Q: Halloween is coming up, and I'm also curious, but is it sinful/wrong for Christians to celebrate Halloween?

...(i.e dress up and go trick or treating just for the entertainment of it?) But when I also mean to celebrate, I do NOT mean to acknowledge that Halloween is a good thing because it's the day of the devil. I hope this question wasn't too confusing, but hopefully you'll get the general idea?? Thanks anyways!


A: Ah, just in time for the season. Great question! Many people have been asking this as well, so trust me, you're not the only one that is confused.

Alright...so let's get one thing out of the way. If you are using the excuse of Halloween to dress provocatively, than YES it is wrong. This one day isn't an excuse to throw all moral and sense of value out the window. So please don't!

Now, I would say that partaking in the festivities of Halloween is a matter of personal choice and conviction. Yes, this holiday was once associated with paganism, occult and evil spirits...but it is no longer the case and simply looked upon as a time where we can wear costumes, get candy and hang out with friends. In essence, there is nothing wrong with this (as long as we're not celebrating the evil!).

However...there are some people that would argue it is wrong to even participate in something that is remotely associated with ghosts, witches and goblins. That stance is perfectly fine as well, as it is something they firmly believe in.

Either way it goes...as long as we are not compromising our faith and our belief, holding true to the truths of Jesus Christ and not believing or celebrating in the spirits that go against our Lord, I think this is a decision that you need to discuss with your family and for you to make on your own. Halloween is not a fundamental of our faith...going trick or treating does not mean that we are renouncing our faith in Christ. It's just something that some choose to do, and others refrain from doing so.


[answered by Pastor KJT]

Q: Is darkness evil?

"Salut, is Darkness evil? In John and throughout, Darkness has been used as imagery to represent anti-God views, but is this application universal? Must we hate darkness? I personally like it, because it is more peaceful and you become more perceptive in it, you are hidden, and so is everything else, not to mention the immunity to UV rays!"

Bonjour! You are correct: John (and other Bible authors) often used light & darkness to describe God and evil (i.e. the absence of God). Consider John 1:5 for instance: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." Also see passages like Matthew 6:23; 8:12 and John 8:12. These verses do not teach believers to avoid dark places or to always have the lamp on in their home. So darkness is not inherently evil. It is the absence of light (see Genesis 1:2). After all, Jesus often woke up, while it was still dark, to pray (Mark 14:32)! The authors are using physical light and darkness to point to a deeper spiritual reality: God is light - the source of all energy, life and moral purity. The absence of light, i.e. darkness, represents the absence of God and therefore the absence of all things good and beautiful.

My final comment/observation in the form of a question: Why do you like being hidden? Remember, nothing is hidden from God who is the light that shines in the deepest, darkness places.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: If people die at birth (or at a young age) when they never got the chance to know Jesus, will God punish or save them?

I've answered this question previously in this post.

Pastor John MacArthur answers your question here:

Q: The anti-christ will be a persecter and perpetrator to Christians and Jews, but will he know what he is the anti-christ?

To be clear, we must know who the anti-christ is. I've answered a question on the anti-christ before, so read this post.

In summary, here is what you should know about the antichrist:

1. The word "antichrist" is only used 4 times in the Bible, especially in the letters of John. Now, to be clear: The antichrist in 1 and 2 John should not be confused with the beast of Revelation, who will appear prior to the second coming of Christ and will cause great suffering and persecution, only to be eventually destroyed by Jesus. The antichrist is mentioned 4 times, while the beast is mentioned 39 times in Revelation. The beast has yet to come, but the antichrist is already here.

2. The word "antichrist" literally means “against Christ” (anti, christos). The antichrist is simply anyone who doesn’t acknowledge Jesus to be The Christ; someone who takes a stance against the fundamental truths about Jesus. So yes, I believe the anti-christ does indeed know who he is: He is someone who embodies an opposition to Christ and is the precursor of the final "antichrist," the Beast of Revelation.

Hope that helps.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: If God wants us to be in heaven with him, why did he create sin to keep us away?

Indeed, God desires to be in relationship with us in this life and in eternity ("heaven"). However, God cannot be blamed for sin, because sinning is a voluntary, willful choice (Romans 3:23). When we sin, we exercise the FREEDOM God gives us. God does not want to force us into any relationship. He wants us to love him freely, so he created us with free-will. Part of having free-will is the ability to sin (i.e. failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude or nature). At its core, sin is turning away from God in rebellion and choosing to live contrary to God's plan.

This is the reason Jesus came (John 3:16-17): To save us from sin and pay the penalty sinners rightly deserve. Jesus died in our place; for our sin (1 John 2:2). Because God's wrath for sin was applied to Jesus on the cross, we can enter into a relationship with God if we confess our sin and trust in Jesus (1 John 1:9)

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: Is getting angry with Satan when going through bad times bad?

A: Satan has always had a bad rep in the bible:

"He was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44, NLT).

