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The Question Box |
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The Question Box |
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Do you have a
question about anything in the Bible? Ask it at the
The Question Box
Our Evangelist or a former Elder of our congregation will try
their best to answer
your question by looking to the scriptures.
Not all questions have answers. Some will have to wait until we meet God in heaven.
Through questions comes learning -- for
the one asking and the one answering.
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Question: 3/22/2010 |
From which Israel kingdom does Jesus' kingdom derive? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
After the
death of Solomon, there was a general revolt against Rehoboam,
Solomon's son and ten tribes split off to form the Northern Kingdom
of Israel under Jeroboam the Son of Nebat. Jeroboam soon introduced
the worship of the golden calves he built at Bethel and Dan, a sin
followed by every one of the later kings of Israel. Because of this
blatant rejection of God, the LORD brought on them the Assyrian
Captivity, from which the ten tribes never returned.
The Southern
Kingdom of Judah did not fare much better. Though each king of Judah
in Jerusalem was from the house of David, many of them were wicked
men who also worshiped the gods of the nations around them, though
there were exceptions: Asa, Jehosophat, Hezekiah, and Josiah come to
mind.
The prophets
went to both kingdoms, attempting to get them to return to the LORD.
While some restoration took place in Judah under Hezekiah and
Josiah, and a very minor restoration came in Israel under Jehu, both
kingdoms drifted away from God. A little over a hundred years after
Israel's captivity in Assyria, Judah was taken into Babylonian
Captivity under King Nebuchadnazer.
Yet, God
never gave up on either of these kingdoms. He promised to bring
Judah back - which he did 70 years later. The temple was rebuilt and
the walls of Jerusalem restored - but the temple was but a shadow of
what it had been, and the city of Jerusalem was always a pawn
between the more powerful nations around them. A son of David had
not yet come - until Jesus came.
Before he
was born, Mary was told that he would receive the kingdom of his
ancestor, David, as the prophets had foretold (see Luke 1:31-33). So
the king of Jesus' kingdom came from the
line of
David, from the line of the Kings of Judah. His genealogy in Matthew
1:1-17 contains, from David to Jeconiah, a list of the kings of
Judah. There were a couple of other kings of Judah at the end who
were not in his lineage (though they were from David), but these
kings were set on the throne in Jerusalem by others - Egypt and
Babylon.
Yet, God had
not forgotten Israel. Amos was one of the prophets God sent to
Israel to protest the worship of the golden calves as well as the
injustice to the poor rampant in that kingdom. (See Amos 7:7-11.
Note: the King Jeroboam here was a later king by the same name. He
was not a descendant of the original Jeroboam, but was king of
Israel.) At the end of Amos, in 9:11-12, he made a prophecy:
"In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name," declares the LORD who will do these things.
In Acts
15:16-17, Peter quoted this and applied it to the Lord's opening
His kingdom to the Gentiles. God restored the fallen tent of
David with its pieces broken when his kingdom was broken by the
rift between Jeroboam and Rehoboam when the Gentiles received
the gospel.
I
realize this is not how we would expect this prophecy to come to
pass. But God's ways are not our ways, and Peter said this
prophecy spoke of the Gentiles entering God's kingdom. The ten
tribes that fell from God come to represent the Gentile nations.
So, how
does this answer your question? The King comes from Judah; those
who enter the kingdom come from "whosoever will." Jew and
Gentile alike are now one in Christ, and the ten tribes stand
for the Gentiles in the kingdom.
I hope
that this will help your understanding of God's Word.
Respectfully yours,
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Question: 3/19/2010 |
What will happen to our mortal bodies after we die? When does the future resurrection take place? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your questions.
Our mortal bodies,
when we die, return to the dust from which they came. See Genesis
3:19 & Ecclesiastes 12:7.
The resurrection will occur when the
Lord returns from heaven. See 1 Thessalonians 4:16 & 1 Corinthians
15:52. No one knows when that will occur.
I hope these few lines will be of
some help to you.
Respectfully yours,
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Question: 3/13/2010 |
Was trying to find the scripture in the Bible that refers to grief...I believe it says grieve for awhile and then??? My step mom is about to lose her father, and she has already let her mother go home to be with the Lord, and I have searched all the scripture about grieving, and could not find it...about to search for a sound mind, may find it there.. Thank you and God Bless!!! |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question. Knowing how to help someone who is facing the loss of a very dear one is always hard. I am convinced that sometimes the best thing is just to be there. When Job's friends came to comfort him, the best thing they did was what they did at first: When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was. - Job 2:12-13
After they began
to talk to Job and try to tell him what he ought to be doing, he
called them "miserable
comforters"
(Job 16:2). Their presence sitting with him helped far more than
their words did.
No two people
grieve in exactly the same way. You may be surprised at your
step-mother when she finally does lose her father. I have seen
many times when the suffering and grieving was done before the
death. (I worked as a chaplain for 10+ years in a nursing home,
so I have had plenty of opportunity to observe people as their
loved ones die - and immediately after.) Sometimes, the actual
death comes as a relief.
The Christian has
an advantage when it comes to grief. Paul wrote about this
advantage to the newly-planted church in Thessalonica:
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
He did not ask
them not to grieve. He did say that they had no need to grieve
as other people grieve when they have no hope. The Christian has
a firm, sure hope that Jesus will bring with Him those who have
died in Him. Even in the Old Testament, the Psalmist wrote:
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. - Psalm 116:15.
Even Jesus grieved
at the tomb of His friend, Lazarus. The shortest verse in the
English Bible is "Jesus
wept" (John
11:35). This was when He came to the tomb of Lazarus. He wept,
knowing full well that He would raise Lazarus from the dead in a
matter of minutes! His tears give us permission to grieve, as
His tears bless our tears and give them the power to be an
expression of a holy love.
I do not know of a
passage that tells us to grieve for just a little while and then
to put it away from us. In one sense, the grieving never ends in
this world. How long do you think God has grieved over the
senseless suffering of mankind, suffering that many people want
to blame on Him. In our fallen world, many things cause
suffering. Sickness and death are high on that list, but they
are certainly not there alone. Even the earth itself has been
cursed by man's sinfulness, and the curse of the earth brings
greater misery to people as well.
The Scripture
speaks of death as an enemy that will finally be destroyed when
the Lord returns and His kingdom is handed back to God (1
Corinthians 15:25-26). That promise gives us hope, even in the
time of suffering.
The greatest
antidote to grief is hope. The person who can rest in the
promises of God will grieve - but will also have assurance that
God will see them through it. For this reason, one of the things
you can do to help your step-mother is to help her (if she does
not have them already) find faithful counselors and friends who
know and love the Lord. You will need to be with her and support
her as well, at least as much as you can.
Write to me again
to let me know how she - and you - are doing.
Respectfully
yours,
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Question: 3/10/2010 |
1:in the book of jewel what chapter and vrus do you find the promise of the holy spirit? 2:which heathen nation did ermus condem amos? 3:who are desendents of the edomites? 4:what happen when Jonha obey God? 5:what cause the marked apostle in micah's time. 6:what does the book of Nahym concern its self? 7:what time slot does Mialachi sit in among the minor prophets? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your questions.
1. In the book of jewel what chapter
and vrus do you find the promise of the holy spirit?
2. Which heathen nation did ermus
condem amos?
3. Who are desendents of the edomites?
4. What happen when Jonha obey God?
5. What cause the marked apostle in
micah's time.
6. What does the book of Nahym
concern its self?
