Are we assigned angels to help and influence us when we are saved and accept Jesus as our Savior or when/if we are born into a Christian family?

When Jesus said He could call on legions of angels, does that mean we can, too?

Sincerely,
Halo Hunter

Dear Halo Hunter,

There are several situations that God says angels are regularly involved in influencing and protecting human lives.

1. They report to God on behalf of christians who are abused, persecuted, and mistreated (Matt 18:10).
2. They watch and rejoice when the lost repent (Lk 15:10).
3. They are watching and see when we sin (1 Cor 11:10).
4. They carry the souls of the faithful to Paradise (Lk 16:22).
5. They protect and fight over the spiritual direction of nations (Dan 10:13).

The end result is that we don’t know much about angels, but we do know that they influence the lives of all of mankind.  Their very name explains their role.  ‘Angel’ means ‘messenger’.  Angels are the messengers of God, daily fulfilling tasks on His behalf.  Wherever God’s will needs to be fulfilled, angels will not be far.  In the case of Jesus – He had been given specific authority to call upon angels to protect Him at any time (Matt 26:53).  The Bible never states that all christians have been given that kind of authority.  However, when a righteous person prays, God listens (Jas 5:16)… and if God listens, He may very well send His angels to do His bidding on our behalf.

My brother-in-law spends much of his free time playing video games in which he controls a character that commits violent, hateful, and deplorable acts.  How do I communicate to him (with patience and grace) that what he's doing in this 'fantasy' world is still wrong?

Sincerely,
Digital Age

Dear Digital Age,

Video games are not necessarily sinful, but anything – including some video games – that causes us to dwell and meditate on sin should be avoided.  We here at AYP agree that video games focusing on murder, theft, fornication, etc. are a very, VERY bad idea… especially considering the potentially addictive nature of many of these games.  God wants us to dwell upon positive things (Php 4:8), not immorality.  As a man thinks in his heart, so he is (Pr 23:7).  If our worldview is guided by our visions of being a drug-dealing pimp (a vision which some video games portray), then that view will effect our lifestyle and attitude.

As for how to address your brother-in-law… that is a trickier issue.  The first thing to do is pray.  Pray for him (1 Jn 5:16).  Pray for wisdom (Jas 1:5).  Only by the grace of God and His Word can we affect the lives of others.  Feel free to show your disdain for these types of games, but make sure to point out why.  Make it clear that you don’t disdain him – but the content of the games.  Otherwise, let the purity of your own example pave the way to making a difference (Matt 5:16).  There is no easy one-size-fits-all answer for how to approach others.  All we can do is make sure to remove sin from our own lives first (Matt 7:3-4), and be prepared to give a defense for the hope that is in us (1 Pet 3:15).

I heard a sermon on obeying the government.  There was a verse that mentioned not overthrowing the king.  Which made me wonder... were the founding fathers sinning by leading the American Revolution against the king of England?

 

Sincerely,
Patriot or Traitor

Dear Patriot Or Traitor,

Your question is a profoundly difficult one to answer because:

1. Most Americans are thankful for the freedom they enjoy because of the American Revolution and are reluctant to consider their national heroes as potential sinners.
2. We were not there and cannot see the world through the founding fathers’ eyes.  We are only left with what details the history books give us.

Because of these two things, it is hard to give a definitive answer.  Realistically, any answer we give ends up being an “armchair quarterback” sort of statement.

Biblically, it is wrong to rebel against a government in almost all circumstances (Rom 13:1-2).  The only times where it is permissible are:

1. When the government is attempting to stop you from obeying God (Acts 5:29).
2. The government is preventing you from providing for your family’s basic needs (1 Tim 5:8).
3. The government is seeking to unjustly persecute and kill/harm you, your family, other christians, etc. (2 Cor 11:32-33).