Even in Genesis, we first saw the detrimental effects he’s had on human beings... He was the originator of sin! Also, he’s the head of demons in the world. “Demons are evil angels who sinned against God and who now continually work evil in the world.” – Systematic Theology (Wayne Grudem). Demons are the ones who try to oppose and destroy every good work of God… but they are not all-powerful. They are limited by God’s control and have limited power. And the same goes with Satan (even if he is the head of them).

Now back to the question: Although it is clear that Satan and demons contribute to “bad things” and “bad times” we face in life, not ALL sin and bad times are caused by them.

Wayne Grudem says it best:
“In the lives of Christians… the emphasis of the New Testament is not on the influence of demons but on the sin that remains in the believer’s life. Nevertheless, we should recognize that sinning (even by Christians) does give a foothold for some kind of demonic influence in our lives. Thus Paul could say, ‘Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Eph 4:26)

What that basically means is not all bad times that happen to us come from Satan, therefore, we need to reflect on whether or not he’s the one to blame during the “bad times”. Sometimes it may mean taking a hard look at ourselves and seeing if we’ve played a part in sin as well. In short, being “angry” at Satan can be justifiable in some cases, but we cannot make him the scapegoat of all the bad things that happen.

On a side note, come to the Agape MOBS on Oct 30th or the BASIC MOBS on November 6th where we will be talking about righteous anger and looking at how and when Jesus got angry.


[answered by Pastor Shu-Ling Lee of the English Congregation]

Q: I understand that us Christians should be excited for the return of Jesus, but is it a sin to want more time on earth?...

...Time to accomplish things such as making a family, graduating and going to places? If the world ends in 2012, does that mean that Jesus is coming in only a few years? If so, then what is the point to planning our future and going to school knowing that the world will be ending soon.


A: Thanks for sharing this thought with us! Let's break this question down a bit and we'll try to answer every little thing here.

First, the reasons of why you want more time on earth seem innocent enough. Who doesn't want to get married, have a family, travel places? I'm sure no one would argue with that. But in comparison to the coming of Christ, I would dare say that those plans (and all of our plans for that matter), pale in comparison to the glory that would be seen with Christ. I know we all want to have our time here and then go home (as in heaven) after we've had our fun. But that's not the way God works. So I would question whether you would want to honor and glorify God through that marriage, graduation or having a family. Or...do you just want to do those things because you feel as though they would bring YOU joy?

Secondm I asked myself where in the world did you get the idea that 2012 was going to be the day that the world would end? A quick google search answered that question! I understand that there are a lot of prophecies and teachings that tell us that this special day (12.12.12) would be the end times. Including a recent event in the news about a Bubble Boy and needing the money to build an undergrad lair to save him and his family. The truth is, is that we don't know when the end times would come. Jesus does not tell us exactly when He will come back.

The Bible is very clear to us as it says in Mark 13:31-33,

³²"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.

We wont know when Christ will come. Through the history of time, there has always been these theories that people say will be the end of the world. But if you believe in the Bible, and you believe the Word of God as true, the above passage needs to be your standard. Don't fall for what false prophets are saying. Listen to the one that is true.

If we don't know the time or place that Christ is coming, what is the point of planning our future if there's a possible He could come tomorrow?

First of all, I think it would pain God to see all of His children being sluggards, waiting for Him to come. We have been gifted with so many things in our life...they are most definitely supposed to be used to glorify Him! Second, God's commands and His word still stands, even in our anticipation of Christ's coming. It's kind of like people arguing why we need to stop sinning if we know that we'll always be sinners and God will forgive us. Just because we know that, does that mean we can stop trying to be better Christians or stop trying to strive to be like Christ? Of course not! We still are to aim our lives as models of Christ, even though we know that we'll never achieve that perfect standard. Do you write your test with the aim to just get only 70%? No...you write it with the mentality that you want to get 100%. And when you don't, you just work harder again next time!

You'll be interested to know that in the 1st Century - during the time of Paul - people in his community felt this way also. They had just witnessed the Crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ and had heard His promise that He would be returning. And so they (people during the Apostle Paul's time), believed that He would be coming back within their lifetime. And so they prepared themselves for His 2nd arrival. Obviously, Christ had not come yet, and so they had no choice but to go on with their lives and strives to live in the example of Christ.

[This is one of the reasons why we have the written Gospels and the writings of the New Testament. The Jewish culture is a very oral culture; as in they passed down stories not in writing, but verbally. When the people saw that Christ was not coming back any time soon, they felt it was necessary to preserve the truth in writing, so that the future generations would know what really happened. Hence, we have the Gospels and the Epistles.]

Since we do not know the day or hour in which Christ will come back again, we need to simply follow the commands set out for us in the Bible and also with the example given to us with Jesus. We need to still strive to submit and follow our Lord Jesus Christ.

[Answered by Pastor Kelly J. Tam]