Simmonds' China Blog

Pt. 8 What happens to people when they die?

Peter — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:27:38 +0000

Every person has an eternal soul inside of them. When you die, it is just your body that dies. When the body dies, the soul leaves the body and goes to heaven or hell. (2 Corinthians 5:8)

Everyone who receives the gift of salvation during their lifetime has the Holy Spirit living in them. The Holy Spirit marks them as God’s children, so their souls go to heaven. The souls of those who did not receive this gift will go to hell. Those in heaven cannot go to hell and those in hell cannot go to heaven. (2 Corinthians 1:22, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-9)

At some point in the future there will be a final judgment when God will judge every person according to their deeds. This judgment will not change the destination of those who are in heaven and hell; it will, however, let people know what their rewards or punishments will be and why. (Romans 2:5-8, Revelation 20:11-15)

When Jesus returns to this earth like he promised he would, the bodies of those souls who are in heaven will be resurrected. Of course many of the bodies—those that have been in the ground for a long time or those that were cremated—will be nothing more than dust when Jesus returns, but that doesn’t pose a problem for God. He will resurrect the bodies and change them into imperishable bodies. Then the bodies and souls will be reunited! (1 Thessalonians 4:16, Philippians 3:21)

Those souls in hell will also receive new imperishable bodies. (Matthew 10:28)

Pt.7 Why does the Christian Bible have an Old Testament and a New Testament?

Peter — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 03:39:51 +0000

The oldest material at the beginning of the Bible is called the Old Testament. The more recent material in the second part of the Bible is called the New Testament. The word “testament” (Hebrew berîth, Greek diatheke), means “covenant.” A covenant is a contract or agreement between two parties. The term “Old Testament” thus refers to the covenant which God entered into with Abraham and the people of Israel; this covenant is often referred to as a “covenant of works.” And “New Testament” refers to the covenant that God entered into with all believers through Christ; this covenant is often referred to as a “covenant of grace.” Both covenants involved the same core stipulation: full allegiance to God. The promise made by God in both covenants was, I will be your God and you will be my people.

The covenant of works required the people of Israel to keep their part of the covenant by obeying God’s laws. God gave these laws to the people of Israel through his prophet Moses. Since it was impossible for the people to perfectly keep God’s laws, and since the penalty for breaking God’s laws (sinning) is death, God created a system that allowed certain animals to be sacrificed as (temporary) payments for the violation of His laws.

Around the year 30 A.D. Jesus died as a sacrifice so that humans could be forgiven of their sins and made right with God. Because he was perfect, his death put an end to the sacrificial system. His death was the payment made so that all people (including those who lived under the covenant of works) could be redeemed from slavery to sin and death. Because he had kept God’s laws perfectly (something no other human had been able to do), his death fulfilled the requirements of the old covenant and put into effect a new and better covenant. (Romans 5:9, Hebrews 9:15)

The covenant of grace is based on internal motivation rather than the keeping of external laws. It is not necessary for God’s children living under the covenant of grace to memorize or strive to keep the laws of the old covenant. Jesus said that if we love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and if we love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we will be fulfilling all that is required of us. (Matthew 22:37-40)

Under this new covenant, the Holy Spirit lives inside of God’s people, so we say that the law is now in us, written on our hearts. The new covenant is for people of every race and ethnicity; anyone who receives the gift of salvation automatically joins this covenant. The new covenant is also better because Jesus serves as a mediator (middle man) in this new covenant between God and people. His death and resurrection open the way for all to enter into a right relationship with God. (Jeremiah 31:31-33, Ephesians 2:11-16, Hebrews 9:15)

Pt.6 What does it mean to be sanctified?

Peter — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:27:42 +0000

A part of the Bible, which we call the New Testament, was originally written in Greek. In the New Testament, the Greek word “hagios” is translated “holy” or “sanctified.” These words mean “set apart.” A sanctified person is one set apart from ordinary use to be God’s own possession, for His use and enjoyment. Remember, He redeemed us and we now belong to Him.

The Bible talks about past, present, and future sanctification. In this article I’m going to talk about two types of sanctification: positional sanctification and practical sanctification.

