554 results for tag: Brad Jersak
Forgiveness: What it isn’t & what it is – Brad Jersak
"And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." Matthew 18:34-35For those who find it easy to leave the streams of love, forgiveness, compassion and mercy behind,... you may not care to remain in those streams but, is your infinite debt something you can manage on your own? Be careful not to forget the unforgiving servant. Go back to the streams of God and be grateful for them. -- Adit Gamble
I'm feeling such a fear of the Lord these days about ...
Q&R with Brad Jersak – “Eternal Destruction” in 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10
Question:
Flikr|Timmy
Please explain the meaning of 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10. Does it mean that those who were disobedient and did not know God are going to punished with everlasting destruction?
6 ... since it is just, on God’s part, to pay back with suffering those who inflict suffering on you, 7 and to give you, with us, respite from your sufferings.This will come about when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his powerful angels, 8 in a flaming fire, meting out punishment to those who don’t know God and those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction ...
Q&R with Brad Jersak: What happened to souls before Christ conquered death?
Question
"What was happening to all those (During their incarceration) who died prior to Christ’s descent and deliverance of the so-called captives?"
Response
That's quite easy to answer! I don't know. It really is a mystery.
But I suppose we can say a little bit in ignorance. I think we can say a little bit why it's a mystery:
One reason: Nobody who experienced it directly and came back ever described it. (Namely, Jesus and the people he raised from the dead). Modern descriptions from near-death experiences are so completely personal that I would regard them as saying very little about the nature ...
May 2020
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Articles:
Grace Is the Gospel of Christ – pg. 1
The Narrow Door – pg. 2
Want to Hear a Good Story? – pg. 5
Franny and Bonnie – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
Conspiracy Theory: How & Why Christians Perpetuate the Tomb Soldiers’ Cover-up – Brad Jersak
Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.
And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’
“And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and 1keep you out of trouble.”
And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread ...
Q&R with Brad Jersak: “What is the worm that never dies?”
Question:
I have read a Q & A you have answered on Mark 9 and found it really thorough and very interesting. The one thing I do not see is what the worm represents in this passage in Mark 9. It says "the worm never dies." I have heard that it represents the eternal worm that basically torments you for eternity in hell. I haven't been able to find an explanation for was the "worm" means. Would you be able to explain the best interpretation you know? Thank you very much. I really appreciate you.
Response:
In Mark 9, we see Christ is simply citing the imagery in the very last verse of Isaiah:
24 “And they will go out ...
April 2020
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Brad Jersak: The Finished Work– pg. 3
Jim Fowler: Did Jesus Die for All?– pg. 7
Greg Albrecht: Is Paris Burning? Retrospective – pg. 8
Laura Urista: Out of the Tribulation Closet – pg. 10
Irene Frances: Fear Not! – pg. 13
Greg Albrecht: Is the Bible Infallible? -pg. 15
“But if there’s no hell…” We don’t deny there’s a hell. Brad Jersak with David Goa
Even after my most recent CWRblog post about hell, titled "What if you're wrong about hell?" I still can't tell you how many people object with a question that begins, "But if there's no hell..."
How many times have I responded, "Of course there's a hell! I've been there—seen it with my own eyes, my own heart and my own Bible." The issue is not the existence a hell, but whether we have the eyes to see its true nature.
To that end, I raised the topic with my godfather David Goa, who always knows how best to set me straight. The following notes represent my best effort at distilling the essence of our conversation:
We don’t deny there’s ...
Root Fears & Angry-god – Brad Jersak with Dave McFadden
Root Fears & Hot Button Conversations
Since the beginning of this calendar year, in literally every conversation I’ve had with Christian leaders and churches, two hot button topics came up, and not at my request. The questions raised were about:
* INFERNALISM: the hell of eternal torment, and
* INCLUSION: sexuality in Christian communities.
Scary stuff, right? Or it used to be. What we had only whispered privately a decade ago, for fear of fomenting division or provoking reprisals, has now grown into open conversations in earnest. But despite this refreshing new boldness to voice our private thoughts, a strain of fear continues ...
Q&R with Brad Jersak: What if you’re wrong about hell?
Question:
Recently, in response to my rejection of the hell of eternal torment, one of my readers offered a fairly common objection: “I hope you’re right about that. BUT if you’re wrong about hell, then a lot of people will go there … and it will be your fault. Wouldn’t it be better to play it safe just to be sure?”
The following response was adapted from a much longer essay from Clarion Journal, titled, “Let's Talk about Hell BETTER or “If You’re Wrong, a Lot of People Will Go to Hell & It's Your Fault” by Brad Jersak.
