Bible Q&A • Episode 47

Hi, everybody. We're back with some more of your Bible questions. It's been a little while, actually, since we did a Bible Q&A.

It has been. It's been a few weeks.

A few weeks. Yeah. But we're back because you've sent us in some good questions, and we're going to tackle today. Beginning with Matthew.

Okay. He says,

That's an interesting thought, isn't it? Sure. But no, actually, the rending of the veil of the temple had a much deeper meaning. If you wanted to know the distress, I think God showed that by six hours of darkness that came upon the land, and then, of course, the suffering of Jesus was enough to convey the distress of God. But the rending of the veil in the temple had a picture, provided a picture, I should say, of access to God. You know, under the Old Covenant, only the high priest could go behind that veil, and he only went back there on one single day of the year. He would make two trips behind the veil, but it was just on that one day, the Day of Atonement. And everybody knew that you weren't allowed. You weren't allowed there into the presence of God. So the rending of the veil of the temple was a beautiful picture that the way had now been opened for all people to come into God's presence, and it's a beautiful, beautiful picture.

Valerie from New Zealand says,

You know, this is one of those things in the Bible that we read about, we see it happening, but it's never really explained. There's never a section of the Bible that says, here's how you bless somebody. You know, the Bible says, bless the Lord, oh my soul, and in the Old Testament, that word can also be translated praise. Praise the Lord. And here now, Valerie is asking more of a New Testament sort of idea, and she brought up two passages. One where Jesus is right before his ascension, it says he blessed them, and then she brought up a passage in 1 Peter 3, 9, where Peter writes, do not repay evil for evil, or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. Here's what's interesting. I looked up the Greek word in both of those passages, both when Jesus blessed his disciples and when Peter tells us to bless those who revile us, and it's the same Greek word. Here's the interesting thing. It has different shades of meaning, okay? When Jesus blessed his disciples, I believe he gave a word of blessing, you know, over them. Blessed are you, you know, sort of a thing. And yet when Peter is referring to blessing others instead of doing what they're doing to you, which is speaking evil, he's talking more about simply giving a comment. Now, let me say this, to speak well of someone, that's a better way to put it, okay? And that's part of the definition of this Greek word. It can mean to praise someone or to speak well of someone to their face or even behind their back, to speak well of them. That's what Peter's talking about. So he's not really talking about giving a blessing. He's talking about speaking good things to those who speak bad things about you. Jesus, however, gave a blessing to his disciples, but we don't know what he said. And he doesn't explain, nor does the Bible that I'm aware of explain, here's how you do that. So it's one of those kind of challenging things that we see in the word of God. What Valerie mentioned about this book she'd been reading, honestly, I think she's right. I think it does come from kind of a word faith slash prosperity sort of a background. And they're getting into things in that book that frankly, the Bible doesn't say. They're telling people how to bless others and how to use your words in a positive and even creative sort of a way. But those things aren't biblical. They're just doing it from the platform of prosperity preaching and word of faith. So I really think that it's something that we just need to be led by the Holy Spirit. If the Lord leads you to speak a blessing over someone, just be led by the Lord as to what you say. And like Peter says, if someone's speaking badly of you, speak well of them. You know, there's another interesting aspect. You and I were talking about this question. We went to lunch yesterday at Applebee's and the server, who is a really sweet gal, we heard her a few times before she even said goodbye to us. We heard her say, you have a blessed day. And you know, we could just tell she was a believer or a Christian or minimally a positive person.

I even heard her say blessing to you.

Yeah. Blessing to you. Yeah. And it was just kind of interesting in light of thinking about this, that we do have the ability to just be people that are cheerful, that shine our light and go around saying, the Lord bless you. Blessing. You know, when you depart from something, the Lord bless you. The Lord bless you. Leave it up to Him how that blessing happens. You know, that's the point. I guess that's another point that I kind of wanted to make. And that is that blessings come from the Lord.

Sure.

You know, and I do think our way of blessing people is more of conveying that blessing from the Lord to them. May the Lord bless you. May the Lord bless your day. That's a blessing. May the Lord bless you with health and yeah, that sort of thing. We'll keep it simple.

