#STRask

If I’m Not Being Persecuted, Does That Mean I’m Not Living a Godly Life?

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?

Why Would God’s Spirit Cause People to Loathe Themselves and Be Ashamed?

Questions about why Ezekiel 36:31–32 would say, contrary to Ezekiel 39:25–26, that putting God’s Spirit into people will cause them to loathe themselves and be ashamed and whether or not it’s biblical to say that the closer you are to God, the more sinful you feel.

 

• Why would Ezekiel 36:31–32 say that after God puts his Spirit in his people, they will loathe themselves and be ashamed for their sins when his Spirit is supposed to give us hope and joy in Christ as children of God, and doesn’t this contradict 39:25–26?
• Is it biblical to say that the closer you are to God, the more sinful you feel?

Why Should We Treat Everyone Respectfully?

Questions about why we should treat everyone respectfully, how to reconcile Jesus calling the Pharisees a brood of vipers with the instructions in 1 Peter 3:15 to treat people with gentleness and respect, and the charge that Christians have no evidence for God.

 

• How would you explain to a believer why we should treat everyone respectfully when Hitler shouldn’t have been treated respectfully?
• How do we reconcile Jesus calling the Pharisees a brood of vipers with 1 Peter 3:15, which says we should show gentleness and respect when defending the faith?
• Religion is synonymous with pretending to know things you do not know. No man has ever seen God. No Christian has any evidence for God. Yet you claim authority based on a book and an invisible God. Talk about ego. Wow!

How Would You Respond to the Current Mainstream View of the Historical Jesus?

Questions about how to respond to the current mainstream view of the historical Jesus and the allegations that Jesus just ripped off material from ancient religions that preceded him.

 

• How would you respond to the current mainstream view of the historical Jesus?
• How should I respond to the allegations that Jesus just ripped off material from ancient religions that preceded him?

How Do You Convince a Former Christian That Jesus Is God?

Questions about how to convince a former Christian that Jesus is God, whether Jesus’ human nature was created, and what the Bible means when it says Jesus is the firstborn.

 

• How do you convince a former Christian that Jesus is God?
• Is it wrong to describe Jesus’ human nature as created, and how should I respond to a Jehovah’s Witness who says that a firstborn, if not the first to be born, must be a member of the group he is preeminent over?

Do You Need to Forgive God?

Questions about whether we ever need to forgive God in order to heal our emotions, whether it’s unbiblical to tell someone he needs to forgive himself, why poor people were allowed to offer a flour sacrifice without blood, and whether it’s wrong to call out one another’s sins.

 

• Is it true that sometimes we need to forgive God in order to heal our emotions?
• Is it unbiblical advice to tell someone he needs to forgive himself?
• If there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood, why were poor people allowed to offer flour as a sin offering in Leviticus 5?
• What would you say to a pastor who said we should let the Holy Spirit change people and not call out one another’s sins?

What Progressive Christian Teachings Should I Look Out For?

Questions about what progressive Christian teachings one should look out for and whether John 16:12–13 provides justification for the views of progressive Christians.

 

• I’ve been hearing about progressive Christianity and wondering what I should look for when it comes to unbiblical teaching.
• Some progressive Christians and churches cite John 16:12–13 as justification for their views. If that passage doesn’t mean what they say, what does it mean?

How Do We Know Moses Interpreted His Experiences of God Correctly?

Questions about how we know the biblical authors (Moses, etc.) interpreted their subjective experiences of receiving revelation from God correctly as opposed to Mohammed or Joseph Smith and how to respond to the idea that we can have different truths and both be right.

 

• All supposed revelation of religions involves a subjective experience of receiving that revelation, so how do we know the biblical authors (Moses, the prophets, etc.) were interpreting their experiences correctly as opposed to Mohammed or Joseph Smith?
• How should I respond to a meme claiming that your truth is not my truth and we can both be right?

How Is Biblical Inspiration Different from Automatic Writing?

Questions about how biblical inspiration differs from automatic writing, whether or not we don’t know who wrote 74% of the New Testament, signing a man-made statement of faith, and how, if the Word of God is powerful, someone who taught it faithfully can go rogue theologically.

 

• How is divine inspiration of the Scriptures different from the automatic writing they have in cults?
• It really does not bother you that you don’t know who wrote 74% of the New Testament? It could have been anybody.
• Is it okay for me to comply with a new requirement for clergy in my denomination to pledge fidelity in writing to its statement of faith?
• If the Word of God is powerful, how can a preacher who once taught the Word faithfully go rogue theologically?

How Is God Just If So Many Wrongs Go Unpunished?

Questions about how God could be just if so many wrongs go unpunished, an objection to God punishing people in Hell, and whether God’s promise to meet all our needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus is referring to physical needs, spiritual needs, or both.

 

• The cross only upholds justice between God and man, but where is justice among men? How is God just if so many wrongs go unpunished?
• An infinite being existing outside of the time and space he created will set us on fire if we don’t let him be called King of our planet? Is that usual behavior for deities?
• Is God’s promises to meet all our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus referring to physical needs, spiritual needs, or both?