Category: Death

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Will I be forgiven if I take my life?

Pastor Chris,

I am a reborn christian I do believe and read to your teachings. I am separated from my husband. I forgave him completely. There is no bitterness in me but, I do have the desire to end my live. I am tired I want to go home. Will I be forgiven if I take my life?

~ Trudie

ANSWER

Trudie,

Your life is sacred to God. He is not through with you, yet; or He would have already taken you home. Your life is important to others, too.

The enemy will work on you to distort your perspective on life and damage your emotions. Do not let satan win this battle. The enemy wants you to think that you are all alone. You’re not. Jesus can handle this and He has friends who will walk with you.

All of us go through times of discouragement and depression. King David did. So did Moses. Elijah, too. And John the Baptist.

Sooo, how do you battle these things?

– Remember that God knows what you are feeling and what you are going through. Tell Him what you are feeling. He is always listening.

– Read Psalm 23 five times a day for an entire month. Read it when you first awake. Again after breakfast. At lunch. At supper. And the last thing you do before going to bed at night. Read it slowly each time and dwell on the words. Ask God to show you His love and His character through this Psalm.

– Get a copy of the book Happiness is a Choice by Minirth and Meier. This book is a terrific resource to help you battle situational depression. If you think you are clinically depressed please find a Christian medical professional for help. Focus on the Family has a network of Christian medical professionals across America that are reliable. To reach them call 1-800-232-6459).

– Walk across the street and find someone you can serve. You cannot help someone else without helping yourself.

– Eat well. Cut back on sugar and foods that easily convert to sugar in your body.

– Exercise.

– Continue to attend worship services at your church and join a small group or Sunday School Class.

– Memorize Philippians 4:8; 13; and Isaiah 40:31.

My heart is with you!

~ Pastor Chris

Posted on

I had a dream about death, what is your opinion?

I have been recently for a long time in my kids had dreams of death. Maybe because I have been sick all of my life. But recently I felt that God told me that he did not send me into the world for a long time. I Feel that this is what The Lord is telling me, I have been suffering all my lIfe with illnesses and I feel God is trying to show me to get ready for I am soon gonna be with him and he will end my suffering. I would like to ask your opinion on my revelation?

Answer

David,

When you consider eternity, this life is less than a blip on a radar screen for all of us. Therefore we all should be prepared to die.

As to your dreams, be careful. Dreams and impressions do not always speak the truth. The best information on this subject that I have found is in James Dobson’s book titled Emotions: Can You Trust Them?: The Best-Selling Guide to Understanding and Managing Your Feelings of Anger, Guilt, Self-Awareness and Love I encourage you to read this book It is easily read and will help your perspective on the subject of impressions.

Pastor Chris

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WHY does God allow children to get sick/die?

Hi Pastor Chris!!

WHY does God allow children to get sick/die?

Sincerely,

Debbie

 

 

 

ANSWER

Debbie,

There are consequences to sin. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, He cursed the earth (Genesis 3). We can trace all of our problems to that one act of disobedience.

 

Adam and Eve could have lived forever on this planet. God told Adam that he would “surely die” if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). When Adam ate from the forbidden tree sin and death entered this world and was passed down to us.

 

The rest of the story is this: God loves us and will re-create creation (Romans 8:18-21; Revelation 21:1-5). This life is not the entire story.

We also believe that children who die before the age of accountability are taken to heaven to be with the Lord. Case in point: King David is spoken of as “a man after God’s own heart.” He had a child that died. David said, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23). We cannot say exactly when the age of accountability is. It has to do with a child’s understanding of sin and his or her need of forgiveness for that sin. It also has to do with a child realizing that Jesus’ death is the payment for that sin. He or she then receives Christ as Savior. When a child knows these things then he or she is accountable for them. It has been said, “A child who is old enough to sin knowingly is old enough to believe savingly.” Willful sin is the issue.

One other thing, we also know that God will do the right thing whenever a child dies. God can be trusted in these matters. He is sovereign. His thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9).

 

Keep digging! I love it when I find someone who is asking questions and searching for the mind of Christ!

 

Sincerely,

 

Pastor Chris

 

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Can you explain free will and the age of accountability?

Hi Pastor Chris, 

We have a small group that meets once a month and we are studying Job. In our discussion came up the following questions:

Is there an age of innocence/accountability (with our understanding that it is around age 7) with kids? Is that biblical?

If a child dies before age 7 (which seems to be what people say is the end of age of innocence and they can make their own decision for Christ) do they automatically go to heaven? 

Where does free will come into play?

What of the Muslim/Jewish, etc. child who has never heard of Jesus? What of them? 

Of course all of the women in this group are moms so this one is very dear to our searching hearts.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer these.

 

In Christ, 

Cheryl

 

 

ANSWER

 

 

Cheryl,

Wow! You and your group are really digging! Great questions! 

