Category: Christian Living

Q. In the Bible, the prophet Malachi says about marriage, “Has not the Lord made the two of you one? You belong to him in body and spirit. And why has he made you one? Because he was seeking godly offspring.”  Does this mean that we should expect the offspring of couples who “belong to the LORD in body and spirit” will naturally be “godly”? Or, since the translation note says, “The meaning of the Hebrew for this section is uncertain,” is the English translation still debatable?

It would certainly be wonderful if there were a promise in Scripture that a husband and wife who both belong wholly to the Lord will have children who grow up to be godly.  Unfortunately, as you note, there is some uncertainty about what the text actually says here.

In fact, it’s quite amazing how widely English translations of this statement by Malachi vary.  You quoted it from the TNIV (2005); in the latest update to the NIV (2011) it reads, “Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.”  So the translators who are responsible for both these editions have rethought things a bit:  no longer “God made you one,” but now “the one God made you.”  And look at how some other translations of this first part of the statement are even more different:

“Did not one God make her? Both flesh and spirit are his.” (NRSV)

“No one who has even a small portion of the Spirit in him does this.” (NET)

“And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit.” (KJV)

“God wants husbands and wives to become one body and one spirit.” (ERV)

“Has not the one God made and sustained for us the spirit of life?” (RSV)

(These examples are all taken from the comparison feature on Bible Gateway; you will see even more variety if you visit the site.)

English translations differ so much because of a couple of ambiguities in the Hebrew original.  Its wording is quite sparse, so translators need to supply much of what they believe to be the meaning.  Its first phase reads either “Did not one make?” or “Did he not make one?”  The second part reads either “flesh spirit to him” or “remnant spirit to him” (the same Hebrew consonants provide the root both for the word “flesh” and for the word “remnant”).

So translators need to decide whether Malachi is saying that “the One” (God) made something (and if so, what?), or whether someone (who?) made someone or something to be “one.”  They also have to decide whether Malachi is talking about flesh and spirit (meaning the whole person?) or a remnant or residue of the spirit.

These ambiguities are inherent in the original Hebrew and I honestly don’t believe they can be definitively resolved.  English translations will continue to differ.  However, I think your question can still be answered in light of the context of this statement within the book of Malachi.

In this section of the book, the prophet is warning the people against divorce.  (That is why some translations say that what “the One” made was marriage.)  Whatever the first part of this statement means, the second part is clear:  God is seeking godly offspring—children who will grow up to know Him—and so “do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.”  (Translators are widely agreed that this is the meaning of the second part of the statement.)

In other words, even if we don’t have a promise here that godly couples will naturally have godly children, there is an encouraging explanation that God’s design is for faithfulness in marriage to promote faith in children.  Indeed, studies have shown that the single most important factor in determining whether the children of Christian parents will grow up to be Christians themselves is whether they perceive that their parents love one another and are committed to each other.  This is far more important than whether the children are homeschooled or go to public school, whether the church they attend has a youth pastor, what translation of the Bible the family reads, etc.

So even if there isn’t a promise or a guarantee here, there is certainly hope and encouragement, and a challenge for couples who do “belong to the LORD in body and spirit” to make sure that their marriage is strong and lasting, for the sake of the “godly offspring” they trust God will help them raise.

Q.  The book of James says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Isn’t that an unrealistically high standard to expect us to meet?  I mean, does anybody really feel nothing but joy when they go through trials?

Let me say first that I think you’ve correctly understood James’s meaning when he says we should consider it pasan charan when we encounter trials.  I think that “pure joy” or “all joy,” as many versions translate the phrase, should be taken in the sense of “nothing but joy,” as in the NRSV and NET Bibles.  (Mounce’s translation has “sheer joy,” with the same meaning.)   Some other translations say things like “consider it a great joy” or “an occasion for joy,” but as I see it, that’s taking something off a statement that’s pretty unqualified.