Yeah. Okay. Callie says,

Good question. But here's the deal. When someone comes to faith in Jesus Christ, all of the racial labels that we put on people, and even if it's just simply the two that the Bible does, Jew and Gentile, they fall away. They're gone. When you are in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free. In fact, even the distinction of man and woman fades into the background. Listen to what Paul says in Galatians chapter three, there is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is no male and female for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. So you can see that when we come to Jesus, it transcends all earthly labels and distinctions. And so in answer to Callie's question, Messianic Jews, which means these are people of Jewish DNA, Jewish origin, who have come to faith in Jesus Christ, they're part of the church. Of course, they're part of the church. Everybody is part of the church who puts their faith in Jesus Christ. They're part of the body of Christ. Okay. What the Bible goes on to talk about during the tribulation and so forth, that's talking about Israel specifically, because those are the Jews that didn't get taken in the rapture because they didn't put their faith in Jesus. They're still on the earth during that time. And they're going to have to deal with the coming of their Savior the second time and recognize who he is finally.

Okay, good. Kendall says,

You've got to be careful not to get tripped up over words, and you've also got to be careful not to think of yourself like a glass and the Holy Spirit like liquid inside that glass, because that's using physics, spatial limitations. God doesn't have spatial limitations. You can receive the Holy Spirit and have the Holy Spirit living in you and still be filled with the Holy Spirit, or if you will, empowered, and it has no commentary on spatial considerations. So you have to just kind of say, these are the words the Bible uses. When it talks about empowering, it uses filled. When it talks about indwelling, that's what it uses. It says indwelling or in, okay? It's just the way it is. Don't let those words mess you up, and don't be limited by what you see in the world in terms of the usage of those words, because God transcends everything you know. So just go with it. And I remember having to grapple with these same questions. How can we be filled when we're already indwelled? And that's the question. Just have to get used to the words and say, I'm not going to let them trip me up.

We're back to simplicity. Samuel says,

Well, you know, you got to remember God created us not to die. We're so used to death and things dying all around us that we assume that that's the way things always were meant to be. God did not create man to die. Death is a result of sin. It is the curse of sin. And so how can God not sustain a human for eternity? God is eternal. And for Him to sustain someone for eternity is nothing. It's absolutely nothing. Nothing is impossible for God. And I get what Samuel is saying. If you sit and ponder eternity, your mind is eventually going to cramp. You're going to get a cramp in your brain. Because we can know that there's such a thing as eternity, but we can't understand or comprehend eternity. So we just simply know that it is, and we accept it. And I honestly don't go there. I don't sit and try to figure it out because I already know that this little ball of gray matter can't go there, right? So yeah, I get it. But nothing is impossible for God.

Yeah. Okay, Heather has a question. And she said,

Well, you know, Heather doesn't say how old she is here. And honestly, the response to a mother would depend. Is Heather an adult herself? Let's imagine she is for a moment. And she's been talking to her mom, and she hears her mom say things like that. Her mom claims to be a believer, and yet obviously doesn't have an assurance of salvation. If I were in Heather's place, I would find an appropriate time when mom and I were alone, and I can talk adult to adult, and I can say, mom, you know, the Bible tells us that we can be sure that we're going to heaven. And the reason we can be sure is because of what Jesus did, not what we do or don't do. The Bible promises that those who put their faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross, they're going to heaven. That's all there is to it because Jesus made a way. Obviously, Heather's mom is very consciously aware of her imperfections, as we all are. But she's putting her imperfections ahead of the understanding of what Jesus did when He sacrificed Himself on the cross. That's a very common thing. And what Heather's mom needs more than anything is to focus on the Word of God and the promises of God's Word about what Jesus did and what that means for you and me. That means we can have an assurance. I'm going to heaven, not because I'm good, not because I've lived a good life, but because He's good and He died for my sins. Those are the things that Heather has to find a way to convey to her mom. And Heather might even want to prepare some passages. First John 1.9, for example, if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just and will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And then I would even take her mom through some of the chapters in Romans, Romans 3, Romans 4, Romans 5, where Paul talks about the fact that our righteous standing before God is not based on works or how good of a life we've lived. It's based on Jesus and our faith in Him. So you know, those are encouragements for Heather.

And it's really wise to let the Word of God wash over us and change our views. What I hear in this is someone who probably traffics with people who say those things. That is a little bit contagious among our friends. A lot of people will say that kind of thing, you know, well, if they let me in and things like that, and that kind of becomes a truth that we don't even know we are forming as a truth. So once again, we come back to the importance of the Word of God shaping our truth rather than just what we hear around us.

Exactly.

