Day: August 9, 2009

Every Sunday I provide videos and valuable links to the Truth or Tradition teachings. We’ve been following the Truth or Tradition teachings for many years now and they have truly blessed our family. We have found peace and happiness through our beliefs and we walk confidently for God. My hope, by passing on this information to you, is that what you find here, or on the Truth or Tradition website, will guide you to a better, more blessed and abundant life.

If you would like to read my views on religion and how we got started with the ministry, you can read this.

Let’s get started:

[This article was taken from the book “The Christian’s Hope: The Anchor of the Soul.”]

A person’s perception of the next life has a significant impact on his or her view of this life. People who believe there is no future life are likely to live in excess in this life, exhibiting attitudes like “get it while you can” or “do unto others before they do unto me.” The Bible points this attitude out in Isaiah.

Isaiah 22:13
But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!”

In such people’s minds there is no ultimate punishment for wicked behavior or ultimate reward for good behavior, so this life and what they can get from it is all that matters. Then there are people who do believe there is a next life but view it as completely disconnected from this life because it takes place in some kind of vaporous, cloud-filled, angels-with-wings kind of world. These people tend to discount this world and may even be repelled by it. It is this latter viewpoint that will be the starting point of this chapter because it raises the issue of what “spiritual” is. The importance of having an accurate understanding of what is spiritual cannot be overstated because it dramatically impacts a person’s view of the next life and, in turn, dramatically impacts the person’s view of this life.

Attempting to determine what is “spiritual” has led to much confusion in the religious world. When someone believes something is or is not “spiritual” it has a great impact on his life. It shapes his values, and therefore defines what he feels comfortable doing. Many Christians base their definition of “spiritual” on their concept of heaven. Traditionally, heaven is a place where the souls of the saved reside in sublime bliss, fulfilled just by being in the presence of God. The result of this perception is that many Christians think there is very little about this life that is spiritual.

In an effort to clarify the word “spiritual,” it is important to first dismiss the common misconception that there is a direct conflict between that which is spiritual and that which is physical. Based on this misconception, spiritual is “good” and physical is “bad” and the Christian must choose between them. The Bible, however, indicates that the opposite of “spiritual” is not “physical” but “fleshly” or “worldly.”

God created people with physical bodies. People then decide whether they will focus on that which is spiritual or on that which is fleshly. People can be very spiritual and yet enjoy the physical things in life at the same time. One of the reasons God created the heavens and earth the way He did was for man to enjoy all its physical beauty. He created the sun and moon and hung them in the sky knowing that, besides being functional, they would be enjoyable. He created domestic animals such as dogs and cats knowing that they would be more than just “work animals,” but friends and companions as well (Gen. 1:24 and 25). [1] God created plants that are both “pleasing to the eye and good for food” (Gen. 2:9). He put Adam and Eve in “the Garden of Eden,” which in Hebrew means “the garden of delights” or “the delightful garden.”

There is no question that God intended man to enjoy life in a physical environment. However, because many Christians are taught that this world is physical and therefore “bad” compared to “heaven” which is spiritual and therefore “good,” the real value and enjoyment of the earthly life God has provided is lost. In fact, most Christians assume that when they die, their lives will change drastically and all the things they now know and enjoy will pass away. Such a mindset often dilutes the fulfillment available in many daily activities. After all, what is the real value of something that will pass away into oblivion? But what if the activities of this life will not pass away? What if they continue on into the next life? Would it not be easier to see the value in them, and would it not be easier to relate to the future life?

In orthodox Christian teaching, there is almost no relation between this world and the next. The way some Christians disdain this life and look forward to being in “heaven” almost makes it seem as if God made a gigantic mistake when He created this earth for mankind. A good question to ask is what would have happened had Adam and Eve never sinned? They would have lived on earth forever. Was it God’s will for them to sin? Of course not. The only logical conclusion is God’s will for mankind is to live on the earth forever—not in a corrupted world like this one, but in a perfect world like that which He originally created. If God made Adam and Eve to live on earth forever, it just cannot be true that “the earth is evil but heaven is wonderful.” [For further study read “Gnosticism: Gnostic ideas have had an influence on Christianity.”]

The point is this: just because something is related to earthly life or is “fun” does not mean it is not spiritual or valuable. Are there things about this life that are not spiritual? Certainly, and we are not to be so invested in this life that we forget about the work of the Lord and get lost in earthly pursuits alone. However, there is a great difference between realizing that we are to seek first the Kingdom of God and believing that nothing in this life is of any real value because it will all pass away and thus has no relation to our “real” life in the next world. There is also a great difference between realizing that we must be about the Father’s business and thinking that having fun is somehow innately ungodly or unspiritual. Though we live in physical bodies on a physical earth, there is much about earthly life that is wonderful, godly, and “spiritual.”

The somewhat ironic truth is that because God designed life to be lived by those who believe in Him, Christians should be the ones who most enjoy the things God placed on the earth. It is unfortunate that the misconception of heaven and what is truly spiritual has caused some people to withdraw from many of the activities that God intended for people to enjoy. God knew Adam would have to focus much of his time and energy on keeping the Garden. He also knew that when He told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth that they, just like any other couple raising children, would have their hands full. Much of the work of parenting is due to the fact that children require a lot of time and energy, not because of the fallen nature of man. Surely no one believes that had Adam not sinned, all those children would have raised themselves. God planned work for man, including parenting. Not only do these activities not hinder salvation and holiness when they are carried out with dependence upon God and obedience to His Word, but they even contribute to man’s spiritual growth and wholeness.

Don’t Retreat—Relish!

In contrast to having a godly attitude about work and family, the belief that this world is somehow inherently ungodly can cause people to retreat and withdraw from much of life and even their God-given responsibilities. It is often taught that personal holiness is to be obtained by withdrawing from the pleasures of the world. Unfortunately, it is even occasionally taught that it is also necessary to withdraw from the responsibilities of this life. The well-known historian Will Durant writes of early Christians who, to be acceptable in the eyes of God, withdrew from daily life to pursue their individual salvation, perhaps in a monastery, the desert, or elsewhere.

Read the rest of the article here.

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You can read more about this subject here:

Is There Death After Life?

Free Online Seminar: Death & Resurrection to Life

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