Date: 11/24/2020

Questions

Will there be a sermon series in the future regarding dating and it’s challenges? Or having some type of couples class regarding dating?

1. Probably not a sermon series (we stick to books of the Bible instead of topical, for the most part).
2. Great idea for an equip class.
3. I know youth ministry covers relationships and dating for our middle and high schoolers, but the questioner is older than that age group.

In your sermon a few weeks ago you talked about disagreements and being under authority which got me thinking about the American revolution. Were our founding fathers wrong to rebel against their authority? Taxation without representation isn’t necessarily a “moral” issue.  So when is it appropriate to disagree with those in authority (in our government or in our church)?

1. I’m no historian.
2. There are some who would say that our nation began as a rebellion against authority that wasn’t the best. In many ways, we’ve never shaken that rebellion against authority which I think we’re seeing more and more in our country.
   1. Father-in-law email: “Yes, I believe that the American Revolution was indeed in opposition to God’s Word.” 
3. Here are important passages reminding us that we respect God when we respect the rulers He places in authority:
   • Matthew 22:17-21 — Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”18 But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” So they brought him a denarius. 20 Jesus said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?” 21 They replied, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
   • Romans 13:1-7 — Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2 So the person who resists such authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment 3 (for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad). Do you desire not to fear authority? Do good and you will receive its commendation, 4 for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be in fear, for it does not bear the sword in vain. It is God’s servant to administer retribution on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath of the authorities but also because of your conscience. 6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants devoted to governing. 7 Pay everyone what is owed: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
   • 1 Timothy 2:1-4
   • Titus 3:1
   • 1 Peter 2:13-15 — Be subject to every human institution for the Lord’s sake, whether to a king as supreme 14 or to governors as those he commissions to punish wrongdoers and praise those who do good. 15 For God wants you to silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.

• Rejecting a system of taxation and demanding more representation are clearly not biblical reasons for conducting war against the prevailing government. If the British colonies were truly founded and sustained by Christians — as is so often claimed by fundamentalist evangelicals — the people of these territories would have prayed and obeyed rather than taking up muskets and asking France (England’s nemesis) to intervene.
• In essence, the revolution was an unjustified civil war. Of course, the colonists had experienced power struggles between England and France, and they saw how the native Americans were exploited in those conflicts. The continent was politically unstable in many regards.
• Consider how so many colonists were opposed to rebelling against the king for economic and even moral reasons, particularly in the southern colonies where exports of cotton, tobacco, and sugar to Britain were highly profitable — thanks to slave labor. A major migration to Canada and the British isles occurred when war broke out. In fact, the revolutionists persecuted the loyalists who resisted them. It was an ugly chapter in the history of the settlers in the New World.

When to disagree vs when to go our separate ways?

1. Church
   1. Heresy
   2. If the church supported some sort of immorality.
2. Government
   1. Freedom to worship according to our conscience is imposed on. Meaning, they force us to all be part of a particular religion. You must worship Allah. Or be a Buddhist.
   2. They tell us we can’t worship — meaning it’s illegal to worship. Illegal to gather in person or provide worship services online.
3. When it’s less clear?yout
   1. Christians (Bonhoeffer) attempted to assassinate Hitler. Was this biblically justified?
   2. My father-in-law again:  I would like to add that Hitler was just another version of a cruel Roman caesar. The empire exterminated huge populations, including those in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., just as Jesus foretold in Matthew 24. Yet, Jesus did not endorse assassination; He taught His followers to pay to Caesar what was due to him.

Thank you for recommending the book Unoffendable, by Brant Hansen. I read how the author describes Christians as the people who should be known as never being offended. To put this into practice the author uses a great Lord of the Ring’s analogy to describe throwing our rings of offense into the depths of Mordor. This appears to be a life-work (something you spiritually pursue over your entire lifetime), would you agree or is the answer at the end of the book, for how to achieve this spiritual nature of being unoffendable?

1. Yes, I think this is a lifelong battle (because it’s a battle against sin).
   1. I’ve seen the brown minivan a few more times. The one who almost ran me over. I wish I could say the van stirs in me joy and delight in Christ — as I think of God’s grace in protecting me — but I’d be covering up the depravity of my heart and lying to you if I did.
2. Mortification – the killing of sin (throwing our anger into the depths of Mordor).
3. Sanctification – growing in our holiness
4. Can’t forget that greater our joy is in Jesus the lesser our desire for sin will be (we get the limo ride in the end).

Is the Eucharist truly the body and blood of Christ?

1. Bible passages
   1. Matthew 26:26-29 — Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
   2. John 6:41-58 — So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me — 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
   3. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 — For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
2. Humanity and Divinity of Christ
   1. Fully human and fully God
   2. In his humanity, Christ is physically in one place at a time. Presently that is at the right hand of the Father.
   3. In his divinity, Christ is spiritually present everywhere (omnipresence). 
3. Roman Catholics — transubstantiation = bread and wine physically becomes the body and blood of Christ.
4. Lutherans — consubstantiation = bread and wine physically coexist with the body and blood of Christ. Honestly, this one has always confused me.
5. Zwingli (Baptists and similar; non-denominational; Pentecostals; Charismatics) — memorial view — bread and wine (juice) represent the body and blood of Christ, but nothing physically or spiritually takes place. It’s just us allowing the elements to remind us of what Christ has done.
6. Reformed (Gateway; Presbyterians; other Reformed churches) — bread and wine (juice) remain physically bread and wine (juice), but Christ is spiritually present in the elements. Thus it’s more than just a reminder, it’s a spiritual feast of Christ and his grace to us.
   1. I believe the most faithful to Scripture and to our understanding of Jesus’ humanity (one location) and divinity (omnipresent).