Okay. Steve says,

You know, interesting question Steve is posing here. The Bible gives us very little information about heaven. Very little. Now, what John sees in his vision in the book of Revelation is throngs of people worshiping together. And I would have to say that that is a relational aspect. I believe that God created us to be relational. You know, here on earth, we are referred to as a body with different parts, just like a human body. The body of Christ is different parts of that body. Those come together in relation. And Paul says, one can't say to the other part, I don't need you. So we were created, you know, to have that relational element to our lives. I can't imagine that God would do away with that, you know, in heaven, because in heaven, we're finally going to be free from the constraints of all the things that made relationships hard to bear.

Yeah.

You know, we're not going to have a sinful nature in heaven. We're not going to be jealous of one another. We're not going to get angry at one another, want to kill one another. You know, we're not going to become impatient with one another. Good grief. I hope we have relationships in heaven, because we're finally going to be able to do it right.

Yeah, that's true.

So I, you know, I, again, the Bible doesn't answer this question, but if life on earth is any preview of coming attractions, I would have to say heaven is going to be a very relational place.

Yeah. Good. Dawn is from Germany, and she says,

Well, okay, Dawn is asking really two questions here. What do you say to Christians who imply that we need to be casting out demons and raising people from the dead?

Like the early church.

Yeah, like what obviously is going on.

Like the disciples.

Yeah, like you read about in the book of Acts and that sort of thing. My response is... Hey listen, if God tells you to cast out a demon or to raise the dead, go for it.

Sure.

You know, the thing that we we forget about when we read the book of Acts is that we're reading the highlights. You know, the book of Acts is meant to tell us how the Holy Spirit worked through the disciples, and we're kind of getting the greatest hits, you know? But to think that this went on every day is just a fallacy. There were just, there were a lot of days when people just got up and went to work or carried on with life, and then, yeah, something happened where they got an opportunity to witness or to pray for someone, and miracles happened. I believe miracles happen today. However, I believe that people who say, we should be going out doing this all the time, I don't think that's reality. Again, the Holy Spirit can do whatever He wants to do, and if He tells you to go pray for that person, that they might be healed, or that a demon in that person might be evicted, by all means, do it. But we are to do what the early Christians did, and that was be led by the Holy Spirit, right? I don't follow the words of other Christians that say, you should be doing this. I follow the Word of my God who says, Paul, go do that. And so if He tells me to go pray for somebody, I'm gonna go pray for them, however that prayer might, or for whatever that prayer might be all about. You see what I'm saying? It's not about what other Christians say we ought to be doing, it's what the Holy Spirit says we ought to be doing. All right, that's the answer to the first question. The second thing she asks here is, and then she's heard about other people saying that we need the baptism of the Holy Spirit to evangelize properly. I don't know if that's the wording they're actually using. I would take issue with that exact wording, to evangelize properly. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is for power, okay? And Jesus did say, you will receive power to be my witnesses, and that is that act of evangelization. We need the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we need power. But to do it properly, I have a problem with that, you see, because properly evangelizing is simply giving the gospel properly. It's giving it correctly, right? You need Jesus, He's your Savior, put your faith in Him, and you will be saved. Okay, that's proper evangelization, yeah.

Well, it seems too that this implies a going out and evangelizing, and that's one aspect, but there's just the lifestyle, there's your neighborhood evangelizing, and things like that as well. So, but then what do you say about the evidence is the speaking in tongues?

Well, you know, that's a very common belief among certain Christian groups. The Assemblies of God teach it, there are others as well, that teach that the initial evidence of someone having been baptized in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. You know, there are examples of people speaking in tongues when they're baptized in the Spirit, right? And I don't deny that, but I think to create a doctrine and say, it has to go this way. I have a problem with that, and you and I, you know, we both believe in speaking in tongues, we've both been given the gift of speaking in tongues, but I still have a problem. I go with what Jesus said, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. That was what he said, okay, in Acts chapter 1. That's what we should be looking for. The initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is power, and that power might come in the form of boldness, it might come in the form of faith, perseverance, wisdom, a word of knowledge, you know, laying hands on someone to be physically healed. That's power. That is the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And just, you know, so yeah, I disagree with that statement. And let me say one other thing. We need the Holy Spirit.

Yeah.

We need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. These people aren't wrong about that.

Right.

We need the Holy Spirit. They're a little mixed up, and they're a little one-sided about how it has to happen, and how it has to manifest itself. But ultimately, what they're saying is right. We need to be empowered.

