Split (1)

train · 9.53k rows

prompt stringlengths 0 158	response stringlengths 14 40.2k
What should we learn from the account of Samson and Delilah?	Answer The story of [Samson](life-Samson.html) and [Delilah](Delilah-in-the-Bible.html), recorded in the sixteenth chapter of Judges, has been the delight of scores of writers, artists, and composers for hundreds of years. When Samson dallied with Delilah in the Sorek Valley of ancient Philistia, he never imagined that their sordid relationship would be projected on huge movie screens some 30 centuries later. A quick overview of the story of Samson and Delilah begins with the announcement of Samson’s birth by the angel of the Lord (Judges 13:1–24\). In fact, Samson is one of the few in Scripture whose birth was divinely preannounced to his parents (Judges 13:3\). He shares this honor with Isaac, John the Baptist, and Jesus. Samson, whose name means “sunshine,” was born sometime between 1045 BC and 1000 BC, during a dark period of Israel’s history. Seven times this nation had turned from God and now found themselves under the oppressive rule of the Philistines. Samson was born a Nazirite, meaning he was “separated” or “set aside” for God. This meant that he was not to drink wine or fruit of the vine. He couldn’t go near or touch a dead body, human or animal, nor could he cut his hair. Though he was set apart for special service to God (Judges 13:5\), Samson ignored his Nazirite vow of godly devotion and relied upon his own strength and abilities rather than upon God’s. Although God empowered him with supernatural strength to begin the deliverance of the people of Israel from the Philistines (Judges 13:5\), it was his weakness for the Philistine women that did him in (Judges 14:1–3, 16:1–22\). His passion for women was more important to him than God’s expressed will (Deuteronomy 7:3\). During his wedding to a Philistine woman, Samson was deceived and humiliated by his wife and wedding guests (Judges 14:1–15\). Angered, Samson got his revenge by personally killing 1,000 men (Judges 15:1–20\). But, in the end it was his passionate obsession for Delilah that led him to reveal to her the secret of his strength. His hair was shorn by Delilah, and, as a result, he was captured, blinded, and forced to grind grain for his enemies. Eventually, while in prison, Samson’s strength did return, and he died while destroying the temple of the Philistine god Dagon, killing thousands of Philistines (Judges 16:1–31\). With the Spirit of God upon him (Judges 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14\), Samson was a powerful man with supernatural strength. The story reveals that he was also very intelligent with an unusual sense of humor. While he had almost unlimited potential to deliver his people from the Philistines, his story ends in needless tragedy. He not only failed to deliver his people, but killed himself. Disobedience, defeat, disgrace, and destruction were his fatal cohorts. Despite his having the Spirit of the Lord upon him, his sexual yearnings of the flesh controlled his life (1 John 2:16\). He was courageous before men but weak when it came to women (Proverbs 5:3; 6:32; Matthew 5:28\). There are many valuable lessons we can glean from the story of Samson and Delilah. Though born with unbelievable potential, Samson forfeit his life because of sin. The lesson for us is that, the deeper we allow ourselves to be influenced by the glamour and allurement of sin, the more blind we become. This extraordinary story tells us that Samson was spiritually blind long before his eyes were gouged out (Judges 16:21\). We must accept the reality that sin can seep deep into in our lives. We must know that sin has a blinding, numbing impact upon us. Otherwise, we find ourselves ensnared by it, just as Samson did. All sin, especially sexual sin, comes with its own dire and sometimes deadly consequences. Sin binds us, then it blinds us; then it slowly and inexorably grinds away at us (Judges 16:21\). In truth, sin will take us farther than we may intend to go. It will hold us longer than we may intend to stay. Furthermore, sin will cost us more than we intend to pay. We must heed the stern warning: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23\). We learn that God can use the wicked as well as the righteous to accomplish His will. We also discover that our own righteousness or wickedness will not deter God from doing His will. Though God punishes wrongdoing, He may wait in delivering the punishment. Samson also demonstrates that he was a shallow, vengeful man who pouted when things didn’t go his way. Most telling are his references to “I have a right to get even” (Judges 15:3, 11\). This, too, was the same mindset of the Philistines (Judges 15:10\). It’s strikingly akin to the world’s mindset today and contrary to the teachings of Christ (Matthew 5:38\). However, despite all of Samson’s weaknesses, he did turn back to God before he died (Judges 16:28–30\). God in His sovereignty used Samson to fulfill His purpose. In reality, Samson’s death did much to impede the oppressive actions of the Philistines. Samson’s destruction of the temple of Dagon was a major factor in their downfall at Mizpah by Samuel and the children of Israel some 100 years later (1 Samuel 7:7–14\). Perhaps the greatest lesson we learn is that God would rather forgive than judge. In the final analysis, God saw Samson as a man of faith. This is evidenced by the fact that he’s listed among those in the hall of faith (Hebrews 11:32\). When we read through the list of names recorded there, we find that no one in the “hall of faith” was perfect. Samson was the strongest man to ever live, but it was God who gave him the strength. More importantly, Samson let himself be used by God. In fact, God could have used him without making him the strongest man. He’s willing to meet us right where we are right now and to take us where He wants if we will let Him (James 4:8\).
What is the origin of the Easter bunny and Easter eggs?	Answer It is commonly thought that the word [Easter](easter.html) comes from a pagan figure called Eastre (or Eostre) who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe. The only problem with this theory is that it has no basis in history. The existence of a goddess named Eastre or a spring festival in her honor is based on pure conjecture. The same is true of the origin of the Easter bunny and Easter eggs—no one knows for sure how these things became a part of Easter observances. The most we can say is that the word Easter is probably related to the word east (ost in German) and that the Saxons had a month they called Eosturmononath. The legend of the Easter bunny bringing eggs appears to have been brought to the United States by settlers from Germany. The German tradition of the Easter bunny (or Oschter Haws) migrated to America in the 1700s, accompanying German immigrants, many of whom settled in Pennsylvania. Over the past 200 years, the Easter bunny has become the most commercially recognized symbol of Easter in the United States. Other countries use other animals as the symbol of Easter, such as the cuckoo (in Switzerland). In legend, the Easter bunny, also called the Easter hare and the spring bunny, brings baskets filled with colored eggs, candy, and sometimes toys to the homes of children on the night before Easter, in much the same way as Santa Claus is said to deliver presents on Christmas Eve. The Easter Bunny will either put the baskets in a designated place or hide them somewhere in the house or garden for the children to find when they wake up in the morning, giving rise to the tradition of the Easter egg hunt. Obviously, none of this comes from the Bible. Should Christian parents allow their children to participate in traditional activities that refer to the Easter bunny? This is a question both parents and church leaders struggle with. There is nothing essentially evil about the Easter bunny. What is important is our focus. If our focus is on Christ and not the Easter bunny, our children will understand that, like Santa Claus, the Easter bunny is merely a symbol. Easter should be a time to reflect upon and celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
Who was Simon the Sorcerer?	Answer Simon the Sorcerer, sometimes referred to as Simon Magus or Simon of Gitta, is mentioned by Luke in Acts 8:9–24\. He appeared in the wake of the newly established church in Samaria. A minor figure in New Testament history, Simon also appears in [Gnostic texts](gnostic-gospels.html) in which his character and biography are expanded upon, but these accounts are unlikely to be historically reliable due to the nature of these writings and their anonymous authors. It is not clear where Simon was born. In the book of Acts it is stated that he “amazed all the people of Samaria” (Acts 8:9\), but the account does not identify him as a Samaritan himself. Christian apologist Justin Martyr is believed to have propagated the idea that Simon was a Samaritan from the city of Gitta, and this has been accepted in early church tradition and today by some church historians. The Jew called Simon who “pretended to be a magician” is referred to by the historian Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews, book 20, chapter 7\), but this appears to be a different historical figure, as he was born in Cyprus. Sorcery, which is strongly condemned by God (Deuteronomy 18:9–13\), was common in the ancient world, and, while some acts and demonstrations were no more than illusions of the mind, others were empowered by Satan in an attempt to discredit the power of God (Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:9\). It appears Simon was the latter, as Luke states that he had amazed the Samaritans “for a long time with his sorcery” (Acts 8:11\), some even declaring that he was “the great Power of God” (Acts 8:10\), a messianic title. Interestingly, however, Simon’s empowerment by Satan did not include loyalty to the demonic. In the wake of hearing and seeing the disciple Philip “as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12\), Simon was baptized into the early church and “followed Philip everywhere” (Acts 8:13\). The Bible says that “the Holy Spirit had not yet come” upon the Samaritans (Acts 8:16\). Later, the apostles Peter and John arrived, at which time the Spirit came upon the believers. Simon witnessed this event and “offered them money and said, ‘Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 8:19–20\). At this point, Peter strongly reprimands Simon for his greed and states that he needs to “repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart” (Acts 8:22\). Fearful of the apostle’s words, Simon pleads with Peter to pray to the Lord on his behalf. After this event, the Bible never again refers to Simon the Sorcerer. It would appear, contrary to apocryphal and Gnostic texts that seek to glorify his role as sorcerer and his previous satanic abilities, that Simon was repentant and may have continued to be a member of the local church in Samaria. However, Justin Martyr and other Christian apologists like Irenaeus insist he was an antichrist and continued his sorcery, even founding Gnosticism itself. The greed of Simon is recalled in the modern word simony, “using religion as a means of profit.” Contemporary Christians should take from the account of Simon that the church, even today, must be careful of those claiming to possess supernatural abilities, and those claiming to be Christians who desire to “buy the gift of God with money,” for their "heart is not right before God” (Acts 8:20–21\).
What is Zoroastrianism?	Answer Zoroastrianism is based on the teachings of Zoroaster, a 6th\-century BC Iranian prophet and philosopher. Zoroastrianism is almost identical with Mazdaism (the worship of Ahura Mazda, the supreme deity exalted by Zoroaster). Zoroastrianism survives today in isolated areas of the Middle East, primarily Iran, but more prosperously in India, where the descendants of Zoroastrian Persian immigrants are known as Parsis, or Parsees. In India the religion is called Parsiism. As with all false religions, Zoroastrianism is incompatible with Christianity. For one thing, the claim that Zoroastrianism is perhaps the oldest monotheistic religion and that it had an influence on Judaism, Christianity, or Islam is simply not true. While Zoroastrianism is said to have had its origins in the 6th century BC, it only enters recorded history in the 5th century BC. This is in contrast to the Bible, where most historians and scholars put the writing of the Pentateuch (Genesis\-Deuteronomy written by Moses) between 1446—1406 BC during Israel’s wanderings in the desert. This means the Old Testament pre\-dates the Avesta (official religious text of Zoroastrianism) by close to 900 years. While it is not surprising to see antagonists of Christianity on the internet and in books try to discredit Christianity by claiming the Zoroastrian influence on it, it is clear that the concept of one God and the need for a Savior was established much earlier by the Hebrew people. Even the prophet Isaiah spoke of the virgin birth of Christ and recorded it around 701 BC, which still precedes Zoroastrianism by 100 years. Zoroastrianism states that active participation in life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. There are various religious rituals that must be observed and a variety of deeds to be performed to ensure salvation. This is in stark contrast to Christianity, which teaches that Christ is the only way to salvation (John 14:6\) and that our salvation cannot be earned (Ephesians 2:8–9\). This is the difference between Christianity and all false religions. In Christ, salvation is a free gift from God apart from works, which save no one (Romans 3:20, 28\). All other religions require works of some kind to appease God. Thankfully, our Bible is crystal clear on salvation, how to receive it, what is true, and what is not. The prophet Zoroaster supposedly received what he recorded in the Avesta from a vision of Vohu Manah (moral enlightenment, possibly an angel of sorts) while drawing water from the Daiti River. Zoroaster is the sole author. This method of “enlightenment” is similar to that claimed by the prophet Mohammed of Islam, who received a vision from the angel Gabriel. His message was passed down for about three centuries by word of mouth before being recorded by scribes in the Qu'ran. Still, the source is only one man, and a person should question the accuracy of the recitations over a long period such as that. Compare these “revelations” with Bible: 40 authors of 66 books over a span of 1,600 years (55 generations), and most of the authors were not acquainted with one another. They came from different backgrounds (judge, prophet, king, priest, shepherd, scribe, soldier, fisherman, physician) and different locations (tents, palaces, dungeons, cities, deserts), and they wrote under different circumstances in three different languages (Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic). Yet they ALL convey the same common theme about God. Their writings are accepted as the inerrant, true, and inspired Word of God recorded through men (2 Timothy 3:16\). The accuracy of the original texts has been verified over and over each time an ancient biblical manuscript has been discovered, the [Dead Sea Scrolls](dead-sea-scrolls.html) being among the most recent. It is abundantly clear that Zoroastrianism is yet another religion where salvation is works\-based. There is no evidence of any divine influence in their religious writings, and it is clearly not impacting the world and changing lives today the way our relevant, living, all\-powerful God is doing. The Bible, which could not possibly exist and claim the things it does unless it truly IS the inspired Word of God, has the power to change lives on a massive scale. From a Christian perspective, we hope and pray that the few who still do follow the teachings of Zoroaster would be exposed to the truth of Christ and realize that the salvation they seek to achieve by their good deeds is actually a free gift through Him.
What is the breath of life?	Answer The climax of God’s creative work was His extraordinary creation of man. “The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7\). The supreme Creator of heaven and earth did two things in creating man. First, He formed him from the very dust of the ground, and, second, He breathed His own breath into the nostrils of Adam. This distinguished man from all of God’s other creatures. This one passage contains three significant facts about man’s creation. The first is that God and God alone created man. Man did not evolve under the influence of blind, meaningless forces. Accidental physics and chemistry did not form man. All the cells, DNA, atoms, molecules, hydrogen, protons, neutrons, or electrons did not create man. These are only the substances that make up man’s physical body. The Lord God formed man. The Lord God created the substances, and then He used those substances to create man. The word formed is a translation of the Hebrew yatsar, which means “to mold, shape, or form.” It conjures an image of a potter who has the intelligence and the power to form his creation. God is the Master Potter who had the image of man within His mind and who possesses the power and the intelligence to bring that image to life. God had both the omniscience (all\-knowledge) and the omnipotence (all\-power) to do exactly what He wanted. Second, God breathed His own breath of life into man. Man is more than “dust” or physical substance. Man has a spirit. We can picture it this way: Adam’s body had just been formed by God from the dust of the earth—a lifeless human body lying on the ground. Then God leaned over and “breathed” His own “breath of life” into the man’s nostrils; God is the Source of life, and He directly placed life within man. This breath of life is seen again in John 20:22, as Jesus imparts new life to His disciples. Third, Genesis 2:7 tells us that man became a living soul (KJV). The word soul in Hebrew is nephesh, meaning “an animated, breathing, conscious, and living being.” Man did not become a living soul until God breathed life into him. As a physical, animate, rational, and spiritual being, man is unique among all living things upon the earth. So, what is the breath of God? It is the life and power of God, given to man to animate him. The Hebrew word for spirit is ruach, which means “wind, breath, air, spirit.” The life of God lives on and on; the immaterial part of man was designed to live eternally. The only question is where will we live?
What is the structure of the Jewish calendar?	Answer The Jewish calendar is based on the lunar month, which is a bit longer than 29 ½ days. Because of this, the months in the Jewish calendar are 29 or 30 days long. Twelve lunar months usually amounts to 354 days, 11 days short of a solar year. In order for the festivals to stay in the correct season in relation to the solar year, an extra month is added every few years. The Jewish calendar is dated from what is supposed to have been the Creation of the earth: 3,760 years and three months before the Christian era. So, to find the current year in the Jewish calendar, one must add 3,759 to the date in the Gregorian calendar. What we call 2015 is, in the Jewish calendar, the year 5775\. This system, however, will not work to the exact month, since the Jewish year (running on the civil calendar) begins in autumn rather than in midwinter. A Hebrew month begins in the middle of a month on our calendar today. Crops were planted in what we would call November and December and harvested in March and April. The Jewish Calendar \| Month 1 Nisan (Abib) 2 lyyar (Ziv) 3 Sivan 4 Tammuz 5 Av 6 Elul 7 Tishri (Ethanim) 8 Marcheshvan (Bui) 9 Kislev 10 Tebeth 11 Shebat 12 Adar \| Gregorian Calendar March\-April April\-May May\-June June\-July July\-August August\-September September\-October October\-November November\-December December\-January January\-February February\-March \| Biblical Reference Exodus 13:4 1 Kings 6:1, 37 Esther 8:9 Nehemiah 6:15 1 Kings 8:2 1 Kings 6:38 Nehemiah 1:1 Esther 2:16 Zechariah 1:7 Esther 2:7 \| \| --- \| --- \| --- \| The Jewish calendar, being lunar\-based, invariably began with the new moon. To make up for the shorter year (compared to solar\-based calendars), an extra month was periodically inserted between the months Adar and Nisan. That month, sometimes called Veader (“second Adar”), was added seven times within a 19\-year cycle (at which time the month Adar received an extra half day). The names of the months in the Jewish calendar originated in the period following the return from Babylonia to Israel. Before the Babylonian exile, at least four months had other names: Abib (Exodus 13:4\), Ziv (1 Kings 6:1, 37\), Ethanim ( 1 Kings 8:2\), and Bul (1 Kings 6:38\). After the Captivity, these months were renamed Nisan, lyyar, Tishri, and Heshvan (originally Marcheshvan), respectively. The pre\-exilic names carried agricultural connotations. For example, Abib (“ear of grain”) signified the month in which grain became ripe; Ziv (“radiance”) was the month for desert flowers to bloom. An agricultural orientation is apparent in what is evidently the oldest Hebrew calendar, found at Gezer (southeast of Tel Aviv) in 1908 and dating from the 10th century BC. The calendar divides the year according to agricultural activities such as sowing, reaping, pruning, and storage. Primarily, however, the months of the Jewish calendar had religious significance for the Jews and enabled them to commemorate the important events of their history. Each month’s beginning was considered holy. To ancient Israel, the moon became a symbol of the nation itself; the sun eventually became symbolic of the Messiah (Malachi 4:2\). Since the moon produces no light of its own, the symbolism is especially appropriate: Israel was supposed to reflect the Messiah’s light to the world. The Jewish calendar remained unchanged during [the period between the Old Testament and New Testaments](intertestamental-period.html) (approximately 400 years), despite an attempt by Hellenistic rulers to introduce a modified lunar\-month system, presumably of Macedonian origin. According to that calendar, five days were added to the final month of the year, with each of the 12 months containing 30 days. Even then, it only approximated the solar year. Usually, the ancient Hebrews did not record dates by citing the month and day of an event. Rather, dates were computed by reference to some significant event such as the accession year of the reigning king (2 Kings 15:17\) or a patriarch’s birth (Genesis 7:11\). In New Testament times, the Jews continued the Old Testament method of dating events by synchronizing them with events either in their religious calendar or within the secular sphere of the Roman world. Writers of the New Testament followed the same practice (Luke 1:5; John 12:1; Acts 18:12\). It was only as the calendar reforms of Julius Caesar became embedded in the culture that people changed from that long\-standing method to a more standardized system.
When Jesus was nailed to the cross, did the nails go through His hands or His wrists?	Answer The question of where the nails were placed goes to the question of whether Jesus was crucified on a [cross, pole, or stake](cross-pole-stake.html). Some scientists have suggested that if He was crucified on a cross, as tradition states, the hands would not have been strong enough to hold His weight. Therefore, they suggest that the nails were actually in His wrists, which are considered stronger and more capable of holding His weight. Others have posited that the hands would have been strong enough, considering that His feet were also nailed and would have supported some of His weight. There is also some historical evidence that sometimes a cross would have sort of a seat to help support the crucified person’s weight. While historical scholars are uncertain of the nail placement in Jesus’ crucifixion, or anyone else’s for that matter, the Bible simply says that Jesus had wounds in His hands (John 20:25\-27\). The Greek word translated “hands” is cheir, which means literally “hands.” There is no Greek word for “wrists” in the New Testament, even though some versions translate Acts 12:7 to say that the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. But the Greek word in this verse is also cheir. It’s possible that the nails may have been angled to enter through the hand and exit through the wrist, but it’s just as likely that the nails were driven straight through the hand somewhere near the base of the thumb. Experiments have shown that both ways do work and either way could have been used in the crucifixion of Jesus. Spiritually, the wounds of Christ hold infinite significance to us and are a part of His glory, but their exact location is a minor issue. We know that there are five wounds—the hands, the side, and the feet. Although we don’t know exactly where on the hands or the side or the feet, we do know that by His wounds, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24\). The wounds on His body brought about spiritual healing from sin to all who would ever believe in Him.
What are the different names and titles of the Bible?	Answer There are over a dozen names and titles of the Bible found in both the Old and New Testaments. The following is a list of the most well known: Book of the Law (Deuteronomy 31:26\) — “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God. There it will remain as a witness against you.” The Bible is described as a book of laws, laws which are not meant to enslave us or stifle our relationship with God and life on earth, but laws that are meant to strengthen our relationship with God and enhance our lives. Gospel (Romans 1:16\) — “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” The Bible reveals to us the gospel, the good news, about the Lord Jesus Christ and that, through God’s Son, our sins are forgiven and we are granted salvation. Holy Scriptures (Romans 1:2\) — “The gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.” The Bible is a collection of sacred writings that are holy and authoritative because they are from God, who is the Bible’s topic and inspiration. Law of the Lord (Psalm 19:7\) — “The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” Not only do the laws of the Bible strengthen our relationship with God and enhance our lives, they are not to be confused with any other; they are the Lord’s and the Lord’s alone, not the ramblings of man. Living Words (Acts 7:38\) — “He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.” The Bible is a living book, each book, chapter, and verse alive with the knowledge and wisdom of God Himself. Message of Christ (Colossians 3:16\) — “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” The message of Christ is the message of salvation from sin through the only One who can accomplish it. Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16\) — “All Scripture is God\-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” Inspired by God, the Bible is a collection of sacred writings that is unlike any other, because it has been written by the hand of men who were moved by the Spirit of God (2 Peter 1:21\). The Scroll (Psalm 40:7\) — “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll.” In prophesying about Jesus, the Bible refers to itself as a scroll, a roll of parchment documenting priceless knowledge to be shared from generation to generation. Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17\) — “Take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Like a sword, the Bible can defend any attack brought before it, but it can also strike the truth of God and His words into the heart of man. The writer to the Hebrews referred to it as sharper than any “double\-edged sword” because it is capable of “dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12\). Truth (John 17:17\) — “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” As the Bible is the Word of God, it is the truth. Every word is from the mind of God, and, since He is truth, so must His Word be truth. Word of God (Luke 11:28\) — “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” The Bible is like the mouthpiece of God, as through each book He speaks directly to us. Word of Life (Philippians 2:16\) — “Hold firmly to the word of life.” The Bible and its truths reveal to us the difference not only between life and death, but the eternal life that lies before those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and the eternal death for those who do not. Words of the Lord (Psalm 12:6\) – “And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.” The Bible is replete with the many words, perfect and without flaw, which the Lord spoke through prophets and disciples in order to reveal all His love and glory.
How can I know if the desires of my heart are from God?	Answer Jesus answers this question for us: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:19\). And then: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’” (Mark 7:20\-23\). In these passages, Jesus reveals the very springboard of our wants: our fleshly desires come from our innermost being. Sin does not just come about as a result of outside forces. It is borne from those hidden little niches residing in our thoughts and intentions, from the secret desires that only the mind and heart can envision. The bottom line is that, in our fallen state, the desires of our hearts do not come from God. Jeremiah further confirms the nature of man’s heart: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9\) It has long been the view of many that all humans are basically good and decent and that it is the circumstances of life such as poverty or poor nurturing that turn us into murderers and thieves. But the Bible teaches that all men suffer from a common frailty—sin. The apostle Paul calls it our sin nature. “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do\-\-this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:18\-20\). Our evil hearts lead us to sin. Furthermore, the heart is so corrupt and deceitful that our motives are unclear even to ourselves. As sinful creatures we devise and create evil things in the arrogance and self\-sufficiency of our hearts (Proverbs 16:30; Psalm 35:20; Micah 2:1; Romans 1:30\). The truth is that only God can examine our deepest motives and inward desires and only by His power can we ever hope to untangle the uncertainty and depravity that is bound up within our hearts. He alone searches all and knows us intimately (Hebrews 4:11\-13\). Fortunately, God does not abandon us in our struggles with hurtful desires and sinful tendencies. Instead, He provides us the grace and strength we need to resist and overcome sin when it crouches at the door of our hearts. The psalmist says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun” (Psalm 37:4\-6\). Here we see that God can literally plant His own desires into the heart of man, the heart that, without Him, is desperately wicked and deceitful. He replaces the evil with good and sets our hearts on the path toward Him, removing our own desires and replacing them with His. This only happens when we come to Him in repentance and accept the gift of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. At that point, He removes our hearts of stone and replaces them with hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19\). He accomplishes this by the supernatural implanting of His Spirit into our hearts. Then our desires become His desires, our wills seek to do His will, and our rebellion turns to joyous obedience.
What is the spiritual formation movement?	Answer The spiritual formation movement is very popular today. It is, however, in many ways a move away from the truth of God’s Word to a mystical form of Christianity, and it has infiltrated, to some degree, nearly all evangelical denominations. This idea of spiritual formation is based on the premise that if we do certain practices, we can be more like Jesus. Proponents of spiritual formation erroneously teach that anyone can practice these mystical rituals and find God within themselves. Too often, adherents of the current spiritual formation movement believe the spiritual disciplines transform the seeker by his or her entering an altered realm of consciousness. The spiritual formation movement is characterized by such things as [contemplative prayer](contemplative-prayer.html), [contemplative spirituality](contemplative-spirituality.html), and [Christian mysticism](Christian-mysticism.html). True biblical spiritual formation, or spiritual transformation, begins with the understanding that we are sinners living apart from God. Our faculties have been corrupted by sin so that we cannot please God. True spiritual transformation occurs as we yield ourselves to God so that He may transform us by the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. At least half of every New Testament epistle is geared toward how to live a life well pleasing to God—by obedience and submission to the Holy Spirit in all things. Scripture does not only call us the redeemed, saved, saints, sheep, soldiers, and servants, but teaches us that only through the power of the Spirit we can live up to what the names mean. The following passages address various aspects of spiritual formation, the work of God in the life of the believer. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29\). Here is the aim of transformation: that we may be like Christ. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18\). This is part of a passage that teaches that we are changed into the image of Christ not by following rules and laws, but by following the leading of the Spirit by faith. "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:3\-7\). Here, Paul reminds us of our before\-and\-after life. We have responded to the "kindness and love of God" shown to us by the death of Christ for our sins, repented of our sins, and now respond to the Spirit’s continual prompting and empowerment to live differently as God’s children. As a result, we have been transformed by the "rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" (v. 5\). This, then, is true spiritual formation—the reforming of our spirits by His Spirit into the image of Christ.
What does it mean that the Lord is my Shepherd (Psalm 23)?	Answer The clause “the Lord is my shepherd” comes from one of the most beloved of all passages of Scripture, the 23rd Psalm. In this passage and throughout the New Testament we learn that the Lord is our Shepherd in two ways. First, as the Good Shepherd, He laid down His life for His sheep and, second, His sheep know His voice and follow Him (John 10:11, 14\). In Psalm 23, God is using the analogy of sheep and their nature to describe us. Sheep have a natural tendency to wander off and get lost. As believers, we tend to do the same thing. It’s as Isaiah has said: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6\). When sheep go astray, they are in danger of getting lost, being attacked, even killing themselves by drowning or falling off cliffs. Likewise, within our own nature there is a strong tendency to go astray (Romans 7:5; 8:8\), following the lusts of our flesh and eyes and pursuing the pride of life (1 John 2:16\). As such, we are like sheep wandering away from the Shepherd through our own futile self\-remedies and attempts at self\-righteousness. It is our nature to drift away (Hebrews 2:1\), to reject God, and to break His commandments. When we do this, we run the risk of getting lost, even forgetting the way back to God. Furthermore, when we turn away from the Lord, we soon find ourselves confronting one enemy after another who will attack us in numerous ways. Sheep are basically helpless creatures who cannot survive long without a shepherd, upon whose care they are totally dependent. Likewise, like sheep, we are totally dependent upon the Lord to shepherd, protect, and care for us. Sheep are essentially dumb animals that do not learn well and are extremely difficult to train. They do not have good eyesight, nor do they hear well. They are very slow animals who cannot escape predators; they have no camouflage and no weapons for defense such as claws, sharp hooves, or powerful jaws. Furthermore, sheep are easily frightened and become easily confused. In fact, they have been known to plunge blindly off a cliff following one after another. Shepherds in Bible times faced incredible dangers in caring for their sheep, putting their own lives at risk by battling wild animals such as wolves and lions who threatened the flock. David was just such a shepherd (1 Samuel 17:34–35\). In order to be good shepherds, they had to be willing to lay down their lives for the sheep. Jesus declared that He is our Shepherd and demonstrated it by giving His life for us. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28\). Through His willing sacrifice, the Lord made salvation possible for all who come to Him in faith (John 3:16\). In proclaiming that He is the good shepherd, Jesus speaks of “laying down” His life for His sheep (John 10:15, 17–18\). Like sheep, we, too, need a shepherd. Men are spiritually blind and lost in their sin. This is why Jesus spoke of the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:4–6\). He is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us. He searches for us when we’re lost, to save us and to show us the way to eternal life (Luke 19:10\). We tend to be like sheep, consumed with worry and fear, following after one another. By not following or listening to the Shepherd’s voice (John 10:27\), we can be easily led astray by others to our own destruction. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, warns those who do not believe and listen to Him: “I did tell you, but you do not believe . . . you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:25–28\). Psalm 23:1–3 tells us that the shepherd meets the sheep’s every need: food, water, rest, safety, and direction. When we as believers follow our Shepherd, we, too, know that we will have all we need. We will not lack the necessities of life, for He knows exactly what we need (Luke 12:22–30\). Sheep will not lie down when they are hungry, nor will they drink from fast\-flowing streams. Sometimes the shepherd will temporarily dam up a stream so the sheep can quench their thirst. Psalm 23:2 speaks of leading the sheep “beside the quiet \[stilled] waters.” The shepherd must lead his sheep because they cannot be driven. Instead, the sheep hear the voice of their shepherd and follow him—just as we listen to our Shepherd, Jesus Christ—in His Word and follow Him (John 10:3–5, 16, 27\). And if a sheep does wander off, the shepherd will leave the flock in charge of his helpers and search for the lost animal (Matthew 9:36; 18:12–14; Luke 15:3–7\). In Psalm 23:3, the Hebrew word translated “paths” means “well\-worn paths or ruts.” In other words, when sheep wander onto a new path, they start to explore it, which invariably leads them into trouble. This passage is closely akin to the warning in Hebrews 13:9: “Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.” The apostle Paul also alludes to this idea in Ephesians 4:14\. Finally, the shepherd cares for the sheep because he loves them and wants to maintain his own good reputation as a faithful shepherd. As we’ve seen in Psalm 23, the analogy of the Lord as the Good Shepherd was also applied by Jesus in John chapter 10\. In declaring that He is the shepherd of the sheep, Jesus is confirming that He is God. The Eternal God is our Shepherd. And we would not want it any other way.
What does it mean to be crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20)?	Answer Several places in the Bible speak of being crucified with Christ or having died with Christ: for example, Colossians 2:20; 3:3; and 2 Timothy 2:11\. An extended discussion on the subject is found in Romans 6:3–14\. Since no believer was literally crucified with Christ, the phrase crucified with Christ is symbolic for a spiritual truth. Galatians 2:20 is a key passage: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” The context of Galatians 2 is how the believer is made right with God. [False teachers](Judaizers.html) were telling the Galatian churches that faith in Christ was not enough. To be saved, they said, believers must also be circumcised and become “Jewish.” Only then would they be wholly right with God. In Galatians 2:15–16 Paul counters that idea: “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.” Paul says, “Through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God” (Galatians 2:19\). While Paul was trying to please God by keeping the Law, he was not really living for God. The more he tried to keep the Law, the more he saw how much he failed. It was only when he gave up trying to achieve righteousness on his own and accepted the righteousness of God by faith in Christ that he truly began living for God. [Justification by faith](justification-by-faith.html) actually makes it possible to live for God. Being crucified with Christ means that we are no longer under the penalty of the Law. That penalty was paid by Christ on our behalf. When Christ was crucified, it was as if we were crucified with Him. The penalty was fully paid—just as surely as if we had been crucified for our own sins. When Christ rose from the dead, we rose, too. Now the risen Christ empowers us to live for Him in a way that pleases God. We used to seek life through our own works, but now we “live by faith in the Son of God” (Galatians 2:20\). Being crucified with Christ means that we are [new creations](new-creation.html). “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17\). The old life is dead and gone. We walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4\). Being crucified with Christ means that we have a new love. The lusts of the flesh and the love of the things of this world have been crucified (Galatians 5:24\). Now we love Christ, though we have not seen Him (1 Peter 1:8\). Being crucified with Christ means that we have a new commitment. We are dedicated to the service and glory of the Lord, and that dedication destroys selfishness and surpasses ties to family and friends. We have taken up our cross to follow Him (Matthew 10:38\). Being crucified with Christ means that we have a new way of life. At one time we “followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2\). But that way of life was nailed to the cross. Now we follow Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, and we seek to please Him in every way (Hebrews 12:2\). The idea of being crucified with Christ emphasizes our union with Him and His death on our behalf. We trust in Christ’s crucifixion as payment for our sin penalty, and we rely on His power to live in a way that pleases God. The emphasis is on what He has done for us, not what we have to do for God. Too often, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is Christ who lives in me” becomes “I need to crucify my sinful desires and try harder to live for God.” When this becomes our perspective, we have slipped out of grace\-living and back into law\-living, and we minimize the power of Christ’s death for us. We are relying less upon the power of Christ and more upon our own power—and that will never work out well! In short, Galatians 2:20 tells us how we escaped the penalty of sin to live a life that pleases God. Knowing that we are “crucified with Christ” should give us great encouragement in our Christian walk. We have the power to say “no” to sin and “yes” to God.
What is the Vatican / Vatican City?	Answer The word Vatican is from the Latin vaticanus, which means “hill.” The Vatican is the palace in Vatican City that is used as the official residence of the pope and the administrative center of the papacy. The term Vatican also refers to the authority and jurisdiction of the Pope. The Vatican is a government unto itself. It appoints its own ambassadors and receives ambassadors from other countries. It has a papal archive, a library, a museum, and a publishing house. The Vatican is a small city\-state. It is a self\-contained city with everything it needs to survive as an independent state. It is recognized by world powers and most nations have ambassadors to the Vatican. The Vatican is also known as the [Holy See](Holy-See.html), defined as the jurisdiction of the Vatican under the authority of its Bishop known as the Pope. The “See” is the central government of the Roman Catholic Church. The Holy See has its own diplomatic corps and appoints ambassadors to other nations. From a diplomatic standpoint, the Holy See acts and speaks for the Roman Catholic Church. Other sovereign nations recognize the Holy See as a sovereign nation and appoint diplomats and ambassadors accordingly. The establishment and management of foreign relations are solely under the authority of the Pope through the Secretariat of State. Both the Holy See, the sovereign body of the Catholic Church, and Vatican City have always received full recognition of their particular international natures. They are members of international organizations, they take part in international conferences, and they adhere to international agreements. The Vatican was founded following the signing of the Lateran Pacts between the Holy See and Italy on February 11, 1929\. These were ratified on June 7, 1929\. Its nature as a sovereign state, distinct from the Holy See, is universally recognized under international law. The Vatican is an absolute monarchy with the Pope as its head. The Pope holds all legislative, executive, and judicial powers. The Pope is elected by the College of Cardinals. During the time between the death of a Pope and the election of a new Pope, the powers of government are exercised by the College of Cardinals. The judicial bodies of the Vatican are made up of a judge, a tribunal, an appeals court, and a Supreme Court. All of these bodies were enacted by legislation in November 1987\. These bodies serve and exercise their authority in the name of the Pope. The Vatican also has specific penal and civil codes in force within the government. The Vatican is not just a center of religion but a center of government for that religion. The Bible nowhere supports the idea of the Christian church being its own sovereign nation. Jesus made it clear that His kingdom is not of this world (John 8:23; 18:26\). The Bible never condones or encourages the establishment of earthly kingdoms or diplomatic entities because these things, by their very nature, focus attention on the world, which is passing away (1 Corinthians 7:31; 1 John 2:17\). Christians are to be focused on the heavenly kingdom, and our only diplomatic efforts are to be spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and warning others of the wrath to come.
