#STRask

Questions about what the laws of the immaterial are if immaterial things exist and how to use the third Columbo question in the Tactics material.

 

• If immaterial things exist, what are the laws of the immaterial, and where are they?
• How do you use the third Columbo question in the Tactics material?

Questions about how to respond to friends who say that Jesus’ words take precedence over everything else in Scripture and anything he didn’t speak on isn’t worth discussion, what to do with the Old Testament, and how to tell which of its promises are for us.

 

• How should I respond to friends who say that Scripture is all true but Jesus’ words take precedence over the rest, and that anything he didn’t speak on isn’t worth discussion?
• If the Old Testament isn’t written to us, what do we do with it? Why use it? Are any of the promises of the Old Testament for us, and if so, how can you tell the difference?

Question about what words of encouragement Greg and Amy would give to men in prison who love the Lord.

 

• I go into prison as an outreach of my church. What words of encouragement would you give “my men” in prison who love the Lord?

Questions about how so many professing Christians can support things that are anti-Christian, such as LGBTQ issues and abortion on demand, and how to work with Christians who have views that seem to contradict things stated in the Bible.

 

• How can so many professing Christians support things that are clearly anti-Christian, such as LGBTQ issues and abortion on demand? Are they really believers?
• How do you work with Christians who have views that oppose the Christian faith and seem to contradict things stated in the Bible, especially if they are close friends?

Questions about how to respond to someone referring to God as “she” during a church service, how to handle the tension between respecting the authority of church leaders and keeping them accountable, and how to distinguish between wolves and misled lambs.

 

• How would you respond to someone referring to God as “she” in a prayer during a church service and a leader telling people to use whichever pronoun they’re comfortable with?
• How do we handle the tension between respecting the authority of church leaders and keeping them accountable, and how do we tell the difference between misled lambs and wolves in disguise?

Questions about whether Jesus ever experienced fear, why Jesus would pray three times for something he already knew he would be denied, and a song that seems to state that Jesus paid the price for all in the garden of Gethsemane rather than on the cross.

 

• Jesus came to earth and experienced the same things we go through—hunger, thirst, weariness, anger, sorrow, etc.—but did he ever experience fear?
• Why did Jesus pray three times, “Let this cup pass from me,” when he already knew he would die?
• I recently heard the song “Gethsemane,” which seems to state that Jesus paid the price for all in Gethsemane and doesn’t mention the cross. This feels off, but how can I explain why it matters?

Questions about whether a woman who had an abortion as a teen and later became a believer will have to give an account to Jesus for it when she stands before him.

 

• I had an abortion as a teen and became a believer in my twenties. I am racked with guilt I still can’t get past in my forties. The Scriptures say we will all give an account of our actions. I lose sleep over the thought of standing before Jesus for this. I cry often. Will I be held accountable?

Questions about whether our physical ailments are caused by spiritual warfare, how much agency demons have in light of the fact that God sometimes sends them to do things, and how they can be both evil and under God’s command.

 

• What do you think about my pastor and his wife attributing any physical ailments they have to spiritual warfare?
• In light of the fact that God is sometimes said to have sent an evil spirit to do something, how much agency do demons have? How can they be both evil and under God’s command?

Questions about whether evil spirits can come into our lives through openings like certain music and movies and whether putting Bible verses under your pillow to stop nightmares is a legitimate form of spiritual warfare.

 

• What do you think about the idea that evil spirits can come into our lives through different openings like certain music and movies?
• My friend said her nightmares stopped after she wrote Bible verses on cards and placed them under her pillow. Is this over-spiritualization, or is this actual spiritual warfare?

Questions about whether a lack of persecution means you’re not living a godly life, what to think about your faith if your suffering doesn’t bring you closer to God, whether we need to nurture the fruit of the Spirit, and characteristics that separate a disciple from a new convert.

 

• Second Timothy 3:12 says that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” so if I’m not being persecuted, does that mean I’m not living a godly life?
• I often hear that people wouldn’t trade their suffering because of the closer relationship with God it produced, but my relationship with God didn’t improve after I had cancer, and I wish it had never happened. Should I be worried about my faith?
• Are the fruits of the Spirit automatically received, or do we get a seed of them that we’re supposed to nurture and grow to maturity?
• What characteristics separate a disciple from a new convert?