Are We Given Spiritual Gifts When We Become a Believer?

Are we given spiritual gifts when we become a believer? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Well, hi, 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. We'd love to hear from you. You can call us at 833-THE-CORE. If you get our voicemail system, feel free to leave your message there.

That's 833-843-2673. Now, you can also email us anytime at questionsatcorechristianity.com. We're open to your questions about biblical passages, doctrine, theology, something going on in your own Christian walk.

Please feel free to email us again, questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Diane calling in from South Dakota. Diane, what's your question for Adriel? Thank you for taking my question. I was wondering if in Mark 13 it says that we cannot know the hour or the date, but can we narrow it down to the year, especially due to the signs of the time?

Hey, Diane, thank you for that question. Let's just dive into the text briefly, and such an important question. Can we figure out when Jesus is coming? Can we narrow it down to the year?

Maybe not the day or the hour, but can we get the year? You're asking on the basis of Mark 13. I'll start in verse 24, but in those days after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory, and then He will send forth the angels and will gather together His elect from the four winds from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of the heavens. Now learn the parable from the fig tree.

When its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. But of that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but the Father alone.

Take heed, keep on the alert, for you do not know when the appointed time will come. There was a book that was published some time ago, Diane, called 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Happen in 1988, which as we know today in 2023, that book was not true. Part of the rationale was the author was taking this text where it talks about the fig tree and its branch becoming tender and putting forth its leaves. It was sort of based on the nation of Israel being reestablished in the Middle East and so forth. The argument was, this is going to happen in the year 1988, and of course many people were very disappointed and felt as though they had been led astray, and I've seen this happen. There are a number of examples where people have attempted to do this. They're not prophesying the moment, the hour, even the day.

Some people have been so bold as to try to do that, but it's going to be summer of 2004, that kind of a thing. I just think that's not where we should focus our attention as believers. I do think we need to live with vigilance.

We need to be watchful. We need to be mindful of the coming of the Lord, to live in light of it. This is what you see throughout the New Testament, but speculating about the day or even the year, I would say, is not so helpful. Of course, there have been many people who have done this, but I think we can get so caught up in that.

The sad thing is when you do see books like that published and people who are led astray and they invest a lot of time and energy and even money, there are people who sold homes and went on the road preaching that Christ is coming back in 1988 and other instances as well. I just think the focus there in the Gospels is you just aren't going to know, so be ready. It's like a thief in the night, right?

The thief doesn't tell you when he's coming. You just have to be on guard, vigilant, watchful. God help all of us to be vigilant, to be prayerful, to live in light of Christ, the judge who is coming, and to honor Him. So, Diane, may God bless you. If you have a pastor or a Bible teacher, I'm speaking to everyone here, who speculates about these things and the focus of their ministry is, this is when Jesus is coming back, I think that's a red flag. Because I think so often we can lose sight of the basic, clear teaching of Scripture and that focus on Christ and His Gospel and begin to focus on current events such that we're losing sight of the text of Scripture. I think that's not helpful in terms of building us up in godliness and growing together as believers. So, I appreciate your question, Diane, and may God bless you.

I was thinking about another aspect of that, Adriel. When we are so focused on when Christ is returning, sometimes that makes us not available to serve and grow God's kingdom, because we're so myopic. We're just saying, it's all about this day and this time, and I'm going to this mountaintop to wait. Meanwhile, all around us, there's so much need, and there's so many people that need to hear God's word and hear the truth. I wrote an article some time ago, I don't remember the name of it, Christianity.com, I think How to Live in Light of the End, something like that, on our website, where basically I unpack 1 Peter 4, verse 7. Because you think, in light of the end of all things, how should we live as Christians? In light of the coming of the Lord. And some people think, well, yeah, we need to hunker down.

We need to flee to the mountains and board up the house and so forth. Listen to what Peter says, he says, 1 Peter 4, verse 7, the end of all things is near, therefore be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint, as each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. And he continues there, but what a beautiful picture. He says, okay, the end of all things is here, and store up ammunition and flee to the mountains.

No, that's not what he says. He says, be hospitable, be a person of prayer, love one another, strive after those things. That's how we should live as Christians. And so I so appreciate his words there, and they're important for us to hear today.

So well said, thanks for that. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, you can always call us 24 hours a day, leave your voicemail at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Steve calling in from Wisconsin. Steve, what's your question for Adriel? Yeah, hello, Pastor Sanchez.

Quick question. Do you think there's any biblical basis for pastors, elders, or deacons not participating in tithing or sacrificial giving? No, I don't think that there is any biblical basis for pastors and elders and deacons, for officers in the church who are called to be examples, not giving to the work of the gospel sacrificially. I've heard people say, I've heard pastors say, well, I just give in other ways. I preach and I teach, and so now maybe, right, I don't know. I just don't buy that.

