RTBS: 01/07 Q&A

Scriptura Roundtable Bible Study Notes Q&A

12/03/2025

1. How should we handle "Christian" leaders who fall morally—can they ever return to ministry?

Core Answer: Forgiveness is offered immediately by God through repentance. Restoration to public ministry is possible but not guaranteed—and must be approached with gravity, accountability, and time-tested fruit.

Biblical Foundation:

1 Timothy 3:2 – "Therefore an overseer must be above reproach..."

Titus 1:6–7 – "...an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered..."

Galatians 6:1 – "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted."

Expanded Insights:

Scripture outlines the qualifications for elders/pastors not as ideals, but as non-negotiables. Being “above reproach” means public integrity, not just private repentance.

Restoration is a two-tiered process: spiritual (before God) and ministerial (before the church). A repentant leader may be restored as a brother, but not always as a shepherd.

The restoration process must involve pastoral oversight, a season of silence from public teaching, visible fruit over time, and open accountability to other leaders.

Churches should model both grace and prudence—demonstrating the gospel while protecting the flock.

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2. If Jesus took all the wrath of God, why is there still a final judgment for believers?

Core Answer: Believers will never face judgment for sin, but we will stand before Christ for reward based on our faithfulness. This is a judgment of stewardship, not salvation.

Biblical Foundation:

Romans 8:1 – "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

2 Corinthians 5:10 – "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due..."

1 Corinthians 3:13–15 – "...the fire will test what sort of work each one has done."

Expanded Insights:

There are two separate judgments in Scripture: the Bema Seat (for believers) and the Great White Throne (for unbelievers).

The Bema Seat is a place of reward, where Christ evaluates the quality of a believer’s life and service—not their worthiness to enter heaven.

Even among the redeemed, our works vary in eternal value—"wood, hay, straw" vs. "gold, silver, precious stones."

Our salvation is secure, but our faithfulness matters. Crowns are promised (2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12), and eternal rewards are real motivation.

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3. Why did God even allow Satan into the Garden in the first place?

Core Answer: God allowed Satan's presence in Eden to permit genuine obedience.

Biblical Foundation:

Genesis 3:1 – "Now the serpent was more crafty..."

James 1:13 – "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God'..."

Job 1:12 – "And the Lord said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he has is in your hand.'"

Expanded Insights:

The Garden wasn’t just paradise; it was a test site. God gave Adam and Eve real agency. Satan’s presence enabled moral choice.

Satan is not autonomous. He appears by permission, not power.

The presence of evil heightens the glory of redemption. Christ is more glorified as a Savior than Adam ever was as a man.

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4. Why didn’t Jesus come sooner—or later? Why that moment in history?

Core Answer: God sent Jesus at the most strategic moment in redemptive, prophetic, political, and cultural history.

Biblical Foundation:

Galatians 4:4 – "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son..."

Romans 5:6 – "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly."

Expanded Insights:

Prophetically, the timeline of Daniel 9 pointed directly to the first-century arrival of Messiah.

Politically, the Roman Empire’s infrastructure and peace (Pax Romana) allowed fast gospel expansion.

Culturally, Greek was a universal language, enabling widespread communication.

Spiritually, Israel was weary and primed for the Messiah after centuries of silence and exile.

God doesn’t improvise. Every layer of history bent to the precise moment when the eternal Son would enter time.

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5. Why does God allow false teachers to thrive and grow massive followings?

Core Answer: Even when they distort truth, God can still use false teachers to spread the gospel, test hearts, and draw a clear line between genuine faith and consumer-driven religion. The line between false teacher and a teacher if truth is not always black and white, but generally the determining factor is if the person is purposely trying to deceive, but It is not always completely one or the other.

Biblical Foundation:

2 Peter 2:1 – "There will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies..."

2 Timothy 4:3 – "...having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions."

Philippians 1:15–18 – "Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry... What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice."

Deuteronomy 13:3 – "...for the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

2. What makes someone a “false teacher” biblically?

A false teacher in Scripture is marked by at least one or more of the following:

Marker Description Scripture

Doctrinal Error Denies core truths of the faith 2 Peter 2:1, 1 John 4:2–3

Motivated by Greed or Ego Uses teaching for gain or power 2 Peter 2:3, Jude 11

Draws Followers After Themselves Builds a personal platform instead of exalting Christ Acts 20:30

Leads Others Into Sin Justifies or encourages immorality Revelation 2:20

Preaches a Different Gospel Adds to or subtracts from the true gospel Galatians 1:6–9

Expanded Insights:

Not all false teachers are entirely devoid of truth—some still preach the basics of the gospel while introducing error in doctrine, motive, or emphasis.

