How Do I Know What My Spiritual Gift Is?

How do I know what to do? Hmm. Lisa, thank you so much for reaching out to us. I'm guessing you're probably referring to a previous caller who was asking about, you know, do I need to go into all of my past history with relationships with the person I'm going to be married with or if there was a situation of infidelity and that's come to light and there's been confession and restoration. How into the weeds do I need to go or does my spouse who cheated on me need to go in terms of, you know, talking about these things? And my point there was simply that we can truly confess our sins and say, okay, I've committed this sin. I need your forgiveness without needing to outline, you know, the sort of minute by minute here's exactly what happened. But in these situations, certainly for the person who's been sinned against, I mean, we're trying to rebuild honesty or trust here. And so I think it's absolutely okay and understandable for a person to say, no, I want to understand what took place, what happened. And I think in that situation, the spouse who offended should be willing, obviously, to open up and to be honest. Now, the two things you have to be careful with here are one, the reason I said, you know, sometimes it's not helpful to go into all the details is because when you're wrestling to forgive and not to hold this sin over this other person, I mean, that's hard enough.

And it's so easy to fill your mind with these thoughts and to let the hatred sort of brew, anger brew. And so part of it is, okay, protecting your own heart and wanting to fight to forgive. Now, that doesn't mean that you're not entitled to know those things. You certainly can know those things, and it should be free to ask whatever it is that you want to ask, but it's just fighting to forgive and then also wanting to protect your own heart and mind. The other thing is, you know, if your spouse says, well, no, I'm just not going to tell you anything. Well, that's a problem too, because obviously the trust has been broken. And so I think the offending party needs to do everything that they can to say, I want to be totally honest and I'm going to be an open book and I recognize that I've sinned against you, that I've hurt you. And so whatever I can do to build that trust again, to be open and honest and to have accountability, I'm willing to do that. That's what repentance looks like.

It's just thinking about the wisdom. Okay, well, you know, do we need to go into all of those things? You don't have to for there to be true healing, but sometimes I know that that's something that an individual wants to have conversations about. And so all of that to say, it is okay and I don't know about your situation in particular, Lisa, what exactly is going on, but I pray that the Lord gives you peace, that the Lord brings healing and that there is honesty and trust, trust that's rebuilt. And let me just give an encouragement for those of you who have, you know, been in a relationship or maybe are in a relationship where there's infidelity, there was infidelity and it came to the light and now you're working at, okay, how can we restore this?

It's hard, it's painful, but there is hope. And when people are committed to Jesus and his grace and the forgiveness of sins, I've seen the Lord do mighty works. Now that doesn't always go that way. You know, sometimes where there's been a case of adultery, right, that's a grounds for divorce.

And so we're talking about that on the broadcast just recently. But I've also seen the Lord turn these things around into something that really glorified him and where there is healing and restoration. And so may the Lord grant that and give wisdom.

God bless. You know, Adriel, in situations where there has been an offending spouse and trust needs to be rebuilt, my perception is that that trust, that offending spouse needs to be completely willing to go the extra mile to help rebuild that trust. And if they are at all resentful and say, well, I don't, you know, you're not trusting me. Well, there's a good reason why you're not being trusted. And you need to be, I think, go, you know, take the extra mile, go the extra step to reassure that the spouse you hurt once again feels safe and can trust you.

Yeah, Bill, I agree 100%, 100%. And so when we, you know, it's not about not being totally honest, it's just about wanting to think, think in terms of, you know, is this detail going to be the most helpful as we're having conversations about this? Or is it just going to create more pain and frustration and resentment? And so that's the question. But if you've sinned against your spouse and they're saying, no, I need to know, I want to know, please be honest with me, yeah, you don't have any grounds to say, no, you need to be honest.

You need to be honest and humble and you need to do everything that you can to care for and love this person who's been hurt. And so thank you, Bill, for chiming in. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone lines are open if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. You can also check out our YouTube channel.

You can go there every day, 11 30 a.m. Pacific time. Watch Adriel in the studio live and send him your question. Here's a YouTube question from Misty. She says, what does it mean when Scripture says that Jesus was forsaken by the Father? I don't understand this if they are one.

