263 results for tag: Q & R

Q & R with Children – Brad Jersak

One of the great challenges for long-time Bible readers is to find ways to read Scripture with fresh eyes. When I open the text, I need to be mindful of the thick, old lenses I bring to the task, including a backlog of previous teachings, experiences and my own temperament and assumptions. My favourite approach is through Q & R times with children. Among the most fruitful was the grilling I got from a little boy (Mal) concerning Judas. Here's the link. Today it was from my little friend, Anna, one of the brightest young Bible scholars I know. Her questions are always a challenge, but they are especially helpful to me as they heal my eyes ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – Universal Salvation & Divine Vengeance

Question  I want to believe in universal salvation but what about blaspheming the holy spirit, Hebrews 6 4-6 & Hebrews 10:26-31. The Lord says Vengeance is mine I shall repay. And in this passage, "vengeance" is from timoria (retribution) not kolasis (correction). What gives? Response Thanks for your questions. To begin with, I'm certainly glad that you want to believe in universal salvation. That is almost certainly because you share God's heart who "desires all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth" concerning Christ (1 Tim. 2:4) and in that same context, we're called to pray for everyone (1 Tim. 2:1-2) to ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – Galatian 5, morality and the kingdom of God

Question #1 In one of your Breakfast with Brad videos you spoke about moralism and how we should not take rules of good living and elevate them to a faith concern, that they do not have the power to cause us to “flourish in a grand way.”   Response Right. Not that we would forsake morality. But what I’m saying is that the moral life is the fruit of a life transformed by the grace of God (the Holy Spirit). We are being saved by the indwelling energies of divine Grace from sin, from our attachments and addictions to death-dealing, others-harming ways. So when we see an abundance of poison fruit growing in our lives, we ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – The Kingdom of God, Hell & Mark 9

Question The Kingdom of God is a running theme in the NT for Jesus and the Apostles, with a fair amount of “who is in” and “who is out” language. How do you understand what is meant by the “Kingdom of God,” its apparent exclusivity, and what is the significance of Mark 9:43-47? 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 If your eye causes you to sin, tear it ...

Q&R with Greg Albrecht – “Do I need to learn ‘Christian-ese’?”

Q. I’m finding it hard to communicate with some of the Christians I have met.  No one I know talks the way people do in the church I am attending. Can you help? A. There are several schools of thought about in-house Christian vocabulary. On the one hand, there are technical terms, as with any discipline or endeavor, needed to accurately define Christian belief and practice. Using specific terminology enables us to be concise and accurate, and to avoid misunderstanding.  Here’s a few technical terms that are necessary to accurately explain some of the complexities of the Christian faith: AtonementEschatologyHerm...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – Does the Bible demonstrate an evolving understanding of inclusion?

Question The Bible seems to demonstrate an evolution of inclusion. The OT has a strong sense of who is in the nation of Israel and who is out.  In the NT it wasn’t immediately obvious to the early church that the good news was for those outside the nation of Israel.  It took until Acts 11 just to crack that pattern of thinking to include gentiles.  I think Paul evolves inclusion further with “neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” But throughout the NT the OT pattern of categorizing in terms of who is in and who is out seems to be retained, ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – Is the book of Enoch authentic?

Question I have read the Book of Enoch. It makes for interesting reading, and I wanted to know what your thoughts are on this book.  My first question is whether it is authentic or not, or written later and attributed to Enoch.  Also, what are your opinions about the book? Response The Book of Enoch is a work of 3rd-4th century BC (at the earliest) apocalyptic pseudepigrapha (a work written under an assumed name). Like many other books written in that period (including, possibly, Daniel), the book of Enoch offers visions and prophecies using a famous Jewish figure (from Genesis) for credibility. I believe we can say with ...

Q & R with Greg Albrecht – What do you think about “Deliverance Ministries”?

Question  Our church has begun heavy use of “deliverance ministries” type materials. I am concerned at this and have begun an in-depth search to come to a better understanding of my own. The trouble is although there is a lot of biblically-based material in opposition to this ministry view, my church leaders condemn this opposition, saying it comes from people opposed to God’s will (whatever that really means!). My pastor says that I have to be careful reading opposing views because the devil can deceive me. How do I know the truth? Response As you report, it seems that those who follow some fad or fancy often become ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – Handling politicized faith

Question I am experiencing friends, family and ministers who continually pressure me with their political platform and tell me I'm not even a Christian if I don't vote for their party. How shall I respond?  Response A difficult question. As I see it, you have three options: 1. You can ignore them. That is, you may value the connection with that person but perceive that your relationship is not strong enough to honestly confront what they are saying and doing. Perhaps ignoring their messages or posts is the best you can do for your mental and emotional health. And maybe your silent response will send enough of a message that if ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – What does “glorified” mean in John?

Question Recently I’ve been “hanging out” in John 13-17 (for context, I’ve been starting 12:12 and reading through 18:14 or so). I’ve noticed that the theme seems to be Jesus/ Son of Man/the Father “being glorified”. In some places it reads “NOW is the Son of Man glorified”.   In Romans 8, Paul says “those God justified, he also glorified”.I’ve always heard glory defined as “the manifest presence of God” or “the goodness of God revealed”, but those don’t seem to fit here in John’s gospel (although the latter possibly could).  So, what does it mean for the Son of Man / The Father to be glorified...

