Are there degrees or measures of religious faith?  Is faith a gift from God, or do we generate faith from our own soul and heart?  Why do some people seem to have more faith than others?  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Learning To Be Loyal

Dear Learning To Be Loyal,

The ability to be saved through faith is a gift from God (Eph 2:8), but faith is something we are responsible for.  Faith comes from hearing what God says and then acting upon it (Rom 10:17).  Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith (Matt 14:31)… which means the amount of faith we have is our responsibility.

Some people have no faith (Rom 3:3), others have little faith (Matt 6:30), and some have great faith (Matt 8:10).  Some people have more faith than others because they have worked harder to cultivate faith in God.  It is our duty to increase in faith and service to God.  One of the simplest ways to measure our faith in God is by looking at our behavior (Jas 2:18).  How we live is a reflection of our loyalty to the Lord.  It is impossible to please God without an active and practiced faith in Him (Heb 11:6).  We must study, learn, and apply God’s Word daily.

I am a committed christian, and I accept Christ as my Savior, but I don’t understand some of the things God does to people who do not believe, and I believe this is holding me back from truly feeling Him in my heart.  These are some of the things I do not understand: there are truly great people out there who do not know Christ or do not believe.  Those who are brought up believing something else are innocent, for they have no choice. To them, it is like someone trying to convert you to Buddhism; you would not convert because you were brought up believing something else, and the consequence is to burn in hell for all eternity.  The human mind can’t even conceive of eternity; that’s the most horrifying thing I can imagine. God is like our father, but could you send your son to burn in hell, even if you could do something about it?  Please help me understand this; my faith most likely depends on this.  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Voice For The Lost

Dear Voice For The Lost,

There are several things to consider when wrestling with the issue of the lost going to hell.  The first thing to remember is that God doesn’t send people to hell – we choose to go there.  Sin is a choice made by responsible adults (see the story of the first sin in Gen 3:1-7).  When we sin, we die (Rom 6:23).  God didn’t make us spiritually dead; He created us with spiritual life (Gen 2:7).  God originally wanted all mankind to live eternally with Him in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:8)… we are the ones who chose to break that perfect pattern.

God says that everyone has the opportunity and freedom to choose Him – regardless of what background we come from.  The very universe screams of the nature of God, so all are without excuse (Rom 1:20).  We all have a responsibility to seek out God, and He promises that all those who seek Him will find Him (Matt 7:7, Matt 5:6).  God never condemned us to hell; we did it to ourselves.  God has offered a payment for our souls through His Son Jesus Christ’s blood (Jhn 3:16).  Jesus is a road back to God (Jhn 14:6), a road we don’t deserve (Rom 5:8).  All of us have rebelled against God (Rom 3:23), and God in His infinite mercy gives us a second chance.

When we start thinking in terms of “God opening the way to heaven through His love” instead of “God condemning almost everyone to hell”, then we begin to get a proper picture of the way God views eternity.

I was watching a History Channel documentary about God vs. Satan, and my dad asked me if I believed in all of that stuff like the rapture.  I said, “Yes.”  He said it was a bunch of garbage and asked my mom what she thought.  She thought it was made up, too.  This really disappointed me to find out that my parents are not true believers and don’t believe everything in the Bible.  I am very sad.  What is the right thing to do?  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Disappointed Kid

Dear Disappointed Kid,

We don’t believe in the rapture either… but we do believe in everything the Bible says.  To clear up the misunderstanding about the Rapture, we recommend you read “Premillenialism” and “Tripping Over Tribulations”… if you want even more in-depth study on the subject, listen to our series on the book of Revelation.

However, that particular issue sounds like more of a side issue than your real problem.  If we understand you correctly, you are wondering what to do to try and bring the truth of God’s Word to your parents.

It is never easy to touch the hearts of our relatives; even Jesus said that He received respect everywhere but his hometown and household (Mk 6:4).  All you can do is let your light shine (Matt 5:16), be prepared with answers when questions are asked (1 Pet 3:15), and be unafraid to stand firm by your morals.  Jesus made a great impact as a child by asking humble questions at opportune moments (Lk 2:46).  Honor your parents and never be rude or disrespectful (Eph 6:2), but a kindly asked question about why they believe what they do can challenge their current worldview.

Does it matter what religion you are as long as you worship the right god because all the Ten Commandments say is to ‘worship no other gods’?  And if it does matter, how do you know you have the right religion?

