CovenantCommunity Church

TeenGroup SS 28 Aug 1994

 

                                          SOMEQUESTIONS ASKED BY TEENS

 

1. What about incest?  Was it OK in the OT but not today?

            OTin fact has major prohibitions against incest (Lev 18:1-18; Lev 20:10-21),which are carried on by implication in NT (note 1 Cor 5); not a great concernwhen there was no one but relatives to marry (early Genesis) and not always pun­ishedin narrative sections.

 

2. What about fossils?

            Theyreally exist; they give every appearance of being remains of plants and animalsthat once lived on earth.  Xnsdebate over their age, but they do not look like they were laid down only a fewthousand years ago in a one-year flood.

 

3. Do people die in the Millennium?

            Soit appears; see Isa 65:17-25, Zech 14:16-19; certainly at end, Rev 20:7-9.

 

4. Judgment: who is involved, when,where, etc.?

            Xnsdebate exactly how many judgments there are and when they will occur.  There is at least one, at the end ofthe millennium, sketched in Rev 20:11-15, usually called the "great whitethrone" judgment.  I thinkthis is the same event as narrated in Ps 50 and Matt 25:31-46.  That Xns will have to answer for whatthey have done with their lives is indicated in 2 Cor 5:10.

 

5. Define "adultery."

            TheGreek word (moicheuo)usually translated "adultery" or "to commit adultery"refers to having sexual relations with someone else's wife.  The broader term for sexual sin (por­neuo) is usually translated "to commitfornication" or "to commit sexual immorality" and covers anysexual activity outside marriage and all the perversions forbidden by Scrip­ture.

 

6. Assurance: can we lose oursalvation?

            Thosewho are really saved cannot lose their salvation (e.g., John 10:27-29; 5:24;Rom 8:28-30).  However, it ispossible for a person to think he/she is saved and be mis­taken.  So Scripture calls upon us to make ourcalling and election sure (2 Pet 1:4-11; 1 Jn 5:13).

 

7. Where did God come from?

            Godhas always existed and therefore did not "come from" anywhere (Ps90:1-2).  Either something iseternal, or something can come into existence without a cause.  The Bible indicates (and scientificevidence agrees) that the universe has not always existed.

 


8. Who isfighting the Battle of Armageddon? World vs. who?  Is itnuclear?

            The"battle of Armageddon" may be a bad name for a battle that actuallytakes place at Jerusalem.  Thestaging area for Antichrist's troops is apparently at Armageddon (Rev16:12-16).  The battle appears tobe at Jerusalem (Rev 19:11-21; Zech 14:1-15).  The "kings of the earth" and "all thenations" are gathered against "the armies of heaven" (presumablyboth returning believers and angels) and Israel­ites.  Don't know what the Antichrist and hisarmies will try to use, but Jesus will destroy them with a command (the swordcoming from his mouth).  Not surewhat weapons angels and believers use.

 

9. Why doesGod talk in riddles, parables, and not in "black and white"?

            Mostof what God says is pretty straightforward.  But when people want to play games with what he has said,God will oblige them by letting them get tangled up in trying to figure out hisriddles, parables, etc. (see Matt 13:10-17).

 

10. Is it a sin to lie in order tosave a life?

            Dependson who is lying to save whose life. If we lie by denying we are Xns when telling the truth would endangerour life, we are certainly sinning. However, God instructed Samuel (1 Sam 16:1-5) to give a different reasonfor his visit to Bethle­hem so that Saul would not find out.  This is similar to what Rahab did atJericho (Josh 2:1-21) and the midwives in Egypt Ex 1:15-20).

 

11. Gardenof Eden: is it still here on earth? Will we be able to go there?

            Notstill here on earth; we have pretty detailed satellite photos of the wholeplace.  Perhaps destroyed by theFlood, or just by passage of time. The tree of life will be re­stored to the New Jerusalem (Rev22:1-2).

 

12. Can you go to hell and then changeyour mind and go to God?

            Thougha number of people would like to think this is the case, there is no biblicalwarrant for it.  See Matt 25:46 andLk 16:19-31.  It may well be thatpeople in hell will prefer to be there rather than repent and submit to God.

 

13. Who is going to rule the Lake ofFire?

            God.  Notice how God puts the fallen angelsin hell awaiting the judgment (2 Pet 2:4); assigns an angel to put Satan in thebottomless pit (Rev 20:1-3); how He sends people to the Lake of Fire on thebasis of His judgment (Matt 25:41-46; Rev 20:11-15).  Certainly Satan will not rule there; he will be the chiefperson being punished.

 

14. Why did God create Lucifer, if heknew he was going to fall?

            Taking"Lucifer" to be Satan (there is some argument about this), the reasonfor God creating Satan is presumably similar to his reason for creating Adamand Eve (whom he also knew were going to fall).  God, like a good story writer, has purposes more importantthan the comfort of his creatures or even his own comfort.  The story of this world tells us agreat deal about (1) how terrible sin is, (2) what it is like to be in rebel­lionagainst God, (3) what a cost God had to pay to be able to forgive us and stillremain just, (4) how much he loved us in order to be willing to pay this cost,(5) how great it is to be forgiven...

 

15. If you live by faith, why did Godperform miracles?

            Faithis trust in God.  Miracles functionto show that a prophet (or such) is not just making up his story.  They don't by themselves guarantee theprophet is from God, since Satan can do miracles of a sort.  Miracles are not opposed to faith.  Nor is faith opposed to reason.  We should try to understand as much aswe can about who God is and how he works, realiz­ing at the same time thatwe won't under­stand it all. Faith is not only used to "fill in the gaps" where we don'tunder­stand, but also to trust God when he is taking us through difficultcircumstances.  In fact, the needfor faith will apparently remain even after we see God face-to-face, when weunder­stand far more than now, and when we will not be going throughdifficul­ties (1 Cor 13:8-13).

 

16. What do angels look like?

            Don'treally know what they actually look like. When they make appearances to humans, they have a human form.  See the many incidents in OT and NT.  The cherubim and seraphim of Exo­dus,Ezekiel and Revelation have wings and several dif­ferent sorts of faces,but we don't know that these are angels. There is no ex­plicit remark in Scripture that angels have wings.

 

17. Are you isolated in hell?

            Don'tknow.  The rich man seems to beisolated in Hades (Luke 16:19-31), but he can talk with Abraham.  The nations in Sheol are pictured inEzk 32:18-32 as responding to Pharaoh when he is cast down there.  We don't know for sure what in thesepictures is literal and what figura­tive.