I believe that the age of accountability is not fixed at a certain year. Children mature at different rates. This is true even within the same family. The Jews set a chronological age for the age of accountability, but I disagree. For instance, I have met children as old as 10 or 11 that could not tell me what sin is. I remember two girls in a previous pastorate that were 10 and 11 and they had no clue about right and wrong. I have also met children who had a finely tuned sense of right and wrong as early as 4 or 5. No doubt environment plays an important part here. My rule of thumb is this: if a child is old enough to sin knowingly that child is old enough to believe savingly.

Remember, when Adam and Eve sinned it was a deliberate act of disobedience. God had given them clear instructions and they understood them. They chose to disobey God. 

I always ask a child about sin. I ask them what sin is. That is quite revealing. Then, if they know what sin is, I ask the child if he or she has ever sinned. That is quite revealing, too. If a child admits to having sinned, I ask the child how he or she felt when the sin was done. If they have gotten to this point they will usually tell me that they felt bad when they sinned. If they do not say that they feel bad about the sin, then I know that they are still innocent because that Holy Spirit will make them feel bad about the sin. If they do not feel bad then the Holy Spirit has not yet convicted them and therefore they are innocent. 

Yes, I believe that a child who dies innocently will go to heaven. Such a one has not committed a willful sin. Willful sin is the issue here. All children do childish things. Childishness is not sin. It is when a child deliberately does something that he or she knows is wrong that sin happens. When a child sins deliberately, knowingly, he or she is then accountable. 

When King David had a child that died he said, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23). King David was a believer. We know that David went to heaven after he died. Therefore, the child went to heaven before David. 

As to free will, the same parameters come into play. A child is not accountable for having a free will until he or she knowingly, deliberately, chooses to sin. Ps. 19:13, “Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.”

As to Moslem children (or Hindu, Buddhist, etc.), the same parameters apply. If they are truly innocent (as defined above) and they die, they will go to be with the Lord. If they sin willfully then they are accountable to God the same as anyone else. Many years ago Billy Graham wrote a book titled How to be Born Again. In that book is a story of a man that came to one of Billy’s crusades from far out in the country. (If I remember right it was India.) This man hiked something like 50 miles to attend the crusade. He accepted Christ. He said that he always knew that there was something more. He was never satisfied worshiping trees or his ancestors. The Holy Spirit was at work in his life drawing him to Christ.

God puts a divine spark in every person. He also puts an empty place in every person that only He can fill. Part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to work in the world to empower our witness for Christ. Here is how Jesus spoke of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in John 16:7-8, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilta in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” The Holy Spirit is called the Counselor in those verses.

I hope these thoughts are helpful to you. They questions you raise are important. Remember, God is full of mercy and grace. He will always do what is right in these cases. He is also omniscient (all-knowing). He knows ahead of time who will respond to Him and who will not. There is mystery here. One thing is for sure, we can trust Him!

 

Sincerely,

 

Pastor Chris

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Will I go to hell if I kill myself?

Pastor Chris,

Will I go to hell if I kill myself?

~ Mike

 

ANSWER

 

Mike,

 

Let me remind you that all sin leads to hell. We are sinners (Romans 3:23) and therefore headed for hell unless someone saves us. We cannot save ourselves. The Good News is that we have a Savior and Jesus is His name. The Bible says that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, NIV).

 

There are two sides to the problem of suicide that must be considered. One is from the perspective of someone who is contemplating suicide. The other is from the point of view of a loved one who has had a friend or a relative commit suicide.

 

1. For the person who is contemplating committing suicide. Please remember that suicide is not God’s will or plan for our lives. It devastates those who are left behind. A person close to me who has experienced the suicide of a loved one says it is the most selfish thing a person can do. Such a one fails to consider the impact suicide has on others.

 

Also, consider the fact that not all suicides are successful. Sometimes they leave a person in a crippled state or a vegetative state thus becoming an ongoing burden to loved ones.

 

I would ask someone considering suicide if he or she wants to stand before Jesus with murder on their hands. Suicide is murder. Jesus is heartbroken when we sin.

 

When a believer in Christ terminates his or her own life that action profoundly hurts the testimony of the church, which is the body of Christ. Non-believers observing this action can easily conclude that Christianity doesn’t work.

 

2. For the person who has had a loved one commit suicide. Suicide is not the unpardonable sin. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the unpardonable sin (Mark 3:28-29). A person ends up in hell because they refuse to receive Christ, not because they have sinned. Sins can be forgiven. Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sin. When we receive Christ as our Savior we are born again and all our sins are forgiven, past, present, and future.

 

Someone contemplating suicide is in a dark place, consumed with pain. When that happens a believer in Christ may lose perspective. He can forget that he is a child of God, dearly loved by Jesus and others. In a state of depression he hears the voice of the enemy and fails to distinguish it from the voice of God. He listens to the lies whispered to him and falls deeper down that black hole. He feels worthless to the point of despair and makes an attempt on his or her life.

 

It is Satan who wants someone to murder himself, not God. Satan is a liar and the author of death (John 8:44). God is the author of life. If Satan can discourage someone enough to cause them to give up on life then he has done his worst. Nevertheless, you will see your loved one in heaven because Christ said that He holds on to His children forever (John 10:27-30).

 

~ Pastor Chris