Matters Difficult to Understand
Some people say we should not take a critical attitude toward the Bible. How can one be intellectually honest and not do so? Are we to swallow the whole thing without examining it?
The answer to your question centers in part on the meaning of the word "critical." In the ordinary usage of the word this means to be fault-finding or censorious. There are, of course, other meanings of the word. However, in the study of the Bible the word means to evaluate, analyze, and also to study the historic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds of the times during which the Bible was written. Such a critical study of the Bible has produced a tremendous volume of information, has clarified the meaning of many passages, and has made it possible for us to understand far more clearly the messages God would give to us. On the other hand there is a form of Biblical criticism which starts with certain preconceived ideas and which seeks to interpret the Bible in the light of these presuppositions. For instance, if one rejects the miraculous and the supernatural, one will reject these elements of the whole written Revelation from God. One can approach the Bible with a cold rationalistic attitude or one can do so with reverence and the desire to hear God speak. I have a friend, a physician, who says there is a difference between the attitude of a scientist dissecting a dead body in a dissecting hall and that of the surgeon who operates on a living person in the operating room. The Bible should be approached with the assurance that here we have God-breathed literature and that it is our privilege and joy to find out what He has to say. Try studying the Bible with that attitude and you will find out for yourself.
If the Bible is the Word of God, as you constantly say, why are there so many off-color stories in it?
Because there are so many sinners in the world. The Bible is not an idealistic fairy story. Rather it is a record of God's dealing with mankind and of many individual men and women. There is nothing which indicates the inspiration of the Scriptures more than the factual and faithful record of men and their failures. For instance, one of the greatest men in the Bible is King David. And yet, the Bible tells us he was guilty of both adultery and murder. But it also tells us of his repentance and turning back to God. All of these records are for our warning and instruction. They show us how sinful man needs God and His redemptive work in Christ and they tell us of many who accepted this love and were transformed. There is one thing about the stories in the Bible where sinful acts are mentioned: they do not glorify sin, nor do they make people want to go out and copy them. The Bible always shows sin up for what it really is, an offense against God and something to be repented of and turned from.
Why do people who lie and cheat and hurt others always seem to win? What sense is there in trying to live a good life, and have hope and faith, when everything seems to go wrong when you do?
I'm afraid you have a wrong conception of what it means to "win." People who lie, cheat, and hurt others never win. They may gain a few dollars, they may gain a little niche in a certain strata of society, but they never really win. They lose that most treasured of human possessions, a good conscience, they lose their reputations, and, in the end, if they don't repent they lose their souls.
It seems to me that you could lift your own sights a little bit. You say you try to live a good life, have hope and faith, and everything goes wrong. Goodness, hope, and faith carry a reward not preceded by a dollar sign. Christ didn't promise that if we would be good and follow Him, that we would share the rewards of the wicked. He spoke of "laying up treasures in heaven." Don't be good for reasons of earthly reward. Don't say "Lord, I'll have faith, if you will give me the rewards of financial success and security." Rather say "Lord, I'll serve you at all costs, win or lose in this life, I want to live for eternity." Then, you will be a winner and can say with Paul, "We are more than overcomers through Him that loved us and gave Himself for us." Christ said we must lose our life in order to find it.
I am a married man, with a good wife, and seven healthy, happy children. I work hard, and can barely make ends meet. But my neighbors who have no children get a new car every year, are able to go on trips, and eat much better than we do. I must confess I am a little envious of them. How can I keep from envying them?
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that your neighbors envy you more than you envy them. By almost every measure, you are a rich man. Happily married, a good wife, seven happy, healthy children, and able to work. You are one of the wealthiest persons in town.
The Bible says: "Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." If you could stand back and look at yourself objectively, you would see that you have every reason to be happy.
Perhaps you lack just one thing. The Bible says: "Better is a little with the fear [reverence] of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith." Your display of envy shows that you have a spiritual need. Slip to your knees tonight, and say: "Dear God, forgive me for being envious of my neighbor who in reality has much less than I. Help me to reverence Thee and to live for Thee." See if this doesn't help you.
In college I have been studying a course in ethics. I find that quite often a higher standard of ethics is held by secular thinkers than I experience in my contact with religious people. Is there any explanation for this?