Date: 5/5/2021

Questions

I listened to both podcast episodes on predestination and thought it was really helpful and loved how much the Bible directed the conversation. The question I walked away with is: If we believe in limited atonement, how exactly do we witness? What do we tell people? Christ tells us to preach the Gospel to everyone in Mark 16:15-16, but if Jesus only died for some, do we say, “Jesus loves you so much he died for you” although he may not have died for them if they are not chosen? What is the best way to share the Good News of the Gospel when we do not know who is chosen?

1. Look at how the gospel is presented in the New Testament. 
2. Peter in Acts 2:22-39 — “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 23 But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. 24 But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. 25 King David said this about him: ‘I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. 26 No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope. 27 For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. 28 You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’ 29 “Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. 30 But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne. 31 David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave. 32 “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. 33 Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. 34 For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand 35 until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”’ 36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” 37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”
3. Look at Peter’s words in Acts 3:12-26; 4:8-12; 5:29-32; Stephen’s words in Acts 7:2-53; Philips conversation with the Eunuch in Acts 8:26-40; Peter in Acts 10:34-43
4. That’s not even the first half of the book of Acts, much less the rest of the New Testament. Watch carefully how the gospel is presented and see what you might be able to learn in how to present the gospel yourself. What are common things in the gospel presentations? What are things not said that we tend to think are part of the gospel?

When Adam and Eve were in the garden is there any information as to how long before they ate the apple?

1. Nope. 

I’m really struggling with 1 Cor 11. Can you please explain what Paul means regarding head coverings for men and women? Is our hair the head covering he speaks to? I always assumed it was just a “cultural thing” that doesn’t apply to us today, but then are we just cherry-picking what we want to call relevant to today’s culture and what’s not? How can we explain these sections of scripture to an unbelieving world that doesn’t sound like we are selectively choosing what we want to believe/dismiss? If I’m honest, I love chapter 13 but want to pass over the complexities of chapters 11, 12, and 14. Also, I need Shawn to speak to verse 14 🙂

1. It’s all about the Greek word translated as “head” in verse 3 of chapter 11.
2. ESV – But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.
3. The problem in Corinth wasn’t theological; it was applying what they believed to how they lived.
4. Their new found freedom in Christ was resulting in some of the folks living in more sinful ways. They thought God’s grace meant they were free to sin more. 
5. Thus what Paul appears to be addressing, here, is a misapplication of their freedom as men and women. Their identity in Christ didn’t neutralize their manhood and womanhood. Gender didn’t become fluid. And it appears that some women started taking on the role of men (both in the home and in the church) while some men took on the role of women. And Paul is making a case against this misapplication by going back to Creation and who God appointed to be the head (or authority) both in the church and in the home.
6. MSG (vv3-9) – In a marriage relationship, there is authority from Christ to husband, and from husband to wife. The authority of Christ is the authority of God. Any man who speaks with God or about God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of Christ, dishonors Christ. In the same way, a wife who speaks with God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of her husband, dishonors her husband. Worse, she dishonors herself—an ugly sight, like a woman with her head shaved. This is basically the origin of these customs we have of women wearing head coverings in worship, while men take their hats off. By these symbolic acts, men and women, who far too often butt heads with each other, submit their “heads” to the Head: God.

I’ve recently started dating. As an adult with limited dating experience, I want to know if you have any resources for dating in a Biblical fashion. He goes to a different church and we’re semi-long-distance so there are lots of things to juggle. So if you happen to have any resources, that would be a huge help!

1. I don’t know of specific dating resources, but marriage books can be just as helpful. 
2. Meaning of Marriage by Tim and Kathy Keller
3. When Sinners Say I do by Harvey
4. Various personality tests can be helpful in understanding one another better.

Do you ever doubt? What do you do if you do doubt to get back on track?

1. Of course. But I think what we’re doubting is important. And are you seeking answers to your doubt? (e.g. there’s a difference between doubting the resurrection vs doubting God’s presence in your life; one can be studied and verified; the other is more experiential)
2. What do you do?
   1. Stay in God’s Word.
   2. Stay in Christian community.
   3. Seek God in prayer.
   4. These are often the things we stop doing — or have already stopped doing — when we have doubts.

Is marriage recognized as a condition of the heart or by a marriage license issued by the state?

1. I don’t know of marriage ever being referred to as a “condition of the heart”, at least not in the Bible. I googled the phrase, and some sort of romance novel came up, so that says a lot about the phrase. That and some studies about how marriages affect the actual condition (health) of our heart (the muscle).
2. There is marriage in the eyes of the state (a state marriage license).
   1. May affect your taxes, medical insurance, and other things.
3. Marriage covenant in the sight of God.
   1. The biblical vision of marriage.
4. Why I’ve separated the two since 2015.
   1. For the longest time, the state license and the Christian ceremony were joined at the hip.
   2. Once same sex marriage was legalized, the word “marriage” not on state marriage licenses means something different than what the Bible means.
   3. So I’ve stopped signing state marriage licenses and have separate the Christian ceremony from the state.

I have been reading in Hebrews 11 recently, and love personal questions. So, can each of you share about someone in your life that speaks to you by their example of faith? Please share, whether past or present, but specifically someone you have known, and identify how their faith has encouraged you.

1. Josh – Karl; Wayne 
2. Shaun – ?
3. Laura – ?

I’ve heard Titus 1:15 be used and misused in a variety of different contexts and would just appreciate hearing your commentary on it.

1. All is pure to those who are pure. But to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and consciences are corrupted. (NET)
2. Without a changed heart, regeneration, your entire being is corrupted by sin and impurity. Thus everything someone does who isn’t a believer is done with a sinful foundation. But for the Christian, in having been set free from sin, they can now do things without sin being the foundation of their action.