Q&R with Greg Albrecht – “Falling out of God’s will”

Question I am in college. I think God may have called me to be a teacher. The problem is that I want to pursue other goals. I want to study what I am interested in. But when I stray completely away from education, something horrible always happens. The last time I was considering something other than teaching, my mom had a heart attack. I am afraid something worse is going to happen. I am afraid to have fun. I am afraid to have other interests because I am afraid of falling out of God’s will and then something really terrible happening. What do I do? Why is God punishing me?   Response Your question sounds more mystical and ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak: Is death/hades a servant of God or an enemy?

Hades abducting Persephone (350 BC) Question Hi Dr. Brad, I am reading your book: Her Gates Will Never Be Shut and I read there about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. As I understand it, hades is a servant of God for pedagogical purposes, in order to "complete the course" of un-repentant people for causing thirst for the Water of Life and God's Banquet, leading them to humility and repentance. My question comes because I have read the Apostle Paul saying that death is the last enemy of God to be destroyed. So Death / Hades is considered somehow an enemy, meanwhile following the above logic, it looks like it is a servant for ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak: Abba vs. Father?

Question I have a question that is as much prompted by the timid and anxious heart of a recovering Evangelical as it is by the analytical rigor of a developing theologian. If I understand you right, In your books A More Christlike God, A More Christlike Way and IN: Incarnation & Inclusion, Abba & Lamb, you argue the uniqueness of Jesus is to reveal Abba — Daddy. I want to believe that. However, as you know better than me, the word Ἀββά only appears three times in the NT: twice where Paul is talking about adoption (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6); and only once on the lips of Jesus, in Gethsemane (Mark 14:36). On the plus side, all ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak: The wrath of Christ in Jude’s Epistle

Question Hi Brad, I just finished reading A More Christlike God and I wanted to thank you for your thought and words, and for helping me see the pure love of the Lord. I still have one questioning pertaining to wrath, however, and I’d love to know what you think. In Jude, the author says that Jesus saved, then destroyed those who did not believe. He seems to imply that Jesus did this himself. I agree that Paul read the Old Testament differently (attributing to the Destroyer and not God), but what about this instance in Jude? Response Great question. Short answer: Jude is pulling out every rhetorical weapon in his arsenal in a ...

Q & R with Greg Albrecht – “Can I work out my own salvation?”

Question If our focus ought to be on God’s grace, expecting works to follow automatically from a life transformed by grace, what does the Bible mean when it tells us to “work out” our salvation?  Are we not expected to perfect the salvation we have received and grow to be more and more like him? Response It’s the ever-present question—if grace really is too good to be true, then won’t Christians just become slackers, goofing their way into God’s kingdom of heaven, expecting God to do everything for them? The major problem with this line of questioning is that it comes from our human experience/expectation/per...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “It is a dreadful thing…” (Hebrews 10:31)?

Question Hi Dr. Jersak, I am enjoying your books a lot. Some of those ideas I am sharing also with some of my friends that are believers. Today after a discussion, one of them mentioned a verse: "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). My question is how this verse can be reconciled with a Loving Father's heart. Your comments are highly appreciated. Response I would classify Hebrews 10:31 as one of those judgment texts that identify God himself as the consuming fire, as in Hebrews 12:29 or Malachi 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 3:11-15.  How then do we harmonize these Scriptures with those ...

Q&R with Brad: Isaiah 54:7-8 – Does God abandon us or hide his face?

Question Hi Brad, I was just reading about your response to a question about Isaiah 59 about "separation". When I read it seems clear that it means our sins, our actions have caused us to separate from the Father, not the Father separating from us. When I read Isaiah 54:7-8 certainly seems like God is directly saying I have abandoned you for a time but goes on to say, I have compassion on you. I am just curious about the interpretation you hold when reading this. I would love to hear your input. Thank you.  7 "For a brief moment I abandoned youbut with great compassion I will gather you.8 In overflowing wrath for a ...

Q&R with Greg Albrecht: Do tattoos honor God?

Question A sermon in our church regarding tattoos has stirred a debate in our home and I need your help to clarify a couple of things.  1.      Based on Leviticus 19:28 and 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, would someone who gets a tattoo be honoring God with his/her body?  2.      If so, how does this differ from ear piercing?  3.      How can we apply one law from the Old Testament and discard others, specifically the laws in Leviticus about cutting hair on the sides, mixing crops in the field, etc.? Response The new covenant is not ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “Do you think the Bible is authoritative? And why?”

Question Do you think the bible is authoritative? If so, why? Response That's a great question, partly because it's so tricky. I can't be sure what our reader means by "authoritative" so I'll have to supply a definition and work from there. Here's Merriam-Webster's definition: Here we have two different senses. The first would describe how the Bible's authority is derived from its source. In other words, is it authorized and by whom? The second definition includes a subjective side -- is it recognized as having authority and by whom? Let's take each in turn. First, is the Bible authoritative according to its source or sources? Do ...

Q & R with Greg Albrecht: “How can God sit on his own right hand?”

Question How can Jesus, the Son of God, sit on the right side of the Father and still be God (Romans 8:34; Colossians 3:1)? How can God sit on the right side of himself? Response The Bible speaks of God in human language, using human reality and mortality to describe heavenly eternity. When the Bible says that God is “in” heaven, it does not mean that God is confined to any place, nor does it mean that heaven is a “place.” Heaven is a state of existence that is outside time and space, but in order to think about it and talk about it, humans have to speak of being “there.” The Bible tells us that God is omni-present—everyw...