What is the Catholic catechism?	Answer A catechism is a summary of instructions through a series of questions and answers, prepared in book form, containing instruction on religious doctrine. The intent of these instructions is that they be used in a class environment or other means of formal instruction. The [Westminster Confession](Westminster-Confession-of-Faith.html), every part of which contains scriptural backing, is one such set of instructions. The Catholic catechism is another famous catechism. The catechism of the Catholic Church is different in that it is not written in a question\-and\-answer format. Instead, the Catholic catechism is a summary of the official teachings of Roman Catholic beliefs including creeds, sacraments, commandments, and prayers. The Catholic catechism is divided into four parts: • Profession of Faith (the Apostles Creed) • Celebration of the Christian Mystery (the Sacred Liturgy, especially the sacraments) • Life in Christ (including The Ten Commandments in Roman Catholic theology) • Christian Prayer (including The Lord’s Prayer) Also, the Catholic catechism is replete with footnotes referencing not only Scripture but also the Church fathers, the ecumenical councils, and other authoritative statements, especially those delivered by the Popes. And therein lies the greatest difference between Catholicism and Protestantism. Whereas Protestant churches cite the Bible as their sole source of authority for church doctrine, the Roman Catholic Church equates Catholic traditions with the Bible as authoritative for their beliefs and teachings. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the Holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence” (paragraph 82\). According to the Catholic catechism, the Catholic Church relies on the authority of church tradition for their doctrines not found in the Bible. These doctrines include such controversial practices and teachings as these: • the Mass • penance • veneration of Mary • purgatory • indulgences • the priesthood (with enforced celibacy) • the confessional • the rosary • venial and mortal sins Protestants, who reject the Catholic catechism, assert that [the Bible alone](sola-scriptura.html) is intended by God to be the sole source of doctrinal truth (2 Timothy 3:16; Revelation 22:18–19\). But Roman Catholics say, “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 97\). The Catholic’s reasoning, as found in the Catholic catechism, is as follows: • “The apostles left bishops as their successors. They gave them ‘their own position of teaching authority’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 77\). • “This living transmission, accomplished through the Holy Spirit, is called tradition” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 78\). • “Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 82\). An example of the results of this kind of thinking is the number of doctrines concerning Mary, the mother of Jesus. Throughout the centuries, Catholics have “revealed” new doctrines concerning Mary. These new teachings, which are part of the Catholic catechism, are found nowhere in the Holy Scriptures: • Mary is the Mother of God — AD 431 • Prayers are offered to Mary — AD 600 • The [Immaculate Conception](immaculate-conception.html) (establishing her sinlessness) — AD 1854 • The [Assumption of Mary](Assumption-Mary.html) — AD 1950 • Mary is the Mother of the Church — AD 1965 Another example is the doctrine of [purgatory](purgatory.html): “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation, but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1030\). Nowhere is this teaching of a believer being punished for sin after death found in the Bible. Although the Pope is revered as the head of the church on earth by nearly 60 million Roman Catholics, the Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth; Jesus is the exclusive Head of the church (Matthew 28:18; Colossians 1:18\). From the above examples, we can only conclude that the Catholic catechism is not biblical and, in fact, contradicts Scripture in many respects. Once the teachings of man are elevated to the same level as the Word of God, error naturally follows. No man, whether priest or Pope, is divine. Only the Holy Scriptures, [inspired](Bible-inspired.html) by the Holy Spirit, are divinely authoritative (1 Corinthians 2:12–13; 2 Peter 1:21\). No man\-made teaching, including the Catholic catechism, is on the same level with the Bible.
Was Jesus black?	Answer There are some groups, usually affiliated with some form of the “[Black Hebrew](black-hebrews-israelites.html)” movement, who vehemently argue that Jesus was black/African in skin color/appearance. While this goes directly against the fact that the Bible declares [Jesus’ Jewishness](was-Jesus-a-Jew.html), meaning He likely had light to dark brown skin, ultimately, the discussion/argument misses the point. Does it really matter that we know the color of Jesus’ skin—whether He was black, yellow, brown, or white? Though this may be a controversial issue for some, the truth is that we simply don’t know what the color of Jesus’ skin was. While there are countless references to Jesus being Jewish as that was His heritage, the Bible provides little, if any, description of what Jesus might have looked like. It is the prophet Isaiah who gives us the best description of the physical appearance of Jesus: “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2\). If Jesus’ skin color and complexion were important, then God would have told us about them. Furthermore, to presume that Jesus is of one color or another is to speculate on information not found in Scripture. Such conjecture is useless and can lead to unprofitable quarrels (1 Timothy 1:4; Titus 3:9\). The point is that it does not matter in the whole scheme of redemption what color of skin Jesus had (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14\). So, what should we concern ourselves with when it comes to Jesus? Peter tells us, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3\). In other words, Christ has called us to a life of glory and moral excellence, both here on this earth and in heaven. We are to live pure and righteous lives for His glory. The message of this passage is clear: it is His glory and goodness that attract man to seek life and godliness in Him. It has absolutely nothing to do with the way He looks or the color of His skin. Peter also tells us that God “does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right” (Acts 10:34–35\). When Jesus calls for us to go into all the world and teach the gospel (Matthew 28:18–20\), He is telling us that there are no cultural or racial barriers, that we are all one in Christ Jesus. Paul echoes this in his letter to the churches in Galatia: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28\). The color of our Savior’s skin has no bearing on our sharing the gospel. Nor should our neighbor’s skin color have any bearing on our imparting the gospel message to him (Romans 1:16\). The apostles of the first\-century church adapted to the cultures of the foreign countries, but they never did so at the cost of their fidelity to the law of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:19–23\). Paul may have changed his method of teaching whenever he entered a new culture or foreign land, but he never changed his message. He kept preaching the same things he had always taught, regardless of the color of his listeners’ skin. What mattered was that they received the good news of Christ. The truth is that the message of the gospel of Christ worked then and the gospel still works today! It still reaches into the hearts of those who yearn to know God, whether they are black, white, yellow, or brown. It’s not the color of Jesus’ skin or the color of our neighbor’s skin that matters in our eternal destiny. But what does is that “salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12\). Please also read our article on “[Was Jesus white?](was-Jesus-white.html)”
What was the meaning of Jesus walking on water?	Answer The miracle of Jesus walking on the water, recorded in three of the Gospels (Matthew 14:22–36; Mark 6:45–56; John 6:16–21\), came on the heels of His miraculous feeding of the 5,000 with only five loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:17\). But it was the miracle of Jesus walking on the water that, more than any other, convinced Jesus’ disciples that He was indeed the Son of God (Matthew 14:32–33\). The story unfolds at the [Sea of Galilee](Sea-of-Galilee.html), which lies in the lower portion of the Jordan Valley in a mountain range that rises to 4,000 feet above sea level. The lake itself is 700 feet below the Mediterranean Sea. One of the more noteworthy aspects of this body of water is that it is greatly susceptible to sudden and extremely violent storms. These storms are caused by the cold air rushing down from the mountains surrounding it and colliding with the warm, moist air rising off the surface of the water itself. “When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. But he said to them, ‘It is I; don’t be afraid.’ Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading” (John 6:16–21\). There are several significant points to recognize about this miracle. First, Matthew tells us that “the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake” (Matthew 14:24–25\). Though they were only to travel a short distance, the storm was so violent that, despite all their efforts to control their boat, the storm had driven them nearly four miles out into the very midst of the sea. Being the fourth watch of the night (3:00 AM to 6:00 AM), they had been rowing and straining at their oars for approaching nine hours! They were totally exhausted. Mark tells us that, when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the lake, they thought He was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw Him and were terrified (Mark 6:48–50\). And this brings us to the second significant point of this miracle. Jesus always comes to us in the storms of life. This is reminiscent of the words of God to Isaiah: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you” (Isaiah 43:2\). The Lord may not come at the time we think He should come, because He knows when we need Him the most. Jesus had waited until the boat was as far from land as possible, when all their hope was gone. In essence, Jesus was testing the disciples’ faith, and this meant removing every human prop. Why did Jesus walk on the water? To show His disciples that the very thing they feared, the raging, seething sea, was merely a set of steps for Him to come to them. Often we fear the difficult experiences of life such as illness, loss of loved ones, and financial hardships only to discover that these experiences can bring Jesus closer to us. But we have to ask, why did they not recognize Jesus? The answer is they were not looking for Him. Had they been waiting by faith, they would have known Him instantly. Instead, they jumped to the false conclusion that His appearance was that of a ghost. The point is this: fear and faith cannot live in the same heart, for fear frequently blinds the eyes to the presence of the Lord. The third significant point is that Jesus proved Himself to be in command of the elements, something only God can do. He revealed this truth to the disciples who recognized His divinity and responded with a confession of faith in Jesus as God: “The wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God’” (Matthew 14:32–33\). This was the first time Jesus was called the Son of God by the disciples, a statement that, in fact, built on what they had said earlier about Him in Matthew 8:27: “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him.” Here they answer their own question: “Truly you are the Son of God.” Though they had a long way to go in their spiritual understanding, the disciples were growing in their faith in the Lord. Also, this was the first time the disciples are said to have worshiped Jesus. In Matthew 2:11, the magi from the East worshiped Jesus. Later, a leper is said to have worshiped Jesus (Matthew 8:2\). A synagogue ruler does the same thing in Matthew 9:18\. But this is the first time the disciples worshiped Him. It is also important to note that their worship is joined to their confession (Matthew 14:33\). And this is what worship is, acknowledging who God is and praising Him both for who He is and for what He has done. It was in this story that the disciples took the first step and worshiped Jesus as the Son of God.
Why is Jesus called the stumbling stone in Matthew 21:43-44?	Answer In Matthew 21:44, Jesus says, "He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed." The key to understanding this statement lies in the context of the verse and the larger conversation Jesus was having. Jesus was teaching in the temple courts when the chief priests and elders approached Him and demanded to know the source of His authority. In response, Jesus asked them about John the Baptist—was he a prophet of God or not? The religious leaders, fearing the people’s response, refused to reveal their true opinion on the matter. In turn, Jesus refused to reveal the source of His authority (Matthew 21:23\-27\). In doing so, Jesus made it clear that the Jewish leaders themselves had no authority to judge Him. Jesus then related two parables concerning vineyards. In the first, Jesus told of [two sons](parable-two-sons.html) who were told by their father to go work in the vineyard. The first son initially refused but later changed his mind and went to work. The second son promised to work, but he never went to the vineyard. Jesus applied this to the religious leaders of Israel, who were like the second son—they expressed agreement with the Father but, in the final analysis, were disobedient. The sinners who responded to John the Baptist’s message were like the first son—they seemed unlikely candidates for heaven, but they repented and thus will enter the kingdom (verses 28\-32\). In the [second parable](parable-vineyard.html), Jesus tells of a landowner who, at harvest time, sent some servants to his vineyard to collect the fruit. However, the farmers who were tending the vineyard were a wicked lot, and when the servants arrived, the farmers beat some of them and killed others. Finally, the landowner sent his own son to collect the fruit, expecting that the farmers would show him respect. But the farmers treated the son worst of all, throwing him out of the vineyard and killing him (Matthew 21:33\-39\). Jesus then asks a question: "When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" (Matthew 21:40\). The chief priests and elders respond, "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end" (Matthew 21:41\). Jesus then presses His point home with a quotation from Psalm 118: "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes" (Matthew 21:42\). After a warning that the religious leaders will not inherit the kingdom (Matthew 21:43\), we come to the statement in question, which is the culmination of a series of dire pronouncements aimed at the chief priests and elders. Jesus begins with a question about John the Baptist in Matthew 21:25, but by the end of the conversation, Jesus is plainly speaking of Himself, referring to a "father" sending his "son" who was killed (Matthew 21:37\). He then immediately quotes a Messianic prophecy (Matthew 21:42\), in effect claiming to be the long\-awaited Messiah. The progression is logical: a rejection of John leads one naturally to a rejection of Christ, to whom John pointed (John 1:29, 3:30\). The stone which "the builders rejected" in verse 42 is Jesus. Although rejected, He nevertheless becomes the "chief cornerstone" (NKJV). See also Acts 4:11; Ephesians 2:20; and 1 Peter 2:6\-8\. The builders’ rejection of the stone is a reference to Christ’s crucifixion. The Lord’s choice of the stone to be the cornerstone is a reference to Christ’s resurrection. God chose His Son, despised and rejected by the world, to be the foundation of His church (1 Corinthians 3:11\). "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation" (Isaiah 28:16\). Now, there are consequences for coming into contact with a stone. If you trip over the edge of a rock and fall on it, you may break some bones. If a large enough rock falls on top of you, you may be killed. Jesus uses these truths to deliver a warning to the Jewish leaders. The stone in verse 44 is also Jesus. In saying that those who fall on this stone "will be broken to pieces," Jesus is warning against opposing Him. Defying Jesus is like beating one’s head against a solid rock—a foolish action. In saying that those upon whom the stone falls "will be crushed," Jesus is warning against ignoring Him or trivializing Him. Apathy towards Jesus is like standing in the way of a falling rock—another foolish action. "I am here to do God’s work," Jesus essentially says. "The foundation for the church will be laid. It is unwise to oppose Me because God’s work is not inconsequential." Rejection of the Savior is fatal. Unfortunately, many do reject Him. "He will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall" (Isaiah 8:14\). To persistently reject the Savior is to court judgment so severe that the only thing left will be dust. The prophet Daniel gives a similar picture of the Messiah, likening Him to a rock "cut out, but not by human hands," which smashes into the nations of the world and completely obliterates them (Daniel 2:31\-45\). Matthew 21:44 is a call to faith, an appeal to open one’s eyes and see that Jesus is indeed the Son of God sent into the world. The verse is also a strict warning against rejecting Jesus Christ. He is the sure Rock of salvation for those who believe, but an immovable stumbling stone for those who do not.
Was Adam and Eve’s sin really about eating a piece of forbidden fruit?	Answer The phrase “forbidden fruit” refers to the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They were forbidden by God to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9; 3:2\). The Bible says nothing about what type of fruit it was. Tradition has identified it as an [apple](forbidden-fruit-apple.html), but it is impossible to know with certainty what kind of fruit it was. From the text of Genesis, every indication is of a literal tree with a literal fruit. The key element in the passage is not the fruit itself, but the prohibition against eating it. God gave Adam and Eve only one prohibition in His instructions. Whether there was some spiritual property within the fruit is really irrelevant. The sin was in disobeying God’s command. By eating the fruit (an act of disobedience), Adam and Eve gained personal knowledge of evil. They already knew good, but now they had the contrasting experience of the evil of disobedience and the guilt and shame that came with it. Satan’s lie was that knowing good and evil would make them like gods (Genesis 3:5\). In reality, they were already made in the image of God and had the blessing of His good pleasure. The lesson for us today is that when God prohibits something, it is for our own good. Disobeying Him, going our own way, or deciding for ourselves what is and is not beneficial to us will always lead to disaster. Our heavenly Father who created us knows what is best for us, and when He prohibits something, we should listen to Him. When we choose to obey our own wills instead of His perfect and holy will, things never go well for us. Adam and Eve made that sad discovery after eating the forbidden fruit, and mankind has suffered the consequences of their decision ever since (Romans 5:12\).
What are prayer beads?	Answer Prayer beads, sometimes called [rosary](praying-rosary.html) beads, are used in the practice of meditation and prayer. Prayers are repeated a number of times corresponding with the number of beads. Prayer or rosary beads have traditionally been associated with Catholicism, but the use of prayer beads is widespread, with many religious traditions incorporating them. The basic rosary is made up of 59 beads linked together in a shape that looks like a necklace. Each of the beads on the rosary is intended to have a prayer said while holding the individual bead. Of these beads, 53 are for “Hail Marys” to be said on them. The other six are intended for “Our Fathers.” These beads provide a physical method of keeping count of the prayers as the fingers are moved along the beads as the prayers are recited. The history of the rosary in Christian circles has been traced back to the Crusades. It is thought by historians that the Crusaders had adopted this practice from the Arabs, who, in turn, copied the observance of using beads from India. Recent archeological findings reveal that the ancient Ephesians made use of such beads in their worship of Diana, also known as Artemis, whose temple was one of the seven wonders of the world (Acts 19:24\-41\). Prayer beads are also used by Roman Catholics to help the practitioner keep track of some 180 prayers which make up the rosary. Examples of such prayers are Our Father, Hail Mary, and Gloria. The practice of the rosary is based on the assumption that repeating these prayers over and over enables the petitioner to secure merit or favor from God in order to escape from the punishment of the fires of [purgatory](purgatory.html). The use of prayer beads is not scriptural. Jesus Himself chastised the religious leaders of His time for repeating their prayers over and over. In fact, He told His disciples not to emulate them by using “vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7\). Prayers are not to be merely recited or repeated mindlessly as though they are automatic formulas. Many who use prayer beads today claim that the rosary helps them take the focus off themselves and onto Christ, but the question is really one of the efficacy of repeating the same phrases over and over in a mantra\-like manner. Prayer is an incredible privilege for the Christian, as we are invited by the Creator of the universe to come “boldly” into His presence (Hebrews 4:16\) and communicate with Him. Prayer is the means by which we praise Him, adore Him, give thanks to Him, submit to Him, and bring before Him petitions for ourselves and intercessions for others. It’s hard to see how that intimate communion with Him is enhanced by repeating simple prayers over and over again via prayer beads.
What are the essentials of the gospel message?	Answer The word gospel means “good news,” which is the message of forgiveness for sin through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. It is essentially God’s rescue plan of [redemption](redemption.html) for those who will trust in His divine Son in order to be reconciled to a just and holy God. The essential content of this saving message is clearly laid out for us in the Bible. In the apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he lays out the content of the gospel message, “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1–4\). In this passage, we see three essential elements of the gospel message. First, the phrase “died for our sins” is very important. As Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The reality of sin needs to be acknowledged by all who approach the throne of God for salvation. A sinner must acknowledge the hopelessness of his guilt before God in order for forgiveness to take place, and he must understand that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23\). Without this foundational truth, no gospel presentation is complete. Second, the person and work of Christ are indispensable components of the gospel. Jesus is both God (Colossians 2:9\) and man (John 1:14\). Jesus lived the sinless life that we could never live (1 Peter 2:22\), and, because of that, He is the only one who could die a substitutionary death for the sinner. Sin against an infinite God requires an infinite sacrifice. Therefore, either man, who is finite, must pay the penalty for an infinite length of time in hell, or the infinite Christ must pay for it once. Jesus went to the cross to pay the debt we owe to God for our sin, and those who are covered by His sacrifice will [inherit](inheritance-in-Christ.html) the kingdom of God as children of the king (John 1:12\). Third, the [resurrection of Christ](resurrection-Christ-important.html) is an essential element of the gospel. The resurrection is the proof of the power of God. Only He who created life can resurrect it after death, only He can reverse the hideousness that is death itself, and only He can remove the sting that is death and the victory that is the grave’s (1 Corinthians 15:54–55\). Further, unlike all other religions, Christianity alone possesses a Founder who transcends death and who promises that His followers will do the same. All other religions were founded by men and prophets whose end was the grave. Finally, Christ offers His salvation as a free gift (Romans 5:15; 6:23\), that can only be received by faith, apart from any works or merit on our part (Ephesians 2:8–9\). As the apostle Paul tells us, the gospel is “the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16\). The same inspired author tells us, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9\). These, then, are the essential elements of the gospel: the sin of all men, the death of Christ on the cross to pay for those sins, the resurrection of Christ to provide life everlasting for those who follow Him, and the offer of the free gift of salvation to all.
What does it mean that Jesus will return like a thief in the night?	Answer The return of Jesus Christ is likened to the coming of a thief in the night. Two passages use the wording “a thief in the night”: Matthew 24:43, “Understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into,” and 1 Thessalonians 5:2, “You know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” In 2 Peter 3:10, similar wording is used, as “the day of the Lord will come like a thief.“ In Matthew 24, Jesus speaks of His second coming at the end of the tribulation. Paul calls it “the [day of the Lord](day-of-the-Lord.html)” in 1 Thessalonians 5\. This is a day of divine retribution featuring astronomical upheaval and the visible “sign of the Son of Man” in the heavens (Matthew 24:29–30\). Jesus says it will happen “after the tribulation of those days” (verse 29, ESV), a description that distinguishes this event from the [rapture](rapture-of-the-church.html), which happens before the tribulation. How is the [second coming](second-coming-Jesus-Christ.html) going to be like a thief in the night? The key element of Jesus’ comparison is that no one will know when He will return. Just as a thief catches a household by surprise, Jesus will catch the unbelieving world by surprise when He returns in judgment. People will be “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” (verse 38\), just as if they have all the time in the world. But then, before they know it, Judgment Day will be upon them (verses 40–41\). Paul puts it this way: “While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3\). The believer does not fear this swift and sudden judgment; the “thief in the night” will not catch us by surprise. Christians are in a separate category: “But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:4\). It is only those in darkness who will be taken unawares, and we “are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness” (verse 5\). Praise the Lord, “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 9\). The unsaved should heed Jesus’ warning: “Be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:44\). How can you be ready? God has provided the way for you to escape the judgment. That way is Jesus Christ (John 14:6\). By accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are granted forgiveness of sins, mercy, and salvation with the promise of everlasting life (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8–9\). The “thief” is coming, but you can be a child of the day. Don’t put it off; this is “the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:19\).
What does the Bible say about the power of words?	Answer Words are not simply sounds caused by our mouths shaping air passing through our larynx. Words have real power. God spoke the world into being by the power of His words (Hebrews 11:3\). Humans are made in God’s image, and our words also have power. To be clear, human words do not have the [power to manifest reality](speak-things-into-existence.html). But our words do more than convey information; they have an impact on people. The power of our words can burden one’s spirit, even stir up hatred and violence. Words can exacerbate wounds and inflict them directly. Alternately, words can build up and be life\-giving (Proverbs 18:21; Ephesians 4:29; Romans 10:14–15\). Of all the creatures on this planet, only humans have the ability to communicate through the spoken word. The power to use words is a unique and powerful gift from God. Our words have the power to destroy and the power to build up (Proverbs 12:6\). The writer of Proverbs tells us, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21\). Are we using words to build up people or destroy them? Are they being filled with hate or love, bitterness or blessing, complaining or compliments, lust or love, victory or defeat? Words are tools that can make life better, but any tool can be misused. Words are so important that we are going to give an account of what we say when we stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36–37\). The apostle Paul wrote, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29\). The Greek word translated “unwholesome” means “rotten” or “foul” and originally referred to rotten fruit and vegetables. Vulgar humor, dirty jokes, and foul language have no place in the life of a Christian. Instead, our speech is to be characterized by “only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (cf. Colossians 3:16; 4:6\). Helpful, edifying, meeting needs, and beneficial—these are our descriptive goals for the words we use. There is a remarkable parallel between Ephesians 4:25, lying; Ephesians 4:28, stealing; and Ephesians 4:29, unwholesome talk. In each case Paul is urging us to be a blessing to those with whom we have daily contact. Rather than lie, we are to speak truth; rather than steal, we are to do honest labor; rather than corrupt with our speech, we are to build up. Each sin needs to be replaced with something wholesome. As followers of Christ, we should emulate the example of Jesus, whose words were so filled with grace that the multitudes were amazed (Luke 4:22\). Jesus reminds us that the words we speak are actually the overflow of our hearts (Matthew 12:34–35\). When one becomes a Christian, there is an expectancy that a change of speech follows because living for Christ makes a difference in one’s choice of words. The sinner’s mouth is “full of cursing and bitterness” (Romans 3:14\); but when we turn our lives over to Christ, we gladly confess that “Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10:9–10\). The condemned sinner’s mouth is silenced before the throne of God (Romans 3:19\), but the believer’s mouth is opened to praise and glorify God (Romans 15:6\). Christians are those whose hearts have been changed by the power of God, a change reflected in our words. Remember, before we were saved, we were spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1–3\). Paul describes those who are dead in sin: “Their throats are open graves” (Romans 3:13\). Our words are full of blessing when the heart is full of blessing. So, if we fill our hearts with the love of Christ, only truth and purity can come out of our mouths. Peter tells us, “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15\). Let the power of our words be used of God to manifest the power of our faith. Be prepared to give the reason for why we love the Lord—at any time, to anyone. Our words should demonstrate the power of [God’s grace](grace-of-God.html) and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. May God enable us to use our words as an instrument of His love and saving grace.
What is servant leadership?	Answer Servant leadership is best defined by Jesus Himself: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26–28\). In the Christian realm, all leadership should be servant leadership. A common misconception among those who want to exercise a leadership role over others is that it comes with glory, power, and positions of honor. In fact, such a mistaken belief was the occasion for Jesus’ words in the above passage. James and John had just asked Jesus to place them at His side when He assumed His throne in the kingdom to come. The other disciples became indignant at the arrogance of their request (Mark 10:41\). And, as an object lesson, Jesus modeled the true servant style of leadership. He, the Lord incarnate, bent down and washed their feet, teaching them the true measure of leading by first serving others (John 13:12–17\). The word servant in Matthew 20:27 means “slave.” Not every servant was a slave, but every slave was a servant. It is sad commentary in the church today that we have many celebrities but very few servants. There are many who want to “exercise authority” (Matthew 20:25\), but few who want to take the towel and basin and wash feet. Paul reminds us that our attitude is to be like Christ’s in that we consider others better than ourselves and do nothing out of vanity or selfishness. Rather, we look out for the interests of others (Philippians 2:3–4\). In this sense, then, every Christian is a servant. The focal point of servant leadership within the church is “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12\). This means, with Christ being the head of the church, the entire church body is served in the act of providing leadership. It’s not just the church leaders who become acutely aware of their place at the foot of the cross but all those within the body of Christ. We all mutually submit ourselves to Jesus just as He was in submission to the Father. From a biblical perspective, servant leadership frees the church of the abuse of power and coercion and promotes mutual respect and love for one another. A servant leader seeks to invest himself in the lives of his people so that, as a whole, the church community is challenged to grow to be more like Christ. This is demonstrated in the leader’s willingness to give of himself to meet the needs, but not necessarily the wants, of his people. Like a good parent, the true servant leader knows the difference between the needs of his spiritual children and their selfish wants and desires. The bottom line to the application of servant leadership is that we don’t emulate the examples of the world; our example is Jesus, who came as a servant. Therefore, our mission is to serve one another, to give of ourselves. Christ came to give His life. We are to give of our lives not only in service to Him but to our fellow man, including those in the church and outside it (Mark 12:31\).
What is the conscience?	Answer The conscience is defined as that part of the human psyche that induces mental anguish and feelings of guilt when we violate it and feelings of pleasure and well\-being when our actions, thoughts and words are in conformity to our value systems. The Greek word translated “conscience” in all New Testament references is suneidēsis, meaning “moral awareness” or “moral consciousness.” The conscience reacts when one’s actions, thoughts, and words conform to, or are contrary to, a standard of right and wrong. There is no Hebrew term in the Old Testament equivalent to suneidēsis in the New Testament. The lack of a Hebrew word for “conscience” may be due to the Jewish worldview, which was communal rather than individual. The Hebrew considered himself as a member of a covenant community that related corporately to God and His laws, rather than as an individual. In other words, the Hebrew was confident in his own position before God if the Hebrew nation as a whole was in good fellowship with Him. The New Testament concept of conscience is more individual in nature and involves three major truths. First, conscience is a God\-given capacity for human beings to exercise self\-evaluation. Paul refers several times to his own conscience being “good” or “clear” (Acts 23:1; 24:16; 1 Corinthians 4:4\). Paul examined his own words and deeds and found them to be in accordance with his morals and value system, which were, of course, based on God’s standards. His conscience verified the integrity of his heart. Second, the New Testament portrays the conscience as a witness to something. Paul says the Gentiles have consciences that bear witness to the presence of the law of God written on their hearts, even though they did not have the Mosaic Law (Romans 2:14\-15\). He also appeals to his own conscience as a witness that he speaks the truth (Romans 9:1\) and that he has conducted himself in holiness and sincerity in his dealings with men (2 Corinthians 1:12\). He also says that his conscience tells him his actions are apparent to both God and the witness of other men’s consciences (2 Corinthians 5:11\). Third, the conscience is a servant of the individual’s value system. An immature or weak value system produces a weak conscience, while a fully informed value system produces a strong sense of right and wrong. In the Christian life, one’s conscience can be driven by an inadequate understanding of scriptural truths and can produce feelings of guilt and shame disproportionate to the issues at hand. Maturing in the faith strengthens the conscience. This last function of the conscience is what Paul addresses in his instructions regarding eating food sacrificed to idols. He makes the case that, since idols are not real gods, it makes no difference if food has been sacrificed to them or not. But some in the Corinthian church were weak in their understanding and believed that such gods really existed. These immature believers were horrified at the thought of eating food sacrificed to the gods, because their consciences were informed by erroneous prejudices and superstitious views. Therefore, Paul encourages those more mature in their understanding not to exercise their freedom to eat if it would cause the consciences of their weaker brothers to condemn their actions. The lesson here is that, if our consciences are clear because of mature faith and understanding, we are not to cause those with weaker consciences to stumble by exercising the freedom that comes with a stronger conscience. Another reference to conscience in the New Testament is to a conscience that is “seared” or rendered insensitive as though it had been cauterized with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:1\-2\). Such a conscience is hardened and calloused, no longer feeling anything. A person with a seared conscience no longer listens to its promptings, and he can sin with abandon, delude himself into thinking all is well with his soul, and treat others insensitively and without compassion. As Christians, we are to keep our consciences clear by obeying God and keeping our relationship with Him in good standing. We do this by the application of His Word, renewing and softening our hearts continually. We consider those whose consciences are weak, treating them with Christian love and compassion.
Why did Lot offer up his daughters to be gang raped?	Answer The first incident involving Lot’s daughters appears in Genesis 19:1–11\. Two men who were really angels appeared in Sodom where [Lot](Lot-in-the-Bible.html) lived with his family. The wicked men of the city surrounded Lot’s house seeking to have homosexual relations with the angels. Lot begged the men of the city not to do this evil thing, and he offered up his two virgin daughters to them instead. The second incident (Genesis 19:30–38\) occurs after Lot and his daughters had fled Sodom just before its destruction. Lot’s wife was destroyed for her disobedience during the journey, and Lot and his two daughters fled to live in a cave in a mountain. Afraid they would never have husbands or children in their hideout, Lot’s daughters plotted to make their father drunk so they could sleep with him and thereby assure that they would have children. To our modern sensibilities, it’s hard to understand why God would allow these two terrible incidents to occur. We are told in 1 Corinthians 10:11 that the record of the Old Testament is meant as an “example” to us. In other words, God gives us the whole truth about biblical characters, their sin, their failures, their victories and good deeds, and we are to learn from their example, what to do and what not to do. In fact, this is one of the ways God teaches us what we need to know in order to make good choices as believers. We can learn the easy way by knowing and obeying God’s Word, we can learn the hard way by suffering the consequences of our mistakes, or we can learn by watching others and “taking heed” from their experiences. Scripture does not reveal Lot’s reasoning for offering up his daughters. Whatever his thought process was, it was wrong and indefensible. Based on what is revealed about Lot’s life, one might wonder if he was righteous. However, there is no doubt that God had declared him to be positionally righteous, even during his time in Sodom. “And if God rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day with their lawless deeds)” (2 Peter 2:7–8\). At some point Lot had believed in the coming Messiah, and that faith resulted in a righteous standing before God. It is likely that Lot’s uncle, Abraham, had passed this truth down to him. What we have in the story of Lot is an illustration of a man who once lived close to his godly relatives and had backslidden and was living according to his sin nature. Lot had moved to Sodom, even though he knew what it was, and he “sat in the gate” (Genesis 19:1\). That sounds quite simple, but, in fact, sitting in the gate meant that Lot had so entered into the society of Sodom that he was a judge there (Genesis 19:9\). In spite of his position, the men of Sodom had no respect for him because they knew he was a hypocrite. We may sit in judgment of the culture of that day, but protecting one’s guests required great sacrifice. Was Lot right to offer his own daughters in place of the men the Sodomites wanted? No. We can see in the story that the Lord’s messengers protected Lot and his daughters in spite of Lot’s lack of character and worldly viewpoint. Lot meant to appease the men of Sodom so that the hospitality of his house would not be damaged, but he makes the wrong choice in offering his own daughters, and God’s messengers overruled him. Genesis 19:31–32 tells us that Lot’s daughters believed there would be no man for them and no children. This may be because they saw the destruction of Sodom and believed they were the only people left on earth. They were trying to preserve the family line. Why did Lot have sex with his own daughters? He got drunk. Yes, his daughters conspired to get him drunk, but Lot willingly drank and, when he was drunk, he lost what little control and common sense he had (Genesis 19:30–38\), and this is the final step in Lot’s backsliding. The lesson we can learn from this is, when a person has too much to drink, he does not make good choices and loses control of his morals and operates out of the sinful, carnal nature. As a result of the incest, two children were born, and those two children are the fathers of two nations that have been at odds with and the source of much suffering to Israel down through history. Why did God allow Lot to offer his daughters, and why did He allow them to commit incest? Sometimes God gives us His reasons for doing something but not very often. The more we get to know God, the more we understand Him and His reasons for doing things. But, again, this doesn’t always happen. We must be very careful when we ask why God does something and be sure we are not calling into question God Himself, His judgment, His character, and His very nature. The psalmist tells us, “As for God, His way is perfect” (Psalm 18:30\). If God’s ways are “perfect,” then we can trust that whatever He does—and the reason for whatever He allows—is also perfect. This may not seem possible to us, but our minds are not God’s mind. It is true that we can’t expect to understand His mind perfectly, as He reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9\). Nevertheless, our responsibility to God is to obey Him, to trust Him, and to submit to His will, whether we understand it or not. Lot did the things he did because he chose to live in his old sin nature and do what was easy, and he made choices to flirt with evil instead of living to honor God. As a result, there was suffering for Lot, his wife and daughters, and, by association, the nation of Israel for years to come. The lesson for us is that we need to make choices that do not conform to the world and to submit to the Word of God, which will guide us into living lives that are pleasing to God.
Who was Nebuchadnezzar?	Answer Nebuchadnezzar II, sometimes alternately spelled Nebuchadrezzar, was king of Babylonia from approximately 605 BC until approximately 562 BC. He is considered the greatest king of the [Babylonian Empire](Babylonian-empire.html) and is credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned by name around 90 times in the Bible, in both the historical and prophetic literature of the Hebrew Scriptures. Nebuchadnezzar receives the most attention in the book of Daniel, appearing as the main character, beside [Daniel](life-Daniel.html), in chapters 1–4\. In biblical history, Nebuchadnezzar is most famous for the conquering of Judah and the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem in 586 BC. Judah had become a tribute state to Babylon in 605 BC but rebelled in 597 BC during the reign of Jehoiachin and then again in 588 BC during the reign of [Zedekiah](King-Zedekiah.html). Tired of the rebellions, and seeing that Judah had not learned its lesson when he invaded, conquered, and deported Judah in 597, Nebuchadnezzar and his general, Nebuzaradan, proceeded to completely destroy the temple and most of Jerusalem, deporting most of the remaining residents to Babylon. In this, Nebuchadnezzar served as God’s instrument of judgment on Judah for its idolatry, unfaithfulness, and disobedience (Jeremiah 25:9\). Secular history records Nebuchadnezzar as a brutal, powerful, and ambitious king, and the Bible, for the most part, agrees. However, the book of Daniel gives additional insight into his character. Daniel chapter 2 records God giving Nebuchadnezzar a dream about what kingdoms would arise after his own. In the dream, Nebuchadnezzar was a “head of gold” on a statue, with the descending parts of the body, comprised of silver, bronze, iron, and iron mixed with clay, representing the less powerful kingdoms that would come after him. Nebuchadnezzar demanded the astrologers and wise men to interpret his dream without him telling it to them and, when they were unable to, Nebuchadnezzar ordered all of the astrologers and wise men to be killed. Daniel spoke up and, through a miracle from God, interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The king then promoted Daniel to be one of his most influential advisers. Interestingly, when Daniel interpreted his dream, Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery” (Daniel 2:47\). In Daniel 3, Nebuchadnezzar created a gold statue of himself and required all the people to bow down to it whenever the music played. Daniel’s three friends, [Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego](Shadrach-Meshach-Abednego.html), refused, and the king had them thrown into a blazing furnace. Miraculously, God protected them, and when they came out of the furnace, Nebuchadnezzar proclaimed, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way” (Daniel 3:28–29\). In Daniel chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar is given another dream by God. Daniel interpreted the dream for Nebuchadnezzar and informed him that the dream was a warning to the king to humble himself and recognize that his power, wealth, and influence were from God, not of his own making. Nebuchadnezzar did not heed the warning of the dream, so God judged him as the dream had declared. Nebuchadnezzar was driven insane for seven years. When the king’s sanity was restored, he finally humbled himself before God. In Daniel 4:3, Nebuchadnezzar declares, “How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.” Nebuchadnezzar continued in Daniel 4:34–37, “For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’ … “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” The exclamations of Nebuchadnezzar recorded in the book of Daniel have led some to consider the possibility that Nebuchadnezzar became a believer in the one true God. History records Nebuchadnezzar being a follower of the Babylonian gods Nabu and [Marduk](Marduk-in-the-Bible.html). Is it possible that Nebuchadnezzar renounced these false gods and instead only worshiped the one true God? Yes, it is possible. If nothing else, Nebuchadnezzar became a [henotheist](henotheism.html), believing in many gods but worshiping only one God as supreme. Based on his words recorded in Daniel, it definitely seems like Nebuchadnezzar submitted himself to the one true God. Further evidence is the fact that God refers to Nebuchadnezzar as “my servant” three times in the book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:9; 27:6; 43:10\). Was Nebuchadnezzar saved? Ultimately, this is not a question that can be answered dogmatically. Whatever the case, the story of Nebuchadnezzar is an example of God’s sovereignty over all men and the truth that “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will” (Proverbs 21:1\).
