Will People With Mental Illness Be Judged Differently for Their Actions?

Will people with mental illness be judged differently for their actions since they're not in their right minds? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. I'm Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. And we'd love to hear from you.

You can also post your question on our Facebook or Instagram account, and you can email us with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, a new study suggests that robots with the ability to carry on conversations can positively impact the mental health of seniors in care homes. As we all know, seniors in care facilities are a lot more isolated due to the coronavirus restrictions.

Well, here is one possible solution. Researchers say a culturally competent robot named Pepper was tested on residents of elderly care homes in Britain and Japan over the course of three years. Pepper's artificial intelligence was designed to allow the robot to carry on culturally specific conversations with the seniors.

And residents who interacted with Pepper over the course of two weeks saw a significant improvement in their mental health, as well as a small but positive impact on their level of loneliness. And Adriel, I saw a video featuring Pepper, and he really looks like a sweet robot, but I have to admit, the whole idea just kind of creeps me out. Yeah, it creeps me out too, Bill. I mean, I just don't know what it would be like to send robots to see Grandma. Yeah, exactly, yeah. I think maybe we should just go visit Grandma a little bit more instead of sending the robots in, but I actually heard a story a while back about a robot priest conducting services, and it was raising all these questions about, you know, like, do we really need pastors or priests?

We can just have robots. And so obviously I took offense at that because I thought, you know, golly. I hate to tell you, but your elder board is having a vote right now, and Pepper is going to be your new pastor. I'm sure there would be at least a couple of people in our church that would be excited to hear that.

Oh, man. Well, let's get to our first question of the day. This is an Instagram post from Margarita, and she says, I'm wondering why it is that I always feel unsaved. How do I rely on the promise that I have been redeemed? I also struggle with sin. How do I find a good balance between resting on the idea that I'm already saved, but still living in the flesh and fighting sin? Wow, Margarita, I want to just open up the program with praying for you, because I know exactly what it's like to wrestle with this assurance of salvation for years early in my walk with the Lord.

I really had this exact same question that you have, and so I know how difficult it can be. And so let's pray first for Margarita. Father, we lift Margarita up to you. Lord, we pray that your spirit would bear witness with her spirit, that she is a child of God. As Paul said in the book of Romans, in Romans chapter 8, that her confidence, Lord, wouldn't be in herself, but in the fact that you sent Jesus for her. She believes in him and that she has the objective, sure promise of your word and that she would rest in your word, Lord. And that as she rests in your word, that more and more she would put to death the sins in her life that she still struggles with, not in her own strength, Lord, but in the strength that you give and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We know, Lord, that it's your work. And so I pray for her. I ask that you would encourage her. I pray that you would give her your peace and rest in the gospel in Jesus name.

Amen. I think the first thing to just say, Margarita, is that this is a real fight for all believers. I remember, at least for myself, early on, part of the trouble was thinking, I must not really be a Christian because this is an issue, because I'm having these kinds of questions. And if I was really a Christian, well, I wouldn't experience this sort of tension, this lack of assurance. But I actually think that the battle, the battle between the flesh and the spirit is something that we should expect as Christians in the Christian life. You see this very clearly in places like Romans chapter seven. You see it in Galatians chapter five, where Paul talks about the fruit of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit. And he says very clearly there that the flesh lusts against the spirit. A lot of people are confused about that verse. It's not referring to our flesh and our spirit as if there was just the internal battle between my flesh and my spirit. It's my flesh, who I am, and the Holy Spirit. There are times where we still desire sinful things, and we have to bring our lives and our wills in submission to God's word and God's spirit.

But it's a battle. And anyone who tells you that, you know, we're going to get to the place in the Christian life where we just don't struggle with sin anymore is lying to you. I mean, John says that in first John chapter one, if anyone says he's without sin, he's a liar, and the truth is not in him. And so just right out of the gate, I want to say that what you're experiencing, this battle that you're fighting, it doesn't mean you're not a Christian. Actually, I think that this is the normal experience for many believers as they wrestle through thinking about what the Bible teaches in light of the fact that we still have indwelling sin. Now, for Christians, our assurance, biblically speaking, I think can come from three different places. You talked about, you know, how you still struggle with sin every day. And a lot of times people will point you to your works to get assurance, whether or not you're obeying God's word.

