263 results for tag: Q & R

Q&R with Brad: Why did God put us on earth in the first place?

WHY?LIFE is precious QUESTION: If God's final word for humanity is mercy rather than eternal conscious torment, then that sits better with me. This question remains for me: why would God even put us on earth in the first place, if we are just going to freely choose him anyway? We didn't consent to be put through all of this suffering. God doesn't need more glory. I was always taught that free will was just because God wanted someone to freely choose to love Him, which is a cool idea, but at what cost to us? RESPONSE: I wonder if it’s the same reason we keep having babies. Because despite the suffering humanity both causes ...

On the Grill: An Inquisition of the Sincere – Brad Jersak

    On the Grill: An Inquisition of the Sincere.   Questions. Interviews, investigations, inquisitions. Grilling.   I’ve been on the grill a fair bit over the decades. Questions, so many questions. And I love questions. There is no greater favor you can do a vocational teacher than ask him or her a question.   These include the happy experiences of Q & A sessions where I really knew my material. Others were designed to be positive, yet felt stressful because the stakes involved were high: job interviews, candidacy committees or the closing viva (oral exams) for my post-graduate degree. Some ...

Between Religious Rocks and Life’s Hard Places – Greg Albrecht

  Don’t you just hate it when you are in church, and the preacher finally utters those sweet words of promise—“and in conclusion” —but your idea of a conclusion and his are like ships passing in the night? When you hear the words “and in conclusion,” you heave a sigh of relief and start dreaming about beating the lunch crowd at your favorite restaurant, but the preacher keeps going on and on and on.    Okay, I’ll make this brief (that’s another thing that preachers like me say that drives me crazy because when they do I know it will be anything but brief ).   In the “Introduction” to my ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – On Abraham’s Attempt to Sacrifice Isaac

"Woah there, big fella!" QUESTION: My husband and I were missionary children, and have been impacted by the perceived “child sacrifice” practices/ideology (boarding school, prioritization of ministry and the unevangelized, etc.) of the mission organization our parents worked with at the time. As adults, we find the story of God asking/demanding Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to prove his loyalty extremely troubling. Your teaching about the love of God being the nature and character of God resonates with me. I thought you might have a way to approach this story. Response: This is certainly an important question, probably best handled ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “What will become of the ungodly?”

Question: How do you understand 1 Peter 4:17-18, which reads: 17 The time has come, you see, for judgment to begin at God’s own household. And if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel? 18 And "if the righteous person is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? I'm especially wondering about what "the judgment" that begins with the church means, but also what verse 18 could mean for "where will ... the sinner appear." Response: Excellent question! The best way to respond begins with the bigger picture of Peter's purpose for writing this community and what they ...

Q&R with Brad: How does God interact with the universe? Control vs. Love

Question: I am about halfway into A More Christlike God (I ordered A More Christlike Word a few months ago as well!). Your work is refreshing to my soul. In fact, I conduct research among secular, Gen Z college students, and some of your insights address precisely their struggles with the Christian faith, most notably the wrath of God and Christ pitted against the Father. Anyway, as I have been reading A More Christlike God, I’m struggling with what seems to be a contradiction of sorts, and I would greatly value your insight. In Chapter 7 (pp. 129-32 in my copy) you discuss “secondary causes.” Here, you discuss natural ...

Q&R Dealing with Doubts – Brad Jersak

Question I get caught up in my 5 senses. I want to move past these things and accept God and Jesus and the afterlife and in my good moments, I do. But I have these sad downturns where I question everything. How is your faith so strong? Do you ever have moments of doubt? How do you move past them or how can I build my faith up so I no longer doubt? Response I'd probably be a bit worried if you never had doubts. Doubts are often an invitation to bring our hard questions to God and it's exactly at those moments (or seasons) that our wrestling turns into deeper convictions. For example, those who experience suffering may have deep questions that ...

Q&R with Brad – What is the difference between the kingdom of God, eternal life & salvation?

Question: I am trying to understand the difference between the “Kingdom of God”/“Kingdom of Heaven” and “salvation”.  Do you have any thoughts on this?   Response: Great question.  "Kingdom of God/heaven" is the dominant gospel of Jesus in the language of the synoptic gospels. It's a complex phrase in Jesus' teaching, as he sometimes uses it to describe his work in the world of here and now, the transformative work inside of people, and the life of the age to come. Simply put, the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, the kingdom within you, and the kingdom yet to come.  In John's gospel, ...

Q & R: Christ in a Violent World – Brad Jersak

At CWR/PTM, we've received some excellent feedback re: our response to violence. We really do appreciate this kind of input and our readers' thoughtful questions, especially as we see our readers as partners in our ministry and its mission.  The following are some direct responses to the concerns from one of our readers, as well as a formal response.   The reader (in bold) began: The issue of CWRm left me with some negative feelings about our response with violence based on Jesus' teaching, and your claim that Christendom is on the violent, wrong, side of the Cross. Not very surprising, especially since it's very difficult for believ...

Q&R: Eternal Life – now or later? Brad Jersak

Question The more I experience this beautiful gospel, the more I feel that it’s all about NOW, the present. And trying to know the Father (eternal life) more and more and experience His love for me more and more as well as living out this Love so that others around me could get to know Him and His love for them.​ What are your thoughts on this? Response This is ESPECIALLY true in the Gospel of John where both 'perishing' and 'eternal life' are NOT treated as afterlife concerns (heaven and hell). In John's Gospel, Jesus comes to a world that is already perishing now. Christ comes because his children are in a downward ...

