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Download Lesson: 2.8.15 Class Notes – Rom 3
LOOK:
God showed His amazing love to us by creating a plan of salvation for everyone who believes upon His Son, Jesus. We learned three elements of salvation:
One evening while I was leading bible study, a new Christian asked, “Does the Bible teach that suicide is an unpardonable sin?” She grew up in the Catholic Church where her priest taught that suicide was an act against God and a sin for which one could not repent. If one could not repent, then God wouldn’t pardon him. So, suicide became the “unpardonable sin,” which meant to her that someone could lose their salvation.
As the group unpacked the question, I realized they had received mixed messages and needed a clear, biblical response. Let me clarify for you here what the Bible teaches about suicide and the “unpardonable sin” so your mind can rest. It’s complicated, but stay with me.
Suicide is a sin, but it is not the “unpardonable sin.” The Sixth Commandment states “You shall not murder.” Suicide is the murder of self. Since God created us in His image and His word teaches the sanctity of life, it is never our prerogative to take someone else’s life or our own. Moreover, the Christian stance is that God is the author of life. He doesn’t just create us, but He also pre-ordains the number of days He will grant to us before we’re born. Here are three Scripture passages that support that God controls how long we live:
Deut 32:39 – “See now that I am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.
Ps 139:15-16 – “My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me was written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Job 14:5 – “Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”
Therefore, when a person commits suicide, two sins are committed. One not only sins by murdering himself, but also opposes God’s will by rejecting the number of days God ordained for him.
So what is the “unpardonable sin” and where does it stem from? The Bible passage most often cited is Matthew 12:31-32. Jesus confronts the Pharisees: “And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” When we read this, it’s hard not to feel unsettled. We wonder if we have somehow committed the sin of “speaking against the Holy Spirit.” But we need to understand the context of this passage.
From a historic perspective, the Pharisees hated Christ. They suggested that His miracles were from Beelzebub, the prince of demons! By claiming that Jesus’s miracles were of the devil, they were blaspheming the Holy Spirit’s testimony that Jesus was the Son of God. Moreover, they didn’t care about Christ’s ability to forgive their sins. They continuously rejected Jesus.
As you can see, connecting suicide with the “unpardonable sin” is not biblically sound. So can someone lose their salvation for committing suicide? The Bible tells us that God forgives the believer’s sins at the moment of salvation (John 3:16; 10:28). When we become a child of God, all of our sins, even those committed after salvation, are no longer held against us.
Ephesians 2:8 says, ” For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” So, we are saved by God’s grace, not by our own good deeds. In the same way that our good works don’t save us, our bad ones, or sins, cannot keep us from salvation.
Paul made it plain in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing can separate us from God’s love: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
For some of you, suicide has hit too close to home. You’ve lost a loved one or a close friend and are still trying to process it. There is no question that suicide is tragic, but it does not negate the Lord’s act of redemption. Our salvation rests securely in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. So then, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom 10:13)
Does this post make it clear to you that suicide is not the “unpardonable sin?” Do you have any further questions on the matter? Let me know how I can assist you. Click the link below to share your questions, thoughts, or comments.
Blessings,
Lee Ann
Blessings,
Lee Ann
Download Lesson: 2.1.15 Class Notes -Romans 2.12-29
LOOK:
There are some basic principles we need to follow in order to live a life of obedience that is pleasing to God. We need to build the right foundation, i.e on Christ, learn God’s teachings, and then serve God by practicing His teachings! But all of this starts with the heart.
The Gospel of Christ demands inward change: “You must be born again.” (John 3:7) Once we placed our full faith and trust in Christ, we were sealed by the Holy Spirit. By definition, our hearts are positioned to be transformed, but we have to make the free will choice to be yielded to how He leads us. We can choose not to listen to His voice. We can read His commands and teachings all day long, know them inside and out – just like the Jew, who knew the Law inside out, and still do nothing. None of us want to be reminded that on Judgment Day, our expressions of our faith through the good works He’s gifted us to do in His name, will be evaluated. Remember, “to whom much is given, much is required.”
As a financial advisor, I work with clients to build their portfolios in order to achieve their life goals. Over the last ten years, I have noticed a shift in thinking about retirement age among my clients. After being stung by the stock market crash following 9/11/01 and the global financial meltdown of 2008, age 65 is no longer the goal age to retire. Many don’t feel they have accumulated enough retirement assets to sustain them during retirement. If this describes you, your concerns are well-substantiated.
Photo Courtesy @Shutterstock.com/ Andrey_Popov
Let’s look at Social Security (SS) as one source of retirement income. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the SS program during the Great Depression when the average life expectancy in the United States was 62 years. The government designed SS retirement benefits to kick in at age 65, leading to 65 as the common goal date to retire. Since 62 was the average life expectancy, the government was not expecting recipients of SS to live much longer! Our Congress wanted to ease the suffering of millions of senior adults during a time of crisis, but it was never intended to become a replacement for retirement savings.¹
Now, let’s look at your retirement savings as a second source of income. Current statistics show that there’s a 50% chance that among married couples, at least one spouse will live to be 92 and a 25% chance that one will live to be 97. Medical reports are showing that we are closing in on a life expectancy of 100. We are living longer lives with the help of medical advances and technology. Fifty years ago, the average retirement was twelve years. Now when someone retires at age 65, the average retirement is twenty years. And we know that many will live longer and have 30 years of retirement. Here’s our reality:
“It is not realistic to finance a 30-year retirement with 30 years of work. You can’t expect to put 10% of your income aside and then finance a retirement that’s just as long.” -John Shoven, Stanford University Professor of Economics
I see some clients frustrated and distressed that they have to work longer to accumulate more assets. In fact, Mass Mutual supports their distress. They conducted a recent survey among baby boomers and learned that their number one fear is outliving their savings. Instead of feeling frustrated, I want to suggest that working longer is a new reality for many investors. Doesn’t it make sense that if we’re living longer, our time in the workforce will be longer?
Fortunately, not everyone will have to work longer just because they are living longer. Those of you who started saving in your twenties will enjoy the compounding that results when investment time has been on your side. Those who waited until their late thirties and forties to start saving will feel like they’re playing catch up. If you are in the latter group, let me encourage you.
It is never too late to make adjustments to better prepare for your retirement. Here are some basics of financial planning to consider:
Are you willing to accept that most of us will be working longer because we are living longer? I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. You can click the “Share Your Comments” link below.
Blessings,
Lee Ann
¹ Robbins, Tony. Money: Master the Game, p. 31.
Download Lesson: 1.18.15 Class Notes – Rom 1.18-32
LOOK:
We were introduced the doctrine of general revelation as well as the doctrine of sin. There are two main points that you need to leave with today:
Our part is to strengthen this area of the gospel message and remember that there is a desperate need to carry the Gospel to all men because this is the only way they will be saved.