Q and A

Topic Notes

Answering Listener Questions today!!

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Jacob asks
“If God is all powerful and knowing, how was God created?”

God is uncreated.
Whatever has a beginning has a cause
Since God didn’t have a beginning (He is eternal), He wasn’t created.

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Dan asks
“If I had witnessed the resurrection, I would have written to everyone I knew about it, to share the good news! So why did only 4 people decide it would be a good idea to write it down”

• Could have been that a thousand people wrote it down, but Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were the only books canonized.
• The perfection of four Gospels.
• Explaining Eyewitness Testimony.
• VISIT: Cold Case Christianity from J. Warner Wallace

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Richard asks
“I just listened to the older episode on slavery where you were discussing how slavery back then would not be recognized by us today, and how the slaves were considered experts, and boat captains, and blah blah – while all of that may be true… they were still property, and could be beaten, and even accidentally killed in the course of that beating, and that was cool. So you can dress it up any way you want but the concept of slavery is the concept of ownership and control.”

• We agree slavery is bad, regardless how you dress it up… and the Bible agrees.
• The idea of slavery in biblical times was much different from early American History.
• Wherever in the world, in places like America, where slaves weren’t allowed to run away Christians have taken the entire word of God and character to mean that they should stop slavery.
• Simply, the Bible discourages slavery, but since people decided to do it anyway, the Bible included rules that addressed the issue. God isn’t condoning slavery; He is setting up rules to protect slaves.
• Read: Deuteronomy 23:15
• Listen: Truth Revolution: Slavery and the Bible

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Christine asks
“Someone told me once that God only helps those who help themselves. (This was a long time ago by the way) I don’t feel like this is necessarily true. I think God helps everyone but in His own way that we might not always recognize. What would you say if someone said that phrase to you?”

• Read: Luke 18:1-8 God helps those who always pray and never give up.
• Read: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 God helps those who DON’T rely on themselves, but rely on God entirely.
• We don’t mean that we shouldn’t work. Truly, we should work hard, but God works it out.

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Another listener asks
“Why is it wrong for a boyfriend and girlfriend to live together?”

• Reason 1: Sex.
  • Premarital sex is repeatedly condemned in Scripture, along with all other forms of sexual immorality (Acts 15:20; Romans 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:13, 18; 7:2; 10:8; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Jude 7)

• Reason 2: Your witness to the world
  • Read: Ephesians 5:3
  • Read: 1 Corinthians 10:23-33

• Reason 3: How we were designed
  • Read: Genesis 2:20-24

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Bible Contradiction

Should we swear an oath?
Numbers 30:2 and Genesis 21:22-24, 31 vs Matthew 5:34-37

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