The Difference Between the Incarnation and Reincarnation

A family member who's not a Christian asked me what Christians have against reincarnation, since we believe that God was incarnate as Jesus. I couldn't really answer him.

Does the incarnation mean that reincarnation is a possibility for humans? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. This is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673.

You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts, or you can email us at questionsatcorechristianity.com. Well, California's famous In-N-Out Burger is a big hit in Colorado, a real big hit. Last week, a 14-hour-long line formed at In-N-Out's first Colorado location, prompting a brawl between waiting customers. At one point, the Aurora Police Department tweeted out a warning about the drive-thru wait times, which had hit 12 hours by 4.30 p.m. on opening day.

Police said they were ready for any issues that may arise among the thousands of fans eager to buy one of the Burger Chain's signature double-doubles. Okay, Adriel, I like In-N-Out, but 14 hours? I'll just go to Burger King. Come on, that's just crazy. Well, Bill, some things clearly are worth fighting for, and it seems like one of those is the In-N-Out double-double.

I mean, I'm a SoCal guy, right? I love In-N-Out. Bill, I know you were here for some time. What's your order? What's your In-N-Out order? You know, I pretty much go with everything on it, and then the animal fries, for sure. Yes, yes. Look, it makes sense to me. I mean, you know, we have fallen sinful hearts, and so we're prone to make an idol out of all sorts of things, even the In-N-Out burger.

Even double-doubles. So we need to check our hearts, but I think we can still give thanks for delicious In-N-Out. For those folks from parts of the country that don't have In-N-Out, we should tell you it's Christian-owned, and if you look on the bottom of your cup, you will find a Bible verse, which is really cool. Many have turned to the Lord through the In-N-Out fries, I'm sure, but that's true, though. They do have Scripture references on their cups and stuff like that.

Great. Let's get to our first question. This one is a Facebook post from Matt. He says, What a wonderful way to open up the program for today as we think about Christmas, the Advent season. So, Matt, I'm going to read Matthew chapter 2, the beginning of the chapter, just to give us some context with these wise men. Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose, and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him, and assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet, And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.

For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly, and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him. After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose, went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh, and being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way."

You know, Matt, sometimes the Bible is communicating to us, something to us, through what it leaves out. And I think that's an important thing to note here in this story, because it does seem to leave out quite a bit of information as to the identity of these three wise men. We don't get their names. We don't know the kingdom that they ruled over, the kingdoms that they ruled over, except for the fact that they're from the east.

They're pretty anonymous. The focus isn't on these three wise men or these three kings. The focus is on a different king, an infant king. They come to worship him. And I think their involvement is important because they help to reveal the identity of Jesus. Jesus is the King of Kings. And that's one of the things we're seeing here. The very fact that they travel to him, bringing gifts, and then bow down to worship him.

This isn't just a mere child. This is the God-man. Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see. Hail the incarnate deity, as the carol says. Another thing that I think is really interesting here is if you look at, in the Old Testament, some of the promises that were related to the Davidic king, God's promises to David, I think what you see here is some fulfillment there as well. In Psalm 72, for example, it talks about the Davidic king and the nations bringing him their gifts.

Listen to what Psalm 72 says. It begins by saying, Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son. Then in verse 8 it says, May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from river to the ends of the earth. May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute. May the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him, for he delivers the needy when he calls.

The poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight. Long may he live, and then get this, may gold of Sheba be given to him.

May prayer be made for him continually and blessings invoked for him all the day. Here you have that great Davidic king, the one to whom the nations are going to come bringing their tributes, their gifts, their gold in a manger. Jesus. And so these three wise men or these three kings are, I think, important to the story because they're helping us understand who this baby is. He is the God-man, the king of kings, the one whom the Gentiles even are going to worship.

Jesus the king. That's beautiful. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Here's a question that came in through our website from Barbara. She says, Can you explain what Matthew 11 verses 11 through 15 means?

Thank you. Well, let me read the text, Barbara. Matthew 11, beginning in verse 11. Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist, yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. This few verses here are really packed with a lot of information.

There really could be a few things that you might be asking about, Barbara. I'm not entirely sure what you're focused on in this text of scripture. One question you might have is, why was there none greater than John the Baptist? Well, Jesus is setting him up as the last in line of a long list of prophets who is heralding the dawn of a new era, ultimately the dawn of the new covenant. So in that sense, he has this very high position, this great position in the history of redemption. Or you might be wondering, what is Jesus getting at when he talks about the violent taking the kingdom by force?

That's a really just sort of interesting phrase there, isn't it? You know, some people have taken that to mean, you know, you think of what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount. A little bit earlier in Matthew, strive to enter by the narrow gate. Is it that kind of striving to get into the kingdom? Think also of what the scripture says in Acts 14-22, through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. Or, this is another way of reading that verse there, verse 12, it could be taken or translated in this way, until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and the violent are attempting to take it by force.