Is it true that everything happens for a reason?	Answer Does everything happen for a reason? The short answer is “yes”; because [God is sovereign](God-is-sovereign.html), there are no random, out\-of\-control happenings. God’s purposes may be hidden from us, but we can be assured that every event has a reason behind it. There was a reason for the blindness of the man in John 9, although the disciples misidentified the reason (John 9:1–3\). There was a reason for Joseph’s mistreatment, although his brothers’ purpose in what they did to him was very different from God’s purpose in allowing it (Genesis 50:20\). There was a reason for Jesus’ death—the authorities in Jerusalem had their reasons, based on evil intent, and God had His, based on righteousness. God’s sovereignty extends even to the lowliest of creatures: “Not one \[sparrow] falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will” (Matthew 10:29, NET). Several factors help us know that everything happens for a reason: the law of cause and effect, the doctrine of original sin, and the [providence of God](divine-providence.html). All these demonstrate that everything does happen for a reason, not just by happenstance or by random chance. First, there is the natural law of cause and effect, also known as the law of [sowing and reaping](sowing-and-reaping.html). Paul says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7–8\). This means that in every action we take or word we utter, whether good or evil, there are certain inevitable results that follow (Colossians 3:23–25\). Someone may ask, “Why am I in jail? Is there a reason for this?” and the answer may be, “Because you robbed your neighbor’s house and got caught.” That’s cause and effect. All that we do is either an investment in the flesh or an investment in the Spirit. We shall reap whatever we have sown, and we shall reap in proportion to how we have sown. “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6\). The believer who walks in the Spirit and “sows” in the Spirit is going to reap a spiritual harvest. If his sowing has been generous, the harvest will be bountiful, if not in this life, certainly in the life to come. Conversely, those who “sow” to the flesh are going to reap a life without the full blessings of God, both in this life and the life to come (Jeremiah 18:10; 2 Peter 2:10–12\). The reason some things happen can often be traced back to [original sin](original-sin.html) in the Garden of Eden. The Bible is clear that the world is under a curse (Genesis 3:17\), which has resulted in infirmities, diseases, natural disasters, and death. All these things, although under God’s ultimate control, are sometimes used by Satan to inflict misery upon people (see Job 1–2; Luke 9:37–42; 13:16\). Someone may ask, “Why did I contract this illness? Is there a reason for it?” and the answer may be one or more of the following: 1\) “Because you live in a fallen world, and we are all subject to illness”; 2\) “Because God is testing you and strengthening your faith”; or 3\) “Because, in love, God is disciplining you according to Hebrews 12:7–13 and 1 Corinthians 11:29–30\.” Then we have what is called the providence of God. The doctrine of providence holds that God quietly and invisibly works through the natural world to manage events. God, in His providence, works out His purposes through natural processes in the physical and social universe. Every effect can be traced back to a natural cause, and there is no hint of the miraculous. The best that man can do to explain the reason why things happen in the course of natural events is to point to “coincidence.” Believers proclaim that God arranges the coincidences. The unbeliever derides such ideas because he believes natural causes can fully explain each event without reference to God. Yet followers of Christ are wholly assured of this profound truth: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28\). The [book of Esther](Book-of-Esther.html) shows divine providence at work. The banishment of Vashti, the selection of Esther, the plot of the assassins, the pride of Haman, the courage of Mordecai, the insomnia of the king, the bloodlust of Zeresh, and the reading of the scroll—everything in the book happens, like cogs in a well\-oiled machine, to bring about the deliverance of God’s people. Although God is never mentioned in Esther, His providence, working through “coincidence,” is plain to see. God is always at work in the lives of His people, and in His goodness will bring them to a good end (see Philippians 1:6\). The events that define our lives are not simply products of natural causes or random chance. They are ordained by God and are intended for our good. We often fail to sense God’s hidden guidance or protection as events in our lives unfold. But, when we look back at past events, we are able to see His hand more clearly, even in times of tragedy.
What does it mean that Jesus and believers are living stones in 1 Peter 2:4-5?	Answer The term living stones in 1 Peter 2:5 is used as a metaphor to illustrate the secure and intimate relationship believers have with Jesus, who is described in the previous verse as the “living Stone” (1 Peter 2:4\). Together, these two verses picture how Christ and His followers are joined by God Himself: “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering [spiritual sacrifices](spiritual-sacrifices.html) acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4–5\). The foundation of God’s building is His Son, Jesus Christ, the “living Stone.” The “living stones,” in turn, are believers who come to Jesus and place their lives upon this foundation. The living Stone is “precious” to those who believe (1 Peter 2:7\), but some men reject the living Stone in order to build their lives their own way, not God’s way (see Psalm 118:22 and Luke 6:46–49\). Unbelievers cast this living Stone aside, not caring that Jesus is the only true foundation upon which they can build securely (1 Corinthians 3:11\). In a metaphor much like that of the living Stone, Jesus is described as the [chief cornerstone](Jesus-Christ-cornerstone.html) in Ephesians 2:19–22\. Peter references Jesus as the cornerstone in Acts 4:11–12, stating that “salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” God accepts no one who refuses to become a part of His building. And God is just like all builders—He has a foundation upon which all workers must build (Matthew 7:24–27\). Believers, then, are the “living stones” of the church that Jesus promised to build (Matthew 16:18\). As living stones, we have new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17\). As integral parts of the building of God, we have security in Christ (John 6:37\). As the Master Builder, God places His living stones just where He wants us to be (1 Corinthians 12:18\). As living stones, we are connected to one another in the body of Christ (Romans 12:5\). Our Lord, the foundation Stone, is alive forevermore and will never crumble. He will support us eternally. Peter goes on to describe the function of the living stones: to “declare the praises” of Him who called us out of the darkness of sin into the light of life and glory (1 Peter 2:9\). This is the “job description” of a living stone: a speaker of praise, a declarer of truth and love and light. The spiritual house God is building is designed for His glory, and we, the living stones, glorify the Lord in all we do (1 Corinthians 10:31\).
What is a Jesus freak?	Answer The term Jesus freak was originally used to demean or insult Christians involved with the [Jesus Movement](Jesus-Movement.html) in the 1960s and 1970s. It was primarily directed towards “Bible thumpers” and those who were especially aggressive in their evangelistic efforts. The core meaning of Jesus freak was a person who is so dedicated to following Jesus that there is nothing else the person can talk about. A Jesus freak is basically a person who is obsessed with Jesus. While it was originally used as a pejorative, Jesus freak has become accepted and even embraced by many in the Christian community. A “Jesus Freak” song and album by the Christian band DC Talk in 1995 helped popularize the term. This is perhaps similar to the term Christian, which seemingly originated as an insult (Acts 11:26\), but later became the most widely accepted term for a follower of Jesus Christ. If obsession with Jesus is indeed the core meaning of Jesus freak, then, yes, a Jesus freak is precisely what a Christian should strive to be (Matthew 16:24\). In the song “Jesus Freak,” there is a contrast between how the world views a Jesus freak and what the Bible would declare to be a Jesus freak. First, a man with “[Jesus saves](Jesus-saves.html)” tattooed on his belly is standing on a box in the middle of a city, claiming that he had a dream. That is perhaps what the world thinks of as a Jesus freak. Contrasted with that is the example of John the Baptist. While the world thought he was crazy, he demonstrated the ultimate commitment to Jesus by dying for refusing to be silent: “the king took the head of this Jesus freak” (see Matthew 14:10\). That should be the definition of a Jesus freak. We should be so radically committed to Jesus that we would rather lay down our lives than deny Him.
Why is virginity so important in the Bible?	Answer When the Bible uses the word virgin, it refers to an unmarried person who has not had sexual relations (see Esther 2:2 and Revelation 14:4\). In today’s culture, many people use the word virginity to express sexual purity; however, many others use a technical definition to find loopholes in moral standards, limiting the word to mean only “the condition of never having gone all the way”—thus, a couple can do anything and everything short of sexual intercourse and still technically call themselves “virgins.” This is an unprofitable word game. [Chastity](Bible-chastity.html) should affect the heart, mind, and soul, not just certain body parts. The Bible’s emphasis is not so much on a technical or medical definition of virginity as it is on the condition of a person’s heart. The morality we espouse and the actions we choose give evidence of our heart’s condition. The Bible’s standard is clear: celibacy before marriage and [monogamy](monogamy-Bible.html) after marriage. There are three serious reasons to save sex for marriage. First, as believers, we are to obey what God tells us to do. First Corinthians 6:18–20 states, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” If we are in Christ, He has purchased us with the sacrifice of His life. He is our Lord and we are to honor Him. The second reason is that we are to fight our spiritual battles wearing the breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6:14\). We are in a contest between our new nature in Christ and our fleshly desires. First Thessalonians 4:3–7 says, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” Allowing your body (rather than the Spirit) to control your actions is an act of defiance against God. Godly, loving sex between a husband and wife is giving and unselfish. Using someone to fulfill a desire of the flesh is self\-centered and abusive. Even if the partner is willing, you are still helping him or her to sin and negatively altering that person’s relationship with God and others. The final reason involves the “mystery” of marriage (Ephesians 5:31\-32\). When God spoke of two people being joined as one, He was referring to something we’re only beginning to understand in a real, physiological way. When two people are intimate, the hypothalamus in the brain releases chemicals that induce feelings of attachment and trust. Having sex outside of marriage results in a person forming an attachment and trusting someone with whom he or she does not have a committed relationship. The definition of trust in the mind deteriorates. To have that kind of link with someone without the security of working together toward God is dangerous. Two individuals who are—even mildly—physiologically obsessed with each other but not committed to growing in God as a couple can be torn from God and His plans for them. Conversely, if two people make a conscious, deliberate choice to commit to each other in marriage, and then allow the intimacy that releases these chemicals, the body can reaffirm the connection the mind has made. The physiological feelings of trust and attachment are reinforced by the reality of the relationship. In this way, two people become one physically, and that reflects what God has done spiritually. Marriage is to model the relationship between the church and Christ. A married couple is to serve God in a strong, unified partnership. Sex, along with procreation, was designed by God to strengthen that partnership. Sex outside of marriage creates bonds that tear apart people’s hearts instead of joining them together. Finally, we need to remember a few things about virginity, and the lack thereof, given God’s grace. Those who come to Christ after engaging in premarital sexual relationships are not virgins; however, they are fully cleansed by Christ at the moment they are saved. God can redeem anyone, and He can heal those who have indulged their fleshly lusts. For those who engaged in premarital sex after becoming a Christian, there is forgiveness in Christ. He can cleanse us from all unrighteousness and bring healing (1 John 1:9\). And, in the horrible case of a person victimized by sexual abuse or rape, who may feel that she or he, through no fault of their own, no longer measures up to the ideal standard of “virginity,” Christ is able to restore her or his spirit, heal her or his brokenness, and grant her or him wholeness.
What does it mean to believe in the sanctity of life?	Answer The phrase “sanctity of life” reflects the belief that, because people are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27\), human life has an inherently sacred attribute that should be protected and respected at all times. While God gave humanity the authority to kill and eat other forms of life (Genesis 9:3\), the murdering of other human beings is expressly forbidden, with the penalty being death (Genesis 9:6\). Humanity was created in God’s image, but sin has corrupted that image. There is nothing inherently sacred in fallen man. The sanctity of human life is not due to the fact that we are such wonderful and good beings. The only reason the sanctity of life applies to humanity is the fact that God created us in His image and set us apart from all other forms of life. Although that image has indeed been marred by sin, His image is still present in humanity. We are like God, and that likeness means that human life is always to be treated with dignity and respect. The sanctity of life means that humanity is more sacred than the rest of creation. Human life is not holy in the same sense that God is holy. Only God is holy in and of Himself. Human life is only holy in the sense of being “set apart” from all other life created by God. Many apply the sanctity of life to issues like abortion and euthanasia, and, while it definitely applies to those issues, it applies to much more. The sanctity of life should motivate us to combat all forms of evil and injustice that are perpetuated against human life. Violence, abuse, oppression, human trafficking, and many other evils are also violations of the sanctity of life. Beyond the sanctity of life, there is a much better argument against these things: the greatest commandments. In Matthew 22:37–39 Jesus says, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” In these commandments, we see that our actions are to be motivated by love for God and love for others. If we love God, we will value our own lives as part of God’s plan, to do His will until it comes about that His will is better served by our deaths. And we will love and care for His people (Galatians 6:10; Colossians 3:12\-15\). We will see to the needs of the elderly and sick. We will protect others from harm—whether from abortion, euthanasia, human trafficking, or other abuses. While the sanctity of life can be the foundation, love must be the motivation.
What happened in the upper room?	Answer The events that occurred in the “upper room,” also known as the “Cenacle,” are described in Matthew 26:1–29, Mark 14:12–25, Luke 22:7–20, and John 13:1–38\. During these last hours that Jesus spent with His beloved friends, He ate with them, instituted the New Covenant in His blood, gave them last\-minute instructions and encouragement, and prayed His “high priestly prayer” over them. Then He went out to face the sorrow, betrayal, rejection, and death for which He had come into the world. This poignant last meeting with His disciples, whom He loved, begins with an object lesson from Jesus. The disciples had been arguing about who among them was the greatest (Luke 22:24\), displaying a distinctly ungodly perspective. Jesus quietly rose and began [to wash their feet](Jesus-washing-feet.html), a task normally performed by the lowest, most menial slave. By this simple act, Jesus reminded them that His followers are those who serve one another, not those who expect to be served. He went on to explain that, unless the Lamb of God cleanses a person’s sin, that person will never be clean: “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me” (John 13:8\). During the Last Supper, Jesus also identifies the traitor, Judas, who would betray Him to the authorities and bring about His arrest. It is indicative of the disciples’ weak faith that each of them considered the possibility that he might be the traitor. But Jesus confirmed that it was none other than Judas, whom He instructed to leave and do quickly what he had to do. After Judas’s departure, Jesus instituted the New Covenant in His blood, a new command that those who follow Him are to love one another and live by the power of the Holy Spirit. We remember this act each time we observe the Christian [ordinance of communion](communion-Christian.html), celebrating Christ’s body broken for us and His blood shed for us. After this, Jesus made His first prediction of Peter’s coming denial (Luke 22:31\-38\). The apostle John gives us very little information about the events of the evening in the upper room. He does tell us that Jesus prayed over the disciples in what is called His “high priestly prayer” in John 17 because the following chapter begins by saying that after He had spoken those words, He and the disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He was betrayed. The prayer of Jesus for the disciples is the culmination of His dealings with them and is a poignant reminder of His deep love and concern for them. Knowing that He would soon be leaving them, He committed them to the care of His Father, asking that they may be one and asking that the Father keep them in Jesus’ name (verse 11\). He asks His Father to keep them from the evil one (verse 15\) and to sanctify them by the truth, which is His Word (verse 17\). He applies this same prayer to believers in all ages, saying, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word” (verse 20\). Many of the events of the upper room echo down to us today. We live under the New Covenant instituted at that time, we observe the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of that night (1 Corinthians 11:23–26\), and we live under the blessing of His prayer for all those who love and follow Him.
What does it mean to be unequally yoked?	Answer The phrase “unequally yoked” comes from 2 Corinthians 6:14 in the King James Version: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” The New American Standard Version says, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” A yoke is a wooden bar that joins two oxen to each other and to the burden they pull. An “unequally yoked” team has one stronger ox and one weaker, or one taller and one shorter. The weaker or shorter ox would walk more slowly than the taller, stronger one, causing the load to go around in circles. When oxen are unequally yoked, they cannot perform the task set before them. Instead of working together, they are at odds with one another. Paul’s admonition in 2 Corinthians 6:14 is part of a larger discourse to the church at Corinth on the Christian life. He discouraged them from being in an unequal partnership with unbelievers because believers and unbelievers are opposites, just as light and darkness are opposites. They simply have nothing in common, just as Christ has nothing in common with “Belial,” a Hebrew word meaning “worthlessness” (verse 15\). Here Paul uses it to refer to Satan. The idea is that the pagan, wicked, unbelieving world is governed by the principles of Satan and that Christians should be separate from that wicked world, just as Christ was separate from all the methods, purposes, and plans of Satan. He had no participation in them; He formed no union with them, and so it should be with the followers of the one in relation to the followers of the other. Attempting to live a Christian life with a non\-Christian for our close friend and ally will only cause us to go around in circles. The “unequal yoke” is often applied to business relationships. For a Christian to enter into a partnership with an unbeliever is to court disaster. Unbelievers have opposite worldviews and morals, and business decisions made daily will reflect the worldview of one partner or the other. For the relationship to work, one or the other must abandon his moral center and move toward that of the other. More often than not, it is the believer who finds himself pressured to leave his Christian principles behind for the sake of profit and the growth of the business. Of course, the closest alliance one person can have with another is found in marriage, and this is how the passage is usually interpreted. God’s plan is for a man and a woman to become “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24\), a relationship so intimate that one literally and figuratively becomes part of the other. Uniting a believer with an unbeliever is essentially uniting opposites, which makes for a very difficult marriage relationship.
Who was the Queen of Sheba?	Answer The Queen of Sheba, according to the biblical narrative, was a woman of great wealth, beauty, and power. Sheba, believed to be either in Ethiopia or Yemen by most biblical scholars, was a well\-established city, and, although there is little evidence outside the Bible as to the nature of the monarchy and how it was established, it is clear that the Queen of Sheba ruled alone and was not enamored with the religions in her own land. The Queen of Sheba traveled to Jerusalem as she had “heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the LORD, \[and] came to test Solomon with hard questions” (1 Kings 10:1\). As God had granted Solomon the gift of wisdom (1 Kings 3:5–12\), “nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her” (1 Kings 10:3\). After a meal together, the Queen of Sheba declares how impressed she is with Solomon’s answers, hospitality, and the reputation that preceded him. The story ends with an exchange of resources and the Queen of Sheba returning “with her retinue to her own country” (1 Kings 10:13\). Sources outside the Bible suggest that the Queen of Sheba conceived a child in secret with King Solomon, while some Bible commentators have suggested that the nameless woman in the Song of Solomon is the Queen of Sheba (with the man being King Solomon). Both are speculative and, while interesting, cannot be declared factual. Whether she has any relation to the “Sheba” mentioned in Genesis 10:7 and 28, or if she was the ancestor of “Candace, queen of the Ethiopians” (Acts 8:27\), is, again, open to speculation. The Queen of Sheba is mentioned again in the New Testament by an alternative title, the Queen of the South (Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31\). Jesus refers to her, reaffirming her historical personage, as a means to illustrate the point that, despite being originally pagan in belief and Gentile in race, the Queen of Sheba recognized the truth and reality of God, unlike the religious leaders who opposed Jesus. As such, they would be condemned for their ignorant and defiant nature. Two lessons can be learned from the story of the Queen of Sheba. First, like King Solomon, believers are to show evidence of God’s favor in their lives, whatever their role, profession, or environment. Second, the reputation of believers should precede them by their godly words and actions, for we are “Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20\).
How can we enter into God’s rest?	Answer The concept of entering into God’s rest comes from Hebrews 3—4\. What is this “rest” the Hebrew writer is talking about? How do we enter it? And how do we fail to enter it? The writer to the Hebrews begins his discussion of God’s rest in chapter 3, where he references the [Israelites wandering in the desert](wilderness-wandering.html). In giving them the land of Canaan, God had promised them that He would go before them and defeat all their enemies in order that they could live securely (Deuteronomy 12:9–10\). All that was required of them was to fully trust in Him and His promises. However, they refused to obey Him. Instead, they murmured against Him, even yearning to go back to their bondage under the Egyptians (Exodus 16:3; 17:1–7; Numbers 20:3–13\). The particular “rest” referred to here was that of the land of Canaan. Into that rest God solemnly said the Israelites who disobeyed Him would never enter (Hebrews 3:11\). They had been rebellious. All the means of reclaiming them had failed. God had warned and entreated them; He had caused His mercies to pass before them, and had visited them with judgments in vain; and He now declares that for all their rebellion they should be excluded from the Promised Land (Hebrews 3:16–19\). But, eventually, the next generation did place their faith in God and, by following the leadership of Joshua, they, some forty years later, entered into God’s rest, the land of Canaan (Joshua 3:14–17\). Using the Israelites as an example of those who were not resting in God’s promises, the writer of Hebrews goes on in chapter 4 to make the application personal, both to the Hebrew Christians and to us: “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it” (Hebrews 4:1\). The promise that still stands is the promise of salvation through God’s provision—Jesus Christ. He alone can provide the eternal rest of salvation through His blood shed on the cross for the remission of sins. God’s rest, then, is in the spiritual realm, the rest of salvation. Faith, the author goes on to assert, is the key to entering God’s rest. The Hebrews had had the gospel preached to them, just as the Israelites knew the truth about God, but the messages were of “no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith” (Hebrews 4:2\). Some had heard the good news of Christ, but they rejected it for lack of faith. Hebrews 4:10–13 explains the nature of this faith. The kind of faith that enables us to enter into God’s rest is a faith that first demands that we rest from relying on our own works. Then the writer seemingly contradicts himself by telling us to make every effort: “For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:10–11\). What this apparent paradox means is that such biblical faith involves our submissiveness to God, and our efforts in that area. Though we desist in our self\-efforts to earn salvation and the promised eternal rest, we also “make every effort to enter that rest” by choosing to depend solely on God, to trust Him implicitly, to yield totally to the promises of God through the free grace of His salvation. Why? So “that no one will fall by following their \[the Israelites’] example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11\). We either trust ourselves to save ourselves, or we trust God to do that for us through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. By failing to trust God fully in His promises, we become disobedient and fail to enter the rest that is eternal life, just as the children of Israel became disobedient when they failed to enter the [Promised Land](Israel-land.html). So how do we stop trusting ourselves? How do we place our full trust in God and His promises? We enter into God’s rest by first understanding our total inability to enter God’s rest on our own. Next, we enter God’s rest by our total faith in the sacrifice of Christ and complete obedience to God and His will. “And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief” (Hebrews 3:18–19\). Unlike the Israelites whose unbelief prevented them from entering the Promised Land, we are to enter God’s rest by faith in Him, faith which is a gift from Him by grace (Ephesians 2:8–9\).
What is the Wailing Wall / Western Wall?	Answer The Wailing Wall, also known as the Western Wall, is a 187\-foot\-high section of the ancient wall built by Herod the Great as the retaining wall of the Temple Mount complex. The Wailing Wall is on the western side of the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Herod the Great constructed the oldest layers of the wall between 20 BC and 19 BC as the second Jewish temple was being remodeled. The wall extends for 1,600 feet, but houses built against it obscure most of its length. Today the exposed portion of the Wailing Wall faces a large plaza in the Jewish Quarter and has been a venue for pilgrimage and prayer for Jews since the 16th century. It should be noted that Jews usually do not use the term Wailing Wall, preferring the term Western Wall or Ha\-Kotel (“the Wall”). At least seventeen layers of the Wailing Wall are below the street level, but the massive lower stones, called ashlars, of the visible portion date to the time of Herod. These colossal limestone stones, each weighing between one and eight tons, were crafted with masterly precision so that they fit perfectly against each other without mortar. Some of the joints, however, have eroded, and Orthodox Jews fill many of the chinks in the lower blocks with written prayers. On a daily basis, many Jews gather at the wall to pray, chanting and swaying before the wall. They conduct daily and Sabbath prayers and celebrate Bar and Bat Mitzvah. The Wailing Wall takes its name from the traditional Arabic term for the wall, El\-Mabka (“the Place of Weeping”), due to the sorrow the Jews expressed over the loss of their temple. Jews stopped using the term Wailing Wall after the [Six\-Day War](Six-Day-War.html) in 1967\. Once Jerusalem was once again under Israeli sovereignty, Jews took the official position that the Western Wall should be a place of general celebration instead of mourning. Each year on Tisha B’Av in August, the Jews keep a fast to commemorate the destruction of both of their temples with worshipers reciting Lamentations and other dirges. The first temple, [Solomon’s Temple](Solomon-first-temple.html), was built during his reign, 970—930 BC, and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians in 586 BC. The temple was reconstructed in 516 BC, with a significant expansion in 19 BC by Herod. The Romans under Titus destroyed Herod’s Temple in AD 70 to crush the Jewish revolt that had been going on for four years. The destruction of Herod’s Temple in AD 70 by Titus was predicted by Jesus in Matthew 24:1–2 and Luke 23:28–31\. The Bible also predicted the restoration of the Jews to their native land (Ezekiel 36:24, 33–35\). The nation of Israel was reestablished on May 15, 1948, by a United Nations resolution. Although the Jewish people have been restored to their geographic and political nation, they have yet to be restored to their covenant relationship with God because they have rejected their Messiah, Jesus Christ. As a consequence of Israel’s rejection of the Messiah, God has paused His work with the physical nation of Israel. Israel will be ultimately restored, and God will fulfill all of His promises to her. Today God is working through His church, everyone—Jew and Gentile—who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Romans 1:16; 2:28–29\). In the age of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ, those who receive forgiveness and salvation through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus become children of God and thus are called the “seed of Abraham” (Galatians 3:26–29\).
What does it mean that iron sharpens iron?	Answer The phrase “iron sharpens iron” is found in Proverbs 27:17: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” There is mutual benefit in the rubbing of two iron blades together; the edges become sharper, making the knives more efficient in their task to cut and slice. Likewise, the Word of God is a “double\-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12\), and it is with this that we are to sharpen one another—in times of meeting, fellowship, or any other interaction. The proverb also indicates the need for constant fellowship with one another. Man was not made to be alone, for did not the Lord God say this, even before the Fall (Genesis 2:18\)? How much more, then, after the Fall of Man, do we need to come together with our brothers and sisters in Christ for seasons of fellowship and prayer? Clearly, this was recognized by the saints of the early church (Acts 2:42–47\), who “devoted themselves” to teaching, fellowship, communion, and prayer, all corporate activities that provided opportunities for sharpening one another. There are two points to make about the above proverb. First, the meeting of two together in the Lord’s name will always guarantee blessing. It is a means of grace that the Lord Himself promised—where two or more are gathered in His name, there He is among them (Matthew 18:20\). Also, we see a similar meaning in Malachi, for those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard (Malachi 3:16\). When we sharpen one another in real Christian fellowship, the Lord bends an ear from heaven and is pleased. Not one word about Him which brings Him glory escapes His notice. The fragrances of divine unity are best sensed in the relationship of David and Jonathan, son of Saul. When David was being hotly pursued by Saul, Jonathan sought David out “to help him find strength in God” (1 Samuel 23:16\), which leads us onto our second point. Iron sharpening iron is an opportunity to fulfill the Law of Christ. The apostle Paul says that we are to carry and share the issues and burdens that we face daily, lament over personal sin, advise on how best to repent of it, and rejoice over the conquest of it. This is the same “royal law” mentioned in James 2:8, where we are exhorted to love one another. Returning to the analogy, if a knife is blunt, it still continues to be a knife, although it is less effective, less useful in service. Let us therefore be encouraged to spend more time together, exhorting, encouraging, praying, admonishing, sharing God’s Word, praying over God’s Word and the needs of our local church, that we become sharper, more cutting in the ministry that the Lord has assigned to each of us. Too often what passes as fellowship in the modern church is centered on food and fun, not on sharpening one another with the Word of God. In far too many instances, the only knives being sharpened are the ones used at potlucks. Finally, a knife that has been sharpened will also shine more because all the dullness has been rubbed off its surface. Likewise, we will shine better for our Lord if we do the things mentioned above consistently, all of which will unite us in harmony. “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity” (Psalm 133:1\). Therefore, as the author to the Hebrews says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24–25\).
What is the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society?	Answer The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is an organization directed by the leaders of the [Jehovah’s Witnesses](Jehovahs-Witnesses.html). The Watchtower Society was founded in 1884 and is currently located in Warwick, New York. The Watchtower possesses tremendous control over its members and has gone so far as to produce its own translation of the Bible called the [New World Translation](New-World-Translation.html). The Society has gone through several presidents since its founding and has positioned itself as a major competitor to evangelical Christianity. While claiming to be the only legitimate followers of Jehovah God, the Watchtower denies and even opposes several of the fundamental doctrines of the historic Christian faith. To begin with, the Watchtower gets wrong one of the most important of all religious questions: [Who is Jesus Christ?](who-is-Jesus.html) The Watchtower Society teaches that Jesus Christ is actually the first creation of Jehovah God, not God incarnate as the Bible clearly teaches (Titus 2:13; Colossians 2:9\). In doing so, they have placed Christ in the category of creature rather than acknowledging His rightful place of Creator of all things (Colossians 1:16\-17; John 1:1\-3\). They have repeated the deadly error of Arianism, which was condemned as heresy by the Christian Church at the Council of Nicea and is easily refuted by a fair reading of Scripture. Since its inception, the Watchtower has denied the biblical teaching of the triune God (one Being who exists as three co\-equal, co\-eternal Persons) and gone so far as to say that the God of Christianity is a satanic counterfeit. [Charles Taze Russell](Charles-Taze-Russell.html), the founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and a former President of the Society, even referred to the Christian concept of God as, “the devil himself.” The God of the Watchtower is not the biblical God and is therefore not capable of saving people from their sins. In an attempt to justify their doctrines through biblical exegesis, the Society produced their own translation of the Scriptures in 1961\. This translation, known as the New World Translation, is regarded by the Jehovah’s Witnesses as the only faithful rendering of the biblical text. The NWT is unique in that it is the first intentional, systematic effort at producing a complete version of the Bible that is edited and revised for the specific purpose of agreeing with a group’s doctrine. Greek scholars from across the theological spectrum have repeatedly criticized the NWT as an inaccurate rendering of key biblical passages. The late Dr. Bruce Metzger, formerly Professor of New Testament Language at Princeton Theological Seminary and author of several highly acclaimed books on textual criticism, stated, “The Jehovah’s Witnesses have incorporated in their translations of the New Testament several quite erroneous renderings of the Greek.” Dr. Robert Countess, who completed his Ph.D. dissertation in Greek on the New World Translation, is on record as saying that the Watchtower’s translation “has been sharply unsuccessful in keeping doctrinal considerations from influencing the actual translation. It must be viewed as a radically biased piece of work. At some points it is actually dishonest.” A further reason to reject the claims of the Watchtower is their long history of engaging in false prophecy. The Watchtower Society has on numerous occasions predicted in print the end of the world, the most recent dates being in 1946, 1950, and 1975\. What makes their false prophecy all the more damning is when their false predictions are seen in the light of their claim to be "the true prophetic mouthpiece for God on earth at this time." The Society’s history of false prophecy stands in stark contrast to the standard for a true prophet laid out in Scripture: "If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him" (Deuteronomy 18:22\). Moreover, the Watchtower continues to engage in cultic manipulation of its people through the prohibition of military service, the celebration of holidays, and the saluting of the nation’s flag. The impetus for these restrictions is rooted in their false claim to be the exclusive organized collection of Jehovah’s people. The Watchtower views these practices as devices of Satan to lead people away from Jehovah. The Watchtower sees the entire “world system” (any activity not connected with the Watchtower) as connected to Satan and is thus prohibited. This would include the practice of [blood transfusions](blood-transfusions.html), which the Watchtower wrongly believes to be prohibited by Scripture. The Watchtower has stated that a blood transfusion "may result in the immediate and very temporary prolongation of life, but at the cost of eternal life for a dedicated Christian." The Society wrongly assumes that the biblical prohibition against eating blood (Genesis 9:4; Acts 15:28\-29\) extends all the way to the modern practice of blood transfusions, a restriction that, in practice, has cost the very lives of many Jehovah’s Witnesses and even their children. Despite a track record of repeated false prophecies, a cultic isolation of their own people, and a flagrant mistranslation of the Bible to justify their own theology, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society continues to gain unsuspecting converts every year. It is the job of biblically faithful Christians to be prepared to refute these errors with sound doctrine (Titus 1:9\). As Jude tells us, we must "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints" (Jude 3\). We highly recommend [Witnesses for Jesus](https://www.4witness.org/) for more information.
What is Calvary Chapel?	Answer The Calvary Chapel church movement was born out of Costa Mesa, California, in the early 1960s. In 1965, the church hired [Chuck Smith](Chuck-Smith.html) as its pastor. Under his leadership, the church has grown into a fellowship of over 1,300 churches, making it one of the ten largest Protestant denominations/associations in the United States. Calvary Chapel churches are known for their vibrant worship, systematic Bible teaching, and strong missionary fervor. Chuck Smith received his training at LIFE Bible College (now LIFE Pacific) and served for 17 years as a pastor in the [Foursquare Church](Foursquare-Church.html) before beginning his ministry in Costa Mesa. In his ministry at Calvary Chapel, Smith has held firmly to conservative and evangelical theology, while also holding on to some aspects of [charismatic](Charismatic-movement.html) teaching, expressing neither strict charismatic nor [cessationist](cessationism.html) beliefs. With this foundation, there is a lot of room for varying beliefs in regards to the spiritual gifts within Calvary Chapel churches. While virtually all Calvary Chapel pastors are solidly evangelical, Calvary Chapel churches do not strongly emphasize doctrinal differences that can lead to division in the body of Christ. Early in Calvary Chapel’s ministry, the church began reaching out to the hippie culture that was so prevalent on California beaches. As these hippies became “[Jesus Freaks](Jesus-freak.html),” they were welcomed into Calvary Chapel, and the church began to grow exponentially. The church was among the first to emphasize contemporary worship and a welcoming atmosphere for non\-Christians while at the same time not neglecting the proclamation of the truth of God’s Word. [Willow Creek](Willow-Creek.html) and the [Vineyard Fellowship](Vineyard-Movement.html) were influenced or birthed from Calvary Chapel, although they have since diverged significantly from Calvary Chapel on some beliefs and practices. The contemporary Christian music movement was also helped immensely by the church. There were several music groups at Calvary, and Chuck Smith started Maranatha! Music to help them distribute their songs. From that start with the “Jesus Freaks” in the 1960s, the church has gradually made a change from being a fringe element of evangelical Christianity to being one of the pillars of the evangelical movement. Many Calvary Chapel pastors have ministries which are widely respected by those outside of the group. The immensely positive influences of Calvary Chapel churches and pastors are present in virtually every avenue of evangelicalism. A possible concern about the Calvary Chapel church movement is the claim that certain Calvary Chapel pastors develop an almost authoritarian rule over their churches, following the “[Moses model](Moses-model.html)” of church structure and believing they are accountable only to God. Pastors who see themselves as “Moses” to their congregations may be tempted to “lay down the law” and expect everyone else to conform. As with all other church denominations/associations, there will be variations in different Calvary Chapel churches. Overall, the Calvary Chapel church movement is solidly biblical and strongly evangelical. While we always encourage people to be prayerful and discerning about what church they attend, and while Got Questions Ministries is not in the business of endorsing specific churches/denominations/associations, we have absolutely no reason to discourage people from visiting, attending, and joining Calvary Chapel churches.
What is the occult?	Answer The dictionary defines occult as “hidden, secret and mysterious, particularly pertaining to the supernatural.” Examples of occult practices are [astrology](astrology-Bible.html), [witchcraft (Wicca)](Wicca.html), the black arts, fortune telling, magic (both [black](black-magic.html) and [white](white-magic.html)), Ouija boards, [Tarot cards](tarot-cards.html), spiritism, parapsychology, and [Satanism](satanism.html). Human beings have always been interested the occult, from ancient times until today. Occult practices and psychic phenomena have captivated millions of people worldwide, and this is not limited to the ignorant or uneducated. There are several factors that make the occult fascinating to everyone, even in our age of technological and scientific advances. For one thing, occult practices appeal to our natural curiosity. Many people who get involved in the occult begin with “harmless” practices such as playing with a [Ouija board](ouija-boards.html) out of simple curiosity. Many who have experimented this way have found themselves going deeper and deeper into the occult. Unfortunately, this type of involvement is akin to quicksand—easy to get into and difficult to get out of. Another fascination of the occult is that it appears to offer quick and easy answers to life’s questions. The astrologer gladly charts your future, the Ouija board and Tarot cards give you direction, and the psychic gets you in touch with your Aunt Esther who tells you all is fine in the afterlife. Occult practices are controlled by demons, who offer just enough information to keep their victims intrigued, while exerting more and more control over gullible hearts and minds. The danger of occult practices cannot be overstated. God strictly warned the Israelites against being involved with the occult (Leviticus 20:6\). The pagan nations that surrounded Israel were steeped in divination, sorcery, witchcraft, and spiritism, and this is one reason why God gave His people the authority to drive them out of the land (Deuteronomy 18:9–14\). The New Testament says that the rise of interest in the occult is a sign of the end of the age: “The \[Holy] Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Timothy 4:1\). How are we to recognize the occult and those who promote it? An incident involving Paul and Barnabas in the early days of the church is a good place to start. They “traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar\-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, ‘You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?’” (Acts 13:6–10\). In this account, we see several characteristics of those involved in the occult. They are false prophets (verse 6\) who deny the basic doctrines of Christianity: the deity of Christ, the fall of man into sin, heaven, hell, salvation and the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Second, they seek to influence other people, particularly those in positions of power, to turn them from the faith (verses 6\-7\). Third, they do everything in their power to keep the true gospel of Christ from being spread, opposing His ministers at every turn (verse 8\). When the truth of the gospel is curtailed, watered down, or flatly rejected, Satan and his demons rejoice. There is no mistaking the fact that the occult in all its forms should be avoided. We are to “be self\-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8\). Part of being self\-controlled and alert is being wise to Satan’s schemes, but not to delve into the details of every occult practice and phenomenon. We are to understand the devil’s ultimate goal—the destruction of our souls—and take the offense by putting on the “full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10–18\). Only then can we stand firm and extinguish the “flaming arrows” of the evil one.
