Questions of the Faith 1/21/24

Intro

I would like to say that all of these questions were great questions

Sometimes scripture does not give us a very specific answer to some of these questions, but we can do our best to answer them.

I would also like to say that we only have so much time for these questions, and Justin and I would love to give you guys our long answers but there’s just not enough time.

You guys are always welcome to ask us these questions that you might be struggling with though outside of when we do series like this, you know that right? I love answering hard Bible questions, I think it’s fun. Maybe you guys have questions about these questions after. Feel free to come ask us after, but just know that we may not always have the answer because we need to study it more or it’s one of those things you’ll just have to ask the Lord when you get to heaven.

1. Where do I need to start reading my Bible?

I am going to assume that whoever asked this question is a new believer just trying to figure out where to jump in.

I would say a great place to start if you have never read scripture is with the gospel. Get a solid foundation for your knowledge of scripture by reading about who Jesus is, what He did, and what He taught.

After that, I would recommend starting with New Testament, but do not be afraid of the Old. The Old Testament largely looks forwards to Christ while the New Testament recounts Christ and what His disciples did following His death, burial, and resurrection

What I will say though is that if you are going to look into OT books it is helpful to start from the beginning with Genesis and work your way forwards.

2. Do you have to be baptized to surrender your life to Christ?

No, you do not have to be baptized to surrender your life to Christ, but you really should.

In Luke 23:39-42, Jesus is on the cross with the other two men hung next to him. One of them begins to mock Jesus, but the other defends Him and asks the Lord to remember him when He is in His Kingdom and Jesus tells him in verse 42, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

That guy was had never been baptized, but Jesus told him he would be with the Lord in paradise that day.

But the reason you should get baptized is because it is the next step of obedience to following Christ. You accepted Him, now follow Him, and share your faith with others.

3. At what point does lying become a sin?

It always is no matter the case

4. As someone in a relationship, what are some things that we can do as a couple to get closer to God and grow our relationship in His light besides doing devotions together and praying together?

This is a hard question, and it’s one I had to have someone much more mature in the faith to teach me.

Obviously, dating is not anywhere in scripture, but what we do have is marriage. Marriage is talked about very specifically in many places, so let’s go off of what scipture says about marriage

I do want to be clear real quick though, you guys are not married yet, so guys you should not be leading her spiritually yet. Not until that girl’s got a ring on her finger can you start leading her spiritually.

I would be careful with doing devotions and praying together. You can pray for each other and you can pray over a meal together, but I for sure would be very careful not to awaken certain things that are meant for marriage because it will get messy for you later on. I have done this, I have been there, and it was the messiest break up I have had.

I do think there are some healthy ways that you can lead a girl though, and some of these things should just be expected. What I mean is chivalrous acts. I think practicing chivalry is a way to lead your girlfriend in a healthy way.

By chivalry I mean holding the door for girlfriend, giving her your coat when they’re cold, if you are walking on a street downtown with your woman and you walk between her and the road. These are good things to practice because they help develop self-sacrificial behaviors.

Marriage is meant to mirror Christ’s relationship to the Church, so husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25)

You can be working on this now by practicing chivalry and killing sin. A lot of your prep work for marriage is going to be done on your own in your time with the Lord.

5. Do you have to get married?

Short answer is no.

Long answer is 1 Corinthians 7 speaks heavily into this exact topic.

1 Corinthians 7:8–9 ESV

To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

He says that it is better to be single so as to go on and do more ministry, but if you know that you are more likely lean towards a struggle with your eyes and mind regarding the things of this nature, then it is better for you to get married and keep yourself from sin.

6. Why do Christians have a severe dislike for metal and rock music?

There are multiple answers to this question I think.

The first answer I have is that there are those who have convictions associated with metal and rock music because they have had a past with it. In all honesty, there is a dark and sinful lifestyle associated with this kind of music that includes partying and all kinds of things like that. I have a family member who was involved in this world as a teenager and eventually, the Lord pulled them out of it, so now that person stays away from it because they no the lifestyle that usually comes with it.

I would just say be careful of others’ convictions with certain kinds of music. That goes for all kinds of other things too, but if you’re in the car with your friend who doesn’t like to listen to that kind of music because he feels like it’s wrong for some reason, then don’t play it.

The other answer I have is that we just need to be mindful of the things we listen to. I think if you can find an area of these music genres that is clean or maybe even worships the Lord, Christian music has come a long way in the last decade. You can find an outlet for it in just about every single genre.