Yes, there is an explanation for this. You must understand that culture and training have a great influence upon conduct. In the study of ethics, you are dealing with the highest ideal of human conduct that man is capable of expressing. Such expressions of conduct are theoretical, and the Bible clearly tells us that "When the gentiles that have not the law do by nature the things of the law, these, not having the law are a law unto themselves; in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts" (Romans 2:14-15). Most people know in theory what is right. What secular ethics does not and cannot provide is the motivation for right action. There is a great difference between the theory a man holds of conduct and the conduct itself.
Second, you must remember that the Christian is subjected to many temptations that are not common to those who are not Christians. On the average, you will find that the ethical and moral level of true Christians is now and always has been the highest. Only Christianity provides both the ethical standards and the adequate motivation.
I am a student of sociology and the Bible. I have come to the conclusion that the greatest curse on mankind is sex. If we had no sex it would solve most of the problems of mankind. Why did God give to the human race such a curse?
Sex was never given to be a curse, but a blessing. Fundamentally, sex expresses itself through the body. It is embedded in the physical body and is but one of the many functions of the body. Properly controlled and used, it ministers to our physical well-being, happiness, and usefulness. The sexual organs can be a constructive force — they can also be a destructive force. Sex is one of the most powerful factors in life. The sexual instinct, next to self-preservation is the strongest instinct of mankind. There is no doubt that it has been misused. It has also caused wars and other types of social violence. However, God has regulated this force by laws written in the Bible and in the body itself. It is God ordained for the propagation of the human race. The sexual endowment of mankind, when properly expressed, is constructive in the highest degree. However, when these laws are violated and vice is practiced rather than virtue, there is a penalty. The penalty is very severe because the Creator endowed man with the powers of reproduction. Sex is the medium God uses in the propagation of human life. When nature is outraged, the results are weakness, mental dullness, insanity, and vile diseases. Sex can become a great servant but a terrible master. The Scripture teaches that we are to yield our bodies completely to God and let Him control our every thought. There is no sin in all the Bible condemned more than the sin of adultery and fornication.
What does the Bible mean when Jesus says in Luke 14:26: "If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."? This frightens me because I love my parents dearly.
Human language is always impoverished when we attempt to define and describe our relationships to Christ. This is one instance. The demand is not that we hate people, but rather that our love for Christ be so much higher and deeper and broader than the love we have for our dearest ones on earth that we would in any situation make all others second to Him. It is a word defining contrast. Our
love for Him should be so unqualified that any other love, by contrast, would almost seem like hatred. You will notice that Jesus even included denial of self. People usually are lovers of themselves above other persons, but there is something so wonderful and so exclusive about our love for Christ that self must be denied. Jesus also said: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." The Bible exhorts, love your parents and friends, but let your love for Christ be so far beyond human loves that they may by contrast appear to be far less than your love for Him.
I have been a Christian for several years. Although I still love Jesus and feel sure that I am His child, I know I am not making any definite progress. I seem always to be treading water or marking time. Is there any simple answer to this problem that you can give?
No complete answer to so complicated a problem can be given, but I can offer some specific suggestions.
1. Make sure you have been born again. Don't leave any doubts about this. Of course no one can grow who is not spiritually alive.2. Never forget that the real source of all spiritual growth and progress is the Bible. Unless you systematically study the Bible, you cannot hope to make any true progress.
3. Prayer is important. It is a vital part of your life with God. Prayer is your true desire, expressed or hidden. If you desire what is promised in the Bible, then there is communication with God.
4. Obedience is the key to Bible knowledge. You don't read the Bible to satisfy curiosity but to find the practical answer to a real problem, and when you find the answer, you act decisively upon it.
5. Praise is essential. For every known blessing, give praise to God both privately and when fitting, publicly. Praise is the action that puts you before others as an example. Do not avoid this public display of your love for God. Follow these steps, and you will experience the change at once.
It seems evident that America is forced into a secondary place as a world power, and that we are being threatened by Russia. If God is as you say, why would he allow such a godless nation to get into a position of world dominance? We have been upholding the principles of Godliness and decency, and yet we are losing ground.
