Healing, Discernment, and Honesty: Difficult Questions About Suicide, Pleasure, and God's Voice

Voxology

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 March 2017

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How can Christians wrestle faithfully with some of the toughest and most personal questions of faith? In this deeply vulnerable and wide-ranging episode, Mike and Andy tackle real questions from listeners, offering theological insight and pastoral care on topics often avoided in church discussions. From suicide and salvation to masturbation, from hearing God's voice to discerning deception, the conversation is raw, compassionate, and refreshingly honest.

If you've ever carried questions you were afraid to ask—about sexuality, divine guidance, or grief—this thought-provoking episode opens space for both truth and grace. Mike and Andy emphasize a Jesus-centered understanding of God's character and encourage spiritual maturity rooted in wisdom, community, and honest reflection.

Key Takeaways:
• Suicide and Salvation – God’s judgment is not simplistic or transactional. Mike emphasizes that suicide is not the unpardonable sin and that the character of Jesus gives us reason to trust in a compassionate and redemptive God.
• Hearing God’s Voice – God speaks, but learning to discern His voice requires deep immersion in the Gospels. Recognizing Jesus’s voice in scripture trains us to notice His voice elsewhere.
• Masturbation and Morality – Pleasure isn’t inherently sinful, but the why and how matter. Mike explores the nuanced realities of solo sexuality, balancing grace with responsible reflection and spiritual formation.
• Calling Out Deception – While warning others can be loving, it must be done with humility and only after first examining our own hearts. Community-based discernment leads to more truthful—and less judgmental—engagement.
• The Importance of Community – Lifelong spiritual growth involves surrounding ourselves with trusted voices who can lovingly speak the hard truths we may not want to face.

Resources Mentioned:
• Dallas Willard – "Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God"
• Gospel Accounts – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (for learning Jesus’s voice)
• www.voxologypodcast.com – For more episodes and resources

As always, we encourage and welcome your questions as we journey together. Email your thoughts to [email protected] and engage with us on Instagram and Facebook.

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Follow us on social:
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Mike on Twitter: @mikeerre
Music by: Timothy John Stafford (@GoneTimothy)

If today’s episode helped you wrestle honestly with your own questions, subscribe and leave us a review—we want to continue creating space for real conversations around Jesus and faith.

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to [email protected], and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV.

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Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify

Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon

The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello Facebook. Hello internet. Mike and Andy here from the disappointing World Vox
0:13.0	Headquarters, according to some. They were expecting Studio X from ESPN or something a little
0:18.7	more dignified, but instead we've got Andy.
0:21.3	Here I am.
0:22.3	And we've got some boxes for Vox stuff.
0:24.0	We got to mail out.
0:25.4	And so you're getting a different view
0:26.9	of the Vox World headquarters.
0:28.2	Welcome.
0:29.8	We are recording this on a Thursday
0:31.5	just after we record the regular podcast
0:34.7	that goes out on Monday.
0:36.3	And we're getting so many great questions.
0:38.7	We thought we'd take a few and archive them here on the Vox Facebook page.
0:43.9	Please feel free to share them or comment.
0:46.7	We read everything because we're lonely and it'll be glorious.
0:51.8	So, Andy, what's the first one we got?
0:58.1	The first one we got is, I'm curious,
1:02.9	what do you say to a parent whose son committed suicide? And this has produced real sorrow and anxiety, whether their child will go to heaven or not. Oh, my goodness. Well, the first thing you say
1:09.6	is, I can't even imagine the pain you're going through.
1:12.7	I mean, that, that is awful.
1:14.7	I'm so, so very sorry.
	...

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