#STRask

If People Could Be Saved Before Jesus, Why Was It Necessary for Him to Come?

Questions about why it was necessary for Jesus to come if people could already be justified by faith apart from works, and what the point of the Old Covenant was if God was going to make the New Covenant.

 

• Since Old Testament Jews and Gentiles could be justified by faith apart from works, it seems there was already a path for salvation in place, so why was it necessary for Jesus to come?
• What was the point of the Old Covenant if God was going to make the New Covenant?

Is Pornography Really Wrong?

Questions about whether or not pornography is really wrong and whether or not AI-generated pornography is a sin since AI women are not real women.

 

• I’m a 13-year-old boy who has been struggling with pornography—and with my faith as a whole—for a while now, and I’ve been wondering: Is it really wrong?
• Jesus said that if you look at a woman in lust, you have already committed adultery with her in your heart, but AI women are not real women, so is AI-generated pornography a sin?

Is God Just a Way of Solving a Mystery by Appealing to a Greater Mystery?

Questions about whether God is just a way of solving a mystery by appealing to a greater mystery, whether subjective experience falls under a category of knowing, why people in the Bible got to hear and see God but we don’t, and an analogy between God and Hitler.

 

• How would you respond to Matt Dillahunty, who says that God is just a way of solving a mystery by appealing to a greater mystery?
• Does my undeniable, subjective experience of God fall under a category of knowing in epistemology?
• Why did the people in the Bible get to hear and see God while they were alive, but we have to die first?
• How would you respond to someone who asked, “If a Jew during the Holocaust was spared the gas chamber in favor of spending the rest of his life with Hitler, would he call that Heaven?”

What Should I Say to Active Churchgoers Who Reject the Trinity and the Deity of Christ?

Questions about what to say to longtime, active churchgoers who don’t believe in the Trinity or the deity of Christ, and a challenge to the idea that it’s possible for someone to have a relationship with Jesus today.

 

• What should I say to family members who have been active churchgoers for 40 years, but who don’t believe in the Trinity or the deity of Christ?
• Do you claim to have a relationship with Jesus—someone you never met—who died 2,000 years ago and hasn’t been seen since? That seems like the definition of a delusion, an imaginary friend in the sky.

How Can I Initiate a Conversation with Someone Who Thinks He’s a Christian but Isn’t?

Questions about initiating conversations with someone who thinks he’s going to Heaven but who isn’t showing any signs he’s following God, how to talk to unsaved friends and family who identify as Christians, and resources to help someone learn what true Christianity is.

 

• How can I initiate a conversation with my brother who thinks he’s going to Heaven because he has an intellectual belief that Jesus is the Son of God, but who doesn’t really show any signs that he’s following God?
• How would you suggest talking to friends or family who identify as Christians despite strong evidence they’re merely nominal or cultural Christians?
• Are there resources I can share with my brother that will help him learn what true Christianity is?

Does “Repent from Your Sin and Believe” Describe a Works Salvation?

Questions about whether “repent from your sin and believe” describes a works salvation and Greg’s stance on the idea of “easy beliefism”—i.e., the idea that all one must do to be saved is believe in God.

 

• I do not agree with the “repent from your sin and believe” salvation, which seems to be a works salvation. How can someone repent without faith?
• What is Greg’s stance on the idea of “easy beliefism”—i.e., the idea that all one must do to be saved is believe in God?

Were Jesus’ Commands in the Gospels for the Jews Only or for the Present-Day Body of Christ?

Questions about whether Jesus’ commands in the Gospels were for the Jews only or for the present-day body of Christ, whether God chose to be illiterate when he came to earth, and whether we should only pray for the specific items mentioned in the Lord’s Prayer.

 

• Were Jesus’ commands in the Gospels only to be followed by the Jews back then and not the present-day body of Christ?
• Why do you think God chose to be illiterate when he came to earth?
• When Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer, did he mean we should only pray that way and not ask for any other specific items?

The Concept of God’s Omniscience Is Just a Fear Tactic to Control Your Mind

Questions about whether the concept of God’s omniscience is just a fear tactic to control your mind and what to say to someone who thinks it’s possible for God to lie and that Jesus’ coming might have been an elaborate scheme to make us think he loves us.

 

• I would love to hear your thoughts on God’s omniscience. God uses fear tactics to control your mind. He loves you so much that he’s watching your every move and knows your every thought? Is this good?
• What do I say to someone who thinks it’s possible for God to lie, that he treats us like his playthings, and that Jesus’ coming might have been some elaborate scheme to make us think he loves us?

How Could God Be Perfect If He Regrets Something He Did?

Questions about how God could be perfect if he regrets something he did, whether there’s a difference between God’s sovereignty and God’s providence, and what Nehemiah meant when he said God “put it into his heart” to do certain things.

 

• Does Genesis 6:6 mean God made a mistake since it says he regretted that he had made humans? How could God be perfect if he regrets something he did?
• Is there a difference between God’s sovereignty and God’s providence?
• When Nehemiah says in 2:12 and 7:5 that God “put it into his heart” to do certain things, is this just another way of describing God’s guidance?

The Idea That I Won’t Be Married to My Wife in Heaven Makes My Heart Hurt

Questions about what the absence of marriage in Heaven will mean for you and your spouse, thoughts regarding two Christians signing a prenup, whether it’s okay to want to get married because you want to have sex, and a wife taking over spiritual leadership.

 

• My pastor said marriage won’t be necessary in Heaven anymore, so where does that leave me and my wife? The thought of my wife of eight years and mother of my child being “just a friend” makes my heart hurt.
• What are your thoughts on two Christians signing a prenup before getting married?
• Is it okay for me to want to get married because I want to have sex a lot?
• Does the spiritual leader role fall on my shoulders when my husband is not spiritually leading our family?