|
|
Questions As one studies the Bible, questions inevitably arise. I for one, think questions are good. They show we are interested and thinking about what we are reading. However, not all questions are equal. Some questions are foolish. In 2 Timothy 2.23 Paul tells Timothy to avoid "foolish and ignorant disputes" (NKJV) the question is used in the King James Version. There are some issues brethren can quarrel about and never settle the matter. Some of these questions are "foolish" because they really don’t matter in the long run. Those things that do not pertain to our salvation do not really matter, so we need to leave them alone. Some questions can not be answered. God has not revealed every thing to us. "The secret things belong to the LORD our God," (Deut 29:29) It would be nice to know what Jesus wrote on the ground when they brought the woman caught in adultery in John 8, but it is not revealed to us. Brethren have debated Paul’s thorn in the flesh, but no one knows for certain what it was. The question about when Jesus will return has been brought up from time to time. All kinds of books have been written about when Jesus will return. I have on my bookshelf a book titled, "88 Reasons Why Jesus Will Return in 1988." I have never read so much hogwash in my whole life. Obviously the author was wrong. In Mark 13, Jesus says no one knows when the Son of Man will return. All we can do is be ready each day. Other questions impugn God’s justice and mercy. People will ask why God allows good people to suffer or how can God be a just God and condemn good people to hell. In the first case, we must realize that God gave mankind free will. We make decisions and choices based upon what we want and think. It is not God ‘s fault if a person gets drunk and then is killed in an auto accident. Also, we live in a world of pain and suffering due to sin. All of us grow older each day. We get sick and die. Why? Because Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. The tree of life was removed from mankind, therefore, we live in a world of pain and suffering. Finally, God is just. It is for that very fact that God must punish the unjust. He can not unconditionally pardon the unjust without being an unjust God. Questions can be dangerous because they can be based on a false premise. Such was in the case in John 9.2, "And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" The premise being, sin was the reason for this man’s blindness. I may ask why God hates me? That supposed that God does indeed hate me. God hates sin, but he loved me enough to give His Son on the cross for my sins, John 3.16. Still other questions can be answered, but only if we read God’s word. What must I do to be saved " Is one such question. It can not be answered by taking a poll, it will not be answered by how one feels, but only by the word of God. We must "rightly divide the word of God" (2 Timothy 2.15). This requires diligent study. Six times in His ministry, Jesus asked the question, "Have you not read" (Matthew 12.3,5; 19.4; 22.31; Mark 12.10, 26). Paul in Romans 4.3 asked "For what does the scripture say?" Some questions are too important for us not to think about.. "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16.26-27) makes the point that nothing is as important as our soul. No matter how much we may obtain or accomplish it can not be as valuable as our soul. James makes the point that our life here is brief. "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." (James 4.14) We may think we will live a long time, but a "long time" is a second or two in the grand scheme of things. We need to prepare for eternity. Yet, other questions are intended to get us to focus on as important issue. The Apostle Paul asked a series of questions in 1 Corinthians 1. "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" (verse 13). The point each question was emphasizing was, they were to follow Christ and not men. To the churches of Galatia, the writer makes the point that he was serving God and not man. "For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ." (Galatians 1.10). Questions can be an effective tool in focusing in on what is important. If the question pertains to my salvation, the answer can be found in the Bible. God has given us "all things that pertain to life and Godliness" (2 Peter 1.3). Dennis Tucker |