Question: Women in Pastoral Ministry – Greg Albrecht

QUESTION: I spent some time in two church organizations both of whom believed women should not be involved in pastoral ministry.  But I now question this view.   I did make  a sort of peace with the idea over the fact that I'd rather hear a woman speak truth than hear a man speak nonsense. In spite of that though, I'm still a bit troubled by the Epistles of Paul on this issue. I'm aware of the argument that Paul's statements were directed to a male dominated culture but that raises the question that if the culture were wrong, why did God cater to it? What I want to understand is the theology of this issue. I don't ...

Question & Response: How should we understand God’s ‘Sovereignty’? – with Brad Jersak

  QUESTION: Bradley, my wife and I met you recently at the Grace Conference. I asked a question about sovereignty, and your response addressed misunderstandings of what sovereignty means. Would you please elaborate and give some additional sources for me to look into. We enjoyed the conference and the material you presented. MUCH food for thought and reflection. -- David RESPONSE:  I cover the topic of sovereignty quite thoroughly in A More Christlike God: a More Beautiful Gospel.   I would summarize that work like this: 'Sovereignty' is a biblical synonym for governance or rulership or kingdom. That is, sovereignty denotes the function ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “Do ECT & PSA hold any theological merit for you?”

QUESTION Do ECT (eternal conscious torment) and PSA (penal substitutionary atonement theory) hold any theological merit for you? RESPONSE Only in that some of my brothers and sisters hold these views and I believe we’re meant to continue in fellowship around our shared love for Jesus. I only wish that more Christians who hold those views felt the same way. When these positions are held as essential dogmas necessary for salvation, they too easily become a cause for breaking fellowship (in the name of 'faithfulness'). QUESTION So, is fellowship the best way to treat a theology that was born out of the Genesis 3 disease? RESPO...

Q&R: Bumping into unChristlike faith statements – Brad Jersak

Question I am just reading your book, ‘A More Christlike God’. I have been deconstructing and reconstructing my faith for the past 10-15 years. It’s definitely a work in progress. I am so grateful to people like you who are helping others along. I could, would, never go back. In our church statement of faith, there is a section that reads: We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the unjust. Those saved through faith in Jesus are fully restored to God into a resurrection of eternal life while the unjust are separated from God's presence into a resurrection of judgment. [John 5:28-29; Matthew 25:31-46] This does not ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak: Do only Christians Love with Agape (1 John 4:16)

Question Many years ago, I said to a fundamentalist that according to 1 John 4:16 and according to what Jesus says at the Last Supper, loving one another is itself participating in the life of God because God is Love. I think that you made a similar point in A More Christlike Way. The response that I got was that agape referred specifically to the love that is only possible after receiving the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is not possible for non-believers love in that way. What you have to say about that? Response First, let's read 1 John 4:16 in context: 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. ...

Q&R: Why listen to abusive preachers? Don’t! Brad Jersak

Question I used to listen to a podcast preacher every day on my way to work but I really don't know why because I always felt beaten up after listening to it. I think it was that I thought he was speaking God's word so I had no choice but accept everything he said. Response I have asked people about why they regularly attend churches or listen to preachers who scold them week after week. These preachers are typically leading rapidly growing mega-churches with skinny-jeans, neo-Calvinist preachers who are very hip but continually harangue the congregation ... From a local pulpit in my region, I heard this (via a recording): "You ...

Q&R: The N.T. Mercy Seat & Sacrifice – Brad Jersak

Question I am still working my way through the shift from atonement and sacrifice to forgiveness from sin. I like what you say about Jesus reconciling us to God through intercession resulting in forgiveness. However, I would like you to comment on the Scriptures that refer to atonement and sacrifice. In 1 John 4:10, it says God sent Jesus to be “an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”  The other is Hebrews 9:22 “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” I have the NIV. Chapter 10 also talks about Jesus' sacrifice. Response 1 John 4:7: says that Jesus is the hilasterion for our sins. What is ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “Is 1 Corinthians 3 a judgment of believers? Or everyone?”

Question I’m hung up on one word in 1 Corinthians 3.   “If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”‭‭ 1 Corinthians‬ ‭3:14-15‬ ‭ESV‬‬ Here’s my hang-up: if the foundation referenced here is Christ, is Paul speaking only to believers? This is nagging me and keeping me from accepting the universality of God’s grace wholeheartedly (or maybe, whole-headedly is a more apropos word). Response Good question. I would certainly not want to make ...

Q&R: Blessings & Curses – Deut. 11:26-28 Brad Jersak

Question I'd like to know if there is somewhere you have addressed Deut. 11:26-28? I've heard you say that God let His people tell the story. But what about God promising blessing or judgment on the land, based on their obedience to Him?   Response I have not written on this text before. Let's look at it together; See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse—the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods,&...

Q & R “Religion Burnout” – Greg Albrecht

Greg Albrecht - President PTM Question: Is it possible to have a personal relationship with God and Jesus Christ without the religious ties? The reason I ask is because I have been involved with different religions that are cultic in nature since the age of 15 years, ranging from Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventism. I've been told that SDAism has strong tendencies towards cultism, so as far as things go for me, it's very difficult to get involved with any church of any kind. I guess that's what they call church/religion burnout. Is there such a thing called that? Would any materials you may have dealing with religion ...