Yeah. Hey, Misty, thank you for watching us on YouTube. You're referring to the cry of dereliction. While Jesus was on the cross, you know, he cries out. He's about to die and he says, Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani, that is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And some of the bystanders hearing it said, this man is calling to Elijah.

And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. Now, of course, Jesus is here quoting from the Book of Psalms, Psalm chapter 22. This is a psalm of lament. And there the psalmist is crying out to the Lord. He's being persecuted.

He's being attacked. He feels forsaken by God. And Jesus is the one who prays all the Psalms, including the Psalms of lament.

That's what he's doing here. And why is he at the cross to begin with? Why is he bearing this judgment, this curse of death?

It's for us. It's for our sins. I don't think we want to read into this, you know, that the, you know, the second person of the Holy Trinity, the eternal Son of God was severed from the first person of the Holy Trinity, God the Father, that we're talking about something that couldn't even happen. If our understanding of the atonement undermines our doctrine of God, our theology of the Holy Trinity, well, then we have a real problem.

And so this isn't that, you know, the persons of the Holy Trinity are now out of communion or that the Trinity has been broken. It's that Christ in our place is taking the curse that we deserve. And so he's able to quote from Psalm 22 and say, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

He's experiencing the judgment curse of death that belonged to us because of sins so that we might be forgiven. And so another passage to bring into play here, it's really interesting, is what Jesus says in the Gospel of John in John chapter 16, verse 32. You know, talking about this moment, talking about the moment of his death, his crucifixion, what was coming, Jesus said, Behold, the hour is coming.

Indeed, it has come when you will all be scattered, each to his own home and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. And so our Lord Jesus knew that when he was going to the cross, he was doing so as an act of love, pleasing to the Father. And even though he was bearing that curse that we deserve, even though he could say, you know, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The disciples had left him.

They had abandoned him. But he could say here, you know, I'm not alone. The Father is with me. So we need to understand, you know, everything that's going on here in context. And the conclusion that we come to, Misty, is that Jesus is bearing our judgment, but that the Trinity is not broken in the atonement.

Thank you for that question. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Maybe you have a question about doctrine or theology, something happening at your church that you're concerned about.

Or maybe you've run up against some type of persecution in your life because of something you believe. Well, we'd love to hear from you and even pray for you. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Jared calling in from Texas. Jared, what's your question for Adriel?

Hi. So my question has to do with Christians actually taking antidepressants and other, you know, I guess you could say mind-altering medications for depression or things like OCD or intrusive thoughts, things like that. I know that Scripture clearly teaches whatever does not proceed from faith is sin, and yet if someone is truly struggling and there's something being offered that can perhaps mitigate that, how to navigate this issue faithfully, because there's a lot of, there's a lot on the line, and also going against conscience is a very fearful thing.

So I was wondering just how to navigate that and going through it personally. Hey, Jared. Well, let's just pray for you first, wrestling with this question, then I have some thoughts, and then Bill, I know this is one of your areas of expertise, so I want to go to you as well, but let's first go to the Lord. Father, for Jared and for all those who are wrestling with this question, thinking about depression, thinking about medication, I pray that you would grant wisdom. Lord, we know that we live in a fallen world and that a part of the effects of the fall have to do with our minds, that every part of us, Lord, has been affected by sin, and so just like our bodies get sick, there can be chemical imbalances and things that make life very difficult, medical issues, Lord, and that you in your grace and in your goodness have provided doctors and just common grace, Lord, wisdom for how to address some of these things, but you also give us your word and your spirit. Thank you for all the gifts that you give to us, Lord, and I pray for Jared that you would help him to use those gifts, whether it's common grace wisdom from doctors or antidepressants and also the gift of your word and the grace of your spirit, Lord, all those gifts, would you enable him with wisdom to use those gifts to your glory, and would you grant him, Lord, that wisdom that he needs? Bless him, Lord, be with him in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Well, I mean, I was just saying it there. When we think about depression in particular, clinical depression, these kinds of things, and the question of should I take medication for this, for this mental health need that's really truly there, I think we first have to understand it. Theologically speaking, we can say, look, it's a part of the fall. If we think that sin entered the world and sin has affected us, as we talk about when we mean total depravity, every part of me has been affected by sin. This is why there's cancer. This is why there's sickness, and this is why when you are sick, you can go to the doctor and get assistance.