If the government is attempting to do any of these things, a christian has biblical justification for rebelling against the government’s command.  That is what the Bible says on the matter.  The question is whether or not the American Revolution fits that criteria.  Depending on which historian you discuss the issue with, you will get a different answer.  Some will say, “Yes, it met that criteria,” while others will say, “No, it didn’t,” and some others will say, “Some people who rebelled met the criteria, and other’s didn’t.”  In our opinion (we now move into opinion, and leave the realm of Scripture), the last view is correct.  Some founding fathers rebelled out of a deep-seated spiritual conviction, and others rebelled out of simple frustration with the financial hardships that England placed upon them.  But in the end, all we can do is make sure that how we live is biblically sound – and leave the judgment of others to God.

In the book of Revelation, we are told not to hurt the earth.  But I have heard a lot of christians say that they won't recycle, drive a fuel-efficient car, or even pick up litter!  Isn't being "green" part of God's orders?  Thanks.

 

Sincerely,
Green Thumb

Dear Green Thumb,

The verses you are referring to are Rev 7:3 and Rev 9:4, but they are severely torn from their context.  In fact, the verse right before (Rev 7:2) points out that God had appointed angels for the specific purpose of hurting the earth.  The whole book of Revelation is dealing with figurative language and should not be taken literally because God says it is a symbolic book that uses figurative and picturesque language (Rev 1:1) to address a spiritual battle the first century church was fighting.  See our post “Left Behind” for further details.

As far as addressing the issue of being “green”, God did give mankind dominion over the earth to subdue it and use it (Gen 1:27-30).  As stewards of the earth, we have a responsibility to be faithful (1 Cor 4:2).  There is some debate over whether fuel-efficient cars, recycling, etc. are a necessary part of taking care of the earth though.  The specifics of environmental research are highly debatable, and we can’t be too dogmatic one way or the other.

I personally believe that consuming any amount of alcohol is sinful.  Yet, so many people argue with me on this subject.  I continue to hear that Jesus drank wine and that it was fermented.  I believe that Jesus was perfect, and I honestly do not believe that the Son of God would sit down at a table with his disciples and do this.  I believe that the wine the Bible speaks of is simply grape juice. Please explain this to me.  Am I right for frowning upon alcohol, or is it simply okay to drink...as long as it is not abused?

 

Sincerely,
Fomenting Over Fermenting

Dear Fomenting Over Fermenting,

The Greek word for ‘wine’ is ‘oinos’.  ‘Oinos’ simply means ‘grape juice’… sometimes fermented, sometimes not.  So whenever you see the word ‘wine’ in your Bible, it may be talking about fermented or non-alcoholic grape juice.  New wine is grape juice that hasn’t had the time to fully ferment; old wine is alcoholic and fully fermented.  This explains why in Lk 5:39 Jesus states that people would choose the old wine over the new wine.

We also have to understand that the wine that was drunk in Jesus’ day was made using the natural yeasts found on the outside skin of the grape.  When grapes are crushed, the grape juice mixes with this wild yeast and ferments the juice.  These natural yeasts will only ferment wine to about 13% alcohol content, not the 17% or higher of many wines found today.  Furthermore, most wine was diluted anywhere from one part wine with one part water to as much as one part wine with four parts water.  In fact, Roman soldiers were known to only drink a type of wine called ‘posca’ which was an especially diluted mixture of water, bitter herbs, and older wine.

We say all this to tell you that wine in Jesus’ day is not the same as today.  Just because Jesus turned water into wine doesn’t mean it was fermented wine.  The word ‘wine’ is too generic for one to automatically assume that it was highly alcoholic.  God never specifically condemns drinking wine, but He does condemn ‘strong drink’ (Pr 20:1), drinking parties (1 Pet 4:3), and drunkenness (Rom 13:13).  Almost all alcohol that is consumed today would fall into the category of ‘strong drink’ because our alcoholic beverages are artificially fermented to increase their alcoholic content, and they are rarely diluted with water.  We would all do well to heed the words of Pr 23:31-32 and avoid alcohol as much as is possible.