7. What time slot does Mialachi sit
in among the minor prophets?
I trust that these
answers will help you in your studies.
Respectfully yours,
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Question: 3/9/2010 |
My son does not believe in Luke 23:43 I do believe what Jesus said to the man on the cross. Can you help me so I can explained to my son that the LORD will take that man to heaven at that day. God bless you. |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
Jesus was between two
thieves, probably members of a revolutionary gang of terrorists who
were trying to win Judea's liberty from Rome. Initially both of
these joined with the Jews in mocking Jesus (See Mark 15:32 where "Those
crucified with Him also heaped insults on Him.") Luke's account
differs a little, as apparently one of the thieves changed his mind
about Jesus.
Your question deals with the last of these verses, Jesus' response to the thief on the cross.
This verse presents an
interesting dilemma for Biblical translators. You see, the original
Greek (and Hebrew) manuscripts of the Bible had no punctuation.
Adding punctuation is a part of the work of the translator. Did
Jesus say that the thief would be with Him in paradise today? Or was
Jesus saying, "I am telling you the truth today; you will be with me
in paradise."? The punctuation makes a difference in how we
understand it. The traditional translation and understanding of this
text is that Jesus was promising the thief they would be together in
paradise that day, which for the Jew ended at sundown.
If the traditional
translation is right, this is a story of death-bed repentance by a
man who had lived a life of rebellion and thieving thuggery. It
would be a story of extreme grace shown by the dying Jesus that
would tell us that turning to God, even at the last moments of life,
will result in a gracious reception by our Lord. I like that
message, and I believe it is a true message - but I am not sure that
is exactly what Jesus was saying to this man. I hasten to add that
I'm not sure but what that is exactly what Jesus was saying to the
thief either. However, which of these two understandings of the text
we accept does not change the basic lessons of what Jesus said to
the thief.
Most Christians today
do believe the traditional understanding of the passage - and I'm
not going to argue with them here, because I'm not sure they are
wrong - though I'm not completely convinced they are right either.
So, let's accept, for the moment, that they are right.
Does this mean we
should wait until we are in the process of dying to repent and come
to God? Of course not! We should never deliberately delay responding
to the great love of our God and presume on His willingness to
forgive. This would be somewhat like tempting God, which Jesus said
we should not do (see Matthew 4:5-7). Also, we do not know if we
will have time to "repent" and ask God to save us just before we
die. Death often comes suddenly - or even slowly, but after our
minds have become confused. How can we be sure we will ask the Lord
to spare us when we actually do come to the end of our life? We need
to serve Him, not just use Him as a way to escape the torment of
hell to go to the Lord in paradise.
Some people use this
text to try to say, "I want to be saved just like the thief on the
cross." Then they will say things like, "He was not baptized, so I
don't think I need to be baptized either." Or they may say, "He did
not meet with Christians to remember Jesus, so I don't believe I
need to do this either." In other words, they try to take an
exceptional circumstance and make it the rule for everyone. They
reason, "Jesus saved that man without the things He said we should
do. So if He saved that man, why would He not save me the same way?"
When anyone says
things like this to me, I tell them that the only way they can be
saved is to be saved like the thief on the cross. How was he saved?
He was saved as he was dying with Jesus while calling on the name of
Jesus. How can I be crucified with Jesus? Paul said that he had been
crucified with Him:
He speaks of this also in Romans 6:3-7. When we come to the Lord in baptism, we come calling on Him as our Savior and Lord. It is as if our "old self" is hanging on the cross with Jesus and dying there. Then we are buried beneath the water and are raised up to life as a new person who is purified and made new in Christ Jesus. This new person is filled with God's Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:38) by which he is able to live as a new kind of person, a person who is walking in a new kind of life.
As for your son, you cannot make
him believe anything. You can lovingly explain it to him and
that he should begin now to serve the Lord - but his decision to
believe this or not to believe it is his decision. You cannot
decide it for him.
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Question: 2/26/2010 |
What is the significance if any in John the Baptist being beheaded in relation to Christ? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
I know of no special
significance in John's having been beheaded other than his death as
a martyr. John, as the forerunner of Jesus who came to prepare a
people for the coming of the Lord, was a very great man.
Why did God allow Him
to die? Why does He allow any of His children to die as martyrs? It
was not long after the death of Jesus that Stephen died for his
faith (see Acts 7:54-60). Many others also died for their faith.
In this, all martyrs
are like Jesus in that they are willing to lay down their lives for
the gospel. Yet, Jesus is unique. It was His death and resurrection
that is for our sins. He alone was the "Only begotten of the
Father." He alone was the sinless, perfect Lamb of God that takes
away the sins of the world.
I hope these few words
are helpful to you.
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Question: 2/26/2010 |
Is your death appointed before you are born? Is there scripture from God for this? I know somebody who is harboring guilt because an auto accident inadvertently caused his Mom's death. What can be said to ease his pain? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
Some people suppose that Job 14:5-6
might mean God has determined the date of your death. This passage
reads:
This, to me, is at best inconclusive. Are there limits to the length of human life? Yes. What are they? We do not know. We do know that we all have an appointment with death (see Hebrews 9:27); it is supposition that says God has already set the time of that appointment. Further, even if God knows the time of the death of each person, it is still supposition that says His knowing causes us to die at that particular time.
I feel for your
friend. From what you said, his mother's death was the result of an
automobile accident. I take it, he or she feels responsible. There
is a big difference between a moment of carelessness and a
deliberate act that causes a death. Unfortunately, we must also bear
the consequences of carelessness - though guilt for carelessness is
not the same as guilt for deliberate action. For a Biblical
principle involved in this, consider the laws regarding the cities
of refuge in Deuteronomy 19:1-13 & Numbers 35:1-34.
Sometimes it is harder
for us to forgive ourselves than to receive forgiveness from God.
That may be where your friend is.
Help him to see God as
the loving Father Jesus shows to us in Luke 15:11-33, the Parable of
the Prodigal Son. We do not earn His forgiveness; He gives it to us
lovingly and freely. Do you think the prodigal son had difficulty
accepting his father's love? Or do you think he may have held
himself responsible for the breech between the father and the older
brother? He should not blame himself for the friction between the
elder brother and the father. That friction was already there in the
older brother's attitude toward the father. He saw their dad as a
hard taskmaster as he said, "All these years I've been slaving
for you and never disobeyed your orders" (v. 29). The prodigal
was not responsible for that. Yes, he broke his father's heart - but
the father's love received him back. Help your friend see God as
this loving Father who cares for both of His sons, even though each
of them has broken His heart.
I hope these few
thoughts will be of help to you in ministering to your friend.
Respectfully yours,
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Question: 2/17/2010 |
What does the Bible say about divorce? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
The words divorce,
divorced or divorces appear appear in 31 verses of the NIV
Bible. In addition to that, I have been able to locate another 8
verses that have an equivalent of divorce expressed in
different words. Of these 39 verses, 19 are in the Old Testament and
20 are in the New Testament.
Here is what the Bible
says about divorce.