There's nothing magical about it. It's just wisdom, common grace. Well, why wouldn't that be the case with mental health issues as well? Now, that doesn't mean that there haven't been abuses with regard to medication. Bill, I know that you can speak to that, but we want to have a balanced perspective here, and we want to give thanks to God for all of his provision, whether that's through common grace, doctors, medicine, or it's God's special grace, the healing, divine healing, which he sometimes gives, or the grace of salvation, the gift of the Holy Spirit.

All of these things are gifts that we look to the Lord for. This requires wisdom above all else, but there's nothing wrong, inherently wrong, I would say, with seeking to get medication or the wisdom of doctors. Bill, how would an individual know? They're wrestling with something like depression, and they're not sure. Is this a clinical kind of depression? Do I need to go see a doctor, or is this just me kind of feeling down?

How would they be able to distinguish between that? A lot of times, there are particular symptoms that go along with depression, certainly with clinical depression, and anybody can find a list of those symptoms online. But you know, when you're feeling hopeless, when you're feeling sometimes like life isn't worth living, when there are changes in your appetite, your sleep, your energy level that are so severe that they are interfering with your everyday life, then that's a real problem. And you know, one of the things that Jared said, and I thought it was it's very helpful to distinguish this, he talked about mind-altering medications. And I think I would use the term mind-restoring medications, because as you mentioned, Adriel, the fall has affected us in so many ways, including our brain chemistry. And for some people, they have brain chemistry that's been so impacted by the fall, that they struggle with depression or serious anxiety or obsessive compulsive disorder. And if those medications, again, through God's common grace and what we discovered through science and medicine, if those medications can restore the mind to its normal state, then there's no lack of faith involved.

You would never tell a diabetic, you know, you need to have more faith, just don't take your insulin. I mean, that's just so I think the same thing applies when we're talking about serious mental illness. And again, it's to restore you to the state that God intended for you to have, not the state that the sin nature and sin has corrupted in your own personal brain chemistry. It's very helpful.

Jared, thank you for reaching out to us with that question. May the Lord give you wisdom. And I think you can have a sense of freedom in saying, look, this is something that I can explore if I'm having some of these feelings, these symptoms. There's freedom.

It's not a question of like I don't have enough faith. There's freedom to say, okay, Lord, you've provided these other resources, give me wisdom in pursuing these things. And Lord, you work in and through, in and through these resources that you've provided through your common grace. God bless you.

Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We'd love to hear from you if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life.

Our number is 833-THE-CORE. I also want to tell you about some great Bible studies that we have available for you. You can find those on our website at corechristianity.com. And they're on a wide variety of biblical books, both the Old and the New Testament, and they will definitely help you grow in your faith. Yeah, we have Bible studies on books like the book of Galatians, the book of Jonah, the book of Hebrews, the book of Daniel, the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel of John.

I mean, we could just go on and on. And so there are a lot of resources that we've created here at Core Christianity. We have a team working on these things to bless you, to encourage you, and to help you grow in your understanding of God's word as a way of serving you. And so if you've been blessed by the broadcast but you're thinking, okay, how can I go deeper into God's word, get a hold of one of these Bible studies. You can go through them on your own or with a group of friends at church, and they're available for a donation or gift of $15 or more.

All of our studies are available physically or as a PDF download. You can find those by going to corechristianity.com forward slash radio. Again, corechristianity.com forward slash radio. We'd love to have you pick up one of our Bible studies and dig into God's word.

Again, either on your own or as part of a small group. Well, we do receive voicemails here at the Core. You can call us 24 hours a day and leave your question for Adriel on our voicemail system. The number is 1-833-843-2673.

That's 833-THE-CORE. Here's a voicemail that came in from John. My question is how to find out what one's purpose and spiritual gifts are.

