Chapter 5, “Hear Jesus Saying, ‘I Will Keep You Safe’” pp. 55-70
Matthew 10:28
Guthrie recalls times when bad things happen. A friend suffers through painful medical treatments. She and her family have two children who die. God’s promises of protection seem distant or even false. But in Matthew 10 Jesus tells his disciples that the evil ones can only harm their bodies. They can only cause physical harm. This is not exactly comforting to everyone. Yet Jesus promises us that our struggles, and especially our eternity, are of great importance to him.
When we doubt, we can take comfort that, according to John 17:11-15, Jesus prays for us. He is concerned about our eternal soul. This brings us comfort as we realize that our bodies will die, along with countless others.
Guthrie continues to divide the will of the Father and the Son. “God has answered the prayer of Jesus with a resounding yes!” (p. 64). This continued weakness in her theology is troublesome. She also seems to treat the body as something inconsequential or that will pass away. “While Satan may win a battle or two in the life of the believer, he will never win the war against the soul” (p. 64). Historic Christianity, on the other hand, has consistently confessed that the Lord has created us, body and soul, and has redeemed the two together. Death separates the elements temporarily, but in the resurrection we are complete again.
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