Sincerely,
Looking Around

Dear Looking Around,

It does matter what religion you are – it matters more than any other decision you will ever make.  Jesus said that He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him” (Jhn 14:6).  This single statement by Christ nullifies Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, etc.  Jesus is the only one that offers salvation to mankind.

But the Bible takes it one step farther.  Paul condemned the Jews because they worshipped God without knowledge (Rom 10:2).  He also warned that there would come a day when false teachers infiltrated Christ’s church and started teaching things contrary to Scriptures (2 Tim 4:2-4).  Paul told the first century christians to watch out for the “falling away” (2 Thess 2:3).  Division and false teaching in the name of Christ is a very common thing.  There are tens of thousands of different religions in America that refer to themselves as “Christian”… yet God says there is only one true faith (Eph 4:4-6).  So how can you know whether a church is Christ’s church?

Jesus says that we can know them by their fruits (Matt 7:15-20).  A church is faithful if the way they worship, preach, and live is in accordance with Christ’s teachings.  A faithful church keeps Christ’s commandments (Jhn 15:14).  Most churches today have added all sorts of things to their worship (from rock bands to belly dancing) and leadership structure (popes, community boards, franchised churches, etc.) that were never intended by Christ.  We should never add to God’s Word, and we should never take away from it (Rev 22:18-19).  A faithful church should be able to give you book, chapter, and verse for everything they do.  We recommend the posts “Down With Denominationalism”, “Finding A Church”, and “Preacher Interrogation” for further information on what questions to ask.  If you would like us to help point you in the right direction of a congregation in your area, please e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we will do our best to put you in contact with a Bible-founded congregation.

Hi.  I have a few questions that need answering.  Thank you in advance for your answers.

1. Are the souls of the fallen angels on this earth age?  I have heard that all souls that were in the first age, came to the second, but a verse from the Bible reads: Jude 6 “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” …from what I understand of the passage, the fallen angels do not enter the second earth age.
2. If the souls of the fallen angels are in this earth age with us, can they be saved, or is it too late?
3. Can people who are “Satan’s children” in this earth age, be saved?
4. Is everyone who is on earth now someone who was indecisive in the first age, or did some of us follow God then as well?  I thought we already decided to follow God, and that is why we are in this earth age.

Sincerely,
Time Trials

Dear Time Trials,

All of these questions can be answered by clearing up a misunderstanding about the ages of the earth.  Some people teach that there have been multiple earth ages: the first earth age was a time that existed millions of years before Adam and Eve, the second earth age is when we are currently living, and the third earth age has yet to come to pass.  The Bible doesn’t teach this.

Genesis 1 teaches that God created the whole world in six days, and it was immediately inhabited by Adam and Eve who became the father and mother of all mankind (Gen 3:20).  The Bible never speaks of a world existing before the earth we know today.  At one point, God flooded the earth, but that didn’t destroy all of mankind because Noah’s family survived (1 Pet 3:20).  One day, this earth will be destroyed by fire and replaced with a new, spiritual heaven and earth (2 Pet 3:10-13).

The fallen angels spoken of in Jude 6 are doomed for destruction in that day of fire, and all mankind has an opportunity to repent and come to Christ before that great Day of Judgment (2 Cor 6:2).

I’ve been listening to the series of lessons Lowell has been preaching on Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage.  As if things weren’t already confusing enough, when I was checking Lowell’s interpretation of Matthew 19:9, I noticed my New American Standard Bible simply says, “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”  It includes a footnote saying, “Some early manuscripts add ‘and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.’”  I’m somewhat familiar with textual criticism, but usually I don’t worry too much about it because the debated passages don’t have major doctrinal implications.  This case seems a bit more significant to me.  How can I know which version is what was actually in the original Greek manuscript?

Sincerely,
It’s Greek To Me

Dear It’s Greek To Me,

There are two major texts that are used in Bible translations, the Nestle-Aland & United Bible Society Text (often referred to as the ‘NU’ text) and the Majority text (referred to as the ‘M’ text).  In Matt 19:9, the NU text doesn’t include the phrase “and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery”, but the M text does.  However, this doesn’t create any sort of doctrinal problem because in Matt 5:32, the NU text does include that phrase.  Therefore, even if the phrase isn’t included in Matt 19:9, it is in Matt 5:32.  No matter which version is the more accurate (and yes, that is a greatly debated topic), both include that phrase somewhere within the text.