So is it also unrealistic, and not true to the experience of even the most mature and committed followers of Jesus, for James to expect this?  No, because he isn’t saying that we should feel or experience “nothing but joy” simply on account of our trials.   He gives an explanation of what we should be so joyful about:  “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

In other words, we can be joyful in an unqualified and unrestricted way, even in our trials, because we recognize that God is going to be at work in our lives through them to bring us to maturity—to “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” as Paul puts it in Ephesians.  We can rejoice because our trials are not thwarting God’s purposes, but actually advancing them, if we respond to them in faith with perseverance.

I might also add that the “joy” envisioned here is not so much a feeling as a reckoning, a decision to look at things in a certain way so that we concentrate on their value rather than on their cost.

And so I think it is realistic for James to ask us to choose to view our trials in this way and consequently to cultivate the qualities of faith and perseverance that will allow these trials to be avenues for God’s continuing work in bringing us to maturity.  And when we see Christ’s character taking deep root in our lives—well, that does bring nothing but joy!

Q. Can God tempt someone?

God certainly doesn’t tempt people the way that evil forces do, trying to get them to commit sin.  The New Testament book of James explains this quite clearly: “Remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, ‘God is tempting me.’ God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.”

However, the Bible does describe places where God “tests” people; some translations actually use the word “tempt” in these contexts.  For example, we read in Genesis that God “tested” Abraham (this is the reading of the NIV, NLT, ESV, NASB, etc.) by telling him to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice.  (I discuss that episode more fully in this post.)  The KJV and a few other translations say that God “tempted” Abraham, while others say that God “proved” him (ASV, ERV, Jubliee Bible).

Whatever the translation, this was testing with the expectation of success, not testing designed to expose a person’s weaknesses and inadequacies and “flunk them out.”  Abraham not only proved his absolute loyalty and obedience (“Now I know that you fear God,” the Lord told him), God was able to use the occasion to offer a polemic against human sacrifice (which was supposed to be the takeaway from the episode for the later Israelites who would be tempted to adopt this pagan practice).

So while God may sometimes “test” people so that the virtues they are developing can be vindicated and displayed, God never “tempts” people to do wrong.  Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer to pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” that is, we should ask God to keep us away from temptation.  Paul writes in several of his letters that we should “flee” from things that would lead us to do wrong.  Since God does not want us even to get close to things that might lead us to sin, but to move actively away from them, God would not actively tempt us to sin.

How, then, do we explain the statement in Matthew’s gospel that “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil”?  (Luke says similarly that Jesus was “led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.”)

Once again we should recognize that from God’s perspective, this was intended as a “test.” It was meant to show that Jesus, who had just been identified at his baptism as the “Son of God” (that is, the Messiah), would choose to be the right kind of Messiah when the devil—trying instead to “tempt” him to make the wrong choice—tried to get him to present himself as some kind of magician, or a world ruler, or someone who would primarily meet material needs.  By continually answering the devil’s temptations from the Scriptures (“it is written,” Jesus said over and over again), Jesus demonstrated his godly learning, character and priorities.

This “test,” from God’s perspective, showed that He was right to say confidently, at Jesus’ baptism just earlier, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  But the “temptation,” from the devil’s perspective, failed—Jesus was not sidetracked into becoming the wrong kind of Messiah.  (This dual significance is present in the Greek verb that is used; as the NIV translators’ note explains, “The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.”)

We see that in a typical situation, God has one plan, while evil forces have another plan. In his first epistle, Peter explains God’s purpose in trials or tests:  “These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”  In the gospel of John, Jesus explains the devil’s plan and how it contrasts with his own mission: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

So it is important to recognize that any situation can be a temptation that we might fail, if evil plans succeed, or a test that validates and strengthens our Christian character, if God’s plan succeeds.  The important thing is to recognize God’s plan in the situation and follow it.  As Paul explains, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

So if you ever feel as if God might be tempting you, recognize instead that you are actually in a situation where your devotion and loyalty to God can be proven afresh, if you seek to discern God’s plans and purposes for the situation and join in with them.

 

Q. Is it possible to sin in dreams? Do you think that dreams in any sense reflect one’s state of morality absent of inhibitions or consequences? Do you think that they serve as warnings in terms of what might be the consequences of various actions? Or are they just dreams and shouldn’t be paid much attention?

Whether it’s possible to sin in a dream depends on what sense of sin is in view.

