263 results for tag: Q & R

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “What are the limits to God’s mercy?”

Question: A friend of mine insisted, "God is merciful, but even his mercy has limits." And I remembered a talk that you gave. You: and his Mercy lasts how long? Crowd: forever You: how long? Crowd: FOREVER You: How long? YOU AND CROWD: FOREVER!! No response necessary, but I wanted you to know that many of us have that voice of mercy in the back of our heads when we hear some "wonk." Thank you. Response: Thank you! And while you didn't require a response, I'll just add a few beautiful texts to that antiphonal chorus. Of course, I was leading the crowd to join me in proclaiming the refrain of Psalm 136 in the NKJV, which proclaims "His mercy ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – Keys to the Kingdom?

Question: In Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, I have never been satisfied with an explanation of “the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” My former church called them “The Office of the Keys,” claiming the church plays a huge roll in those who go to heaven and those who don’t go to heaven. Now, after understanding God alone is faithful to guide his children to recognize He is in us and we are in Him (from John 17), I am seeking a new interpretation of these verses. Thank you for your help. Response: "The Office of the Keys"? That's new to me. Sounds ominous! And they are difficult passages for sure. Not that I'll have a satisfying response, but ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – What do you make of “Soul Sleep”?

Question: What do you make of the idea of "soul sleep"? Response: Definition For our readers' sake, let's briefly define "soul sleep."Soul sleep is the belief that when Christians (specifically) die, the soul enters a state of unconscious rest until the final resurrection. "Asleep" The biblical warrant for this view is that Scripture (including Jesus) does refer to those who've died (bodily death) as "asleep." Jesus says of Jairus' daughter, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep” (Mark 5:39). Again John 11, Jesus says, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep....

Q&R with Brad: Matthew 26:28 / Hebrews 9:22 – Is “shedding blood” necessary for forgiveness?

Question: I have a question about Matthew 26:28 and "the remission of sins" being based on the shed blood of Jesus. It seems to tie into the Hebrews 9:22 passage but as it's out of the mouth of Jesus, I would like more clarity. Response: Matthew 26:28 "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Hebrews 9:22 "And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission." I don't actually see Jesus' words in Matthew's Gospel as problematic UNLESS we're wearing the old atonement lenses of "appeasing God's wrath" through the ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – What do you make of “Preterism”?

Question: For years I was a full preterist. I recently started questioning its soundness. And realizing that full preterism may be false has left me wondering about the correct view of the "end times." Response: For our readers' sake, let's begin with some simplistic definitions, then follow up with a response. FULL PRETERISM argues and believes that ALL of the "end times" prophecies of the New Testament (including the resurrection of the dead, Jesus' Second Coming, and the final judgment) were fulfilled in the events connected to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Let's now also add some significant caveats before proceedi...

Q&R with Brad Jersak: Why did Jesus reject his family?

Jesus definitely believed in honoring our parents as he cites the command twice in this same Gospel (15:4, 19:19). BUT Jesus also made it clear that serving God's kingdom had priority over the priorities, expectations or demands of one's family.

Q&R with Brad: What does “the one who sins is the one who will die” mean in Ezekiel 18?

Question: Thank you for your Christianity Without the Religion resources. I haven’t been able to find others who will discuss ideas and questions with me as I study the Bible. Would it be too much trouble for someone to give me their perspective on Ezekiel 18? Namely, that "the righteous will live and the wicked will die." All I’ve been able to find in commentaries so far are references to eternal life and eternal death. Response: Thanks for your intriguing question about Ezekiel 18. I'd like to offer a few thoughts that I think will help us understand that text in both its immediate and broader context.  First, if we just ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak: Was Paul wrong about Esau & Pharaoh?

...the "what if" exclusivist scenario of Romans 9 is a distorted construct of God (which stumbled Augustine and his Calvinist progeny). But in context, Paul thoroughly cuts off that error. After all, Christ revealed God as our "loving heavenly Father" rather than an arbitrary tyrant.

Q&R with Brad – Romans 8:37-39 – “Nothing can separate WHO from God’s love”?

Question: I have just finished reading your book A More Christlike God, and I have a question. In chapter 13, you quote Rom. 8:35-39. Do these verses apply to all of humanity or just Christians? 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long;    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, ...

Q&R – Are the Gospel Narrators Reliable? Brad Jersak

Question: Are the stories and words of Jesus 'narrated' to us, like the Old Testament stories? How does that affect our reading of the four gospels and our understanding of God? Response: Thanks for the excellent question. It's very important and specifically, the style of narration is important. Here's how I would approach it: 1. First the Gospels ARE narratives. A narrative means that we have a story-line told from a particular perspective... hence, a narrator. Who the narrator is, how the narrator relates to the protagonist, who the narrator's audience is, and what agendas he'd like to put forward all impact the narration. And ...

