"Questions and Answers" Lesson 173

Lesson 173: “QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS”

Q: Am I supposed to by my brother’s keeper?

A: This was the same question that Cain asked God after he had murdered his brother Abel (Gen. 4:9-10). He and God knew where Abel was but God wanted to hear what Cain had to say. Because of this lie he was banished from his homeland and cursed for life (Gen. 4:10-12). Would we not be better off just to accept that we are our brother’s keeper?

The Bible makes it clear that we are our brother’s keeper. In 1st John 3:16 Jesus laid down His life for us and expects us to do the smear for our brother. He commands us to love one another as He loved us (John 13:34), love from the heart (1st Peter 1:22) and see the value of love (1st Cor. 13:13). We are told repeatedly to talk, correct and admonish those we find in sin so that we might save them from the devil’s traps (James 5:20, 1st Tim. 2:25-26, Gal. 6:1-2) and again to love like Jesus loved (1st John 4:10-12).

Q: How should adopted children treat their biological mother and dad? Should they be loved?

A: We are all adopted through Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:5, Gal. 4:5, Rom. 8:15, 23, 9:4). The Ten Commandments include to honor our fathers and mothers which includes adopted and biological parents (Ex. 10:12). Jesus says that the first and greatest commandment is to love God and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself which would also include adopted parents and biological parents (Matt. 22:38). All men will know you are Disciples of Christ if you love one another (John 13:34-35).

Q: Why did Jesus bring up the woman’s long list of past marriages and her present relationship in John 4:16-18?

A: Having captured the woman’s attention and stimulating her curiosity, Jesus then spoke the baffling statement about the living water to cause her to think. The three things He caused her to think about were; who was He? What is the gift of God? What is the living water? Living water, being the Holy Spirit (Jer. 2:13, Zech. 14:8, John 7:38-39), she misunderstood this and thought only of water from the well. Since she was not able to receive His truth (1 Cor. 2:14), Jesus dealt with her most basic problem. Jesus suggested she bring her husband, causing her to confess, therefore allowing Him to interject all the facts of her life that He, being a stranger, knew (John 2:24-25). In a few words Jesus had, kindly, revealed her life of sin and her need for salvation.

Q: For a Christian, what is the danger of using the tongue in the wrong way?

A: James 3:1-12 explains best about the evils of the tongue. James says that the tongue is a world of evil and cannot be tamed. However, Colossians 3:1-17 will give you a guide line for Holy living starting with setting your hearts on things above and ending with “whatever you do, whether in deed or word, do it in the name of Jesus”. Foolish arguments, quarrels, gossip, lies, filthy language from your lips are a few of the way the tongue can be used in the wrong way (2 Tim. 2:23-24, 1 Tim. 5:13, Col. 3:8-9).

Q: How important is a structured daily routine?

A: It is extremely important and God must have thought so since He invented the seven days of the week and structured the Sabbath for routine resting and worship (Gen. 2:2-3, Ex. 20:8-10, 23:12). Routine instills self-discipline and self-control which are mentioned all throughout Scripture. Consider the ant (Prov. 6:6-11), the farmer (Prov. 20:4, 12:11) and your prayer life (Col. 4:2). All of these must have a routine and self-discipline to continue to work the way they are supposed to. Routine keeps you from becoming idle (2 Thess. 3:7-13), keeps your mind and body in harmony (1 Cor. 9:27) and this requires daily strict training (1 Cor. 9:24-27). If you have structured routine in your spiritual life, mental life, physical life, work and home life and financial life then your life is in balance and your will reap a harvest (Gal. 6:9).

Q: How did Daniel portray God in the book of Daniel? I find this hard to understand.

A: Do not be hard on yourself for not understanding the Book of Daniel. Daniel himself did not understand what God told him to write (Dan. 12:8-13). He was also told to seal up what God revealed to Him until the time of the end so even though some have ‘put it together’, actually none can comprehend what will happen (1 Cor. 2:9). Daniel is portraying God as the God of Judgment in the Book of Revelation. Try and read the two books together and it will come together for you. The one like the Son of man appearing in the clouds is in Dan. 7:13 and Matt. 13:26-27 referring to the end of time. Dan. 15:8-18, the end of time is reveled to Daniel in a vision and the same vision is given to John starting in Rev. 1:17. Satan is shown in Dan. 6:17 and Rev. 20:1-3, the beast in Dan. 7:9 and Rev. 13:2-7. God is revealed in Dan. 7:9-10 and Rev. 1:14-15 and the River of Life is mentioned in Dan. 7:10 and Rev. 22:1-2. This book is sometimes referred to as the ‘Apocalypse of the Old Testament’. The name Daniel means ‘God is my Judge’.