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Listed below are common questions asked of our pastors and their responses.
| Question:
As Christians, we believe that people are saved by grace through faith in Christ. Salvation comes through Christ alone. How does one respond to a person whose stumbling block is "I can't believe in a God who would condemn to hell billions of people in the world who have not had the opportunity to know Jesus because of cultural (Arabic countries) or political (N. Korea/China) reasons?
Answer:
What a great question!, and one that humankind has been pondering for centuries. I won't presume to fully plumb its depths in a brief answer. There is an dimension to the question, "who is saved?" that remains unknown to us. But here are some places to start: In answering such a question, I might start by responding to it with another question: "Where do you get the idea that this is what God does?" Find me the verses that say God condemns to Hell all those who haven't heard about Jesus (for cultural, political, or whatever kind of reasons). I don't find this theology in the Bible. In fact, Scripture suggests that God desires that all should be saved (1 Tim 2:3-6), and sent His son to save the entire world (Jn 3:16). You might ask the person what verses from God's Word trouble her/him. I think I would have trouble believing in (trusting) a God Who condemns people on the basis suggested above, too. But before you think I am a "universalist", let me state clearly that I think the Scripture tells us that although God desires all to be saved, not all ARE saved. You may want to read passages like Mt 22:1-14, Mt 25:31-46, and Lk 13:22-30. They suggest that God saves some and condemns others. But the criteria for judgment may not have to do primarily with whether or how one heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. I understand that there are people out there who hold to this extreme view of "exclusivism", under which 'all who do not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior are lost forever. Christianity is the only true religion; all others are false... This approach is buttressed by numerous texts from Scripture; for example: "There is salvation in no one else (but Jesus Christ), for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:5-6).' (so says the Rev. Dr. Malcolm Brownlee of First Pres. Church of Beckley, W.V., in his article, "Is there saving grace for those who do not profess faith in Jesus Christ?") But "the Way " to the Father through Jesus may be different than what we envision. Our normal salvation formulas don't apply to those outside the norm! Perhaps there are other ways to encounter Jesus and have an opportunity to respond to him than by hearing about Him through the sort of human communication with which we are familiar. I'm glad God is the judge, and not you or I! God knows how to judge and evaluate people fairly; He knows all the variables and the inner workings of the heart. In Romans 2, Paul talks about Gentiles living by a "law of their own understanding", since they were not given the Law of Moses. He implies that God does not judge them by what they could not have known or understood, but by what He knows they DID understand. He applies a fair measuring stick to them (Romans 2:1-16; God judges according to the truth, according to what we do, and according to the "light" we have). Perhaps we can extrapolate this principle regarding the Law and apply it to the Gospel. God will judge those who never heard the Gospel according to how they responded in light of what they DID hear. If it is reasonable to apply this paradigm to the Gospel, it applies directly to the statement above regarding ignorance due to cultural and political reasons. In the final analysis, we must leave judgment to God and trust that He is fair. God bless you, and thank you for pondering these things.
Pastor Graig.
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| Question:
If we refer to The Holy Trinity as the 3 in One--and my understanding is that Jesus was God's Son,and that Jesus was actually God, why did Jesus cry, while on the Cross, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do"? This has been very confusing for me. Maybe you can explain this to me.
Answer:
Thanks for a good question. You are certainly not alone in feeling the tension caused by the mystery of "one God in three persons". Since the time of Christ, it has been a point of discussion for serious believers, from children to theologians. Today Moslems challenge the Christian claim to be "monotheistic", due to verses like the one you quoted. And there are many other examples in Scripture of the Son praying to the Father. But if Christ and the Creator are one, what is the need for verbalizing "their" communication? Part of my response to you must be: There is an element of mystery here that we cannot comprehend in our standard human categories of thinking, and we learn to accept the truth of the 3-in-1 mystery with the help of our faith ("we walk by faith, not by sight" - 2 Cor. 5:7). But I can also offer a couple helps. The Bible, although never using the word "trinity", clearly depicts One God in more-than-one Persons. The Old Testament asserts that "the Lord your God is one God" (Deut. 6:4), and yet God speaks in the plural ("Let us make Man in our image" - Gen 1:26). The Spirit of God was there with the Creator when God made the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:2). The Apostle John, referring to Christ as the "Word", equates Jesus with Creator God (John 1:1) and puts Him there at the time of Creation, too. And Jesus Himself asserts His oneness with the Father and with the Holy Spirit in the 14th chapter of John; I invite you to dwell in that chapter for awhile. Jesus says it even more explicitly in John 10:30. The Apostle Paul clearly holds to the 3-in-1 doctrine, but doesn't spell it out the way we'd like, perhaps. Check out 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 and Ephesians 4:4-6. And when he says goodbye with a benediction like "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you", he is certainly referring to one God, even though he spells out the complexity of God's social nature. The mystery of marriage, with two people becoming one, is an analogy for God's image: "So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them male and female" (Gen. 1:27). Male and female together comprise a reflection of God's image. It's an imperfect reflection (2-in-1 rather than 3-in-1, and physical/emotional rather than spiritual). But when we receive our spiritual bodies and are glorified, perhaps our unity will be just as mysterious as that of God: more completely one with our spouse than our earthly dwelling allows, and yet still our individual selves. This is partly speculative on my part, but perhaps it helps by way of illustration. There. I suppose this is more than you wanted!, but I hope it makes sense and eliminates at least some of the confusion for you. God bless you as you continue to draw closer to God, Friend. Thanks for struggling with the mystery! And thanks for making us part of of your ongoing learning about the faith.
Pastor Graig.