That's not my view. And Paul makes it very clear in 2 Corinthians 8, right, there is such a blessing associated with giving, 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. And in chapter 9, verse 6, right, here it is. Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do, just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. You know, scripture is very clear, Steve, that one of the qualifications for officers in the church is that they can't be lovers of money. And I think having that heart of generosity is one of the ways that we combat that idol, the idol of money and possessions. And so in one sense, right, the Bible does speak to this. If you have somebody who is unwilling to be generous and hasn't cultivated that heart of generosity giving to the work of the ministry, the advancement of the gospel, is there an issue here?

Is there an issue here with regard to the love of money? Now again, I can't speak for every situation. Maybe there are some extraordinary circumstances where an individual is in a unique situation.

There's room for that. I'm not trying to make a blanket statement here, but generally speaking, I think officers in the church should be leaders in this. In other words, we should be able to point to our lives and say to the people that we're ministering to, hey, follow my example in being generous, in really believing that there's nothing more important than the advancement of the gospel and believing it's so much that we want to give to its advancement.

So that's where I'm at on this, Steve, and I think for good reason. I think the scripture makes it clear. And again, there's so many passages that talk about the joy and the blessing associated with giving. Now, just because I'm curious, Steve, I want to go back to you for a moment, if you're willing, and just ask, you know, is this something that has come up in your own church or is this, you know, what's the root of the question? I'm in a precarious position because I'm the treasurer, you know, so I see everything and it just bothers me that I see lack of giving by the officers of the church, and I was saddened by that and wanted to seek clarification, so I thank you for that.

Yeah. Well, brother, you have an inside look at things. We have a treasure in our church. I don't have any knowledge in our church of who gives or how much they give, but we do encourage people to give generously.

And I think in this situation, so a couple of things. I think it's fair for you as the treasurer and as someone who is serving in the church and who has this knowledge to just ask, talk to the pastor, talk to them, or even bring it up. Maybe you don't have to single anyone out, but you can say, man, I think this is an area where we need to grow as God's people in generosity and having that discussion.

Now, you never know. Sometimes, you know, I have seen it where pastors give and give generously to the advancement of the gospel, but they don't give all that they give to their local church. Maybe there's another mission work that they're investing in or they feel weird about giving to the church that they minister at because they feel like, well, is that sort of like giving to the work that I'm doing? I don't know. There's nothing wrong with that, I would say, either giving to the church where you're ministering at.

But you never know. So I would say don't jump to conclusions, but maybe it's an opportunity to have a conversation about the blessing of giving and the need of the church and wanting to see leadership take the reins on this and lead in a way for other people to follow as well. God bless you, Steve. So you don't think Steve should put it in the church newsletter?

I mean, just put the names. Steve, don't share on Facebook or Instagram or whatever. No, this is a conversation that I think it's totally fair to ask those kinds of questions. And just to say, in light of the blessing that's associated with giving and in light of the fact that officers in the church are called not to be lovers of money, how does this work for us? How are we doing as a church?

Are we invested in the work that we're doing? I think that's totally fair and hopefully is received with love and not as an attack. So I think you need to do it with humility and prayer.

And also, again, not jumping to conclusions. Maybe they're giving generously to the work of the gospel, just not there. Great counsel. Thanks. And Steve, thanks so much for listening to Core Christianity. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, you can always email us. Here's our email address. It's questions at core Christianity dot com. Let's go to Danny, who's in Topeka, Kansas. Danny, thanks for holding on so long.

What's your question for Adriel? Yes, thank you all. Your ministry is certainly blessing. It's mentioned in Scripture about death and dying, and it seems like a contradiction. Second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 6 says, Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. And also, I've heard preachers on the radio saying that as soon as we die, that we're going to know all this kind of great bliss and everything. But also, Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 9 verse 5, The dead don't know anything.

Danny, thank you. So is there a contradiction between Ecclesiastes 9 and 5 and what we read in 2 Corinthians 5 or elsewhere? No. So Ecclesiastes 9 and 5, we're thinking about wisdom literature, and Ecclesiastes in particular is a really interesting book because in one sense it's sort of a counterpoint to a lot of what we read in Proverbs. In Proverbs, you have the sort of general principles of wisdom, retributive justice.

If you just do this, here's what will happen. But then you read Ecclesiastes, and what do we hear? Vanity. Everything is vanity.

It doesn't matter what you do. You know, we're all going to die kind of a thing. But it's sort of thinking about life under the sun. In one sense, we might even say apart from God's grace, the futility of human striving. And one of the things that the wisdom literature does for us, Danny, is it helps us to realize how complex things are.

We like to think that, you know, life could just be a sort of formula. If we just do these things, then this is what will happen. But the reality is we see injustice. We see people who live well and do good and yet still suffer immensely.