Positional sanctification refers to a one-time event that happens at the moment a person receives the gift of salvation. The Bible says when we are saved and the Holy Spirit enters in to us, our position changes. we stop being enemies of God and become His children. He saves us from the power of darkness (power of Satan) and brings us into the kingdom of our lord Jesus. We pass out of death into life! (1 Corinthians 6:11, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 John 3:14)

Unlike positional sanctification, practical sanctification is a daily process of conforming to the likeness of Jesus. Practical sanctification is about living out our faith. Because we have been freed from the power of sin, the Holy Spirit, who has taken up residence in us, enables us to serve our new master in a free and joyful way. It’s our responsibility to make god-honoring choices in every situation, and we can depend on the Holy Spirit to give us the power and wisdom to do this. We need to be imitators of Jesus: Showing our love by serving others, praying for others, and forgiving others. (Romans 8:29, Philippians 2:12-13, 1 Peter 1:14-15, 1 John 3:18-19)

e-Sword

Peter — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:15:05 +0000

I’m a sucker for free software that performs well, and e-Sword is one of those great free programs! It comes with two Bibles installed (KJV & KJV+), but there are many that you can add. Two of my favorites are free: ESV and GW. I also added a free Greek New Testament and a Hebrew Old Testament; both include Strong’s Numbers.

On e-Sword’s website there are free commentaries, dictionaries, maps, timelines, and even a customizable Bible reading plan that you can download as modules!

I used to use NASB as my study Bible and NLT as my reading Bible, but I’ve found that ESV makes a great study Bible and GW is an excellent reading Bible. And unlike NASB and NLT, the latter two are free!

P.S. Another really nice Bible translation is CSB. You can get this for e-Sword, but it’s not free. Go here to see a side-by-side comparison of CSB and ESV: http://www.biblestudytools.com/parallel-bible/passage.aspx?q=Genesis+1&t=csb&t2=esv

Pt.5 Why does the Holy Spirit live in God’s children?

Peter — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:33:14 +0000

God sent the Holy Spirit to live in his children. God’s Spirit acts as a seal guaranteeing that those who have the Spirit will reign with God forever in his Kingdom. Ephesians 1:13-14

The Holy Spirit is also a teacher. Because he knows the thoughts of God, he will lead us to understand the truths that God has revealed to us. 1 Corinthians 2:10-12

The Holy Spirit also helps us communicate with God. When we are talking to God (praying) and having difficulty putting our thoughts and feelings into words, the Holy Spirit interprets our sighs and groans and intercedes for us. Romans 8:26-27

The Holy Spirit also acts as a guide, sometimes preventing us from doing things that are not part of God’s plan for our life. Acts 16:6-7

The Holy Spirit also helps us bear the “fruit” that he brings into our life. (The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.) Galatians 5:22-23

Pt.4 Who is the Holy Spirit?

Peter — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:22:40 +0000

In the last post I talked about being baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We know that the Father is God the Father, the Son is Jesus, but who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He is one of three separate and distinct individuals who comprise God. (We use the pronoun “he,” but really the Holy Spirit is neither male nor female.)

The Holy Spirit is a helper sent by God to live in everyone who receives the gift of salvation. If you are a child of God, the Holy Spirit lives in you!

Pt.3 Now that I’m a child of God, do I have to get baptized? (What is baptism?)

Peter — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:00:32 +0000

Remember repenting and confessing that Jesus is Lord? You recognized that Jesus has all authority and therefore is your master. If you’re cringing at the word “master” let me assure you that you don’t need to. Before you received the gift of salvation you were a slave to sin and death. Now you are a slave to a loving master! Jesus loves you unconditionally and has your best interests in mind.

Well, your master, the one who willingly died so that you could be saved, wants you to be baptized. We need to show our love for Jesus through obedience. Remembering that Jesus always has our best interests in mind makes obedience much easier!

