Category: Faith Quest

Susan thank you for your question. How we approach the Scriptures determines our relationship with GOD and it is integral to our worship of Him. Our Statement of Faith states the Scriptures are true, authoritative and sufficient (Psalm 19:7-11; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21). Meaning that what the scriptures say about Who GOD is, What He is doing, and What He promises to do are perfectly and sufficiently true. They are designed to be the final authority on all matters in life and godliness. If this is true then it matters how we handle them. As you will see the definition of Eisegesis and exegesis alone will answer your question “Which approach is right?”

Eisegesis happens when their is a reading into a text; meaning that is not supported by the grammar, syntax, lexical meanings, and over-all context of the original.

Exegesis is when you read out of the text its original meaning by careful attention to grammar, syntax, the lexical meanings of the words used by the author (as they were used in his day and in his area), and the over-all context of the document.

As we approach the Word of GOD we need to be careful to not approach with pride or the wrong motives. We do not use the word to get things done in our churches our groups; rather GOD uses the word to get His work done in us. The word is not something to master it is something to be mastered by so we approach it with great humility, great submission, and great care. We need to be careful that we don’t put our own ideas and motives into any particular text or passage.

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FaithQuest is a safe place for you to ask any question you have about God, Faith & Life in general.

Nikita, I love this question! I personally do believe that God does speak to us today in many ways. The God of the Bible is a God who loves us, who sees us, who hears us and who cares for us. He is a God who wants a relationship and a relationship always involved communication.

If you had a friend who always does all the talking (husbands maybe you are thinking of your wives right now?!) but you never had the chance to respond then what kind of relationship is that. Followers of Jesus communicate with God through prayer, but prayer is not just us talking to God or at Him.

Prayer should be a two way line of communication. I believe today that three main ways God speaks to people are through His word (the Bible), through prayer, and through the local church. If God is speaking to you and you are unsure if it is from God or not one sure way to check is to align it with the Word of God. God will never tell you to do something that goes against what the Bible says to be true.

This is why it is important to always go back to God’s Word when we believe God is speaking to us. In addition to that God will speak to us through our times of prayer. As we speak to God in prayer and take time to listen the Spirit of God will also speak to our hearts during our times of prayer.

Finally, I believe that God also speaks to us through the local church. As followers of Jesus we were not called to walk this journey alone, but rather in gospel community. God has given us the local church to worship him and grow in our relationship with God as the family of God. God will use other believers in our life to point out sin in our life, encourage us, and help guide us.

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FaithQuest is a safe place for you to ask any question you have about God, Faith & Life in general.

If we look up the word religion it is said to mean “the belief in a god or group of gods OR and organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods.” In all other religions in the world today we see a system of beliefs or traditions that require man to work to earn God’s love.

If you do this thing, give this money, say the right prayer, go to the temple, etc….THEN God will love you or give you what you are seeking. However when we look to the God of the Bible this is not the case at all. In fact what we see is His desire to actually have a relationship with man.

You see in the Bible that God did give his followers a list of rules to obey called the Ten Commandments, but he knew that they could never live up to this set of rules. In fact it was given as a standard to show mankind that they will never be perfect.

Basically the goal was set, but it is clear that mankind would continue to miss the mark. This is what the bible calls sin. In Romans 3:23 we see that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Each one of us have fallen short of this standard God has set. Now if the story ended there it would be one without a happy ending, one without hope, BUT it doesn’t stop here! God knowing that we would fall short of His standards made a way of forgiveness and restoration.

This way is through His one and only son, Jesus. Jesus lived a life we could not live and died the death that we all deserve for our sins so that we could enjoy a right relationship with God. We see this clearly in Romans 6:23, “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So to answer your question does God endorse religion I would say yes God does endorse a belief in him and a system of beliefs that point us to our need for a Savior. Ultimately however His goal is not that we would develop a long list of do’s and don’ts but His desire is for us to enjoy a relationship with him forever.

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FaithQuest is a safe place for you to ask any question you have about God, Faith & Life in general.