And I think there's a level of truth to that, right? Because, for example, John says in places like first John chapter two, verse five, we know that we've been born again because we love, because we love each other. I mean, ultimately, love is the fulfillment of the law. And so, yeah, when the Spirit of God is in us, we know that we know God because it's had an effect on our lives. But the fact of the matter is, is if we look in to get assurance, and that's the primary source of our assurance, it's going to be really, really difficult for us to be able to rest.

Because for Spirit-filled Christians who are justified and have faith in God, we still, as you said, and as John says, right there in that same context of first John, we still have sin. So there are other sources of assurance too that you find in Scripture. I mentioned in my prayer for you, what we sometimes refer to as the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit, what Paul says in Romans chapter eight, that the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. In other words, it's as if there's this deep conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit that we belong to the Lord, that we've truly been adopted into the family of God. And there are times in the Christian life where you might really sense that. But then there are times again, where we're struggling and we think, am I adopted?

How, why would God ever want me? I still struggle with the same things over and over and over again. And so that's why what we need more than anything, if you want assurance, want to rest, what we need to do is look outside of ourselves.

That's what you have to do, Margarita. You have to look outside of yourself and to Jesus and to his word and promise to you. I love that verse in First John chapter one, verse nine, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Sometimes when we confess our sins, we still don't have assurance because we think, well, yeah, I've confessed it, but does he really forgive me? Well, God attaches his promise to his word. This is sure 100% that when you confess to God, when you turn to him, he doesn't just forgive you because he's merciful.

He forgives you because he's faithful and just to do it. In other words, to not forgive us when we confess our sins sincerely and truly would be to go against his very nature as the God who sent his son into the world to forgive us. And so you can rest in the fact that God does forgive you. The question you have to ask yourself is, am I going to trust my feelings or God's word? And we have to trust God's word when you're struggling, when you're doubting, look outside of yourself, cling to that promise that you have in the gospel that when you turn to Jesus, when you confess your sins, he forgives you all of your sins and he cleanses you. Sister, I just would say, you know, the balance that you find is recognizing, yes, we're still going to have indwelling sin as Christians for the rest of our lives and the Spirit of God is working in us. And so there's this slow process of sanctification, but we're never going to be perfect this side of heaven. And so our hope, our confidence is not in our perfection, how well we did today or yesterday or doing this week. Our confidence is in Jesus in his saving work for us, which is sure objective. It's the anchor of my soul, as the author of the Hebrew says in Hebrew six.

And that's where you can rest. Thanks for your question. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

And Eliza posted this on our Instagram account. She says, Where does the doctrine of the Trinity come from? I don't see the word Trinity anywhere in Scripture.

It's a really good question. And it's one of those questions that will be raised by Jehovah's Witnesses, for example. I mean, I remember, as a newer believer, you know, you get that knock at the door, and it's a couple Jehovah's Witnesses dressed real nice, and they want to talk to you about the Bible. And one of the things that they try to call into question is the doctrine of the Trinity. And they'll say things like, well, that word Trinity is not in the Bible. It was a doctrine that was invented much later. They'll sometimes say it was invented at the Council of Nicaea in the fourth century, that the earliest Christians didn't believe in the doctrine of the Trinity, that Jesus was equal with the Father.

Well, they're wrong. The doctrine of the Trinity, Eliza, comes straight from the pages of the Bible. Now, while the word Trinity may not be in our Bibles, the doctrine, the stuff, if you will, of the doctrine of the Trinity is all over the place. The doctrine of the Trinity is this. There is one God. Deuteronomy 6, 4, Hero Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. But this God is three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

These persons are distinct, but equal in power and glory. And one of the things that we see in Scripture is that while there is one God, the Father is called God, Jesus the eternal Son of God is called God. You think of John chapter 1, verse 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Or numerous other passages like Romans chapter 9, verse 5, or Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6, speaking of the Messiah says His name will be called mighty God. And on the pages of the Bible, you have this doctrine. Same with the Holy Spirit. The disciples told Ananias and Sapphira, when they lied about the proceeds that they laid at the feet of the apostles, that they hadn't lied to men, but to the Holy Spirit, to God, in Acts chapter 5. You also have Paul's words in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 19, that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Who dwells in the temple?

