WHY DOES GOD GIVE US POWER OVER SIN SOMETIMES AND NOT AT OTHER TIMES?

I resonate with this question. Sometimes I seem to be walking close to God and overcoming the temptations that nip at my heels; and at other times I blow it. How come? The answer to this question is not simple. It involves our understanding of Scripture, our walk with God, our practice of the spiritual disciplines, and our own vulnerabilities, weaknesses we may have brought with us from the past, what the Scriptures call strongholds of Satan where he can attack us more deceptively and successfully.

One of my favorite verses is 1 Cor. 10:13. It reminds me that no temptation that I face is unique to me; other have faced these same temptations and with God's grace over come them. This verse informs me that God is ever faithful to help me and strengthen me when I turn to Him. It is true that He may not remove the temptation. But it is equally true that he will provide a way of escape so we can bear up under it.

I am also encouraged by James 4:7-8. James encourages me to submit myself to God. I am to resist the devil and he will flee from me. And I am to draw near to God, knowing that He will draw near to me. What comfort to know that we can resist the devil and that we can draw near to God.

The Gospel is not just for unbelievers. The Gospel is for us as well; for it reminds us that God has come into our lives by grace through faith; and it reminds us that when we experience God's power to overcome sin, it is not because something we did so much as what God is doing in our lives by grace through faith. And when we fail to overcome sin, we come to God in repentance, knowing that we moved away from him, he did not move away from us; and we again draw close to him and know that He will draw close to us.

One more thought. The Gospel reminds us that God forgives all of our sins. Even the ones we are not conscious of at the moment we think we are overcoming some obvious sin. Look carefully at 1 John 1:7 and ask yourself this question: if I am walking in the light why do I need the blood of Jesus to purify us from all sin?

You would find Jerry Bridges book, Discipline of Grace helpful in pursuing this theme.
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WHY IS SATAN SO STRONG?

I think you have crafted this question in a very discerning way. Many do not recognize the power of Satan and fail to take proper precautions against his attacks. Peter reminds us that Satan is our adversary. Do we take seriously this warning? In 1 Peter 5:8-9, he writes: 'be self-controlled and alert; you enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in your faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings'. Note the following insights that Peter gives us about Satan:

1. Satan is our enemy. He is seeking to undermine our faith in God.
2. The Christian is to be alert and self-controlled. Any one or any situation that feels like an attack on our faith should send up a red flag. Behind it may be the devious working of Satan.
3. Satan is powerful. He is compared to a lion, the king of the jungle, who's power and strength are legendary.
4. Satan's agenda is to swamp our walk with God. The term, devour, is a strong image of destroying our allegiance and fidelity to God.
5. Satan can be resisted. He is not more powerful than God, "for greater is he that resides in the Christian than he that is in the world." 1 John 4:4.
6. Suffering is one of the areas in which Satan temps us to doubt God and turn away from God. All around the world, Christians have faced suffering and so can we, with God's help.

Bible scholars think that Satan was one of God's chief angels. Pride undermined his allegiance to God and he became God's adversary. When he turned from God, a host of other angels followed him to earth to participate in his attack on God’s creation. That is why Satan has such great power.
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DOES GOD WILL SIN?

This may sound to you like a simple question to many, but it has roots that go deep into the mysteries of God's sovereignty. Thank you for asking it.

Sin does not come from God, nor is it ever His will that anyone sin. The Scripture is clear about this: 'when tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.'(James 1:13)

The Scripture teaches that sin is rebellion against God, a falling short of his standards, a decision to go our way rather than God's way (Is. 53:6). It would be a logical and moral fallacy of the highest order to suggest that God would ever will anyone to sin.

But we are also taught from the same Scripture that God is sovereign, working out his plan for all of humanity (Eph 1:11). So if God is sovereign, the Lord of his creation, how is it that sin is permitted but not ordained by His will? So we come to the mystery of God's sovereignty and its relationship to humanity's freedom. I am unable to resolve this mystery; but I can restate what the Scripture teaches: "From all eternity and by the completely wise and holy purpose of His own will, God has freely and unchangeably ordained whatever happens. This ordainment does not mean, however, that God is the author of sin, that He repressed the will of His created beings, or that He takes away the freedom and contingency of secondary causes. Rather the will of created beings and the freedom and contingency of secondary causes are established by Him"(chapter 3 of Westminster Confession of Faith). In other words, God ordains whatever happens and yet human beings exercise their freedom without his constraint. God does not will sin even though it does occur. At this interface between divine sovereignty and human freedom, I can only state what the Scripture teaches without removing its mystery.

R.C.Sproul's book entitled Almighty Over All, Understanding The Sovereignty of God would be a good resource for further study.
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If Christ has come into my life, and we have died to sin and been raised to live to God, why does Paul speak of a struggle going on within our spiritual lives in Romans 7:14-25?

