I know I need God in my life, and I want to believe, but I keep getting stuck on things like how God existed before everything, heaven, hell, and eternity.  I can't wrap my mind around those concepts.  I know the Bible is real; it proves itself, but how do I comprehend God when we've never seen miracles, visions, Jesus, etc.?  All today's Christians have is the Bible; is this fair for us today when people back then had all these signs?

Sincerely,
Hard To Believe

Dear Hard To Believe,

Miracles had one very specific purpose – to give evidence that the apostles, prophets, and Jesus were from God.  Paul called miracles “the signs of an apostle” (2 Cor 12:12).  Heb 2:4 states that God bore witness to the apostles and prophets through “signs and wonders”.  Even the enemies of Christ agreed that miracles were a sign of divine approval (Acts 4:16).

Ironically, even though you and I often think that miracles would make more people believe, we know that isn’t true.  During Jesus’ life, He performed more good deeds and miraculous acts than could be written down (Jhn 21:25)… and yet, they crucified Him because they didn’t believe.  Moses parted the Red Sea in front of an entire generation of Israelites who walked through on dry ground… but all of that generation died in the wilderness because they didn’t believe (Heb 3:17-19).  Generations of Jews saw miracles, heard prophecies, and still turned their back on God’s will.

Miracles don’t make people faithful.  It takes an honest and humble heart to turn to God… and miracles or no miracles, that has never changed.  As you said, you know the Bible is real, and it proves itself.  What you do about it is a matter of examining your character, and a miracle wouldn’t change that.

No one can comprehend the totality of God or His invisible greatness, but the evidence is all around (Rom 1:20).  Even the greatest mathematicians can’t wrap their brains around infinity, but we understand the basics of the concept, and that is enough to know that we need to begin preparing for it.

It says that we must keep the Sabbath holy – which means for us to give back to God our time, relax in His presence, and get a day off just for Him.  Why do we keep working on Sundays?

Sincerely,
Rest Up

Dear Rest Up,

Saturday is the Sabbath day… but Christians don’t have to worry about keeping the Sabbath.  The word ‘sabbath’ means ‘rest’.  The Sabbath day was a day that the nation of Israel was told to rest, stop working, and make holy to the Lord (Ex 31:15).  The Sabbath was part of the Old Testament law – a law that Christians are no longer under (Gal 3:23-25).  We are specifically told not to let anyone bind the Sabbath on us (Col 2:16).  Christians worship Christ on the first day of the week – Sunday (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 16:1-2).  We are not bound by the strict rules of avoiding all work like the Jews were, but we are told to treat Sunday as “the Lord’s day” (Rev 1:10).

     I am having such difficulty understanding many things.  I am of Baptist faith and was raised in church; however, I have not been attending for a long time.  I seem to be the only one with questions.  I don't want to be like this, but every time I ask my questions, it seems I always get an answer of, “You just have to have faith and not question things.  They are too big to understand.”  That doesn't seem to help me at all.  ‘Why did God make the devil?’ is one of my questions.  I know that he was a fallen angel, but why did God make him knowing that he would be evil, and being He knows everything, it seems He would know the outcome of him turning against Him.  If God wanted a perfect world without sin, He could have had it.  He is God; He could have done whatever He wanted.  He already knew that Adam and Eve would eat the apple, so how did they have a chance not to?  He made them and already knew the outcome.  I don't see how that is free will or choice when He already knew they were going to mess up.

Sincerely,
So Many Contradictions

Dear So Many Contradictions,

The Bible does give answers, and many people have turned away from God because the denominational world has failed to give them those answers.  There are some things that we don’t have answers for, but the questions you are asking are fundamental questions that the Bible clearly gives answers to.

All of your questions come down to the same issue – if God knew that people (and the devil) were going to do bad things, how come we are still to blame?  God knows our days upon this earth, but He also gives us the freewill to shape various aspects of the world that we live in.  Just because God has knowledge of how you and I will behave does not mean that He causes our behavior to happen in a certain way.  Foreknowledge is not the same as causation.  A doctor may know that a patient is going to die of cancer, but that doesn’t mean the doctor gave them cancer.  God gives mankind the freedom to make decisions, but He also has the wisdom to know how those choices will affect the future (Job 12:13).  God, having the wisdom to see that freewill also meant that people would have the freedom to choose bad things, doesn’t mean that He is to blame for our choices.  Furthermore, God didn’t just sit idly with His foreknowledge.  God planned before the foundation of the world to save us by sending His own Son to die (Eph. 1:3-4).  Even though He isn’t responsible for our choices, God sent the perfect cure.

What does Galatians 6:8 mean?

Sincerely,
Looking For Logic

Dear Looking For Logic,

Gal. 6:8 explains that what we put into life is what we get out of life.  If we sow spiritual things, we reap spiritual things.  If we sow worldly things, we will reap worldly things.  ‘Sow’ is a farming term that means ‘to plant’, and ‘reap’ means ‘to harvest’.  When a farmer plants corn seeds, he can expect to harvest corn.  If he plants potatoes, he can expect to harvest potatoes.
Our lives are the same way.  If we spend our lives on things that don’t matter and things that are sinful, we will reap meaningless and sin-cursed futures.  Instead, God wants us to invest in our souls and the eternity that awaits those who plant the Bible deep in their hearts and lives.

     The Bible says in the old times men had two or three wives.  How can that be true because of the Ten Commandments?

Sincerely,
Two Many

Dear Two Many,

The Ten Commandments, which are found in Ex. 20:1-17, never address the issue of polygamy and polygamy was part of life in the Old Testament.  The New Testament teaches that Christians should honor God through monogamy (1 Cor 7:1-2, 1 Tim 3:2).  There are scores of examples of monogamy being God’s preference for man:

1. Adam & Eve were designed monogamously (Gen. 2:24).
2. No polygamy existed until 7 generations after Adam (Gen 4:19).
3. Noah, the last righteous man of his day, had only one wife (Gen 7:13).
4. Qualification for an elder (Tit 1:6)
5. Qualification for a deacon (1 Tim 3:12)
6. Qualification for a worthy widow (1 Tim 5:9)
7. Every New Testament command for a husband or wife assumes monogamy in the commandments (Mk 10:12, 1 Cor 7:3, Eph 5:33, etc.).
8. The comparison of Christ and the church to a husband and wife relies on a monogamous design for marriage (Eph 5:22-23).