Old Testament Passages
[Priests] must not marry women defiled by prostitution or divorced from their husbands, because priests are holy to their God. - Leviticus 21:7. [The High Priest] must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people. - Leviticus 21:14 But if a priest's daughter becomes a widow or is divorced, yet has no children, and she returns to live in her father's house as in her youth, she may eat of her father's food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat any of it. - Leviticus 22:13 Any vow or obligation taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding on her. - Numbers 30:9 They shall fine [the man who falsely accuses his bride of not being a virgin] a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the girl's father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives. - Deuteronomy 22:29 [The man who rapes an unpledged virgin] shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives. If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, [and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man,] and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the LORD. Do not bring sin upon the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. - Deuteronomy 24:1, [2], 3-4 Sons were born to Shaharaim in Moab after he had divorced his wives Hushim and Baara. - 1 Chronicles 8:8 Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these [foreign] women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law....Now make confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives.... (They all gave their hands in pledge to put away their [foreign] wives, and for their guilt they each presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering.) - Ezra 10:3, 11, 19. If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers - would you now return to me? declares the LORD.... I [the LORD] gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. - Jeremiah 3:1, 8 [The priests] must not marry widows or divorced women; they may marry only virgins of Israelite descent or widows of priests. - Ezekiel 44:22 Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adulterous look from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts. - Hosea 2:2 [Note: in Hosea 1:2-3 God had told Hosea to marry Gomer, which he did. By 2:2, they are no longer married.] "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith. - Malachi 2:16
New Testament
Passages
Because Joseph [Mary's] husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. - Matthew 1:19 "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery." - Matthew 5:31-32 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" ["Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'?] So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?" "Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery. - Matthew 19:3, [4-5], 6-9 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" ["What did Moses command you?" he replied.] They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away." ["It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. "But at the beginning of Creation God 'made them male and female.' For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one.] Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." [When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this.] He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery." - Mark 10:2, [3], 4, [5-8], 9, [10], 11-12. Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. - Luke 16:18 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must no divorce his wife. To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him....But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances. - 1 Corinthians 7:10-13, 15 Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. [But if you do marry, you have not sinned: and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.] - 1 Corinthians 7:27, [28]
The above is, as
far as I have been able to locate the passages, all the Bible
says about divorce.
Men have written
much more than this, of course. Men have inferred much and
extrapolated much. But, as far as I have been able to determine,
this is all that the inspired Word of God has to say about the
subject.
The words or
verses in regular type and enclosed with [brackets] are words or
verses not in the 39 verses that use the word divorce or
equivalent expressions that mean divorce.
Those 39 verses are all in italics. I have included
connecting verses or words to provide context for the verses
that do mention divorce.
Respectfully
yours,
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Question: 2/16/2010 |
Does the Bible make reference to every Christian attaining 120 years of life? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
The quick answer is that it does
not. How many Christians have you known who have lived to 120
years? I knew one who died three weeks before her 120th birthday
- but never one (Christian or not) who has lived to be 120.
The passage you might be thinking of is in Genesis 6:3.
It says,
And the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."
The results of his preaching
were slim. Only his immediate family - his wife, their three
sons, and their wives - were the only ones saved in the
ark.
The only man I know whom the
Bible says lived to 120 was Moses (See Deuteronomy 34:7). He
died more than 1400 years before the coming of the Christ,
so he was not a Christian - though he did live by faith (see
Hebrews 11:23-29).
I never cease to be amazed at
the concepts that some people extract from the Bible.
I trust these few lines
will be of some help to you.
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Question: 2/2/2010 |
Other than Christ (the Son of our Father) which two people in the Bible gave up the most to help the down trodden? Blessings to you and yours, and bless others in turn. |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
Samson, this sounds like a
homework assignment of some type. It is a question that cannot
be answered definitively, because it is a judgment call. A case
could be made for several different people, depending on the
particular criteria you may choose to apply (which you did not
choose to give me).
I would enjoy hearing your
thoughts on this question, however.
Keep studying the Word!
Respectfully yours,
|
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Question: 1/25/2010 |
Is it scriptural for a woman to divorce her husband if he is unfaithful and marry another man? I know that it is scriptural for a divorce if the reason is infidelity but I am wondering if it is Biblical if the woman gets married to another man who is faithful while the unfaithful husband is living. |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question. In the Old Testament, one purpose of a divorce was to permit the divorced person to marry again, whether this was the man or the woman. (Originally, women were not allowed to divorce their husbands; only men could create a divorce.) You can see this in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. After the divorce, either party could marry again. The prohibition in Deuteronomy 24 is against the wife returning to her first husband if her second husband divorced her or died. Either of the divorced partners was free to marry again, even thought the general law was that if a woman married a second man while her husband was alive, she would be called an adulteress (see Romans 7:1). This suggests to us that a divorced person was not considered "married," but was "divorced" - much as in our legal system today.
In the New
Testament, when Jesus spoke of divorce in Matthew 5:32 and
19:9, he used a compound Greek word formed from the two
words, apo (from) and luo (to loose).
The literal meaning of this word, translated divorce,
is to loose from or to be loosed from another.
In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul discussed several marital statuses:
married (vv. 2-7), unmarried (vv. 8-9), believer &
non-believer married (vv. 12-16), virgins (v. 25 & vv.
34-38), those loosed from a wife (vv. 27-28), and
widows/widowers (vv. 39-40). To be loosed from a wife, he
would have to have had a wife.
When he spoke
of those "loosed from a wife," he used the same two
words Jesus used for divorce, except that he used two
words while Jesus used a compound word. The only ways a man
could be loosed from a wife would be to be a widower or a
divorced man. Since (1) Paul used similar language as that
Jesus used for divorce to describe this man and (2) since he
went on to talk about widows later in the chapter, I believe
that the man "loosed from a wife" was a divorced man, not a
widower.
In 1
Corinthians 7:28, Paul said that, while the man "loosed from
a wife" should not seek a wife, he does not sin if he does
marry. The reason for him not seeking a wife would be the
same reason Paul gave for a single person of any kind (never
married or widowed) being better off remaining as they were.
That was, as he put it in v. 26, because of the present
distress. In 1 Corinthians 7:2 & again in 7:9 he gave a
strong reason some people should be married. Paul was not an
enemy of marriage, as some maintain. He simply realized that
marriage was not always right for every person at every
time.
With these
Biblical teachings in mind, let's apply them to your
question. "Is it o.k. for the faithful spouse to remarry
while the unfaithful former spouse is still living?" The
answer is that the divorce has broken the marriage (or more
correctly, has formally ended the marriage that was already
broken by unfaithfulness). The marriage does not exist any
longer. Hence, the answer to your question is that it is
permitted.
I realize that
some churches teach that a divorced person may not remarry,
regardless of the cause of the divorce or the guilt or
innocence of the person. However, the teachings of the
Scriptures are not nearly as harsh on the subject of divorce
as many people are.
Few people realize that God
Himself "divorced" Israel, His unfaithful "spouse" and
married Israel's sister, Judah (see Isaiah 50:1 & 62:4-5).
Isa 62:4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. (5) For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. (KJV)This last passage describes the time when God would again be "married" to His people, and they would no longer be "Forsaken" and their land "Desolate." Instead, God would delight in them as a young man delights in his bride, and "thy land shall be married." The word for married here is the word used for Beulah earlier in verse 4.
God
hates divorce (see Malachi 2:16) because it hurts
everyone concerned: the couple themselves, their
children, their families, and society in general. Yet,
God makes gracious provision for those who are divorced
through His grace and mercy. Certainly, divorce is no
light thing. It violates God's ideal for marriage, which
should be a life-long commitment. Yet, even God suffered
through a divorce. He has compassion on His children who
suffer similarly.
I trust
these few thoughts from the Word of God will help you
with your question.