Q1: Hello FaithQuest Team! So yesterday I was approached by my Muslim colleague over lunch who showed an image posted on Facebook that in Exodus Ch22:20 it’s written “you must kill and destroy those who worship another God”.

So her point being that why is it that Muslims are only blamed for killing those of other faiths, which is nowhere even mentioned in the Quran but clearly mentioned in the Bible. Would be looking forward to your insight. Thank you! – by Ruthasha

Ruthasha, thank you for the question. And thank you for engaging your colleague in a conversation about the Christian GOD. Let me begin by saying I am not an expert on the Quran and cannot refute the claim your colleague makes about it. But I can bring clarity to the text in question

Exodus 22:20
“Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction.

The first thing that we have to understand is that context is king! Many of the worlds religion’s sacred scriptures have been taken out of context in order to justify all kinds of heinous and despicable acts. Unfortunately christianity is not excluded from the list. Humanity is broken and mankind is filled with sin.

This is the beauty of the Christian message. The whole truth of the gospel is that GOD has made a way for us to be forgiven and cleansed from our sin and restored to a right relationship with Him through faith in His son Jesus Christ. In the message itself is a message of ultimate peace and complete restoration for all creation.

CONTEXT

It’s important to know that this text is in the context of social justice laws. This means that everything that was written here was written to preserve the dignity of mankind. It answered questions like how do you treat a sojourner? (someone from another place), how do you treat one another?, how do you treat created things like animals? The context of this passage is protecting GOD’s good design for His creation.

Two things that are mentioned here are sorcery and idol worship. Both of these practices at this time required live human sacrifice and both used babies in order to do it! At the very least bloodletting (cutting yourself to draw blood) was involved. Both of these things were detestable to GOD and damaging to human dignity. This law at the very surface level was to prevent previous crimes against humanity.

Secondly this law was not for outsiders. This does not say that those who are outside Israel are devoted to destruction it is saying that if there is an Israelite who sacrifices to any other GOD except YHWHY they shall be devoted to destruction.

This was not about advancing on the world this was about preserving the Worship of the one true GOD of all creation for the Israelites so that the future promises of GOD for the world could come to fruition.

BIGGER PICTURE

Another and what I believe to be the most important truth in this text is How it illuminates the grace of GOD. We cannot take one passage and say “see GOD commands us to kill”. One of the primary purposes of the Law was to show us our need for a savior. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 Although the law required penalty and that could be death — it also provides provision for forgiveness. The entire sacrificial system is based on the breaking of the moral law.

If the law was broken there was the ability to atone for that sin through sacrifice. It’s a picture of the GOSPEL. Jesus Christ was the final perfect sacrifice for our sin and although we deserve death (because we have all broken GOD’s law) We receive eternal life through faith in Jesus.

God was paving the way for us to know Him. He was moving His redemptive plan forward by preserving the very thing that shows us our need for Jesus. Our great rescuer!

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FaithQuest is a safe place for you to ask any question you have about God, Faith & Life in general.

These are excellent questions that get at the very character and nature of our God.

I’ll answer your questions in order.

Does God really fulfill his promises?

Psalm 117:1–2 (ESV)
Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!

God is a promise maker and a promise keeper. You’ve identified one of the countless “attributes of God”. The study of the character and nature of God is inexhaustible; however, this one is foundational to our understanding of him. As God’s redemptive plan unfolds in Scriptures we see many promises made in the Old Testament by his spokesmen, also called prophets, that ultimately are fulfilled in the New Testament in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The first mention of a prophet is found in Genesis 20 regarding a man named Abraham who we first meet as Abram in Genesis 12 where God speaks to him:

Genesis 12:1–3 (ESV)
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Throughout the remainder of Scriptures we see the grand unfolding of the answering of this promise. We see it in the people of Israel as they grow into a nation of God’s holy, set apart people for God’s glory. Countless times God makes promises to the Israelites and, in spite of their unfaithfulness and disobedience, God continues to pursue and fulfill his promises all because of his unfailing love. Fast forward two thousand years and God continued to fulfill that promise. The Apostle Peter writes to the dispersed persecuted church, Jews and Gentile believers alike:

1 Peter 2:9–10 (ESV)
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Fast forward another two thousand years to today, and God continues to call a distinct people to Himself through the very same means, the blood of Jesus Christ, our perfect redeemer.

