Useful Q & A

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33» What Is The "My Church" Spoken Of At Matt 16:18?

Within the global sphere of Christianity is a non-denominational classification
of individuals joined to Christ in such a manner as to be corporately
identified as his body, i.e. his actual body. (Eph 1:22-23 and Eph 5:30)
hence the expression: in Christ.

This concept isn't new. In the beginning it was declared that when a man
and a woman are joined to each other as a permanent couple, they become
one flesh, i.e. one body. (Gen 3:23-24, cf. Eph 5:31-32)

FAQ: How did these individuals bond with Christ's body?

A: Via baptism by the Spirit. (1Cor 12:13)

FAQ: Not by Christian baptism?

A: No; by Spirit baptism. In other words: bonding with Christ's body is by
means of an act of God rather than a ritual, i.e. one's affiliation with a
denomination is merely a name tag.
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[JaumeJ]

When we incorporate into the Body of Christ Yeshua Something happens very glorious. Although most are not aware, we walk upon the raging water.
The water raging is mankind without Jesus Yeshua, and they no longer are an object of fear for we hae the Head, our Savior.

 

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34» How Was It Okay For Abraham To Marry His Half Sister?

I'm not sure we can say "okay" but a codified law prohibiting marriage to a
half sister wasn't instituted till Lev 18:9, which was many years later in
Moses' day.

According to Deut 5:2-4, Rom 4:15, Rom 5:13, and Gal 3:17 the codified
law isn't retroactive so Abraham could get away with marrying a sibling in
his day.
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35» Is Something Important Hinted By Gen 13:7?

• Gen 13:7 . . And there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram's
cattle and those of Lot's cattle. The Canaanites and Perizzites were then
dwelling in the land.

How do you suppose that squabbling looked to the pagans? When God's
people can't get along, outsiders become disgusted with them and they sure
won't be influenced for God in a good way when there's fighting amongst
themselves like that.

For example: years ago, when I was a young welder just starting out on my
own, I rented a small room in a daylight basement from a man who was the
senior pastor of a medium sized church in the Portland Oregon area. He and
his wife radiated the luster of polished spirituality whenever I spoke with
them out in the yard, but in my location under the floor of the house, I could
overhear their bitter quarrels upstairs behind closed doors. Was I favorably
inclined to attend their church? No.
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[rayzor]

There just being human it's impossible for mankind not 2 be.

 

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36» What Is Hope Per Christianity?

• 1Pet 3:15 . . Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks
you for a reason for your hope.

The Greek word translated "hope" in that verse is elpis (el pece') which
means to anticipate (usually with pleasure) and to expect with confidence.
Note the elements of anticipation, expectation, and confidence.

In other words: New Testament hope is a know-so kind of hope rather than
a cross your fingers hope-- i.e. it's a sure thing, a.k.a. in the bag: signed,
sealed, and aboard the FedEx truck headed your way for delivery (so to
speak).

• Rom 12:12 . . Rejoicing in hope.

When people are praying for the best, while in the back of their mind
dreading the worst, they have absolutely no cause for rejoicing; no; but they
do have plenty of cause to fear the unknown.
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37» What Is Grace?

The common Greek word translated "grace" refers to graciousness; roughly
defined as kind, courteous, sympathetic, inclined to good will, generous,
charitable, merciful, altruistic, compassionate, thoughtful, cordial, affable,
genial, sociable, cheerful, warm, sensitive, considerate, and tactful.

*Cordial* stresses warmth and heartiness

*Affable* implies easy to approach, and readiness to respond pleasantly to
conversation or requests or proposals

*Genial* stresses cheerfulness and even joviality

*Sociable* suggests a genuine liking for the companionship of others

*Generous* is characterized by a noble or forbearing spirit; viz:
magnanimous, kindly, and liberal in giving

*Charitable* means full of love for, and goodwill toward, others; viz:
benevolent, tolerant, and lenient.

*Altruistic* means unselfish regard for, or devotion to, the welfare of others;
viz: a desire to be of service to others for no other reason than it just feels
good to do so.

*Tactful* indicates a keen sense of what to do, or say, in order to maintain
good relations with others in order to resolve and/or avoid unnecessary
conflict.

*Compassionate* speaks of an awareness of others' distress coupled with a
desire to alleviate it.
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38» What Is Redemption?

A couple of Greek words are translated redemption.

One is lutrosis (loo'-tro-sis) which means a ransoming.

The other is apolutrosis (ap-ol-oo'-tro-sis) which means to ransom in full.

Webster's defines "ransom" as:

1» A consideration paid or demanded for the release of someone or
something from captivity

2» The act of paying the consideration.

In the divine scheme, Christ is the payer; and the life of his body is the
consideration; plus. according to apolutrosis, his life isn't a down payment,
rather: the entire sum demanded; leaving no balance outstanding.

