Christian Questions Bible Podcast

Theme Scripture: Hebrews 13:20-21
Doing God’s will should be a given for any and every Christian. After all, the mere fact that we are called "Christians" implies that we follow in Jesus’ footsteps and are therefore obliged to do God’s will as Jesus did God’s will. While this all sounds pretty straightforward, the big question has to do with knowing. How do we know what the will of God is? Answering this question may be harder than we would like to think. It would be easy to assume that because we love and worship God, He will in turn show us His love by giving us the good things we want. After all, that IS what it says in Psalm 37:4: "Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Sounds exciting and almost easy, but as you might have guessed, it's not. So, how do we know what God wants for us?

Theme Scripture: Luke 17:10
Every Christian will tell you that Jesus is the embodiment of righteousness, compassion and mercy. We all agree that his impact on the world came through his uncompromising actions of selfless love that led to sacrificing himself as a ransom for all of humanity. Couple these actions with his words of encouragement and uplift to any and all who would listen, and you have a model of how God’s love should unfold within humanity. It is with this resume in hand that we need to examine Jesus’ Parable of the Unprofitable Servant. It sounds like the exact opposite of all that Jesus stood for. In this parable, he seems to tell his followers that whatever they do in God’s service is what is expected of them and nothing more. What did Jesus mean? How does this harmonize with the rest of his teachings?

Theme Scripture: Hebrews 13:11
The Old Testament Law given to Moses after Israel’s deliverance from Egypt was filled with rituals and sacrifices. All of this was designed to teach God’s people two very basic principles. These principles are fundamental for any civilization that seeks to perpetuate itself. The first principle is to comply with righteous and just rules that transcend human desires. For Israel, this meant they could have the favor, protection and leadings of God if they remained in harmony with His commands. This required sacrifices. The second principle is to live with humble gratitude for the freedoms that righteousness and justice provide. Israel was to learn this power of thankfulness by practicing heart gratitude towards God for all of His mercies. This also required animal sacrifices. Why?

Theme Scripture: Matthew 10:7-8
Demons are scary. Not only are they mysterious, but they are also powerful beyond our human capacity. In our last episode, we mentioned scriptures that assure us they are restrained in “chains of darkness.” While this condition does limit them, they can still exert great influence on our world - and on individuals as well. We know Jesus cast many demons out of many people and some of his followers were able to do the same. The big question here has to do with whether or not such power and authority is still present within Christianity. Are we supposed to be casting out demons today? If so, who is supposed to be doing this and what scriptural instruction have we been given to follow?

Theme Scripture: Matthew 4:24
The world is such a confused place. For many, discussing evil spirits is fascinating, as looking into dark mysteries beyond our world can be a thrilling and adrenaline-packed ride. For Christians, such conversations are entered into with fear and respect, as we are speaking of dark and evil things beyond our realm and understanding. It is therefore with caution that we approach this subject. The Bible clearly teaches us that demons do exist, and they are opposed to God and His righteousness. Further, we know this topic is far too easily glorified and dramatized. The specific focus of our present conversation will be to better understand how the Bible defines and separates demonic possession and influence from the serious mental health challenges that are so prevalent today.

Theme Scripture: Acts 16:6
When we read the Bible, it sometimes appears to say things that just don’t make sense. Think about the scripture that plainly says God did not want the Apostle Paul to preach the gospel in Asia. Why not? Jesus told his disciples to preach the word throughout the world. Didn’t Asia count? This apparent discrepancy can stimulate all kinds of questions and even provoke doubt as to the equity of God’s character. The good news is, the answer to all of this is not only sensible, but also profound and inspiring as well. When we understand the lay of the land, the literal geography of the area and the big picture of the mission the disciples were given, a whole new conclusion emerges.

Theme Scripture: Colossians 1:26-27
By definition, being a Christian is all about following in Jesus’ footsteps. It’s all about learning how to walk the walk and talk the talk that he himself lived. Of course, this is no easy task, as we are challenged with applying the life lessons he taught us 2,000 years ago to the very different lives we live in our present digital age. As different as all of this is, some things are very much the same. Jesus’ promise to prepare a place for his true disciples in heaven is the same. His assurance that God’s spirit would guide us is the same. His alerting us to the trials that come to us because we follow him is the same. Having Christ in us producing the hope of glory is the same. So, what does it mean to have "Christ in you"? Is this an automatic thing that happens when we believe, or is it the end result of a long journey of growth?

Theme Scripture: Proverbs 12:18-19
“Tell the truth!” For many of us, we can recall that strongly stated advice as coming from our parents when we were caught doing or saying something that we shouldn’t have. The immediate dilemma was obvious. If I tell the truth, then I’m going to get in trouble. If I lie or just tell a part of the truth, I may get away with it. But what if they found out I lied? Then I might be in even more trouble! While we as adults may look back upon such dilemmas and smile, the reality is, we as Christians must always be on our guard to practice being truthful and having integrity every day and in every way. What does this mean? How are we supposed to handle the countless compromising circumstances of life where half-truths and exaggeration come into play? And what about little white lies?

Theme Scripture: Revelation 14:11
To many Christians, the fear of an eternal place of torment for unbelievers is very real. In the first four parts of this Hellfire Series, we addressed many of the sources of these fears one at a time. What we have seen is straightforward. First, the concept of "unquenchable fire" comes from the Old Testament and simply means a fire of destruction that burns until its work is done. Second, “weeping and gnashing of teeth” refers to deep regret on the part of those who should know better and has nothing to do with flames and torture. Third, the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is just that. It is a parable that demonstrates the unfaithfulness of the Jewish nation when they rejected Jesus. Fourth, history plainly reveals the origin of torture and flames in an afterlife comes from pagan origins and is not at all biblical. Finally, here we are looking at the Book of Revelation. Do its graphic statements fit in with all that we have previously discovered? Absolutely!

Theme Scripture: Proverbs 2:6-7
Morality can be a tricky thing. For the most part, humans do want to behave in a moral fashion. The tricky thing is figuring out how to actually define what qualifies as "moral behavior" and what does not. As Christians, this task of defining is supposed to be easier than for most, because we have God’s word as our clear foundation for our moral principles. I say "It’s supposed to be easier" because Christianity has demonstrated for thousands of years that claiming the name of Christ is far from a guarantee of moral behavior. So, what are we supposed to do with this? How do we take what God has clearly given us in His word and live it daily? How do we handle it when fellow Christians see aspects of God’s moral principles in a different light than we do?