But a lot of this stuff just has filth in it, and you shouldn’t be taking that in

I think whoever asked this question may have also had some experience where a parent or something called rock and roll “devil music,” and to say that is a little ridiculous, but it all comes down to guard your ears and understand the lyrics.

7. What will the end times be like for believers?

This is a great question that I don’t have much of a specific answer for because I have not studied it enough and this kind of topic is one where people dedicate their entire lives to. not only that but their are all kinds of opinions. I hope that is not a discouraging answer because I know we all desire to know the answer to this question, but I do have one encouragment.

Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so whom shall we fear? End times is one of those topics where we just have to say that Jesus is good and everthing is going to be all right because Romans 8:28

Romans 8:28 ESV

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

It is all going to work out for our good and ultimately His glory, so rest in that! There is a great peace we can have in knowing God’s character.

End times causes a lot of people to fear and then they start attributing all this stuff to the Anti-Christ and it’s just not healthy or helpful for the Christian. Don’t be a fear-jockey. What we should be doing instead, is sharing the gospel, loving others as we love ourselves, and drawing closer to Christ.

8. I don’t feel conviction for my sin anymore. Is there any way to gain it back? I’ve been in the Word recently, but it isn’t helping.

Don’t listen to your feelings or your heart which is typically where your feelings come from

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

We all go through seasons of this sometimes and it can be frustrating. I don’t say to not trust your feelings to downplay what you are going through, but we all have seasons of apathy.

But you are right to go to the Word because it is working in a way that I don’t think you are taking into consideration. When we go through apathy, that doesn’t mean that right and wrong change. Those things still stay the same, and scripture reminds us of that. I would encourage you to continue to study the Word.

Sidenote: it can be worrisome when we struggle with apathy because we’re afraid the Lord has moved away from us or we’ve lost our salvation, but that is not possible so just keep pushing through in prayer and study of the Word and this too shall pass.

9. How do you absolutely know that you are saved?

I would like to answer this question from two different perpectives

I am going to assume that the person who asked this question is struggling or has had frequent moments of struggle with knowing whether or not they were saved, and based on this fact, I would like to say that if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you live for Him then you are saved.

Something I recently learned through some counseling is that what we are afraid of reveals what we love. For the person who is fearful that they are not saved can point to the fact that you are saved and you want to make sure that you have a relationship with the Lord.

The other answer I want to give is that there are ways to tell if someone is a believer.

Fruit: Matthew 7:17

Matthew 7:17 ESV

So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.

The one who is saved is going to be producing good fruit, meaning living for Christ, sharing the gospel, putting others’ needs before themselves.

Fruits of the Spirit: (Galatians 5:22-25)

Galatians 5:22–25 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

The fruits of the Spirit are a good way to test and see if someone is a believer. Are they exhibiting these behaviors or at least trying to grow in these behaviors

Growth in faith and walk with Christ: the Christian is not going to be stagnant, meaning we are always growing and pressing on towards eternity. Once you get saved you are set on a path called sanctification where Christ teaches you to purify yourself from sin, so that He might present His bride before the Lord in purity and joy (Jude 1:24)

10. Can you be saved at a young age but stray away from God? If I have strayed, am I still saved?

I think this is such a hard question because this could be different for everyone. It’s hard to slap a blanket statement on this.

Justin and I agree 100% that once you are saved you always saved. Ephesians 1:13-14

Ephesians 1:13–14 ESV

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

John 10:28–29 ESV

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Romans 8:35 ESV

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

Once you’re in, scripture is pretty clear that you stay in, but does that mean that you STAY IN if you know what I mean.

It’s just a fact that we all have a tendancy to stray because of our flesh. When you are saved you are given the Holy Spirit, but you are still struggling with your fleshly desires which we are all given a choice to choose between the Spirit’s desires or the flesh’s.

I think that you need to think about whether or not you were truly saved to begin with, so if you have floated away from the Lord you have one of two options now because you are thinking about this now.

It could be that you asked this question because you know you were saved before and you chased after fleshly desires, and now you are wondering if the Lord will take you back. The answer is a big phat with a PH YES! Just repent and surrender your life to Him.

Or maybe you did not know the Lord before and you pursued sin and it came up empty and now you are realizing Christ is the only way to eternity, peace, fulfillment, etc. then repent and surrender your life to Christ.

Hopefully, you catch what I am saying here. It doesn’t not matter so much what you did then, it just matters what you are going to do now. Whether you were saved then or not, you need to repent and give yourself to the Lord now.