Respectfully yours,
|
|
Question: 1/25/2010 |
I know the Bible says that the man is the head of the house & should be respected by the wife. What is a woman to do when her husband is immoral & irresponsible at times? I feel great guilt for the ill feelings that I have for my husband for his behavior. What advice does the Bible give for this? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
Things become very
difficult whenever a wife loses respect for and trust in her husband
- or
vice versa.
Part of your feelings toward him, no doubt, come
because you feel trapped. It is normal for us to begin to resent
anything that keeps us in what we perceive (and maybe rightly) as a
trap.
You want to know what
advice the Bible gives for one in your situation.
The best advice I can
give you is for you to follow Jesus. Peter in his first epistle
spoke much of what we might term
noble suffering.
For example, he addressed slaves (not wives - though in the first
century, many wives were almost treated as slaves):
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. - 1 Peter 2:18-23 In the next chapter, he does address wives. Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. - 1 Peter 3:1-4
You did not tell me if your
husband is a believer or not. If he is not a believer, this
passage addresses your situation with one answer. There are also
other possibilities. In 1 Corinthians 7:12-16, another apostle
writes:
If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
I understand "if the
unbeliever leaves" to mean that he either leaves his wife
completely for another woman or he refuses to live with his wife
and her alone. That is, he is continually being unfaithful to
her. In such cases, there is not much a believing wife can do -
except to let him go. In this context, that would mean to
divorce him. That is not the preferred solution, however. Both
Peter and Paul advise living with the unbelieving husband in
such a way that you might be able to bring him to know the
Savior.
If he is a
believer, there are other things you can do.
First, you can
confront him for his behavior. 1 Peter 3:7 addresses these words
to husbands:
If he is mistreating you, his behavior also affects his relationship with God so that he hinders his prayers. In fact, he is acting like an unbeliever. If you have confronted him, you can do as Jesus said in Matthew 18:15-17.Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. - Matthew 18:15-17 I would recommend taking a godly couple whom both of you respect and trust to be with you if you have to "take one or two with you."
Your situation, as
it is, is untenable. You need to do something to make it better
- or you may find it necessary to get out of your present living
arrangements with this man. I see nothing in Scripture that
requires you to stay with an abusive, unfaithful husband. Yes,
the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of
the church, and she is to submit to him (see Ephesians 5:23-24).
Yet, the next verses tell him what being "the head" means:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church. - Ephesians 5:25-29
As your head, he is to love and
cherish you as Christ loves and cares for His church, which is
His body.
You will need to
approach this matter with much prayer and with deep humility if
it is to succeed. When you talk with your husband, you will need
to go in the spirit of Galatians 6:1-5. You cannot succeed in it
without a clear conviction that God is working in you and with
you to make things better in your home.
I hope these
suggestions will be of some benefit to you and that you will be
able to work a change in your husband's behavior.
Please write to me
again to let me know how you are doing.
Respectfully
yours,
|
|
Question: 1/14/2010 |
Where would I find the scripture "The race is not for the swift nor the battle for the strong but for those who will endure to the end." |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
Many people ask about this
"saying." The only problem is that this "saying" is not in the Bible.
The first part of your quotation comes from Ecclesiastes 9:11. |
|
Question: 1/11/2010 |
From where the woman that cain meet came from since only was a that time adam eve and their 2 sons? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
This is
a question many unbelievers ask to try to make the Bible look
ridiculous. Actually, it is not a problem at all - if you
realize three things.
First,
prohibitions against incest (marrying a close relative) did not
come until much later. Even after the flood, in the time of
Abraham, we read that Abraham was married to his half-sister
(see Genesis 20:11-13). This also explains how Abraham was able
to send back to his family to find a wife for his son, Isaac
(Genesis 24:4, 15ff), and Isaac & Rebekka could do the same by
sending Jacob back to find a wife among his cousins in her
brother's family (Genesis 28:1-2).
Second,
Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters who are not named in
the Bible (Genesis 5:4). There is absolutely no reason for us to
assume that Cain and Abel were the only children had at the time
Cain killed Abel. They quite likely already had several sons and
daughters.
Three,
Scripture does not say Cain met his wife in the land of Nod. It
says "Cain knew his wife" (KJV) or "Cain lay with his wife" (NIV).
This simply means he slept with her "and she became pregnant."
Who was
she? We do not know her name, but she was either a daughter or
granddaughter of Adam and Eve.
I hope
that this will clear up this question for you.
Respectfully yours,
|
|
Question: 1/11/2010 |
Why the Christian celebrate Christmas on the 25 of Dec. since no body really know when Jesus born, this is not a pagan holiday? can you show me where I can find when Jesus born? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
As you correctly
state, no one really knows when Jesus was born. For that reason, I
am unable to show you where to find that, other than, as Paul said
in Galatians 4:4 "in
the fullness of time."
When the time was the right time, God sent His Son.
Why select December 25 as the date?
Several reasons have been suggested. I
wrote a blog about this that you can read
here
or at http://committedtotruth.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/12-days-of-christmas-5/.
If you click on either of these highlighted places, you can see some
of the difficulties men had in trying to settle on a date to
celebrate His birth hundreds of years after He was born. In fact,
some celebrate Christmas on January 6 or January 7 and not on
December 25 at all. In fact, every month of the year has been
mentioned at one time or another as the time He was born.
If the answer to this
question mattered, God would have let us know.
|
|
Question: 1/11/2010 |
Do a evil spirit appears to people in this world, and if so where in the Bible I can find some example? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
Yes, in the
earliest part of the Bible, the Tempter, the Devil (also known
as Satan), appeared to our Mother Eve in Genesis 3. This
appearance was in the form of a serpent. Read the entire story
in Genesis 3:1-24. It is the story of the Fall of Man that
resulted in the Man and the Woman being driven from the Garden
of Eden.
Off-hand, I cannot
think of another instance in which an evil spirit appeared in a
physical form, but there may be one or more such instances.
There were many instances when different people were tempted or
otherwise "troubled" by an evil spirit. In the New Testament,
especially, Jesus and His apostles frequently met people who
were possessed by an evil spirit or spirits.
On one occasion,
they met a man who had a "Legion" of spirits who had possessed
his body and taken over his personality. The New King James
Version describes this in this way:
They they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me." For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!" Then He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many." Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the coutry. Now a large herd of swine [i.e., pigs - JS] was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them." And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. - Mark 5:1-13
This is, perhaps, the most vivid
encounter Jesus had with one who was possessed, though there
were many other similar instances.
Our most frequent encounter with
evil spirits is in the form of temptation. Peter speaks of this
when he encourages us:
Be sober; be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. - 1 Peter 5:8-9
Note that Peter
does not say the devil appears to us as a lion, but that he
walks about (one translation says "prowls
about")
like a roaring lion. His temptation is more subtle than to
appear to us in very ferocious way. Yet, he is like a lion in
that his appetite and hunger to devour us is great. This
subtlety is in mind when Paul expressed this concern about his
converts:
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted - you may well put up with it. - 2 Corinthians 11:3-4
Paul was afraid
the Corinthian church would be deceived by the same deceiver who
tempted Eve long before by corrupting the message so that Jesus
was no longer the Son of God who died for their sins. Or the
message might be so corrupted that a different spirit - for
example, arrogance instead of humility - would affect them. This
message would be a corruption of the good news itself - and his
fear was that they would embrace this while leaving the
simplicity of the true message of Christ.