Can a person be born gay?	Answer In 1996, The Advocate, a gay and lesbian magazine, asked readers what they believed the potential impact would be to the advancement of gay and lesbian rights if a scientific discovery proves a biological basis for homosexuality. About 61 percent of the magazine’s readers asserted that such scientific research would advance the cause of gays and lesbians and lead to more positive attitudes toward homosexuality. For example, if one can be born gay, much as one can be born with brown eyes, then a fair society could not possibly condemn him as being unnatural or immoral. To that end, gay activists and the liberal media have actively encouraged the idea that homosexuality is inherited and unchangeable, and researchers have diligently sought scientific evidence to back up that claim. Unfortunately for the pro\-homosexuality movement, the research on this subject has failed to establish any scientific evidence that shows a purely genetic basis for homosexuality. The controversy began with the work of Simon LeVay, M.D. In 1991, LeVay tested the brains of 41 cadavers and noted differences between homosexual versus heterosexual males. The hypothalamus, an area believed to regulate sexual activity, was smaller in homosexual males than in heterosexuals. Dr. LeVay believed the differences proved a biological basis for homosexuality, but he failed to consider a variety of reasons, other than genetic, that the brains were different. First, all 19 of the homosexual cadavers had died of AIDS, a disease known to affect the neurological system. It could be that the disease had shrunk the hypothalamus. Second, scientists who study brain biochemistry know that the way a person thinks affects the way his brain functions; specifically, it affects the neurochemicals released in the brain and the way certain pathways grow and change. Could the structural brain differences have started with the difference in thoughts between homosexuals and heterosexuals, rather than with genetics? Third, there is no proof linking hypothalamus size with homosexuality, either as a cause or effect. In 1993, Dr. Dean Hamer, a pro\-gay activist, made the astounding claim in his research that there may be a gene for homosexuality. His team of researchers began a series of gene linkage studies, in which families with several homosexuals underwent genetic analysis to determine if any chromosomal variants could be found in the family and if the variant correlated with those individuals who displayed the homosexuality. Although Hamer’s study sample was very small, he found a significant linkage between gays and a marker on the maternal X chromosome, Xq28\. Additional studies with larger sample sizes produced conflicting results in the linkage to Xq28\. It is important to note that Hamer’s experiments have never been validated; in fact, other groups of researchers have discredited Hamer’s work as non\-replicable or even fraudulent. Even if there were some genetic commonalities among homosexuals, associated characteristics do not prove a causal link. To illustrate, a genetic study among professional athletes would probably show that a significant percentage of these stars share certain genetic sequences. One might erroneously conclude that the genetic sequences for increased speed, agility and strength prove that engaging in professional sports is a heritable trait. However, no genetic sequence can account for human choice and the effects of environment. People who have the genetic traits of an athlete may naturally gravitate toward professional sports or be encouraged to play. Although athletes share some common traits, being a professional athlete itself is not heritable. The culture in which an individual matures and the choices he makes decide his career path. There are many researchers who cite environmental factors as major contributors to homosexual feelings. They strongly believe that negative early childhood experiences in an unloving or non\-supportive home environment are a critical part of this process. Common elements seem to include an emotionally withdrawn or physically absent father and an overbearing, fawning, or over\-protective mother. In many cases, there are reports of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. Disruption of gender identification may contribute to the development toward homosexuality. This process begins between ages two and four. During this phase, children move from their primary connection with the mother to seek out deeper attachments with the parent of the same gender. For males, the relationship between a boy and his father is the primary means of developing a secure gender identity. As a father and son share time together, the father expresses his value and interest in the son and gives to the son a sense of masculinity. The boy begins to develop a sense of his own gender by understanding himself in relation to his father. Conversely, a mother who is distant, abusive, or physically absent or a mother who is viewed by her daughter as being weak (such as when the mother is abused by males) may disrupt her daughter’s identification with being feminine. Peer attachments with same\-sex friends also play a role in developing gender identity. Eventually, after years of interaction and bonding with same\-sex peers, children enter puberty and begin to pay attention to the opposite sex. When this natural process is disrupted, it feels natural for a child to love and crave the attention of those of the same sex. When children with certain temperaments initially perceive rejection of the same\-sex parent, they detach and bond with the other parent. They begin to adopt the patterns and attributes of the opposite sex. However, there is always a longing for a connection with the same\-sex parent, love and affirmation from the same gender. These children believe that they were born that way, having craved love and attachment with the same\-sex parents for as long as they can remember. Homosexual behavior thus begins as an emotional craving, not a sexual craving. It reflects a legitimate need for non\-sexual love, an emotional need that ultimately becomes sexualized with the onset of puberty. Most researchers have concluded that sexual orientation is a complex, multifactorial issue in which biological, social, and psychological factors combine to play a role in the ultimate sexual orientation of an individual. According to Julie Harren, Ph.D., the formula for this interplay between factors might be represented by these equations: \-\-Genes \+ Brain Wiring \+ Prenatal Hormonal Environment \= Temperament. \-\-Parents \+ Peers \+ Experiences \= Environment. \-\-Temperament \+ Environment \= Homosexual Orientation. What’s missing from these equations are the existence of a soul, the choice of the individual, and the temptation of the devil (see James 1:14\). Although it may be easier, psychologically, for a homosexual to believe that homosexuality is inborn, the accumulated scientific evidence suggests otherwise. Homosexuals may have a genetic predisposition, but human choice is still a factor. A predisposition is not a constraint. Ultimately, sexual orientation is determined outside of the womb. For those who are unhappy living a homosexual lifestyle, this truth offers hope for change. Clinical experience has shown that, with help, some homosexuals can change learned responses and defense mechanisms to early painful experiences. In 1 Corinthians 6:9\-10, the sin of homosexuality is listed right next to theft. Just as there is no genetic excuse for stealing, there is no genetic excuse for homosexuality. Environment, culture, and choice make one a thief, and the same factors make one a homosexual. Christ died for homosexuals. God loves persons of all sexual orientations, just as He loves all sinners. The Bible says, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8\). Jesus Christ "is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2\). The gospel of Christ "is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16\). In Christ alone we find the definitive source for healing, restoration, forgiveness, and comfort. He is the way by which we can all experience the affirming, unconditional love, value, and acceptance of our Father in heaven.
What is the importance of Christian fellowship?	Answer In order to understand the importance of Christian fellowship, we must first understand what Christian fellowship is and what it isn’t. The Greek words translated “fellowship” in the New Testament mean essentially a partnership to the mutual benefit of those involved. Christian fellowship, then, is the mutually beneficial relationship between Christians, who can’t have the identical relationship with those outside the faith. The mystery and privilege that is Christian fellowship is that it exists because God has enabled it by His grace. Those who believe the gospel are united in the Spirit through Christ to the Father, and that unity is the basis of fellowship. This relationship is described by Jesus in His high\-priestly prayer for His followers: “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:23\). The “complete unity” He refers to is the oneness that Christians experience in true fellowship, oneness with one another, with Christ and with the Father. Just as the Father is in Jesus, so is Jesus in us, and we have unity with one another because of the uniqueness of that relationship (1 John 1:3\). This relationship must be the basis of Christian fellowship. We can have friendships and relationships with unbelievers, but true Christian fellowship can only occur within the body of Christ. We are united to one another by common beliefs, purposes, and goals. Our hearts and minds are “other\-worldly” because we follow Jesus Christ, who said that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36\). We know that we are strangers in this world, and we long for the time when we will be in our true home, heaven. The importance of true Christian fellowship is that it reinforces these things in our mind and helps us to focus on Christ and His desires and goals for us. As [iron sharpens iron](iron-sharpens-iron.html), in true Christian fellowship Christians sharpen one another’s faith and stir one another to exercise that faith in love and good works, all to God’s glory.
What is the meaning and significance of the Temple Mount?	Answer The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism, the third holiest site in Islam, and a revered site to Christians. To the Jews it is known as Har HaMoriyah (“Mount Moriah”) and Har HaBayit (“Temple Mount”); to Muslims it is known as Haram el Sharif (“the Sacred Noble Sanctuary”). In the Bible it is also called Mount Zion (Psalm 48:2; Isaiah 4:5\). Because of its importance to three major religions, its ownership has been hotly contested for nearly two thousand years. Today the Temple Mount is under the control of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, a trust that was established in 1187 to manage the Islamic structures in Jerusalem. Under their current rules, access to the holy sites is prohibited to all non\-Muslims. According to the Bible (Genesis 22:1–14\), God told Abraham to bring his son Isaac to the land of Moriah (meaning “Chosen by Yah”) and offer him as a sacrifice on a mountain there. As Abraham was about to complete the sacrifice, God stopped him and provided a ram as a substitutionary sacrifice. In this same location, nearly 1,000 years later, God led Solomon to build the [First Temple](Solomon-first-temple.html) (2 Chronicles 3:1\). David had identified this location as the place for worshiping God because it was here the plague was stayed when he confessed his sin, and he purchased the place so he could build an altar (1 Chronicles 21:18–26\). Solomon’s Temple stood until the Babylonians destroyed it in 586 BC. Zerubbabel led the efforts to build the Second Temple, which was completed in 516 BC, then enlarged by Herod the Great in 12 BC. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, fulfilling Jesus’ words in Mark 13:1–2\. As the Roman Empire was fading, Mohammed and his teaching of Islam was rising in the Middle East. According to the Quran (Surah 17:1\), Mohammed made a miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem in AD 621\. There he led worship at “the farthest mosque,” was lifted to heaven, and returned to earth to carry on his teachings. At that time there was no mosque in Jerusalem, but 15 years later, Caliph Umar built a small mosque to commemorate the prophet’s night visit. The Al Aqsa Mosque (“the farthest mosque”) was built in AD 705, then rebuilt in 754, 780, and 1035\. [The Dome of the Rock](Dome-of-the-Rock.html) was built in AD 692 over the place where Mohammad supposedly ascended to heaven. This rock is also identified by Christians and Jews as the place where Abraham offered Isaac and the location of the Holy of Holies in the Jewish temple. During the Crusades, Christians took temporary control of the Temple Mount, and the Al Aqsa Mosque was used as a palace and church in 1099\. The Temple Mount continues to be the center of controversy today. Though they are barred from entering the Muslim areas, Jews pray at the Western Wall (also known as the [Wailing Wall](Wailing-Wall.html)), part of the remaining structure of the Temple Mount from the time of the Second Temple. The Islamic Waqf has created controversy with their decision to allow major renovations to the underground areas of the Temple Mount without regard to archaeological artifacts. Huge loads of earth have been removed from the area and dumped elsewhere. Archaeologists sifting through the dumped earth have recovered several artifacts of Jewish origin, though nothing that can be directly tied to the Jewish temple. Many Jews are making preparations for the Third Temple to be built on the site, and Christians also look with interest on those preparations. According to the prophecy of Daniel 9:27, it appears that there will be another temple built, for there will be sacrifices that are stopped by the Antichrist. Since the other parts of Daniel’s prophecies were fulfilled literally, leading up to Jesus’ life and death, we look for this part to be literally fulfilled also.
If God hates human sacrifice, how could Jesus’ sacrifice be the payment for our sins?	Answer The Bible makes it quite clear that God hates human sacrifice. The pagan nations that surrounded the Israelites practiced human sacrifice as part of the worship of false gods. God declared that such “worship” was detestable to Him and that He hates it (Deuteronomy 12:31; 18:10\). Furthermore, human sacrifice is associated in the Old Testament with evil practices such as sorcery and divination, which are also detestable to God (2 Kings 21:6\). So, if God hates human sacrifice, why did He sacrifice Christ on the cross and how could that sacrifice be the payment for our sins? There is no doubt that a sacrifice for sin was necessary if people are to have any hope of eternal life. God established the necessity of the shedding of blood to cover sin (Hebrews 9:22\). In fact, God Himself performed the very first animal sacrifice to cover, temporarily, the sin of Adam and Eve. After He pronounced curses upon the first couple, He killed an animal, shedding its blood, and made from it a covering for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21\), thereby instituting the principle of animal sacrifice for sin. When God gave the Law to Moses, there were extensive instructions on how, when, and under what circumstances animal sacrifices were to be offered to Him. This was to continue until Christ came to offer the ultimate, perfect sacrifice, which made animal sacrifice no longer necessary. “But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:3–4\). There are several reasons why the sacrifice of Christ on the cross does not violate the prohibition against human sacrifice. First, Jesus wasn’t merely human. If He were, then His sacrifice would have also been a temporary one because one human life couldn’t possibly cover the sins of the multitudes who ever existed. Neither could one finite human life atone for sin against an infinite God. The only viable sacrifice must be an infinite one, which means only God Himself could atone for the sins of mankind. Only God Himself, an infinite Being, could pay the penalty owed to Himself. This is why God had to become a Man and dwell among men (John 1:14\). No other sacrifice would suffice. Second, God didn’t sacrifice Jesus. Rather, Jesus, as God incarnate, sacrificed Himself. No one forced Him. He laid down His life willingly, as He made clear speaking about His life: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again” (John 10:18\). God the Son sacrificed Himself to God the Father and thereby fulfilled all the requirements of the Law. Unlike the temporary sacrifices, Jesus’ once\-for\-all\-time sacrifice was followed by His resurrection. He laid down His life and took it up again, thereby providing eternal life for all who would ever believe in Him and accept His sacrifice for their sins. He did this out of love for the Father and for all those the Father has given Him (John 6:37–40\).
What is the meaning of the strange fire in Leviticus 10:1?	Answer In order to understand the phrase “strange fire,” we must review the story in Leviticus in which it appears. The first tabernacle had been erected, and Aaron was doing a lot of sacrificing per God’s instructions (Leviticus 8—9\). One day, two of Aaron’s sons, [Nadab and Abihu](Nadab-and-Abihu.html), came along and offered incense with “strange fire.” The Hebrew word translated “strange” means “unauthorized, foreign, or profane.” God not only rejected their sacrifice; He found it so offensive that He consumed the two men with fire. After Nadab and Abihu were killed, Moses explained to Aaron why God had done such a harsh thing: “This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: ‘Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored’” (Leviticus 10:3\). The exact nature of the profane fire isn’t known, but, since it was the fire that was unauthorized, it could be that Nadab and Abihu were burning the incense with fire of their own making rather than taking fire from the altar, as specified in Leviticus 16:12\. Or it could have been that the two men came into the tabernacle drunk and therefore could not remember what was a violation and what was not (Leviticus 10:8–9\). Whatever it was the men did to render the offering profane, it was a sign of their disregard for the utter holiness of God and the need to honor and obey Him in solemn and holy fear. Their carelessness and irreverence were their downfall. In judging Nadab and Abihu for their strange fire, God was making a point to all the other priests who would serve in His tabernacle—and later, in His temple—and to us, as well. Since this was the first time sacrifices were being offered on the altar and Israel was getting to know the living God better, when Aaron’s sons were disobedient and profane, God displayed His displeasure in no uncertain terms. God was not going to allow the disobedience of Aaron’s sons to set a precedent for future disregard of His Law. A [similar story](Ananias-and-Sapphira.html) occurs in Acts 5:1–11, during the time of the early church. A husband and wife lie to Peter about some land given to the church, and they are judged with physical death because of their lie. As Peter puts it, “You have not lied just to human beings but to God” (Acts 5:4\). God knows our hearts. He knows what we truly believe and our attitude toward Him. We cannot offer to Him proud “sacrifices” that are unworthy of Him. He seeks those who come to Him in humility, ready to sacrifice their pride and lay before Him humble and contrite hearts grieving for sin (Psalm 51:17\). Certainly, there is grace and forgiveness and plenty of “second chances” for those who belong to Him. But God wants us to know that He is serious when it comes to His honor and glory. If there is willful disobedience in the life of a believer, then God disciplines us out of His great love for us (Hebrews 12:7–11\). If such disobedience continues, God will take harsher measures until we understand how we are disappointing Him. If we continue in our disobedience even after that, then God has every right to remove us from this earth (see 1 Corinthians 11:29–30\).
Is the atonement of Christ unlimited?	Answer The Bible has much to say on the atonement of Christ. The question is whether His sacrifice provided [limited](limited-atonement.html) or unlimited atonement. The word atonement means “satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends.” The doctrine of unlimited atonement states that Christ died for all people, whether or not they would ever believe in Him. When applied to Jesus’ finished work on the cross, atonement concerns the reconciliation of God and humankind, as accomplished through the suffering and death of Christ. Paul highlights the atoning work of Jesus when he says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:8–10\). How this reparation of wrongs or reconciliation was accomplished and what was involved in the act, has been debated by theologians for centuries. There are at least nine different [positions on the atonement](atonement-theories.html) of Christ, ranging anywhere from the atonement being merely a positive example for us (the Moral Example theory) to its being a judicial, substitutionary act (the Penal Substitution theory). But perhaps the most controversial debate concerning the atonement of Jesus centers on what is referred to as “limited” or “definite” atonement. One theological camp (comprised primarily of those holding to Arminianism and Wesleyanism) believes that Christ died on the cross for everyone who will ever live. The other theological camp—made up of Reformed thinkers, who are often called “Calvinists” after the Reformer John Calvin—say that Jesus only died for those whom the Father chose from the foundation of the world to be saved. This group of redeemed individuals is often referred to as the “elect” or the “chosen” of God. Which position is correct? Did Jesus die for everyone in the world or only a select group of individuals? Is Everyone Going to be Saved? In examining this issue, the first question to ask is this: is everyone going to be saved through the atoning work of Christ? Those holding to a position called [universalism](universalism.html) say “yes.” The universalists argue that, because Christ died for everyone and all the sins of humanity were laid on/punished in Christ, everyone will spend eternity with God. Scripture, however, stands in opposition to such teaching (which can be traced back to a teacher named Laelius Socinus in the 16th century). The Bible makes it abundantly clear that many people will be lost, with just a few verses highlighting this fact following: • “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2\) • “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13–14\) • “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:22–23\) • “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25:46\) • “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9\) • “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15\) Since not everyone will be saved, there is one inescapable fact to understand: the atonement of Christ is limited. If it isn’t, then universalism must be true, and yet Scripture clearly teaches that not everyone is going to be saved. So, unless one is a universalist and can defeat the biblical evidence above, then one must hold to some form of limited atonement. How, Then, Is the Atonement Limited? The next important question to examine is this: if the atonement is limited (and it is), how is it limited? Jesus’ famous statement in John 3:16 provides the answer: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” In this passage, the necessary condition that limits the atonement is found: “whosoever believes” (literally in the Greek: “all the believing ones”). In other words, the atonement is limited to those who believe and only those who believe. Who Limits the Atonement? Both theological camps previously mentioned will not argue this point – the atonement of Christ is limited to those who believe. The disagreement occurs over the next question that arises: who limits the atonement—God or man? Calvinists/Reformed thinkers maintain that God limits the atonement by choosing those whom He will save, and thus God only placed on Christ the sins of those He had chosen for salvation. The Arminian/Wesleyan position states that God does not limit the reparation of Christ, but instead it is humanity that limits the atonement by freely choosing to accept or reject the offer that God makes to them for salvation. A common way for the Arminian/Wesleyan theologians to state their position is that the atonement is unlimited in its invitation but limited in its application. God offers the invitation to all; however, only those who respond in faith to the gospel message have the work of the atonement applied to their spiritual condition. To support the position that humanity, and not God, limits the atonement, the Arminian/Wesleyan lists a number of Scripture verses, including the following: • “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2, emphasis added) • “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”” (John 1:29, emphasis added) • “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh” (John 6:51, emphasis added) • “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (John 12:32, emphasis added) • “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time” (1 Timothy 2:5–6, emphasis added) • “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9, emphasis added) • “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (2 Peter 2:1, emphasis added) In addition to the biblical references above, the Arminian/Wesleyan theologian also provides a number of logical arguments to support their case. The most common is that, if God is all\-loving, how could Christ not die for everyone? Doesn’t God love each and every person (cf. John 3:16\)? They see an atonement limited by God as a denial of the [omnibenevolence](God-omnibenevolent.html) of God. Furthermore, the Arminian/Wesleyan believes that an atonement limited by God is devastating to the gospel message. How can an evangelist preach that “Christ died for you” if Christ did not indeed die for all? There is a complete lack of confidence, they say, in making the statement to any one person that Christ died for them because the evangelist has no real idea (given an atonement limited by God) if that is really the case. Unlimited Atonement—the Conclusion Unless one is a universalist and believes that everyone will ultimately be saved, a Christian must hold to some form of a limited atonement. The key area of disagreement is over who limits that atonement—God or man? Those wishing to hold to a God\-limited atonement must answer the biblical arguments put forth by those holding to a human\-limited atonement and also explain how God can be described in Scripture as being all\-loving and yet not have His Son die for everyone.
Should we worship Jesus?	Answer The answer to this question largely hinges on Jesus’ identity. If Jesus is regarded as deity in the same sense as His Father, then we should worship Jesus. If the New Testament documents identify Jesus with Yahweh, then we should worship Jesus. If He is merely a prophet of God, the worship of Jesus would not be appropriate. Given the Bible’s insistence that worship is to be directed to God alone, any God\-fearing individual will need a satisfactory answer to this all\-important question. The apostle Paul called Jesus “our great God and Savior” (Titus 2:13\) and points out that, prior to His incarnation, Jesus existed in the “form of God” (Philippians 2:5–8\). God the Father says regarding Jesus, “Your throne, O God will last forever and ever” (Hebrews 1:8\). The apostle John says that “in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word \[Jesus] was God” (John 1:1\). Other passages identify Jesus as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16–17; Hebrews 1:2\). Jesus receives worship several times in the Gospels (Matthew 2:11; 28:9, 17; Luke 24:52; John 9:38; 20:28\). Jesus is never said to reject such adoration. Rather, He accepts such worship as well placed. So, does the Bible portray Jesus as fully deity? The answer is certainly “yes.” With that being said, Christians need to recognize that the Bible also teaches the deity of the Father (John 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Peter 1:2\) as well as the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3–4; 1 Corinthians 3:16\). And yet the Scriptures teach that there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:4\). How can this be? The Christian church has historically taught that the Bible is clearly portraying God as one Being who exists in three Persons. This doctrine is known as the [Trinity](Trinity-Bible.html). Dr. James White, author of [The Forgotten Trinity](https://www.christianbook.com/the-forgotten-trinity-james-white/9781556617256/pd/17259?event=AFF&p=1011693&), has provided what we believe to be a helpful definition of the Trinity. Here it is: “Within the one Being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and coeternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” We contend that this is the clear teaching of Scripture and should be affirmed by any biblically faithful Christian. These biblical distinctions go a long way in providing the proper balance in Christian worship. We must not overemphasize our adoration for any one Person in the Godhead at the expense of another. The Bible teaches that, while the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit perform unique functions and have different roles, all three Persons of the Godhead are equal in power and majesty. In summary, the Bible teaches that Jesus of Nazareth is nothing less than God the Son, the second Person of the Triune God (Trinity). In view of this, He is due our full worship and devotion. To fail to worship Jesus Christ would be sinful.
How should we understand the Lion and the Lamb passage?	Answer Typically, when someone is thinking of the “lion and the lamb,” Isaiah 11:6 is in mind due to it often being misquoted, “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together.” The true “Lion and the Lamb” passage is Revelation 5:5–6\. The Lion and the Lamb both refer to Jesus Christ. He is both the conquering [Lion of the tribe of Judah](lion-tribe-Judah.html) and the Lamb who was slain. The Lion and the Lamb are descriptions of two aspects of the nature of Christ. As the Lion of Judah, He fulfills the prophecy of Genesis 49:9 and is the Messiah who would come from the tribe of Judah. As the [Lamb of God](Jesus-Lamb-of-God.html), He is the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for sin. The scene of Revelation 4—5 is the heavenly throne room. After receiving the command to write to the seven churches in Asia Minor, John is “caught up in the spirit” to the throne room in heaven where he is to receive a series of visions that culminate in the ultimate victory of Christ at the end of the age. Revelation 4 shows us the endless praise that God receives from the angels and the 24 elders. Chapter 5 begins with John noticing that there is a scroll in the “right hand of him who was seated on the throne.” The scroll has writing on the inside and is sealed with seven seals. After giving us a description of the scroll, an angel proclaims with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” John begins to despair when no one comes forth to answer the angel’s challenge. One of the 24 elders encourages John to “weep no more,” and points out that the Lion of the tribe of Judah has come to take and open the scroll. The Lion of the tribe of Judah is obviously a reference to Christ. The image of the lion is meant to convey kingship. Jesus is worthy to receive and open the scroll because he is the King of God’s people. Back in Genesis 49:9, when Jacob was blessing his sons, Judah is referred to as a “lion’s cub,” and in verse 10 we learn that the “scepter shall not depart from Judah.” The scepter is a symbol of lordship and power. This was a prophecy that in Israel the kingly line would be descended from Judah. That prophecy was fulfilled when David succeeded to the throne after the death of King Saul (2 Samuel). David was descended from the line of Judah, and his descendants were the kings in Israel/Judah until the time of the Babylonian captivity in 586 BC. This imagery of kingship is further enhanced when Jesus is described as the “root of David.” This harkens us back to the words of Isaiah the prophet: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. . . . In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:1, 10\). As the root of David, Jesus is not only being identified as a descendant of David, but also the source or “root” of David’s kingly power. Why is Jesus worthy to open the scroll? He is worthy because He “has conquered.” We know that, when Jesus returns, He will conquer all of God’s enemies, as graphically described in Revelation 19\. However, more importantly, Jesus is worthy because He has conquered sin and death at the cross. The cross was the ultimate victory of God over the forces of sin and evil. The events that occur at the return of Christ are the “mop\-up” job to finish what was started at the cross. Because Jesus secured the ultimate victory at Calvary, He is worthy to receive and open the scroll, which contains the righteous judgment of God. Christ’s victory at the cross is symbolized by his appearance as a “Lamb standing, as though it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6\). Prior to the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites were commanded by God to take an unblemished lamb, slay it, and smear its blood on the doorposts of their homes (Exodus 12:1–7\). The blood of the slain lamb would set apart the people of Israel from the people of Egypt when the death angel came during the night to slay the firstborn of the land. Those who had the blood of the lamb would be spared. Fast forward to the days of John the Baptist. When he sees Jesus approaching him, he declares to all present, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29\). Jesus is the ultimate “Passover lamb” who saves His people from eternal death. So when Jesus is referred to as the Lion and the Lamb, we are to see Him as not only the conquering King who will slay the enemies of God at His return, but also as the sacrificial Lamb who took away the reproach of sin from His people so they may share in His ultimate victory.
How can the Bible bring comfort during a difficult time?	Answer The Bible is the [Word of God](Bible-God-Word.html) written to His people and, as such, it contains everything we need to be “complete” (2 Timothy 3:15\-17\). Part of the “everything” we need is comfort. The Bible has a lot to say about comfort and has many passages that comfort us in life’s tough times. Yes, the Bible comforts us! Life is fraught with many difficulties. We all experience setbacks in one way or another. Sometimes they are sudden; sometimes they are gradual. Maybe we have suffered the death of a loved one or been forsaken by a loved one. Maybe our health is poor or our finances are uncertain. Whatever the difficulties, they affect all of us at some point in our lives, and the Bible states that this is inevitable (Job 5:7; Genesis 3:17; Proverbs 22:8\). The Bible is the Word of God (Isaiah 55:11\), written by God’s servants under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21\) and provided as both a guide and an aide to our daily living. How does the Bible comfort us? Perhaps the most important aspect of God’s Word is the promises that are contained within, promises that the Lord makes to those who are prepared to trust Him. It is these promises that bring comfort, promises that feed off the weakest spark of saving faith to provide the reward of comfort, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. There are many promises in the Bible that have to be combined with faith to be realized, for without faith it is impossible to please God, the provider of comfort in times of trouble (Hebrews 11:6; 2 Corinthians 1:5; Psalm 46:1\). Clearly, the promises of God cannot be appropriated in the same way by the unbelieving, with whom God is angry continually (Psalm 7:11\). Nevertheless, it is because of God’s grace, through the work of regeneration that happens at conversion, that these promises are realized and become the very fuel that spurs His people on to greater faith and greater obedience. These things go hand in hand; we trust God’s promises, and He has promised to reward us accordingly with joy, peace, and comfort, intangible things that the world can never supply. One of the greatest ways the Bible comforts is Isaiah 26:3\. Embrace it in faith, asking for the Lord’s help, and there will be no disappointment.
How can I become a prayer warrior?	Answer Although the phrase “prayer warrior” is not found in Scripture, a prayer warrior is generally thought of as a Christian who prays continually and effectively for others in the manner of praying taught in Scripture. Therefore, prayer warriors pray to Father God (Matthew 6:9\) in the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:16; Jude 1:20\) and in the name of Jesus (John 14:13\). To be a warrior in prayer is to engage in the spiritual battle and fight the good fight of faith wearing the full armor of God and “pray\[ing] in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:10\-18\). While all Christians are to be prayer warriors, there are some people who feel they have a special and unique ability to pray and have been called by God to pray as their special ministry. The Bible never specifies certain people who are to pray more often, more diligently, or more effectively than other Christians, but there are diligent pray\-ers who are known for their emphasis on prayer. Paul commands that “requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone” (1 Timothy 2:1\), and he says nothing that would indicate some people are exempt from doing so. All believers in Christ have the Holy Spirit who helps us communicate our prayer requests (Romans 8:26\-27\). All believers are to be praying in the name of Jesus, which means that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, that we trust in Him for everything, including His interceding with the Father for us in all things, and that we live and pray in accordance with God’s will. Praying in Jesus’ name does not mean merely adding “in Jesus’ name” to a prayer. Rather, it means praying in submission to His will. As prayer warriors, we rejoice in all things and have a spirit of thankfulness for what God is doing in our lives and the lives of others, and our own spirits grow day by day as we come to realize the magnitude of our blessings. We know with certainty that God provided the breath we just took (Isaiah 42:5\); that He has forgiven our past, present and future sins (1 John 2:12\); that He loves us with an eternal love (Ephesians 2:4\-7\); and that we have a place in heaven with our Lord (1 Peter 1:3\-5\). Our hearts, then, are filled with joy and peace and overflow with love for God, and we want others to have this same love, joy and peace. Therefore, we work for them by praying. Effective prayer is indeed work. We have to learn to walk with God, so we meditate daily on Him and His ways in order to become more and more humble, which is essential for effective prayer (2 Chronicles 7:13\-15\). We also study Scripture thoughtfully every day to learn what is pleasing to God and therefore what constitutes acceptable prayer. We learn to eliminate hindrances to prayer (Mark 11:25; 1 Peter 3:7; 1 John 3:21\-22\) and not to grieve the Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:30\-32\). We learn that we are in a spiritual battle with Satan, so we must pray for our own spiritual well\-being to maintain our strength and focus in praying for others (Ephesians 6:12\-18\). Prayer warriors have a heart for God, a heart for prayer, a heart for people, and a heart for Christ’s church. Therefore, we pray continually and trust that God answers each prayer according to His perfect will and in His perfect timing.
What does the Bible mean when it refers to the Diaspora?	Answer The word Diaspora is a transliteration of a Greek word that means “to sow throughout” or “to distribute in foreign lands” or “scatter abroad.” Some form of the Greek word is seen in six different New Testament passages, and at its simplest meaning, the Diaspora refers to Jews who were living outside of Israel having been dispersed or scattered to other Gentile countries. In modern parlance, the Diaspora refers to the scattering of the Jews throughout Europe who returned to their homeland in 1948 with the creation of the state of Israel by a United Nations resolution. Throughout the history of Israel, the Jewish people were conquered and sent into exile several different times. While many of them had returned to Israel when the opportunity arose, many others stayed in the Gentile countries. But the forced exile of Jews was only a small part of the reason that Jews would have been scattered throughout much of the Roman Empire during the New Testament time. Other economic and political influences led to many other Jews leaving Israel for more comfortable and profitable lands. There were large Jewish populations in both Egypt and Syria, with an estimated Jewish population in Alexandria, Egypt, alone, of more than one million Jews. During Roman rule many Jews were also taken to Rome as slaves, and there were large Jewish populations in several different parts of the Roman Empire. The Roman historian Mommsen wrote, “The inhabitants of Palestine were only a portion, and not the most important portion, of the Jews; the Jewish communities of Babylonia, Syria, Asia Minor and Egypt were far superior to those of Palestine.” Jews were scattered across so much of the known world that the Jewish historian Josephus wrote that “there is no city, no tribe, whether Greek or barbarian, in which Jewish law and Jewish customs have not taken root.” Clearly, by the time of Christ’s coming, Jews were scattered throughout the Roman Empire. So at the time Jesus began His earthly ministry, there were likely more Jews living outside of Israel than in it. This is important to realize because it helps us to understand just how perfect the timing of Jesus’ coming was. With Greek being widely spoken throughout the Roman Empire and Jews having been scattered or dispersed among the nations, the time was right for Jesus to come and the gospel to spread throughout the Roman Empire. As Galatians 4:4\-5 says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (emphasis added). So, in the broadest meaning of the word, the Diaspora would refer to the countless Jews living outside of Israel, and that is exactly the meaning we see in John 7:35 where the Jewish religious leaders would wonder where Jesus was going and if He was intending to go to “the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks.” Jesus had told them that where He was going they could not come, nor could they find Him. Jesus, of course, was speaking of returning to be with God the Father, but the Jewish leaders thought He was going to be with Jews scattered abroad instead. However, in the rest of the New Testament, the meaning of the Diaspora seems to evolve somewhat. First it refers more specifically to Jewish Christians who were spread out all over the Roman Empire rather than Jews in general. In Acts 8:1–4 we see the gospel being spread as the persecution of Jewish Christians began in Jerusalem, so the Jewish Christians were “scattered” or dispersed “throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria” and “those that were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” Those first Jewish Christians who fled Israel because of the persecution that started after the death of Stephen would have gone throughout the Roman Empire taking the message of Jesus Christ to already established and sizable Jewish communities and synagogues all over the Roman Empire. Again, in Acts 11:19, we see the word used referring to Jewish Christians, who “scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen \[and] traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.” God had allowed—even orchestrated—the spreading of millions of Jews throughout the Roman Empire to serve as a key part in the rapid spread of the gospel. As Jewish Christians were forced to flee Jerusalem due to persecution, they were able to travel to almost any part of the world and find a Jewish population and a Jewish synagogue from which to share the gospel of Christ. Because the Jews already knew the Old Testament, the background was set and the timing was perfect for the gospel to spread throughout the nations. So, when James wrote in his Epistle that he was writing to “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1\), he was clearly writing to Jewish Christians whom God had scattered throughout the Roman Empire. But then Peter’s use of the term takes on an even fuller meaning and now involves both Jewish and Gentile Christians who were scattered throughout the provinces in Asia Minor: “To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1\). We know from the context of 1 Peter that he is writing to both Jewish and Gentile Christians, so we see the word Diaspora now referring to Christians in general, both Jew and Gentile. In looking at the different passages where this word is found, we can see how the meaning of Diaspora has somewhat evolved in the New Testament. Originally, it referred to all Jews who lived outside of Israel. Then it took on a more limited meaning, referring specifically to Jewish Christians who were scattered throughout the Roman Empire. Finally, we see an even more general meaning as it applies to both Jewish and Gentile Christians who were scattered around an often hostile world.
What does the Bible mean when it refers to holy ground?	Answer The phrase “holy ground” is found only twice in the Bible, once in the Old Testament and once in the New. God Himself first identified the area in which He met with Moses on Mount Horeb (Sinai) as holy ground. It was there that God commanded Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand that he let the people go from bondage to Egypt. At the moment Moses came upon the burning bush out of which God spoke to him, God gave him two commands: don’t come near and take off your sandals. Both commands were to impress upon Moses that he was standing on holy ground (Exodus 3:5\). Joshua 5:15 describes a similar incident, but the phrase "holy ground" is not used. It was not that the actual ground on which Moses stood was holy; rather, it was the presence of the holy God that made it holy. The direction to Moses to remove his shoes was in conformity with what was well known to Moses, for, having been brought up in Egypt, he would have known that the Egyptian priests observed the custom in their temples. Today it is observed in all Eastern countries where the people take off their shoes or sandals before entering mosques and synagogues as a confession of personal defilement and conscious unworthiness to stand in the presence of unspotted holiness. Moses responds by not only removing his shoes, but also by hiding his face, a sign that he understood he was in the presence of the glory of the divine Majesty and was conscious of his own sinfulness and unworthiness. In fact, Moses was so aware of God’s holiness that he was afraid to look at Him (Exodus 3:6\). In the New Testament, the event described in Exodus is reiterated by Stephen as he was preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ before the Sanhedrin. He recounted the history of the Jews and their dealings with the God of their forefathers (Acts 6—7\). He reminded them of the incident of the holy ground on which Moses stood and spoke to God (Acts 7:33\). The holy ground was rendered sacred by the presence of God, who is the very essence of holiness. The lesson for us is that we should enter the sanctuary, the place set apart for divine worship, with reverence in our hearts. Solemn awe and deep seriousness are appropriate for coming into the place set apart for the worship of God, for wherever the Lord is constitutes holy ground.
Who was Moloch?	Answer As with many details in ancient history, the exact origin of Moloch/Molech/Molek worship is unclear. The term Moloch is believed to have originated with the Phoenician mlk, which referred to a type of sacrifice made to confirm or acquit a vow. Melekh is the Hebrew word for “king.” It was common for the Israelites to combine the name of pagan gods with the vowels in the Hebrew word for shame: bosheth. This is how the goddess of fertility and war, Astarte, became Ashtoreth. The combination of mlk, melekh, and bosheth results in “Moloch,” which could be interpreted as “the personified ruler of shameful sacrifice.” It has also been spelled Milcom, Milkim, and Malik. Ashtoreth was his consort, and ritual prostitution was considered an important form of worship. The Phoenicians were a loosely gathered group of people who inhabited Canaan (modern\-day Lebanon, Syria, and Israel) between 1550 BC and 300 BC. In addition to sexual rituals, Moloch worship included [child sacrifice](child-sacrifice.html), or “passing children through the fire.” It is believed that idols of Moloch were giant metal statues of a man with a bull’s head. Each image had a hole in the abdomen and possibly outstretched forearms that made a kind of ramp to the hole. A fire was lit in or around the statue. Babies were placed in the statue’s arms or in the hole. When a couple sacrificed their firstborn, they believed that Moloch would ensure financial prosperity for the family and future children. Moloch/Molech worship wasn’t limited to Canaan. Monoliths in North Africa bear the engraving “mlk”—often written “mlk’mr” and “mlk’dm,” which may mean “sacrifice of lamb” and “sacrifice of man.” In North Africa, Moloch was renamed “Kronos.” Kronos migrated to Carthage in Greece, and his mythology grew to include his becoming a Titan and the father of Zeus. Moloch is affiliated with and sometimes equated to [Ba’al](who-Baal.html), although the word ba’al was also used to designate any god or ruler. In Genesis 12 Abraham followed God’s call to move to Canaan. Although human sacrifice was not common in Abraham’s native Ur, it was well\-established in his new land. God later asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice (Genesis 22:2\). But then God distinguished Himself from gods like Moloch. Unlike the native Canaanite gods, Abraham’s God abhorred human sacrifice. God commanded Isaac to be spared, and He provided a ram to take Isaac’s place (Genesis 22:13\). God used this event as an illustration of how He would later provide His own Son to take our place. Over five hundred years after Abraham, Joshua led the Israelites out of the desert to inherit the Promised Land. God knew that the Israelites were immature in their faith and easily distracted from worshiping the one true God (Exodus 32\). Before the Israelites had even entered Canaan, God warned them not to participate in Moloch worship (Leviticus 18:21\) and repeatedly told them to destroy those cultures that worshiped Moloch. The Israelites didn’t heed God’s warnings. Instead, they incorporated Moloch worship into their own traditions. Even Solomon, the wisest king, was swayed by this cult and built places of worship for Moloch and other gods (1 Kings 11:1–8\). Moloch worship occurred in the “high places” (1 Kings 12:31\) as well as a narrow ravine outside Jerusalem called the Valley of Hinnom (2 Kings 23:10\). Despite occasional efforts by godly kings, worship of Moloch wasn’t abolished until the Israelites’ [captivity in Babylon](Babylonian-captivity-exile.html). (Although the Babylonian religion was pantheistic and characterized by astrology and divination, it did not include human sacrifice.) Somehow, the dispersion of the Israelites into a large pagan civilization succeeded in finally purging them of their false gods. When the Jews returned to their land, they rededicated themselves to God, and the Valley of Hinnom was turned into a place for burning garbage and the bodies of executed criminals. Jesus used the imagery of this place—an eternally burning fire, consuming countless human victims—to describe hell, where those who reject God will burn for eternity (Matthew 10:28\).