P.S. There is a long document on the Trinity on our PC(USA) website. The first ten pages of it might be relevant for you if you want to take this further! http://www.pcusa.org/theologyandworship/issues/trinityfull.pdf
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Question:
Our current study is “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life” by Joanna Weaver. Tonight we discussed the third chapter of the book which ! is about anxiety. The chapter concludes with a portion subtitled “Perfect Peace” and explains that, “Perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18 KJV). In my NIV, the verse reads, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
The question that I struggled with (and have never really understood) is fearing the Lord. In Proverbs 31:30, “a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” There are so many verses, both old testament and new, that emphasize fearing the Lord and I am not particularly confident that I understand what that means. In contrast, 1 John 4:18 reads “…the one who fears is not made perfect in love.” To fear or not to fear…and what does it mean to fear…that is the question! I guess I am working from the premise that God’s love for me is perfect…perfect love drives out fear…how can I love God completely and trust in His perfect love for me and still fear! Him knowing He has my best interest in mind?
In our discussion tonight, we toyed with the idea that perhaps we do not fully understand the word “fear” and perhaps there are different meanings attached to the verses (reverence vs. confidence in salvation)? Your insights would be greatly appreciated! We would love to hear from as many of you who have the time to answer.
Much Thanks!!
Answer:
This is a good question, and one that troubles a number of folks. What does it mean to fear the Lord? As you indicate, the Bible repeatedly calls us to a healthy fear of the Lord (Psalm 111:10 says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”). And yet again and again we hear God say to his people, “Fear not.” And, and you point out, 1 John 4:18 says clearly that “perfect love casts out fear.”
Is there a contradiction here?
I think not. I think the key is in different understandings of the word “fear.”
A proper understanding of what it means to “fear the Lord” would include things like awe and wonder and astonishment. At its best, such a fear is a crucial part of any real worship of God – a healthy and appreciative awareness of the awesome holiness and radical “otherness” of God. It’s why worship seems so boring and insipid sometimes – people think God is too small, too tame, too predictable.
In one of her essays, Annie Dillard says that when we come to worship we ought to be wearing crash helmets & safety vests. In C.S. Lewis' first Narnia book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, a character known as Mr. Beaver talks about Aslan, the mighty Lion (who stands for the Lord Jesus Himself). When one of the children asks if he’s a tame lion, Mr. Beaver says something like, “Who said anything about tame? Of course he isn’t tame. But he’s good, I tell you.”
Mr. Beaver is right. God isn’t tame: “fear of the Lord.” But God is good: “perfect love casts out fear.”
The fact that God is so good is what delivers us from the other side, the dark side, of fear – the fear John writes about. 1 Jn. 4:18 goes on to say, “Fear has to do with punishment…” This is the fear that God does not love me. That God is out to get me. That God cannot be counted on to keep his promises, or do the right thing. That God will punish me for my sins (rather than forgive me, as he has promised to do in Jesus Christ – 1 Jn. 1:8-10).
In summary, I am to cultivate a healthy fear of the Lord – reverence and awe, wonder and worship. I am to strive against putting God into any kind of box that limits him and makes him less that what he is – infinite, almighty, creator, redeemer and & (yes) judge of all humanity. When I come into his presence, there ought to be something of what Isaiah experienced in Isaiah 6 – the sense of the awesome holiness of God, coupled with an awareness of my own sinfulness. Healthy, holy fear.
At the same time, as a Christian, I am not to be afraid of God. For Jesus has revealed God to be a loving Father, who welcomes his children and loves them unconditionally. He’s not out to get me or punish me. He may discipline me (as any good father would), but it will always be for my good. I seek to grow in my acceptance of his great love for me – such that I can come into his presence knowing I am welcome and loved, a little child, safe in his/her Father’s loving arms.
The trick is to keep both these concepts in some balance. Some days, I need to sense God’s holy otherness (the fear of the Lord) jolting me into obedience, and blowing the dust off of my stodgy, too-comfortable faith. Other days, I need to draw near to the Father who loves me and calls me his own – as Hebrews 4:16 says, “to approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” – to not let the wrong kind of fear get in my way.
Fear the Lord. He's worthy of worship and awe. But don't be afraid of him. He loves you. He's good.
I wonder if that helps any. Please let me know. And don’t be afraid to tell me if I’ve failed to address your real concerns. I’d be happy to try again.
Yours in the love of Christ, and the fear of the Lord,
Pastor Bob Sanders
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Question:
We are doing a study for mothers by Denise Glen, and it turns out to be VERY conservative.
Recent chapters on women submitting to their husbands provoked quite....spirited discussions. We were hoping to be so bold as to get some response back from as many of the four of you as possible, regarding your individual interpretations and the Presbyterian church's interpretation of these passages and their meaning for women today.
Answer:
The controversy generally swirls around the word "submit." In the Greek, the word means to be under, willingly, the authority of another as a group of soldiers are under their superior officer. All the members of the cadre are there because they have signed up, and the person in charge has them under his/her care. Thus it is not an act of submission, like a slave or coerced individual, but by their choice. More importantly, the "to do" list that Paul gives the husband is three times as long as the one for the wife! And the fact that the husband is to die, literally offer up himself/be willing to give his very life for her (wife), is significant as well. Sadly, most of the time, this passage is interpreted as submission under a punitive/ judgmental authority, and thus can be misconstrued as abuse (and sadly often gets the rap for this misinterpretation). What they fail to do is read Eph 5:21, which says, "submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." Thus, our first submission is to Christ, who then gives us the insight on how to split up the duties as husband and wife -and at the same time, respect the true authority, Jesus Christ. Hope that assists.
Keep asking those questions,
Pastor Libby Boatwright
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