Sometimes, as we
think about the power of the devil in this world, we become
frightened and afraid that he will somehow overpower us. When
the child of God is discouraged by such fear, he needs to
remember what the apostle of love wrote:
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. - 1 John 4:1-4 [Emphasis added, JS]
While we need to
have respect for the devil and his power, we also need to
realize that Jesus has defeated Him. Just as Adam and Eve were
cast out of the Garden of Eden, the devil who accuses us before
God and to ourselves has been cast out of heaven after a war in
heaven between Michael, the archangel, and the devil and his
angels. The devil was thrown out of heaven and down to earth
where he has great wrath - and does his best to defeat God's
people here. Read about this in Revelation 12:7-12. But when we
are faithful to God, we overcome him, as the Scripture there
says:
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time." - Revelation 12:10-12 [Emphasis added - JS]
We can take
comfort. The devil is defeated. He is no longer able to accuse
us before God. Yes, he is cast down into the earth, but his time
is short. He knows he does not have long. This makes him angry -
but he knows his doom is certain. We have that knowledge as
well. Plus, we have the Spirit of God within us, and the Spirit
of God is more powerful than the devil! So we can be confident
in the Lord.
I hope these few words will be of
some assistance to you in your studies of the Word of God and in
your walk with Him.
Respectfully
yours,
|
|
Question: 1/7/2010 |
Is there any difference between the sin of a man and one's soul committing sin? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
When
Peter spoke about Noah and the ark, he said that in it "eight
souls were saved" (KJV). The word that the KJV translates
soul is the usual
word for soul in the New Testament. It is also translated as
life.The
New International Version translates this passage in 1 Peter
3:20, as "a few people, eight in all, were saved." In other
words, the eight people who were saved in the ark were eight
souls.
Whenever we
yield to temptation and sin, our soul is affected, whether the
sin is one of the flesh (e.g., drunkenness or adultery) or one
of the spirit (e.g., envy and hate). Likewise, as we come closer
to God, the old habits and deeds of the flesh are put off so
that we do not continue to commit sin with our bodies of flesh.
This is because we are changing into the likeness of Jesus.
Any sin affects
us, body and soul. God's plan for us is that we be completely
sanctified - a theological word that means made holy - in body,
soul, and spirit (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23).
How does this
change take place? We fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2),
set our minds on the things above (Colossians 3:1), and behold
(or reflect) the Lord's glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). As we do
these things, we are "being transformed into his likeness with
every-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the
Spirit."
Until we focus
on Jesus and walk with Him in the power of the Holy Spirit, we
will continue to struggle with sin. If we walk in the light with
Him, His blood purifies us from sin (see 1 John 1:6-10).
I hope these
few lines will give you some helpful guidance.
Respectfully
yours,
|
|
Question: 1/5/2010 |
What does playing instruments have to do with warfare and the atmosphere? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question. From ancient (Biblical) times until fairly recently (even as late as WWI), instruments were played during war as signals to the combatants to govern their maneuvers. Paul spoke of this in 1 Corinthians 14:8 - "If the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?"
I know of
no connection, Biblically speaking, between playing
instruments and the atmosphere - although I personally
believe that
some "playing" is a pollution of the atmosphere.
(This is a
genuine question, isn't it? Not a "trick" question?)
|
|
Question: 12/21/2009 |
What is the Biblical solution for the masturbation for the teen who is not going to marry at present? Could you please tell me the solution for the masturbation? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question. This is a question that concerns many young (and not so young) men. In many ways, this is like questions about overcoming any bad habit or sin. We try to overcome using will-power alone, and find ourselves defeated.
We find ourselves frustrated, as
Paul expressed it passionately in Romans 7:15,
For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
Or as Jesus expressed it to
His disciples when they slept as He was praying in
Gethsemane,
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. - Matthew 26:41
In "the flesh" we are unable
to overcome sin. We need God's help. Of course, God requires
our cooperation as well. That is why Jesus said "watch and
pray."
At the close of Romans 7,
Paul cried out,
O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? - Romans 7:24
The next verse answers his
question.
I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
What we cannot accomplish on
our own, we can accomplish in Christ by His Spirit, as Paul
goes on to tell us in Romans chapter 8. How do we do this?
We do it by living our life in the presence of our Lord. It
is by the renewing our our minds (see Romans 12:2) so that
we can overcome the passions of the flesh. As we fill our
minds and our hearts with the knowledge of God's great love
for us, we will gain strength to live for Him each day.
When the temptation raises
its head, let us remember Jesus' promise to His disciples
just before He went to the cross:
I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. - John 14:16-18. [Note: He said this in a context where He also spoke of keeping His commandments (v. 15).]
When we
find ourselves unable to keep His commandments, let us
remember the Helper He has sent to us, who lives in us - the
Holy Spirit of God.
At first,
this will be difficult. As we continue to remember God helps
us through the Spirit, it will become easier as time goes
by. Just do not fall back into the devil's trap of
convincing you that because you cannot do this on your own
you are no good. God knows you cannot do it on your
own. That is why He sends His Spirit to you to help you. The
Spirit does not do it for you, but He does help
you.
With His
help, you can overcome.
Here
are some other human resources that might give you some
practical guidance as well:
Each of these is an "e-book" that can be downloaded without cost.
I hope these few thoughts and
suggestions will be of help to you.
|
|
Question: 12/14/2009 |
I have a question about David. The Book of I Kings 15:5 says that "For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD's commands all the days of his life except in the case of Uriah the Hittite." But in the book of I Chronicles 21:6-7 it says "But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king's command was repulsive to him. This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel." Is there a contradiction between these verses? Was the census David commanded a sin? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
Here is
an article that speaks of some other difficulties involved
in the parallel accounts of David's census in 1 Chronicles
21 and 2 Samuel 24. It does not, however, address your
question about David not committing sin except in the matter
with Uriah the Hittite.
It
is possible that the phrasing in 1 Kings 15:5, "David...
had not failed to keep any of the LORD'S commands,"
refers to the Ten Commandments. The matter with Uriah began
with coveting another man's wife, continued with adultery,
and ended with murder. As John Wesley pointed out in his
notes on 1 Kings 15:5, David's sin with...
"... Uriah's wife was a designed and studied sin, long continued in, defended with a succession of other sins, presumptuous, and scandalous to his government, and to the true religion."
It
was no mere momentary mistake of judgment, or lapse into
some sudden sin through an impetuous or presumptuous act,
which he quickly repented of and turned from. Other
impetuous acts of David were just as quickly resolved. The
"man after God's own heart" was not a man without sin. He
was a man whose heart always led him back to God.
In
the case of the census, he repented before God rebuked him
through the prophet. The prophet Gad came to him to help
determine the punishment, not to convict him of the sin. In
the case of the sin with Bathsheba, David did not repent
until the prophet, Nathan, came to him and said, "You are
the man!"
What
was the sin in the census? God had not commanded him not to
have a census. Rather, David seems to have forgotten to
trust God and was looking instead to his own military might
- for this census was not a mere count of population, but of
fighting men. He forgot the words of Psalm 44:6-7.
"I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame."
In
ordering this census, David was not like the young boy who
challenged Goliath in the name of the Lord of Hosts. He did
repent with deep contrition, but God determined to punish
him by a sentence of his own choosing. David chose for God
to bring a three day plague on Israel rather than a
years-long famine or a three-months of fleeing from his
enemies. David looked to God's mercy rather than to endure
prolonged suffering for his people or to risk himself to the
merciless hand of man.
Certainly, 1 Kings 15:5 does not mean that the only sin in
David's life was that surrounding his adultery with
Bathsheba and consequent murder of Uriah. The deliberate,
calculated nature of that sin marks it off as particularly
heinous.