Think of the story of Job as well. And so here in Ecclesiastes 9 and 5, for the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. I think what wisdom is focusing on there is just the fact that the dead, you see this in the Psalms as well, the dead do not praise God. But it's very clear in scripture that for believers, those who are united to Jesus Christ, Danny, and I pray that you are, that you know and have a relationship with Jesus, that the moment we die, we immediately pass into glory and that our souls are perfected. And the reason preachers say that we're going to have this wonderful intimate knowledge when we die is because Paul himself says that in 1 Corinthians 13 verse 12. He says, Now, in other words, while we're here on earth, we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been known.

But now faith, hope, love abide these three, but the greatest of these is love. We have a great hope as God's people that the moment we die, it's not like we just cease to exist or that we're unconscious, but that the moment we die, we are in the presence of the Lord, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We're perfected in holiness, and we gather with the saints who have gone before us and the angels around the throne of God to worship Him.

And we can't even begin to fully imagine or grasp what that's going to be like. Throughout the book of Revelation, you have these various images or visions that John gets, a picture of it in numerous places, and it's full of worship and joy and peace. And even that existence, theologians refer to it as the intermediate state because it's not our final destination. We die, we go to heaven, our souls are united to Christ, they're with the Lord in heaven, worshiping Him, but we're waiting for the resurrection of our bodies, which is a sure thing because Jesus himself rose again from the dead. This is the point that Paul makes in 1 Corinthians 15, for example. And so we have a great hope.

You, in Jesus Christ, have a great hope that death for us is a passing into life in the presence of the Lord, and with joy and all the heavenly hosts. And so God bless you, brother, thank you for reaching out to us, and may God comfort you and encourage you and bless you as you continue to study the Scriptures. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

We mentioned we have a great resource available this week. We do receive calls from both Protestants and Catholics on this program, and there are some definite differences doctrinally between those two, and we've actually got a booklet that really dives into that. The booklet is called What Still Divides Us, and as Bill said, we do get questions on the distinctives of Roman Catholic theology and Protestant theology. What's the difference, really? Maybe some of you have friends or family members that are Roman Catholic, or maybe you're Roman Catholic and you listen to the broadcast and you're curious about it. It sounds like I agree with a lot of the things that you're saying.

What's the difference? Get a hold of this resource. Again, it's called What Still Divides Us, and it is a new booklet that you can get over at corechristianity.com. While you're at our website, browse around some of our other resources. We've got a lot of great Bible studies available to you. We've got our core questions and core guides, which are completely free.

We'd love to have you download some of those. And of course, if you feel led, you feel God might be calling you to make a gift to this ministry, we would really appreciate that. We are donor-supported. We don't get money from a church or denomination.

We don't play commercials. We count on people just like you to make regular gifts to keep us doing what we're doing. So check that out at corechristianity.com.

Well, we do receive voicemails here at the core, and here's one that came in from one of our listeners named Loretta. I am taking a course by Chip Ingram on spiritual gifts, and one of the things he says is spiritual gifts are given at the moment of regeneration. I just wonder how he came to that conclusion. I'm sure he's right, but what scriptures did he conclude that from? Thank you very much.

Ah, well, it's always hard for me to speak on behalf of people I don't know. But I agree that we are given spiritual gifts by the Lord. 1 Corinthians chapter 12 makes this very clear. And we're told that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 13, in Him you also, after listening to the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise who is given as a pledge of our inheritance with the view to the redemption of God's own possession to the praise of His glory. So, when you believed, when you laid hold of the gospel by faith in Jesus, the Bible says at that moment you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. The Spirit came and indwelled you. Now, there are some people who say, man, I remember the moment, I remember the day, I could feel, it's like I could feel the Holy Spirit coming to take up residence in my life. Other people, no, I mean, I've always believed. And you hear that, too.

It doesn't have to be this, you know, firework, you know, experience. But the truth of the matter is no one, Paul says to the Corinthians, can say that Jesus is Lord truly, except by the Holy Spirit. And if you believe, you have indeed been sealed by the Holy Spirit.

Praise God for that. And so that's one text that I think maybe might give credence to this idea that the moment we believe we're also given spiritual gifts, because Paul does say in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 4, there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of ministries and the same Lord, and there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all, all things and all persons, but to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. And so there it doesn't necessarily say it happened at the moment of your regeneration, but what is cool about this, and a lot of people miss this point about 1 Corinthians 12, verses 4 through 7, is you have the persons of the Trinity at work here. Varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Varieties of ministries, the same Lord. We're talking about Jesus there. Varieties of effects, but the same God. Probably a reference to the Father. Father, Son, Holy Spirit at work in us administering these gifts.

For what purpose? The edification of the body of Christ. In other words, the gifts that God gives us as Christians aren't for us, aren't to platform us as individuals.

It's not, look at my cool gift that I have for my good. God has gifted you as a member of his body for the good of the entire church. We need each other. We need each other for the building up of the body. It's Paul's point elsewhere in Ephesians chapter 4. The body builds itself up in love through these gifts, and so God help us to be engaged in that every day in our lives and to give him thanks for his grace. God bless. .