John 14:6–7 (ESV)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

God continues to fulfill his promises.

Why does it take God so long to fulfill his promises?

A very good question, and one that I would not presume to know the mind of God and be able to fully answer. However, let me say this. God is sovereign, infinite and is totally in control. He created time and space, but is bound by neither. We are the created who exist within those boundaries for a determined period of time. God knows what we need and what we want. I think we confuse our wants for needs, and when our wants aren’t being met we believe God is denying or delaying his promise or blessing. So if you’re in a time in life where it seems God is not fulfilling his promise “draw near to Him and he will draw near to you” (James 4.8). That is what God wants, because it’s his very nature. In fact, it’s the meaning of the name of his Son Emmanuel, God with us. Always remember God is in the waiting periods of our lives drawing us closer to himself to rely on him and him alone.

How can I have a friendly relationship with God?

By now I hope you see God loves you, Shawn. He desires to have a relationship with you through his Son Jesus Christ. The God of Scriptures is known by many names, but the one I love the most is “Father”. He desires to know you so intimately that he made a way, in spite of our sin which separates us from him, to be not only in a friendly relationship, but a loving and nurturing relationship with him. Jesus himself the son of the living God loves you, and he bore the wrath of the Father on our behalf so that you and I can live in peace with God. We find our hope, our confidence,our love and, yes, even our friendly relationship with God through Jesus Christ the Savior.

Hebrews 4:14–16
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Blessings,

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FaithQuest is a safe place for you to ask any question you have about God, Faith & Life in general.

Abin thank you for your question. Sharing truths about GOD is both a great privilege and a weighty task. We all have a desire to share but we all also have the fear of not being able to answer questions correctly. I would like to begin by saying that the first step to helping others understand GOD is to admit that we cannot and do not know everything about Him. We can only know what He reveals to us through His word. We are completely and utterly dependent on Him to know Him. Our attitude is not to try and figure GOD out but to know Him as Creator, King, Father, Savior, and Restorer. He is worthy of our worship and we should be in awe of His eternal and infinite nature.

I also want you to know that there is not enough paper and ink on the planet to capture all there is to say about the Trinity. People have written books that are thousands of pages long and they still fall short. There is one book that I really enjoy called “Experiencing The Trinity” by Joe Thorn. It is very helpful and available on amazon.

I believe the Doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to the Christian faith because within it we see who GOD is, what He is doing, and How He is doing it. It is also incredibly helpful in answering the most important question for humanity: How can I relate to GOD?

Let’s begin with the definition…

The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Simply stated, God is one in essence and three in person. When we break this definition down we get three crucial truths: (1) the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, (2) each Person is fully God, (3) there is only one God.

DISTINCT PERSONS BUT ONE GOD

The Bible speaks of The Father as GOD (Philippians 1:2), The SON as GOD (Colossians 1:16; Titus 2:13) , and the HOLY SPIRIT as GOD (Acts 5:3-4). But the Bible is clear in Deuteronomy 6:4 (a passage of scripture that would of been memorized by every single Israelite) when it says “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one…” It’s also important to note that the New Testament is not the only place that you discover the trinity. Throughout the Old Testament you have shadows of the trinity everywhere. You have prophecies about Jesus, you have references to the Holy Spirit. Even in the creation story in Genesis you have GOD the Father, and His word (JESUS), and the HOLY SPIRIT hovering over the deep. So the concept of three persons but one GOD is woven throughout the Biblical narrative. Although the word trinity does not exist in scripture it is a word that we have adopted to describe how GOD has revealed himself to us through out scripture and history.

One of the most common questions about this idea is “Are these just three different ways of looking at God, or could they be ways of referring to three different roles that God plays? “ The answer must be no, because the Bible also indicates that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons.