I
hope these few comments will be of some assistance to you.
Respectfully yours,
|
|
Question: 11/26/2009 |
Is it wrong to be cremated? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. - Ecclesiastes 12:7
God formed
our bodies from the dust of the ground. When we pass from this life,
our physical bodies will return to the dust from which they came.
Whether that return is slow, through normal decomposition, or rapid,
through cremation, is a matter of indifference. At least the Word of
God is silent on the question.
If God had
something to say about it, I believe He would have said it. Since He
is silent, there is no need for me to pontificate and declare
something to be wrong just because it is not a major part of my
cultural heritage.
Hopefully
these few lines will put your mind at ease concerning a rapidly
growing method of handling the remains of loved ones who have passed
from us.
Respectfully
yours,
|
|
Question: 11/26/2009 |
Where is it found at in the Bible for brethren to dwell together in unity? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question. This is a teaching found throughout the Bible. In the very beginning, when God asked Cain, "Where is your brother, Abel?" Cain replied, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" Actually, he had become his brother's murderer. (See Genesis 4:1-10.) The passage you have in mind is Psalm 133. Jesus also spoke of the blessing of His disciples being one.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. - Matthew 22:39. I hope these few lines will help in your walk with God.
Respectfully yours,
|
|
Question: 11/25/2009 |
Who do we pray to? God or Jesus and why do we pray to a certain one? I always pray to the Lord or Jesus but I had someone ask me why and I really don't know the answer. My friend says he prays to God because we are not suppose to put anyone before Him. I just would like some clarity. Thank you so much! |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.Did Jesus mean by this that we must not pray to Him, but only to the Father in His name?
Some believe so, and that may be the reason someone asked you why
you pray to Jesus.
I do not see Jesus' words here as intending to regulate how we pray
- except that we recognize Father and Son. The Father loves us, and
we believe He sent His Son to live among us and now in us by His
Spirit.
The Spirit is also involved in our prayers, as He makes intercession
for us "with groans that words cannot express" (Romans 8:26).
When we look at the prayers of the early Christians, we see
different forms of address. For example, after the arrest of Peter
and John when they healed the lame man at the temple they returned
to the brethren and prayed:
I see, then, examples of prayers addressed Both to the Son and to the Father. For this reason, I do not see a "rule" about to whom we are to pray. After all, Jesus said that He and the Father are One. Hence, prayer to either is prayer to God.
We, because of the sacrifice of Jesus, are able to approach the
throne of God.
Who sits on that "throne of grace"? Jesus and the Father sit there together! In praying to either of Them, you really are invoking Both of Them.
I hope these few words will be of assistance to you in your
spiritual journey.
Respectfully yours,
|
|
Question: 11/20/2009 |
Where is it found at in the Bible where Cain asked Abel "Am I my brother's keeper"? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
This is a
thought that is found throughout the Bible.
In fact, after Cain
killed his brother Able in Genesis 4, God asked Cain, "Where
is your brother?"
Cain replied, "I
do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"
God apparently thought that he should be - or at least not his
brother's murderer.
As Jesus was
on the road to Gethsemane, He prayed in the presence of His
disciples:
I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one; I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. - John 17:20-23.
The
passage you are probably thinking of, though is Psalm 133:1.
There the Psalmist, King David, wrote:
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
David,
while he was king, had conflict in his family. One of his sons
raped his half-sister (2 Samuel 13:1-19). Then Absalom, the
girl's full brother, murdered the rapist (2 Samuel 13:20-33).
Absalom lived away from his father for quite some time. After he
returned, he led a rebellion against his father (2 Samuel 15).
David certainly understood how important it is for brothers to
live in harmony.
Hopefully these few lines will help you in your quest for peace,
both in your family and in the family of God.
Respectfully yours, |
|
Question: 11/7/2009 |
Is it the responsibility of the church to pay and take care of the pastor or does the pastor have to get a job and provide for himself and his family with a little help from the church? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question."The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, 'Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,' and 'The worker deserves his wages.'" - 1 Timothy 5:17-18
These
verses follow a section that discuss which widows should be
supported (5:3-16). It speaks of support by the church for
elders who "direct the affairs of the church well, especially
those whose work is preaching and teaching." Paul quotes two
Scriptures to support this: Deuteronomy 25:4 and Luke 10:7. The
first of these is from the Law of Moses; the second is a
statement by Jesus.
There is ample
Biblical support for a church paying its preacher or its elders
when circumstances demand it. There
is no Biblical directive, however, that this MUST be done.
Sometimes, the church is not capable of paying its ministers.
What will a true servant of God do in that case? Will he refuse
to minister because the church cannot pay him? Or will he do the
best he can to support himself - remembering that at times even
the great apostle and missionary, Paul of Tarsus, made tents.
One
place he did this was in Corinth (see Acts 18:3) where he worked
with Aquila and Priscilla who were also tent makers.
He wrote
to the Corinthians about this later in 1 Corinthians 9:3-18.
This is a lengthy text, but since it is so appropriate to your
question, I give it in full.
Paul claimed the "right" to support from the church. Yet, he did not use that right at Corinth. He preferred to provide the gospel free of charge. He had the servant heart of our Lord who gave Himself freely for us.
He had to
return to this theme in his second epistle to the Corinthians.
"The brothers who came from Macedonia" were Silas and Timothy (Acts 18:5). Before they came, Paul was supporting himself by making tents (v. 3). After they came, he "devoted himself exclusively to preaching" (v. 5). He was able to do this because Silas and Timothy brought support for Paul from the churches of Macedonia. Paul spoke of this in a letter to a Macedonian church in Philippians 4:15-17. Too many church and preachers have entered into business arrangements where the preacher or elder becomes a "hireling" of the church instead of its servant. One of the qualities Paul told Timothy an elder (or bishop or pastor) should have is that he not be a lover of money (1 Timothy 3:3; see also vv. 1-7). Similarly, he instructed Titus that the elder must not be one who pursues dishonest gain (Titus 1:7; see also vv. 5-9). Peter also described the shepherds (pastors) of God's flock. He said, among other things, that they must "not be greedy for money, but eager to serve" (1 Peter 5:2; see also vv. 1-4).
When the
pastor watches over the sheep as a hireling, he comes far short of
the Good Shepherd. Jesus, as He spoke of Himself as the Good
Shepherd, said:
Too many preachers
look at their ministry as a professional career instead of as a
mission and an act of service (ministry). Should the church support
its preacher? Yes - if it is able to do so. But the preacher who
will not preach unless he is paid is a poor excuse for a preacher.
In those circumstances, Paul supported himself while continuing to
preach. When support was available, he accepted it so he could
devote himself exclusively to preaching and teaching. We need to be
as he was. The preacher who will "jump" from one church to another
just
because the second church offered him more money is
a poor excuse for a preacher.
On the other hand, if
a church refuses to support its preacher adequately when it is able
to do so because it is miserly and resentful of the need to support
the preacher in his work, they are to be blamed. If they are
unable
to support him
fully, they need to be understanding and not make unnecessary
demands on him if he has to work to support himself and his family
while he continues to preach for them and serve them to the best of
his ability.
I hope these
thoughts will help you find an answer to your question.
Respectfully
yours,
|
|
Question: 10/24/2009 |
Does the Bible specifically speak about Gambling being a sin? If so where is this stated...... |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question. No, the Bible does not mention gambling, except in passages describing the soldiers "casting lots" for Jesus' clothing and perhaps some other similar texts. No list of sins includes gambling directly.
