Truth Untangled

Boy strap on yo boots and be a man--ask that girl out.

For real though, it’s so much healthier and simpler to be upfront with her and let her know how you feel. If she says no, maybe it wasn’t the Lord’s will. Oh well. It might stink for a while but if you’re pursuing Him and His will for you, you’ll move on fairly easily. If it is, then hot dang, you got yourself a first date, brother.

Jesus said in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:37 to let your yes’s mean yes and your no’s mean no. Don’t dance around the idea--be upfront and honest, and follow through with what you say. Be a man of your word. If you like her, let her know and if you have feelings about her, it’s best to get them out and deal with them rather than hold them in and wonder what would’ve been.

I’ve been AWOL for a LONG time but I want y’all to know that I am back and I am taking questions. I’m going to go through my inbox and answer a few tonight for those of y’all who are still around. 

See, this is exactly why this blog exists. Opinions like yours on scripture are okay to have but are so terribly wrong when you compare them to what scripture actually says. Believe what you want–that’s okay. But make sure that when you are trying to understand Christianity that you base it off what the Lord has said because it’s His thing anyways. He created all of this around us and so when we want to understand something to the full (and when it’s His will that we do), we go to Him. 

At this point in history, He wants us to understand what sin is and what it’s not. We understand for the most part anyways because Adam and Eve ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Get it? Yeah, there are some things that aren’t explicitly stated in the Bible, like suicide or masturbation, but both of those are rooted in things the Bible spends pages and pages on–distrust and lust. 

As far as premarital sex goes, it’s pretty darned clear what God thinks: it’s totally wrong, and it doesn’t matter what people say or how opinions change over time–that never will. Want proof? Check out 1 Corinthians 6:16. Or Matthew 19:4-5. Or Genesis 1:27 or 2:24. All of these are blatantly clear that sex is 100% for marriage only. It’s implied in the commandment against adultery (Exodus 20:14).

Now I want to make something abundantly clear here: reserving sex for marriage is not because it’s ‘bad’ or ‘dirty.’ It’s because it’s such a unique, exclusive, and wonderful thing. It’s a powerful bonding agent that shapes and affects the relationship between a man and a woman in a way that simply nothing else can.

Tattoos? You’re probably thinking of the passage in Leviticus 19 that talks about not getting tattoos because God simply says no. But have you actually looked at it and seen what it’s saying in context?

“1-2: “The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”

Then He lists a TON of things for Israel to do as a means of not conforming to the people around them and being set apart like He is, and in that list, He says this: 

“28: Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.”

Do not cut your bodies for the dead. He’s literally talking about the people that lived around the Israelites who would cut themselves up and tattoo themselves literally as acts of worship to dead people. They worshiped dead relatives of theirs by cutting themselves and tattooing themselves.

Ever heard of anyone doing that today? I don’t think so. Not in America anyway.

Ever heard of premarital sex having the potential to destroy futures and to bring a child into the world outside of the spiritual guidance and leadership that exists in a gospel-centered married home? You bet.

This is my point: all things in scripture are true. Not all things in scripture are 100% practical. The commandment against tattoos here is not because God dislikes them, but to give His people the best opportunity to live like Him in the world they found themselves in. Today, premarital sex still has the potential in America to lead to devastating affects and put people in situations they never would’ve imagined. Tattoos, not so much.

If your tattoo is an act of worship to anything besides God (including yourself), it’s not good. But if you want to use it to spread the name of Jesus and to worship Him every day, freaking go for it man.

That’s all I’ve got to say about that.

cont. Doctors for physical ailments, we need them for mental ones. As a Christian who’s been diagnosed with BPD I just get offended about this. ______________________________________________________________

Honestly the Bible never says that if a person is suffering from a mental illness that they are being unrepentant of a sin or sins in their life. That’s just straight up eisegesis (creating your own meaning of what scripture says, or claiming it says something it never actually does).

You’re right in one thing, though–the brain is an organ that can become diseased just like any other organ. In doing some scriptural research for this answer, I found a website that straight up says psychiatrists work for the devil. If we, as the church, are going to become the body of Christ here on this planet, we need to understand the realities of the world surrounding us. Yeah, as science progresses there are going to be claims that it makes that blatantly contradict the teachings of scripture and the theology of the gospel itself, but at the same time, it’s going to show us reason after reason after reason that the scripture is true through and through. The more we know about our earth and the things that happen here, the clearer the scripture becomes.

For example, Psalm 103:12 says, “…as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” That Psalm was written sometime before 970 BCE because we know David wrote it and that’s about when he died. 

Everyone on earth thought that the earth was round until the 3rd century BCE when philosophers proposed the theory that because the earth’s shadow on the moon was round, the earth must be round as well. But this idea wasn’t accepted globally until the early 1500s when Ferdinand Magellan sailed across the entire world and actually saw this as a fact with his own eyes.

Before this discovery, Psalm 103:12 sounds like “God has removed our transgressions away from us a really long, but still measurable, distance away.” But when it was discovered that the earth was round and you could head either east or west literally infinitely, the verse suddenly means so much more. “God has removed our transgressions away from us so far that it is literally impossible to measure.”

