If we are saved by grace, where does faith, God's love, and mercy fit into the plan of God?

Sincerely,
Pulling Together The Pieces

Dear Pulling Together The Pieces,

In Eph 2:8, it says that we are saved by grace through faith.  God’s grace makes it possible for us to receive salvation.  ‘Grace’ means ‘gift’, and God gave us the gift of salvation when He sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins (Col 2:14).  However, God also said that in order to receive the gift of salvation, we must place our faith in Jesus.  Jesus is the doorway to God’s grace (Jhn 10:7-9).

God’s love and mercy are why He sent Jesus to die for us – God loved us even while we were sinners (Rom 5:8).  Jesus’ death purchased our salvation and made God’s grace available to all (Tit 2:11), and faith is how we have access to that grace.  And last, but not least, God shows us how to have a living faith by giving us His Word (Rom 10:17).

James 5:14 talks about praying for someone who is sick and "anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord."  I frequently hear of people praying for the sick today, but I've never seen the elders of a church anoint a sick person with oil. Why don't we continue this practice today?

Sincerely, Olives On My Mind

Dear Olives On My Mind,

Anointing with oil was a medicinal practice to remove pain and speed up the healing of a sick person. Olive oil was used in the first century for everything from food to alleviating sunburns. We have to understand the statement in the context of the culture in which it was written. A first century christian would have understood James 5:14 as a call to prayer and a call to make sure the medical needs were taken care of for the ill person.

It is very similar to an earlier statement by James concerning faith and works. In Jas 2:14-17, James addresses the problem of a person that offers kind words without doing what they can to help another. An elder that prayed for a sick christian but didn’t use his authority within the church to get the needy person the necessary medical attention would have been neglecting his duties to shepherd the flock (1 Pet 5:2). Today, we don’t use olive oil to meet people’s medical needs, but the principle of doing what we can to care for them still applies.

Why did God give the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people and didn't save them for the Christians?

Sincerely,
Feeling Less Than A Ten

Dear Feeling Less Than A Ten,

God gave nine of those ten commandments to Christians, too.  Christians do obey nine of the ‘Ten Commandments’ because Christ thought nine of them were worth keeping in the New Testament.

1. Thou shalt not have any other god before me (Ex 20:3, 1 Cor 10:14)
   1. Thou shalt not make graven images or bow down to them (Ex 20:4-5, 1 Jhn 5:21)
   2. Thou shalt not take God’s name in vain (Ex 20:7, Heb 12:28)
   3. Honor thy father and mother (Ex 20:12, Eph 6:1-2)
   4. Thou shalt not kill (Ex 20:13, 1 Pet 4:15)
   5. Thou shalt not commit adultery (Ex 20:14, Heb 13:4)
   6. Thou shalt not steal (Ex 20:15, Eph 4:28)
   7. Thou shalt not bear false witness (Ex 20:16, Rev 21:8)
   8. Thou shalt not covet (Ex 20:17, Eph 5:3)

The only one of the ‘Ten Commandments’ left out is the keeping of the Sabbath (Ex 20:8). We are told that the Old Testament law, which includes the Ten Commandments, was meant to lead the Jews to Christ, but now that Jesus has come, the Old Law no longer binds us (Gal 3:24-25).  Christians aren’t bound to keep the Sabbath holy; Jews were. You have to keep the other nine though.

What does it mean that Jesus was fully God and yet fully man?  Wouldn't this mean that He knew He had to go to the cross?  How could He bear that pain?

Sincerely, Fully Perplexed

Dear Fully Perplexed,

The phrase ‘fully God and fully man’ is not a Bible phrase, but it is accurate.  It means that He was 100% man and 100% God at the same time.  The Bible clearly states that Jesus was a human in every way that we are.  He began life as a child (Lk 2:7), faced physical hunger (Matt 4:2), bled real blood (Jhn 19:34), and wept real tears (Jhn 11:35).  Even in spiritual things, He was human – being tempted as we are (Heb 4:15), having to rely on the Father for His power (Matt 26:53), even admitting some things were outside of His knowledge (Matt 24:36).  In every way, Jesus was completely human as He walked this earth.

Yet, the Scripture is just as clear in saying that Jesus was and is fully God.  Jhn 1:1 says He created the heavens and earth.  Jesus admits He existed before Abraham (Jhn 8:58).  He is given the name Immanuel (Matt 1:23) which literally means ‘God is with us’.  There can be no mistake… Jesus is wholly God and wholly man.

Of course that doesn’t mean we understand how that works.  It just means that is what God says.  Some concepts are so complex that we cannot fully appreciate their intricacies in this life.  Some details and secrets belong to God alone (Deu 29:29).

So Jesus, fully man and fully God, went to the cross.  He did so knowingly (Mk 8:31), voluntarily (Jhn 10:17-18), and with love for mankind in His heart (Jhn 15:13).  Such generosity, selflessness, and mercy could only come from God Himself.

I was reading in the Old Testament about the guy who said he'd kill whatever came out of his house first when he got home from war.  Then his daughter came out, and he had to kill her to keep his promise.  Does that mean a promise is more important than human life?

Sincerely, Vowing to Find the Truth

Dear Vowing to Find the Truth,

No, what it means is that if you don’t know your Bible, you can do really stupid things – like kill your kid and think you are serving God.  The story you are thinking of is Jephthah and his daughter (Judg 11:30-36).  Jephthah was one of the judges in Israel.  It is important to remember that when the Bible is recounting history, it tells the whole story of man.  Just because the Bible says somebody did something doesn’t mean God is condoning it.  David committed adultery, Paul killed Christians, Peter denied the Lord, etc.  When God recounts history, He even includes the stupid things people do.

Jephthah made a rash vow in promising to kill whatever came out of his door first (Judg 11:31).  God tells us that it is a very foolish thing to do (Eccl 5:2).  James points out that a wise man bridles his tongue (Jas 3:2), and Solomon points out that even a fool can look wise when he shuts his mouth (Pr 17:28).  Jephthah made a ridiculous vow and then made a horrible decision in following through with it.

If only Jephthah had read his Bible!  If he had, he would have known the right thing to do.  God told people who made rash vows to confess their sin and make a sacrifice to God for their sin (Lev 5:4-6).  Instead, Jephthah tried to fix one wrong by committing an even more heinous wrong: murder (Deu 5:17).  Jephthah is just another example of how much damage is caused when we don’t learn, study, and live by God’s Word.