However, "sin" is more than an
action; it is an attitude of heart as well. What is at the "heart"
of gambling? It is a desire to get rich quick, to profit at someone
else's expense. It is fueled by a focus on material things. The
Biblical word for this is "covetousness," which the apostle Paul
calls "idolatry" (see Colossians 3:5 & Ephesians 5:5). The NIV
translation uses "greedy person" instead of "covetousness." He adds
in Ephesians 6:9,
Covetousness is more that wanting
something someone else has so much that I will try to cheat him out
of it or steal it to make it mine. It is the lust for something that
makes me willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Sometimes we
call it "ambition."
This is not to say that all ambition
is sinful. It is not. Ambition, though, that drives us so that every
waking moment and every waking thought is committed to the
acquisition of wealth for the sake of wealth - or power for the sake
of power - is sinful. Jesus speaks of such ambition in His parable
of the Sower in Luke 8:14.
Whatever comes between you and God becomes your god. That is why Paul called covetousness or greed one form of idolatry. We set our hearts on that thing so much that it chokes out any room for God.
Some gamble with very strict limits
as recreation. What I have said here does not necessarily include
such "gambling." It is a very different story, though, for serious
gamblers.
Some years ago when I lived near
Detroit, the city of Detroit wanted to open the door for casinos,
Governor John Engler appointed a commission to study the issue and
make a recommendation to him. The commission said that the greatest
problems in Detroit were addictive behaviors, broken families, and
poverty. They also said that their studies of gambling in other
cities showed that it led to addictive behaviors, broken families
and poverty. Nevertheless, they recommended that the Governor
approve the plans for building casinos in the city.
Why did they recommend this? They
said the city and the state would receive much increased revenues
through such legalized "gaming." In other words, they wanted to
skim off the top of the vast sums of money they expected to pass
through the hands of the casinos. The ignored that those vast sums
of money would originate from some of the people least able to
afford it - and that it would contribute to the pain and misery of
many people.
Several years ago, I participated in
an online "contest" in which contestants wrote an essay on "What I
would Do if I Won the Ohio Lottery," at a time when the prize was
$370,000,000. My entry was judged #1 among those who wrote. You may
read it at http://www.helium.com/items/745163-what-would-you-do-if-you-won-the-370-million-lottery-in-ohio.
There, I try to make the point that
if we will use what we have wisely and for good purposes, we will be
able to accomplish much more than if we chase the pipe dream of
winning a large pot of money through gambling. I believe that as
much now as I did then. How many stories have you read about how
winning the lottery has literally destroyed the lives of most of
those who have won big?
The words of Proverbs 12:11 are
appropriate here:
He who works his land will have abundant food,
but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment.
The wise man does not
say gambling is sin; he does, however, say that the one who "chases
fantasies lacks judgment."
The
wise thing to do is to stay away from the gambling tables. It has
been addictive to many, leading to poverty and broken homes. Why
play around with something like this just for the "high" that comes
when the bets are all in and the cards are turned over to see if you
have won the pot or lost your shirt?
I hope
these few lines have given you something to think about.
Respectfully yours,
|
|
Question: 10/24/2009 |
What was Jesus doing
during His
three days in the tomb? I have heard that when Jesus died he went to Hades for 3 days to bring the key of death so that we could be set free from the devil. I have read Ephesians 4: 8-10 about it but I wanted the chapter of the Bible that shows he went to bring the key. My friend didn’t understand that Jesus went to Hades and I needed to prove to her what I know that it is true. |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your questions.
The
Bible is silent on what Jesus did during the three days
He was in Joseph of Arimathia's new tomb.
The
passage you may be thinking of is Revelation 1:18, where
Jesus said,
The word Hades is not an English word. It is a
"transliterated" Greek word. That is, it is a Greek word
with an English spelling. The translators chose not to
translate this word. The word literally means, "the
place of the dead." It is the Greek equivalent of the
Hebrew word Sheol, which is also transliterated
(not translated) from the Hebrew into English. The
Hebrew sheol simply means "the grave."
Some people believe 1 Peter 3:18-20 speaks of Jesus'
activity during those three days, but I do not think so.
This passage speaks of His preaching through the Spirit
to "the spirits in prison," but these spirits are
identified as those "who disobeyed long ago when God
waited patiently in the days of Noah." No one has
explained why, if Jesus preached to "spirits in Hades"
during the three days, He only preached to those who
disobeyed during the time of Noah. Also, this does not
speak of Jesus Himself doing this preaching, but of His
doing it "through the Spirit." We know that Noah was a
preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5). The logical
assumption is that He preached through the power of the
Holy Spirit and that 1 Peter 3 refers to his work of
preaching "while the ark was being prepared." Jesus
would thus have used the Holy Spirit in Noah to preach
to those people, just as He used the Holy Spirit in
Peter to preach on Pentecost.
Ephesians 4:8-10 speaks of Christ descending "to the
lower, earthly regions" (NIV), though some translations
make this the "lower part of the earth" as a reference
to Hades. The ascent is His return to Heaven (see Acts
1:9). He ascended to Heaven from Earth where He met with
His disciples for about 40 days after His resurrection
(Acts 1:3). From Heaven, he poured out the Holy Spirit
on all flesh, thus giving gifts to men (Acts 2:31-33).
Some believe that the "captives He led in his train" are
the "spirits of just men made perfect" (Hebrews 12:23)
who, according to this understanding, Jesus would have
freed from Hades during those three days.
Yet, in Hebrews 11:40 the writer says that these
righteous men will be made perfect only together with
us. This sounds like the general resurrection in the
last day, not a special activity of Jesus during the
three days He was in the tomb.
All of this just shows that speculation about what Jesus
did during the three days is very "iffy." It is based on
little hints mixed with much conjecture. In the absence
of any definitive statement of Scripture, I hesitate to
speculate about where Jesus was, other than in the tomb,
or what He was doing, other than waiting. Could He have
been in Hades freeing the prisoners there? Possibly, but
I frankly do not know.
I hope this will be of some help to you in your study of
God's Word.
Respectfully yours,
|
|
Question: 10/18/2009 |
Did Jesus reveal to us the name of the Anti-Christ? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
The quick
answer is that He did not, nor did any of the apostles or prophets
who wrote the New Testament reveal that.
In fact, 1
John 2:18 says,
Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour" (emphasis added).
John wrote
this near the end of the 1st century A.D. (i.e., in the 90's). He
called his own time "the last hour." That seems strange to us,
because more than 1900 years have passed since then. But the entire
time between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of
Pentecost in Acts 2 until the Lord returns are known as "the last
days." In Acts 2:16-17, to explain the outpouring of the Spirit
visible that day, Peter quoted Joel 2:28ff.
Note that John spoke of many antichrists. The word for antichrist means against Christ, or literally, substitute Christ. Men have made many substitutes for Christ, sometimes a human being as a substitute and sometimes a human system as a substitute.
In Matthew
24:5 Jesus said, "Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the
Christ,' and will deceive many." Verses 23-27 add,
The Lord warned us such deceivers would come offering substitutes
for the good news of the Son of God. Some of these are trusted
people who appear to be genuine. After all, liars and con men never
wear signs saying, "I am a liar. You cannot trust a word I say." In
spite of the Lord's warning that we should be skeptical of such
claims, many still fall for them with all gullibility.
