If God is a God of love and wants to be our friend, then what about all the Old Testament stories about God commanding the Israelites to kill?

I hope that you did not miss the lecture "Is It Star Wars When the Empire Strikes Back?" as this lecture directly addresses your inference that the God of the Old Testament was a God to be afraid of in His own right.

In the book Outrageous Grace it says not to fear God but to love him as he loves you. In last night’s seminar Fear is emphasized on as in Fear God and keep his commandments. Am I reading this wrong?

Our English language is the problem with different meanings of the same word. This spiritual fear is the kind of fear you want to cultivate, it is a holy reverence and trust of the God of your salvation. As with Isaiah, you can give Him your fears and He will be your fear. You need not dread, He will be your dread.

If graven images are so wrong, how is it that there is so much going on with statues of Mary bleeding and crying etc. Isn't this a sign from God?

Remember that God is not the only one to provide signs and wonders. The devil will do what he can to deceive and confuse. The only way that we will know what is truth, is to look for Christ to provide us with the answers.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God,
who gives generously to all without finding
fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:5(NIV)

How did God bear Adam and Eve's inequities by clothing them with skin?

The penalty for Adam and Eve's sins was paid for by Jesus’ blood. It required the death of the Son of God to pay for their and our sins.

The skins used to cover their naked bodies required the death of an animal. That was a symbol to them of the fact that it was going to require the death of Jesus Christ to provide the covering for their sins. They were constantly reminded of Christ's love, a love so great that He was willing to give His life for their salvation.
And the wonderful news is that His death has already paid the penalty for our sins. What a wonderful response that evokes from us... Praise His name!

I’m really struggling with all the things I’ve done wrong. How can I know I’m forgiven and how can I trust that I don’t have to work hard to get salvation?

First of all, God is love. He is on our side and we cannot DO anything to be good enough for heaven. The works we do are given out of a heart of gratitude to God for all He has done for us. In fact, He will put the "work" in front of us that He wants us to do if we simply, in faith, ask Him. Some have said that the real "work" in this whole salvation process is the work of faith, of staying connected to our "forever Friend" on a day-to-day basis. Have you repented of your sins? Have you asked for God's forgiveness? Then believe that He has forgiven you, cleansed you of your past sins and made you a new person. Check out 1 John 1:6-10; 2:12; John 3:17-21; Matthew 11:28-30.

"Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God . . . " John 14:1

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27.

I have a huge problem with Seminar number 4, in that it was preached that Jesus didn't know His death wasn't to be permanent, and His separation from God the same. Maybe I am missing something here but it seems quite clear from scripture that He knew. John 2:19-21. Am I wrong?

The issue that you have inquired about is very important, because it involves the fundamental question of just how Jesus operated while on this earth. It is indeed true that God opened to Jesus special insights as you cited from John 2. But these things sometimes lead us to where we do not expect to go.

For example, look up Mark 13:32, and notice that while Jesus was incarnated into human form, He did not have the knowledge of when the end would come! But I thought Jesus was supposed to be all-knowing. Still, Luke 2:52 informs us that Jesus increased in wisdom. Thus we find a Jesus who is NOT all-knowing. This presents us with a very different picture of our Lord than what we commonly think of.

A key to this is found in Philippians 2:7, where we find that our Lord "made Himself of no reputation," or more literally, He "emptied Himself," ekenosin in the Greek. Before He "became flesh and dwelt among us" He was indeed all-knowing. But when He became human He laid aside the use of His divine power, "emptying Himself" of it for the duration of His life in humanity. This was necessary in order for Him to be our example. After all, if He can dodge Satan in ways that we can't just because He is God, He winds up having a tremendous advantage over us and we lose the possibility of His being any kind of meaningful example for our experience. Again, He could not legitimately represent us before God if He did not become as human as we are and experience the real temptations of humanity as impacted by 4000 years of sin. Hebrews 2:14,18; 4:15.

So how then did Jesus do His miracles?

I would suggest that every last one of them was done only through the power of His Father after Jesus' having asked in faith. Just exactly as we have to do. Take a look at John 5:19,30 and see that Jesus could of His own self do nothing. Even in the garden of Gethsemene, He surrendered to the Father although His will was at that moment NOT desiring the same thing as His Father's will. Amazing! Yet these statements of Scripture are only self-reconcilable if we understand our Lord in a way very different than what we commonly have.

I believe that all of Jesus' statements about rising again on the third day were made not because of some divine revealing of truth that His Father gave Him, but solely from His understanding of Jonah chapter two. They were made by faith, not direct prophecy. In fact, almost all that Jesus did, we can do through faith in Him. John 14:12. The implications for what is possible in our Christian walk are enormous!

What then about Pr. Dwight saying that Jesus could not see through to a triumphant rising from the dead?

Top of the Page      Ask Your Own Question Here