Thank you. Yeah, that's a great question, John. You know, I've seen those spiritual gift tests that people can take. You know, you fill out a questionnaire, sort of like the Myers-Briggs kind of a thing, and then, you know, they calculate your answers and they say, you have the gift of prophecy or you have the gift of healing. And usually what they mean is, you know, you talk to people, you know, and it's just straightforward. You have the gift of prophecy.

You just say it like it is. Or maybe you have the quote-unquote gift of healing. That means you're very nurturing and, you know, you want to bring people together.

I don't think that that's the most helpful thing. First, you know, Paul describes spiritual gifts in a number of places in the New Testament. One of them is 1 Corinthians chapter 12. He says in verse 4, there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of service but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them in everyone. To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. And so the first thing I would want to say is that the whole purpose of spiritual gifts in Scripture, it's not for me.

It's not to platform me. It's not my special skill for myself. It's about serving the body. It's about the edification of the body of Christ. And so I would say it's, you can't know what your spiritual gift is unless you're immersed in the life of the church together with the people of God. Because if your spiritual gift is there, exists for the building up of the body, but you're not a part of the body, well, then how are you exercising it?

How can you actually know what it is? And there are different gifts, even in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, you know, 1 Corinthians chapter 12 is in an exhaustive list of spiritual gifts. There are other places like Ephesians chapter 4, Romans chapter 12 I believe as well where spiritual gifts are mentioned, things like encouragement, things like generosity, things like hospitality, things like teaching. And so it's as we're doing life, we're immersed in the body of Christ that I think we begin to see, okay, you know, man, God really uses me in this way to serve others, to encourage others, to give to those who are in need. And that's the grace of God at work in you. And so I would say, look, if you're curious, you're like, I don't know really what my spiritual gift or gifts are, the first thing is be immersed in the life of the church and see how through those relationships God works in your life, in your life and in the lives of others through you. That's what spiritual gifts are about, the building up of the body of Christ.

Amen. And as we've mentioned before, one of Adriel's spiritual gifts is carne asada. That's right, Mexican food. I can eat a lot of it.

And you can make a lot of it. You can make a really good carne asada. I don't know if that's a spiritual gift or the sin of gluttony, Bill. So we have to be careful with that one. So I'm talking about the preparation of it is your gift. I've been to his home and he made some really good carne asada. This is Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to one of our callers from Illinois.

What's your question for Adriel? Hi, my question is if you're in a committed relationship and one person is caught multiple times looking at pornography and either one or two things happen, they either deny it or they blame you for it or the next time it happens, they're like, well, they'll apologize. But if you want to talk about it or figure out what's going on and they're actually talking to other people of opposite sex online as well, but they refuse to communicate about it, is that cheating on your partner? I mean, sister, I'm so sorry to hear about this situation.

It's terrible. I mean, it sounds to me like there hasn't been genuine repentance when people are confronted with their sin. If instead of coming clean and being open and saying, look, I'm willing to be accountable, their response is to minimize it, deny it or blame shift.

This is your fault. Well, that's not repentance. And so there's a real problem here. Now, if you're asking me is looking at pornography the same as the sin of adultery, Jesus said to look at a woman to lust for her is to commit adultery with her in your heart. I do distinguish. I think we do need to distinguish between the physical act of adultery in one sense and somebody who looked at pornography. And so if we're talking to a married couple and the spouse has looked at pornography, does that have legitimate grounds for divorce?

I don't think so. All sin does condemn us, but not all sin is exactly the same. And so we need to factor that in. But a couple of things that I would want to say to the person who's been sinned against in this way. One, it's not your fault. It's not your fault.

And so don't buy into that blame shifting as well. There's something wrong with me. Otherwise, this person wouldn't be looking at these things. No, that's that's sin. That's wickedness in that person's heart. And they need to address that there needs to be true repentance and confession. And what that looks like is a willingness to be honest, not to hide, not to conceal.

And so there's great cause for concern here. And I would just pray for you and pray that the Lord gives you wisdom and discernment in this situation. God bless you. 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 program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.