Should we question God?

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Dave – We live in a world that is hurting, and many people are looking for answers. But is it ok for us to question God?

Jeff – Some people will say no, but the Bible tells us different! The Psalms are full of questions for God. But the real matter is what is in our heart.

Dave – God wants to fellowship with us and, as it is in any good relationship, it’s important for us to share what’s in our hearts.

Jeff – And when we question God, it should be done with humility and not out of rebelliousness. We should be interested in what God has to say rather than making assumptions in anger.

Dave – Sometimes His answers may not be what we want to hear, but it will always be the truth.

Should we follow Christianity blindly?

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Dave: Some atheists say that Christians are expected to have blind faith to believe in Jesus.

Jeff: But that runs counter to what the Bible actually teaches.

Dave: That’s right! Proverbs 3:13 says ‘blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding’!

Jeff: James 1:5 also says ‘If any of anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.’

Dave: Yes! And the proof of Jesus is not in just a couple scriptures, there’s also prophecy, testimony and other texts outside of the Bible.

Jeff: If we were to take just one piece of evidence and base our faith on that, then you could call it blind. And we would agree!

Dave: Exactly. But the mountain of evidence for our faith is overwhelming and convincing.

Jeff: So much so, that it has become impossible to ignore! For more information, check out the Cumulative Case for Christianity!

Did God wait for thousands of years before making contact with humans?

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Dave: One blogger asked, “Modern humans have existed for 100,000 years, so why did God wait 95,000 years before he made contact?”

Jeff: He continued, “And why was that contact made with only a small tribe in the Middle East?”

Dave: Is this true? Weeeellllll…

Jeff: If we accept what the Bible suggests was the beginning of humanity, then, no God didn’t stay silent for the first 95,000 years.

Dave: God was there with Adam and Eve between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago.

Jeff: And it’s not as though God left humanity all alone; we chose to reject him.

Dave: By sinning in the garden – then Cain rejected God even more by killing his sibling…

Jeff: And we should note, that Biblical records indicate that all this while humankind could communicate directly with God.

Dave: But nations eventually went their own way, abandoning God.

Jeff: There was no 95,000 years of silence! It was God and humans together, until humans walked away from God.

Dave: And God did choose to use one nation, but it was to bring news the whole world, not exclude the rest of the world.

Mercy is a concept that unfolded long before the New Testament. This is how we know that God is unchanging!

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Dave: Is there grace in the Old Testament? Or is it something new, in the New Testament, after Jesus?

Jeff: In our last Truth Shot we explained the Salvation History concept. Mercy is absolutely in the Old Testament… it’s ALL OVER.

Dave: Listen to the Apostle Paul, writing in the New Tesatment. He explains that mercy is not a new idea:

Jeff: Romans 4:1-3 says, “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.”

Dave: It continues, “What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.'”

Jeff: The point? Abraham – the great forefather of Israel was not saved by OBEYING any rules.

Dave: He was saved by… believing God. And God just had mercy, and said, “I’m going to consider you a righteous person – even though you aren’t really.”

Jeff: That is exactly what mercy is.

Dave: It started even before the nation of Israel was formed.

Many people give God a bad rap for things in the Old Testament. Take a closer look. Things aren’t always what they seem.

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Dave: Is there grace in the Old Testament? Or is it something new, in the New Testament, after Jesus?

Jeff: Virtually EVERY story in the Old Testament is proof of grace, actually.

Dave: The theological phrase is “Salvation History” – a recounting of the many times God had mercy on Israel.

Jeff: It’s a very clear pattern that we see over and over and over…

Dave: It goes something like this:

Jeff: Step 1: Israel forsakes God and breaks a command, especially worshiping other gods and rejecting the real God.

Dave: Step 2: God gives Israel over to nations to harm it, take them captive, or ruin them.

Jeff: Step 3: Israel cries out to God, Yahweh, for deliverance from their situation – they ask for mercy!

Dave: Step 4: God gives them mercy and delivers Israel from their enemies.

Jeff: We see this over and over. Mercy is not new when Jesus comes. In fact, the whole point of the old Testament laws was to help everyone understand:

Dave: YOU ARE NOT PERFECT, YOU NEED GOD’S MERCY!

Jeff: So, mercy in the Old Testament? Absolutely.

There are many avenues to explore truth. It is impractical to ignore any of these, as we believe that the search for truth always leads back to Jesus!

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Dave: The most glorious question one can ask today is this:

Jeff: Is it scientific?

Dave: We want to know whether things are scientifically proven, and that’s a good thing.

Jeff: We love science.

Dave: Truth. It can lead us to truth.

Jeff: One problem, however, is that science is not the only way to find truth.

Dave: For some reason we’ve elevated science above all other disciplines in our culture.

Jeff: But philosophy can guide us to logical and epistemological realities.

Dave: Archeology can help us discover truths!

Jeff: Not to mention psychology.

Dave: Theology, sociology…

Jeff: And math. Heck, even art can help us explore truth.

Dave: So, while asking whether something is scientific is fine, be sure not to exclude other methods of finding what is real.

Jeff: Quick example: scientists engage in study about the beginning of the Universe, and whether it is eternally old.

Dave: But philosophy already answered that question. You cannot traverse and infinite amount of time and end up here.

Jeff: Science. It’s awesome. But, it’s not the only way to gain knowledge.

Why would God, the Father, punish God, the Son?

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Dave: Sometimes people are confused… why would God punish God for something humans did?

Jeff: Right – if Jesus was God, why would God the Father punish him… and how does that magically forgive us?

Dave: The reality is, we are forgiven because of God’s vast mercy. Even before the cross, God’s mercy was working.

Jeff: So, why did God punish Jesus? Romans 3:26 tells us plainly: “he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just… and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

Dave: God is just, meaning he is fair and impartial. He should always punish wrong.

Jeff: But he also wants to justify us, meaning he wants to step in and defend us.

Dave: So, the way he demonstrated both his justice and his desire to help us was by sending Jesus to die and take our punishment.

Jeff: The cross was a demonstration of who God really is!

Dave: That doesn’t mean there wasn’t really sacrifice. Jesus paid the ultimate price, and God forgives us through that.

Jeff: Yet, that punishment was to demonstrate God’s justice and forgiveness.

How do we reconcile these two facets of God?

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Dave: Why is God referred to as merciful, when in the Old Testament he was constantly destroying people?

Jeff: We have to look at the facts, and then let’s come to the conclusion about whether God is merciful or not.

Dave: Fact #1 – God is our judge.

Jeff: Humans are judged by judges on a regular basis. It’s fair, and we call it the justice system.

Dave: That word “justice” implies punishing wrongdoers. And God is our judge, in the Cosmic justice system.

Jeff: Fact #2 – The Bible never depicts God as doling out destruction against people without first giving them chances to repent.

Dave: If you read the Israelite history in Egypt, you’ll find that God waited 400 years before finally using Israel to execute judgment on many of the nations.

Jeff: Fact #3 – Even when punishment was pronounced, there are plenty of instances of God stopping the penalty if someone just asked for mercy!

Dave: Put those together: a judge who waits 400 years to judge and won’t punish if someone just asks for forgiveness!

Jeff: That sounds pretty merciful to me.