God does. Paul is saying the Holy Spirit is God in us. The first time you see that word Trinity in the history of the church isn't until a little bit later. I mean, I think it was first used by Tertullian.

He was a Latin church father in about the third century. But the fact of the matter is, the doctrine of the Trinity arises from the pages of Scripture. And what the church did early on is they had to come up with a language, a vocabulary, for articulating what it was that they were finding in God's revelation as they were embracing what the Bible taught.

They said, OK, well, how do we describe this? And that's where the word Trinity is really helpful, because it helps to sum up the teaching of the Bible. But don't let anyone tell you that because the word Trinity is not in the Bible, that the doctrine of the Trinity is not in the Bible.

It is all over the pages of Scripture. You know, speaking of the Trinity, Adriel, here at Core Christianity, we have an awesome resource that we want to make available to our listeners because we do get a lot of questions about the Trinity. And this will really help, I think, the average person understand the Trinity in a really clear way. Yeah, and I think this is so important because there have been some recent studies related to what the average Christian understands about the doctrine of God, the doctrine of the Trinity, who God is, and there is so much confusion.

If we have a personal relationship with Jesus, if we know God, we also need to know about him so that we can rightly worship him. And so if you're a little bit confused about this doctrine, the doctrine of the Trinity, we want to help. We have a four-week study called What is the Trinity? That's going to take you through the biblical foundations for believing and worshiping the Trinity. You can find it on our website, corechristianity.com, and get this. It's free when you sign up for our weekly newsletter, so get a hold of that resource.

You can also call us for that resource and any one of our resources at 833-843-2673. That's 833, the CORE. This is Rose.

I'm calling from New York. I've been looking to the Lord for many years, but what confuses me a little bit is we all have the same Holy Spirit, those that are looking to Jesus and know they've been given by his blood. How come we don't agree on so many doctrines? If we have the same Holy Spirit, why do we have so many different interpretations of different teachings in the Bible? Why don't we all believe one way?

Thank you. Rose, thank you for that question, and I love hearing people be able to share how they've been walking with the Lord for years in the Lord, and so I praise God that he brought you to himself, and I get your question. It is concerning, isn't it? We have the same Holy Spirit who lives in us by faith in Jesus Christ, and yet there's still so much division in the church. As you were talking there, my mind immediately went to the words of our Lord Jesus. It's called the Upper Room Discourse, where he talks about the ministry of the Holy Spirit with his disciples prior to his departure, and in John 16, verse 12, Jesus said to the disciples, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

All that the Father has is mine, therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. What a beautiful passage, and what a beautiful comfort that was for the disciples that Jesus was leaving, but the Spirit was going to come, another helper, and he was going to guide them into all truth. And yet, when we look around at the church today, it seems like, as you noted, there is a lot of confusion, and we have these different interpretations of the Bible.

And so how do we make sense of this? Well, one, what I would say to you, Rose, is there is a doctrine related to our doctrine of scripture that I think is really important. It refers to the clarity of scripture, sometimes called the perspicuity, if you want a fancy word, which really just means the scriptures are clear when it comes to the doctrine of salvation, that even a child could understand the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I think about what Jesus prayed at the end of Matthew 11. Father, thank you that you've hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and revealed them to the babes, to the children. The gospel is for the children. The scriptures are clear all throughout the Bible.

You get this over and over again. Psalm 119, verse 30, the unfolding of your words gives light. It imparts understanding to the simple. Or Psalm 119, verse 105, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. See, the problem is not that God has not spoken clearly. And the problem isn't that he hasn't given us his Holy Spirit. He has.

He's spoken clearly and he's given us his Spirit. The problem, Rose, is that we still twist God's word. We still have sin. I think of what Peter said in 2 Peter 3, verses 15 and 16.

He said, count the patience of our Lord as salvation. Just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you concerning the wisdom given to him, as he does in all his letters, when he speaks in them of these matters, there are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. See, the problem is not that God's word is not clear and that God has not given us the tools that we need to understand and embrace the gospel. The problem is our minds aren't clear, our hearts are still clouded with sin, and we will take God's clear word and we'll twist it. And I think that's part of the reason why you have so many divisions in the church today, why there's so much infighting in many different churches. Instead of humbly approaching God's word and growing in God's word, we assume things about it.