When Christ really comes, there will be no question about it. The
lying wonders of the substitutes will be overshadowed by the
splendor of His presence. "Every eye shall see and every tongue
confess" in that day.
In the meantime, keep seeking Jesus in His word and walk with Him
each day. This will keep you close to Him and will help protect you
from those who seek to deceive with a substitute Christ.
I hope these words will be of assistance to you in your spiritual
quest.
Respectfully yours,
|
|
Question: 10/18/2009 |
Was reading a part of Bible where it says in Genesis where daughters slept with their father and they had children - ammonites and moabites, that is disturbing and what is the meaning behind that, did they go to Heaven? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
You are right. This is disturbing. It was a sordid affair.
Lot, the nephew of Abraham, "pitched his tent toward Sodom" when
Abraham offered to let him go where he would because the land was
not able to support the vast herds of cattle they had between them.
Lot saw that the plain of the Jordan was well watered, and chose to
go in that direction, leaving his uncle to contend with more barren
regions.
God blessed Abraham, but Lot ended up in Sodom, a city so wicked
that God determined to destroy it. Ezekiel 16:49-50 gives the full
reason for that decision. We usually think of Sodom only in terms of
sodomy, the sin of homosexuality that is named for the city.
You can read about this part of their sin in Genesis 19:5-10.
Lot does not acquit himself well in that episode either, as he
offered his virgin daughters to that sex-crazed mob instead of the
guests (messengers of God, or angels) the men of the city wanted to
have sex with and to whom Lot gave lodging in his home.
It was the next day that these "men" from God practically dragged
Lot and his daughters out of the city. His wife did not make it, as
she looked back with yearning and turned into a pillar of salt.
Lot and the daughters eventually ended up in a cave where the final
chapter of this ugly story took place. There, the daughters got
their father drunk and slept with him. They became pregnant with
sons who became the fathers of the two nations, Moab and Amnon.
Ever since, students of the Word of God have puzzled over this.
Peter referred to Lot as a "righteous man" (2 Peter 2:7-8) because
of Lot's distress over the ungodliness of Sodom. But we wonder how
could a righteous man (1) offer his daughters to the men of Sodom or
(2) get so drunk he could impregnate his own daughters and not
even know he had done it? We also wonder how his daughters could
have concocted their plot to do this.
I wish I knew the answer to these questions, but I do not. I can
make the following observations, however:
In spite of these things, we can know that our God is
merciful and forgiving. Did Lot, once he realized what he had
done, repent with bitter tears and beg God for His forgiveness?
I like to think that he did - but I do not know. God is
certainly capable of forgiving one for a sin, even as heinous as
the one committed by Lot and his daughters.
This gives hope to us as well. Certainly, this should not
encourage us to sin, thinking that we may blithely go out and
sin in terrible ways and just trust God to forgive. That is a
distortion of the good news of salvation in Christ (see Romans
3:7-8 & Romans 5:20 - 6:2). We can never say, though, that we
have sinned so grievously we cannot find pardon in Christ. If
Lot is spoken of as a righteous man, there is hope for all of
us!
Does God approve of what Lot and his daughters did? No, He
does not. Nor does He approve of many things I have done.
Will God's disapproval of Lot's actions keep Lot out of
Heaven? If Lot persisted in his sinful ways without seeking God,
then it well might keep him from Heaven. We need to remember,
though, that God always seeks a way to bring the estranged
person home (2 Samuel 14:14).
I hope that these few words may be of some help to you. If you
would like to read further on this matter, you may find some
excellent comments at http://www.zianet.com/maxey/reflx292.htm.
Respectfully yours,
|
|
Question: 10/17/2009 |
How old was Jesus when the three wisemen came to see Him? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
There are several things here that we just do not know because the Bible does not say. The story of the visit of the wise men and the subsequent flight into Egypt and return (apparently first to Bethlehem with a later return to Nazareth) is found in Matthew 2; the actual birth of Jesus is in Luke 2, along with the visit of the shepherds, Jesus' dedication in the Temple, and later return to Nazareth.
Correlating
these two accounts, we can logically know that the youngest He could
have been would be 40 days - for this is the age when males were
purified, according the law - and that had to be before the flight
into Egypt just after the visit of the wise men. The oldest He could
likely have been would be two years, for Herod ordered the death of
all males in Bethlehem "who were two years old and under."
At the time
of the visit of the wise men, Jesus and family were living in a
house and were no longer in the stable where Jesus was born. This
means the pictures that show the shepherds and wise men visiting the
babe in the manger at the same time are inaccurate.
By the way, the Bible
does not actually say there were
three wise
men. We have assumed that because there were three different gifts
(or types of gifts) named. There may have been three, but we do not
know that from the Biblical record - not that it makes much
difference.
I hope these few comments are of some help to you. Respectfully yours, |
|
Question: 10/15/2009 |
In the wilderness temple or the temple that Moses built-the brazen laver was for washing and sanctification - my question - was the water used for washing blessed or was it plain water? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question. In Exodus 30:18 The Lord told Moses, "Make a bronze basin, with it bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it." The priests were to wash themselves with water whenever they approached the altar (see Exodus 30:21 and many other passages).
I could find
no reference to this being anything other than plain water.
Numbers 19
describes the "water of purification" and its use by the people for
personal purification. This water was mixed with the ashes of a red
heifer, slaughtered and burned outside the camp. This is not the
same as the water in the laver or basin by the altar. I have, only
half jokingly, referred to it as being similar to the lye soap my
grandmother used to make from ashes with which she washed her
clothes.
|
|
Question: 10/5/2009 |
David when challenged by Goliath, drew five stones from brook, one stone destroyed Goliath and the other four stones where for his brothers. What where their names? |
| Answer: |
Thank you for your question.
The story of David and Goliath, a favorite of children (and adults) for thousands of years, is in 1 Samuel 17. This was during the reign of King Saul, the first king of Israel. By this time, God had already told Saul He was taking the kingdom away from him and giving it to another who would be "a man after His own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14). In chapter 16, the prophet Samuel visited the home of Jessie to anoint one of his sons as that future king. David, the youngest who was out in the field watching sheep when Samuel came, was selected after Samuel had passed over Jessie's seven older sons.
The confrontation between David and the giant,
Goliath, is in chapter 17. David, bringing a "care package" to
his brothers who were in Saul's army, was shocked at the fear in
the camp of the Israelites when Goliath made his challenge. He
was very outspoken and aggressive in his questions. His brothers
became angry at him and taunted him as being conceited and
having only come to be a spectator at the battle. But David was
ready to answer the challenge of Goliath.
As you mention, he stopped at the brook flowing
between the two armies and selected five stones, one of which he
used on Goliath. Nothing, however, is said in the Biblical
account of how he used the other four stones. Certainly nothing
is said about them being intended for his "four brothers". In
the absence of a word from the Bible on this question, we could
only speculate.
Actually, David had seven brothers (see 1 Samuel
16:6-11), the three oldest being in the army with Saul. Those
three were Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah (1 Samuel 17:13). The
names of three others were Nethanel, Raddai, and Ozem; there
were also two sisters - Zeruiah and Abigail (1 Chronicles 2:13).
As people tell the Bible stories, they often
"embellish" what the Scripture actually says. Sometimes this is
harmless, but sometimes it can lead to serious distortion. It is
good to always "check the source" for the details of what God
has revealed to us, especially when it comes to those passages
that provide teachings for us about how God treats His people
and how we are to respond to Him.
I trust this will be of some assistance to you in
your studies.
|
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