BIBLE Questions
Answered
by
Bob Thompson
1.
WHAT DOES ROMANS 3:25 MEAN?
ANSWER: Let’s
take verses 24 and 25 together.
“Being justified freely,
(our justification before God
cost us nothing but cost Him everthing!)
by His grace (God’s
unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor)
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
(Here is the one who paid the
price of our redemption at the cross..
And herein lies our eternal security, for no Christian can
ever be lost unless puny, fumbling, mortal,
imperfect, man can undo the work that the perfect, Christ came here to
do.
Vs. 25: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation
(meaning, a sacri- fice) through faith in His blood
[i.e. accepting His cross-work for our sins)
to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through
the forbearance of God
[to declare His abolute
fairness in forgiving sins committed under the law because of the price He paid
at Calvary]
through the forbearance of God”
[God held back his wrath against sins committed under the law because of the
sacrifices offered from year to year—a gracious provision]
See Heb. 10:1-4; 11-14.
2.
HOW WERE GENTILES SAVED BEFORE THE CROSS?
ANSWER: The same way Gentiles were saved after the cross. God has had but one plan of salvation throughout
the ages, as the following references clearly show.
Psa. 33:18 —King David wrote, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them
that fear him..” Notice, “that fear [trust] Him,” not those who merely gave lip
service “that fear [trust] Him,” not
those who acknowledged Him but worshipped idols.
See also 2 Chron. 16:9.
Psa. 34:18 “The Lord is nigh
unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite
spirit.”
Broken hearts and contrite
(humble)
spirits have never been the sole property of Jews.
Isa.45:22 — “Look unto me, and be ye saved,
ALL
THE ENDS OF THE EARTH: for I am God and there is none else.”
Here was a universal call to Jew and
Gentile alike.
Acts 10:34 — “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, “Of a truth I
perceive that God is no respecter of persons,
but in
every nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is
accepted of Him.” That was as true
before the cross as it was eight years
after the cross, because God is the
same, “Yesterday, and today and forever.”
(Heb. 13:8)
BEFORE THE LAW
—
“Abraham believed God and it
was accounted unto him for righteousness.”
Rom. 4:1-3
UNDER THE
LAW— “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto
whom God imputeth righteousness without works.”
Rom. 4:6
SINCE THE LAW
— “For by grace are ye saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works
lest any man should boast.
Eph. 2:8-9.
Also, Romans 4:9-16.
“For there is no difference between
the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that
call upon Him. For whosoever (Jew or
Gentile) shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 10:12-13.
“God so loved THE WORLD that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16.
3.
HOW ARE
PEOPLE SAVED WHO WILL NEVER HEAR THE GOSPEL?
ANSWER:
According to
John 16:7-9 and
Romans 10:13, 14, 18, there is not a man or woman
living, or has ever lived, who has not been impacted by the testimony of God as
revealed in nature. Bear with me, now, as we pursue this line of thought.
First, consider John
16:7-9.
These verses tell how the Holy Spirit brings
all men under conviction at
one time or another. No exceptions.
Second, Romans
10:14 asks three questions:
”How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how
shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear
without a preacher?”
In other words, how can people be saved today who may never hear the
gospel? First let’s look at Rom.
1:18, “But I say, Have they not heard?
[you mean everbody has heard?
Yes, everybody] “Verily, their sound went into all the earth, and
their words unto the ends of the world.”
What in the world is Paul talking about?
The Holy Spirit is having Paul quote from Psa.19 to reinforce the
argument that all men at one time or another have heard the voice of God through
nature. Listen: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth
His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth
speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard,”
Psa. 19:1-3.
Having said that, let me
address the question:
how can people be saved today who will never hear
the gospel, (and no doubt there are
multiplied millions who will never audibly hear it – such as in the Islamic
world?
Many years ago in my early twenties, I heard an
evangelist tell the story of a mean-tempered, hard-drinking, gambling,
fornicating, irresponsible young man, the son of a God-fearing Indian chief and
his wife. They grieved daily over
their rebellious, wayward, prodigal son.
One day he was running alone
through the forest in search of game. As the afternoon wore on, storm clouds
gathered and thunder rolled across
the sky. The earth shook and quaked. Quickly the young man raced down a canyon
to a familiar over-hanging ledge and stepped under it to wait out the storm.
The zig-zagging lightning and
ear-splitting explosions of thunder
suddenly seemed to intensify the darkness of his evil heart.
He thought of his grieving parents, his self-centered, wild, unbridled
pursuit of pleasure. Like
demonic phantoms his conscience seemed to point sharp accusing fingers at him,
and he trembled. Searching
conviction was holding him as in a vice and the tears flowed…
Finally the storm passed, the sky cleared.
By this time the young man
was in a state of humble contrition.
As he looked up into the clear, blue sky he noted a small, lilly-white
cloud drifting high above him. He
knew he must wait no longer. Slowly
raising his arms in a wide arc to heaven and turning his heart towards God, he
cried out, “Oh....Great Spirit of all creation, giver of all good things, hear
me as I speak. Hear me for I am
dirty, I am not good, I am black as the night…I need you…I need….”
He fought to
control himself and again began to sob convulsively - overcome with sorrow for
his sin-filled life.
Finally he
cried out, his strong
voice echoing
back and forth across the canyon, “Oh, Great One....wash me.... wash me with
your spirit... wash me and
make me
clean as that little white cloud.”
The poor, broken-hearted man fell to his knees, head bowed in pride-shattered repentance. Soon the unbearable burden of
sin and shame was lifted. He knew he had been heard and rose to return home in
joyful praise and thanksgiving on his lips.
(Psa. 51:7)
Tell me, could anyone successfully argue that God had
rejected this bruised, contrite, broken-hearted Indian simply because he had not
audibly heard the words of the gospel?
