I have a friend who always wants to talk about religion but doesn't understand my beliefs. I am a christian, and when I try to explain to her that the Bible is literally interpreted, she doesn't understand and replies with, "Well, that’s your and your church's interpretation of the Bible" and "The same literal verse can mean different things to different people."  What verses or explanation can I use as examples of how the Bible should be interpreted and why?  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Literally Puzzled

Dear Literally Puzzled,

What you are trying to do is prove to your friend that the Bible is God’s literal word and that God intends for it to be understood in a definite fashion.  Here are a couple of different ways to try and get this concept across to your friend:

1. Peter said that the Bible is not a matter of our own private interpretation (2 Pet 1:20-21).  When God spoke, He didn’t mean for His Words to be interpreted how we wished.  In fact, the apostle Paul condemns our own interpretation as “perverting” God’s Word (Gal 1:6-7).  There is a right and a wrong way to read the Scriptures.
2. If there is more than one correct way to interpret the Scriptures, it would be impossible to have unity.  Unity can only happen if we agree on the same standards.  If people each have their own personal interpretation of the Scriptures, there is no common standard to build unity upon.  God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor 14:33).  God commands us to have unity, and that there is only one faith (Eph 4:3-6).  Show your friend Ephesians chapter four and explain that unity cannot happen without a single standard.
3. God purposely made sure that every word of the Bible was exactly as He intended it to be (Matt 5:18).  Everything that the prophets wrote was directly from the mind of God (1 Cor 2:12-13).  If God put that much effort into preserving the accuracy and detail of the Bible, we cannot disregard that.  We must be as accurate in our reading of the Bible as God was in writing it.
4. Jesus believed there was a right and a wrong way to read the Bible.  He accused the Pharisees of disregarding God’s teachings (Matt 21:42).  He also told the Sadducees that they didn’t understand the Scriptures (Matt 22:29).  If Jesus says there is a right and a wrong way to view the Scriptures, then we must make sure we are rightly discerning God’s Word.

There is no guarantee any of these things will work with your friend, but we wish you the very best as you try and share the Gospel.  Hopefully, she will be willing to listen with an open and honest heart.

I know slavery existed in the Bible, but does that mean it’s not wrong?

Sincerely,
Abolitionist

Dear Abolitionist,

The Bible does not ever directly condemn slavery, but it does condemn treating slaves like property.  In the Old Testament, God allowed a bankrupt Jew to sell himself as a slave to pay off his debts, however he was not to be abused or mistreated by his owner (Lev 25:39-40).  God reiterates this idea in the New Testament.  Slaves are to serve their masters loyally and faithfully (1 Tim 6:1, Tit 2:9).  Masters are to treat their slaves as fellow humans, without threatening or hurting them (Eph 6:9).  Masters are to be just and fair to their slaves (Col 4:1).  God never says it is wrong to have slaves, but He very clearly denounces the brutality that we often associate with slavery.  If a slave master lived as God commanded, he would treat his slaves as hired hands… and many christians did just that in the first century.

However, God does make it clear that being a slave is a less than desirable situation.  Slavery is a reality that exists within various parts of the world, so it must be dealt with from a Biblical perspective, but freedom is always a better option (1 Cor 7:21).

The Bible tells us many times that God loves us.  So my question is: how could a God that loves us so much condemn anyone to eternal suffering in hell?  I believe that the vast majority of the world would say, "no" if you asked them if they are a christian.  By what the Bible tells us, that would mean that most people will go to hell.  It is very difficult for me to believe in a loving, caring God under those circumstances.  The parable of the sheep and goats is an even further discouragement.  Please help me out.

Sincerely,
That Fire Is Hot

Dear That Fire Is Hot,

God doesn’t condemn us to hell; He offers to save us from ourselves.  When God designed mankind, He made us in His image (Gen 1:26).  One result of that design is that all humans have eternal souls.  That is a positive thing.  God intended for Adam & Eve to never die and to always enjoy the blessings of fellowship with God in the garden (Gen 2:8).  Eden was a perfect situation, and it was our sin that destroyed that perfection.  Mankind sinned, and that sin causes us to die (Rom 6:23).  God gives us the freedom to choose to live or choose to sin; the fact that we all choose to sin is not His fault (Rom 5:12).  Heaven is a perfect place, and if God allowed sinful people into heaven, it would cease to be perfect.  Our actions and choices have condemned us.