The Church isn’t going to make any progress in fulfilling the Great Commission by shutting out those who suffer from mental illnesses because they’re too hard to understand, or because they’re afraid of them, or whatever. 

It’s time we started treating everyone equally, just like Jesus did.

This ask has been sitting in our inbox for years and I’m still not over it.

In answer to your question, scripture says nothing about a new Messiah. The Messiah would be the mediator between God and man and 1 Timothy 2:5 says “ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,” so don’t worry about that. That was just a crazy dream.

Also “fall pregnant” is a really debilitating way to think of pregnancy. Humans have to have sex to get pregnant unless your name is Mary Jesus’s Mom. So you’re fine there but when you do get pregnant, scripture tells us that children are a blessing from the Lord so I’d hate to think of pregnancy as something you ‘fall’ into.

God bless :)

In fact, we’re not even a ‘we’ anymore.

Hey guys.

I’m writing this post to update all of you on the status of this blog.

And to be honest, things are looking intensely different around here.

Is it okay to love Jesus and at the same time stand for the equality of men and women in the world as humans that are equal?

I don’t know, you tell me:

1 Corinthians 11:12–“For as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.”

Galatians 3:28–“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Proverbs 1:20-21–“Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:” (Interesting that wisdom is deemed female, no?)

These are just three scriptures that I believe show the Bible screaming equality of the genders. So yeah, it’s definitely okay to be a feminist Christian. You can’t really be a Christian without being a feminist.

If you guys have spoken before or have more than a couple mutual friends, I doubt he'll be weirded out by you adding him. Just don't expect him to confirm your request within a couple of days because some people take forever to respond to those things (and I am the worst example lol).

I wouldn't let the fact that he knows a bunch of people hold me back if I were you. I know that people like that can make interaction pretty intimidating but honestly the best way to get to know people at first is by hanging out with them in groups. Besides, if you want to get to know him, you're going to have to get to know his friends, too. Don't expect him to separate his life off in sections like that. None of us should--it's unhealthy.

But the number one thing you need to remember is this: he is by no means perfect, even if he seems like it. Take a second and think about yourself. How many things have happened in your life or things have you done that nobody knows about? He's got just as many secrets and is hiding them as well. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23 says. All of us. None of us are any better than another. Let that thought give you comfort as you try to approach him in the coming weeks!

God bless :)

Currently we do not have an instant messaging function available anywhere. Although it's a request we've gotten quite frequently recently and one that the other two admins and I will be talking about very soon.

God bless :)

"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard." Romans 3:23

This verse has helped me in particular in feeling a sense of liberty to approach other people. I've suffered from social anxiety in the past and also felt myself feeling like everybody's going to find me out. 

"I can't share anything about myself because eventually people will find out the really dark stuff." That was pretty much my mindset for a while. But the more I thought about that verse, the more I realized something: everybody else is just as screwed up as I am. There's not a single person I see in my life that isn't as sinful and messed up as I am--every single one of us falls short of God's standard.

When we can live in the light of this, it frees us up for a couple of things: first, approaching everyone else gets a lot easier, because that fear of being found out isn't nearly as powerful. It's still there, because people are jerks and are judgmental even though they're just as messed up as you are and really have no reason at all to be acting that way. But second, and more importantly, when we realize how messed up we are and in turn everyone around us, it makes what Jesus has done for us on the cross that much more crucial--we all need Him and His love just as badly as the person next to us.

Don't let the fear of being found out hold you back--everybody's got dirt. Are you willing to believe it?

God bless :)

Oh anon, God loves you immensely. I promise you that.

"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." 1 John 4:16

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God" 1 John 4:7

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:8

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us." 1 John 3:16

And this is just in 1st John. This theme goes all over the Bible. Anon, you are more than loved. Jesus died for you--He's given everything for you--He wants to be with you and spend the rest of forever with you. Really! That was His plan from the beginning--to love mankind immensely and be worshipped by him forever.

Jesus loves you. I know that sounds cliché but clichés only become cliché because they're true. Don't ever never never forget that. 

God bless :)

Okay first off, you need to understand something: as a human, you've been, in your own words: 'tainted in the eyes of God' since day ONE. Ever since you were born there has been a separation between you and God that you can do absolutely nothing about.

But here's the deal: so am I. And so are B and M (the other two admins here). And your parents. And your friends. And the rest of the people in your country. And in fact, the rest of the people for all of time as far back as Adam and Eve.You are not alone in this.

Now here's where it gets interesting: because we are all messed up in the eyes of God, and there's literally zero that we can do about it, we're stuck. How do we get things right between us and God? Easy answer: we don't. What God would want us to do is pay for our sins by dying and offering our blood as a payment for them (which is a really gory picture, I know but trust me: it gets really good) but there are two problems with human blood: 1) It's way too dirty and 2) There isn't anywhere close to enough of it.