The verb there can be, it's called a conative verb, it's the idea of attempting something but not being able to do it. That sort of makes sense to me, because one of the things we see throughout the New Testament is that the kingdom is not something that we earn or build, it's something that God gives to us. We're receiving a kingdom that comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Christ established the kingdom, he's building his church, we are the recipients of that kingdom. And so it could be that Jesus is referring to the fact that the violent are trying to take the kingdom but they're not able to, because that's not how the kingdom comes. You could be referring to or wondering about, you know, how is John the Baptist Elijah? That's another question that this passage of scripture, I think, poses to us. And it certainly isn't that Elijah was reincarnated as John the Baptist or something like that, but that John the Baptist came in the spirit and prophetic power of Elijah.

He is this prophet figure, as I said, the last in line of this great list of prophets, and Elijah was one of them. And so in that sense, John the Baptist is this forerunner who comes in the spirit and power of Elijah. And so I think I've covered the main sort of questions I think you might have with this passage of scripture, Barbara, but feel free to follow up with us if you want to go a little bit deeper into one of those, or if I didn't, get to exactly what you were looking for.

Thank you for your question. Barbara, thanks so much for your question, and thanks for being one of our CORE listeners. You're listening to CORE Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and you know, one of the things we do here is we strive to help you understand the CORE truths of the Christian faith. Every time we answer one of your questions, every article we run on our website, every resource we produce here is seeking to help you gain a clearer understanding of the gospel, the CORE message of Christianity. But you know, we need your support to do it.

That's right, Bill. We are a listener-supported program, and if you've benefited or been encouraged by the answers to questions about the Christian faith that you hear on CORE Christianity, we would like to ask you to please consider sending a gift now to help us continue. As a thank you for a gift of $20 or more, we'll send you our new resource, How to Read the Bible.

This is a resource that shows you how to answer some of the most important questions you hear us answer on the show. Most importantly, this resource will help you answer questions about the Bible and how its grand message points to Jesus. The How to Read the Bible resource introduces you to the history of the Bible, key concepts that help tie the Old and New Testament together, and key ideas from the main sections of the Bible and more. It's a 10-week study that can be used in personal devotions, Sunday School classes, or your Bible study group. Each weekly lesson includes selected passages from the Bible, reflection questions, and explanations of the key themes every Christian should know about the Bible as a whole. We'd love to send this to you. To make a donation and receive this new study, just head over to corechristianity.com forward slash bible.

That's corechristianity.com forward slash bible. And on behalf of the entire team here at CORE Radio, thank you so much for your support. Adriel, let's get back to another listener question. This one is a call that came in from Oscar. I would like to know, when it comes to salvation, do we respond to God, or is it God who chooses us and we respond to God, or do we have a choice?

Thank you. The age-old question, Oscar. There's a really easy answer to this. God responds to us. We call upon Him, and He responds to us, but the only reason we call upon Him, the only reason you call upon Him, is because God is at first working in you. One thing I think that's really important for you to know is that God is the one who always takes the initiative in salvation. God isn't just sort of waiting up there for us to say, oh, I decide to follow you, Jesus, and God says yippee, you know, and He accepts us because we accepted Him, that kind of a thing. No, God is the pursuer.

He is the one that is pursuing humanity. Just think of the Christmas message, the message of the incarnation, that He sent His Son into the world to pursue fallen humanity. And the fact of the matter is God had to do it, and God has to take the initiative, because we are so bent inward sinfully on ourselves that we wouldn't lift our eyes to heaven. We're so consumed with ourselves, with worshiping the creature rather than the Creator, that were it not for the work of God's grace, the work of the Holy Spirit in us, we would never turn to Him, Oscar. And so God takes the initiative. Now, as God is working in us, we do call upon the name of the Lord. We have faith, we exercise faith, which is ultimately a gift that God gives to us. And God rewards, if you will, the faith that He gives to us. I mean, it really is quite this amazing dance, if you will, where God is at work in us.

He's opening our hearts so that we might turn to Him, and when we turn to Him, He showers us with these blessings in His Son, Jesus. And again, it has to be this way, because we're broken in sin. I think about what the Apostle Paul said to the Ephesians. If you have a Bible with you, Oscar, it might be helpful to turn to Ephesians chapter 2, because I think it's stated so clearly there. Verse 1, And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

That's what we were. That's what you were, Paul, saying to the Ephesian Christians. We used to be spiritually dead, which, by the way, is really kind of a shocking statement, especially considering today's culture. A lot of people like to think of themselves as spiritual, not religious. You know, I don't really like organized religion or Christianity, per se, but I am very spiritual.

Listen to what Paul says. You were spiritually dead to the Ephesians. You were dead in your trespasses and sins.

Yeah, you might have been engaged in these other religious practices, in your own paganism or your own religious beliefs, but before God, spiritually speaking, you were dead, walking in the passions of your flesh, carrying out the desires of your body, of the mind, by nature children of wrath. But God, being rich in mercy, verse 4, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. And He raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Jesus Christ, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Again, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of work so that no one may boast. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

And so, Oscar, do you see how clear it is there? This is not your own doing. It's not your works. It's not the strength, even, of your faith.

It was, you were dead and God made you alive through Jesus Christ. It's the gift of God. Even the faith that you have is the gift of God. And this is so important because then at the end of the day, who gets all the glory? God does. God gets all the glory in salvation because He took the initiative in each step of the way. He was the one raising us up, saving us, sanctifying us. And again, that's not to say that we don't have a responsibility.