The Bible envisions sin in two different senses. In one sense it’s conscious willful disobedience to the known wishes of God, or, put more simply, doing something that you know is wrong.  This involves a choice of the will, and that’s why it’s not possible to sin in this sense in your dreams.

Dreams are symbolic subconscious expressions of our imagination, impulses, wishes, and desires.  They tend to depict something we want to happen, or else something we don’t want to happen, or they represent the realization of something that’s been apparent before us but hasn’t previously registered in our consciousness. (In this last sense a dream may indeed serve as a warning.)

We are not morally responsible for every idea that pops into our heads, every thought that flits through our minds, or every feeling or desire that wells up inside us.  So dreams don’t really reflect what we would be like morally if we had no consequences to fear.

What we are responsible for is what we choose to do with these things that come into our minds and show up in our dreams. It’s not a sin to become angry with someone, for example.  (The Bible itself says, “Be angry, but do not sin.”)  But it is a sin to choose to take a further step and hold a grudge, plot revenge, or lose our temper and become verbally or physically abusive.

For example, suppose you have an argument with someone during the day.  That night, you dream about killing them.  This is not a sin.  It’s the expression of a feeling.  But when you wake up, you are morally responsible for what you choose to do in response to that feeling, which you have now become vividly aware of.  Following the Bible’s teaching, you should seek forgiveness and reconciliation with that other person.

In other words, what happens in dreams represents only the first stage in the process–an idea, or wish, or desire.  Since our wills are not active in our dreams, but instead our unconscious mind paints a lively symbolic scenario based on an idea, wish, or desire, there is no moral culpability–no sin–on our part, no matter what happens in the dream.

But as I said, there is another sense in which the Bible envisions sin.  It’s also a force that’s active within us to shape our thoughts, words, and actions towards evil, in ways we are often not aware of.  This force is active even in our dreams.  The very things we imagine, desire, and wish for are not necessarily morally neutral, but influenced by the force of sin.

And in that sense, while we still do not sin in our dreams, we dream while under the influence of sin, and so the way we put things together in our heads while dreaming, the way we organize the events and incidents of the day and week while we are asleep, may be “sinful” in the sense that it does not reflect God’s perfect balance of love and justice, but rather some skewed version of it that appeals to us in our sinful state.

So while we still do not need to “repent” of anything that happens in our dreams in the sense of confessing guilt and asking forgiveness, we do need to “repent” in the literal sense of re-thinking the way we have put things together in a dream, critiquing that apparent resolution or aspiration in light of biblical teaching prayerfully under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in the full light of day.

 

Q. I recently noticed (for the first time) that God gave Saul a brand new heart when He chose him to be king over Israel. So how could Saul then disobey God, to the point where God rejected him as king?

The Bible does say that God gave Saul a “new heart” (NLT) or “another heart” (ESV) or “changed his heart” (NIV, NASB) when God chose him to be Israel’s first king.  Just before this happened, Samuel told Saul, “The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you . . . and you will be changed into a different person” (NIV, NLT) or “another man” (ESV, NASB).  The Hebrew word translated “different” or “another” here is the same word used to describe the “new” or “changed” heart.

So this definitely seems to be genuine spiritual rebirth–both regeneration and Spirit-filling.  And there is evidence of it in Saul’s subsequent conduct.  At first Saul was so timid that when Samuel wanted to proclaim him king to all the Israelites, Saul hid among the supplies!  But soon afterwards, galvanized by God’s Spirit, Saul boldly led a successful campaign to rescue an Israelite city that was being besieged by a longtime deadly foe, the Ammonites.  In the wake of this success, Saul was given the opportunity to put to death all those who had opposed his kingship.  But he insisted that their lives be spared.

So what went wrong?  After Saul had been king for many years, he was facing another dangerous foe, the Philistines.  Samuel agreed to come and offer sacrifices to seek God’s favor on Israel’s army, but when he didn’t arrive at the appointed time, and Saul’s army was so intimidated by their enemies that the soldiers began to desert, Saul decided to offer the sacrifices himself.