FAQ: Who/What is the captor?

A: The architect spoken of by Genesis 1:1

FAQ: God is holding the world hostage?

A: Not quite like that. A better comparison depicts the world as indicted
fugitives in imminent danger of arrest and trial at the great white throne
event described at Revelation 20:11-15.

In other words: Christ satisfies the justice due to the fugitives so they can
be acquitted-- which is much better than parole because an acquittal leaves
behind no record. It's as though a wanted man has never been anything but
100% innocent his entire life.

I cannot imagine a better way to settle out of court with God than by means
of the redemption that's available in Christ Jesus.
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39» What Is Justification?

• Rom 4:25 . . He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to
life for our justification.

The Greek word translated "justification" in that passage means acquittal;
which Webster's defines as a judgment that a person is not guilty of the
crime with which the person has been charged.

To give a rough-hewn idea of how this plays out: according to Rev 20:11-15,
God is keeping books on everyone wherein is inventoried their entire life.

Were those books to be opened to the pages wherein is supposed to be an
inventory of the life of someone who managed to obtain the justification
available by means of Christ's death and resurrection, those pages would be
missing because when someone obtains the justification, God closes their
case and it's never reopened-- not because it's a cold case, but because all
charges against them were dropped, i.e. transferred to Christ.

• Isa 53:6 . .We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to
his own way; and The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

• 2 Cor 5:19 . . God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not
counting their trespasses against them

• Rom 8:33-34 . .Who will bring any charge against those whom God has
chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns; Christ Jesus ,who
died?
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40» What Is Meant By The Quick And The Dead?

• 2Tim 4:1 . . Christ Jesus, who will judge the quick and the dead

The Greek word translated "quick" means living, i.e. alive.

The question pertains to judgments rather than spiritual conditions, For
example John 5:24 speaks of spiritual conditions; whereas 2Tim 4:1, along
with 1Pet 4:5, speaks of judgments.

There's a judgment for those alive depicted at Ezek 20:33-38 and another at
Matt 25:31-46.

A judgment for those deceased is depicted at Rev 20:11-15.
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41» How Can Death Be Thrown?

• Rev 20:14 . . Death was cast into the lake of fire.

Seeing as how Death can't be picked up and thrown like a baseball or a
javelin, then I suggest that casting, in this instance, is speaking of exile.
(e.g. Matt 8:11-12)

Death is likely a category consisting of everything and anything one can
possibly imagine that God considers dead to Himself; both visible and
invisible. Whatever that amounts to, it will all be disposed of in that fiery
impound. In that respect, the lake of fire could be thought of as a sanitary
landfill, viz: a dump for refuse disposal.
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[ewq1938]

Fire represents a destructive force. This lake of fire won't be normal fire as we can create ourselves. I believe it to be an aspect of God himself since God is a consuming fire. God can create something, and can uncreate/destroy something as well. I believe the lake of fire is simply an uncreating process described in a way simple people could understand it's basic function- destruction. They knew fire destroys what it burns because they used fire every day.

 

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42» Why The Everlasting Gospel?

Most of the Bible teachers that I've listened to sincerely believe that Jesus'
church will be completely gone from the Earth when the fourth chapter of
Revelation begins coming to pass, viz: the era of the so-called great
commission (a.k.a. the church age) will be over; there won't be any born
again, Spirit-empowered Christian evangelists left anywhere on Earth
preaching the gospel of Christ, yet according to Rev 7:9-17, many
thousands of people will be saved out of the Tribulation during the church's
absence.

In my opinion, some of those numbers, if not all, can be attributed to the
success of the everlasting gospel which can be rightfully called the timeless
gospel because it contains things that have been known all over the world
since the very beginning, whereas Jesus' crucifixion, his resurrection, and his
future kingdom on Earth are relatively new entries in the annals of time.

• Rev 14:6-7 . . And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having
the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to
every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, announcing with a loud
voice: Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is
come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters.

The everlasting gospel is very elementary; pretty much all it says is:

1» There's a supreme being.

2» He deserves respect and admiration.

3» There's a frightful reckoning looming on the horizon, and

4» The cosmos-- all of its forms of life, matter, and energy --is the product
of intelligent design.
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43» What's To Learn From Moses And The Snakes?

• John 3:14-17 . . Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must
the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have
eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that
the world might be saved through him.

Long story short: Moses' people became sick and tired of living in the desert
and eating manna all the time at every meal. But instead of courteously, and
diplomatically, petitioning their divine benefactor for tastier food and better
accommodations, they became hostile and confrontational.