What is the Job’s Daughters program?	Answer The International Order of Job’s Daughters was founded in Omaha, Nebraska in 1920 by Mrs. Ethel T. Wead Mick. Mrs. Mick along with the assistance of her husband, Dr. William H. Mick, and other workers founded the Order in honor and memory of her mother. After gaining consent from J. B. Fradenburg, Freemasonry’s “Most Worshipful Grand Master” of the Grand Lodge of Nebraska and Mrs. Anna J. Davis, the Grand Matron of the Order of the Eastern Star of Nebraska, and with the motto "Virtue is a quality which highly adorns woman," Job’s Daughters was officially under way. It has grown to an international organization of young women with members in the United States, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, and Brazil. Job’s Daughters is open to girls ages 10 to 20 who have a Masonic “heritage” and is the only international organization for girls that requires all of its members to be related to a Master Mason, and while they claim to have no affiliation to the [Freemasons](free-masonry.html), this pre\-requisite ties it closely to the Masonic Order. Because every Job’s Daughter is related to a Master Mason, a strong tie exists between Freemasonry and Job’s Daughters. This tie is made evident by the fact that all Job’s Daughters promise that they will be guided by the same principles of “The Golden Rule” that all Freemasons believe in. Job’s Daughters was founded to bring together young girls with Masonic ties for the purpose of character building through moral and spiritual development and to teach loyalty to the flag and the country for which it stands, as well as respect for parents and “guardians,” a term they use for their leaders. Using Job 42:15 as the foundation of their craft, Job’s Daughters claim the book of Job teaches a “Masonic optimistic lesson”—“Not to fall in despair; it shows that Masonic ideas are imperishable.” The book of Job is divided into three parts and paraphrased to be used as lectures in their rituals. All rituals and ceremonies are performed in a “Bethel,” a gathering of members for the purpose of performing rituals. In most cases, this occurs in a Masonic Lodge, At first glance there appears to nothing misleading about the teachings of Job’s Daughters. However, as Christians, we must rely on the teachings of the entire Bible as a guide for life, not just one book of the Bible. Many false prophets have used a single passage or section of the Bible as the foundation for their religious group, claiming that they know the “true” meaning of life, eternal life, and other spiritual matters. This belief in the singular nature of their particular teachings is one distinguishing characteristic of most cults and false religions. The second stumbling block of Job’s Daughters is their close association with Freemasonry, even though most of its members will argue this point. Freemasonry teaches that ALL religions are praying to the same god but are simply approaching by a different path. They also teach that ONLY Freemasonry knows the true name of god and has the best teaching for gaining eternal life. The “Associate Bethel Guardian” is an adult who is involved with all of the rituals and meetings; he is a Freemason. All of the rituals and meetings are set up very similar to the meetings and rituals of Freemasonry. We only need to look at the International Order of Job’s Daughters’ opening ceremony to see that there are things being taught that are not in line with the Word of God. When looking at the duties of a few of the officers as quoted by each, we get a glimpse into the unbiblical nature of Job’s Daughters’ teachings. The Fourth Messenger, when speaking of her duties, says, “It signifies that righteous service will lead to life eternal.” Jesus Christ said that He is the only way to gain eternal life (John 14:6\). And as Isaiah 64:6 teaches, our righteous acts do not lead to life eternal. “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (Isaiah 64:6\). The Recorder says that, while performing her duties, “It signifies that my every act should be as the Recording Angel would have it in her Book of Life.” There is only one [book of life](book-of-life.html), and it does not belong to a “Recording Angel.” It is the Lamb’s Book of Life, the Lamb being Jesus Christ. “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27\). One’s name is written in the Book of Life by the grace of God through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9\). The Chaplain presiding at their altar during the ritual tells us that “it signifies that piety, religion and reverence for sacred things are the beacon lights of life.” There is only one beacon of Light, and that is Jesus: “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12\). If we have not this Light, we are in spiritual darkness. Job’s Daughters also say this about their rituals: “The ritual work of the Order is based on the Triangle—the Three Daughters of Job, the Open Book, Education—and combines the emblematic representation of Latin and ancient Greek ages.” Intermingling geometry, Scripture, and science with symbols of ancient religions and philosophy is a teaching that compromises everything a follower of Christ believes. The Bible is clear about not doing such things. “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? . . . Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you” (2 Corinthians 6:14–15, 17\). The third stumbling block of Job’s Daughters is that it is clothed in secrecy and done under the guise of the intriguing nature of the mysterious. However, everything Jesus did was done in the open for all to see and we are told that all things done in secret will be exposed and we should avoid such things (Ephesians 5:8–11\). Anyone involved in Job’s Daughters (or any other Masonic craft) should consider carefully the consequences and pray for wisdom (James 1:5\), asking God to reveal the truth about the false teaching of Freemasonry and Job’s Daughters. For more information, we strongly recommend [Ex\-Masons for Jesus](http://www.emfj.org/).
Is the Catholic concept of absolution biblical?	Answer One common definition of absolution is “the formal remission of sin imparted by a priest, as in the sacrament of penance.” The Roman Catholic Church centers its teaching on the need for absolution, and the priest’s role in obtaining that forgiveness, on a single passage in the Gospel of John. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; If you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:23\). But does this passage teach the necessity of the Catholic practice of absolution? Does the Bible speak of or condone the practice of absolution? Regarding the forgiveness of sins, the Bible is clear that God alone can forgive sins (Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21\), and Christ, being God, has the power to do so, but He never communicated any such power to His apostles, nor did they ever assume any such power to themselves or pretend to exercise it. In fact, it is the mark of antichrist to attempt anything of the kind because, in doing so, one usurps the divine prerogative and places himself in God’s seat. Rather, John 20:23 is to be understood only in a doctrinal or ministerial way, by preaching the full and free remission of sins through the blood of Christ, according to the riches of God’s grace. To as many as repent of their sins and believe in Christ, all disciples of Christ can confidently declare that all their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake and to His glory. In John 20:23, Jesus is speaking directly to His disciples. It is important to note here that He is not just talking to the 11 apostles but also to other followers of Jesus called disciples (see Luke 24\), as well as to all who would ever follow Him. This is important because the Catholic Church holds that only their priests (through a “passing of the absolution torch” called [apostolic succession](apostolic-succession.html)) have the authority to grant absolution. If absolution from sin is the meaning of Jesus’ words in John 20:23, then we must ponder exactly what His intention was when He gave His followers authority to forgive sin (or not). Did He make them judges and invest in them power to pass judiciary sentence, granting or withholding divine pardon, as the Catholic Church teaches? Or did Jesus make them His ambassadors to proclaim forgiveness through faith in His name, as Christians believe? In other words, can a sinner receive forgiveness directly from God through faith, or must he avail himself of the Catholic priest’s mediation? The Bible is clear: no priest is needed to mediate between God and man, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5\). The Catholic teaching of absolution is not scriptural.
What are Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus?	Answer Our knowledge of the original text of the Bible comes from ancient hand\-written manuscripts. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and the New Testament was written in Greek. No one has the original articles, but thousands of ancient copies have been discovered. Since these copies are hand\-written, there are variations in spelling, word order, and sentence structure among them. Even though those variations do cause some confusion about the biblical text, most of the manuscript readings are in agreement. Out of about 500 pages in the Greek New Testament, the manuscript variations represent only about half of a page. The majority of ancient manuscripts contain only small portions of the biblical text, like a book or a portion of a book. Among these manuscripts there are papyrus fragments, which are the remains of the most ancient scrolls, and typically represent only a few pages of text. These papyrus fragments have all been discovered during modern archaeological digs. Another group of manuscripts is the Uncials, which use all capital letters and are written on parchment or vellum, which is a smoother writing surface than papyrus, and allows for curved letters. The Uncial manuscripts were written between the 3rd and 8th centuries and were often bound as pages in a book, or codex, rather than a scroll. A few of these ancient codices have survived intact, giving us a solid view of the Bible used by the ancient church. Two of the oldest complete (or nearly complete) manuscripts are the Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. They are both written on parchment, and have a large number of corrections written over the original text. Codex Sinaiticus, also known as “Aleph” (the Hebrew letter א), was found by Count Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Catherine on Mount Sinai. Portions of the manuscript were found in the monastery dump, and a larger portion was presented to Tischendorf by one of the monks. It is a large codex, with 400 pages (or leaves) comprising about half of the Old Testament in the Septuagint version and the full New Testament. It has been dated to the second half of the 4th century and has been highly valued by Bible scholars in their efforts to reconstruct the original biblical text. Sinaiticus has heavily influenced the translation work of modern Bible versions. Though it is considered by some scholars to represent an original form of the text, it is also recognized as the most heavily corrected early New Testament manuscript. Codex Vaticanus, also known as “B,” was found in the Vatican library. It is comprised of 759 leaves and has almost all of the Old and New Testaments. It is not known when it arrived at the Vatican, but it was included in a catalog listing in 1475, and it is dated to the middle of the 4th century. Vaticanus was first used as a source document by Erasmus in his work on the “Textus Receptus.” Because he viewed the text of Vaticanus to be erratic, he seldom followed it when it differed from other Greek texts. There are varying theories on how these ancient texts should be viewed by modern scholars. On one hand, some believe that the most ancient reading should be followed, as it is closest in time to the original. On the other hand, some believe that the majority should rule. Since there are thousands of ancient manuscripts, they believe we should give precedence to the reading that is represented by the most documents. One issue that is sometimes raised against the majority viewpoint is that many of those documents were written very late (9th\-15th century). The answer to this is that many of the early papyrus fragments support the majority reading. Additionally, the question has been raised, “If Vaticanus and Sinaiticus represent the original reading of the text, why are there so few manuscripts that follow their lead?” If they were valued by the early church, you would expect to find many copies made from them, covering a wide period of history. What we actually find is a few early manuscripts which agree with them, but then a disappearance of that text type as we progress through history. There is much to be learned from examining these and other ancient texts, and they should continue to be highly valued by scholars. While there may be differences in opinion as to how they are to be used, one thing is certain—even with their textual variations, they show us that God has preserved His Word through the ages. We may debate the particular wording in a few passages, but the fact remains that over 90 percent of the New Testament text is unanimously supported by all the ancient manuscripts. In those passages where the proper reading is disputed, there is no major doctrinal change, and we can rest assured that we have the accurate, revealed words of God passed down to us.
What are the strongest biblical arguments for the divinity of Christ?	Answer That the New Testament is full of references to the divinity of Christ is difficult to deny. From the four canonical Gospels through the book of Acts and the Pauline Epistles, Jesus is not only seen as the Messiah (or Christ) but also equated with God Himself. The apostle Paul refers to the divinity of Christ when he calls Jesus our "great God and Savior" (Titus 2:13\) and even says that Jesus existed in the "form of God" prior to His incarnation (Philippians 2:5\-8\). God the Father says regarding Jesus, "Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever" (Hebrews 1:8\). Jesus is directly referred to as the Creator Himself (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16\-17\). Other biblical passages teach Christ’s deity (Revelation 1:7; 2:8; 1 Corinthians 10:4; 1 Peter 5:4\). While these direct citations are sufficient to establish that the Bible claims Jesus is divine, a more indirect approach may prove to be more powerful. Jesus repeatedly placed Himself in the place of Yahweh by assuming the Father’s divine prerogatives. He was often doing and saying things that only God has a right to do and say. Jesus also referred to Himself in ways that hinted at His deity. Some of these instances provide us with the strongest proof of Jesus’ divine self\-understanding. In Mark 14, Jesus stands accused at His trial before the High Priest. “Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61\-62\). Here, Jesus is referring to the Old Testament book of Daniel where the prophet Daniel states, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13\-14\). In this reference to Daniel’s vision, Jesus is identifying Himself as the [Son of Man](Jesus-Son-of-Man.html), a person who was given “dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him.” The Son of Man has a dominion that is everlasting and will not pass away. One immediately wonders what kind of person has a dominion that is everlasting. What kind of a person is given a kingdom and will have all men serve Him? The High Priest, who immediately recognized Jesus’ claim to divinity, tore his robe and declared Jesus guilty of blasphemy. Jesus’ use of the title "Son of Man" has surprisingly strong apologetic value. A skeptic of Christ’s deity cannot easily dismiss this particular self\-designation of Jesus. That Christ referred to Himself in this manner enjoys multiple attestations, as it is found in all of the Gospel sources. The phrase "Son of Man" is used of Jesus only a few times outside of the Gospels themselves (Acts 7:56; Revelation 1:13; 14:14\). Given its scarce usage by the early apostolic church, it is unlikely that this title would have been read back into the lips of Jesus if, in fact, He had not used this particular self\-designation. And yet, if it is established that Jesus really did use this title of Himself, it becomes apparent that Jesus considered Himself to have everlasting power and a unique authority beyond that of a mere human being. Sometimes, it was Jesus’ actions that revealed His identity. Jesus’ healing of the paralytic in Mark 2 was done to demonstrate His authority and ability to forgive sins (Mark 2:3\-12\). In the minds of His Jewish audience, such abilities were reserved for God alone. Jesus also receives worship several times in the Gospels (Matthew 2:11; 28:9, 17; Luke 24:52; John 9:38; 20:28\). Never did Jesus reject such adoration. Rather, He regarded their worship as well placed. Elsewhere, Jesus taught that the Son of Man will ultimately judge humanity (Matthew 25:31\-46\) and taught that our eternal destinies depend on our response to Him (Mark 8:34\-38\). Such behavior is further indication of Jesus’ divine self\-understanding. Jesus also stated that His forthcoming resurrection from the dead would vindicate the very special claims that He made for Himself (Matthew 12:38\-40\). After having been crucified and buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, Jesus did, in fact, rise from the dead, establishing His claims to deity. The evidence for this miraculous event is very powerful. Numerous contemporary sources report Jesus’ post\-crucifixion appearances to both individuals and groups under various circumstances (1 Corinthians 15:3\-7; Matthew 28:9; Luke 24:36\-43; John 20:26\-30, 21:1\-14; Acts 1:3\-6\). Many of these witnesses were willing to die for this belief, and several of them did! Clement of Rome and the Jewish historian Josephus provide us with first\-century reports of several of their martyrdoms. All of the theories used to explain away the evidence for the resurrection (such as the [Hallucination Theory](hallucination-theory.html)) have failed to explain all of the known data. The resurrection of Jesus is an established fact of history, and this is the strongest evidence for Jesus’ divinity.
What does it mean that God is a consuming fire?	Answer God is first identified as a “consuming fire” in Deuteronomy 4:24 and 9:3\. The writer to the Hebrews reiterates, warning the Hebrews to worship God with reverence and awe “for our God is a consuming fire.” There is nothing mysterious about the Hebrew and Greek words translated “consuming fire.” They mean exactly that—a fire that utterly consumes or destroys. How, then, can a loving and merciful God also be a consuming fire that utterly destroys? In both Deuteronomy passages in which God is called a consuming fire, Moses is speaking first to warn the Israelites against idolatry (Deuteronomy 4:23\-25\) because God is a “jealous God” and will not share His glory with worthless idols. Idolatry provokes Him to a righteous anger which is justified when His holiness is disrespected. In Deuteronomy 9:3, Moses again refers to God as a consuming (or devouring) fire who would go ahead of the Israelites into the Promised Land, destroying and subduing their enemies before them. Here again we see God’s wrath against those who oppose Him depicted as fire that utterly consumes and destroys anything in His path. There are several incidents in which God’s wrath, judgment, holiness or power are displayed by fire from heaven. Aaron’s sons Abihu and Nadab were destroyed by fire when they offered a profane sacrifice, “[strange fire](strange-fire.html),” in the tabernacle, a sign of their disregard for the utter holiness of God and the need to honor Him in solemn and holy fear. The confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel is another example of consuming fire from God. The prophets of Baal called upon their god all day long to rain fire from heaven to no avail. Then Elijah built an altar of stones, dug a ditch around it, put the sacrifice on the top of wood and called for water to be poured over his sacrifice three times. Elijah called upon God, and God sent fire down from heaven, completely consuming the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones and licked up the water in the ditch. Then His anger turned against the false prophets, and they were all killed. When prophesying the destruction of the Assyrians, who resisted the true and living God and warred against His people, Isaiah refers to the tongue of the Lord as a consuming fire and His “arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire” (Isaiah 30:27\-30\). God’s holiness is the reason for His being a consuming fire, and it burns up anything unholy. The holiness of God is that part of His nature that most separates Him from sinful man. The godless, Isaiah writes, tremble before Him: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?" Isaiah answers this by saying that only the righteous can withstand the consuming fire of God’s wrath against sin, because sin is an offense to God’s holiness. But Isaiah also assures us that no amount of our own righteousness is sufficient (Isaiah 64:6\). Fortunately, God has provided the righteousness we need by sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for the sins of all who would ever believe in Him. In that one act, Christ mitigates God’s wrath, exchanging His perfect righteousness for our sin. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21\). All the wrath of God was poured out on Jesus, so that those who belong to Him would not have to suffer the same fate as the Assyrians. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31\), but we need not fear the consuming fire of God’s wrath if we are covered by the purifying blood of Christ.
What is the Dome of the Rock?	Answer The Dome of the Rock is a [Muslim](Islam.html) shrine that was built on the [Temple Mount](temple-mount.html) in Jerusalem in AD 691\. The Dome of the Rock is part of a larger Muslim holy area that takes up a significant portion of what is also known as Mount Moriah in the heart of Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock gets its name from the fact that it is built over the highest part (the dome) of Mount Moriah which is where Jews and Christians believe Abraham was prepared to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God (Genesis 22:1–14\). It is also considered to be the location of the threshing floor of [Araunah the Jebusite](Araunah-the-Jebusite.html), where David built an altar to the Lord (2 Samuel 24:18\). It is also on or very near the site that Herod’s Temple stood before it was destroyed in AD 70 by the Roman army. Some even believe the rock might have been the location of the Holy of Holies that was a part of the Jewish Temple where the Jewish High Priest would enter once a year to make atonement for Israel’s sins. The Dome of the Rock is part of the larger Islamic area known as the Noble Sanctuary or Al\-Haram al\-Sharif. This area includes over 35 acres and contains both the Al\-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. After Muslims took control of Jerusalem in AD 637, Islamic leaders commissioned the building of the Dome of the Rock in AD 685\. It took almost seven years to complete and today is one of the world’s oldest Islamic structures. The platform or Temple Mount area that houses the Dome of the Rock and Al\-Aqsa Mosque was built in the first century BC under the rule of Herod the Great as part of his rebuilding of the second Jewish Temple. Jesus worshiped at Herod’s Temple, and it was there that He prophesied its destruction (Matthew 24:1–2\). Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled when the temple was destroyed by the Roman army in AD 70\. The Temple Mount area where the Dome of the Rock is located is important not only to the Muslims who control it now, but also to Jews and Christians. As the place where the Jewish temple once stood, the Temple Mount is considered to be the holiest place in Judaism and is the place where Jews and some Christians believe that the third and final temple will be built. This area is also the third holiest site in Islam. Because of its importance to both Jews and Muslims, the Temple Mount area is a highly contested religious site over which both the Palestinian Authority and Israel claim sovereignty. The Dome of the Rock is an impressive structure, easily seen in many photographs of Jerusalem. Not only is it on top of Mount Moriah, but it was also built on an elevated platform raising it up another 16 feet above the rest of the Temple Mount area. Inside at the center of the Dome is the highest point of Mount Moriah. This bare rock measures about 60 feet by 40 feet and rises about 6 feet from the floor of the shrine. While many people mistakenly refer to the Dome of Rock as a mosque, it was actually built as a shrine for pilgrims, although it is located near an important Muslim mosque. Some believe the Dome of the Rock was built because, according to Muslim legend, the Prophet Muhammad was taken to Mount Moriah by the angel Gabriel, and from there Muhammad ascended into heaven and met all the prophets that had preceded him, as well as seeing God sitting on His throne surrounded by angels. However, this story does not appear in any Islamic texts until several decades after the shrine was built, which leads some to believe the primary reason the Dome was built was to celebrate the Islamic victory over Christians at Jerusalem and not to honor the supposed ascension of Muhammad. When Israel took control over that part of Jerusalem after the [Six\-Day War](Six-Day-War.html) in 1967, Israeli leaders allowed an Islamic religious trust to have authority over the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock as a way of helping keep the peace. Since that time non\-Muslims have been allowed limited access to the area but are not permitted to pray on the Temple Mount.
What is the meaning of the cross?	Answer Simply put, the meaning of the cross is death. From about the 6th century BC until the 4th century AD, the cross was an instrument of execution that resulted in death by the most torturous and painful of ways. In crucifixion a person was either tied or nailed to a wooden cross and left to hang until dead. Death would be slow and excruciatingly painful; in fact, the word excruciating literally means “out of crucifying.” However, because of Christ and His death on the cross, the meaning of the cross today is completely different. In Christianity, the cross is the intersection of God’s love and His justice. Jesus Christ is the [Lamb of God](Jesus-Lamb-of-God.html) who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29\). The reference to Jesus as the Lamb of God points back to the institution of the Jewish Passover in Exodus 12\. The Israelites were commanded to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and smear the blood of that lamb on the doorposts of their homes. The blood would be the sign for the Angel of Death to “pass over” that house, leaving those covered by blood in safety. When Jesus came to John to be baptized, John recognized Him and cried, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29\), thereby identifying Him and God’s plan for Him to be sacrificed for sin. One might ask why Jesus had to die in the first place. This is the over\-arching message of the Bible—the story of redemption. God created the heavens and the earth, and He created man and woman in His image and placed them in the Garden of Eden to be His stewards on the earth. However, due to the temptations of Satan (the serpent), Adam and Eve sinned and fell from God’s grace. Furthermore, they have passed the curse of sin on to their children so that everyone [inherits their sin and guilt](inherit-sin.html). God the Father sent his one and only Son into the world to take on human flesh and to be the Savior of His people. Born of a virgin, Jesus avoided the curse of the fall that infects all other human beings. As the sinless Son of God, He could provide the unblemished sacrifice that God requires. God’s justice demanded judgment and punishment for sin; God’s love moved Him to send His one and only Son to be the [propitiation](propitiation.html) for sin. Because of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross, those who place their faith and trust in Him alone for salvation are guaranteed eternal life (John 3:16\). However, Jesus called His followers to take up their cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24\). This concept of “cross\-bearing” today has lost much of its original meaning. Typically, we use “cross\-bearing” to denote an inconvenient or bothersome circumstance (e.g., “my troubled teen is my cross to bear”). However, we must keep in mind that Jesus is calling His disciples to engage in radical self\-denial. The cross meant only one thing to a 1st\-century person—death. “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25\). Galatians reiterates this theme of death of the sinful self and rising to walk in new life through Christ: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20\). There are places in the world where Christians are being persecuted, even to the point of death, for their faith. They know what it means to carry their cross and follow Jesus in a very real way. For those of us who are not being persecuted in such fashion, our job is still to remain faithful to Christ. Even if we are never called to give the ultimate sacrifice, we must be willing to do so out of love for the One who saved us and gave His life for us.
Jesus wept - why did Jesus weep?	Answer Two passages in the Gospels and one in the Epistles (Hebrews 5:7\) teach that Jesus wept. In the Gospels our Lord wept as He looked on man’s misery, and both instances demonstrate our Lord’s (loving) human nature, His compassion for people, and the life He offers to those who believe. When Jesus wept, He showed all these things. John 11:1–45 concerns the death and resurrection of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha and a friend of our Lord. Jesus wept (John 11:35\) when He gathered with the sisters and others mourning Lazarus’s death. Jesus did not weep over the death itself since He knew Lazarus would soon be raised and ultimately spend eternity with Him in heaven. Yet He could not help but weep when confronted with the wailing and sobbing of Mary, Martha, and the other mourners (John 11:33\). The original language indicates that our Lord wept “silent tears” or tears of compassion for His friends (Romans 12:15\). If Jesus had been present when Lazarus was dying, His compassion would have caused Him to heal His friend (John 11:14–15\). But preventing a death might be considered by some to be a chance circumstance or just a “minor” miracle, and this was not a time for any doubt. So Lazarus spent four days in death’s grave before Jesus publicly called him back to life. The Father wanted these witnesses to know that Jesus was the Son of God, that Jesus was sent by God, and that Jesus and the Father had the same will in everything (John 11:4, 40–42\). Only the one true God could have performed such an awesome and breathtaking miracle, and through this miracle the Father and the Son were glorified, and many believed (John 11:4, 45\). In Luke 19:41–44 the Lord is taking His last trip to Jerusalem shortly before He was crucified at the insistence of His own people, the people He came to save. Earlier, the Lord had said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it” (Luke 13:34\). As our Lord approached Jerusalem and thought of all those lost souls, “He saw the city and wept over it” (Luke 19:41\). Here, wept is the same word used to describe the weeping of Mary and the others in John 11:33, so we know that Jesus cried aloud in anguish over the future of the city. That future was less than 40 years distant; in AD 70 more than 1,000,000 residents of Jerusalem died in one of the most gruesome sieges in recorded history. Our Lord wept differently in these two instances because the eternal outcomes were entirely different. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus had eternal life because they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, but most in Jerusalem did not believe and therefore did not have life. The same is true today: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies’” (John 11:25\).
What is the problem of good?	Answer In October 2010, atheist Sam Harris’s book The Moral Landscape was released. In his book, Harris argues against grounding morality in God and says that science is the only vehicle that humanity can use in determining the concepts of good and evil. Unlike other naturalistic philosophers and atheists (e.g., Nietzsche, Sartre, and Russell), who have denied the reality of objective moral values, Harris instead argues against moral relativism and subjectivism. Harris believes that a valid alternative to moral nihilism exists, and that science provides the answers that human beings desire where issues of morality are concerned. To set the stage, Harris defines the playing field (his “moral landscape”) in this manner: “The moral landscape is a space of real and potential outcomes whose peaks correspond to heights of potential well\-being and whose valleys represent the deepest possible suffering.” The concept of “well\-being” is key to understanding Harris’s definition of good and evil. Harris says, “Questions about values are really questions about the well\-being of conscious creatures.” So, for Harris, the concepts of good and morality are all about the highs and lows of conscious creatures (animals are undoubtedly included along with humans because, after all, to an atheist, humans are nothing more than more highly evolved animals) and their well\-being. Harris says a goal for science is to determine and prescribe ways for human beings to “flourish” and through human flourishing, the good life will be realized. But is the “good” that Harris talks about moral good? That is the primary question for Harris and the arguments he makes in his book. And this is the question and issue that has plagued atheists and materialists who do not try to blend their atheistic position with borrowed Christian teachings. The majority view in the intellectually honest atheist camp is that science and naturalism cannot make moral judgments or statements of “oughtness” where ethics are concerned. Can science tell the world what contributes to the “flourishing” of human beings? It most certainly can, in the same way that it can tell the world what contributes to the flourishing of an oak tree. But that doesn’t equate to a moral conclusion at all. This is why, years ago, atheist Richard Dawkins looked at the natural world and commented on the reality of good and evil, concluding that life has “no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference” (River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life, BasicBooks, 1995, p. 133\). How does a person ultimately resolve what is good or bad, what is moral or immoral? Some, like Dawkins, believe there is no true concept of good and bad. Oscar Wilde, a talented artist who died at the age of 46 from a lifestyle that eventually caught up with him, once remarked, “Nothing succeeds like excess. . . . Nothing is good or bad, only charming or dull.” Others who follow the teaching and philosophy of evolution to its logical conclusion, like biologist William Provine, echo Dawkins when they say, “When Darwin deduced the theory of natural selection to explain the adaptations in which he had previously seen the handiwork of God, he knew that he was committing cultural murder. He understood immediately that if natural selection explained adaptations, and evolution by descent were true, then the argument from design was dead and all that went with it, namely the existence of a personal god, free will, life after death, immutable moral laws, and ultimate meaning in life” (emphasis added). Yet most human beings do not live this way. And to his credit, Sam Harris acknowledges this in his book and states that there are indeed objective moral laws. At issue are what defines “moral” or “good,” where these good moral laws come from, how they are recognized, and how they are put into practice by humanity. The Problem of Good — Defining Good What is “good”? In this book, Harris does his best to communicate that “good” is ultimately the well\-being of conscious creatures. In fact, he consistently argues that “good” is that which causes conscious creatures to flourish. Harris literally wills into existence his definition of good and ends up arguing that no one can ask the question of why conscious creatures flourishing equates to “good” because that is what he says “good” truly means. To provide his readers with more insight into why he believes atheists can hold to objective moral laws, Harris provides a few analogies. He says that, for example, in chess there are objectively good and bad moves that a player can make, and the same is true in life. Harris also argues that the supposed fact/value divide between science and morality can be easily bridged because (1\) objective knowledge implies values; for example, being logical in one’s thinking is good; and (2\) beliefs about facts and values arise from similar processes in the brain. Is Harris right? First, Harris cannot simply define reality and his concept of good and then expect everyone to follow suit. Second, no one argues that there are good and bad moves in chess, or that the use of logical thought and reason is good to employ. However, Harris equivocates the term good where morality is involved. Is the bad move a person makes in chess, “evil”? Is the person not using logical thought acting in an evil capacity? Last, just because people use their brains for both fact and value operations, such a process cannot be traced back to buttress Harris’s definition of good, especially where morality is concerned. The Problem of Good — The Options for a Moral Source If a person omits a transcendent source of objective moral values, then there are three options left for a starting place of the objective moral law: 1\. The natural universe 2\. Culture or society 3\. The individual person Can the natural universe serve as the source for objective moral values? Since science admits that an effect must match its cause in essence (i.e., a cause cannot give what it does not have), it seems impossible that amoral matter could create beings obsessed with moral behavior. Novelist and poet Stephen Crane put it like this: “A man said to the Universe, Sir, I exist! Nevertheless, replied the Universe, That fact has not created in me The slightest feeling of obligation.” What about culture or society—can it serve as the source for objective moral values? This hardly seems like a plausible possibility given the fact that many cultures and societies exist, and they can differ quite a lot where their moral framework is concerned. Which one is the right choice? For example, in some cultures they love their neighbors, and in others they eat them. If a singular culture cannot be chosen as the standard, then another possibility is just to let each culture decide on morality, yet this becomes untenable unless human beings around the world want to turn a blind eye to customs such as widow burning (a practice where a living wife is burned alive with her deceased husband) or systems such as Nazism. The problem of even deciding what is moral within a culture becomes problematic as well. If the majority rules that rape is “good,” does that make it morally good? The last choice for a source of objective moral values is the individual person, and it is typically represented in philosophies such as postmodernism or in religions like Wicca whose motto is, “If it harms none, do as you will.” Yet such grounding can be nothing more than emotive in nature; nothing can be labeled as truly wrong. Instead, perceived immoral actions are reduced to statements such as “I don’t like rape” or “For me, rape is wrong.” In his debate with the atheist Bertrand Russell, the Jesuit and philosopher Frederick Copleston looked at Russell and asked, “Lord Russell, do you believe in good and bad?” Russell replied, “Yes.” Copleston continued, “How do you differentiate between good and bad?” Russell replied, “The same way I differentiate between blue and green or yellow and green.” Copleston then said, “Wait a minute, you differentiate between yellow and green by seeing, don’t you?” Russell said, “Yes.” So Copleston challenged him by asking, “How do you differentiate between good and bad?” Russell replied, “I differentiate on those matters on the basis of my feelings, what else?” The fact is it becomes impossible for the individual to be the source of objective moral laws. If two people disagree on what “good” is, how is the dispute settled? The Problem of Good — Recognizing and Implementing the Moral Law Without a transcendent source for the moral law, there are four possible ways to recognize and agree on what “good” is. They include frameworks that are 1\. Utilitarian – whatever produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people 2\. Pragmatic – whatever appears to “work” where happiness (positive) or consequences (negative) is concerned 3\. Subjective – whatever is right for the particular person in the particular situation 4\. Emotive – whatever “feels” right As has been exhaustively argued for centuries, none of these is a good option on its own. Harris denies options 3 and 4 as he believes in objective moral values. He is right on that front. Moreover, this is something some intellectually honest atheists other than Harris will acknowledge. For example, in her debate with Christian philosopher William Lane Craig on whether objective moral values exist, atheist philosopher Louise Antony admitted, “Any argument against the objective reality of moral values will be based on premises that are less obvious than the existence of objective moral values themselves.” In other words, it’s tough to argue against the reality that love is better than hate or desire in a world where murder is a virtue and gratitude a vice. A combination of options 1 and 2 may describe Harris’ way of recognizing good and bad, but if it does, then problems arise. It’s not a stretch to say that such a position could lead to eugenics and the infanticide of babies who are not deemed able to flourish. Euthanasia could also be declared good if it means that the quality of life is raised for the majority by eliminating a minority who are the source of extravagant expense and effort. Left to the sterile choice of science, many human atrocities are possible if carried out in the spirit of improving the flourishing of humanity as a whole. The elimination of undesirables has already been attempted more than once in the past by various regimes. Psychiatrist Victor Frankl—himself a prisoner in death camps twice in his life—once declared, “I am absolutely convinced that the gas chambers of Auschwitz were ultimately prepared not in some ministry of defense in Berlin, but rather at the desks and lecture halls of Nihilistic scientists and philosophers.” A more recent example of such a proposal being put forward for the supposed betterment of the world by a naturalistic scientist came at the 109th meeting of the Texas Academy of Science that took place at Lamar University in March 2006\. At the meeting, evolutionist Dr. Eric Pianka presented a lecture about how human overpopulation is ruining the earth. Professor Pianka said the earth as we know it will not survive without drastic measures. Then, and without presenting any data to justify his conclusion, he asserted that the only feasible solution for saving the earth is to reduce the population to 10 percent of the present number. And how would Pianka go about reducing the population of the earth? AIDS is not an efficient killer, he explained, because it is too slow. His favorite candidate for eliminating 90 percent of the world’s population is the airborne Ebola virus because it is both highly lethal, and it kills in days, instead of years. However, Professor Pianka omitted the fact that Ebola victims die a slow and torturous death as the virus initiates a cascade of biological calamities inside the victim that eventually liquefy the internal organs. After praising the Ebola virus for its efficiency at killing, Pianka paused, leaned over the lectern, looked at the audience and carefully said, “We’ve got airborne 90 percent mortality in humans. Killing humans. Think about that.” And what was the audience response at the end? The attending scientists gave him a standing ovation. Forrest Mims, one of the scientists in attendance, summed up the response this way: “I still can’t get out of my mind the pleasant spring day in Texas when a few hundred scientists of the Texas Academy of Science gave a standing ovation for a speaker who they heard advocate the slow and torturous death of over five billion human beings.” Evidently, the other attending scientists must have believed they would not be included in the 90 percent of humanity Dr. Pianka advocated being eliminated. The Problem of Good — Another Obvious Alternative Harris’s attempt at defining, sourcing, recognizing, and implementing a moral law within the natural universe is somewhat original for an atheist; he must be granted that. However, his attempt at redefining good, his equivocation of the term good, and the inescapable conclusions of where his philosophy leads all point to his position being untenable. What happens when the other obvious alternative for objective moral values is considered: a transcendent source of an objective moral law that defines what good truly is and implements a way for good to be ultimately implemented? What about God? Make no mistake, Harris is right when he says that people don’t need to believe in God to discern moral duties or understand that objective moral values exist. That has never been the argument of the Christian theologian. The Christian argument is that, in order to ground an objective moral law, you need to have a transcendent source of those values. This is something those who founded the United States clearly understood and why they grounded the rights of American citizens in the way they did: “We hold these truths to be self\-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Nothing similar can be found in a statement made by any other nation: moral well\-being hinged on a creative act. Life . . . Liberty . . . Happiness. It sounds very much like conscious human beings flourishing and experiencing well\-being. Moreover, the term self\-evident communicates the concept of the moral law being undeniable, or objective (so does “truths” instead of “opinions”). Sam Harris would, or should, be proud. But, due to his naturalistic presuppositions, Harris won’t consider God as being a possible source of the moral law, and this, in the end, becomes his undoing. Harris does not understand an important truth: good cannot be defined without purpose, and purpose cannot be defined without cause. Atheists believe the universe (their only reference point for eternality) is purposeless and without meaning. Yet Harris wants morality, which cannot be had without purpose and meaning. Harris’s cause has no way of producing either the purpose or meaning he desires, and because a cause cannot produce an effect that has something it does not possess, he is left twisting in the wind for an explanation of how the morality he desires can possibly come about. The atheist’s formula of Impersonal Matter \+ Time \+ Chance fails to produce the effect he desires. In fact, it seems to have produced the opposite. This is something well stated in the end of Steve Turner’s poem “Creed”: “If chance be the Father of all flesh, Disaster is his rainbow in the sky, And when you hear State of Emergency! Sniper Kills Ten! Troops on Rampage! Whites go Looting! Bomb Blasts School! It is but the sound of man worshiping his maker.” Without a cause possessing meaning and purpose, there can be no morality in effect. This leads right back to honest atheists like Nietzsche who admitted that, without God, there can be nothing called “good,” nor can there be anything called “evil.” The logic works this way: if there’s such a thing as evil, you must assume there’s such a thing as good. If you assume there’s such a thing as good, you assume there’s such a thing as an absolute and unchanging moral law on the basis of which to differentiate between good and evil. If you assume there’s such a thing as an absolute moral law, you must posit an absolute moral law giver, but that would be God—the one whom the atheist is trying to disprove. So now rewind: if there’s not a moral law giver, there’s no moral law. If there’s no moral law, there’s no good. If there’s no good, there’s no evil. The simple fact is moral laws imply a moral law giver (a “giver” that possesses meaning, morality, and purpose itself). Even Harris admits there is an objective moral law, so the obvious conclusion should be there is a moral Law Giver. The Problem of Good — The Conclusion Atheist philosopher J. L. Mackie has stated, “We might well argue that objective intrinsically prescriptive features supervenient upon natural ones constitute so odd a cluster of qualities and relations that they are unlikely to have arisen in the ordinary course of events without an all\-powerful God to create them.” Honest thinkers will reach this conclusion at some point if they follow the logical order of where the arguments lead, but what they do once they reach that point is hard to say. C. S. Lewis eventually made it to that place and describes it this way: “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.” Atheists like Harris have no objective straight line to grab hold of. Few materialists have the courage of Nietzsche to understand and then embrace the real consequences of what the death of God means. Instead, most are like Harris who blink when they stare into the face of atheism and end up with ill\-conceived ideas of morality that have no able cause to produce the effect they know is present and real. The Bible declares, “No one is good but God alone” (Luke 18:19\). Good is grounded in the very nature of God and what He wills is good because He is good. Just as many things can have “being” (or life), but there can only be one thing that actually is Being (or life), the concept of good works the same way. Many things may have some good in them, but there can only be one thing that is good. And this good God invites everyone to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8\).