For example, since the Father sent the Son into the world (John 3:16), he cannot be the same person as the Son. Likewise, after the Son returned to the Father (John 16:10), the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world (John 14:26; Acts 2:33). Therefore, the Holy Spirit must be distinct from the Father and the Son. The Bible continually communicates three distinct persons all fulfilling distinct roles while saying The LORD our GOD, the LORD is ONE.

This means that each member of the Trinity has a distinct consciousness. They relate to each other personally — the Father regards himself as “I” while he regards the Son and Holy Spirit as “you.” Likewise, the Son regards himself as “I,” but the Father and the Holy Spirit as “you.”

This is important for many different reasons but one of the greatest reasons is that it communicates something to us about who GOD is. He is relational. He has perfect relationship within the Godhead. Each person relates perfectly to one another in a deep and abiding relationship to one another. This means that GOD is a relational GOD and as we read in scripture each member of the Trinity is uniquely at work to restore relationship with GOD and mankind.

EACH PERSON IS FULLY GOD

Another common mistake many make in the trinity is dividing up the Godhead in the wrong way. Wayne Grudem (a systematic theologian) says it in this way: “We should not think of God as a “pie” cut into three pieces, each piece representing a Person. This would make each Person less than fully God and thus not God at all. Rather, the being of each Person is equal to the whole being of God” (Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1994, page 255). The divine essence is not something that is divided between the three persons, but is fully in all three persons without being divided into “parts.” This is why Paul in Colossians 2:9 can say with confidence “the fullness of the diety of GOD dwells bodily in Christ.

This means we can pray confidently, and trust completely that Jesus is fully GOD and the HOLY SPIRIT is fully GOD, and the Father is fully GOD. Each member is fully at work fulfilling GOD’s promises.

OUR RESPONSE

Although our understanding of the trinity is limited as Isaiah 55:8 says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.” The trinity is another reason to worship GOD. He is bigger and more powerful and more beautiful than we can ever imagine or comprehend yet He has revealed himself to us in ways that allows us to have a real and genuine relationship with Him. The trinity should cause us to desire to know Him more. It also allows us to trust Him fully because He is the source of eternal life and He is capable of accomplishing everything necessary for our salvation. Praying for you Abin as you cherish and share the LORD!

1 Corinthians 13:12
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

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FaithQuest is a safe place for you to ask any question you have about God, Faith & Life in general.

There is certainly no formula for finding the right person to marry. The fact that godly, long-lasting marriages have diverse and varied beginnings shows us that pointing people to look for their spouse in certain locations or during certain ages or within particular circumstances is bound to be frustrating advice for a large percentage of people.

There are however some principles from scripture that we can use to identify a healthy marriage. Therefore, I believe aiming to be a man who would become a godly husband in a healthy, nurturing marriage would certainly be much better advice. That aim would be to emulate Christ’s selfless, sacrificial relationship with His bride, the church (Eph 5:25).

This would turn your attention from trying to find a wife to improving yourself regardless of when, where, or how (or even if!) you meet the girl of your life.

Some things to work on immediately:

Be pure… to lust even in the mind is adulatory. Start phasing out anything that’s causing you to sin in this area.

Start serving others selflessly… you need all the practice you can get. Jesus himself came “to serve and not to be served”.

Give your family quality time… a husband needs to have strong and healthy family ties.

Work hard… a husband provides for and loves his family by doing a good job in everything he does.

Anchored yourself in faith…all a husband has to offer of value to his wife, kids, and family is based off his faith and connect to a purpose-filled life in Christ. If you aren’t already then I’d encourage you to read the Bible everyday and to start conforming your thoughts, words, actions to what it teaches.

If and when God brings that particular girl into your life you will be able to offer her yourself as a man who she can trust to truly live out Ephesians 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her”

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FaithQuest is a safe place for you to ask any question you have about God, Faith & Life in general.

Q: Many times as a answers to my prayers i get a answer as be still and know I’m god. What actually mean be still how God want us to be still? Kindly guide me. 

That response you are getting to your prayers comes straight from the Bible in Psalm 46:10 which says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The meaning of this phrase “be still” in the bible literally means to stop striving, to let go, or to surrender.