We're ignorant. We're not learned in the scriptures. And that's why, Rose, it's so important for us as believers to humbly search the scriptures and to pray. I remember when I first started walking with the Lord many years ago, an older brother in the Lord, wise man, he told me, every time you open up your Bible, you know what you should do?

You should pray and ask God to give you understanding. It's one thing to just read the scriptures and to have them. What we need, Rose, is the illumination of the Holy Spirit. We need the Spirit to open our eyes and our hearts to receive the truth of scripture humbly. And so, you know, we pray for that, and I encourage you to pray for that, and I encourage you to pray for the many divisions and the dissensions that exist in the body of Christ today. Pray that the Lord would bring unity through his word, through the clear teaching of his word as we grow together in our understanding of God's word.

God bless you. You know, Adriel, let me ask you, in addition to the fact that our sin nature can really skew our understanding or interpretation of scripture, isn't part of the issue also that we are limited, finite human beings? I mean, we're not omniscient. We don't have God's view of everything. And so sometimes our understanding is just limited by our human capacity.

Yeah. Well, I mean, we were just talking about the glorious doctrine of the Trinity, and we have to admit that this is what's revealed in scripture, but we're not fully going to wrap our minds around everything. We just can't ever know God's essence because he is God.

He's not like us. We're the creatures. He's the creator. It'd be like an ant trying to comprehend the life that I live.

You know, it's just like, yeah, not going to happen. Well, God is infinitely greater, different than we are. He's the Lord of heaven and earth.

And so there is that piece too. And I think one of the reasons there is confusion sometimes is we assume that we can know more than we actually can know, receive what God has revealed to us about himself with humility, and not try to go further than God's revelation into speculation, because that's another area where we just get ourselves into trouble. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

We have time for one more question, and this is a really interesting one. It came from Galene, who posted on our website at corechristianity.com slash radio. She says, will people with mental illness be judged differently for their actions since they are not in their right minds?

A very good question, Galene. And since you brought up the topic of mental illness, let me just say how important it is for us in the church to get this one right. There has been so much confusion over the last many years related to this. You know, I think sometimes we've discounted in the church the reality, the seriousness of mental illness and the importance of getting professional help at times. And so how important it is for us as people in the church and for me as a pastor to want to care for people in this area, because there is a very real issue here with mental illness. I mean, just like there's other kinds of illness as well.

I mean, our minds are subject to the effects of the fall, and there can be these serious chemical imbalances that cause us, as you say, Galene, the words that you use to not be in our right minds. And so how does God judge us in that situation? And we can say this on the basis of what the Bible teaches. There is a level of severity to the judgment we experience on the basis of our knowledge and understanding. You know, this is why James says in James chapter three, verse one, don't let many of you become teachers knowing that we're going to receive a stricter judgment. But why are teachers, pastors, theologians going to be judged more strictly? Because of the knowledge that they have.

They have more information. They're studying the scriptures. And so that's a sobering thing. You think also of the warnings that you see in scripture. I think of Second Peter, for example, where it talks about the false teachers who, though they had all these truths, set them aside and there was going to be, there is going to be a very severe judgment on them. You also see this principle in places like Luke chapter 12, verses 47 and 48. This is a parable that Jesus gave. And Jesus said, the servant who knew his master's will, but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given of him, much will be required.

And from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. And so I think that there's this principle here that we can factor into your question. And so I would say yes. Are they going to be judged differently or less severely? I think so now.

I don't know what that looks like, but here's what we can know. All of his judgments are good. No one is going to say to God on the day of judgment, why have you done this, God?

This is your fault. You're an unjust judge. No, because God is perfectly just and he is good. And so we can trust him.

And here's how you can know he's good. He sent his son for you and for people with mental illness to redeem us, to save us. And ultimately in the new creation to restore our broken down bodies and our broken down minds.

And so we don't know exactly what the judgment is going to look like and how it's going to be different, but we do know that God is just and we know that he's good and you can rest in that. Thanks for listening to Core Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at CoreChristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this podcast and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together. We'll be right back.