.)? Are we suppose to love them despite them doing so?

A: In the Book of Ephesians, it says this:

30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. - Ephesians 4:30-32

This passage tells us that indeed, bitterness is not something that we should have in our lives and the Apostle Paul (who writes the Book of Ephesians) tells us to get rid of it by being kind and compassionate to one another, forgive each other just as Christ forgave us. 

One would focus on the fact that in order to get rid of bitterness, we have to be kind and compassionate to one another, but the main message of this passage is not that, but is the last part - just as Christ forgave us. 

You see, we do not have the capabilities to get rid of the bitterness we have.  If we consider bitterness a sin (amongst the other things that Paul tells us to get rid of), than we have to know that we unable to get rid of sin without the forgiving power of Jesus Christ.  Thus, there is no way that we can get rid of the bitterness we have on our own, but it is only through the power and revelation of Christ's forgiveness.

Therefore, to answer your question, you must rely on Christ and allow Him to work through your heart and change the way that you feel.  I understand that may be easier said than done as we always want something more tangible and we want to see results, but ultimately, if we remember that it is Christ who forgives even the worst of our sins, we can remember to extend that grace to others also. 

[answered by Pastor KJT]

Q: Why wouldn't God let us all be Christians in the first place?

Doesn't he want us to be all in heaven and rejoice with him since we are all children of God?

I've answered a similar question, "If God can change the non-Christian's heart, why doesn't God just make everyone become Christians?" so read that first. As to your question, let me answer in sequential points:

1. God created us to have a relationship with Him.
2. God also created us with free- will. Free will is the ability for a person to make choices that determine his actions.
3. With the ability to make choices comes the ability to sin (i.e. do things contradictory to the will of God)
4. Like everything else in life, sin has consequences. The most devastating consequence is separation from God. When we sin we have effectively severed our relationship with God.
5. God sent Jesus to restore that relationship by paying the penalty for our sin. When we trust in his sacrifice for us; ask for his forgiveness and repent of our sin, God gives us new life, new hope, and a new family. We become His children, rejoicing in Him on Earth and in Heaven.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: As a follow-up question to the skipping school question, what if your parents don't mind you skipping, or you know that the class isn't going to do anything that day? (for example, a supply teacher, a "review" period, etc.)

A:  The original question can be found HERE.  

Just use your best judgment at this point.  If your teacher is okay with it, if your parents give you permission, if you don't need to go to the class...than all the arrows point to the fact that it's okay. 

This is a decision that you need to make, based on the information that you have and have weighed in your mind.  I've already given you a general principle with Biblical back up.  Whether or not you skip a class is your call.  You need to discern this on your own. 

[answered by Pastor KJT]

Q: As a follow-up to "Does God love sinners?" I have some problems with the response, where you established that God is not pleased with unrepentant sinners. Yet, this does not necessarily mean He hates them, it just means He's upset with their choices, so the answer you gave was a bit ambiguous...

...Second, the argument made by many theologians is that God hates anything that is sinful, and only loves Christians because of imputed righteousness through Christ. As such, this hatred extends to all unjustified sinners, even those who have been elected but not yet come to repent and accept Christ. Keeping this in mind, I guess the proper question to ask is: Does God love unjustified sinners, those who in their current state do not accept Christ (regardless of whether they will in the future repent)?


A.  Thanks for your follow up question and I apologize if my answer has been confusing.  I will try to clarify and hope that we can resolve this issue.

Fundamentally, God hates sinners.  Because God is righteous and without sin, He hates anyone that sins.  Passage such as Psalm 5:5 and Proverbs 6:16-19 talk about the sins that God hates.  As a result, God must punish the sinner for what they have done.  This is part of His justice and righteousness.  He is holy and the sin offends Him.

At the same time, in His wrath and righteousness, God is also loving and merciful. The punishment of sin is death (Romans 6:22-23).  Those who sin should die, which means that all sinners must pay for their sins.  In His love, God gives us Jesus Christ, who dies on the cross in place of our sins.  Justice is served, and the price was paid.  The wages of sin are death...and the death has come in the form of Jesus Christ.  Our penalty for our sins have been fulfilled.

And so, while God has a hatred for sinners and sins, He also has a love for those He has created.  These two ideas are not mutually exclusive.  God is just, and in his justice, the sin has to be punished with death.  Jesus comes to save us from this death and dies in our place out of love. It's a mystery how this works, that God could perfectly love a person as someone He has created and can redeem, but also hate him for his unbelief and sinful lifestyle.  As we are imperfect humans, we cannot understand or do this.  But we have the opportunity to accept God's love in His judgement of us. 