God, however, wishes to save us from ourselves.  He sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins (Jhn 3:16).  He provided us with the Bible, which shows us the path to receive salvation (Rom 10:17, Rom 1:16).  We should not blame God for those who go to hell any more than we should blame a doctor when his patient refuses to take their medication.  It is true that many people will go to hell (Matt 7:13), but God doesn’t desire that any should perish (Ezek 18:23).  God sent us a Savior in Jesus Christ, even though we didn’t deserve it (1 Jn 4:14).

I want to know, is it wrong to smoke cigarettes?

Sincerely,
Burn Baby Burn

Dear Burn Baby Burn,

Yes, cigarette smoking is wrong.  There is no direct verse that condemns smoking, but there are many verses that indirectly condemn it.

1. Cigarettes are known poisons.  There was a time when people were unaware of the effects of cigarettes upon the human body, but we now know that there is no redeeming health value to cigarettes.  Cigarettes directly poison the human body.  God tells us to treat the human body as a temple (1 Cor 6:19).  Purposefully poisoning your body is not exactly honoring that command.
2. Cigarettes are known to be highly addictive.  Cigarettes are designed to get people addicted to them, so that one will do just about anything to continue to get their “fix”.  Cigarettes become your master.  Christians cannot afford to have any master other than God (Matt 6:24).  Christians should never be brought under the power of anything other than God (1 Cor 6:12)
3. This life is a gift from God; He created us (Gen 1:27).  Christians are supposed to live lives that are preparing us for whatever work God has in store for us (2 Tim 2:21).  We are to purge ourselves of anything that would keep us from being the best servants to Jesus we can be.  If you die ten years early from cigarettes, who knows what work you will have failed to do?
4. Smoking not only harms you, it harms others.  Second-hand smoke is a known carcinogen and poison.  If you know that what you are doing is harming others, you must stop (Jas 4:17)

Whatever we do, it should be done to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31).  Cigarettes wouldn’t fit into the category of “glorifying God”.

I have a question about going to church.  My family and I want to start having church, however we were thinking of just having it ourselves.  We wanted to watch church on T.V. on Sundays and then talk about stuff in the Bible ourselves.  Is this okay to do?  Do you have to go to church, or is it okay to have it at home?  Thanks for your time!  God bless!

Sincerely,
Homeward Bound

Dear Homeward Bound,

If you are starting a congregation out of your home, there are Biblical examples of that, but if you are just staying home instead of assembling with other christians… that would be wrong.  Philemon had a congregation that met in his house (Philemon 1:2).  The church in Troas met in a large home (Acts 20:7-8).  The location of a church doesn’t matter because ‘church’ refers to people, not a building, so if you were starting a church in your home, that would be fine.  However, that would come with the responsibilities that belong to the church.  You would need to be willing to have others assemble with you in your home.  The Lord’s church should seek to increase numerically and spiritually (Eph 4:16) whenever possible, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for you to start a church in your home and restrict its membership to your family.  That would be akin to Diotrephes who kicked people out of the church (3 Jn 1:10).

If you aren’t talking about starting a full-fledged congregation, then you need to be a part of one.  It isn’t enough to watch sermons on television and talk about the Bible.  The Lord commanded us to assemble with one another (Heb 10:25).  We are supposed to get together each Sunday and partake of the Lord’s Supper together (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 11:20).  God intended for christians to be a part of a local congregation with elders and deacons to help shepherd them (1 Pet 5:2).  God knows what is best for us, and it is in our best interest to assemble with other christians in a local church.  We are all different, and our differences help to strengthen us, protect us, and better serve Christ (Eph 4:14-16).