Q: Why is there so much bloodshed and murder in the Old Testament? God sent his people to slaughter entire cities, including men, women and children...

...Why Children? Maybe the men and women have done things God cannot allow, but children... They probably don't even know what they're doing. They're not given a chance to repent!

A:  This is an interesting question that has huge implications. In answering your question, I draw some of my insights from this article (http://tinyurl.com/28hwslu); I encourage you to give that a read if you have time.

I think it’s important to establish that from a divine justice point of view, we are deserving of nothing good. If God is God, and we are imperfect humans that fall short of His standards, then we have no right to demand anything from God. In fact, we should be punished for our sin with death, sickness, suffering, guilt, and every bad thing, in this life and in the life to come; this is what we deserve (Rom 6:23).

This is obviously a very counter-cultural teaching, as the world tells us that we are all entitled to basic rights and freedoms. In Canada, there are basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed to us in our constitution and upheld by the law. According to our laws, we do “deserve” these things. On a side note, I would argue that these are good things, and that we should uphold basic rights. However, we should be careful not to extrapolate these basic human rights to holding any weight before God. As I stated earlier, we aren’t entitled to anything before God. We simply have no bargaining chips to negotiate with (Rom 3:23). That we are NOT dead, and that some even have a chance to know God, is already more than we deserve; it’s bonus.

As you process that reality, another problem in our thinking is separating the God of the OT (Old Testament) from the God of the NT (New Testament). Most of us are more willing to believe in a God that loves, and forgives, and lays His life down for us. It may seem a shock that the God of the OT could be so cruel as to command His people to kill entire cities. Though this loving depiction of God in the NT is not wrong, it is incomplete. And so is the view of a cruel God in the OT. In the NT, God demanded righteousness of his people, and even went to the extent of striking down members of the church (Acts 5) who tried to deceive Him. That standard for righteousness has not been watered down from the OT to the NT. Jesus asserted that he didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it (meaning he wasn’t undoing the OT). Likewise, the God of the OT was not as cruel as we generally make Him out to be; He showed many acts of tender care for His people, and even for those who were not His chosen people. In the story of Jonah, he mercifully sent the prophet to stop the city from living in sin. When they repented, he gladly spared them. Though the times changed, and the writing styles and authors changed, the God of the OT is indeed consistent with the God of the NT. It is important that we look to both to give us a full picture of God.

In fact, to believe that God was cruel then (in the OT), is similar to believing that He is cruel now. God is unchanging (Jam 1:17). When you look at recent catastrophes, like 9/11 or the tsunami, there were great amounts of death. Victims included men, women, children, Christians, Muslims, atheists, all killed by the catastrophes. As I argued above, none of us are truly innocent or undeserving of death, and none of us have a case to bring before God that “He shouldn’t have killed us”. If you believe God to be omnipotent and omniscient (all-powerful and all-knowing), then the fact that He foresaw these disasters, and chose not to prevent them (even though He was strong enough to), could be seen as cruel in the same light.

In reality, what we read about in the Bible is that God’s ways are beyond our ways. It’s difficult to wrap our heads around, but God actually cares more about the victims of catastrophes and injustices; infinitely more than we do. Remember, He created them (Psa 139). And just because He permits the acts to happen, does not mean He’s rejoicing. Instead He mourns. But everything God does is love, and in some way (that is totally beyond our understanding), God can act in love, expand His kingdom, and yet permit these killings.

I think the proper thing to do in our current position is give thanks to God. Give thanks that you’re even alive (when technically we all deserve not to be). Give thanks that you’re able to repent (if you’re reading this, you have the capacity to repent). Give thanks if you’ve heard the Gospel and accepted it. And give thanks for any other good thing in your life (whether friends, family, food, school, etc). It’s all gravy on top.

[answered by Mark Cheng, Agape Counselor]
 

Q: Suppose a Christian did something really sinful, but died in a car accident the same day before they had a chance to repent and ask God for forgiveness. Will this person still be saved?

...And if the answer is yes, then won't haven be a non-perfect place because that person still hasn't been forgiven of their sins, but still entered the Kingdom of God?

A: This is quite an interesting question!  Let's tackle it one step at a time.

Yes, a Christian who did something very sinful and died in a car accident before repenting will be saved.  You have to remember that salvation does not rest upon a constant confessing of every sin a person has ever committed.  When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, the Scriptures tell us that we are granted salvation.  We do not have to keep on asking for forgiveness in order to maintain our status of being saved.  Look at this passage from Colossians 1:13-14

¹³For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

This passage clearly outlines the fact that Christ has brought us out of darkness and into the light and we have been redeemed by His sacrifice.  This sacrifice results in the forgiveness of sins.

