<> Ask the Pastor Pastor Walter P. Snyder Q: It appears that after Jesus rose from the dead, he looked so different that neither the guys on the road to Emmaus nor Mary at the tomb recognized Him at first. Is this true? Why is this so? I ask because Islam says a substitute died on the cross and Jesus' not being recognized by his followers could be used as a sort of proof. A: Besides the "substitute" theory, others have claimed that Jesus fainted, that his body was stolen, that the disciples were hallucinating, or that the whole story of his resurrection is a fraud. To believe any of these, one must disbelieve the Bible. Even Jesus' enemies were quite convinced that it was Jesus on the cross, and that he really died. Thus, either he rose or he didn't. I am convinced by Scripture that he did rise and that the accounts of the witnesses are accurate. Thus, we are forced to contend with his seeming differences. We must remember that during his thirty-odd years on earth, Jesus was in a state of "humiliation," wherein he did not always nor fully reveal and express his divinity. He bound himself not only to the Law of God, but also to the laws of God's creation. We don't know how his physical state since the resurrection differs from his state before rising from the dead. It may be that his body underwent some changes. More likely, he intentionally "cloaked" his appearance, revealing himself only as he chose. Defying physics, he met the disciples in the upper room, where he showed his wounds. The sudden appearance and accompanying doubt show a change; the wounds prove both that he wasn't completely changed and that it was truly he who'd undergone crucifixion. Islam must twist the evidence of Scripture or it is faced with admitting that it denies the divinity of Christ and the truth of Christianity. Q: Hughes Silverster in his book Arguing With God has defined his stand that free will exists even if there is God. Some people I know have disputed this stand, stating that in a world which is ultimately controlled by God, there can be no such thing as free will. One even proposed to say that free will is not in the sense of free will we commonly think about. We can probably make small decisions here and there, but all such decisions are ultimately due to the situations or circumstances we are in. And it goes on therefore, that because of this, not everyone will be redeemed by Christ because situations usually make that so. What is your view on this? A: The question of free will is ancient. During the Lutheran Reformation, it was a divisive factor. This was especially as concerns free will and salvation. Martin Luther wrote "The Bondage of the Will" to emphasize that sinful humanity is unable to move even one tiny step toward belief or godliness. God gave man a will at creation. Therefore, we are each able to will something. However, each action of the will is stimulated by ideas or events from outside, or by emotional or other factors from within. By birth, we are bound to our own sinfulness, which, in turn, is bound by Satan. Genesis 8:21 says the heart imagines evil from youth. Our minds are set on carnal things (Romans 8:5; Galatians 5:19-20), and we lust, crave, desire evil (Ephesians 2:2-3; 4:22). Thus, our will is directed toward the things God hates. Paul tells us (Romans 8:7) that our natural mind "is enmity against God." Only God can work the change. In conversion, freedom comes from a new captivity. We are freed to do and to be truly good because our will is now constrained by the Word of God and his Holy Spirit. Our Lutheran "Formula of Concord" states, "The Scriptures deny to the intellect, heart, and will of the natural man all aptness, skill, capacity, and ability to think, to understand, to be able to do, to begin, to will, to undertake, to act, to work or to concur in working anything good and right in spiritual things as of himself." Luther says in comments on Psalm 90: "In worldly and external affairs; which pertain to the livelihood and maintenance of the body, man is cunning, intelligent, and quite active; but in spiritual and divine things, which pertain to the salvation of the soul, man is like a pillar of salt, like Lot's wife, yea, like a log and a stone, like a lifeless statue, which uses neither eyes nor mouth, neither sense nor heart." "Circumstances" do not keep us away from God and salvation; it is our sinful nature--our will enslaved by sin. Thus, we see that we do not, indeed cannot, "decide" or turn our will toward Christ. Instead, God in his mercy turns his will toward us and our salvation. He decided to sacrifice his Son for our sins. He decided to call us from all eternity. He decides to bring us to faith and to keep us in the true Christian Faith until we are taken to our heavenly home. On this earth, we "decide" to serve God only as a God-created response to his love. Remember to "Ask the Pastor" at P.O. Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951; E-mail xrysostom@aol.com; or catch me around town. Pastor Snyder serves St. Paul and Faith Lutheran Churches, Jasper and Woodville, Texas and is the coauthor of "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults." Copyright (c) 1997 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.