reason.cck.org.uk

This is a question made popular by YouTube videos, which dismiss the existence of God as they claim He doesn’t heal amputees. Their logic is as follows:

1) The Bible says God heals
2) Amputees don’t get healed
3) Therefore the Bible isn’t true

In my opening I would like to make it very clear that I believe God does heal amputees. In fact, there is even a man in the Bible that Jesus heals after his ear has been chopped off. (Matt 26:51-54)

As to why God does not heal everyone in this life, including obviously some amputees is a different question. Christians believe that they are in a stage between the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus (2000 years ago) and his returning again to bring his work into completion, to make the earth and all that is in it renewed.

This means that God has given Christians the privilege to pray in Jesus’ name with the power of the Holy Spirit for healing, which God will often do, but we are still not yet in a perfect world and will not be until Jesus returns. As a natural consequence not all people are healed and this is most obviously shown in the ultimate ‘illness’ which comes to everyone: death. Death is something no one can avoid and is what the Bible refers to as ‘the last enemy’ to be overcome. However, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, he has conquered death and enables those who trust in Him completely to live eternally.

Christians also believe that, after they die, they will receive renewed perfect bodies without any faults and which will last forever. Amputees will be a thing of the past!

Another question often linked with the one asked is that of ‘Don’t you need faith to get healed? Maybe amputees don’t have enough faith…’.

We are in no place to judge who has more faith than another. Only God can see the heart of someone and so I could never say with confidence that anyone has enough faith for healing except for those in which healing has occurred. The faith in question is mentioned in the Bible, in Matt 21:22. Many people assume that this is simply having a very strong will to be healed or the belief that God can heal them, but instead it is intrinsically linked with God’s will. I believe that the faith mentioned in the passage is the knowledge that it is God’s will to heal them; true faith, true depth of understanding about the will of God. This is something that I definitely do not claim to have.

My challenge to the questioner would be as follows: Is this really a question you personally struggle with or is it a sort of smoke screen/challenge and if God healed an amputee in front of you or if it was proven that God does heal amputees beyond reasonable doubt would you then trust in Him and follow Him, trusting Him with your life and choices or instead would you find another question to challenge him and the Christian?

We messed up
First off in the question there is the assumption that God did not create everything perfect when in reality He did (Genesis1:31) Everything He created was good. That was the way things were: there was perfect harmony between God and humanity until the fall. God, who created man and woman out of love, did so with freedom as part of the human package. It was with this free will that man and woman chose to sin, chose to go against God and by doing so they brought the world under a curse (Genesis 3:14-19). As a result of the ‘fall’, Adam and Eve brought sin into the world which causes sickness, decay, severed relationships, human hurts, death. In short, imperfection. Did God create imperfection? No. God’s creation is perfect. But, humanity chose to sever this perfection.

So why did he come to save us?
We are right in believing that we are entirely undeserving of His grace, of Jesus, of forgiveness from God. God would have been entirely just in leaving us to be. Yet, He came to a people who rejected and despised Him and died a brutal death so that we can enter back into a restored relationship with Him. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10) We can rejoice because of Jesus Christ who reconciled us back to Him whilst we were still enemies of God. (Rom 5:6-11).

Conclusion
God’s first priority is to bring Himself glory, and a redeemed people bring Him more glory that a robot-like people who are somehow ‘programmed’ to love Him. This may seem like a selfish goal, but He is perfect – it is logical that such a being should hold their own praise, honour and glory as of first importance. As for why a redeemed people are more glorious than automatons? Think back to the Champions League Final 2005, AC Milan vs. Liverpool. Almost everyone remembers it! Why? Because Liverpool came back from 3-0 down at half time to win on penalties. It was so unexpected that they made it that it made their win even more amazing. In Ephesians 3:9-11 we read of God’s eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ, namely, his amazing way of justly redeeming his ‘prodigal sons’. This, we are told, was to demonstrate the manifold wisdom of God to all supernatural powers.

 The wealth of the answer to this question! Even the most descriptive of words would grossly undervalue the beauty of Heaven. Our minds cannot even begin to fathom the glory that awaits us when we dwell with our Lord for eternity. What awaits us is immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. (Eph 3:20) Mind blowing!

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” And he who sat upon the throne said, “Behold I make all things new.”

Rev 21:1 – 5

The most magnificent truth about Heaven is that we will dwell in the very presence of God! Surely that should be sufficient an answer! It seems almost outrageous to think that we will get to physically gaze on the beauty of God – but such is the depth of the price His Son paid for us on the cross.

Paul writes that we must set our heart on the eternal things above (Col 3:1-2) for this is what we were made for. (2 Cor 5:5)

I’m going to briefly elaborate on “Behold I make all things new.”

Spiritually and Morally New
 
·         The greatest frustration of this world is that we still sin. (Rom 7:23-24)

·         Rev 21:11 talks about God’s people as having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. They will be without sin.

Physically and Bodily New
 
·         As we grow older, our bodies tend to wear away. The sheer volume of mass media advertisements related to beauty products is evidence that the world is desperately trying to push away the aging process.

·         Phil 3:20-21 reads “Our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change the body of our lowliness to be like the body of his glory, according to the working by which he is able to subdue all things to himself.”

