Conflicting Scriptures (2)

Wednesday Night We Covered 2 Questions About Conflicting Scriptures

“Why are Jesus’ Genealogy in Matthew and Luke Different?”

“Do We Help the Needy or Let Them Go Hungry?”

We’ve Got One More Question that Fits the Category of Conflicting Scriptures

Does God Hear Sinners? If Not, Explain Acts 10:1-4

We’ve Probably All Heard this One Before:

“God Doesn’t Hear Sinners”

It Comes From John 9:31

John 9:31 (NASB95)

31 “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him.

This Verse is a Picture Perfect Example…

Of Why We Shouldn't Rip Verses Out of Their Contexts…

And Use Them to Build Theological Principles and Doctrines

If You Hold to a Doctrine that is Based on 1 or 2 Verses…

That have Been Pulled Out of Their Contexts…

To Make a Point the Author was Not Intending to Make…

Then You are Likely Holding a Doctrine…

That the Apostles and Early Church Didn’t Hold

To Understand What is Meant By this Verse…

We Need to Understand the Story it’s a Part of

Jesus and the Disciples Came Across a Blind Man

Jesus Makes Clay and Puts it on the Blind Man’s Eyes…

And Tells Him to Wash it Off in a Nearby Pool

After People Saw the Formerly Blind Man Able to See…

They Brought Him to the Pharisees Where He was Questioned

And He Told Them What Happened

Reading How They Respond will Help Us Better Understand Our Text

John 9:16 (NASB95)

16 Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them.

The Pharisees have Convinced Themselves that Jesus is From Satan

That’s What They Mean in this Context By “Sinner”

They’re Not Referring to Him as a Sinner, as in…

A Gentile or a Jew that isn’t Very Faithful to the Law

“Sinner” Here = One Who is Actively Opposed to the Purposes of God

John 9:24–25 (NASB95)

24 So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

The Pharisees Equated this Man Giving Glory to Jesus…

With Him Not Giving Glory to God…

Because They Claimed Jesus was From the Devil

The Man Essentially Says:

“I’m Not Making Any Claims About this Man, Jesus”

“All I’m Saying is, He Healed Me”

Notice the Pharisees are Speaking Out of Envy and Hatred for Jesus

But the Formerly Blind Man is Speaking Out of Pure Logic

“I’m Not Saying Jesus is From God or the Devil…”

“All I’m Saying is, I can See Now”

As the Conversation Continues, this Man Continues to Use Sound Logic

John 9:26–33 (NASB95)

26 So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?”

28 They reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 “We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.”

Again, They are Saying:

“We Don’t Believe Jesus to Be From God”

“We Know Moses was, But Not Jesus”

30 The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. 31 “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. 32 “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

“It’s Amazing that you Don’t Know Where He’s From…”

“Considering the Fact that He Cured My Blindness!”

“Only God can Cure Blindness”

“If this Man Cured My Blindness, Then He Must Be From God”

“If this Man was Doing the Will of Satan…”

“Then God wouldn’t have Granted Him this Ability”

“God Only Hears Those Who are Deeply Committed to Him and Do His Will”

The Confusion About Our Verse has Everything to Do with the Word “Hear”

Does this Mean that God Literally Can’t Hear Those Who are Against His Will?

Of Course Not

God can Know, See, and Hear Whatever He Wants

When God “Hears” a Prayer…

That’s How the Scriptures Refer to Him Answering the Prayer

Does God Hear Sinners (Those Who Reject His Will)?

Yes, He is Able to Hear Their Prayer

But No, He will Not Answer Their Prayer

So the Question was:

Does God Hear Sinners? If Not, Explain Acts 10:1-4

The Answer to the First Question…

Depends on What the Questioner Meant By “Hear”

Yes, if They Meant, “Does God Literally Hear Sinners?”

No, if They Meant What the Text Means, “Does God Answer Sinners’ Prayers?”

But Considering the Text of the 2nd Question…

I’m Assuming They Meant the Former:

“Does God Literally Hear Sinners?”

Let’s Look at the Text:

Acts 10:1–4 (NIV)

1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” 4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.

Based on Reading this Text, I Assume the Question would Go Like this:

“If God Does Not Hear Sinners…”

“Then Why Did God Hear Cornelius, Considering He was Not a Christian?”