Before Jesus went up to Heaven, he told a group of his closest students to baptize believers in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. (“In the name of” means “in obedience to the power or authority of.”) Baptism represents the washing away of our sins that happened when we received the gift of salvation and were justified. Baptism also represents the death of our old sinful self (when we go under the water) and our new life as a child of God (when we come back up out of the water). Matthew 28:19, Romans 6:3-8

Baptism is an outward testimony of what has occurred inwardly in your life.

Pt.2 How do I receive this gift of salvation?

Peter — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:46:32 +0000

First we must repent. Repent means to change our way of thinking or acting. In this case we abandon the false belief that we are the Lord of our life in order to confess the reality that Jesus is Lord over all. Confessing that Jesus is Lord means recognizing and admitting it to be true. In order to confess Jesus as Lord, we must have faith. Faith means that we judge God faithful. In this case, we believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and made him Lord of all. In fact, God has given Jesus all authority, including the authority to judge the living and the dead. Notice that this belief is from the heart; it must be more than just head knowledge. It must be the kind of faith that causes us to do good works in obedience to Christ. (Acts 26:20, 2Co 7:10, Acts 2:36-38, Romans 10:9, Matthew 28:18, Acts 10:42, James 2:17, John 3:36)

If you’ve repented and confessed Jesus as Lord because you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and made him Lord, you are now his child! You have been adopted by God!

This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The word “gospel” means “good message,” and as you can see, this message is amazingly good! Do you believe it? If so, tell others.

Pt.1 When the Bible talks about salvation, what does it mean?

Peter — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:40:17 +0000

Salvation is a free gift from God to us. It’s free, but it came at a great cost to God. Because of his great love, he sent his only son to the earth to die as a perfect sacrifice. This was necessary because every human has sinned and therefore lacks God’s approval. We’ve fallen short of his glory. Unfortunately for us, the penalty for sin is death, not just physical death but the lake of fire as well! Fortunately for us, Jesus voluntarily gave himself up to die on the cross, bearing our sins in his body, so that we could receive this gift.

When we receive this gift…

• we are justified. Justified means we are declared just, or righteous, by God. (“just as if we had never sinned”) Romans 5:1

• we are redeemed. Redeemed means “bought back.” The death of Jesus purchased us from slavery; we are no longer slaves to sin and death. Romans 6:16, Titus 2:14

• we enter the kingdom of God as his children. He has promised that we will reign with him forever. Romans 8:15

Community

Jenny — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 14:11:29 +0000

Some say it takes a community to raise a child and that’s just what we’ve been seeing happen in so many orphans’ lives within our foreign community. On rare occasions an orphan is released into a foreigner’s hands to be cared for. Usually these little ones are just weeks away from dying; John Deere was no exception.

He’s been taken care of by several people since being released by the orphanage: his single foster mom, her roommate, a married couple with a teenager, a mother of two, a single friend, an ayi (Chinese helper), and probably others that I don’t even know about! I knew eventually I would see his face in my home; I just wasn’t sure when. Today it happened. I agreed to take care of him for a few hours while his foster mom had a meeting.

His little 9 month old body is bony caused by malnourishment and I wondered if I was ready emotionally to care for him. Little did I know that my problem wouldn’t be in caring for him, but keeping Lily from him! She was intrigued by this little creature lying on our couch. She wasn’t scared like Jolie was. Jolie looked shocked upon seeing him and stated, “He looks like a skeleton. Why did that happen to him?” Then her little brows furrowed and she left the room quickly, not feeling comfortable in his presence.

Lily on the other hand walked right up to him and began to grab his feet. She explained to him in her best 2-year-old language that she wanted to touch his feet, and when he, by reflex, pulled them away from her touch, she yelled at him! She kept saying, “Baby, I touch your feet, okay?”

It was adorable. She was persistent, and I had to keep a close watch on her, because when she did succeed at getting his feet, I was worried she might pull them off! She also enjoyed putting her baby doll directly next to him and having them “talk” to one another.

I doubt those people who said it takes a community to raise a child thought of including a 2-year-old in the equation; however, as I watched the two of them together–him tracking her every movement and her stimulating his head, feet, and legs and desiring to have him talk with her baby–I was reminded that even the little ones can play an important role in someone’s life….even the life of John Deere.