For more information, please read this. 

[answered by Pastor KJT]

Q: Since God is all-knowing...

...why did he create Lucifer knowing that he would turn bad? Also did God not make a mistake by creating humans? Where's the proof that God is all-knowing? Is he perfect?

These are tough theological questions. Allow me to answer the last two questions first.

1. Where is the proof that God is all-knowing?

There is no definitive proof of God's omniscience (How can a human being possibly know that God knows all things? It just doesn't work that way!) That being said, Scripture does REVEAL that God does have foreknowledge of all things. God's knowledge of events is described as his "omniscience," or his ability to fully know all things actual and possible in "one simple and eternal act." God is "perfect in knowledge" (Job 37:16) and knows all things (1 John 3:20). He knows all things ACTUAL, meaning all things that exist and all things that happen. He also knows all things that will happen in the future (Isa. 46:9-10) - even the smallest details of life (Matthew 10:30). In addition, God knows all things POSSIBLE, meaning God knows information regarding events that might happen but that do not actually happen. Jesus himself spoke about God's knowledge of possible events in Matthew 11:21, "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." Jesus is saying that Tyre and Sidon WOULD HAVE repented if Jesus' own miracles had been done there.*

2. Is God perfect?

YES. God is perfect in all ways, even in his omniscience or his knowledge of all things actual and possible. The apostle John once wrote "God is light and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). "Light" - in this context means that God is both morally pure and fully aware of everything.

3. Why did he create Lucifer knowing that he would turn bad? Also did God not make a mistake by creating humans?

I know you are wondering how can God be perfect if he made his creatures with the full knowledge that they would one day sin. The answer: Just because God is knew that his creatures would sin against Him does not make God imperfect. After all, the reason God created the universe (and everything in it) was for his glory (Psalm 19:1). Even though we may not understand it fully, God's glory is displayed in the act of redeeming his creation. At this point, please read the following article by GodQuestions. Thankfully, they have already answered your question in a concise, biblical manner. Their conclusion?

1. The rebellion of Satan and the fall of mankind were foreknown and foreordained by God.

2. Those who would become the people of God, the elect, were foreknown and foreordained by God.

3. The crucifixion of Christ, as atonement for God’s people, was foreknown and foreordained by God.

So we are left with the following questions: Why create mankind with the knowledge of the fall? Why create mankind knowing that only some would be ‘saved?’ Why send Jesus knowingly to die for a people that knowingly fell into sin? From man’s perspective, it doesn’t make sense. If the meta-narrative moves from paradise to paradise lost to paradise regained, why not just go straight to paradise regained and avoid the whole paradise lost interlude?

The only conclusion we can come to in view of the above assertions is that God’s purpose was to create a world in which His glory could be manifest in all its fullness. The glory of God is the overarching goal of creation. In fact, it is the overarching goal of everything He does. The universe was created to display God’s glory (Psalm 19:1), and the wrath of God is revealed against those who fail to glorify God (Romans 1:23). Our sin causes us to fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), and in the new heaven and new earth, the glory of God is what will provide light (Revelation 21:23). The glory of God is manifest when His attributes are on perfect display, and the story of redemption is part of that.

The best place to see this in Scripture is Romans 9:19-24. Wrath and mercy display the riches of God’s glory, and you can’t get either without the fall of mankind. Therefore, all of the above assertions—fall, election, redemption, atonement—serve the purpose of glorifying God. When man fell into sin, God’s mercy was immediately displayed in not killing him on the spot. God’s patience and forbearance were also on display as mankind fell deeper into sin prior to the flood. God’s justice and wrath were on display as He executed judgment during the flood, and God’s mercy and grace were demonstrated as he saved Noah and his family. God’s wrath and justice will be revealed in the future when He deals with Satan once and for all (Revelation 20:7-10).

God knew that Satan would rebel and Adam and Eve would sin in the Garden of Eden. With that knowledge, God still created Lucifer and Adam and Eve because creating them and ordaining the fall was part of His sovereign plan to manifest His glory in all its fullness. Even though the fall was foreknown and foreordained, our freedom in making choices is not violated because our free choices are the means by which God’s will is carried out.

I know you'll be frustrated as you wrestle with this issue. In my own experience, I have found the proper/best response when you have questions about why God allows certain things to happen is to be humble and trust in Him. God has perfect knowledge of all events AND He has our goodness in mind. This is reason enough to stay humble and trust Him - no matter what happens.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

*Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 190-191.