In response to their insolence; God sent a swarm of deadly poisonous
snakes among them; which began striking people; and every strike was
100% fatal, no exceptions. In no time at all, much people of Israel died.
Then those not yet dead got nervous and appealed to Moses for help. In
reply; The Lord instructed Moses to construct a replica of the beasts and
hoist it up on a pole in plain view so that everyone dying from venom could
look to it for immunity.

Now the key issue here is that the replica, lifted up, was the only God-given
remedy for the people's terminal condition-- not purity, not sacrifices and
offerings, not tithing, not church attendance, not missionary work, not
confession, not holy days of obligation, not the Sabbath, not charity, not
good deeds, not good behavior, not piety, not Bible study and Sunday
school, not catechism or yeshiva, not one's religion of choice, not self denial
and/or self control, not the so-called golden rule, not vows of poverty and/or
chastity, not the Ten Commandments, not the Eucharist; no, none of that:
not even prayers. That replica, lifted up, was it; viz: it was all or nothing at
all-- there was no other option. Whoever failed to look to that replica, lifted
up, for immunity died: no exceptions.

In other words then: Christ, lifted up on the cross to satisfy justice for the
sins of the world, is the only God-given option for protection from the second
death depicted at Rev 20:11-15. The default is terminal; no exceptions.
People relying upon religion and piety, instead of putting all their trust in
Christ's crucifixion, are dead men walking, no exceptions.

• John 3:18 . .Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever
disbelieves stands condemned already.
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44» What Is Sheol?

Sheol is an Old Testament Hebrew word that's sometimes transliterated
instead of translated; likely because there is so much controversy about its
meaning.

During Jonah's nautical adventure, he spent some time in sheol (Jonah 2:2)
which is a region that he placed at the bottoms of the mountains. (Jonah
2:6)

Well, Jonah's fish was under the sea rather than under the mountains, and
seeing as how no part of a mountain is located in a fish's tummy, then we
can be reasonably certain that Jonah and his body parted company; implying
that Jonah was alive for some of the time during his three days and nights in
the fish but not the whole time; which corroborates Jonah 2:9 that the
prophet's body underwent putrefaction and would've been completely
destroyed beyond recognition had not God resurrected Jonah in time to stop
the process from getting out of hand.

Jesus appropriated Jonah's experience to illustrate his own. Jesus predicted
that at some time during his three days and nights deceased, he would be in
the heart of the Earth. (Matt 12:40)

Well; Jesus' body was laid to rest on the surface of the Earth; so in order for
him to be down inside the Earth at same time, he and his body had to part
company. In other words: Jesus spent some of his three days and nights at
the bottoms of the mountains, i.e. sheol. And he too was resurrected in time
to stop the process of putrefaction from getting out of hand. (Ps 16:8-10
and Acts 2:25-32)
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45» How Could Abraham's Posterity Possibly Amount To The Stars?

• Gen 22:17 . . In blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply
thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea
shore;

I think it best to interpret stars and sand as ancient idioms for overwhelming
numbers of just about anything. Compare Heb 12:1 where "cloud" is a term
for the same purpose.

But as a matter of interest: back in Abram's day, prior to the invention of
optics, the only stars that people could see with their own eyes were those
in our home galaxy, the Milky Way; which consists of an estimated 100-400
billion stars. But many of those estimated billions of stars appear to the
naked eye not as stars but as glowing clouds; viz: they cannot be
individually distinguished by the naked eye so those didn't matter to Abram
when it came to actually tallying the heavens.

The entire global sky contains roughly five or six thousand stars visible to
the naked eye. However, we can't see all those stars at once; only the ones
when the sky is dark. So then; in Abram's day, he could see at most three
thousand discernible stars from dark till dawn. God had said "if you are able
to count them" (Gen 15:5). Well; even at only three thousand, the task
would be difficult.
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46» Why Was Jesus Baptized?

• Matt 3:13-15 . .Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized
by John. But John tried to deter him, saying: I need to be baptized by you,
and do you come to me? Jesus replied: Let it be so now; it is proper for us
to do this to fulfill all righteousness. Then John consented.

An important point worth noting is that everything Jesus did, it was to please
his Father. (John 8:29)

Also, Jesus did nothing on his own initiative. His daily itinerary was planned
for him (John 6:38 and John 8:28). In other words: Jesus was micro
managed.

However, John's baptism was unto repentance (Matt 3:11). This is curious
because according to Isa 53:9, John 8:29, 2Cor 5:21, Heb 4:15, 1Pet 2:22,
and 1John 3:9; Jesus committed no sins of his own; and as he always
pleased his Father, then there was never a time when Jesus needed to
ponder his life's direction and think about turning from evil and returning to
God.

