Why am I so numb to Jesus' love?

Sincerely,
Deadened

Dear Deadened,

It is impossible to say why you (or anyone else) feel a certain way.  Emotions are fickle and can be deceiving.  Some people feel that they are saved when, in fact, they are lost (Matt 7:21-23), but whether our heart condemns us or not isn’t what saves us (1 Jn 3:19-21).  It is our adherence to God’s Word that saves us (Rom 1:16).  If you are doing what God says you must do to be saved, then you can have confidence regardless of how you feel (see “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” for further details).  Serving God is often an issue of doing what is right without regard to our emotions… showing bravery when we are afraid, working when we are tired, praying when we feel we aren’t heard, and persevering when we are discouraged.  One of Satan’s greatest tools to destroy us is that we often don’t feel as we ought, and sin has a way of numbing us to the truth of God’s Word (Heb 3:13).  The only way to combat the callusing effect of sin is to choose that which is right and reject that which is wrong.  Do that, and we guarantee you will see your heart begin to soften.

An atheist friend of mine asked me if I supported the death penalty.  Thinking back to the Old Testament, I know they stoned people for certain offenses, so I answered, “Yes.”  I have been thinking about it a lot in a New Testament context, and I haven’t been able to come up with any passages that address this.  One big problem I have thought of is that if I condone the death penalty, then I am in a sense taking away that person’s chance to repent and be baptized later in life.  I believe in some of the lists of sinners in several New Testament books, murderers are included (idolaters, sexually immoral, murderers, etc.) in the phrase "such were some of you".  Are there any passages in the New Testament that address the death penalty under the New Covenant?  And if not, are there any principles that can be applied to figure out what God’s will is on this subject?

Sincerely,
Looking For Laws

Dear Looking For Laws,

The death penalty is a function of the government, and, as you said, when God designed Israel’s government, He believed certain deeds were worthy of the death penalty (such as blasphemy – Lev 24:16).  God’s attitude hasn’t changed about the death penalty (Heb 13:8, Mal 3:6).  What has changed is that God’s people are no longer a physical nation with national laws.  Christ’s church exists within all the nations of the world, and we must abide by our respective government’s laws (Rom 13:1-2).

So, is it okay for a government to put people to death for certain crimes?  The answer is ‘yes’.  God specifically says that He has given governments the authority to punish evildoers, and that governments are used by God to sustain order and be His avengers of wrath upon those that do evil (Rom 13:3-4).  Obviously, not all government decisions are good ones, and God never condones immorality, but in the case of the death penalty, governments are on solid ground when they execute justice.

If you know that you had done something sinful, or you said something wrong, but you didn’t know what it was, could you still confess to it and ask for forgiveness?  If so, how could you know that you were truly forgiven?  I know God can forgive any sin, but how many times do you have to ask to rest yourself assured that you are forgiven?  I know the answer is once.  I KNOW, BUT IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE ENOUGH.  Please help.

Sincerely,
Remorseful

Dear Remorseful,

As you said, the answer is that you only need to ask once (1 Jn 1:9)... and that includes sins that you don't fully understand.  David asked that God would keep him from "secret sins" (Ps 19:12-13).  However, that really isn't your problem.  Your problem is that it doesn't feel like you are forgiven because that seems too easy.  God tells us that we must have faith in Him (Gal 3:26).  Faith comes through hearing God's Word and trusting in that Word (Rom 10:17).  Sometimes the Bible says things that we don't agree with or that we don't feel could be true... but that doesn't change the fact that they are right.  When our feelings and God's Word disagree with each other, we are the ones that need to accept that we are wrong.  God's grace is much more glorious than we can possibly imagine – we all will spend our entire lives trying to wrap our brains around the depths of God's love (Php 4:7).

Why do people when they are saved still become sad or angry even when there is no apparent reason?

Sincerely,
Stiff Upper Lip

Dear Stiff Upper Lip,

Becoming a christian doesn’t remove our humanity, and it doesn’t make us automatically perfect.  It isn’t a sin to be angry or sad – Jesus felt both emotions (Jhn 11:35, Jhn 2:14-16).  Also, christians aren’t immediately cured of every immaturity and sinful habit just because they are baptized.  Every christian starts out as a babe in Christ and then spends the rest of their life growing and improving (1 Pet 2:2).  Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven (Eph 2:8).

Jesus said that He created hell for Lucifer and his angels.  Can you please help me understand why humans are also subjected to the same fate as these demons if humans don't make it to heaven?  I mean, why didn't God make a lesser-tormented place than hell since hell was meant to be for the demons in the first place and was not made for humans?

Sincerely,
Horrified By Hell

Dear Horrified By Hell,

In Matt 25:41, Jesus says that the eternal fire was prepared for the devil (‘Lucifer’ is not a name used for the devil – read “Sans Satan” for more details) and his angels, but it doesn’t say they were the only ones the fire was prepared for.  We simply don’t have enough information to know that hell was prepared for the devil first and humans were added to that equation later.  All we know is that rebellious angels await the Great Day of Judgment as much as humans do (Jude 1:6).