Having Already Dove into John 9, this Question Becomes a Simple One

Cornelius wasn’t a “Sinner” the Way John 9 Refers to “Sinners”

He Feared/Respected/Held Reverence for God

Which the Blind Man Said was the Kind of People God Hears

He Did Good Works, Like Giving to the Poor

Which is the Same as Doing God’s Will…

Which the Blind Man Also Said is the Kind of People God Hears

And He Prayed to God Regularly

This was Not a “Sinner” as in…

A Man Who Purposefully Rejected and Rebelled Against God

This was a Man Who Desperately Sought to Be Close to God

And that’s Why His Prayers Weren’t Just Heard By God…

They Were Remembered By Him

And that’s Why God Chose Cornelius and His Family…

To Be the First Official Gentile Converts

So Let’s Make Sure We Don’t Walk Away From this Question Still Confused

Does God Hear/Answer the Prayers of His Children?

Absolutely

Does God Hear/Answer the Prayers of Those Who Reject Him?

No

But Here’s the Question I Think We All have in the Back of Our Minds:

Does God Hear/Answer the Prayers…

Of Those Who Fear God and Seek to Do His Will…

But Who have Not Yet Been Baptized into Christ?

My Opinion: Yes, I Believe He Hears/Answers Their Prayers

If Someone is Seeking to Be Closer to/Honor God, Like Cornelius…

I Believe God will Hear/Answer Their Prayers…

To the Extent that He will Provide Opportunities…

For Them to Know and Obey the Truth

But, What are Your Thoughts

Brief Outline of Israel’s History

This May Be More Brief than the Questioner Intended

But if Anyone has Any Questions About Any Parts of Israel’s History…

Get Them in the Question Box and We’ll Do Our Best to Go Deeper

Chosen

Abraham was Chosen

And Through His Lineage the Rest of the World Would Be Blessed

The World will Come to Know God Through Them

He Travels to the Land of Canaan

He has Isaac

Isaac has Jacob

Jacob has 12 Sons Who Eventually All Move to Egypt…

Where Their Descendants will Become Slaves

Liberated

Israel is Delivered By God Through Moses From Slavery in Egypt

He Then Leads Israel to Mount Sinai to Receive the Law

They Then Leave Mount Sinai and Go to Kadesh-Barnea

This is Where They will Then Send Out the 12 Spies

After the 10 of the 12 Spies Bring a Bad Report…

God Curses that Generation to Die in the Wilderness

Wandering

Israel Wandered in the Wilderness for 40 Years…

Because They Didn’t Trust God to Continue Delivering Them

Victorious

Joshua Led Israel into the Promised Land

They Began to Take Possession of the Land…

And Divided the Land Up Among the Tribes

But They Didn’t Remain Faithful

So the Land of Milk and Honey Wasn’t Exactly That

Lawless

There was No King and Everyone Did What was Right in Their Own Eyes

They Rejected God as Their King…

And Lawlessness Ruled the Day

This was a Dark Period in Israel’s History

Ruled

Israel Wanted a King Like All the Other Nations

God Gave Them Saul as King

But He wasn’t Faithful

So He was Replaced By David

United

The Kingdom of Israel was United Under King David

Divided

After David’s Son Solomon, the Kingdom was Divided

Northern Israel and Southern Judah

Solomon’s Son, Rehoboam, Rules Over Judah

Jereboam Rules Over Israel

Exiled

Because of Their Unfaithfulness…

Both Kingdoms would Be Taken into Exile

Israel was Dispersed By the Assyrians

Judah was Taken Captive into Babylon

Returned

After 70 Years of Exile in Babylon…

The New World Power, the Persians…

Allowed the Jews (People of Judah) to Return Home

But Things Still Aren’t Going Great

Waiting

After the Writings of the OT…

The Jewish People were Still Waiting for the Messiah to Arrive

First it was the Assyrians

Then the Babylonians

Then the Persians

Then Came the Greeks

The Jewish People Suffered Greatly Under the Grecian Empire

Intertestimental Books Like Maccabees Talk a Lot About that

Then the Romans Came to Power

And its Under the Roman Empire that We See the Arrival of the Messiah

That’s a Brief Outline of Israel’s History