What is the importance of the parting of the Red Sea?	Answer The importance of the parting of the Red Sea is that this one event was the final, decisive act in God’s delivering His people from slavery in Egypt. The parting of the Red Sea was truly the birth of a nation. On the night of the tenth plague, the children of Israel left Egypt, and “God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea” (Exodus 13:18\). God told them where to camp by the sea (Exodus 14:2\), and He informed them that the king of Egypt would pursue them. But the result would be a resounding victory: “I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord” (Exodus 14:4\). Just as God had said, “The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea” (Exodus 14:9\). The people “were terrified and cried out to the Lord” (verse 10\). They also began to turn against Moses for leading them into a trap (verses 11–12\). But Moses told them, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (verses 13–14\). Then came the miracle: “Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left” (Exodus 14:21–22\). When the Egyptian forces tried to follow the Israelites through the Red Sea, God disabled their chariots (verse 25\), and “at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived” (verses 27–28\). The miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea was celebrated with song and dance, praising the highly exalted God who overthrows His enemies and leads His redeemed people to salvation (Exodus 15:1–21\). The exodus from Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea is the single greatest act of salvation in the Old Testament. That event is continually recalled to represent God’s saving power. The events of the exodus, including the parting and crossing of the Red Sea, are immortalized in the Psalms as Israel brings to remembrance God’s saving works in their worship (e.g., Psalm 66:6; 78:13; 106:9; 136:13\). God prophesied to [Abraham](life-Abraham.html) that his descendants would live in a foreign land for 400 years and eventually be enslaved there, but God promised to deliver them: “I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions” (Genesis 15:14\). The prophecy came true, of course. Abraham’s grandson Jacob moved his family to Egypt to escape a famine. Then, many years after the death of Jacob’s son Joseph, a Pharaoh came to power in Egypt who afflicted the people of Israel and enslaved them (Exodus 1:8–11\). After the birth of Moses, the time was right, and God “heard” the cries of His people and prepared to deliver them (Exodus 2:23–25\). God commissioned [Moses](life-Moses.html) to deliver His people. Moses stood before Pharaoh and requested the people of Israel be let go so they could worship the Lord. Pharaoh refused (“he hardened his heart,” Exodus 8:15\) and began to oppress the people of Israel even more. Then began a cycle of [ten plagues](ten-plagues-Egypt.html): in each cycle, Moses requested that Pharaoh release God’s people, Pharaoh refused, God sent a plague, Pharaoh “repented,” and God removed the plague. After the final plague (the death of the firstborn), Pharaoh finally agreed to let the children of Israel go. But then he had another change of heart and chased after them with his army, trapping them at the Red Sea. That set up the great deliverance of Israel as God parted the Red Sea. We may be tempted to think that this is a wonderful story of God’s miraculous saving power on display, and leave it at that. But that would be to miss the bigger picture in the story of redemption. The Old Testament prepares the way for the New Testament, and all of God’s promises find their “yes” and “amen” in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20\). The exodus from Egypt, was a real, historical event, but it also prefigures the saving work of Christ for His people. Through Moses, God provided physical salvation from slavery to Egypt. Through Christ, God provides spiritual salvation from slavery to sin. As Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. . . . So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34, 36\). The parting of the Red Sea is also used in the New Testament as a symbol of the believer’s identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul says, “I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:1–4\). Here, Paul gives the exodus from Egypt a Christological reading; he makes the connection between the exodus from Egypt and salvation in Christ. Notice how Paul says that all “were baptized into Moses.” This is a way of saying that the Israelites were dedicated, or initiated, into Moses, being brought under obligation to him for their freedom. In a similar way, Christians are baptized into Christ, as we are initiated into Him and obligated to Him for our spiritual freedom. Romans 6:4 elaborates: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” So, the parting of the Red Sea not only finalized God’s redemption of His people from slavery in Egypt, but it also prefigured the greater spiritual reality of God’s redemption of His people from slavery to sin through the work of Christ.
Why was Israel divided into the Southern Kingdom and Northern Kingdom?	Answer Throughout their history in the Promised Land, the children of Israel struggled with conflict among the tribes. The disunity went back all the way to the patriarch Jacob, who presided over a house divided. The sons of Leah and the sons of Rachel had their share of contention even in Jacob’s lifetime (Genesis 37:1\-11\). The enmity among the half\-brothers continued in the time of the judges. Benjamin (one of Rachel’s tribes) took up arms against the other tribes (Judges 20\). Israel’s first king, Saul, was of the tribe of Benjamin. When David was crowned king—David was from the tribe of Judah (one of Leah’s tribes)—the Benjamites rebelled (2 Samuel 2–3\). After a long war (2 Samuel 3:1\), David succeeded in uniting all twelve tribes (5:1\-5\). The frailty of the union was exposed, however, when David’s son Absalom promoted himself as the new king and drew many Israelites away from their allegiance to David (2 Samuel 15\). Significantly, Absalom set up his throne in Hebron, the site of the former capital (v. 10\). A later revolt was led by a man named Sheba against David and the tribe of Judah (20:1\-2\). The reign of David’s son Solomon saw more unrest when one of the king’s servants, [Jeroboam](Jeroboam-in-the-Bible.html), rebelled. Jeroboam was on the king’s errand when he met the prophet [Ahijah](Ahijah-in-the-Bible.html), who told him that God was going to give him authority over ten of the twelve tribes of Israel. God’s reason for the division of the kingdom was definitive: “Because they have forsaken me . . . and have not walked in my ways.” However, God promised that David’s dynasty would continue, albeit over a much smaller kingdom, for the sake of God’s covenant with David and for the sake of Jerusalem, God’s chosen city. When Solomon learned of the prophecy, he sought to kill Jeroboam, who fled to Egypt for sanctuary (1 Kings 11:26\-40\). After Solomon’s death, his son [Rehoboam](King-Rehoboam.html) was set to become the next king. Jeroboam returned from Egypt and led a group of people to confront Rehoboam with a demand for a lighter tax burden. When Rehoboam refused the demand, ten of the tribes rejected Rehoboam and David’s dynasty (1 Kings 12:16\), and Ahijah’s prophecy was fulfilled. Only Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to King Rehoboam. The northern tribes crowned Jeroboam as their king. Rehoboam made plans to mount an assault on the rebel tribes, but the Lord prevented him from taking that action (vv. 21\-24\). Meanwhile, Jeroboam further consolidated his power by instituting a form of calf worship unique to his kingdom and declaring that pilgrimages to Jerusalem were unnecessary. Thus, the people of the northern tribes would have no contact with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. “So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day” (1 Kings 12:19\). The northern kingdom is called “Israel” (or sometimes “Ephraim”) in Scripture, and the southern kingdom is called “Judah.” From the divine viewpoint, the division was a judgment on not keeping God’s commands, specifically the commands prohibiting idolatry. From a human viewpoint, the division was the result of tribal discord and political unrest. The principle is that sin brings division (1 Corinthians 1:13, 11:18; James 4:1\). The good news is that God, in His mercy, has promised a reuniting of the northern and southern kingdoms. “He will raise a banner for the nations / and gather the exiles of Israel; / he will assemble the scattered people of Judah / from the four quarters of the earth. / Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, / and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed; / Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, / nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim” (Isaiah 11:12\-13\). When the Prince of Peace—Jesus Christ—reigns in His millennial kingdom, all hostility, jealousy, and conflict among the tribes will be put to rest.
Just how narrow is the narrow gate?	Answer The narrow gate, also called the narrow door, is referred to by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 7:13\-14 and Luke 13:23\-24\. Jesus compares the narrow gate to the “broad road” which leads to destruction (hell) and says that “many” will be on that road. By contrast, Jesus says that “small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” What exactly is meant by this? Just how many are the “many” and how few are the “few”? First, we need to understand that [Jesus is the Door](I-am-the-door.html) through which all must enter eternal life. There is no other way because He alone is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6\). The way to eternal life is restricted to just one avenue—Christ. In this sense, the way is narrow because it is the only way, and relatively few people will go through the narrow gate. Many more will attempt to find an alternative route to God. They will try to get there through manmade rules and regulations, through false religion, or through self\-effort. These who are “many” will follow the broad road that leads to eternal destruction, while the sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him along the narrow way to eternal life (John 10:7\-11\). While there will be relatively few who go through the narrow gate compared to the many on the broad road, there will still be multitudes who will follow the Good Shepherd. The apostle John saw this multitude in his vision in the book of Revelation: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9\-10\). Entering the narrow gate is not easy. Jesus made this clear when He instructed His followers to “strive” to do so. The Greek word translated “strive” is agonizomai, from which we get the English word agonize. The implication here is that those who seek to enter the narrow gate must do so by struggle and strain, like a running athlete straining toward the finish line, all muscles taut and giving his all in the effort. But we must be clear here. No amount of effort saves us; salvation is by the grace of God through the gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8\-9\). No one will ever earn heaven by striving for it. But entering the narrow gate is still difficult because of the opposition of human pride, our natural love of sin, and the opposition of Satan and the world in his control, all of which battle against us in the pursuit of eternity. The exhortation to strive to enter is a command to repent and enter the gate and not to just stand and look at it, think about it, complain that it’s too small or too difficult or unjustly narrow. We are not to ask why others are not entering; we are not to make excuses or delay. We are not to be concerned with the number who will or will not enter. We are to strive forward and enter! Then we are to exhort others to strive to enter before it’s too late.
What is Shrove Tuesday?	Answer Although far less widely known than [Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras](Mardi-Gras-Fat-Tuesday.html), the Tuesday immediately before [Ash Wednesday](Ash-Wednesday.html) is also known as Shrove Tuesday. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of [Lent](what-is-Lent.html), which is sometimes referred to as "Shrovetide" in England. Observance of Shrove Tuesday can be traced back to at least AD 1000 and was originally observed as a day of confession and [penitence](penitence-Bible.html) in preparation for Ash Wednesday and Lent. Today, Shrove Tuesday is primarily observed among Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Methodists. The word shrove is the past tense of shrive, a verb meaning “to go to confession and get absolved of sin.” In the past few centuries, though, Shrove Tuesday has turned into more of a day of feasting in preparation for the fasting that is to occur during Lent. The feasting aspect of Shrove Tuesday originated due to the need to get rid of the foods/ingredients that are restricted during the Lenten fasting, such as sugar, leavened flour, eggs, etc. The need to use up these ingredients has resulted in Shrove Tuesday also becoming known as Pancake Tuesday, or, more simply, Pancake Day. What does the Bible say about Shrove Tuesday? Should Christians observe Shrove Tuesday? Considering the Bible does not even mention Ash Wednesday or the 40 days of Lent, Shrove Tuesday is not a biblical observance, either. There is certainly nothing wrong with Christians eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, or any other Tuesday for that matter. Should a Christian feel led of the Lord to observe Lent in some fashion, there would be nothing wrong with observing a feast the day before the 40 days of Lent. What must be understood, however, is that Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, etc., are not observances God requires of Christians. Observance of these days is entirely a matter of personal conviction. Shrove Tuesday Calendar: 2024 — February 13 2025 — March 4
What is the Feast of Tabernacles / Booths / Sukkot?	Answer The Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of Booths and Sukkot, is the seventh and last feast that the Lord commanded Israel to observe and one of the three feasts that Jews were to observe each year by going to “appear before the Lord your God in the place which He shall choose” (Deuteronomy 16:16\). The importance of the Feast of Tabernacles can be seen in how many places it is mentioned in Scripture. In the Bible we see many important events that took place at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. For one thing, it was at this time that [Solomon’s Temple](Solomon-first-temple.html) was dedicated to the Lord (1 Kings 8:2\). It was at the Feast of Tabernacles that the Israelites, who had returned to rebuild the temple, gathered to celebrate under the leadership of Joshua and Zerubbabel (Ezra 3\). Later, the Jews heard Ezra read the Word of God to them during the Feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8\). Ezra’s preaching resulted in a great revival as the Israelites confessed and repented of their sins. It was also during this Feast that Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37–39\). The Feast of Tabernacles takes place on the 15th of the Hebrew month Tishri. This was the seventh month on the [Hebrew calendar](Jewish-calendar.html) and usually occurs in late September to mid\-October. The feast begins five days after the Day of Atonement and at the time the fall harvest had just been completed. It was a time of joyous celebration as the Israelites celebrated God’s continued provision for them in the current harvest and remembered His provision and protection during the 40 years in the wilderness. As one of the three feasts that all “native born” male Jews were commanded to participate in, the Feast of Tabernacles is mentioned multiple times in Scripture, sometimes called the Feast of the Ingathering, the Feast to the Lord, or the Feast of Booths (Exodus 23:16; Deuteronomy 16:13\). As one of the pilgrim feasts (when Jewish males were commanded to go to Jerusalem), it was also the time when they brought their tithes and offerings to the Temple (Deuteronomy 16:16\). With the influx of people coming to Jerusalem at that time, we can only imagine what the scene must have been like. Thousands upon thousands of people coming together to remember and celebrate God’s deliverance and His provision, all living in temporary shelters or booths as part of the requirements of the feast. During the eight\-day period, so many sacrifices were made that it required all twenty\-four divisions of priests to be present to assist in the sacrificial duties. We find God’s instructions for celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles in Leviticus 23, given at a point in history right after God had delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt. The feast was to be celebrated each year on “the fifteenth day of this seventh month” and was to run for seven days (Leviticus 23:34\). Like all feasts, it begins with a “holy convocation” or Sabbath day when the Israelites were to stop working to set aside the day for worshiping God. On each day of the feast they were to offer an “offering made by fire to the Lord” and then after seven days of feasting, again the eighth day was to be “a holy convocation” when they were to cease from work and offer another sacrifice to God (Leviticus 23\). Lasting eight days, the Feast of Tabernacles begins and ends with a Sabbath day of rest. During the eight days of the feast, the Israelites would dwell in booths or tabernacles that were made from the branches of trees (Leviticus 23:40–42\). The Feast of Tabernacles, like all the feasts, was instituted by God as a way of reminding Israelites in every generation of their deliverance by God from Egypt. Of course, the feasts are also significant in that they foreshadow the work and actions of the coming Messiah. Much of Jesus’ public ministry took place in conjunction with the Holy Feasts set forth by God. The three pilgrim feasts where all Jewish males were commanded to “appear before the Lord in the place he chooses” are each very important in regards to the life of Christ and His work of redemption. We know with certainty that the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are symbolic of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross. Likewise, we know that Pentecost, which marked the beginning of the Feast of Weeks, was the time of Jesus’ bodily ascension. And most scholars would agree that the Feast of Tabernacles is symbolic of Christ’s [second coming](second-coming-Jesus-Christ.html) when He will establish His earthly kingdom. There are also some who believe that it was likely during the Feast of Tabernacles that Jesus was born. While we celebrate Christ’s birth on [December 25](December-25.html), most scholars acknowledge that this tradition was begun in the fourth century AD by the Roman Catholic Church and that the exact day of Jesus’ birth is unknown. Some of the evidence that Jesus might have been born earlier in the year during the Feast of the Tabernacles includes the fact that it would be unlikely for shepherds to still be in the field with their sheep in December, which is in the middle of the winter, but it would have been likely they were in the fields tending sheep at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. The strong possibility that Jesus was born at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles is also seen in the words John wrote in John 1:14\. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” The word John chose to speak of Jesus “dwelling” among us is the word tabernacle, which simply means to “dwell in a tent.” Some believe it is very likely that John intentionally used this word to associate the first coming of Christ with the Feast of Tabernacles. Christ came in the flesh to dwell among us for a temporary time when He was born in the manger, and He is coming again to dwell among us as Lord of Lords. While it cannot be established with certainty that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles, some believe there is a strong possibility the Feast of Tabernacles not only looks forward to His second coming but also reflects back on His first coming. The Feast of Tabernacles begins and ends with a special Sabbath day of rest. During the days of the feast all native Israelites were “to dwell in booths” to remind them that God delivered them out of the “land of Egypt” and to look forward to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would deliver His people from the bondage of sin. This feast, like all of the feasts of Israel, consistently reminded the Jews and should remind Christians as well that God has promised to deliver His people from the bondage of sin and deliver them from their enemies. Part of God’s deliverance for the Israelites was His provision and protection of them for the 40 years they wandered in the wilderness, cut off from the Promised Land. The same holds true for Christians today. God protects us and provides for us as we go through life in the wilderness of this world. While our hearts long for the Promised Land (heaven) and to be in the presence of God, He preserves us in this world as we await the world to come and the redemption that will come when Jesus Christ returns again to “tabernacle” or dwell among us in bodily form.
What is a prayer shawl?	Answer The Jewish prayer shawl is a fringed garment worn by Jewish men on the outside of their regular garments in the synagogue, especially during morning, [Sabbath](sabbath-day-rest.html), and other holiday services. The Hebrew name for this prayer shawl is tallit, which simply means “a robe,” “a cloak,” or “a sheet.” The Jewish prayer shawl is usually made of wool or silk and is often long enough to cover most of the body, with special twined and knotted fringes attached to each of its four corners. In modern times it is not uncommon to see Jewish men wear a silk prayer shawl that is no more than a scarf around the neck. The ultra\-Orthodox Jewish men wear the prayer shawl over the head when they recite the more important prayers. Although the Hebrew word tallit is not found in Scripture, the biblical command for Israelites to wear a “fringed” or “tasseled” garment can be found in the Torah, in which God says to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God’” (Numbers 15:38–40\). And also, “Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear” (Deuteronomy 22:12\). So the original scriptural intent behind this fringed garment was to remind the Israelites of God’s commandments to them. According to Jewish understanding, the numerical value of the Hebrew word tzitzit (fringes) is 600\. Each of the fringes contains 8 threads and 5 knots, making a total of 613\. Based on rabbinical Judaism, this number corresponds to the [613 commandments](613-commandments.html) contained in the Torah. Jewish prayer shawls are being promoted and marketed quite heavily today in the Messianic and [Hebrew Roots](Hebrew-roots.html) movements, and they have also begun to make their way into some mainline Christian communities. Some Christians believe that, if the fringed garment is a garment that Jesus wore, it therefore should (or must) be worn by Christian believers today, both Jewish and Gentile, if they are going to observe Torah in accordance with the laws that God commanded. To this it is important to say that believers in the Jewish Messiah should avoid getting caught up in unhealthy practices. It is one thing to recover the Jewish foundations of the Christian faith; it is quite another to follow observances or traditions that bind us and put us once again under a yoke of legal bondage. God’s New Covenant people are not called upon or required to wear the prayer shawl or any other type of fringed garment. Sadly, however, many well\-meaning Messianic and Gentile believers seem to confuse the idea of Torah with that of covenant and therefore fail to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15\). The Law of Moses was given to the nation of Israel and intended to function as a “tutor” for receiving and understanding the Messiah’s greater instruction (Galatians 3:19–25\). Followers of Jesus the Messiah, both Jewish and non\-Jewish alike, are admonished not to revert to childish thinking but to understand spiritual matters with maturity (1 Corinthians 13:11; 14:20; Hebrews 5:12–14\). Failure to make a proper distinction between the Law and the gospel of grace always leads to doctrinal confusion within the covenant community of God’s people. Even the most zealous among the Jewish people were not able to bear the burden of the yoke of the Law of Moses (see Acts 15\). We who follow Jesus the Jewish Messiah are now led by the Spirit of God as God’s sons and are therefore no longer subject to religious regulations that command us to “touch not, taste not, handle not.” We are now called to seek those things that are above, where the Messiah reigns from on high (Colossians 2:20–3:1\). Followers of Jesus have a “better covenant based on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6\), and the Law was only a shadow of something greater that was promised by the prophets; that “greater something” is Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:6\).
Does the Bible support the pre-existence of Jesus?	Answer The biblical argument for the pre\-existence of Jesus is certainly multi\-faceted. Pre\-existence is defined as “existence in a former state or previous to something else.” In the case of Jesus Christ, His pre\-existence means that, before He became a man and walked upon the earth, He was already in existence as the second Person of the triune God. The Bible not only explicitly teaches this doctrine but also implies this fact at various points throughout the Gospels and Epistles. In addition, Jesus’ own actions reveal His divine identity and, as a consequence, His pre\-existence. Several places in the New Testament explicitly teach Jesus’ pre\-existence. Jesus said, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:5\). This passage alone is sufficient to show that the Scripture supports Jesus’ pre\-existence, but it is just one of many such passages. Jesus Himself explicitly taught His own pre\-existence (John 3:13; 6:33, 38, 62; 8:23; 16:28\). Christ even said that [He existed prior to Abraham’s birth](Jesus-and-Abraham.html) (John 8:58–59\) even though Abraham’s birth preceded Jesus’ own birth by many centuries! Several texts present Jesus as pre\-existing with His Father (Romans 8:3; 1 John 1:2; Galatians 4:4\). Several passages even identify Jesus as the Creator (John 1:2–3; Colossians 1:16–17; Hebrews 1:2\). Probably the most powerful evidence for the pre\-existence of Christ was the very behavior of Jesus Himself. He was often doing and saying things that only the God of Israel had the right or power to do. Jesus’ healing of the paralytic in Mark 2 was done to demonstrate His authority and His ability to forgive sins (Mark 2:3–12\). Jesus’ Jewish audience was well aware that such actions were reserved only for Yahweh. Jesus’ actions in Luke 7 drew a similar reaction (Luke 7:48–50\). That Jesus pre\-existed in His divinity is further proven by His being the object of worship repeatedly in the Gospels (Matthew 28:9, 17; Luke 24:52; John 9:38; 20:28\). Never did Jesus reject such adoration. He saw such worship as entirely appropriate. Jesus implied that He had authority over the Sabbath (Mark 2:28\) as well as the authority to abolish the Law (Ephesians 2:14–15\). Such behavior is sheer blasphemy coming from anyone short of a divine (and therefore pre\-existent) Person. In addition, Jesus identified Himself as the divine Son of Man (Mark 14:61–64\) and claimed to be able to raise Himself from the dead (John 10:17–18\)! This turned out to be the very miracle that He claimed would authenticate His radical claims and ministry (Matthew 12:38–40;16:1–4\). Jesus accomplished this grand miracle and gave convincing proof of it (Luke 24:36–43; John 20:26; 21:1\-14; Acts 1:3–6\). This miracle established Jesus’ claim to deity and thus provides further confirmation of His pre\-existence.
Why did God allow incest in the Bible?	Answer There are numerous examples of incest in the Bible. The most commonly thought\-of examples are the sons/daughters of Adam and Eve (Genesis 4\), Abraham marrying his half\-sister Sarah (Genesis 20:12\), Lot and his daughters (Genesis 19\), Moses’ father Amram who married his aunt Jochebed (Exodus 6:20\), and David’s son [Amnon](Amnon-and-Tamar.html) with his half\-sister Tamar (2 Samuel 13\). It is important to note, however, that in two of the above instances (Tamar and Lot), one of the parties involved was an unwilling participant in the incest—better described as rape in those cases. It is important to distinguish between incestuous relationships prior to God commanding against them (Leviticus 18:6–18\) and incest that occurred after God’s commands had been revealed. Until God commanded against it, it was not incest. It was just marrying a close relative. It is undeniable that God allowed “incest” in the early centuries of humanity. Since Adam and Eve were the only two human beings on earth, their sons and daughters had no choice but to marry and reproduce with their siblings and close relatives. The second generation had to marry their cousins, just as after the flood the grandchildren of Noah had to intermarry amongst their cousins. One reason that incest is so strongly discouraged in the world today is the understanding that reproduction between closely related individuals has a much higher risk of causing genetic abnormalities. In the early days of humanity, though, this was not a risk due to the fact that the human genetic code was relatively free of defects. Another consideration is that incest today almost always involves a pre\-pubescent or powerless victim, and the perpetrator is abusing his or her authority with the goal of unilateral sexual pleasure. By that standard, the “incest” of the Bible has nothing whatsoever in common with modern\-day incest. There was no power difference between [Cain and his wife](Cains-wife.html), for example; the goal of Abraham and Sarah’s marriage was to create a family. Intermarriage among close family members was a necessity in the generations immediately following Adam and Noah and was not a sinful perversion of sex. It seems that, by the time of Moses, the human genetic code had become polluted enough that close intermarriage was no longer safe. So, God commanded against sexual relations with siblings, half\-siblings, parents, and aunts/uncles (Genesis 2:24 seems to indicate that marriage and sexual relations between parents and children were never allowed by God). It was not until many centuries later that humanity discovered the genetic reason that incest is unsafe and unwise. Genetics was not an issue in the early centuries of humanity, and the marriages that occurred between Adam and Eve’s children, Abraham and Sarah, and Amram and Jochebed were not selfish pursuits of sexual gratification or abuses of authority; accordingly, those relationships should not be viewed as incestuous. The key is that sexual relations between close relatives were viewed differently pre\-Law and post\-Law. It did not become “incest” until God commanded against it.
What is the meaning and significance of the crown of thorns?	Answer After Jesus’ sham [trials](trials-of-Jesus.html) and subsequent flogging, and before He was crucified, the Roman soldiers “twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ they said” (Matthew 27:29; see also John 19:2\-5\). While a crown of thorns would be exceedingly painful, the crown of thorns was more about mockery than it was about pain. Here was the “King of the Jews” being beaten, spit upon, and insulted by presumably low\-level Roman soldiers. The crown of thorns was the finalizing of their mockery, taking a symbol of royalty and majesty, a crown, and turning it into something painful and degrading. For Christians, the crown of thorns is a reminder of two things: (1\) Jesus was, and is, indeed a king. One day, the entire universe will bow to Jesus as the “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16\). What the Roman soldiers meant as a mockery, was in fact a picture of Christ’s two roles, first of suffering servant (Isaiah 53\), and second of conquering Messiah\-King (Revelation 19\). (2\) Jesus was willing to endure the pain, the insults, and the shame, all on our account. The crown of thorns, and the suffering that went with it, are long gone, and Jesus has now received the crown of which He is worthy. “But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, *crowned with glory and honor* because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9, emphasis added). There is further symbolism embodied in the crown of thorns. When Adam and Eve sinned, bringing evil and a curse upon the world, part of the curse upon humanity was “…cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you…” (Genesis 3:17\-18, emphasis added). The Roman soldiers unknowingly took an object of the curse and fashioned it into a crown for the one who would deliver us from that curse. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13\). Christ, in His perfect atoning sacrifice, has delivered us from the curse of sin, of which a thorn is a symbol. While intended to be a mockery, the crown of thorns was, in fact, an excellent symbol of who Jesus is and what He came to accomplish.
What is the Southern Baptist Convention, and what do Southern Baptists believe?	Answer The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is an association comprised of over 16 million members in over 42,000 churches in the United States. Individual church membership is typically a matter of accepting Jesus Christ as personal Savior and submitting to [believer’s baptism](believers-baptism.html) by immersion. The SBC is considered to be an evangelistic, mission\-minded church with a generally conservative doctrine that focuses on the fact that Jesus died for our sin, was buried, and then rose from the grave and ascended to heaven. Unlike some other denominations, the churches in the Southern Baptist Convention generally identify themselves as independent, autonomous congregations that have voluntarily joined together for mutual support. The Southern Baptist Convention got its start in 1845 during the turmoil that led to the Civil War. As with the war itself, there were many factors that led to the division between North and South, but the headline issue for the church was slavery. Following the great revivals of the early 1800s, many Baptist churches in the northern states took a strong stand for the abolition of slavery. Though the Triennial Convention attempted to mediate the issue by establishing a non\-committal policy on slavery, the southern churches felt slighted in the national meeting and formed their own convention at the First Baptist Church of Augusta, Georgia. Though they differed on the issue of slavery, the Southern Baptists and Northern Baptists essentially held the same doctrines following the split. One key distinction in practice was the cooperative movement in the Southern Baptist Convention. Whereas the Northern Baptists maintained their independence, the Southern Baptists formed a cooperative body to support world missions and other causes. These cooperative efforts were directed by the central administration rather than the churches. In forming the denomination, Southern Baptists wanted to maintain the autonomy of the local churches while creating an alliance of churches working in friendly cooperation. The denomination does not ordain ministers, assign pastoral positions, or mandate contributions, as these decisions rightly belong to the local churches. The primary goal of the denomination is to identify with like\-minded churches and pool resources to establish and advance the work of the gospel. The “convention” lasts for 2 days each year, as messengers elected from the various churches gather together to address issues of doctrine and practice that impact the churches. The messengers develop and vote on resolutions that are then delivered back to the churches as recommended practices, but there is no authority to force churches into compliance. Throughout their history, the Southern Baptists have seen the same kind of struggles with liberalism and modernism that many other churches have. From its founding, the Southern Baptist Convention was more concerned with functional unity than doctrinal unity, and, as a result, there was a wide divergence of beliefs within the churches of the denomination. In the 1950s liberalism began to increase in the seminaries, resulting in many students doubting the truthfulness of the Bible. In the 1963 convention, the Baptist Faith and Message was written to try to keep the peace between liberals and conservatives, but the schism continued to grow. Conservative members sought to uphold the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God, which is authoritative in every area of life (2 Timothy 3:16\). More liberal members questioned the historical accuracy of certain sections of Scripture, such as the creation account of Genesis 1 and 2\. Convention members who held to conservative doctrinal views saw the danger and prepared a statement in 1979 that emphasized the need for doctrinal unity within functional diversity. Starting in the 1980s, there has been a conservative “takeover” or resurgence within the leadership of the convention. In 1995 the convention approved a resolution renouncing its racist past and apologizing for its past defense of slavery. In 2000 the Baptist Faith and Message was revised to reflect support for a male\-only pastorate and instructing women to exhibit loving submission to their husbands. As a result of these and other conservative decisions, there have been a number of churches and groups that have separated and formed their own associations or joined other associations. In 2004 the SBC removed itself from the Baptist World Alliance, which it said had become too liberal. Overall, Southern Baptist churches are good, strong, biblically based churches. As with any church denomination or association, though, there can be bad churches and/or bad pastors. Just as you should with any other church, sincerely ask God to lead you to the church of His choosing for you. Carefully examine the teachings and practices of a church before officially joining it.
Is it allowable for a Christian to eat halal food?	Answer The word halal means “permissible” in Arabic. It refers to food, objects, or actions that are allowed in Islam. Among other things, halal meat must be killed with a sharp knife and drained of blood. No carnivorous animals, birds of prey, or meat contaminated with non\-permissible substances can be used. This, in and of itself, is a healthy way of preparing meat. The problem comes when Allah’s name is pronounced over the meat during the butchering process. Many interpret this to mean the animal was sacrificed to a false god—an idol. Nearly two thousand years ago, Paul wrote to the church in Corinth regarding the permissibility of eating meat sacrificed to idols, because the Corinthians also struggled with this issue. In Corinth, as in many Roman cities, the only meat available at markets was that which had been sacrificed to a pagan idol. Paul told the Corinthian Christians that a false idol is nothing. It has no authority. It did not create the animal or provide the owner with it (1 Corinthians 8:4\). The point, then, becomes not the food or the idol it was sacrificed to, but concern for other people. Mature Christians realize that food, sacrificed to an idol or not, is a neutral entity. Believers have freedom in Christ to eat or not, as they choose. But freedom is useless without love. And if eating meat sacrificed to idols is harmful to another believer, it should be avoided. Many of the poorest in Corinth could only afford to eat meat in the context of a pagan ritual—to them, meat was equated with their previous life. These “weaker” brothers were not yet free of the religious connotation that meat carried. Therefore, a “stronger” brother indulging in meat\-eating could entice the weaker into an action that he believed was wrong, and was therefore sin (Romans 14:23\). To Paul, another believer’s walk was far more important than what he ate. Paul continues the discussion, giving specifics: If you’re buying meat at the market, don’t ask where it came from. If you’re invited to a friend’s for a meal, don’t ask where it came from. If the information is volunteered that the meat was sacrificed to an idol, refrain (1 Corinthians 10:23\-33\). But, Paul says, do not refrain from eating because of your conscience—your conscience should understand that you are free to enjoy God’s provision (1 Corinthians 10:30\)—but for the conscience of the one who provided it. If a weak brother is offering, you may lead him into sin. If an unbeliever is offering, you may be seen as tacitly endorsing the god to which it was sacrificed. Either way, it doesn’t become an issue until the other person brings it up. Acts 15:23\-29 puts a different spin on things. Here, the Christian elders in Jerusalem sent a letter to the new believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, giving them certain guidelines: “…that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication.” Why the discrepancy? One possibility is geography. Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia are much closer to Israel than Corinth. The new Gentile believers would have had much more contact with Jewish Christians who still identified with Jewish law. Like the circumcision issue in Acts 15:1\-12, the food regulations would have promoted unity in the church. Corinth, conversely, is in Greece. Meat not sacrificed to idols would have been very hard to find. Halal food is no different. There is one God who provides for us. Claiming the name of a false god does nothing to the food physically or spiritually. But, like the Corinthians, we should always act out of love. If we are with others who believe halal food is wrong to eat, we should refrain out of concern for their conviction. If we are served food by someone who makes a point that it is halal, we should refrain as a quiet sign that we do not accept the authority of the false god to which it was dedicated. If we are in a restaurant or market or school or home that, we suspect, is serving halal food, we should eat and give thanks to the true God who provides.
What opportunities are there for Christian service outside of the church?	Answer Any service that reflects Jesus’ love is “Christian service.” From giving a cup of water (Mark 9:41\) to dying for someone (John 15:13\), there are as many types of Christian service as there are needs in the world. Very few involve activity within the four walls of the church. The Bible gives some specific examples of Christian service: show hospitality to strangers (Hebrews 13:2\), remember those in prison (Matthew 25:36\), provide for the needy (Matthew 25:35\), and mentor others (Titus 2:2\-8\). Some examples speak to our day\-to\-day living: care for children (Matthew 18:5\), tend families (Titus 2:5\), treat employees fairly (Colossians 4:1\), deal honestly with customers (Leviticus 19:36\), and be diligent with employers’ resources (Matthew 25:14\-30\). As long as the act is done “in Jesus’ name”—that is, it is motivated by the love of Jesus—it is Christian service. There are thousands of organizations outside the church committed to serving others. Homeless shelters, housing builders, and food banks always need volunteers and donations. Internationally, organizations like Compassion International provide food, clothing, and education for children in sometimes dangerous situations. Other ministries provide water, micro\-loans, or resources such as farm animals to enable the child’s family to generate their own income. The world outside the walls of the church offers many opportunities for those specifically educated in theology. Chaplains serve hospitals, military bases, and shipping ports. Foreign missionaries travel overseas to plant churches and train indigenous pastors. Parachurch ministries provide biblical guidance for families and others in need. And internet ministries like Got Questions are always in need of those who can explain the truth of God in a loving, easy\-to\-understand way. The world is in desperate need of Christians willing to show the love of Christ through their actions. Jesus said the second greatest commandment was to love others—not sentimentally, but tangibly. Every action performed out of kindness, powered by the understanding of Christ and His love, is Christian service.