Q&R – Does Christ ‘deny us’? with Brad Jersak

Question: I have a question about Matthew 10:33 and 2 Timothy 2:11-12. Both passages describe Jesus denying us. This seems to be contrary to his nature and contrary to most of the theologians I find myself reading. Yet, I see these statements (among others) that seem to paint Jesus has relatively severe. My task has been to try and see the self-giving God revealed in Jesus and yet not neglect the hard sayings of Jesus. I’ve actually found the task of Christology to be more difficult than I had imagined. Response: Let's start with our shared assumptions, (1) that the God revealed in Jesus Christ is radically inclusive, unfailing Love whose mercy ...

Q&R: “Let there be light!” Brad Jersak

Question I have had this nagging question. God said, "Let there be light." But it wasn't the physical light. Somehow, the world was already in a state of darkness & needed Light. I know Light can mean Truth, but what is your understanding?  I just want to grasp a God who Loves versus the god I learned through my church, who hates me for imperfection.  Response What an excellent question! Let's start with verse 1 - "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." John 1:1 reads this verse through the gospel. IN CHRIST, God created... We read in John 1 and Colossians 1 that all of creation came to be ...

Q&R: What do you mean by “transactional” or “retributive” salvation? Brad Jersak

Question I’ve started reading your book A More Christlike God. I’m fully with you. I do get a bit stuck with some of your theological language though. On Facebook, you used the term “transactional retribution.” Can you tell me what you mean by that? Response Yes, on Facebook, I posted this statement: The great "Father’s Heart" revelation continues to face resistance from many of its own esteemed teachers, where it has not yet penetrated their commitment to transactional retribution in their constructs of God, expressed in dogmatic systems of original sin, penal substitution, and eternal conscious torment. So long as these ...

Does Evil Mean God Is Dead? – Greg Albrecht

Question: Given the recent medical issues I face, and given the nature of this unbelievably confusing world to which we have been introduced these past few years, I am having a hard time thinking that God is God.  Sometimes, considering the incredible evil I see and now the suffering I am personally experiencing, in my dark moments I find myself thinking that God is not doing anything – he is not intervening – he is not answering prayers.  At best, he is allowing evil.  But why would a loving God do that?  You say God is not a monster god, and most of the time I believe that, but then I have my moments of doubt.  Do you have any ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “You yourselves cast out” (Luke 13:28)

Question: In Luke 13 and the "narrow door" parable, Jesus says in verse 28, "but you yourselves cast out." What is He getting at? Is it what Jesus sees in the questioner verse 23? Passage - Luke 13 22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside ...

When “Every Eye Shall See Him…” The Salvation of the Human Will – Brad Jersak

Question Christ's death saves humanity from hell as a place of eternal torment, but many people don’t realize it and live apart from God. When they cross over in death, I believe all deception will be removed, and they will know the truth. But they can still have the option to accept the gift or not. Then the purification begins. Is that generally right? Response I would personally tweak these thoughts a little bit: 1. You said, "Christ's death saved all humanity from hell as a place of eternal torment." I don't believe Christ saved us from a non-existence place conceived in human imaginations by literalizing biblical imagery ...

Q & R with Brad: Doesn’t Isaiah 59 teach “separation” from God?

Question: Hi Brad,I love the article you wrote on separation/alienation but I am having problems understanding the separation verses in scripture. The specific scripture I had trouble interpreting in light of your article on “separation” was Isaiah 59:1-2. Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. Response: Thanks for your question. In general, "separation" references are best interpreted ...

Q&R with Brad: What is joy?

Question: Could you please describe or define the concept of joy as you've understood, witnessed, or experienced it? Response: Happiness At first glance, that's a difficult question. As I thought about it, I began by contrasting it to the word "happiness." Bear in mind that there are a host of personal, traditional and dictionary definitions of happiness and joy. But I'll offer my own thoughts here. First, I tend to associate happiness with a fleeting emotional reaction to the fulfillment of external pleasures. When I see a sunset or hear my grandchildren giggle or savor a delicious meal, there's a happy pleasure to it that I ...

Q&R – Were only WE ‘saints’ chosen from eternity? Ephesians 1:4 – Brad Jersak

Question Brad, how do we counter the claim that Ephesians 1:4 was addressed to the “saints” in accordance with verse 1b and not everyone from before the foundation of the world? Response My first instinct is not to counter the claim at all.  Here's how I might approach it: I would point out, first, that MAYBE we should say that while the letter is addressed to the saints in Ephesus (1b), the WE of verse 4 could EITHER refer to WE SAINTS, OR it could refer to the universal outcome anticipated in verse 10: "...as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on ...

Q & R: David’s Census – What was God up to? – Brad Jersak

Normally, our Q & R features begin with a reader's question followed by a response from Greg Albrecht or Brad Jersak. In this case, Brad asks the question of one of our readers. Question from Brad In 2 Samuel 24, we read that God was angry with David and therefore incited him to commission a census of his mighty men, so that he could then turn around and punish him for it! It's not that God was angry about the census, but that in God's anger, he incited the census! Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he [God] incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.” ...