Q: I asked before: "Does God loves sinners?" and the answer was a simple, unquestionable "yes". Yet, this position is opposed by pastors such as John Piper and Mark Driscoll...

...who believe that God has a lawful hatred of unrepentant sinners, supported by verses such as Psalm 5:5 which states "You hate all who do wrong." How does one go about reconciling these beliefs?

[The question that was answered previously can be found here.  You may want to read it before you continue]

Hello friend!  Thank you for your response.  It is good to know that people are following up and reading the answers, I appreciate your feedback. 

I'd like to point out that the two questions you have asked are different.  The first one you asked is "Does God love sinners?" and I stand by my answer with the "unquestionable yes."  God is righteous.  He cannot be in the presence of sin.  But He loves us - those who have sinned against Him. His love is why he sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and to make us holy. 

I interpreted "sinners" in your first question as one who loves God, yet continues to fall short of God's glory.  They would be people who are striving to live a life that honors God. However, the sinners that you are referring to in your second question are "unrepentant sinners," in which case, I agree that God is not pleased with their actions.

The unrepentant is sinner is one that does not live in reverence or fear of the Lord.  There is a disregard for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  They live selfishly, justifying their sins and actions.  The live in sin and continue to willingly do so.  They perpetuate the sin in their lives and make no intention of repenting for them.  In a sense, they are non-Christians and the Bible says that God will be judging them accordingly.

There is a difference between the "sinner" that continues to try and repents of their sins as opposed to the one that makes excuses for them.  If you came to the Good Friday Service, I talked about the 2 criminals who were crucified alongside Jesus on the cross (Luke 23:43).  Both are sinners, both faced the same death sentence. But one was unrepentant, while the other one turned to Jesus as his Saviour.  Which one do you think gets the promise of Paradise?

[Answered by Pastor KJT]

Q: Does God love sinners?

A:  Yes.  He loves you and I, doesn't He?

What He doesn't love is the SIN in our lives.  God is holy...and being holy means without sin.  Therefore God is without sin and cannot be apart of anyone with sin.  Insert Jesus here.  He comes to save us from our sins so that we may have a relationship with God.  The only reason that Jesus could save us from sin is because He Himself, was without sin.  Jesus is a clean man, coming to save an unclean human race.

Let me make this clear, God loves all His children.  He created us in His image and wants us to have a relationship with Him.  But He hates the sin in our lives and thus offers us a way out.  This is really the basic Christian Gospel.

This coming Friday is Good Friday, which in the Christian faith is the day in which we remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  It is the pinnacle moment in which our loving God sacrifices His holy son in order to save us...all due to His love for us.

I invite anyone who is reading this post to come to our church and be apart of the service. Details are below.

 


[answered by Pastor KJT]

Q: Can a person ever sin too much or be too deep in sin that he/she cannot be forgiven and/or accepted by God?

A: The black and white answer to this question would be "no". You can never sin so much that God won't forgive you. God's grace and forgiveness extends till the day we die and as long as we ask for forgiveness, repent and make a decent effort to change our lives according to the teachings of the Bible, there is no sin in the world that God can't forgive.

Now, as I said, that's the black and white answer. But I'd like to go a little further and explain how a Christian should think regarding your question.

As Christians, we know that if we ask for forgiveness and repent of our sins, God will forgive us. That does not mean that we continue to live in sin, banking on the fact that if we ask for forgiveness one day, all those sins would be wiped away. We dont knowingly sin all our lives, and on our death bed, ask God to forgiveness; that is an irresponsible response to the Gospel.

We cannot perpetuate sin in our lives and then using God's grace as an insurance. The Bible has many passages about fleeing from sin (1 Cor 10:14 - flee from idolatry, 1 Tim 6:10 - 12 - flee from evil, 1 Cor 6:18 - flee from sexual immorality). What this says to me is that as Christians, we live in sin and then ask for forgiveness...we FLEE from sin and when we FAIL to do so, God will forgive us.

Also, the call to REPENT means to recognize the sin and learn from it. It means to pledge to avoid, to the best of your ability, the temptation of succumbing to that sin. Of course, we will fail sometimes, but that's where God's grace comes in. But we are never to abuse His love and grace.

[answered by Pastor KJT]

Q: Even though the Bible states that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, can we say that all sins are equal?

...According to the Bible, it seems that they are not. Can you shed some light into this? If it is true, can we justify "smaller" sins?


A: Thanks for asking this question! It's so applicable to our post-modern world right now as our society has somehow developed their own idea of morality and the varying degrees of this.