How can I please God?	Answer Pleasing God is, or should be, the goal of all believers—all who call upon the name of Christ for salvation. The requirements for all who want to please God are that they must seek God by faith, walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh, and walk worthy of our calling in obedience and submission to the will of God. These things may seem impossible to do, but God wants us to please Him, and He makes it possible for us to please Him. We do these things by the power of His Spirit who lives in our hearts. Paul reminds the believers in Rome that “they who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8\). So the first step in pleasing God is to accept the sacrifice for sin that He provided in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Only then are we “in the Spirit” and not “in the flesh.” We do this by faith because “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6\). In Romans 8, Paul explains the difference between the sinful nature and the nature of those regenerated by the Spirit. Those who are still in their sin have their minds set on sinful desires, whereas the ones regenerated by Christ have a completely new mind that is controlled by the Spirit and desire to live in accordance with Him. “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (Romans 8:6\-7\). So the first step for believers in pleasing God is to be sure we are walking in the Spirit, not in the flesh. Furthermore, we must live by faith (Hebrews 10:38\). God cannot be pleased with those who “shrink back” from Him because they have no confidence in Him or they doubt the truth of His declarations and promises, or who do not believe that His ways are right and holy and perfect. The requirement of faith and confidence in God is not unreasonable; it is just what we require of our children and spouses, and it is an indispensable condition of our being pleased with them. So it is with God. Therefore, pleasing God is a matter of living according to His precepts, commandments, and doing so in love. We always want to please those we love, and the New Testament is full of exhortations to righteous living and loving Christ by obeying His commandments. Jesus made this very plain: “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15\). The Epistles are God’s plan for believers and are filled with exhortations to display throughout our lives the behavior that is pleasing to God: “For the rest, then, my brothers, we beseech you and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as you have received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, so you would abound more and more” (1Thessalonians 4:1\).
How can we experience true freedom in Christ?	Answer Everyone seeks freedom. Especially in the West, freedom is the highest virtue, and it is sought after by all who are, or consider themselves to be, oppressed. But freedom in Christ is not the same as political or economic freedom. In fact, some of the most harshly oppressed people in history have had complete freedom in Christ. The Bible tells us that, spiritually speaking, no one is free. In Romans 6, Paul explains that we are all slaves. We are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. Those who are slaves to sin cannot free themselves from it, but once we are freed from the penalty and power of sin through the cross, we become a different kind of slave, and in that slavery we find complete peace and true freedom. Although it seems like a contradiction, the only true freedom in Christ comes to those who are His slaves. Slavery has come to mean degradation, hardship, and inequality. But the biblical paradigm is the true freedom of the slave of Christ who experiences joy and peace, the products of the only true freedom we will ever know in this life. There are 124 occurrences in the New Testament of the word doulos, which means “someone who belongs to another” or “bondslave with no ownership rights of his own.” Unfortunately, most modern Bible versions, as well as the King James Version, most often translate doulos as “servant” or “bond\-servant.” But a servant is one who works for wages, and who, by virtue of his work, is owed something from his master. The Christian, on the other hand, has nothing to offer the Lord in payment for his forgiveness, and he is totally owned by the Master who bought him with His shed blood on the cross. Christians are purchased by that blood and are the possession of their Lord and Savior. We are not hired by Him; we belong to Him (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 7:4\). So “slave” is really the only proper translation of the word doulos. Far from being oppressed, the slave of Christ is truly free. We have been set free from sin by the Son of God who said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36\). Now the Christian can truly say, along with Paul, “Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2\). We now know the truth and that truth has set us free (John 8:32\). Paradoxically, through our bondage to Christ, we have also become sons and heirs of the Most High God (Galatians 4:1–7\). As heirs, we are partakers of that inheritance—eternal life—which God confers on all His children. This is a privilege beyond any earthly treasure we could ever inherit, while those in [bondage](spiritual-bondage.html) to sin inherit only spiritual death and an eternity in hell. Why, then, do so many Christians live as though they are still in bondage? For one thing, we often rebel against our Master, refusing to obey Him and clinging to our old lives. We hold on to the sins that once bound us to Satan as our master. Because our new nature still lives in the old fleshly nature, we are still drawn to sin. Paul tells the Ephesians to “put off” the old self with its deceit and corruption and “put on” the new self with its righteousness. Put off lying, and put on truthfulness. Put off stealing, and put on usefulness and work. Put off bitterness, rage, and anger, and put on kindness, compassion, and forgiveness (Ephesians 4:22–32\). We have been set free from the bondage of sin, but we often put the chains back on because part of us loves the old life. Furthermore, often we don’t realize that we have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20\) and that we have been reborn as completely new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17\). The Christian life is one of death to self and rising to “walk in the newness of life” (Romans 6:4\), and that new life is characterized by thoughts about Him who saved us, not thoughts about the dead flesh that has been crucified with Christ. When we are continually thinking about ourselves and indulging the flesh in sins we have been freed from, we are essentially carrying around a corpse, full of rottenness and death. The only way to bury it fully is by the power of the Spirit who is the only source of strength. We strengthen the new nature by continually feeding on the Word of God, and through prayer we obtain the power we need to escape the desire to return to the old life of sin. Then we will realize that our new status as slaves to Christ is the only true freedom, and we will call upon His power to “not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires” (Romans 6:12\).
Why is waiting on God so difficult?	Answer Waiting on God is not only difficult; sometimes it seems impossible. We want things to happen in our own timing, according to our plans. But God doesn’t operate on our schedules, and expecting that He will sets one up for disappointment. Waiting on God means going without [answers to prayer](does-God-answer-prayers.html), wondering why the wicked seem to prosper, and having desires delayed and hope deferred. God has a greater perspective of life’s events, and His perspective, plans, and schedules are perfect and holy, because He is perfect and holy. The psalmist tells us, “As for God, His way is perfect” (Psalm 18:30\). If God’s ways are “perfect,” then we can trust that whatever He does—and whatever His timing—is also perfect. When we grasp that fact, waiting on God is not only made less difficult, it actually becomes joyful. The promises of God are clear on this matter—in waiting on God, we find our strength renewed (Isaiah 40:31\). But we are human, and we live in a fast\-paced culture that demands everything now. That’s one reason why waiting on God is difficult. Sometimes, the prayers we lift up to the Lord of Hosts are answered immediately, and that encourages us to further trust and confidence. However, sometimes the Lord’s answers are delayed. Over a period of time, the Lord tests our faith, and that’s when we can really struggle. We may even start to wonder whether the Lord is really listening to our prayers. Waiting on God should not cause the believer to doubt or to worry. The apostle Paul exhorts us to not be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6\). The King James Version translates this as the command to be “careful for nothing.” This means we are not to be full of care over anything; we should be mindful of nothing that might cause concern, except to bring it to God in prayer. [Anxiety](Bible-anxiety.html) in the believer suggests a lack of faith, and that grieves the Lord (see Matthew 8:26\). Waiting on God can keep us out of trouble. Abraham had God’s promise of a son through whom the covenant would be fulfilled (Genesis 15:4\). Abraham and Sarah tried and waited, but they could have no child. Rather than waiting on God and His timing, they unwisely took matters into their own hands, and [Ishmael](Ishmael-in-the-Bible.html) was the result (Genesis 16\). One divine attribute that will enable us to patiently wait on God is His [sovereignty](sovereignty-of-God.html). We can have complete confidence in His total, independent control over every creature, event, and circumstance at every moment in history. Subject to none, influenced by none, and absolutely independent, God does what He pleases, only as He pleases, and always as He pleases. Nothing can stay His hand: “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” (Isaiah 46:10\). Once we better understand God’s sovereignty, coupled with His goodness, waiting for God to act becomes a matter of a child trusting in his father’s faithfulness, sure of his father’s strength. Waiting on God is never easy, but we wait in the knowledge that God knows our situation, He cares for our needs, and He is good to the end. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12\).
What does it mean that God is our Abba Father?	Answer In Scripture there are many different names used to describe God. While all the names of God are important in many ways, the name “Abba Father” is one of the most significant names of God in understanding how He relates to people. The word Abba is an Aramaic word that means “Father.” It was a common term that expressed affection and confidence and trust. Abba signifies the close, intimate relationship of a father and his child, as well as the childlike trust that a young child puts in his “daddy.” Abba is always followed by the word Father in Scripture, and the phrase is found in three passages. In Mark 14:36, Jesus addresses His Father as “Abba, Father” in His prayer in Gethsemane. In Romans 8:15, “Abba, Father” is mentioned in relation to the Spirit’s work of adoption that makes us God’s children and heirs with Christ. In Galatians 4:6, again in the context of adoption, the Spirit in our hearts cries out, “Abba, Father.” Together, the terms Abba and Father doubly emphasize the fatherhood of God. In two different languages, we are assured of God’s care for His children. Many claim that [all people are “children of God,”](all-God-children.html) but the Bible reveals quite a different truth. We are all His creations and under His authority and lordship, and all will be judged by Him, but the right to be a child of God and call Him “Abba Father” is something that only born\-again Christians have (John 1:12–13\).When we are born again (John 3:1–8\), we are adopted into the family of God, redeemed from the curse of sin, and made heirs of God (Romans 8:17; Galatians 4:7\). Part of that new relationship is that God now deals with us differently, as family. It is life\-changing to understand what it means to be able to call the one true God our “Father” and what it means to be joint\-heirs with Christ. Because of our relationship with our Abba, Father, He no longer deals with us as enemies; instead, we can approach Him with “boldness” (Hebrews 10:19\) and in “full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22\). The Holy Spirit “testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co\-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16–17\). Becoming a child of God is the highest and most humbling of honors. Because of it we have a new relationship with God and a new standing before Him. Instead of running from God and trying to hide our sin like Adam and Eve did, we run to Him, calling, “Abba, Father!” and finding forgiveness in Christ. Being an adopted child of God is the source of our hope, the security of our future, and the motivation to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1\). Being children of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords calls us to a higher standard, a different way of life, and, in the future, “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Peter 1:4\). When Jesus [taught His disciples to pray](Lords-prayer.html), He began with the words Our Father. There is much truth in those two words alone. The holy and righteous God, who created and sustains all things, who is all\-powerful, all\-knowing, and ever\-present, not only allows us but encourages us to call Him “Father.” What a privilege is ours. What amazing grace that God would love us so, that Jesus would sacrifice Himself for us, and that the Holy Spirit would indwell us and prompt our intimate cry of “Abba, Father!”
What is the meaning of the tree of life?	Answer The tree of life, mentioned in the books of Genesis and Revelation, is a life\-giving tree created to enhance and perpetually sustain the physical life of humanity. The tree was planted by God in the Garden of Eden: “The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the [tree of the knowledge of good and evil](tree-knowledge-good-evil.html)” (Genesis 2:9\). The centrally located tree of life would have been easily accessible to Adam and Eve from any point in the garden. More details concerning the tree of life come after Adam and Eve’s sin: “The LORD God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever’” (Genesis 3:22\). In his disobedience, [Adam](Adam-in-the-Bible.html) lost his eternal life. The tree of life in Eden must have had some role to play in maintaining the life of Adam and Eve (and possibly the animals). Adam would “live forever,” even in his fallen condition, if he had eaten the tree of life after his sin. God placed a sword\-wielding cherub at the entrance to the garden specifically “to guard the way to the tree of life” (verse 24\). It seems access to the tree of life would have prolonged Adam’s physical life indefinitely, dooming him to an eternity in a cursed world. It was a mercy that God kept us from the tree of life. By barring access to the tree of life, God showed compassion in His omniscience. Knowing that, because of sin, earthly life would be filled with sorrow and toil, God graciously limited the number of years men would live. To live eternally in a sinful state would mean endless agony for humanity, with no hope of the relief that comes with death. By limiting our lifespan, God gives us enough time to come to know Him and His provision for eternal life through Christ but spares us the misery of an endless existence in a sinful condition. In His great love, God provided One who would redeem fallen mankind. Through one man, Adam, sin entered the world, but through another Man, Jesus Christ, redemption through the forgiveness of sin is available to all (Romans 5:17\). Those who avail themselves of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross will be resurrected to see the tree of life again, for it stands in the middle of the Holy City, the [New Jerusalem](new-jerusalem.html), where it bears “twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2\). In the eternal state, the curse will be no more (verse 3\), access to the tree of life will be reinstated, and darkness will be forever banished (verse 5\). Eden will be restored.
What does it mean to be a stumbling block to someone else?	Answer In the midst of a series of laws regulating the treatment of others, we find “Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:14\). Obviously, putting a rock or brick in front of a blind person is cruel, but the New Testament takes the practical adage and turns it into a spiritual metaphor. After Peter rebuked Jesus, denying the crucifixion would take place, Jesus said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (Matthew 16:23\). Peter, under the influence of Satan, tried to distract Jesus from what He had come to do. He tried to make Jesus “stumble” in His path to the crucifixion. Paul reiterates the idea: “…but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23\). The idea that the Messiah would be crucified was a stumbling block to the Jews—something that tripped up their beliefs of what the Messiah would be like. But most of the time, a “stumbling block” refers to something or someone who keeps another from a relationship with God. In Matthew 18:5\-7, Jesus says, “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” Just as it would be better to chop off one’s hand than to sin (Matthew 18:8\), in the Kingdom perspective, it would be better to drown than lead a child into sin. Similarly, in Romans 14:13, Paul points out that God alone judges; we are not to judge others but be concerned that we are not the ones leading them into the sin we’re so concerned about. Stumbling blocks also arise when the path is a little more ambiguous. The mature Christian life allows some freedoms that seem contrary to an obedient, disciplined faith. The Corinthians were concerned about eating meat sacrificed to idols. Modern issues include drinking alcohol in moderation or dancing. “But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak” (1 Corinthians 8:9\). Our liberty is not worth another’s walk with God. If something God allows would lead another to sin, we need to avoid it. We are given great freedom as Christians, but the greatest is the freedom to consider others’ welfare over our own. Refraining from being a stumbling block means not leading another into sin. How we accomplish this depends on the situation and the hearts of those around us. The security we have in God’s love and provision, both now and eternally, allows us to show concern to those who are weaker—those who need specific encouragement to understand who God is. In some situations, that means living in those freedoms to exemplify that God is a God of grace. In others, it means disciplining ourselves to building up weaker believers and not pushing them into a liberty they’re not ready for. But, always, it means not encouraging another to act in a way the Bible specifically identifies as sin.
What are the keys of the kingdom?	Answer The biblical passage that makes reference to the “keys of the kingdom” is Matthew 16:19\. Jesus had asked His disciples who people thought He was. After hearing several of the more popular opinions, Jesus aimed His question directly at His disciples. Peter, responding for the twelve, acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. After this great confession, Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar\-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:17–19\). Keys are used to lock or unlock doors. The specific doors Jesus has in mind in this passage are the doors to the [Kingdom of Heaven](kingdom-heaven-God.html). Jesus is laying the foundation of His church (Ephesians 2:20\). The disciples will be the leaders of this new institution, and Jesus is giving them the authority to, as it were, open the doors to heaven and invite the world to enter. At this point it is important to understand how, biblically speaking, one enters the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said that, unless one is [born again](born-again.html), he will not see the Kingdom of Heaven (John 3:3\). One is born again as the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God to bring about new life in a dead sinner. The content of the message is the substitutionary death of Christ and His subsequent resurrection (Romans 10:9–10\). So the faithful preaching of the gospel is the key to the kingdom. In Matthew 16:19, Jesus is specifically addressing Peter, so it is significant that, in the book of Acts, Peter figures prominently in the “opening of doors” to three different groups of people so they can enter the Kingdom. In Acts 2, it is Peter who preaches in Jerusalem on the [Day of Pentecost](day-Pentecost.html); about three thousand Jewish people are saved that day. Peter’s preaching had “unlocked the door” of heaven for the Jews. Later, in Acts 8, the Samaritans believe the gospel and receive the Holy Spirit; again, Peter (and John) was present for this event. Peter had “unlocked the door” for the Samaritans. Then, in Acts 10, Peter brings the gospel to a Roman centurion’s household, and they, too, receive the Holy Spirit. Peter had “unlocked the door” for the Gentiles. The “keys” that Jesus had given him worked in each case. Of course, keys can be used to lock doors as well as open them. Part of the gospel message is that faith is necessary. Without faith in Christ, the door to heaven is shut and barred (see John 3:18\). As the apostles preached the gospel, those who responded in faith and repentance were granted access to the Kingdom of Heaven; yet those who continued to harden their hearts and reject the gospel of God’s saving grace were shut out of the Kingdom (Acts 8:23\). The context of Matthew 16 also refers to a “[binding and loosing](binding-loosing.html).” To better understand this concept, we turn to Matthew 18:15–20, where Jesus gives the guidelines for church discipline, using the same “binding and loosing” language we find in Matthew 16\. The apostles were not to usurp Christ’s authority over individual believers and their eternal destiny, but they were to exercise authority to discipline erring believers and, if necessary, excommunicate disobedient church members. Based on God’s Word, believers today can declare an unrepentant sinner to be unsaved (“bound”) and a repentant believer in Jesus Christ to be saved (“loosed”). The binding or loosing, based on one’s rejection or acceptance of the gospel, reflects heaven’s perspective on the matter. In heaven, Christ ratifies what is done in His name and in obedience to His Word on earth. God’s will is that sinners be granted access to heaven through the righteousness of Christ. Consider Jesus’ warning to the Pharisees: “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in” (Matthew 23:13\). If the gospel message is distorted or ignored, or if unrepentant sin is not adequately disciplined, the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven are being shut in people’s faces.
What is spiritualism?	Answer In the last few decades, there has been an increasing fascination with communing with the dead. The hit television shows Ghost Hunters, Beyond, and Crossing Over provide good examples. Through the stories told by the participants on these and other shows, the world is regaled with tales of contact with the spiritual world, some heartwarming and some horrific. Those who participate in these kinds of practices do not always understand or fully appreciate the considerable spiritual risks they are taking. Spiritualism is a pseudo\-religious system of shared concepts in which a key feature is the belief that a soul survives after the death of the physical body and these disembodied spirits are both willing and able to communicate with living persons. Like Christians, spiritualists believe in a single God—whom they refer to as “infinite Intelligence”—and that God holds each soul accountable for his actions and life choices. Unlike Christians, however, spiritualists do not believe that death marks the final point of judgment for a spirit, but souls have the capacity to learn, grow, and evolve after death to progressively higher planes of knowledge and perfection. They do not believe that Jesus’ death paid the penalty for sin and that salvation comes by grace through faith in Christ, but rather souls gradually progress after death through a series of steps toward a state of spiritual perfection. It is, therefore, a works\-based route to “salvation” after death. Spiritualism had its heyday during the 1840s and at the turn of the century in North America and Western Europe. During these periods of wars and upheaval, people sought comfort by contact with their departed loved ones. Historians often point to March 31, 1848, as the birth date of the spiritualism movement, when Margaret and Kate Fox, of Hydesville, New York, first made the astonishing announcement that they had contacted the spirit of a murdered peddler in their home. The peddler communicated with them by knocking on the table or wall. Thereafter, séances flourished among the upper middle class and the wealthy in America. Mediums such as Paschal Beverly Randolph and Cora Scott toured the country giving lectures and demonstrations. During this time, the writings of Franz Mesmer, from whose name the term mesmerism is derived, particularly influenced the spiritualist view of the afterlife and contact with the supernatural. There were many famous devotees of spiritualism, including Mary Todd Lincoln (wife of Abraham Lincoln) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. During the late 1880s, investigators began to expose many of the well\-known mediums as charlatans, proving that their demonstrations were contrived. Harry Houdini gained early popularity by his campaign to expose fraudulent mediums. Spiritualism attracted many followers who were unhappy with the established churches and sought reform. Indeed, many of the early Abolitionists and women’s rights advocates were spiritualists. Spiritualist meetings provided some of the earliest venues for women to speak publicly and authoritatively in a male\-dominated society. Radical Quakers, who were disenchanted with the established churches because of their failure to oppose slavery, used interest in spiritualism as an anti\-slavery public forum. Although the movement culminated in necessary societal reforms, it resulted in many people moving to a secular spirituality, focused on personal experiences and unsubstantiated messages from beyond, and deemphasized a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul referred to religious belief systems that deny the truth of the gospel, the atonement for sins through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, as “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:1–5\). Although many spiritualists attend Sunday services, sing hymns, and worship a single God, spiritualism and Christianity are not compatible belief systems. In addition to their belief in an evolutionary movement of souls through progressively higher celestial planes, spiritualists seek their truth from contact with spirits through séances, [Ouija boards](ouija-boards.html), and mediums. Many spiritualists maintain that they have their own personal spirit guides, from whom they receive all kinds of information and direction for their lives. For spiritualists, the Bible is not the primary source of truth and knowledge about the afterlife and God. The Bible, in fact, contains many stern warnings against spiritualism (Leviticus 19:31; 20:6; Deuteronomy 18:9–13\). The first king of Israel, King Saul, broke God’s commandment not to engage in spiritualism and ultimately lost his kingdom because of it (1 Samuel 15:23; 1 Chronicles 10:14\). When the apostles encountered people who had powers of divination from contact with spirits, they cast these spirits out as demons (Acts 16:16–18\). Many scriptural references point out a chief reason that Christians should not seek contact or counsel with spirits, namely, that the spirits contacted are demonic and may give unreliable and deceptive information (1 John 4:1\). It is highly likely that many contacts with the dead through spiritualism are simply faked. Other so\-called encounters with departed loved ones through the use of Ouija boards, mediums, and séances are actually encounters with demons who intentionally deliver false information. One common lie that many people receive through supernatural contact is that there is no hell and no final judgment by God. But Hebrews 9:27 expressly states, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” Death is inevitable, and so is judgment. Sin brings about that judgment, and all persons are guilty (Romans 3:23\). The only way for any person to escape judgment is to receive an unmerited pardon from God by acknowledgment of sin, acceptance that Jesus died for that sin, and a willingness to submit his life to Christ before his death (John 3:16; Romans 3:24\). The Bible clearly reveals that those who die apart from Christ will suffer an eternity in hell (Matthew 25:41\). Believing in false teachings derived from “spirit guides” will lead many persons away from the sound doctrine of the Bible, which is the intent of Satan (1 Peter 5:8; 1 Timothy 4:1\). Those who dabble in spiritualism engage in activities that seem innocuous but actually open the door for demonic contact, harassment and even possession. Many followers of spiritualism have been traumatized and harmed psychologically, if not physically, by contacts with demons that began with séances, Ouija boards, psychic consultations, [Reiki healing](energy-healing-medicine.html), and encounters with mediums. For all those who seek the truth, Jesus unequivocally states in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
What does the Bible mean by "an eye for an eye"?	Answer The concept of “an eye for eye,” sometimes called jus talionis or lex talionis, is part of the Mosaic Law used in the Israelites’ justice system. The principle is that the punishment must fit the crime and there should be a just penalty for evil actions: “If there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise” (Exodus 21:23–25\). Justice should be equitable; excessive harshness and excessive leniency should be avoided. We have no indication that the law of “an eye for an eye” was followed literally; there is never a biblical account of an Israelite being maimed as a result of this law. Also, before this particular law was given, God had already established a judicial system to hear cases and determine penalties (Exodus 18:13–26\)—a system that would be unnecessary if God had intended a literal “eye for an eye” penalty. Although capital crimes were repaid with execution in ancient Israel, on the basis of multiple witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6\), most other crimes were repaid with payment in goods—if you injured a man’s hand so that he could not work, you compensated that man for his lost wages. Besides Exodus 21, the law of “an eye for an eye” is mentioned twice in the Old Testament (Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21\). Each time, the phrase is used in the context of a case being judged before a civil authority such as a judge. “An eye for an eye” was thus intended to be a guiding principle for lawgivers and judges; it was never to be used to justify vigilantism or settling grievances personally. In the New Testament, it seems the Pharisees and scribes had taken the “eye for an eye” principle and applied it to everyday personal relationships. They taught that seeking personal revenge was acceptable. If someone punched you, you could punch him back; if someone insulted you, he was fair game for your insults. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day ignored the judicial basis of the giving of that law. In the [Sermon on the Mount](sermon-on-the-mount.html), Jesus counters the common teaching of personal retaliation: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you . . .” (Matthew 5:38–39\). Jesus then proceeds to reveal God’s heart concerning interpersonal relationships: “Do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:39–42\). In giving this “new” command, Jesus is not nullifying the Old Testament law (Matthew 5:17\). Rather, He is separating the responsibility of the government (to punish evildoers justly) from the responsibility we all have on a personal level before God to love our enemies. We should not seek retribution for personal slights. We are to ignore personal insults (the meaning of “[turn the other cheek](turn-other-cheek.html)”). Christians are to be willing to give more of their material goods, time, and labor than required, even if the demands upon us are unjust. We should loan to those who want to borrow, love our enemies, and pray for those who persecute us (verses 43–48\). Enforcing “an eye for an eye” is the magistrate’s job; forgiving our enemies is ours. We see this played out today every time a victim stands up in court to publicly forgive a convicted criminal—the forgiveness is personal and real, but the judge still justly demands that the sentence be carried out. Jesus’ limiting of the “eye for an eye” principle in no way prohibits [self\-defense](self-defense.html) or the forceful protection of the innocent from harm. The actions of duly appointed agents of the government, such as police officers and the military, to protect citizens and preserve the peace are not in question. Jesus’ command to turn the other cheek applies to personal relationships, not judicial policy. The principle of “an eye for an eye” is meant as a judicial policy, not as a rule for interpersonal relationships. The believer in Christ is guided by Jesus’ words to forgive. The Christian is radically different from those who follow the natural inclination to respond in kind.
What is an Asherah pole?	Answer An Asherah pole was a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the pagan goddess Asherah, also known as Astarte. While the exact appearance of an Asherah pole is somewhat obscure, it is clear that the ancient Israelites, after entering the land of Canaan, were influenced by the pagan religion it represented. In the Bible, Asherah poles were first mentioned in Exodus 34:13\. God had just remade the Ten Commandment tablets, and Moses had requested God graciously forgive the Israelites for worshiping the golden calf. Verse 10 begins the covenant God made: if the Israelites obey Him, He will drive out the tribes living in Canaan. But they must cut down the Asherah poles. Deuteronomy 7:5 and 12:3 repeat the command nearly verbatim, while Deuteronomy 16:21 commands the Israelites not set up any wooden Asherah poles of their own. Two books later, In Judges 3:7, “The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.” Gideon became the first to fight against the infestation of Asherah poles, although, in his fear, he chopped his father’s Asherah pole down at night (Judges 6:25\-27\). The books of 1 \& 2 Kings and 1 \& 2 Chronicles tell a long story of one king chopping down Asherah poles and another building them back up. King Manasseh of Judah went so far as to install a pole in the temple of the Lord (2 Kings 21:3, 7\). In the midst of a great cleansing, King Josiah took out the Asherah pole and ground it to powder, further defiling it by spreading the dust over graves (2 Kings 23:6\). Most areas in that time and place had a god and goddess designated as responsible for the well\-being of crops and livestock. Likely, in the constant evolution of pagan gods and goddesses, Asherah was one of the names given for a fertility goddess in the region. Asherah’s consorts varied, depending on the cultic beliefs of the people—sometimes Asherah was said to consort with the Canaanite creator\-god, El; or with the god of fertility, Ba’al; or, horrifically, with the Lord God Himself. Asherah poles were wood poles (sometimes carved, sometimes not) or trees planted by the “high places” where pagan worshipers sacrificed, although the specific purpose of the poles is not clear. It’s interesting to note that, while the once\-essential “Asherah” has morphed from goddess to wooden pole to obscurity, Father God, Creator of the universe, has never changed.
Is the last trumpet of 1 Thessalonians 4 the same as the seventh trumpet of Revelation?	Answer Those who hold to a [midtribulation rapture](midtribulationism.html) teach that the [seventh trumpet](seven-seals-trumpets.html) of Revelation 11:15 and the last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 are identical. Those who teach a [pretribulation rapture](pretribulationism.html) identify them as separate events. What difference does it make, and how can we know the truth? Why does it matter whether or not the trumpets are the same? God has given us His Word as the revelation of His plan of redemption, and that plan covers everything from creation to the new creation. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” There are many things that God has chosen to reveal to us, and it is important for us to understand them so that we can obey Him. We don’t always understand why He does things, but we are called to trust Him for the parts we don’t understand and to study to understand the rest. As we look at the texts about these trumpets, it becomes clear that they are part of a chronology that God has given us of events in the last days. Whether or not we are still living when those events come to pass, they involve us, so we ought to know what God has revealed to us. The book of Revelation has sometimes been viewed as a book of mystery, yet the title itself implies something brought out of hiding. More specifically, it is “the revelation of Jesus Christ . . . to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass” (Revelation 1:1\). God wants us to know what is going to happen, so we can be prepared, and to help us in calling others to repentance. Beginning in chapter 6, we are given a chronological record of things that will happen in the last days. There is a series of [seven seals](seven-seals-Revelation.html), then a series of [seven trumpets](seven-trumpets-Revelation.html), then a series of [seven bowls](seven-bowls-Revelation.html) of wrath. We read in Revelation 11:15, “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.’” In the context, this seems to come around the middle of the [tribulation period](tribulation.html). In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul is writing to believers concerning the transition from this life to eternal life. Our mortal bodies will be transformed into immortal, incorruptible bodies, prepared for the eternal kingdom of God. Verse 52 says, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Paul addresses the same subject to the Thessalonians, and specifically connects it with the rapture of the church. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17\). There is no question that God has revealed these things to us and that He intends for us to be encouraged and instructed by them. The question is whether these trumpets are the same. If they are the same, then the [rapture of the church](rapture-of-the-church.html) happens in the middle of the tribulation period, and saints need to be prepared to endure those trials. If they are not the same, then we need to know when the last trump will sound, so that we can be prepared for it. In order to find out whether they are the same, we can compare the events they are associated with. \| *Events* \| *1 Corinthians 15* \| *1 Thessalonians 4* \| *Revelation 11* \| \| --- \| --- \| --- \| --- \| \| Trumpet sound \| v. 52 \| v. 16 \| v. 15 \| \| Dead saints raised \| v. 52 \| v. 16 \| \| \| Living saints changed \| v. 52 \| v. 17 \| \| \| Death overcome by victory \| v. 54 \| v. 14 \| \| \| Jesus descends from Heaven \| \| v. 16 \| Not until Rev 19:11 \| \| Kingdoms of the world taken over by Christ \| \| \| v. 15 \| \| Wrath of God on dead \| \| \| v. 18 \| \| Rewards given to saints \| \| \| v. 18 \| \| Intended result \| v. 57\-58 – thanks, victory, faithfulness until then \| v. 18 – comfort now, presence with Christ then \| v. 14,17 – woe on earth, thanks in Heaven \| It is clear that the first two passages (Corinthians and Thessalonians) fit together, but the third doesn’t appear to have any correlation in either the events described or the intended results. The argument connecting them has to depend on the meaning of the word last in 1 Corinthians 15:52\. The Greek word eschatos can mean either “last in point of time” or “last in point of sequence.” This trumpet sounds before the wrath of God descends, yet Revelation 6:17 speaks of the wrath of the Lamb as having come, and the seventh trumpet doesn’t sound until Revelation 11:15\. The trumpet of 1 Thessalonians is given in a moment, whereas Revelation 10:7 indicates that the seventh trumpet will be sounded for a number of days. Even though the seventh trumpet is the last one described in Revelation, Matthew 24:31 indicates there is yet another trumpet which will sound “after the tribulation of those days,” when Christ returns to the earth, which parallels with Revelation 19\. If the “last trumpet” of 1 Corinthians 15 is not the same as the seventh trumpet, then what was Paul referring to? Both 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians were written long before John wrote Revelation, so Paul’s readers would have no knowledge of the seven trumpets of Revelation. Paul intended for them to understand what he was writing about, so we need to look elsewhere for clarification. Paul’s writing was distinctly in reference to the church and the closing of the church age at the rapture. Throughout Scripture, trumpets were used as signals to gather people, to set armies on the move, and as part of the worship of God. The trumpet that summons the church is called “the trump of God,” while those in Revelation are angelic trumpets. Since it is a summoning trumpet, we can look to the Old Testament for further understanding. Numbers 10 gives instruction to Israel about the use of trumpets to call an assembly of the people and to set them in motion. The first trumpet blast (v. 4\) called the leaders together, while a continual blowing was an alarm for the people. A series of trumpet blasts was the signal for each group of tribes to begin their journey, and the last blast indicated the movement of the last group in the camp. Similarly, 1 Corinthians 15:23 speaks of different orders, or ranks, in the resurrection: “Every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” Further, 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 divides Christ’s own into two groups—the dead in Christ and those who are alive and remain. So, if the trumpet is the call for saints to assemble and journey to heaven, what does that mean for us? Jesus said that no one knows when the Day of the Lord will begin (Matthew 24:36\), and 1 Thessalonians 5:2 describes it as coming as a thief in the night, without warning. In 1 Corinthians 15:58, we are told to be “steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” Just like the Israelites in the wilderness, we do not know when the trumpet will sound, so we are to be always ready. While we may not know the day or hour, we have been given enough information to know it can happen at any moment. We are to be ready, putting on the armor of God, because we have been appointed to receive salvation through Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:8–9\).
What are articles of faith?	Answer Articles of faith are the summary statements of foundational beliefs held by individuals, churches, or ministries. They set forth the essential truths which guide every area of belief and practice. Sometimes articles of faith are called a doctrinal statement, statement of faith, or statement of belief. Believers throughout the ages have crafted these statements which have often been memorized in the form of creeds. One of the earliest articles of faith was set forth in Deuteronomy 6:4\-7: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” This is known to Jews as the “shema,” and is the foundation of all the commandments of God. It establishes the unity of God, the supremacy of God, and the priority of serving God. The [Ten Commandments](Ten-Commandments.html) are another part of those early articles of faith. An early Christian creed is set out in 1 Corinthians 15:1\-4\. “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” This article of faith declares the bare essentials for saving faith in Christ. Statements like this set up a common core around which people can gather and have unity in the faith (1 Corinthians 1:10\). In the early church, the development of creeds and articles of faith was often driven by the rise of false teachers. Simple statements of faith are lacking in detail, and as a result, allow for wide variance in their application. As questionable teachings and practices appeared, the leaders of the churches gathered to search the Scriptures and set forth the true, or orthodox, beliefs of the church. This process is seen in Acts 15:1\-29, when some teachers said that Gentiles had to be circumcised in order to be saved. The apostles and elders in Jerusalem met to discuss the issue, and wrote a letter to inform the churches that keeping the Mosaic Law was not necessary for salvation. The [Apostles’ Creed](apostles-creed.html), [Nicene Creed](Nicene-creed.html), and others were created in response to similar challenges to orthodox beliefs. Today, most articles of faith are arranged in topical order, listing the primary areas of doctrine with pertinent details below. Some of the key topics usually included in Christian articles of faith are: Bibliology – Doctrine of the Bible; Theology – Doctrine of God; Anthropology – Doctrine of Man; Hamartiology – Doctrine of Sin; Christology – Doctrine of Christ; Soteriology – Doctrine of Salvation; Pneumatology – Doctrine of the Holy Spirit; Ecclesiology – Doctrine of the Church; Eschatology – Doctrine of Future Things. Within each of these categories are many sub\-categories, and churches vary significantly on their beliefs in each area. Sometimes the articles of faith are written in very simple form, allowing for a wide spectrum of specific beliefs, and other times the articles are very detailed, so as to narrow the scope of accepted beliefs and practices. Church history has taught us that the more open and general the articles of faith, the more likely that false teaching will appear and gain a foothold. History has also taught us that no matter what the articles of faith say, they are essentially useless unless they are known and followed by churches and individuals. In the past, it was common for believers to memorize catechisms and creeds, giving them a solid foundation from which to examine new ideas. Today, the prevailing trend seems to be openness or ignorance regarding doctrine. Most Christians would be hard pressed to express what they believe in any depth, and the result is a patchwork of beliefs which are sometimes contradictory. The Word of God tells us to “prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21\). This means to examine things for soundness, in order to know whether to receive or reject them. This is what led to the great creeds and articles of faith in the past, and it is what will help us know what we believe and why we believe it today.