Right. I feel like so many of our questions today end up in that proverbial image of getting caught in the weeds. Like, things are just simpler than what we make them. We make them a little bit too detailed, a little bit too, you know, walking with the Lord is just a little bit more simple.

Yeah, yeah.

Okay, our last question is from Marsha Trinidad and Tobago. Tobago? Is it pronounced Tobago?

Trinidad and Tobago, I believe.

Tobago? Okay, we'll go with that. If we're wrong, send us a note.

Oh, we'll hear about it, for sure.

Okay. I've never been there. I'd love to go there.

Yeah.

"Our church is currently studying the book of Acts, and we are now in chapter 15, where the apostles and elders had to address the conflict over whether the Gentile believers were required to be circumcised. They agreed on four things that must be adhered to. How do we reconcile what was said in Acts 15-20 with what Paul said in Romans 14-14 and 1 Corinthians 8, as it relates to abstaining from things polluted by idols?"

And that's the thing. What Marsha is talking about here is the fact that the council in Acts chapter 15 told the Gentile believers to abstain from eating meat with blood in it and food sacrifice to idols. And then you go on and you read the Apostle Paul's writings, and she references here Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8, where Paul basically says, it's not a big deal.

Yeah.

And he's telling Gentiles it's not a big deal. In fact, he's even going as far as to say, those whose faith is weak will probably be the ones who will be abstaining from meat sacrifice to idols, but for the mature, they know that an idol is nothing at all. So Marsha's writing and saying, isn't there a problem? I mean, why were they telling the Gentiles to abstain from meat sacrifice to idols, and then Paul says it's no big deal? The answer is in the larger reading of Acts chapter 15. If you read it in context, you find out why they were saying what they were saying. Let me read it. This is Acts 15, 19 through 21, okay? Therefore, my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood. And then he gives the reason why. For from ancient generations, Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he has read every Sabbath in the synagogues. This whole decision of the council was for Gentiles not to do things that were going to be purposely upsetting to Jews. This was all about Gentiles getting along with Jews, and that's what they explain in that last verse. Here's why we're telling you these things. Because the Jews have been scattered all over the known world, and there are many places where there's enough Jews there to have a synagogue, and they read the words of Moses every week. And so don't do things that are going to purposely shut the door from you being able to reach them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't do those things. Now, as far as you're concerned, and that's what Paul is addressing later on, as far as you're concerned, meat sacrifice to idols, big deal. What's the big deal? An idol is nothing at all. It's not gonna defile you. Even Jesus said that. In fact, he said to his disciples, are you so dull that you don't get it? That what you put in your mouth, eventually the body expels it, and it doesn't defile you? And we're told in that passage that Jesus declared all foods clean, and that food wasn't what defiled you. Well, but you know, the Jews were still big on that, you know, so that's what the council is saying. The whole council is really about how Jews and Gentiles are gonna get along.

What an interesting time that was.

Oh, well, it was interesting, but it was also very troubling, you know, because the Jews were coming out of the deep freeze of the Mosaic law, and their belief that you could be righteous before God by keeping the law, which God never promised, honestly, that they could get to heaven by keeping the law. So they're holding on to these traditions. And there were a lot of people following Paul, the apostle, telling people, Jesus is fine, but you've still got to be circumcised, you still got to keep the food laws, you still got to do this and do that according to the law of Moses, because remember, Jesus came from the Jews, you know? And this was causing great difficulty in the church, the early church, in the first century, to the point where, you know, Paul had to go back to Jerusalem and get the decision of the council, the apostles, basically, who were there in Jerusalem on this matter. So it was a very troubling time, because the Jews, and the Bible refers to them as Judaizers, legalists, if you will, were just not letting go. They refused to let go of some aspects of the law, and it was creating problems. So Acts 15 is about Jews and Gentiles getting along. It's not giving them commands.

Yeah. That's really, really good insight. Good. I like that.

And that's it.

That's it, then.

That was our last question. Okay. Well, that's it for this episode anyway, but we'll be back with more next time. In fact, I was looking at some of the questions we've got coming up, and they're really good.

Oh, good. I look forward to it.

So join us next time. Hey, if you'd like to send a question in, just address your email to questions at lifebibleministry.com. You can also do that on our website at lifebibleministry.com. Go there and check it out. We recently redid the whole website, and it looks pretty cool. So we'd love to have you come visit. And until we gather again to hang out and talk about God's Word, have a good rest of your day. Bye-bye.