Paul rejoiced when Christ was proclaimed, even by rivals, because the message held power even when the messenger was flawed (Phil. 1:15–18).

God can use broken vessels—even compromised ones—to plant seeds of truth that the Spirit can use later.

Their presence also reveals the spiritual appetite of a culture: do people want truth or entertainment? Substance or style?

False teachers often flourish because they say what people want to hear—not what they need to hear (2 Tim. 4:3).

God permits this not only as judgment but as a filter—to draw out those who hunger for the real gospel.

Discernment matters. Not every popular preacher is false, and not every false teacher is completely heretical. But every voice must be tested against the Word.

Ultimately, God is sovereign. Even deception cannot derail His mission to exalt Christ and draw people to Himself.

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6. Why do we worship on Sunday instead of the Sabbath?

Core Answer: The early church gathered on Sunday because it was the day of Christ’s resurrection—marking the dawning of new creation.

Biblical Foundation:

Acts 20:7 – "On the first day of the week..."

1 Corinthians 16:2 – "On the first day of every week..."

Colossians 2:16–17 – "...a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ."

Expanded Insights:

Jesus fulfilled the Law—including the Sabbath. He is our rest (Heb. 4:9).

Sunday is not the “new Sabbath,” but the Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:10)—a rhythm of grace, not law.

The early church moved from Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday to proclaim: the old has passed, the new has come.

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8. How can Jesus be eternally begotten of the Father but not created?

Core Answer: “Begotten” in historic Christian theology means “of the same essence” or nature—not created. The Son is eternally generated by the Father within the Trinity, sharing full deity, but not being created or subordinate in essence.

“We don’t use the words begetting or begotten much in modern English, but everyone still knows what they mean. To beget is to become the father of: to create is to make. And the difference is this. When you beget, you beget something of the same kind as yourself. A man begets human babies, a beaver begets little beavers, and a bird begets eggs which turn into little birds. But when you make, you make something of a different kind from yourself. A bird makes a nest, a beaver builds a dam, a man makes a wireless set—or he may make something more like himself than a wireless set: say, a statue. If he is a clever enough carver he may make a statue which is very like a man indeed. But, of course, it is not a real man; it only looks like one. It cannot breathe or think. It is not alive.” - C.S. Lewis | Mere Christianity

Now that is the first thing to get clear. What God begets is God; just as what man begets is man. What God creates is not God, just as what man creates is not man.

Biblical Foundation:

John 1:14 – “The only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.”

John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word... and the Word was God.”

Hebrews 1:3 – “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature.”

John 5:26 – “As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.”

Expanded Insights:

“Begotten” (Greek monogenēs) means “unique, one-of-a-kind”—not “made.” It refers to eternal relationship, not origin.

Jesus is eternally begotten—meaning He always existed in perfect, co-equal relationship with the Father. There was never a time He “began.”

The language protects the distinction of Persons in the Trinity without dividing essence or creating hierarchy.

Heresies like Arianism twisted “begotten” to mean created—but Scripture and church history affirm: Jesus is God of very God, uncreated and co-eternal.

The Nicaean Creed (A.D. 325) worked to clarify this word....

“We believe in one God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, Of all things visible and invisible: And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us and for our salvation”

When we beget something, we create something from ourselves but separate in essence

Jesus is eternally begotten of the father

He was not begotten in the past tense, but he is eternally and forever from the Father, while co-equal, and s

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10. How do I know if it’s God’s voice or just my own thoughts?

Core Answer: God’s voice aligns with His Word, exalts Christ, produces peace, and leads to obedience.

Biblical Foundation:

John 10:27 – "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them..."

1 John 4:1 – "Test the spirits to see whether they are from God."

Proverbs 3:5–6 – "Trust in the Lord... and He will make straight your paths."

Expanded Insights:

God’s voice will never contradict Scripture.

It brings conviction, not confusion. Peace, not pressure.

Wise counsel confirms what the Spirit is saying.

Feelings are unreliable indicators; the Word is the anchor.