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| Volume 23 Number 6 June 2021 |
Page 16 |
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| Volume 23 Number 6 June 2021 |
Page 16 |
D.A. Adenugba
It has been rightly noted that there will be no grandchildren in Heaven (Rushmore 39-41). If there are no grandchildren in Heaven, will there be in-laws in Heaven? The Sadducees, unlike the Pharisees, did not believe in angels, spirits and the resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:23).
This wrong belief of the Sadducees is the backdrop to the question they asked Christ concerning a person who married a wife and died without offspring. In accordance with the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 25:5), the deceased six brothers had married the widow each in turn and died without leaving behind a child. Summing up their preamble, the Sadducees said, “Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her” (Matthew 22:27-28).
The response of Jesus revealed the incorrect doctrine of the Sadducees, and other issues were pragmatically addressed. In addition, the living nature of God was manifested. To the Sadducees, Jesus said, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). The mistakes of the Sadducees were:
They were ignorant of the Scriptures. Ignorance is destructive. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children” (Hosea 4:6).
They did not know the “Power of God.” God’s power, as well as the righteousness of God, is great and is revealed in the Gospel of Christ. Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:16-18).
If they had known the power of God, the Sadducees could have understood that with Him all things are possible (Luke 1:37). All things were created through God’s power; all things are sustained thereby, and the dead can be made alive. Therefore, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:32b). Since God is living, do not go about seeking help where there is no help (e.g., spiritualists, juju religion, diviners and occultists, etc.). God is our provider, protector, helper and all-in-all. “Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless” (Psalm 108:12).
Additionally, God gives power to all those who obey Him through Christ Jesus. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). God has given to Christians power to pray and to receive great and marvelous things. If you are a modern-day Sadducee, change your mind today and be a genuine follower of Christ. All Christians believe that there is Spirit, there are angels and the resurrection of the dead is certain (John 5:24; 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20).
Beyond this earth, there is no marriage and diverse customs to perform the marriage. Angels of God do not marry in Heaven. Humans who ultimately go to Heaven also will not marry. “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). Without marriage, there are no in-laws. In-laws exist relative to the marital relationship here on earth. Since there is no marriage in Heaven, there will be no in-laws in Heaven.
After death, man’s relationship is no longer earthly, but heavenly – without marriage and in-laws. While on earth and in the marriage relationship, do respect and honor your in-laws, but do not fear them. Indeed, fear no man, but fear only the Lord. “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17).
Furthermore, provide for your in-laws and assist them if they are in need. More importantly, show them the way to eternity – the steps to salvation. Let all other in-laws (i.e., brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law) be shown the way to Heaven through preaching and teaching the Gospel. Besides fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law relationships that will not exist in Heaven, all other in-laws do not exist in Heaven either. Salvation is not tied to any marital relationship. It is, however, intimately tied to Christ Jesus (Revelation 19:7; 21:9), Who is the only Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).
For your salvation, believe from the heart the Lord Jesus (John 3:16-18; Romans 10:9-10); repent of all your sins (Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 3:19), confess Jesus as Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:10-11) and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38). Thereafter, continue to walk in newness of life, waiting for the return of the Lord (Revelation 2:10). There are no in-laws in Heaven. However, all in-laws who faithfully submit to God’s Word will be saved.
References
Rushmore, Rebecca. “No Grandchildren in Heaven.” The Voice of Truth International, Vol. 108: 39-41.
Is It Sinful to Have
a Blood Transfusion?
Louis Rushmore
Someone asks, “Is it sinful to have a blood transfusion?” All three religious periods in the Bible – Patriarchy, Judaism, Christianity – prohibit eating blood. Patriarchy: “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood” (Genesis 9:4 NKJV). Judaism: “Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat” (Deuteronomy 12:23 and many more Scriptures). Christianity: “But that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood” (Acts 15:20).
Genesis 9:4 prohibited people living under Patriarchy from eating blood because life is in the blood. The two following verses, hence, introduce “lifeblood” and associate blood with life and death. Prohibitions under Judaism about eating blood provide an additional reason for not eating blood; idolatrous worship at the time involved eating blood (Leviticus 19:26; Ezekiel 33:25). Likewise, Christianity’s restriction from eating blood is also associated with idolatrous worship. “…That you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality” (Acts 15:29).
All three religious periods in the Bible – Patriarchy, Judaism, Christianity – prohibit eating blood. However, nowhere in the Bible does God even mention blood transfusions. Eating blood and blood transfusions are not the same thing. Blood transfusions neither involve eating blood or having it pass through the digestive system (e.g., stomach). Neither do blood transfusions have any relationship to idolatry. The Jehovah Witnesses stand alone in Christendom in presuming that eating blood and having a blood transfusion are the same thing and equally condemned. Sincere, nevertheless, they are sincerely mistaken and have erroneously interpreted Acts 15:29 and other related Bible passages. It is not sinful to have a blood transfusion.