Can we believe he had any less access to God than you and I do today?
Did not the Lord Jesus say, ”He that cometh to me I will in no wise cast
out”?
If not, what does Psa. 34:6-7 mean?
“This poor man cried, and
the
Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” Is that dispensational
truth? Hardly. And Psa. 34:18 confirms it:
“The Lord is near unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such
as be of a contrite spirit.”
The story went on to reveal that
this Indian was a truly changed man.
Later, a missionary taught him to read and gave him a Bible.
Many years later years he became widely known in his region as an Indian
chief of great piety, wisdom, and godly counsel.
.
Did he receive Christ that day? Of
course! When he called on the God of
creation, he was calling on the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who made all things.
“ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM.”
John
1:3-4,10;
See also Col. 1:14-19.
Yes, on that unforgettable
day, deep in the forest, Romans
10:13
was fulfilled, for “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be
saved.” And so he was.
This Indian had “passed from death unto life,” becoming “a new creature
in Christ,” a blood-washed child of God on his way to heaven.
4.
1 TIMOTHY
3:15 “THE HOUSE OF GOD.” TO WHAT IS
IT REFERRING?
ANSWER: The phrase, “the house of God.” like other
descriptive terms in the Bible, such as “the body of Christ”
(1 Cor. 12:13),
“the church of God”
(Acts
20:28),
“the churches of Christ”
(Rom.
16:16), “the pillar and ground of the truth”
(1 Tim. 3:15),
all speak of God’s people who make up the church that Christ said HE
would build.
Matt. 16:18.
We’re told in Acts 2:47 that the Lord Himself adds to this church such as
are being saved. Thus hypocrites
cannot get into it. It is the only church on earth that is universal, composed
only of born again people: referred to in 1 Cor. 12:13 as “the church which is
Christ’s body.” In 1 Corinthians 12:13.
5.
JOB—A
MAN IN THE LAND OF UZ
A.
DID JOB DESERVE HIS RICHES?
ANSWER:
In Proverbs 10:4 we find these words, “He
becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.”
In-so-far as Job applied himself diligently to those things that were
under his hand, God’s law of supply and demand worked for him and it made him
rich. Surely Job deserved what he
had earned by diligent care of that which God had entrusted him with.
Additional facts about this great patriarch, the richest man in the east,
may be found in other parts of this divine narrative: For example, he was highly
respected
(Job. 29:7-11), he was a fair and honest
judge
(29:12-17), he was a wise counselor
(29:21-24), he was an generous employer
(31:13-15, 38-39), he was hospitable and
generous
(31:16-21, 32), and it appears that he
farmed his land.
(31:38-40).
B.
DID HE DESERVE HIS LOSS AND THE WRATH OF GOD?
Job did not deserve his loss. He
suffered loss because Satan slandered him before God, wrongfully accusing Job
of loving His Creator simply because God had built a hedge about him.
(Job 1:10)
God’s response?
“Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put
not forth thine hand.”
(Job 1:12) So
Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord
and destroyed everything Job
had – except his wife who told Job to “curse God and die!”
Job’s response? “The Lord
gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”
(Job 1:22)
Later Job suffered an equally devastating trial when God permitted
Satan to cause “sore boils” to break out all over Job’s body.
(Job 2:7)
Though his wife urged him to “curse God and die,”
(Job 2:9), he said, “shall we receive
good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?
In all this did not Job sin with his lips.”
(Job 2:10).
God was allowing Satan to test Job and Job endured the test but
complained , “cursing the day of his birth.”(is it any wonder?
What would you and I have done in his place?)
Finally, after many days, the Lord took the floor, as it were, and fired five
chapters of questions at him.
(Job 38 through 42) Job, realizing his foolishness, repented and said,
“I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee.
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
(Job. 42:5-6)
Result? God honored Job by
giving him “twice as much as he had before.”
(Job 42:10).
C.
WAS GOD RIGHT IN PUNISHING JOB?
Remember, it was Satan, the great destroyer, who
murdered Job’s 10 children, not God.
It was Satan who devastated most of Job’s property and attacked Job’s person
with boils, not God. God allowed it
in order that Satan might discover for himself that Job truly loved God for
Himself, not for what he could get out of Him.
D.
WAS JOB
INNOCENT?
In his extreme pain and suffering, Job complained and cursed the day of his
birth. He, therefore, was not innocent. But Job repented, prayed for his
friends, as God directed, and received abundant blessings.
(Job
42:10-42).
E.
DID JOB’S FRIENDS HAVE ANY TRUTH?
First, we don’t know how much truth Job’s three
friends had. Reading through Job
today, however, I found very little truth coming from the lips of these three
men. Their largely sharp, caustic, biting, accusatory words were
more like “sounding brass and
tinkling cymbals” —and short on
substance.
A Bible I have; John, published by the late J. Vernon McGee, contains a short
prologue to the book of Job that includes the following words.
Tennyson said of the book of Job, “The greatest poem, whether of ancient
or modern literature.” Carlyle said, “I call that (Job) one of the grandest ever
written with pen.” Luther said,
“More magnificent and sublime than any other book of Scripture.”
Moorehead said, “The book of Job is one of the noblest poems in
existence.”
With all due respect to Martin Luther,
I would have to disagree with his conclusion that the book of Job is “more
magnificent....than any other book of Scripture.”
I believe that all Scripture is profitable for the believer,
(2 Tim. 3:16-17), .but in my humble opinion,
Job is not nearly as relevant to
present day needs as Paul’s epistles—books that were written to reveal God’s
program for this age of grace, our completeness in Christ, and the supply of
every principle needed for godly living, today and until He calls us home.
1 Thess. 4:13-18.
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