I am in chapters 4 and 5 of the book of Job, starting at verse 12.  To my understanding, Eliphaz is trying to judge Job.  The vision he had was not true.  He wanted to know what Job did and the reason why so many bad things were happening to Job.  Please help me to understand these two verses.  Thanks.

Sincerely,
Without A Job

Dear Without A Job,

You are absolutely right about Eliphaz.  Eliphaz had a false vision – just like many of today’s false prophets and teachers.  Eliphaz is arguing with Job and trying to blame Job for what has happened.  Eliphaz believes Job is behaving sinfully and is using this “vision” as proof.  Later on, Job makes it clear that he doesn’t think there is any truth to Eliphaz’s vision.  He accuses Eliphaz of simply trying to scare him with his talk about dreams and visions (Job 7:14).  Eliphaz is wrong – Job hadn’t sinned (Job 1:22).

(This question is a follow-up to a series of questions – “Not Nice Nicene” and “Creedy-Cruds”)

It seems the Apostles’ Creed you refer to is The Apostles' Creed, Ecumenical Version.  The Apostles’ Creed our church recites each Sunday is The Apostles’ Creed, Traditional Version which states:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; He descended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.  Amen.

We do not state that Jesus "descended into Hell".  This version of The Apostles’ Creed seems to me to be completely in line with what the Bible teaches us.  That is why I have no problem with it.  Would you say the same?  I have never recited or paid any attention to any creed but The Apostles’ Creed before now.   I am at the present time studying to become a Certified Lay Speaker in the United Methodist Church, and the subject of creeds is one item of discussion I am preparing for.  I appreciate your help on this subject.  Please let me know if you find anything wrong with The Apostles’ Creed stated above.  I do realize it does not state exactly what the Bible says, but it does state all that is necessary, and I see no where that it is deceiving.  I continue to appreciate your thoughts.

Sincerely,
Almost Certified Lay Speaker

Dear Almost Certified Lay Speaker,

The problem with creeds is in their very nature.  A creed is an extra-Biblical document that is treated as an essential element of faith.  It doesn’t matter whether it agrees with the Scriptures or not – the wording is man-made and, therefore, not exactly as God intended.  A creed draws the lines of fellowship around a human writing.  A creed is a statement of faith that superimposes itself over the Scriptures.  Now, instead of using the Scriptures as the guide for what makes a congregation and a christian faithful – we use a creed to decide what verses and concepts are (and are not) important.  We have no right to do that!  If God wanted mankind to use creeds as measures of faith and fellowship – He would have given us one.

A great example of what happens when we use extra-Biblical documents to guide us is seen in many religions today.  We do not desire to offend, but the title “United Methodist Church” shows that your particular church’s foundation is its ‘methods’.  It is unified by its methods and practices… instead of by the Bible’s teachings.  If we all simply took the Bible and nothing else, there wouldn’t be Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Catholics, Presbyterians, etc.; there would only be christians (not “Certified Lay Speakers”, which is a title completely foreign to the Bible) and Christ’s church.  It is the various methods, practices, and creeds that people add to the Scriptures that create division and religious confusion.  Jesus intended there to be one church and one faith (Eph 4:4-5).  We are called to unity… a unity that can only be found in the Bible the Holy Spirit gave us (Eph 4:3).  If we throw off all creeds, names, and practices and use only the Bible, then we will find unity, and we can confidently say we are God’s people.

Since the biblical border between Egypt and Israel is the Wadi el Arish, how come all the Bible maps place Kadesh Barnea 30 km inside the Promised Land? Did Israel spend forty years in the wilderness inside Canaan?

Sincerely,
Border Patrol

Dear Border Patrol,

We are guessing that what you are referring to is the ongoing debate over whether or not Israel wandered around in the Sinai Peninsula (between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba) for forty years or whether they wandered throughout Saudi Arabia (which is east of the Gulf of Aqaba).  Depending on someone’s opinion of where Israel wandered, they must adjust the location of Kadesh Barnea accordingly.  We here at AYP see good points on both sides of this argument, but ultimately, it is more of an archaeological issue than a Bible one.  We leave the discussion of the differences to people far more qualified to discuss this topic than us.

Can a person just ask for the gifts of the spirit or claim them?  How do you know if they are real?

Sincerely,
Trying To Be Gifted

Dear Trying To Be Gifted,

Real gifts of the Holy Spirit allowed people to perform real miracles.  In this context, a ‘miracle’ is defined as an act that is obviously supernatural in origin.  Examples of miracles are: raising people from the dead (Acts 9:40-41), healing leprosy (Lk 5:13), speaking in foreign languages without being taught (Acts 2:4-11), etc.  The gifts of the Holy Spirit were given to the apostles (Acts 2:1-4), and the apostles were able to pass on these gifts to others by laying their hands on them (Acts 8:18).  The apostles were the only ones with the ability to pass on the gifts.  Therefore, when the last person that the last living apostle laid hands on died… the gifts ceased to exist.  God intended for this to happen.

The miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit were needed to spread the Gospel in the beginning.  Miracles were used as a proof that what the disciples said was truly God’s Word (Acts 8:6).  Jesus’ miracles proved that His preaching was true (Acts 2:22).  However, now we have a written account of both the miracles and the teachings, and we believe through the Bible, which records those miracles (Jhn 20:30-31).  The apostle Paul warned that eventually the miracles would cease because we would have the perfect Word of God (1 Cor 13:8-10).  You cannot receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit any longer.  Now, the only gift that the Holy Spirit offers us is salvation – and that is more than sufficient.

I hear that 50% of pastors agree with living together before marriage; does that mean living together and being celibate?

Sincerely,
Data Digger

Dear Data Digger,

We cannot speak to what various religious leaders mean by “living together”, but we can say that it is wrong to live together before marriage… celibate or not.  The Bible’s teachings on that subject are very clear.  It is fornication to sleep with someone you aren’t married to (1 Thess 4:3).  Furthermore, it is a sin to do anything that has the appearance of evil – such as living with someone you aren’t married to (1 Thess 5:22).  On top of that, we are taught to flee from fornication; we should never put ourselves in a position that makes it easy to make the wrong choices (1 Cor 6:18).  The Biblical pattern is very clear – marriage is when a man and a woman should start their own household together (Mk 10:7).