175 results for tag: Q & R

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...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – Gritty Love or Syrupy Sentimentalism?

QUESTION: Isn’t your emphasis on “love” really just syrupy sentimentalism? The whole “Love Wins” thing sounds great, but in the real world, I don’t see it working. RESPONSE: To reduce love to syrupy sentimentalism, as I suppose many do, drains love of its gritty power. "True grit" is not defined by gun-slinging cowboys or the actors who played them. "True grit" looks like cross-shaped love. When I say that love is gritty, I’m talking about the type of resilience it takes to engage this hard world, so corrupted by injustice and cruelty.When systems of oppression grind away at our humanity, it is normal—even healthy ...

Q&R with Greg Albrecht – “Are Christians commanded to *win souls*?”

Question I am continually told that Christians are commanded and obligated to spread God’s word to the corners of the earth and lead people to salvation through personal witnessing. Some actually teach that personal witnessing is the defining mark of a Christian. Is personal witnessing a commanded part of being a Christian? Soul-winning advocates even preach we are in a way responsible for friends/family burning in hell if we don't witness, a sobering thought. Response There is a great debate on the topic you raise. Many evangelical Christians believe (evidenced by their very name) that one of the primary duties of Christians is to personally ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak: What about “God’s wrath” in the NT?

Question Hi Brad, Just bought and read A More Christlike God. I loved the book! I really want to believe your theology of wrath – but how do you explain these NT verses that refer to wrath? Is it all explained by "giving over"? For example: John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.Romans 2:8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.Ephesians 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.Colossians ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – A Nonviolent God with Violent Prophets?

Question: In a talk I saw you give at an Open Table discussion, you cited 1 Sam. 15, the genocide of the Amalekites, and your conversation with a mentor. You seemed to be okay interpreting the story metaphorically.  That explanation is a big stretch for me. How can verse 3 (the command to slaughter) be a metaphor? Samuel was a bona fide OT prophet... and yet in verse 33, he kills Agag, hacking him to bits! God is good, is not destructive, but are we to believe his prophets are? Sure, they can have their faults, but a metaphor? I need help... lost in translation..." Response: Now you are seeing the reality of the Bible as a "text ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak: What are the Roots of Belief that God is omnipresent, omnipotent & omniscient?

Question Hey Brad, I hope you are doing well in the midst of all this craziness. I have had some questions bouncing around in my head the last week or so I was hoping you could help by pointing me to some resources I could check out. I have been wondering the root of the beliefs that God is omnipresent (everywhere present), omnipotent (all-powerful) and omniscient (all-knowing). Are these beliefs the early church gathered and have passed on similar to the understanding of the Trinity? Or maybe it is obvious from scripture and I am just completely unaware. My roots for these beliefs are that I was told in Sunday school and in sermons. I am not ...

Q&R “What’s the Deal with Hosea’s Angry God?” Brad Jersak

Question I'm working through Romans right now because I want to understand Paul's theology. I am also reading through Wright's simple "For Everyone" commentary and John Stott's commentary. In all of my reading, I am trying to step outside of my human, 21st century, North American understanding of justice (and justification), instead looking at the text as God's plan for setting the world back to the way he designed it to function, which will ultimately culminate in a new heaven and a new earth.  In reading Stott on Romans 2:6, "God will give to each person according to what He has done," I was directed towards Hosea 12:2. I was instan...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – Is suffering “necessary”?

Question I have often read Christian authors (especially the great "saints" of history) who say that suffering is necessary. Is it? Or is that a superstition? Response Good question. The difficulty is what "necessary" means.  If it means, God needs you to suffer, no. Not any more than I need my children to suffer. But if it means, the structure of the universe and the nature of humanity in a fallen world is that suffering is inevitable, but remarkably, these challenges can become occasions for growth and that without them, we seem to atrophy, okay. In that case, "necessary" is descriptive of our reality and only prescriptive of ...

Q&R: “Saving Grace Appeared to All People”: Offer or Gift? (Titus 2:11) Brad Jersak

When ideology presses you to change the Bible to dumb down salvation: NIV - For the grace of God has appeared that *OFFERS* salvation to all people. – Titus 2:11 *OFFERS* appears nowhere in any manuscripts. Not anywhere. Why add it? NT Wright lays out what's actually there in the Greek: God's saving grace, you see, appeared for all people (NTE). See? There's nothing there at all about it being offered. Christ IS the saving grace who appeared to everyone.But surely "offered" is "understood." Is it? How about context? Why not instead of "offering," use David Bentley Hart's suggestion, "Giving": For the grace of God appeared, *GIVING* ...