The New Creation
 
·         This is the point of Rev 21: 1: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” I don’t think this means that God picks us up and takes us to a new solar system—though he certainly could if he wanted to. The hope of the prophets seems to be that this earth and these heavens will be made new. God will renovate the whole thing—a kind of global rehab project. And everything futile and evil and painful will be done away.

·         Paul put it like this in Romans 8:21, “The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the liberty of the glory of the children of God.” The newness and the glory of the children of God is primary and first. But then God promises that the glory of his people will demand a glorious creation to live in.

A new relationship with God

·         John tells us about this in Rev 21: 4: “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them.”

·         There is a deep and painful sense in which we are “away from the Lord” (2 Cor 5:6-7)—we do not see as we will one day see. “Blessed are the pure in heart,” Jesus said, “for they shall see God.” It’s a promise. Something greater is coming for all of us in our relation with God.

I hope you are as excited as I am about Heaven and the glorious hope that awaits!

I think that in answering this question we first have to clarify a few things in our minds as to what we mean, and what the Bible means when it talks about heaven. Having identified this we can talk about how we can have confidence in its existence and how this affects us.
 
What is heaven?
 
The Bible describes heaven repeatedly throughout its pages and it is consistently described as the place where God’s presences is most full known and revealed. In Isaiah 66: 1: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.’”. This is why Christians are able to say that God is everywhere whilst saying that heaven is the place where God is most obviously present.
 
Do we go to heaven when we die?
 
Interestingly and contrastingly to general perception the Bible says that Gods ultimate and eternal purpose is for us to live on a restored earth. 2 Peter 3:13 says “But in keeping with his promise [Jesus’] we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” This helps us to understand why God would create an earth in the first place which is not clear if he ultimately intended for us to live in heaven. The Bible says that God has always intended for us to live in perfect relationship with him on the earth just as he did in the beginning with Adam and Eve. Scripture reveals that “…creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay…” God will ultimately restore this earth back to its original perfection and we will enjoy it forever.
 
How can we be sure of the existence of heaven and our eternity in relation with God?
 
Ultimately, we accept the Bible’s attestation of the reality of heaven through its description of it and the testimony it gives to those who have seen it. Finally, we accept what Jesus says with regards to the reality of heaven and his ability to know the truth as being one with God.

I have already detailed some biblical accounts of the existence of heaven so, even though there are many more, I hope we can agree that the Bible reveals heaven as a real place of which we can have knowledge.
 
Next, therefore we can look at those in the Bible who claim to have seen it, the clearest of these is by an individual named Stephen who is the first person to be killed for being a Christian. The Bible records of him that “…Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man [Jesus] standing at the right hand of God.’” (Acts 7:55). So from this testimony we can again see that heaven is a real place where God is especially present and where Jesus is.
 
Finally, Jesus affirms the reality of heaven and furthermore our place in the eternal plans of God. John records Jesus saying the following: “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3). Jesus himself says that God has an eternal place for us and this is guaranteed by Jesus’ testimony and his actions for us on this earth.
 
Conclusion
 
In summary, we can be confident of the existence of the reality of heaven through a variety of eye witness testimonies, recorded in scripture, and finally through what Jesus has revealed.

Committing suicide is a serious issue and for obvious reasons a very emotional one also. So what does God have to say on the matter?
 
The Bible refers to God as the giver of life, and the one who sustains life also (Colossians 1:16-17). Therefore, it is definitely wrong for somebody to take their own life regardless of how bad things may have got in their personal life.
 
There is a way out
 
Before going any further in answering this question it is important to note several important truths that God promises to believers. Sometimes, circumstances may seem particularly bleak but as a Christian you can know God with you (Romans 8:31). He will never leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6). Just as crucial is God’s promise that he will never allow us to be tempted beyond that which we can bear, and that he always provides a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). This shows that he is willing to be active in helping you in the midst of your dark situation.
 
You can’t lose it
 
The first thing we must consider is whether salvation can be lost for any reason? If you are a Christian then you will be pleased to know that you can’t. There are many scriptures to back this up, but I will use just one. ‘No one can can snatch them out of my hand ‘said Jesus (John 10:28) when referring to his people (his sheep). This means that once God has his hand on our life his commitment to us is unshakeable.  We can’t lose the eternal life that God has given us. When we become a Christian we are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), who then comes to live inside of us.
 
The Bible tells us that you become a Christian not because of your behaviour but in spite of it. This is what Paul meant when he wrote to the Ephesians that they had been saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). In this sense, suicide is just another sin, which can be forgiven just like all others through the powerful work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
 
Judgement?
 
Ultimately, if you are a Christian you have escaped God’s just punishment which would have meant you would have been eternally separated from him. We are still judged though on how we have stewarded what God has given us and it is possible to be saved as one escaping through the flames (1 Cor 3:15), and experiencing a sense of loss. It is important that we maintain a healthy fear of God as Christians, reminding ourselves that he is holy and we should not take lightly the gift of life he has given us.
 
Conclusion
 
In conclusion, a Christian can’t lose their salvation by committing suicide, but it is a sin (from which there are many harmful repercussions) and regardless of the circumstances you may find yourself in, there is always a way to get through the emotions of the moment. God can even allow you to go through difficult times to be brought to maturity as a believer (James 1:2-5).