This question resonates within the Christian community because so many have struggled to understand how the Christian life works in shoe leather. In Romans chapter 7, Paul describes this intense battle between the inner life of the spirit and the inner life of the fallen nature. He writes, in verse 15: "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do; but what I hate, I do." In verse 21, he writes "so I find this law at work: when I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law to work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members." How do we understand the struggle if in fact, we have died to sin, and been raised a new life with God?

It would take a much larger space than his allotted to answer your question, with all of its implications. Let's attempt to nail down a few insights that might be helpful:

1. when a person connects with God through placing his faith in Jesus Christ, not only are his sins forgiven, but he begins a new way of living, emerging from his connection with God.
2. this new way of living corresponds with the new identity he has received in becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. This new identity is expressed through new affections for God and for others, a new perspective in understanding life through the insights from God's Word, and the new will to obey God in all the areas of his life.
3. the Holy Spirit of God, which is also called of the Spirit of Christ, comes to live within his life. This presence of God within him, makes his body a Temple of God, makes available to him a source of strength and wisdom, and guidance.
4. even though the Christian now has received a new identity and a new source of power, he still retains a fallen nature, a life that has been twisted and malformed by sin. The existence of the new life that comes from God, and the old life that has been twisted by sin creates the drama of warfare spoken of in Romans chapter 7.
5. though the battle can be fierce, between the self-life and the Christ-life, the Bible states emphatically that our bondage to sin has been broken by Christ. The Bible affirms that the remnant of sin in our lives is being diminished over time as we follow Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
6. one area of confusion relates to whether Christ is our life or whether Christ has simply come into our life. This may seem to be splitting hairs to some; the distinction is extremely important and real. Christ, when he came into our lives, did not evacuate our personhood and replace it with Himself. Christ came into our lives to help us become more and more like Him. This is a process of studying His Word, seeking His strengths, submitting to His will, experiencing the Fellowship of other Christians, learning from hardships, resisting conformity to the world, while we are being transformed by the renewal of our mind (Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 4:19; Ephesians 3:16-19). Each of these passages reflects the process of spiritual growth that takes place within us. According to the Westminster Confession Of Faith, chapter 13, "the desires of the old self are more and more weekend and killed, and at the same time, the ability to practice true holiness is brought to life and strengthened by all the saving graces."

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How do followers of Christ help other followers of Christ put church, Sequoia and Bible studies at the head of their priority list over all the other activities in their lives?

I like this question because it implies a compassion for others and a desire to help others walk their talk. And the real question is how we can encourage others without turning them off so they don't receive our encouragement. One way, of course, is to be sure that we are aligning our priorities with the Word of God-that we are putting Christ first in our lives, and expressing our devotion to Christ by regular worship, by joining with other Christians for Bible studies, and by sharing Christ with those who may not know him. One example is worth 1000 words. The second way would be to invite your Christian friends to join you and sit with you at worship and at Bible study. A third way might be to ask your friend if there are areas in his or her life for which you could pray. In this way, instead of coming across with uninvited advice, you may have an opportunity to minister through prayer and indirectly encourage that person in his walk of faith.
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What is Trinity's position on mental health?

Public attitudes toward mental health have changed over the years, and so has the attitude of the church. There may have been a time of great misunderstanding, when those experiencing mental illness were treated harshly, or ignored, or belittled, both by the world and in some cases by the church.

We certainly know today that mental health is a very important dimension of our personality; and we also know that mental illness can cause untold suffering and pain. I think Trinity's position toward mental illness is the same as its position toward physical illness: that we have compassion on all who are hurting, that we encourage all who are hurting to seek help both pastorally and from health professionals, and that they utilize the resources of their faith which includes prayer, Bible reading, sharing each other's burdens, and trusting God for his healing.

We now know that some forms of depression and other mental illness can be caused by a chemical imbalance. We also know that stress can play a strong role in mental illness as well as in physical illness. We also know that anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medicine can be helpful when used under a doctor's oversight. Some think that a Christian should not experience emotional distress or mental illness; they think that it would be wrong to take medicine to help them in their emotional and mental recovery. But I think mental illnesses are like physical illnesses. If you have diabetes, you do not hesitate to seek medical help and take the appropriate medicine that will help you handle your diabetes. In the same way if you have a mental illness or an emotional distress, God may use certain medicines to help you cope with these areas.

One of the great sections of Scripture that helps us in our emotional life is the book of Psalms. I could not recommend enough the reading of the Psalms if you are facing emotional or mental distress. A second resource is that of the encouragement and friendship of other Christians. If you are facing mental problems, please talk with your pastor and please share with your Christian friends so that they can pray for you and encourage you and help you. Although there are many books written about depression from both the Christian and non-Christian perspective, I recommend the book entitled the Masks of Melancholy written by John White and published by Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship.
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