The Bible is absolutely clear that we do. We call upon the name of the Lord, we repent, but that calling, that repentance comes through the work of the Spirit of God in our lives. And it's this marvelous truth, it's a sobering truth, because it reveals to us how broken in sin we are.

You can't pull yourself up by the bootstraps. You need a work of the Spirit, a miracle, and that's what God gives to us in His Son, Jesus, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thanks for your question, Oscar.

Amen. What a great explanation of God's call to us and our response. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Adriel, here's an interesting question that came in from Manny. He says, A family member who is not a Christian asked me what Christians have against reincarnation since we believe that God was incarnate as Jesus. I couldn't really answer him.

Does the incarnation mean that reincarnation is a possibility for humans? Yeah, thank you for that question. It's sort of an interesting thing that your family member would bring up. And one, let me just say what a wonderful thing it is that your family wants to talk about spirituality and religion with you.

You have an opportunity to talk about the gospel with this family member. The incarnation was unique. It was the incarnation of the second person of the Holy Trinity, the eternal Son of God.

He assumed humanity. He took on flesh so that He might be our perfect representative. And then He died once in that body and rose again from the dead for us, for our justification, for our salvation. He didn't die and then become reincarnated again. No, the incarnation is a one-time thing.

Again, it's unique, and it's not something that's repeated. Jesus isn't reincarnated. And reincarnation is not something that we experience either. I mean, one proof text that oftentimes believers will go to, and I think it's a legitimate one, is Hebrews 9, verse 27, in response to this idea of reincarnation, where the op-ed of the Hebrews said, And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes the judgment... He continues talking there, but just that phrase there, it's appointed for man to die once, that is, not repeatedly, over and over again, to die and come back again and die and come back again, but to die once, and after that comes the judgment. The word once there is pretty clear. We have one life to live, and there's no second chance after death, but God gives us many chances today, this side of mortality, if you will.

And that's the important point for us to take note of. You know, reincarnation, and as it exists in some of these other religions, can be really, and is really, a devastating belief. I had a friend who's from Korea, who was raised in a very poor family, single mother Buddhist, and she said that oftentimes growing up they didn't have anything to eat, but no one in their village would help them, because they viewed this young girl and her mother as cursed, as having had done something horrible in their previous life, and that's why they were experiencing the plight that they were in, the suffering that they were experiencing, so nobody wanted to help them. Nobody was willing to help them, because they viewed it as sort of going against the laws of karma. Just leave them be. They're being judged for what they did in a previous life. How heartbreaking and horrible. Karma, too.

I mean, I know you didn't ask about that, but it's sort of related to this entire system. It's the opposite of the gospel. The gospel is not God is just going to give you what you deserve. The gospel is Jesus bore your sins. He took what you deserve so that in Him you might have eternal life. It's good news.

It's the best news there is. Manny, maybe that's one of the ways that you can talk to this family member, is sort of highlighting, hey, how reincarnation is sort of rooted in this idea of karma, and that's really not that good of news, but the gospel, what God gives to us, the truth of scripture, is so much better, because it recognizes that we all fail, that we do things in our lives that aren't good. We deserve to come back as a rat if that was the reality, but the fact of the matter is that's not the reality.

The reality is Christ has borne our sins on the cross so that we might have eternal life, and that's good news. Amen. I do not want to come back as a centipede. Yeah, Bill, you would be pretty bad. You'd be cockroach or something like that, I'm sure.

You'd be the rat. Yeah, that's right. Thank you.

We got that pecking order all set there. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's get to one more question.

This kind of ties in with that last one. It's from Jennifer, and she says, Where will Christians spend eternity? I thought it was taught that it will be heaven, but now, after studying, I believe it may be on a new restored earth. Can you please clarify this for me?

Yeah, it sounds like you are studying and coming to the right conclusion. We ultimately have the hope of the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Our bodies are going to be raised up in perfect glory, and we're going to inhabit the new creation, the new heavens and the new earth. Earth is going to be heavenized, if you will. It's going to be beyond anything we could ever imagine in terms of its beauty and its glory, and we are going to worship the Lord and love one another perfectly.

It's going to be awesome. It's our ultimate hope, but oftentimes, Jennifer, and I think this is why there's a lot of confusion today, you have this sort of idea that Jesus came to die on the cross for my sins so that I can go to heaven when I die. And so we see heaven, that is sort of being in the clouds, or however we imagine it, as the ultimate destination of the believer. But that stops short of our full hope, the hope of the restoration of all things, the resurrection of the body, as I said. See, our bodies are good. We often think of them negatively, like, you know, spirit is good, body is bad, but that's not the case. Our bodies are good, created by God, good, and God intends to restore them, and what a hope we have, what a hope you have. It's really easy to, especially as we age, think of our bodies as this great nuisance. And, man, I can't wait to shed this old body. Well, guess what? You will for a time, but then God is going to raise it up.

We're going to have bodies just like the Lord Jesus that never corrupt or grow old, that aren't tainted by sin, and we get to experience that reality because Jesus rose from the dead. 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.