The people of God have many times asked the same question. More than once it has happened that a very wicked nation overran a nation that was more righteous. One of the prophets complained about it saying: "Therefore the law is slacked and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked doth compass about the righteous" (Hab. 1:4).
It is essential for us to recognize the hidden purposes of God. A hymn frequently sung reads: "God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform." In this matter we must walk by faith, for while we are in the midst of our dilemma, we are incapable of clear thinking. God's answer was: "I am working a work in your days which ye will not believe even if it were told you." Always remember that the outcome is safe in God's hand, and that however dark the day may be, there is every reason for hope for those who have committed their lives to God. Today may be our day of discipline and instruction.
Secondly, the sins of America are also great! We have sinned against a great light. Christ said: "To whom much is given much is required."
How can I believe God loves me when He destroyed our entire peach crop?
The Bible says: "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth." If life were all easy wouldn't we become flabby? When a ship's carpenter needed timber to make a mast for a sailing vessel he did not cut it in the valley, but up on the mountainside where the trees had been buffeted by the winds. These trees, he knew, were the strongest of all. Hardship is not our choice, but if we face it bravely it can toughen the fiber of our souls.
Even if you can't understand why your peach crop was destroyed you can still trust God. From disaster He can bring victory. A hurricane sweeps over a hillside, snapping the pines like matchsticks; but God has planted spruce seeds there, and in the sunlight they push up, making a new forest. Fire destroys a community. Then men and women arise to meet the challenge, building a more beautiful city. History has proved that God can build upon the ruins. But He needs the hands of consecrated men and women. Christ did not promise His followers ease or comfort. He said again and again: "Take up the cross and follow Me."
This experience could be your steppingstone to finding Christ as your Lord and Saviour. That could be why it happened. When I was in Korea during the war, a young lad who had lost both eyes said to me: "I'm glad I came to Korea, because losing my eyesight brought me to Christ!" He had found Christ better than eyesight!
I have so often wondered if all the different denominations are pleasing to God. When Jesus left this world didn't He command that His apostles carry on His work? In Chapter 17 of John He prayed that the disciples might be one. Has this prayer of Jesus been in vain?
A book could be written on your question, but I will try to clarify the matter in a few words. It is not surprising that there are so many different branches of the Christian church. Even in the first century, the church became divided over trivial differences. Paul and Barnabas were loyal friends and faithful co-laborers in Christ. But they had a dispute because Barnabas insisted on taking Mark with them. The Bible says: "The contention was so sharp, that they departed asunder one from the other." This has been going on throughout the centuries. Perhaps it is God's way of keeping the stream of Christianity from becoming polluted and stagnated. Some time ago, one of the more perceptive leaders of Latin America said to me: "I have been reading that there is a movement on foot in America to bring all Protestant churches into one great church." He went on to say: "I think there is something wholesome in people worshiping God according to the dictates of their own conscience. I hope the time will never come when everyone will be 'rubberstamped' into one ecclesiastical body."
We must remember that there is a difference between unity and union. I have found a great unity and spirit of Christian co-operation among the churches of the world. They believe, essentially, the same. Though they are not united in name, most of them are unified in spirit. We have seen as many as fifty different denominations working side by side for the Glory of God. No, I don't think Christ's prayer for unity was prayed in vain.
What good is religion? There is a man in our neighborhood who never goes to church, runs around, and is mean to his family. But he has a bigger house, more money and has more reasons to be happy than people who are trying to live right.
You have told me quite a bit about your neighbor, and you have also told me quite a lot about yourself. Your question begins with: "What good is religion?" You then proceed to speak of the big house and the money your neighbor has. This reveals that you have a tinge of envy and that you are covetous of your neighbor's prosperity. My opinion is that both you and your neighbor need a better understanding of what faith in Christ, or, religion, as you say, really is.
You say that he has more reasons to be happy, but you infer that he is unhappy. You have almost answered your own question. You say that he is mean to his family and that he is unfaithful to his marriage vows, and yet you think he is a success. I would say that he is a miserable failure, and that if you envy such success, your life is doomed to failure too.
What good is religion? Well, true religion gives meaning and purpose to life. It crowns the home with love and affection. It brings a person into harmony with God's law, cures him of infidelity, and of selfish greed. We need to learn again the words of Jesus: "The abundance of a man's life consisteth not in the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15).