The reason for Jesus' baptism is very simple: his Father required it. Even if
Jesus didn't know the reason why God wanted him to submit to John's
baptism, it was the right thing for Jesus to do at the time because it was
God's will; just as baptizing Israel was the right thing for John to do at the
time because it was God's will. Both men were acting in compliance with
God's directions. (John 14:31)

Obedience fulfills righteousness. For example Eph 6:1 where it's said:

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."

NOTE: Orwellian societies-- e.g. Communist China --tend to ban religions
like Christianity because one of their means of control is to turn children
against their parents. This particular management practice was put into full
swing during the Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao Zedong back in
the era 1966-1976. (cf. Malachi 4:6)
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47» Isn't Christianity's Human Sacrifice Against The Laws Of God?

God's codified law per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy is very
narrow, viz: any human sacrifice-- whether underage children or consenting
adults --is illegal because none are specified.

• Deut 4:2 …You shall not add anything to what I command you or take
anything away from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God
that I enjoin upon you.

• Deut 5:29-30 …Be careful, then, to do as the Lord your God has
commanded you. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left: follow only the
path that the Lord your God has enjoined upon you.

However: the codified law isn't retroactive (Deut 5:2-4, Rom 4:15, Rom
5:13, Gal 3:17) This is extremely important because Jesus was designated,
and scheduled, to give his life a sacrifice for the sins of the world not only
prior to God's codified law, but also prior to God creating even a single atom
for the current cosmos. (1Pet 1:18-21 & Rev 13:8)

The past-tense grammar of the passage below reflects that ancient pre
cosmos determination.

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own
way; and Jehovah has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isa 53:6)

That passage isn't a prediction, rather, it's a statement of facts, i.e. a telling
of things reckoned already gone by prior to Isaiah writing them down more
than 700 years before Christ was born.
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48» What Is Meant By Proverbs 27:17?

"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

No sharpening of two metals rubbing together can take place without them
wearing on each other. However, in Prov 27:17 only one of the metals
experiences wear while the other is the cause of it.

In my judicious opinion, that proverb is not speaking of building your friend
up but instead speaks of tearing him down by means of chafing, i.e.
relentless fault finding, mockery, and/or carping criticism; none of which are
acceptable social skills for making friends and influencing people.

• Job 16:9 . . He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon
me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.

The eyes of Job's enemy were knives, and reveals that causing somebody's
countenance to sharpen should not be construed a good thing. In point of
fact some of Webster's definitions related to "sharp" in include:

severe and/or harsh: such as

a : inclined to or marked by irritability or anger a sharp temper

b : causing intense mental or physical distress a sharp pain

c : cutting in language or import

NOTE: The Hebrew word for "friend" in Prov 27:17 doesn't necessarily
indicate a buddy; but includes a variety of others, i.e. companions,
associates, fellows, husbands, lovers, neighbors, etc. --just about anybody
with whom we come into personal contact whether temporary or extended,
e.g. waitresses, taxi drivers, retail clerks, fast food workers, gas station
attendants, dog walkers, flight attendants, druggists, coffee barristers, food
cart vendors, doctors, dentists, nurses, et al.

I think everyone, Christians especially, ought to avoid rubbing people the
wrong way lest we become known as a toxic influence that the world would
be a better place without.
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[ewq1938]

In my judicious opinion, that proverb is not speaking of building your friend
up but instead speaks of tearing him down by means of chafing, i.e.
relentless fault finding, mockery, and/or carping criticism; none of which are
acceptable social skills for making friends and influencing people.

That's definitely not what the proverb is talking about.

Gill:

Proverbs 27:17
Iron sharpeneth iron,.... A sword or knife made of iron is sharpened by it; so butchers sharpen their knives;

so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend; by conversation with him; thus learned men sharpen one another's minds, and excite each other to learned studies; Christians sharpen one another's graces, or stir up each other to the exercise of them, and the gifts which are bestowed on them, and to love and to good works. So Jarchi and Gersom understand it of the sharpening of men's minds to the learning of doctrine; but Aben Ezra, takes it in an ill sense, that as iron strikes iron and sharpens it, so a wrathful man irritates and provokes wrath in another. Some render the words, "as iron delighteth in iron, so a man rejoiceth the countenance of his friend", (i): by his company and conversation.

Barnes:

Proverbs 27:17
The proverb expresses the gain of mutual counsel as found in clear, well-defined thoughts. Two minds, thus acting on each other, become more acute. This is better than to see in “sharpening” the idea of provoking, and the point of the maxim in the fact that the quarrels of those who have been friends are bitter in proportion to their previous intimacy.

Clarke:

Proverbs 27:17
Iron sharpeneth iron - As hard iron, viz., steel, will bring a knife to a better edge when it is properly whetted against it: so one friend may be the means of exciting another to reflect, dive deeply into, and illustrate a subject, without which whetting or excitement, this had never taken place.