So many times in our prayers we are desperately searching for answers to life’s great problems. What this verse reminds us is that when we let go and surrender totally to God’s will for our lives we will find that he is trustworthy, he is good, and he is faithful. Psalm 46:10 is often quoted by believers, but to understand this I think we need to look back to the beginning of the chapter in verse 1 which says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear…” The writer is reminding us that God can handle our burdens and our requests that we bring to him in prayer and we are to surrender those into his power. This does not mean that life will always be easy or work out exactly like we think it should, but it does mean that God will walk with us through these times. We can let go and totally surrender to God’s plan knowing that no matter what comes our way He is our refuge.

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FaithQuest is a safe place for you to ask any question you have about God, Faith & Life in general.

Q: I am 29 years old man, I was born and raised in Muslim family. My problem is I have interest in Christianity but my mind stops me every time I make a decision to convert. I am born male but I love to be female and wear female dress. It give me satisfaction. 

Thank you so much for your honesty in your question. Let me start by saying that God loves you!! It sounds like there is so much going on in your heart as you are coming from a Muslim family, yet interested in Christianity and wrestling with this desire to be female even though you were born male. God is not surprised by this difficulty and He doesn’t want you to feel alone—he sees you, hears your heart and cares for you!

As it relates to you being interested in Christianity, but your mind stops you I would challenge you to give God a chance. What I mean by that is would you be open to reading the Bible and allowing God to speak to you through His word? The book of John is great place to start to just see who this God of the Bible is and what He is really like. If you don’t have a copy of the Bible do let us know and we can give you one you can read or listen to depending on your preference.

In regards to your desire to “be female and dress as a female because it gives you satisfaction” I have simply two thoughts. The first is that God doesn’t make a mistake. In his perfect plan and will he has created you male for a purpose even if you do not understand that right now.

Often times those things that make us happy in the moment do not actually mean they are what’s best for us. The other thought however that comes to mind is that you would know that the God of the universe, maker of heavens and earth has created you…and he loves you! He loves you just as you are. He doesn’t say “Rabeel, change first then come to me” nor does he say “Rabeel, you need to be perfect, then I will love you.” It’s actually the opposite.

The God we see in the Bible says, “Rabeel, I knew you would not be perfect. I know you better than anyone else on this earth. I see your good and I see your bad. I see the things you think no one else sees and guess what? I love you anyway. I love you more than you can ever hope or imagine and I want a relationship with you. Would you trust me? Would you come to me and allow me to begin to change your life?”

My prayer for you would be that you would come to know this God of the Bible in a personal way as He wants to know you!

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FaithQuest is a safe place for you to ask any question you have about God, Faith & Life in general.

Am glad you asked! Your question is very good. It indicates that you have recognized that all claims about God (existence and essence) are not true. In fact, very few recognize that most of them are contradictory at the core and only superficially similar.

You can apply a simple test for truth (as you would for any field of study)

a) Are there logical contradictions within the belief system. We’ll need to apply reason here. Some may say that we should not use reason when it comes to matters of God and belief. But then, if we ask ‘Why we should not use reason?’ they would give us a few reasons. So, obviously reason cannot be disqualified in our search for truth in religion (as in any field where there is a search for truth). Blind belief does not need reason –and these are just superstitions.

b) Is there evidence to support what the belief claims? The Bible says that Jesus lived in space-time history. If it is true we should be able to apply the historical method and find evidence that Jesus really was a person who lived in Israel during the beginning of the first century. The Bible places an even more audacious challenge – it says that if there is no historical evidence for Jesus who rose from the dead, the Christian faith is a lie. It pushes the test for evidence to the extreme. Try it yourself!

c) Finally, it should make a difference in my inner person and my soul responses. If I am not being changed from within to become a better person I would suspect that there is no relevance to the experience of my faith.

It is very rare that a person has real hunger and is willing to overcome the bias of birth, community and culture to seek the true God. But to one who seeks – WILL FIND! We hope you are one of those very rare ones!

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FaithQuest is a safe place for you to ask any question you have about God, Faith & Life in general.