So something's gotta happen here. Either we all die and God has to just accept our blood and move on or somebody/something else that's not human but is better than human has to take care of it for us. It can't be the first one because our God is a just God and cannot accept any less than the price that sin carries so the only option we're left with is the second: this is somebody else's job.

Okay great, but that doesn't tell us anything about who or what it has to be. But we get an awesome story in John 3 that explains everything for us:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 ESV

Now, I know you've probably heard this verse a bajillion times, especially if you know what the word 'saved' really means in your message above, but you gotta understand something here: there's a reason clichés become clichés--it's because they're true.

The bottom line is this: you can be saved. You can. I promise. It's all over scripture. I could list them here for you but there are so many places I can use to prove this point that you'd probably be better off just reading the whole book. It's everywhere. Jesus loves you. The Father loves you. So much that they were able to agree that Jesus had to be the One who took care of this sin price problem (which is the biggest problem of humanity) for us. All you have to do to be saved is accept that--that you're too messed up to do it yourself and that Jesus isn't. If you do that, you will be saved. I promise. From the bottom of my heart. You asked what you can do about this all: well there's your answer.

This is the essence of the gospel. It really is that simple.

God bless :)

This is an amazing question.

Honestly, even though you're anonymous and you haven't yet told people in real life, please understand how big of a step this is. The fact that you're coming to us is enormous and I want you to know that we are so proud of you for that. Seriously.

Now as far as addressing the question, the first thing you need to understand is this: your anger toward this girl for receiving any kind of attention is completely ungrounded. I don't mean to sound harsh, but that's the truth of it: there's really no real reason for you to be. It would be one thing if you were able to open up and she still got more attention. Then there'd be a real issue there but not as long as you're not opening up as well.

But I don't want it to seem like we're bashing you here--just the opposite. I want you to realize the freedom you will have when you understand what is happening there. It will liberate you to focus on yourself and how to work through the struggles you have personally without worrying about others around you.

Expressing yourself comfortably comes in a lot of different ways, but the most significant would probably be in situations where you are close to whomever you're sharing with--a close family member, best friend, someone like that. Get close to people. Sometimes you have to be willing to be a little vulnerable with them and take a chance that they'll be vulnerable with you. That's where deep-seeded friendships come from--a place of vulnerability that is answered with trust and loyalty. If they can't or aren't willing to understand, that's on them. Their heart is not in the right place but as for yourself, you can't be mad at this girl when you're not in the same situation as her.

Maybe she's wrong for overplaying her dramatics and crying just a few too many tears--maybe it is all just smoke and mirrors but you need to understand that even if it is, you have to worry about yourself first.

 "And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own?" Matthew 7:3 NLT

God bless :)

(part 2) reject it, and how dare I believe that I’m above having lust. Now I want to clear up that this is not celibacy or abstinence. That would be having sexual attraction or desiring sex but refraining from doing so. I’ve never had to repress any such desires because I’ve never felt them and I don’t believe I ever will. And no, I have not been raped or experienced any sexual trauma, or am afraid of sex blah blah blah. I’m simply wondering what your take on it is.

Hi!! Thanks so much for reaching out to us.

The situation you’re describing is by no means an easy one. Not in the slightest. I want to start off by letting you know that we are so deeply sorry that people around you have treated you so harshly. No child of God should act that way—not exhibiting love to you. Not that way. And for that we are truly sorry.

Now, as far as asexuality goes, like many other situations millions of people find themselves struggling to understand (masturbation, suicide, etc.), the Bible says literally zero on the subject. We’re left to take what we know from other scripture talking about similar things or, more importantly, fundamental elements of asexuality and go from there.

Now, on the surface, asexuality simply covers one’s inability to acquire a desire to have sex in any form for any period of time (most times for life). These people simply just don’t want to—the desire just doesn’t exist for them. But I think today it carries a little bit heavier influence on a person than just that. It leads them to struggle with identity, elements of love—what it is for them and what it should look like, as most Christian relationships include a guy and a girl who have sex and consequently, kids (sometimes TOO MANY) and the whole thing is really very cookie-cutter. But it’s problematic because it creates a lot of unnecessary confusion for people like you.

But one thing I hope you’re noticing so far is that the definition of asexuality centers ENTIRELY around sex. 100%. And what do we know about love and Christianity? Does it equal sex? Absolutely not. We use this argument all the time to preach to people about abstinence before marriage or ways to tell whether your significant other actually loves you—it shouldn’t have to lead to sex.

So in your case, I think the answer, though from a very complicated question, is actually very simple—personally (and I think I speak for all 3 of us here) I believe that your asexuality is 100% a-okay. In fact, I almost envy you in a way. As an asexual you are presumably virtually immune to an entire world of temptation that is SO easy to lose yourself in. And I speak from intense personal experience.

Hey! Believe it or not, this is actually a hotly debated and veryfrequently asked question, one that I think is best answered in this video. Check it out! Jeff Bethke is awesome and very eloquent in the way he presents this topic and exemplifies our beliefs on it. Hope this helps!

God bless :)