From the stories in the Bible, it may seem that God views some sins more serious than others...but that in fact is not the underlying truth. Romans 6:23 tells us: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. ALL sin is looked upon as defiance to God and the punishment for those sins are death. No matter if it's a little lie to get out of trouble or covering up the tracks of a serial killer. They are all the same to God. A sin, is a sin...is a sin. There is no varying degree of them.

However, we have to take into the account of the death of Christ and what it ultimately gives us...grace. Grace comes into the picture because it is by grace which we are forgiven of those sins. By accepting Christ as our Saviour...we are believing in the pardon that His death gives us for us and our sins. We don't have to die, because He has died for us already.

Having said that, just because God gives us grace and pardon for our sins, does not mean that some are more evil than others. It's the complete opposite, as a matter of fact. Those sins are exactly the same, He just gives us Christ instead.

To further your last point about the justification of smaller sins...you are treading on very deep waters if you start to do that. As soon as we begin to justify the sins in our lives, we are playing God. It's very plain and clear...any sin is a sin. DO NOT look upon God's mercy and grace to mistake it for His weakness. You are intentionally defying Him and for lack of betters words...He'll show you who's boss.

Check out this short article by John Piper, he supplements my answer well. Click HERE.


[answered by Pastor KJT, who is saved by grace cause God knows that she's sinful]

Q: In the Book of John, what can be derived from it to be used as guidelines for differentiating good and evil in modern times?

...As in what are the rules laid out for the people of God? And how does it apply to our daily live? If possible, how do we stay focused on this goal?



A: The answer to this question looks far beyond the Book of John, but the the whole of the New Testament.

Firstly, you have to know this. That Christ came to die on the cross, not only to give us new life, but to deliver us from the present evil age. John 17:15, it says this: Father don't take them out of the world, but keep them from evil. What this means is that although we are Christian, we live in a world that is full of evil. Christ's prayer for us, is not for God to remove us from this, but for Him to keep us away from the evil that surrounds us. Through the death of Christ, we have been given a way out...to choose good over evil.

To differentiate between good and evil is a hard one. It presents the idea of discernment and conviction. John Piper in this article, gives a great explanation as to how to make decisions when God's will isn't necessarily obvious (as in written in the Bible). I think it would give great insight to your dilemma. Please click on the link and read the article as it eloquently addresses all you are asking about.

[in case you don't have time to read it, I'll summarize. Basically, in order to tell the difference between good and evil, we have to have a "renewal of our minds". Look at this world through the eyes of God, ask Him for guidance and seek Him in all that you do. I love this passage from the Psalmist "delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart" [37:4]. When we align ourselves with God...when our heart beats for the things that God wants...He'll grant us the desires that we want to see. The idea here is that those desires are not the selfish ones (material goods, fake happiness, etc). But that those desires are ones that honour and glorify God (abolishing slavery and poverty, helping the widows and orphans). When our hearts are aligned with God, it helps us to understand and see the world through His eyes, and allows us ultimately to discern between that which is good and that which is evil. Read the article!]

Staying focused on this goal means commitment and sacrifice. We are called to be the light in this world...the good in the evil (Matthew 5:13-16). It means that we do the opposite with what the world is telling us to do...that being love ourselves only, work for ourselves only, satisfy ourselves only. Christ instead, does the exact opposite...He tells us to love others, to work for Him, and to help the poor and widowed that our outside of our community.

In order to do this, you have to establish yourself in Christ, yearn and develop a deep relationship with Him. Love the things that He loves, hate the things that He hates. And be willing to JUMP in with both feet and fully give your life as a living sacrifice to Him.


[answered by Pastor KJT]

Q: If God wants us to be in heaven with him, why did he create sin to keep us away?

Indeed, God desires to be in relationship with us in this life and in eternity ("heaven"). However, God cannot be blamed for sin, because sinning is a voluntary, willful choice (Romans 3:23). When we sin, we exercise the FREEDOM God gives us. God does not want to force us into any relationship. He wants us to love him freely, so he created us with free-will. Part of having free-will is the ability to sin (i.e. failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude or nature). At its core, sin is turning away from God in rebellion and choosing to live contrary to God's plan.

This is the reason Jesus came (John 3:16-17): To save us from sin and pay the penalty sinners rightly deserve. Jesus died in our place; for our sin (1 John 2:2). Because God's wrath for sin was applied to Jesus on the cross, we can enter into a relationship with God if we confess our sin and trust in Jesus (1 John 1:9)

[Answered by Pastor HM]