I wonder if you think religion can solve all of a person's problems? What becomes of psychiatric counseling and other kinds of therapy?
Religion can actually solve very few problems. In fact, religion frequently creates problems of both a social and personal nature. There is a great deal of confused thinking here, and often a religious attitude and way is equated with a personal faith in Jesus. Christianity is a personal relationship, and any religious forms that result are incidental more than vital. In marriage, the ceremony that publicly pronounces two people man and wife, is incidental. The experiences that preceded and that follow are never formal and rehearsed but are spontaneous and vital. Unless a person lives in a conscious and vital relationship to Christ, the religious forms are empty. Jesus Christ can solve your problems when religion cannot. There is a place for psychiatric counseling when the problem is not one of spiritual significance. The good psychiatrist should know when the problem is spiritual and recommend the patient to a competent spiritual guide.
Do you think that the Gospel of the first century is relevant for our present time?
I might reply by asking you the same thing but stating it negatively. Do you think that the Gospel of the first century is not relevant for our present time? Has human personality changed significantly? Has human nature evidenced improvement recently? Are men and women gradually overcoming immorality, dishonesty, greed, passion, love of pleasure, hatred, and all the other evils named in the Bible? Certainly the Gospel of the first century is relevant, and more than relevant, it is the only answer to man's present moral and spiritual dilemma. As long as attempts are made to answer the deep spiritual problems by humanistic methods, we can only plan on failure. Not until the faith which was once and for all delivered unto the saints (Jude 3) is preached in its fulness will we approach a remedy for our twentieth-century dilemma.
If one is a Christian and God directs and allows everything that happens to you, what takes place between God and you when you sin?
I believe the best answer to your question has to be answered by reference to an illustration. I ask you this question: What happens to the father-son relationship in everyday life when the son does something that is displeasing to the father?
The Bible does not tell us that we are going to live free from sin as long as we are in this body. The Bible says: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (I John 1:8).
Actually what will happen is that there is a rupture that takes place in our fellowship, and this fellowship is not completely restored until confession of that sin is made. In other words, we may still be sons of God without enjoying the fellowship that sons rightfully should have. There are thousands of Christians that do not have the joy and peace that fellowship with God brings. There is no joy or ecstasy quite like that of daily fellowship with God. Try it!
I simply cannot believe that Jesus was God. I believe He was a very good man and I try to live like Him.
If you are unwilling to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God you are in a very dangerous position, for faith in the deity of Christ is the very heart of the way of salvation. Only God could redeem us from our sins, and it is to God that we must look for salvation. In saying that you try to live like Christ you obviously do not know what you are saying. Can you live the sinless life that Christ lived? It is our sins which have separated us from God, and it was to cleanse and forgive these sins that Christ came into the world. In forming an opinion about Christ, let me urge you to read the Bible and there see what God tells us about Him. Take the Gospel of John, for instance, and read and reread it and you will see how God sent His Son into the world to solve man's dilemma — a dilemma which is the result of sin in our hearts. When we try to be good, we never rise higher than ourselves. The Bible tells us that the very best a man can do is as filthy rags in God's sight. God is holy and pure and our only chance of coming into His presence is to become holy and pure, and we become just that when we accept Christ as our Saviour. His righteousness is given us, like a robe, so that God then sees the righteousness of Christ when He looks. Read John 3:16 again and again and ask God to make its meaning clear to your heart.
Don't you believe that emotional religion is a great danger? I recently met a religious person who is easily aroused emotionally whenever there is any discussion of God and Christ.
Emotion in religion is as dangerous as emotion in love. If it is dangerous to express religious relationships with emotion, then it is equally a dangerous thing to be emotional about a relationship such as that between a man and a woman. But who would wish to eliminate the emotional aspects of a courtship and marriage. They are among the highest and noblest feelings of human nature. They are an evil only when they are out of control and are not based upon a solid foundation of knowledge and understanding. Proper emotions are the result of a true love just as they are the result of a genuine faith in God. Love for God is never of the sensual type, but it is still love. Love is man's highest and most noble emotion. Always differentiate between legitimate emotions and mere emotionalism.