Samuel arrived just then and when he saw this he told Saul, “You have done a foolish thing. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

Why was offering the sacrifices such a severe violation that it cost Saul his kingdom?  Because God had carefully separated the kingship from the priesthood in the law of Moses.  The kings of the surrounding nations, by contrast, were priests; some were even revered as gods.  But God wanted the Israelites always to understand that He alone was their God, and He wanted them always to seek him through the priests who were descended from Aaron, whom He had chosen as Israel’s first high priest.

But Saul, most likely influenced by the example of the kings of the nations around him, did not hesitate to try to concentrate the roles of king and priest together in his own person, contrary to God’s design for the nation.  This led to disobedience and a break with Samuel’s godly influence, and it was all downhill from there.

The lesson is that a new heart and the filling of the Spirit are necessary but not sufficient conditions for a life that remains true to God.  We also have to be very careful of the examples around us that we allow to influence our thinking and conduct.  We need to pick our friends and role models carefully, and be careful what we watch and what we think about it.  We also need to be aware that the temptations we encounter in a position of power and influence are much greater than ordinary temptations. Otherwise, even genuinely reborn and Spirit-filled people like Saul–or ourselves–can be led down the wrong path.

 

Q. How literally should we take Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians that Christians should settle their disputes out of court? If Christians do have to go to court (say, in a situation in which someone else brings a case against them and they don’t have a choice), how literally should they take Paul’s instruction to “rather be wronged or cheated”? For example, should a Christian be willing to be “wronged or cheated,” rather than engage in speaking harshly about another Christian, even when the stakes are high (such as in a child custody battle)?

If we are really going to take Paul’s counsel about this “literally,” we should recognize that the people he was addressing were members of the same local congregation, or at least members of the community of Jesus’ followers in the same city, so that they were under the spiritual authority of the same leaders.  Paul is saying that these leaders should have the wisdom to settle the dispute and so the aggrieved parties should submit it to them.  His point is not that we should never dispute about important things, but that our disputes should be settled under the authority of the Christian community.

The situation is quite different when the two parties are not part of the same community.  If there is no spiritual authority whom both respect and who knows them and understands their situations, it’s hard to follow Paul’s counsel as he intended it.

We should also recognize that Paul’s main concern was not simply the avoidance of conflict. (Elsewhere in 1 Corinthians he wrote, “There must be divisions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.”). Rather, his concern was for the reputation of the gospel. As I explain in my study guide to Paul’s Journey Letters, he tells the Corinthians that it is “an embarrassment to their community and to Jesus’ reputation in the city” for them to be publicly bickering and appealing to “unbelievers” to settle their differences.

It was only in this context that Paul said it was better to allow yourself to be wronged or cheated—better this than to put any stumbling block in the way of people believing the good news about Jesus.  As he wrote a little later in 1 Corinthians, “We put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.”

So if the weak and defenseless would otherwise be oppressed, if a child’s welfare were clearly at stake, if the cause of the gospel would actually suffer more if an injustice went unopposed, in all such cases I would not see Paul’s counsel to the Corinthians as a blanket prohibition against appealing to the law to settle a dispute, even among self-proclaimed Christians.

However, I would also caution that the law is a blunt instrument.  It can only declare a winner and a loser in a court case.  And most situations that lead to these cases are much more complex than that; there’s right and wrong on both sides.  I imagine that a case that made even followers of Jesus consider litigation against one another would be very complex and nuanced, so that no one should be satisfied with a simple “judgment” in favor of one party or the other.

There are Christian mediation services (a simple Google search for that phrase turns up many) that can help resolve matters out of court, and I would strongly recommend going to them before considering litigation against another believer.  Turning to these professionals is not quite the same thing as submitting a dispute to someone who is in local spiritual authority over both parties (I hope today’s church pastors and elders are up for that challenge when it does arise), but I think it’s a wise and well-advised course.

In summary, as I say at the end of the discussion of this topic in my study guide, “Followers of Jesus might see this question in two different ways. Some would be concerned that the demands of justice be honored, so that someone who says they follow Jesus shouldn’t be allowed to defraud another person flagrantly. Others might say that modeling Christlike sacrifice and non-resistance could help another person realize that they need to change their ways.”