So having established the fact that we are forgiven of our sins once and for all through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, a Christian who has full knowledge and acceptance of this is redemption will enter heaven "clean".  The need to literally and legalistically ask for forgiveness and seek repentance after each and every time we sin is unnecessary since we have been given grace already.  However, a mature Christian should possess an attitude of repentance in which he/she recognizes that they are sinners and accept the need for a Saviour.

For further understanding on this topic, please go HERE and read this blog post.

[answered by Pastor KJT]

Q: Faith, Repentance & Discipleship?

Question:

1) Is repentance necessary for salvation?

My understanding is that it is “to change one's mind.”
The Book of Acts seems to especially focus on repentance in regards to salvation (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20).

I am asking this question because we always say that faith and faith alone in Jesus Christ will save us and nothing else.

Can repentance and faith be understood as “two sides of the same coin.”?

2) Even though faith is a free gift, when we preach to people should we tell them to "count the cost" of being a disciple and talk about the narrow road vs the wide road? or should we just tell them to believe and then they can go to heaven?

Answer:

1) Repentance is defined like you said, as “changing one's mind”, about sin. I will try to explain why salvation does not make sense without repentance, and maybe along the way explain how repentance is different from just feeling sorry for some bad things you do.

The notion that faith alone saves us is something we commonly hear. Eph 2:8 says we're saved not by our works so that no one can boast, but rather by grace. So why repentance?

Well, the Bible makes clear that repentance is of critical importance, and is a mark of our faith. There's no such thing as “faith by itself” that is not coupled with a change of action and attitude toward sin. Read these verses to see how repentance is related to salvation: Acts 3:19, 11:18, 20:21. John the Baptist says this in Luke 3:8-14:

“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Though people came to him claiming to have a relationship with God (through God's covenant with Abraham), they were filled with trembling at John's words. John goes on to tell them specifically what they ought to do to repent:

“The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” … “Don't collect any more than you are required to.”

It is important to know that these are not works. It's not penance as though we can make it up to God with our actions. Because back to Eph 2:8, it really is faith in Jesus that saves us, and not sorrow or guilt. But our attitude and our actions tell it all. Our faith is an open book before God, which he judges by our attitude and actions. And when we sin, we need to loathe our sin (and sinful attitudes) the way God does, and come to him humbly.

“We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” - 1 John 2:3-6

Ultimately, salvation is not just a free ticket to heaven and eternal life. In fact, abundant eternal life is something that starts the moment you come to faith in Jesus Christ! Fortunately, God is not only concerned with our final destination; he cares about changing us now on this journey. You can not separate the two, just like you can't separate repentance and salvation.

2) Jesus himself uses the harsh language of counting the cost in Luke 14:25-33.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”

God's Word tells us that the journey of a Christian is not easy. For several reasons, people find this truth hard to take. Today, it's not uncommon to hear preachers and churches that glorify the Christian life, and make it sound like it is only pleasant. However, like the message of Paul and Peter in their day, the Gospel of the Bible was not received well most of the time. Preaching the Gospel results in persecution (Matt 5:11), rejection (Luke 4:14-30), and maybe even our martyr (Acts 7).

But what's the big deal about watering down the message a bit to make it more appealing? Is suffering part of the central message anyways?

Emphatically I say, yes. Living out the Bible is like swimming upstream in the prevailing culture of our world, and will certainly result in great suffering for God. The Gospel never promises a healthy life, a popular life, or a money-rich life. It does not say repentance and obedience are easy. Likewise, we need to honor the truth in our message, and in our witness. It's not wrong to show non-Christians that our lives are not easy or picture-perfect as Christians. We don't need to put on a fake face to be an effective witness.

I want us to remember the familiar Great Commission, where Jesus says:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Notice that we are to make “disciples”. Contrast this to “converts.” Disciples in Jesus' language are people who have counted the cost and decided to follow. Second, notice that Jesus says “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded.” That means we do not only emphasize the things that are easy to say, and eliminate the not-so-pleasant parts. We present God's word as it is.

For further learning, look into what John Piper says about the prosperity Gospel. Though 'prosperity Gospel' usually refers to the popular deception that all God-trusting Christians will get rich in this life, a Christian life without suffering is found on the same principles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLRue4nwJaA.

[Answered by Mark Cheng, Agape Counselor]