Questions On Christians Relating To Others (2)

Question 6. For our sick child we prayed for healing for her. I also took her to a doctor for medicine and my husband thought I was showing lack of  faith. What does the Bible say about medicine and doctors.

Answer In Luke Chapter 10 Jesus sent out the Seventy with power to "heal the sick" and to preach to them "the kingdom of God is come night unto you. (v. 9)" They returned overjoyed at the power they had that "even the devils were subject" unto them. But Jesus rebuked them(v. 20) saying their joy should be over the fact their names were "written in heaven." They should have been overjoyed at being able to see and hear things which many prophets and kings had desired to see and hear.

Then a certain lawyer come to Jesus asking what he must do in order to"inherit eternal life" or, to have "his name written in heaven". Jesuscould have answered the man directly, but would rather the man figure it out for himself so He asked him a question, "What is written in the law?" In other words, what does the Bible say? He said he was to love God supremely and he showed that love by loving his neighbor as himself. Jesus said then do it, but the lawyer "willing to justify himself said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?" 

Jesus tells about a certain man that was robbed and beaten and left half dead. A priest and Levi passed by on the other side, but a Samaritan had compassion on the man and doctored him as best he could and then took him to the inn. Jesus asked which of the three was his neighbor?  He aid it was the one that showed mercy. Jesus again said do it. (The priest and Levi had both been to "worship," but their worship was empty. The reason the Samaritan helped the man was because he had compassion on him which was why he could extend mercy. He could extend mercy was because she first saw his own need of God’s mercy. When we understand our need of God’s mercy we won’t be seeking to justify ourselves, as the lawyer, but will acknowledge our complete dependence upon God. And because we completely depend upon Him we will love Him with all our hearts. And we express that love to God by loving His children, our neighbors. 

Next, we see the picture of two women. Martha is "careful and troubled" about the things of this world, but Mary  had chosen "that good part" in sitting at the feet of Jesus. Notice Jesus said "one thing is needful". What if Martha had the cleanest house and had cooked the best meal, but she did not love Jesus with all her heart and soul? She was seeking another means to "justify herself", as the lawyer had. The most important in this life is to love God with all our heart and soul, the physical things are all secondary and we are not to be "careful and troubled" about them.. In Chapter 11 one of Jesus disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. What it must have been like to hear and see the Son of God pray to His Father. This man must have sensed how far different his prayers were from that of Jesus.  But Jesus prayed as He did because of the  love he had for His Father.  In the prayer he said to pray (Luke 11:3)  "Give us day by day our daily bread." And He closes by saying God will indeed to this by asking (Luke 11:13), if the parents of the world will feed their children physical food, why wouldn’t the heavenly Father feed His children spiritual food? (In this instance He is talking about sending the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles into all truth in Acts 2.) He is saying the most important thing is not physical food, or physical health, but spiritual food and spiritual health. That is, do we love God with all our heart and soul? Does Jesus mean we are to pray for our daily food and God will miraculously provide it? Does God not have the power to provide it today as He did the manna in the wilderness? Jesus could have done it then. When Jesus fed the five thousand they wanted to make him king because they thought he would feed them miraculously. They did not see the purpose, or the spiritual intent, of the miracle. The purpose of miracles in the Bible was to confirm the Word. Miracles have ceased (1
Corinthians 13:8-13 and other passages) because the Word has been confirmed and completed. If it does not show a lack faith to go to work or buy food  to keep our family healthy why should it to go to work to buy a medicine (doctor’s food) to help our family get healthy. 

Prayer is the expression of our trust in God that He will take care of us and provide our necessities (Matthew 6:31-33). Again these verses are not saying if we go to the grocery store, or department store to buy food and clothes, we am showing a lack of faith in God. These verses are saying, if we will put God and His kingdom first in my life, God will see that I have the necessities of life. But God has not promised there will not be any hardships and difficulties in this life or that Christians will never become sick. He has promised if I will remain faithful through these difficulties and not lose my faith, when my life ends He will continue to taking care of me throughout eternity. 

I know we all hate to see those we love become sick, especially our children. But prayer is not some magical wand that we wave one time and magically everything changes. Some who question God and some who
question the existence of God ask, "If there is a God why is there sickness?" Sure we all want our children to be healthy all their lives, but the real thing that should concern us is "Are they spiritually healthy? Are we teaching them the Word of God? And do they see in our lives that we love and trust God with all our heart and soul?"

I think God allows sickness in order to teach us: (1) Dependence   upon God (even the rich get sick) (2) Patience (we want everything now) (3) Appreciation (to help us learn to appreciate the good health and physical blessings we have) (4) Hope (If everything ran smoothly our affections would be tied to this world and we would not be looking forward to being with God in heaven.) (5)Trust (That the all-knowing, all-powerful God knows and does what is best .) Contact Danny

Question 7. Is there anything in the bible that says God is against men wearing earrings?

Answer No, there is nothing in the Bible that says men shouldn't wear earrings. The reasoin many people teach against it is that everyone who tries to live as a Christian (I'm using that word as the Bible uses it, not as the world) has a responsibility to try to teach others. See Matthew 28:18-20.

The fact is that guys wearing earrings generally provoke a negative response in society. I'm not making a judgement, just a statement of fact. For example, most guys won't wear their earrings to an important job interview. The reason is it evokes negative responses in people.