What is the symbolism of water baptism?	Answer Water baptism symbolizes the believer’s total trust in and total reliance on the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as a commitment to live obediently to Him. It also expresses unity with all the saints (Ephesians 2:19\), that is, with every person in every nation on earth who is a member of the Body of Christ (Galatians 3:27–28\). Water baptism conveys this and more, but it is not what saves us. Instead, we are saved by grace through faith, apart from works (Ephesians 2:8–9\). We are baptized because our Lord commanded it: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19\). Water baptism is for believers. Before we are baptized, we must come to believe that we are sinners in need of salvation (Romans 3:23\). We must also believe that Christ died on the cross to pay for our sins, that He was buried, and that He was resurrected to assure our place in heaven (1 Corinthians 15:1–4\). When we turn to Jesus, asking Him to forgive our sins and be our Savior, we are born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our eternal salvation is guaranteed, and we begin to die to ourselves and live for Christ (1 Peter 1:3–5\). At that time we are scripturally qualified to be baptized. Water baptism is a beautiful picture of what our Lord has done for us. As we are completely [immersed](baptism-mode.html) in the water, we symbolize burial with our Lord; we are baptized into His death on the cross and are no longer slaves to self or sin (Romans 6:3–7\). When we are raised out of the water, we are symbolically resurrected—raised to new life in Christ to be with Him forever, born into the family of our loving God (Romans 8:16\). Water baptism also illustrates the spiritual cleansing we experience when we are saved; just as water cleanses the flesh, so the Holy Spirit cleanses our hearts when we trust Christ. The fact that water baptism is not a prerequisite for salvation is best seen in the example of a saved man who was not baptized in water—the criminal on the cross (Luke 23:39–43\). This self\-confessed sinner acknowledged Jesus as his Lord while dying on a cross next to Him. The [thief](thief-on-the-cross.html) asked for salvation and was forgiven of his sins. Although he never experienced water baptism, at that moment he was spiritually baptized into Christ’s death, and he then was raised to eternal life by the power of Christ’s word (Hebrews 1:3\). Christians should be baptized out of obedience to and love for our Lord Jesus (John 14:15\). Water baptism by immersion is the biblical method of baptism because of its symbolic representation of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Why do Christians worship on Sunday?	Answer Most Christians traditionally worship on Sunday. Sunday worship is partly attributed to [Sabbatarianism](Sabbatarianism-Sabbatarian.html), the view that one day of the week should be reserved for religious observance and worship, as required by Old Testament laws regarding the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8, 31:12–18\). In this view, man is to abstain from all labor except that which is necessary for the welfare of family and society. This interpretation of the law contends that only on the literal Sabbath, the seventh day of the week (Saturday), can the requirements of the law be met. Semi\-Sabbatarianism followers, as early as the fourth century AD, believed essentially as the Sabbatarians did, with the exception that they transferred its demands from Saturday to Sunday, the first day of the week (the day on which Christ arose from the dead). Theologians of that period, particularly in the Eastern Church, were teaching the practical identity of the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) and the Christian Sunday. Interestingly, a legend recounted in the so\-called [Apocalypse of Peter](apocalypse-of-Peter.html), which dates back to the 2nd century AD and is generally accepted as a false writing, transfers to Sunday all of the requirements of Sabbath worship. A man named [Albertus Magnus](Albertus-Magnus.html) added momentum to this growing movement by suggesting semi\-Sabbatarianism be divided into two parts: the moral command to observe a day of rest after laboring the previous six days, and the ceremonial symbol that applied only to the Jews in a literal sense. Thomas Aquinas elevated this proposal to the status of official Roman Catholic doctrine, which in time also gained favor with many Reformed theologians. Scripture never mentions any Sabbath (Saturday) gatherings by believers for fellowship or worship. However, there are clear passages that mention the first day of the week, Sunday. For instance, Acts 20:7 states that “on the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” Paul also urges the Corinthian believers, “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income” (1 Corinthians 16:2\). Since Paul designates this offering as “service” in 2 Corinthians 9:12, this collection may have been linked with the Sunday worship service of the Christian assembly. Historically, Sunday, not Saturday, was the normal meeting day for Christians in the church, and its practice dates back to the first century. Christians worship on Sundays in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is very important to remember, though, Sunday worship is not commanded in the Bible, and Sunday has not replaced Saturday and become the Christian Sabbath. While the New Testament describes Christians gathering and worshiping on Sundays, it nowhere states that Sunday has replaced Saturday as the Sabbath. The key point in all of this is that we are not to limit our worship to any particular day of the week. We are to rest in the Lord every day. We are to worship the Lord every day.
How does DNA point to the existence of a Creator?	Answer Over the millennia, believers in God have marshaled numerous arguments in an attempt to demonstrate God’s existence. Various forms of the [cosmological](cosmological-argument.html), [ontological](ontological-argument.html), and [moral](moral-argument.html) arguments have been developed and refined with much success. One frequently discussed form of theistic argument has been the argument from design. The design argument has had many notable proponents from Plato to Thomas Aquinas and beyond. While several versions of the design argument are valid and have been persuasive to many, recent discoveries at the cellular level have provided further ammunition for design proponents. In 1953, researchers Francis Crick and James Watson elucidated the structure of the DNA molecule. In doing so, they discovered that DNA was a carrier of specific genetic information that takes the form of a four\-character digital code. This information is contained in an arrangement of four chemicals that scientists represent with the letters A, C, T, and G. The sequences of these chemicals provide the instructions necessary to assemble complex protein molecules that, in turn, help form structures diverse as eyes, wings, and legs. As Dr. Stephen C. Meyer has noted, “As it turns out, specific regions of the DNA molecule called coding regions have the same property of “sequence specificity” or “specified complexity” that characterizes written codes, linguistic texts, and protein molecules. Just as the letters in the alphabet of a written language may convey a particular message depending on their arrangement, so too do the sequences of nucleotide bases (the A’s, T’s, G’s, and C’s) inscribed along the spine of a DNA molecule convey a precise set of instructions for building proteins within the cell.” The information\-bearing properties in the DNA molecule seem obvious. However, does this fact, by itself, force us to infer an Intelligent Designer as the cause of this information? Meyer continues, “Whether we are looking at a hieroglyphic inscription, a section of text in a book, or computer software, if you have information, and you trace it back to its source, invariably you come to an intelligence. Therefore, when you find information inscribed along the backbone of the DNA molecule in the cell, the most rational inference, based upon our repeated experience, is that an intelligence of some kind played a role in the origin of that information.” The information\-rich features of DNA provide further confirmation that our universe was created and designed by God. As the apostle Paul said in his letter to the church at Rome, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Romans 1:20\). This inspired utterance seems more obvious now than when it was originally written nearly 2,000 years ago.
What is the International House of Prayer (IHOP)?	Answer The "International House of Prayer" (IHOP) is a para\-church ministry located in south Kansas City, Missouri. IHOP was founded by Rev. Mike Bickle in 1999\. Its primary purpose seems to be international prayer of intercession. Since 1999, the International House of Prayer has experienced explosive growth, with the group acquiring significant amounts of property in Grandview, Missouri, and opening up satellite branches in other cities. The rapid expansion, the unusual practices, the fierce loyalty of many IHOP members, and the relative newness of the ministry have led many to question whether the International House of Prayer is a biblically solid ministry or a [cult](cult-definition.html). At the International House of Prayer, there is active prayer taking place, literally 24/7, without interruption, and this has been the case for many years. 24/7 prayer is a good thing. There is no such thing as “praying too much,” so, in this area, IHOP is to be commended. The problem arises, however, in the type of prayer that is taking place. The International House of Prayer has adopted many of the practices of the [contemplative prayer](contemplative-prayer.html) movement, with much more focus on [mysticism](Christian-mysticism.html) and [contemplative spirituality](contemplative-spirituality.html) than on worshiping the Lord in prayer and interceding for others through prayer. Some elements of the IHOP employ prayer in a [Word\-Faith](Word-Faith.html) manner, claiming things from God rather than submitting to God’s will in humility. There are also reports of [prophetic prayer](prophetic-prayer.html), [praying in tongues](praying-in-tongues.html), and other ecstatic practices. So, while 24/7 prayer is commendable, if the prayers being uttered are not biblical, there is no true value in them. Another concern with the International House of Prayer is its connection with the [prophetic movement](apostles-prophets-restored.html) in general, and the Kansas City Prophets specifically. Instead of a biblical understanding of prophecy, that is, declaring the truth that God has revealed, IHOP essentially views prophets as Christian psychics, with prophetic hotlines, prophetic readings, and an emphasis on [personal prophecy](personal-prophecy.html). Many have been led astray by those claiming to be apostles and prophets with a “word from the Lord.” There have been many reports of spiritual abuse and prophetic manipulation within the International House of Prayer movement. This misunderstanding of the gift of prophecy leads to another area of concern. The International House of Prayer has an extreme over\-emphasis on the [miraculous gifts of the Spirit](miraculous-gifts.html). Much has already been written on the cessation of the miraculous gifts, but IHOP’s use of these gifts goes far beyond what most Charismatics and Pentecostals will accept. At IHOP, the miraculous gifts of the Spirit are expected to be commonplace. Miraculous healings, visions, dreams, prophecies, tongues, words of knowledge, signs, wonders, etc., are claimed to be constant within the ministries of IHOP. Whether full [cessationism](cessationism.html) is accepted or not, IHOP’s claims regarding the gifts of the Spirit do not at all agree with what the Bible presents. In the New Testament, the miraculous gifts of the Spirit authenticated the teachings of the apostles (2 Corinthians 12:12\). If miracles are normal, they cannot have an authenticating quality to them. IHOP’s claims regarding miracles do not agree with what the Bible teaches about miracles, signs, and wonders. We would all be wise to remember Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24:24, “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.” With all of that said, clearly, IHOP should not be considered a biblically sound ministry/organization. The above concerns are only the “tip of the iceberg” in comparison to some of the things that have been reported by former IHOP members/participants. Should the International House of Prayer movement be considered a cult? That is more difficult to answer. Generally speaking, a cult is a group that has false teaching on one or more of the core truths of the Christian faith, such as the deity of Christ or salvation by faith alone. On these core truths, IHOP appears to be solid and biblical. However, other common identifying factors of a cult are present at IHOP, such as it being controlled primarily be one individual, fierce loyalty to the organization, communal living, and a feeling of superiority over the uninitiated. So, while the International House of Prayer should probably not be considered a cult, there are enough serious concerns about its beliefs and practices to prevent Christians from getting involved in its ministries. Addendum: Mike Bickle was removed from the organization in 2023 due to a moral failure.
How is Jesus the “True Shepherd” in John 10:1-5?	Answer By referring to Himself as the True Shepherd, Jesus was invoking imagery that would have been familiar to His hearers. He used the symbols of sheep and their shepherd several times, referring to Himself as not only the “True” Shepherd, but the [Good Shepherd](Good-Shepherd.html) (John 10:11\), and the [Door of the sheep](I-am-the-door.html) (John 10:7\). The three declarations in John 10 present a complete picture of the Lord who is our Shepherd (Psalm 23\). In order to understand what Jesus intended to convey with sheep/shepherd imagery, we must understand the Middle Eastern shepherd of biblical times. His job was a dirty and dangerous one. Many times all the shepherd had to fight off lions and other wild animals was a staff with a crook. He willingly put his life on the line for his flock. At night, he would put the flock in a makeshift pen that had only one way in and out. The shepherd would open to door to the pen, call the sheep by name, and they would come in and settle safely for the night. Sheep are skittish animals and “spook” easily. Because they knew the shepherd’s voice, they would calm down and follow him and nobody but him. Several flocks can mix together, and when the flocks’ true shepherd speaks, they separate and follow him. If a thief comes, the sheep will not follow him because they do not know his voice. At night the shepherd lies down at the gate to the pen, to give his life if necessary to protect his flock. And the thief can only climb in over the fence because the shepherd is guarding the gate. Jesus is the True Shepherd to the sheep (true believers) who are His. We know Him, we recognize His voice, and we follow only Him (John 10:27–28\). What Jesus is saying here ties right into John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” Jesus is not only the Good Shepherd who gives His life willingly for His sheep (John 10:11\), but He is the also the “gate” or “door” of the sheep (John 10:9\). In this metaphor Jesus presents Himself as the One who gives salvation, the One who offers access to heaven. So, Jesus is the True Shepherd who guards His sheep, the Good Shepherd who gives His life for them, and the Doorway to heaven for the sheep who know Him and are known by Him. Jesus also says there were many who came before Him pretending to be good shepherds. But, He says, they are thieves and robbers who come in among the flock. He is alluding to the false shepherds of Israel, the Pharisees who did not love the people, nor were they willing to sacrifice for them. These self\-appointed and self\-righteous false shepherds led the sheep of Israel astray from the true knowledge of the Messiah, clinging to a works\-based religion that could not lead to salvation (Ezekiel 34:1–31\). These leaders were not the true shepherds of Israel but were like thieves that plundered the flock for their own gain. Sadly, such false shepherds still abound today, more interested in fleecing the flock for their own personal gain, than in feeding and protecting the sheep as true under\-shepherds to the True Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.
What does it mean that God is Jehovah-Jireh?	Answer “Jehovah\-Jireh” is one of the many different [names of God](names-of-God.html) found in the Old Testament. “Jehovah\-Jireh” is the KJV’s translation of YHWH\-Yireh and means “The LORD Will Provide” (Genesis 22:14\). It is the name memorialized by Abraham when God provided the ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac. The story begins with a strange command from God to Abraham, instructing him to offer his “son of promise,” Isaac, as a burnt offering. Early the next morning, Abraham packs wood and a knife, and he and Isaac travel to Moriah, the place God had specified. As they near the site, Isaac questions Abraham concerning the intended offering: “Where is the lamb?” With great faith and foresight, Abraham responds, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:1\-8\). The New Testament tells us that Abraham believed God would raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:19\). Upon reaching the place God had chosen, Abraham demonstrates his faith and obedience by building an altar, binding Isaac, and placing him on the wood. Before Abraham can finish the offering, the Angel of the Lord calls to him from heaven, and Isaac’s life is spared. Then, “Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son” (Genesis 22:13\). Abraham names the place “Jehovah\-Jireh” because of God’s gracious provision of a substitute for Isaac. Immediately afterwards, God reconfirms His covenant with Abraham (v 17\-18\). Centuries later, King Solomon would build the temple in the same location (2 Chronicles 3:1\). The account of Abraham on Mt. Moriah thus becomes more than a dramatic illustration of faith and obedience. It is a presentation of the Lord’s eternal grace, continual provision, and all\-encompassing wisdom. Jehovah\-Jireh is not “The LORD Did Provide,” but “The LORD Will Provide.” In other words, the name does not simply memorialize a past event; it anticipates a future action. Likewise, the statement “on the mountain of the LORD it will be provided” (verse 14\) refers to more than Mt. Moriah—it also refers to a hill called Calvary, where God “did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all” (Romans 8:32\). Abraham’s faith\-filled statement that “God himself will provide the lamb” is a companion to John the Baptist’s exclamation, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29\). Jehovah\-Jireh provided a sacrifice to save Isaac, and that action was a foreshadowing of the provision of His Son for the salvation of the world.
What is the Reformed Baptist Church?	Answer In order to understand the Reformed Baptist Church, we need to answer two preliminary questions: 1\) What does it mean to be [Baptist](baptists.html)? 2\) What does it mean to be [Reformed](reformed-theology.html)? To be Baptist is to be part of a church or denomination that, broadly speaking, holds to adult believer baptism (typically by full immersion) following a credible statement of faith as the only biblically acceptable way to administer the ordinance of baptism as commanded by our Lord in his Great Commission (Matthew 28:19–20\). This is the view called credobaptism (“believer” baptism), which is held over against the view of paedobaptism (“infant” baptism) that is commonly practiced by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and many continental Reformed churches. Baptists also generally believe in the autonomy of the local congregation over the more hierarchically structured denominations such as Roman Catholicism (which is based on an episcopal model of church government) and Presbyterianism (which is based on a presbyterian model of church government). Within this broad category there are many different types of Baptists who hold various views on soteriology (doctrine of salvation) and ecclesiology (church structure and governance). Some fundamentalist Baptist groups hold that the King James Version of the Bible is the only true, inspired version of the Bible in the English language. Other Baptist groups are so theologically liberal that they fall outside the boundaries of what is generally accepted as orthodox. All this to say that Baptists come in many different shapes and sizes, but nominally they are all unified on the doctrine of adult believer baptism. Baptist history is also a bit difficult to trace. There are some Baptist groups that claim the Baptist tradition can be traced in an unbroken line back to New Testament times, somewhat akin to the Roman Catholic tradition of papal succession. Others claim that, while there was not an unbroken chain of Baptist churches going all the way back to New Testament times, there was a continuity of Baptist forms of faith going all the way back to the earliest beginnings of the church. The most commonly accepted view holds that Baptist tradition is traced back to the English Separatist movement of the early 17th century. The English Separatists were a group of individuals who were unsatisfied with the changes made during the English Reformation, which was part of the larger Reformation movement sweeping the Continent, and hence they separated from the Church of England. From this Separatist movement, two strains of Baptists emerged—General Baptists and [Particular Baptists](Particular-Baptists.html). This leads us to our second question, noted above: What does it mean to be Reformed? Generally speaking, to be Reformed means to have one’s roots in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries. The Reformers were those who protested against certain abuses within the Roman Catholic Church. It is often said that the Protestant Reformation had both a formal cause and a material cause. The material cause of the Reformation (i.e., the particulars of the dispute) was over what became the doctrine of justification by [grace alone](sola-gratia.html), through [faith alone](sola-fide.html) in Christ alone. In other words, the debate centered on the question of how a man is made right before God. Rome’s basic answer to that question is that grace, faith, and Christ are all necessary, but they are, in and of themselves, not sufficient. The Reformers argued that grace, faith, and Christ are both necessary and sufficient. The formal cause of the Reformation was the question of authority. What is the ultimate authority for the Christian in matters of faith and practice? For Rome, the answer is both Scripture and tradition. However, since, according to its dogma, the Roman Catholic Church is the source of both Scripture and tradition, as well as the infallible interpreter of both, the matter of authority essentially boils down to the Catholic Church alone. The Reformers believed that the [Scriptures alone](sola-scriptura.html) were the sole infallible rule for Christian faith and practice; hence the Bible is the ultimate authority in these matters. All other lesser authorities—church councils, synods, and church declarations—are only authoritative insofar as they conform to Scripture. Inasmuch as Baptists are Protestant, they are Reformed in this general sense. However, there is a more specific sense of the word Reformed, and this is more germane to our discussion. Reformed in the more narrow sense refers to those groups that follow in the theological footsteps of John Calvin—in particular his doctrine of salvation. This is what separates the General Baptists from the Particular Baptists. The General Baptists are so called because they hold to a belief of general atonement—Jesus died to make all men, in a universal sense, savable. Particular Baptists hold to the Calvinistic understanding that Jesus died only for the elect, and He died to actually secure their salvation, i.e., particular atonement. Reformed Baptists flow out of this Particular Baptist stream. Today there is no official Reformed Baptist denomination, but there are several federations of Reformed Baptist churches, such as the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches in America (ARBCA). Most Reformed Baptist churches subscribe to the London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689\) as their doctrinal standards; the 1689 LBCF is essentially the Westminster Confession of Faith reworded as it pertains to baptism. Some notable Reformed Baptists in history are John Bunyan, [William Carey](William-Carey.html), and [Charles Spurgeon](Charles-Haddon-Spurgeon.html).
What is a graven image?	Answer The phrase “graven image” comes from the King James Version and is first found in Exodus 20:4 in the second of the [Ten Commandments](Ten-Commandments.html). The Hebrew word translated “graven image” means literally “an idol.” A graven image is an image carved out of stone, wood, or metal. It could be a statue of a person or animal, or a relief carving in a wall or pole. It is differentiated from a molten image, which is melted metal poured into a cast. Abstract [Asherah poles](Asherah-pole.html), carved wooden [Ba’als](who-Baal.html) covered in gold leaf, and etchings of gods accompanying Egyptian hieroglyphics are all graven images. The progression of idolatry in a pagan religion generally starts with the acknowledgement of a power that controls natural forces. The presence of the force is then thought to indwell an object, like a stone, or a place, like a mountain. The next step is altering a naturally occurring object, like a standing stone, a deliberately planted tree, or a carved Asherah pole and asking the force to indwell it. When the idolatrous culture has had time to contemplate the personality of the god, they then make corresponding physical images—a statue that looks like a woman or a relief carving that looks like an animal. Graven images can be either of the last two steps. The spiritual progression is similar. People start with wanting something (Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5\), often children or prosperity or good crops. They observe the circumstances (which some acknowledge are God\-ordained, and others think are independent) that lead to these things and begin to ascribe to the causal forces human characteristics—thus creating gods. Places are set aside to commune with these false gods. For convenience sake, smaller items, thought to hold the power or the communication line of the gods, are brought into homes. Before long, the people are ensnared by the compulsion to give homage to a thing of their own definition instead of to the God of the universe. The second commandment, recorded in Exodus 20:4–5, reads, “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them.” Likely, this refers back to the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me,” and specifically forbids the creation of idols. But it is equally dangerous to create an image of God Himself. God has given us reminders enough of His power and glory (Romans 1:20\) without man attempting to use created things to represent the Creator. Functionally, there is no difference between a “graven” image (Deuteronomy 4:16\) and a “molten” image (Exodus 34:17\). Both are man’s attempt to define and confine the power of God who works over creation. Both are the result of greed and covetousness, along with the fear that God does not have the worshipers’ best interests at heart. Graven images, whether an idol, a crystal, or a charm, are attempts to limit the power of God and reduce it to a small package that we can control. As with any kind of worship, the object of adoration inevitably controls us.
Is public prayer biblical?	Answer Public prayer is an issue that many Christians struggle with. Since many believers were known to pray in public in the Bible, as did Jesus Himself, there is nothing wrong with public prayer. Many Old Testament leaders prayed publicly for the nation. Solomon prayed in front of the entire nation for them and for himself. There is nothing to indicate that this prayer was not acceptable to the Lord (1 Kings 8:22\-23\). After the return of the Israelites from the Babylonian captivity, Ezra was so overwhelmed by the knowledge that the Israelites had left the worship of the true God that he prayed and wept bitterly before the house of the Lord. So fervent was his prayer that it prompted “a very large assembly of men, women, and children” to gather with him and weep bitterly (Ezra 10:1\). However, the examples of [Hannah](life-Hannah.html) and [Daniel](life-Daniel.html) illustrate that it is possible to be misunderstood or even persecuted for praying publicly. As with all prayer, public prayer should be offered with the correct attitude and motive. From several scriptural examples comes a clear picture of acceptable and God\-honoring public prayer. Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, was childless for years, enduring the shame and persecution that childlessness brought to women in Bible times (1 Samuel 1:1\-6\). She went regularly to the tabernacle to beseech God to provide her with a child, praying fervently out of “great anguish and grief.” So heartfelt was her prayer that Eli, the priest, perceived her as being drunk (1 Samuel 1:10\-16\). Here is an example of public prayer being misinterpreted. Hannah’s prayer was righteous, and her heart was in the right place. She was not trying to draw attention to herself but was simply distraught and overwhelmed with the need to pray. Eli thought she was drunk, but that was his mistake, not her sin. Daniel’s public prayer was an occasion for his enemies to persecute him and attempt to have him killed. Daniel excelled in his duties as one of the administrators under King Darius to such a degree that the king was contemplating making him head over all the kingdom (Daniel 6:1\-3\). This infuriated the other administrators, and they looked for a way to discredit or destroy Daniel. They encouraged Darius to issue a decree forbidding his subjects from praying to anyone other than the king for the next thirty days. The penalty for disobeying was to be thrown into a den of lions. Daniel, however, continued to pray so openly to God that he could be seen at his bedroom window doing so. Daniel prayed in a way that not only was visible to others, but exposed him to his enemies. However, he clearly knew that God was honored by his prayer, so he didn’t give up his custom. He didn’t put the opinions and even the threats of men above his desire to obey the Lord. In Matthew 6:5\-7, Jesus gives two ways to ensure that our prayers are righteous. First, prayers should not be for the purpose of being seen by others as righteous or “spiritual.” Second, prayers should be authentic, as from the heart, and not just vain repetition or “empty phrases.” However, when compared with other Scriptures that show people praying in public, we know that this is not an exhortation to always pray alone. The issue is to avoid sin. Those who struggle with the desire to be seen as righteous and who notice that temptation creeping in during public prayer would do well to heed Jesus’ prescription to get alone and pray just to the Father who will reward in secret. Jesus knew that the Pharisees’ desire was to be seen by men as righteous, not really to talk to God. This statement about prayer was meant to convict and is instructive for all Christians, but it does not mean that all prayer must be secret. Public prayer should be God\-honoring, selfless, and based in a true desire to speak to God and not to men. If we can pray publicly without violating these principles, we do well to pray publicly. If, however, our conscience forbids it, there is nothing less effective about a prayer offered in secret.
What was the Babylonian captivity/exile?	Answer The Babylonian captivity or exile refers to the time period in Israel’s history when Jews were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. It is an important period of biblical history because both the captivity/exile and the return and restoration of the Jewish nation were fulfillments of Old Testament prophecies. God used [Babylon](Babylon-in-the-Bible.html) as His agent of judgment against Israel for their sins of idolatry and rebellion against Him. There were actually several different times during this period (607\-586 B.C.) when the Jews were taken captive by Babylon. With each successive rebellion against Babylonian rule, Nebuchadnezzar would lead his armies against Judah until they laid siege to Jerusalem for over a year, killing many people and destroying the Jewish temple, taking captive many thousands of Jews, and leaving Jerusalem in ruins. As prophesied in Scripture, the Jewish people would be allowed to return to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile. That prophecy was fulfilled in 537 B.C., and the Jews were allowed by King Cyrus of Persia to return to Israel and begin rebuilding the city and temple. The return under the direction of Ezra led to a revival among the Jewish people and the rebuilding of the temple. Under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II, the Babylonian Empire spread throughout the Middle East, and around 607 B.C., [King Jehoiakim](King-Jehoiakim.html) of Judah was forced into submission, becoming a vassal to Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:1\). It was during this time that Nebuchadnezzar took many of the finest and brightest young men from each city in Judah captive, including Daniel, Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach) and Azariah (Abednego). After three years of serving Nebuchadnezzar, Jehoiakim of Judah rebelled against Babylonian rule and once again turned to Egypt for support. After sending his army to deal with Judah’s revolt, Nebuchadnezzar himself left Babylon in 598 B.C. to deal with the problem. Arriving in Jerusalem around March of 597 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem, taking control of the area, looting it, and taking captive with him Jehoiakim’s son, Jehoiachin, his family, and almost all of the population of Judah, leaving only the poorest people of the land (2 Kings 24:8\-16\). At that time Nebuchadnezzar appointed [King Zedekiah](King-Zedekiah.html) to rule as his representative over Judah, but after nine years and still not having learned their lesson, Zedekiah led Judah in rebellion against Babylon one final time (2 Kings 24–25\). Influenced by false prophets and ignoring Jeremiah’s warnings, Zedekiah decided to join a coalition that was being formed by Edom, Moab, Ammon and Phoenicia in rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 27:1\-3\). This resulted in Nebuchadnezzar again laying siege to Jerusalem. Jerusalem fell in July 587 or 586 BC, and Zedekiah was taken captive to Babylon after seeing his sons killed before him and then having his eyes plucked out (2 Kings 25\). At this time Jerusalem was laid to waste, the temple destroyed and all the houses burned. The majority of the Jewish people were taken captive, but, again, Nebuchadnezzar left a remnant of poor people to serve as farmers and vinedressers (2 Kings 25:12\). The books of 2 Chronicles and 2 Kings deal with much of the time leading up to the falls of both the Northern Kingdom and Judah. They also cover the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the beginning of the Babylonian captivity. Jeremiah was one of the prophets during the time leading up to the fall of Jerusalem and the exile, and Ezekiel and Daniel were written while the Jews were in exile. Ezra deals with the return of the Jews as promised over 70 years before by God through the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah. The book of Nehemiah also covers the return and rebuilding of Jerusalem after the exile was over. The Babylonian captivity had one very significant impact on the nation of Israel when it returned to the land—it would never again be corrupted by the idolatry and false gods of the surrounding nations. A revival among Jews took place after the return of the Jews to Israel and the rebuilding of the temple. We see those accounts in Ezra and Nehemiah as the nation would once again return to the God who had delivered them from their enemies. Just as God had promised through the prophet Jeremiah, God judged the Babylonians for their sins, and the Babylonian Empire fell to the armies of Persia in 539 B.C., once again proving God’s promises to be true. The seventy\-year period of the Babylonian captivity is an important part of Israel’s history, and Christians should be familiar with it. Like many other Old Testament events, this historical account demonstrates God’s faithfulness to His people, His judgment of sin, and the surety of His promises.
What is the sin nature?	Answer The sin nature is that aspect in man that makes him rebellious against God. When we speak of the sin nature, we refer to the fact that we have a natural inclination to sin; given the choice to do God’s will or our own, we will naturally choose to do our own thing. Proof of the sin nature abounds. No one has to teach a child to lie or be selfish; rather, we go to great lengths to teach children to tell the truth and put others first. Sinful behavior comes naturally. The news is filled with tragic examples of mankind acting badly. Wherever people are, there is trouble. Charles Spurgeon said, “As the salt flavors every drop in the Atlantic, so does sin affect every atom of our nature. It is so sadly there, so abundantly there, that if you cannot detect it, you are deceived.” The Bible explains the reason for the trouble. Humanity is sinful, not just in theory or in practice but by nature. Sin is part of the very fiber of our being. The Bible speaks of “sinful flesh” in Romans 8:3\. It’s our “earthly nature” that produces the list of sins in Colossians 3:5\. And Romans 6:6 speaks of “the body ruled by sin.” The flesh\-and\-blood existence we lead on this earth is shaped by our sinful, corrupt nature. The sin nature is universal in humanity. All of us have a sinful nature, and it affects every part of us. This is the doctrine of [total depravity](total-depravity.html), and it is biblical. All of us have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6\). Paul admits that “the trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin” (Romans 7:14\). Paul was in his “sinful nature a slave to the law of sin” (Romans 7:25\). Solomon concurs: “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, / no one who does what is right and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20\). The apostle John perhaps puts it most bluntly: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8\). Even children have a sin nature. David rues the fact that he was born with sin already at work within him: “Surely I was sinful at birth, / sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5\). Elsewhere, David states, “Even from birth the wicked go astray; / from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies” (Psalm 58:3\). Where did the sin nature come from? Scripture says that God created humans good and without a sinful nature: “God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27\). However, Genesis 3 records the disobedience of Adam and Eve. By that one action, sin entered into their nature. They were immediately stricken with a sense of shame and unfitness, and they hid from God’s presence (Genesis 3:8\). When they had children, Adam’s image and likeness was passed along to his offspring (Genesis 5:3\). The sin nature manifested itself early in the genealogy: the very first child born to Adam and Eve, Cain, became the very first murderer (Genesis 4:8\). From generation to generation, the sin nature was passed down to all of humanity: “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12\). This verse also presents the unsettling truth that the sin nature leads inexorably to death (see also Romans 6:23 and Ephesians 2:1\). Other consequences of the sin nature are hostility toward God and ignorance of His truth. Paul says, “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7–8\). Also, “the person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:14\). There is only one Person in the history of the world who did not have a sin nature: Jesus Christ. His [virgin birth](virgin-birth.html) allowed Him to enter our world while bypassing the curse passed down from Adam. Jesus then lived a sinless life of absolute perfection. He was “the Holy and Righteous One” (Acts 3:14\) who “had no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21\). This allowed Jesus to be sacrificed on the cross as our perfect substitute, “a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:19\). John Calvin puts it in perspective: “For certainly, Christ is much more powerful to save than Adam was to ruin.” It is through Christ that we are born again. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6\). When we are born of Adam, we inherit his sin nature; but when we are born again in Christ, we inherit a new nature: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17\). We don’t lose our sin nature once we receive Christ. The Bible says that sin remains in us and that a struggle with that old nature will continue as long as we are in this world. Paul bemoaned his own personal struggle in Romans 7:15–25\. But we have help in the battle—divine help. The Spirit of God takes up residence in each believer and supplies the power we need to overcome the pull of the sin nature within us. “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9\). God’s ultimate plan for us is total sanctification when we see Christ (1 Thessalonians 3:13; 1 John 3:2\). Through His finished work on the cross, Jesus satisfied God’s wrath against sin and provided believers with victory over their sin nature: “‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24\). In His resurrection, Jesus offers life to everyone bound by corrupt flesh. Those who are born again now have this command: “Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11\).
What does it mean that Christians are not under the law?	Answer An exposition of Romans 10:4, which says: "Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes," will help in understanding what it means that Christians are not under the law. The apostle Paul clarifies the effects of original sin in Romans 2:12, stating, "All who sin apart from the law will perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law." All men stand condemned before God, whether they are Jews or not, or to put it another way, whether they have the Law of God or not. Paul also states, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23\). If we are without Christ, we are justly condemned in God’s sight by the Law that was given to His servant Moses. However, we might argue that those who are not Jewish and therefore do not benefit from the knowledge of the Mosaic Law (including the moral and ceremonial laws), should not be condemned in the same way. This is dealt with by the Apostle in Romans 2:14\-15, where he states that the Gentiles have the essence of God’s legal requirements already ingrained and so are just as much without excuse. The Law is the issue that has to be dealt with in order to bring us into a right relationship with God. "Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified" (Galatians 2:16\). This passage reveals that the Law cannot justify or make righteous any man in God’s sight, which is why God sent His Son to completely fulfill the requirements of the Law for all those who would ever believe in Him. Christ Jesus redeemed us from the curse that has been brought through the law by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13\). He substituted Himself in our place and upon the cross took the punishment that is justly ours so that we are no longer under the curse of the Law. In doing so, He fulfilled and upheld the requirements of the Law. This does not mean that Christians are to be lawless, as some advocate today—a teaching called [antinomianism](antinomianism.html). Rather, it means that we are free from the Mosaic Law and instead under the law of Christ, which is to love God with all of our being and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Christ became the end of the Law by virtue of what He did on earth through His sinless life and His sacrifice on the cross. So, the Law no longer has any bearing over us because its demands have been fully met in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ who satisfied the righteous demands of the Law restores us into a pleasing relationship with God and keeps us there. No longer under the penalty of the Law, we now live under the law of grace in the love of God.
What is the law of Christ?	Answer Galatians 6:2 states, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the *law of Christ*” (emphasis added). What exactly is the law of Christ, and how is it fulfilled by carrying each other’s burdens? While the law of Christ is also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9:21, the Bible nowhere specifically defines what precisely is the law of Christ. However, most Bible teachers understand the law of Christ to be what Christ stated were the greatest commandments in Mark 12:28–31, “‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’” The law of Christ, then, is to love God with all of our being and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. In Mark 12:32–33, the scribe who asked Jesus the question responds with, “To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” In this, Jesus and the scribe agreed that those two commands are the core of the entire Old Testament Law. All of the Old Testament Law can be placed in the category of “loving God” or “loving your neighbor.” Various New Testament scriptures state that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Law, bringing it to completion and conclusion (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23–25; Ephesians 2:15\). In place of the Old Testament Law, Christians are to obey the law of Christ. Rather than trying to remember the over 600 individual commandments in the Old Testament Law, Christians are simply to focus on loving God and loving others. If Christians would truly and wholeheartedly obey those two commands, we would be fulfilling everything that God requires of us. Christ freed us from the bondage of the hundreds of commands in the Old Testament Law and instead calls on us to love. First John 4:7–8 declares, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” First John 5:3 continues, “This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome.” Some use the fact that we are not under the Old Testament Law as an excuse to sin. The apostle Paul addresses this very issue in Romans. “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (Romans 6:15\). For the follower of Christ, the avoidance of sin is to be accomplished out of love for God and love for others. Love is to be our motivation. When we recognize the value of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, our response is to be love, gratitude, and obedience. When we understand the sacrifice Jesus made for us and others, our response is to be to follow His example in expressing love to others. Our motivation for overcoming sin should be love, not a desire to legalistically obey a series of commandments. We are to obey the law of Christ because we love Him, not so that we can check off a list of commands that we successfully obeyed.
Who was Ignatius of Antioch?	Answer Ignatius of Antioch was an early church father, and not much is known about him. What we do know is primarily drawn from his own writings. Ignatius was the bishop of the church in [Antioch](Antioch-in-the-Bible.html), Syria, and was martyred under Emperor Trajan around AD 110\. He was apparently a disciple of John, the beloved apostle, along with Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp, Irenaeus, and Origen all refer to him or his epistles in their writings, confirming what we know of his life. After presenting himself to Emperor Trajan and declaring his allegiance to Christ, Ignatius of Antioch was condemned to die in Rome. On his journey from Antioch to Rome, he was allowed to stop and visit Christians, and he wrote seven [letters](Letters-of-Ignatius.html) which have survived to this day. In these letters, he warned the churches about heresies that threatened their peace and unity and addressed points of ecclesiastical order that give us a glimpse of how the early church functioned. The heresies that Ignatius of Antioch addressed were primarily [Gnosticism](Christian-gnosticism.html) and [Docetism](Docetism.html). The basis of these heresies was the pagan belief in [dualism](dualism.html): spirit is good, flesh is evil. They recognized an eternal conflict between good and evil, mind and matter, idea and object. According to the Gnostics, Satan is the co\-eternal opposite of the good God. With this view of the spirit world, people would be likely to say that God is limited in power and perhaps in knowledge and is doing the best he can with a sinful world. This heresy separated the divine Christ from the human Jesus and taught that the divine Christ came upon the human Jesus at His baptism and departed just before His death. According to Doceticism, since God is spirit, and spirit is good, but flesh is evil, then, if Jesus is God, He could not have taken on sinful flesh. The Jesus that lived among men and died on the cross was simply a phantom with an appearance like flesh. Ignatius argued that if Jesus did not truly take on human flesh and die as a man, then He could not have made atonement for our sins (Hebrews 2:9, 9:12, 10:12\). His letters stressed the importance of communion as a means of stressing the reality of Jesus’ humanity. He believed that, if Jesus did not truly shed His blood, then His martyrdom was meaningless. Ignatius of Antioch’s letters addressed the organization and authority of the local church. It is in his letters that we first find a clear distinction between bishops and elders. In the New Testament, the terms pastor, elder, and bishop are used interchangeably and clearly point to different aspects of one position. Pastor refers to the duties of feeding and tending to the flock of God as a shepherd. Elder refers to the position of honor and respect as the head of a family. Bishop refers to the duty of exercising oversight of others. The first churches appointed multiple elders who fulfilled all of these duties (Acts 14:23; 1 Peter 5:1–2\). It is in Ignatius’s writings that we first find the terms bishop and presbyter set in opposition to each other. By the time of Ignatius, churches had come to the practical conclusion that there had to be one “senior” pastor, who was called the bishop, and the other elders, or presbyters, were ranked under him in authority and position. Ignatius’s letters acknowledged that the bishop was not necessarily the oldest among the elders, but was one whom God called to that position. Ignatius argued that there should be one bishop in charge of each congregation in order to prevent splits and ensure correct beliefs were preserved. Men like Ignatius of Antioch followed in the footsteps of the apostles and formed the second generation of church leaders. The heresies and problems they addressed in their ministries still face us today, and we can learn much from their writings.

Subsets and Splits

Top Long Responses

Returns the prompts and responses where the response length falls within a specified range, ordered by decreasing length, which provides basic insight into the distribution of response lengths.