Christian Questions Bible Podcast

Special Guest: David Stein
For any Christian, understanding the Bible and its message should be of paramount importance. The fact that the Bible is a collection of books and letters written in ancient times by various authors presents a challenge to this understanding. We need to learn what is authentic, what is mistranslated and how it all harmonizes. We continue our exploration of how we got our Bible, and how the process of translation from the original languages requires precision in order to get the truths God intends.  This is a necessary exercise because the Bible is the foundation of our faith. We depend upon an accurate and honest assessment of what it teaches so we in turn can believe and spread the true Gospel message!

To honor your father and mother is the 5th of the 10 Commandments given to Moses for Israel. Like all of the other Commandments, this is a very old-fashioned and worn-out sounding principle. I mean, we all know that we should respect our parents to some degree, but are we supposed to let them run our lives? What exactly is entailed in honoring parents? And what if your parents were not good parents? Maybe they were absent, or worse. Does our present age of overwhelming personal freedom and choice override this ancient law? Can honoring your parents in some circumstances be detrimental to them and you? Fortunately, the Bible does put all of this in order. It provides us with sound reasoning and direction so we can enthusiastically fulfill this Commandment!

To honor your father and mother is the 5th of the 10 Commandments given to Moses for Israel. Like all of the other Commandments, this is a very old-fashioned and worn-out sounding principle. I mean, we all know that we should respect our parents to some degree, but are we supposed to let them run our lives? What exactly is entailed in honoring parents? And what if your parents were not good parents? Maybe they were absent, or worse. Does our present age of overwhelming personal freedom and choice override this ancient law? Can honoring your parents in some circumstances be detrimental to them and you? Fortunately, the Bible does put all of this in order. It provides us with sound reasoning and direction so we can enthusiastically fulfill this Commandment!

Last week we talked about perseverance as an essential aspect of our Christian lives. We saw that persevering means much more than simply hanging on when things are tough. It means we sets our hearts and minds on moving forward, no matter how small the steps might be. We examined some Isaiah scriptures that gave us a glimpse of what Jesus’ own focus - what his “game face" - looked like. And we established that we need perseverance in many areas of life and discussed it in the context of our trials and afflictions. We heard the story of Jonathan, a 14-year-old young man who is persevering through a serious case of Scoliosis. Today, we expand the scope of our perseverance conversation as we look at the persecutions and tests of loyalty every Christian must endure. We do this both scripturally and through the stories of Lorain and Fred, two mature Christians whose life experiences pressed them to persevere in ways they never saw coming.

Perseverance is not something we talk about much anymore. It sounds like an old word from some other time in history. Now we talk about making demands, about our personal perspectives being instantly and unquestioningly accepted by those around us. We now live in a society where it is not about hard work or building something from the ground up; it is about claiming whatever anyone else has as mine simply because I have a voice. It's too bad. In history, the greatest positive changes in all the world happened largely because of perseverance. Gandhi persevered, Martin Luther King, Jr. persevered, allied soldiers in the World Wars persevered. Jesus not only personally persevered, he taught us how to do it ourselves.

Compromise can be so misunderstood. On one hand, we as Christians should be standing for and living a compromise-free life. Nothing should ever water down our life principles of sacrifice. Walking steadfastly in Jesus’ footsteps must always be our immovable goal. On the other hand, there are times and places when compromise is not only an option, but a necessary and spiritually-based choice of righteousness. Because we are all imperfect we will inevitably come across circumstances where it is not a lowering of our standards, but a raising of them. How then do we tell the difference? What makes some compromises good and others just plain wrong?

Christmas has changed.  While the holiday has always had many non-Christian aspects it seems as though the Christ based pieces of the tradition are ever fading.  In its place we have Santa, reindeer, trees, gifts, lights, ornaments, food, family and for this year, social distancing.  Now most of those things are not bad, with the notable exception of the social distancing.  In fact, they do tend to bring a cheerful sense to our lives.  Putting Christ in Christmas is about much more than good cheer – it is about a message of glad tidings of great joy, and it’s for all people!  How do we get back to focusing on bringing joy to the world instead of just a moment of emotional excitement?

In part 1 of this two-part series, we discovered several very clear scriptural statements and lines of reasoning that showed us we are justified by faith. Having established that, the most obvious next question is, what about works? How does the Bible define “works of faith”? Is it a work of faith to go to church, or is that just a result of faith? Is financially contributing to your church considered a work of faith, or is it just a good thing to do? Are there certain things every Christian is required to do, or is it all based on who you are? To what degree is our pathway to heaven based on works? How do we know if we are doing enough?

I’m a Christian. I have been called by God to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. I believe that as a sinner, I cannot do anything to earn God’s favor. Jesus’ sacrifice gave me a standing before God that I could not have had without it. So, what now? Jesus promised that all his true followers would be with him in heaven, but what does that mean for me? Do I just focus on building my faith and not works, as it says in the book of Ephesians? Should I be living my life with ever-greater expectations that God’s providence will always come through and answer my heartfelt prayers? Or should I primarily focus on works and not faith, as it says in the book of James? Should I be out and about, always doing things to show that I am a person of faith? How can something that should be so simple be so confusing?

Usually this time of year signals having a more festive outlook on things. Having the American holiday of Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas approaching signals cheerful, generous and pleasant interactions. Decorations, excitement and goodwill prevail! Usually. Then there was the year 2020 which brought a pandemic to the world, the likes of which had not been seen in a hundred years. Good cheer is overrun by depression, happiness is crushed by anxiety and anticipation has turned to foreboding. We are all currently stuck in the mud of uncertainty and often spin our wheels in frustration, only to sink deeper. COVID-19 has brought our fears of what was unknown nine months ago into the light of what is known. And that feels even more terrifying. The answer to this dilemma is in plain sight but not easily understood. It is gratitude. Seriously, gratitude properly understood and applied is life-changing!  Stay with us and learn how…