Response: The Wager
This high stakes objection is worthy of a careful response.
“Wrong about hell” ...
Q & R (x2) with Brad – “But why did Jesus NEED to die? Why not simply declare victory?
QUESTION:
"If not to appease the wrath of an angry God, then WHY did Jesus NEED to die? If to conquer Satan, sin and death, WHY did Jesus NEED to die? Couldn't he just declare it?"
Why did Jesus need to die? Okay, I can accept that it's not to placate God's wrath directed at humanity. But then why? I believe that you have answered elsewhere, 'To defeat Sin, death, and the Destroyer.'
But the question is not so easily resolved. Why was his death necessary for Jesus to die to defeat Sin, death, and the Destroyer? If God chose to forgive without preconditions - as ...
Papa’s Love & Frightening Warnings – Brad Jersak
“Bradley, don’t touch. You’ll burn your little hanny [hand] right off.”
—Irene Jersak
The Lord God commanded the man,
“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
—Genesis 2:16
“If you’re right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off.”
—Jesus Christ
“Hot!” – Mom’s Warning
I was perhaps 6-years-old. Maybe at Uncle Henry and Auntie Florence’s house. I remember fixating on Auntie’s red-hot stove element. I recall my mother’s dire warning. “Bradley, don’t touch. You’ll ...
“Light & High Beauty” in the Shadow of Mt. Doom – Brad Jersak
In February of 2020, I had the great privilege of hiking the Tongariro alpine crossing, site of Mount Ngaurunoe, New Zealand's third most active volcano, made famous as the image of Mount Doom in the Lord of the Ring movies. My guide (or Sam Gamgee, if you will) was my dear friend Clinton Sanford, who trained me for the 12-mile, 9-hour trek, which included a 90-minute grueling climb up "the devil's staircase."
Good fortune or divine providence granted me the unexpected company of Brian and Peri Zahnd, whose travels coincided briefly with mine. We were also accompanied (and fed) by Sarah and Bruce O'Brian (from El Rancho Camp).
At first I had ...
March 2020
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Articles:
Following in Jesus' Footsteps – pg. 1
Grace Brings Grace Home – pg. 2
Walking in the Jesus Way – pg. 5
Fences Are for Dogs – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
February 2020
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Greg Albrecht: God Loves Everyone– pg. 3
Brad Jersak: Religiosity Is Adapting– pg. 7
Stephen Crosby: The Original Prodigal Sons – pg. 10
Debbie Hughes: Deconstruction - a Poem – pg. 12
Sean Davidson: Deconstruction Defined – pg. 13
Brad Jersak: The Mystery of the Trinity -pg. 14
Why the Father Didn’t Seek the Prodigal (because he did) Brad Jersak
“The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10).
There it is. The gospel of grace distilled perfectly through Jesus’ own words. That statement encapsulates the reason for Christ’s Incarnation, his earthly ministry and his final Passion, in which he pursues humanity even into death. Even hades could not separate us from the relentless love of the “hound of heaven.”
Christ describes his “seeking and saving” mission in the three great parables of Luke 15: the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost son. In each of the parables, the obvious punchline is how heaven rejoices when what was lost has been found. This ...
Q&R with Brad Jersak – Does God “intervene”?
Question
I have read and studied your book, A More Christlike God. And I have a question that is tormenting me.
Part 1 of your book is very well done. It provides a strong and credible explanation for parts of the OT that don’t resonate with a Christlike image of God.
But in Part 2, I got hung up on what I interpret as your “noninterventionist God” theory. I’m happy to bid farewell to Calvinist doctrines. But I want to better understand your thesis and the implications. Are you saying that you believe that we have unlimited, unharnessed free will; that while God is not responsible for evil (or bad things happening), neither is God ...
Pain, Belief & the Suffering of Children – Brad Jersak
PAIN.Has it crushed your faith or made you a believer?
Nativity & Massacre of the Innocents
As Christ-followers celebrate the Feast of the Nativity, we also anticipate the tragedy in Bethlehem known as "the massacre of the innocents," when King Herod sought to cut short the Messiah's life. The story is recounted in Matthew 2.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for ...
Our Final Authority: Bible or Jesus? Brad Jersak
Our final authority
It was one of my classic last-minute cancellations. A church whose pastor and elders had invited me to speak on prayer found themselves awkwardly withdrawing their invitation. The pastor had moved on and the interim minister had done some digging. He was offended that my church (Fresh Wind at the time) had nothing in our statement(s) of faith about the Bible. That was because our doctrinal statements were the Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed. I told him that I was not comfortable with creating statements of faith or redacting the great creeds. In the end, what he explicitly demanded was this confession, similar to many confes...
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