So it is a question of influence. Can the responsible Christian man influence people as well wearing an earrinng as he can not wearing one? I think the answer is no.

It is a judgement call, but the wise choice is not to wear one.  Contact Michael

Question 8. I am a Christian, and I was wondering what  the Bible  says about forgiving people?

Answer As to this important question, here is a detailed outline that should help.

1. Children having tremendous fight while playing together. There are hurt feelings and no one is speaking to the other. Yet, in a few hours or less, they are playing together again? How is that possible? The answer – forgiveness.
2. Unlike us many times, children seem to be more capable of showing the simplicity, beauty and power of forgiving one another.
3. In these lessons, we want to focus on our obligation to forgive each other, obstacles that prevent us from forgiving others, the key to learning how to forgive each other and finally what is involved in forgiving one another.
4. As Jesus said, unless we become like children, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 18:1-4.

1. Why Should We Forgive Others?
1. The simple answer – we are commanded to forgive others. Eph. 4:31-32.
2. Secondly, if we do not forgive others, then our salvation is at stake. Matt. 6:14-15.
2. Hindrances To Forgiving Others
1. Hurt and angry feelings. Prov. 15:1, 17:13-14.
2. Self-righteousness - believing we are "perfect" in our behavior or are less dependent upon God’s mercy while we despise others and hold them to a merciless standard. Luke 7:36-50, 18:9-14, 1 John 1:8-9.
3. Seek revenge against others. Matt. 5:43-48.
4. Carnal-minded - following the world rather than seeking to be Christ-like in our behavior. Gal. 5:14-17.
5. We forget who the Judge against sin is. Gen. 50:15-21, James 4:11-12.
3. God’s Forgiveness Toward Us
1. Our need for Divine forgiveness.
1. Sin, violation of God’s law, separates us from Him. Isa. 59:1-2.
2. God is justified in bringing wrath against sin. Eph. 2:1-3.
2. Nature of Divine forgiveness.
1. God is both just and merciful. While providing a way for sin to be punished, He also provides a way for the sinner to be saved, forgiven. Rom. 3:23-26
2. God casts our sin aside, not holding it against us any longer. Psa. 103:8-14, Heb. 8:12.
3. Conditions of Divine forgiveness.
1. Generally speaking, forgiveness is extended potentially to all men. 2 Tim. 4:10.
2. However, to those who would receive forgiveness, they must obey the gospel, complying with the Apostles’ teaching. Acts 2:36-38.
3. Beyond this, we must continue to confess and turn away from sins in order to receive continual forgiveness from God. 1 John 1:9.
4. After receiving Divine Forgiveness.
1. After receiving forgiveness, sins are no longer held against us by God. Heb. 8:12.
2. Further, our relationship with God changes from being condemned to being approved. Rom. 6:3-4.
4. Forgiveness Toward One Another
1. As we understand and appreciate God ‘s forgiveness toward us, this should show us how we are to forgive one another.
1. Plain statements that tell us of the link between God’s forgiveness toward us and our forgiveness toward others. Matt. 6:14-15, Eph. 4:31-32, Col. 3:12-13.
2. An illustrations of this principle. Matt. 18:15-17, 21-35.
2. Nature of our forgiveness.
1. Rather than being absolute, like Divine forgiveness, our forgiveness has to do with maintaining our own relationship with God. Matt. 6:14-15.
2. Further, it has to do with re-establishing our relationship with others that, as or after they ask forgiveness from God, seek our forgiveness also. 2 Cor. 2:6-8.
3. Conditions for forgiving others.
1. Christians.
1. Repentance. Luke 17:3-4.
2. Confession of sins. James 5:16, 1 John 1:8-9.
3. Pray to God. Acts 8:18-24.
2. Difference between extending forgiveness to Christians and to those in the world. Luke 23:33-43, Acts 7:54-60.
4. Differences between our forgiveness and Divine forgiveness.
1. We must receive God’s forgiveness in order to be saved.
2. God is perfectly just and merciful.
3. Forgiveness based on God’s standard, not ours.
5. After forgiving others.
1. All persons’ relationship with the Lord should be restored. Both those who have sinned and those who have forgiven them. 1 John 1:7.
2. If possible, our relationship with one another ought to be restored.
3. Sometimes however, there may be consequences that occur, even though God forgives us and others forgive us. Example – If someone murders another person, they might go to jail or even be executed as a consequence of the sin. However, we are still obligated to forgive them, if they confess and repent of this. Look at the apostle Paul.
5. Conclusion
1. Although hard, we are commanded to forgive each other.
2. There are many hindrances to this. Primarily, we may refuse to recognize our own need for God’s forgiveness.
3. God links our forgiving others to His forgiving us. Therefore, we ought to appreciate how He forgives us. This will help us more easily forgive others.
4. After one repents, confesses sins and prays to God for forgiveness, we should forgive them as God has directed. Our salvation depends on it.
5. Then, as we forgive one another, our relationship with God and them can be what it ought to be.  Contact Gary

Question 9  What does the Bible say about abortion?

Answer As to this very important question, the following material at http://mywebpages.comcast.net/davidriggs01/abortion.htm answers it very well.