Answers to some recent questions I have been asked

Transcription

1 Answers to some recent questions I have been asked Question #1: How do you know you are saved? I know I am saved because of my belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The bible makes a promise that as many as receive Him [Jesus], to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name (John 1:12). I also have the confirmation of the Spirit, who testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. In addition, I have experienced the transforming power of God, as I have seen new desires implanted in my life. I desire to obey God. I desire to know His word. I desire to serve Him, and to be separate from the rest of the world. This, again, attests to the change that has taken place in my life. The bible says if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature (2 Corinth 5:17). I can see the newness of life that God gave me some 20 years ago. Question #2: What are the qualifications of a pastor/elder and how well do you meet them? The qualifications of a pastor/elder are outlined for us in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. Without reiterating what those sections of Scripture teach, I would just summarize them by saying that an elder/pastor must exhibit a high degree of Integrity, Holiness, Spiritual Leadership skills, Biblical Knowledge, and Teaching ability. Now, as far as how I measure up to these qualifications, it may be better for others to judge. However, I would only say that I don t see anything in my life that would disqualify me from such an office. Again, it may be best to hear from others on this issue, rather than myself. Question #3: What verses do you use to discuss salvation with a professing but unfruitful church member? Certainly there are many verses that could be used. I will only mention some that I tend to use. First would be Matthew 7: There in that section we are reminded that true Christians will bear fruit. In addition, it warns that there are many who will be deceived, thinking they are true Christians, but who are not. Another verse would be 1 John 3:10, which says by this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. Again, the test of salvation is the practicing of righteousness. I would point such a person also, to 2 Corinthians 5:17, which reminds us that, when one becomes a Christian, there must be a change. Apart from these verses, I would challenge this unfruitful Christian on his understanding of the gospel. Chances are he does not understand the gospel. So, I would remind him that the gospel includes a call to die to self, to pick up your cross and follow Christ. In all probability, this person thinks that salvation is nothing more than an assent to some facts, without a real commitment to Christ. Again, there are many other verses I would use. 1

2 Question #4: What is your view of Scripture? I believe the Scriptures are the very Word of God, Inspired, Inerrant, Authoritative, Complete, Necessary, and Sufficient for every good work. (Please see my statement of faith) Question #5: How do you explain the first chapter of Genesis? I would understand the first chapter of Genesis as an account of the creation of the world in 6 literal days (24 hour periods). God created everything out of nothing. Question #6: How do you explain the apparent contradiction between 2 Samuel 8:4 and 1 Chronicles 18:4? I would attribute this to a Scribal Error. It is important to remember that the doctrine of inerrancy extends to the original documents only, and not to later copies of manuscripts. I grant that some human errors were made in the transmission and copying of Scripture. Another example of such a scribal error is found in 2 Samuel 10:18 vs. 1 Chronicles 19:18. This certainly should not discourage us from having full confidence in the bible. Such errors of transmission are extremely few, and given that there are so few, we can appreciate the way God has preserved His Holy Word. We must remember that the later translators, and scribes of Scripture, were not, themselves, divinely inspired. Only the original writings were inspired. I think us Christians need to be honest about the errors of transmission in our bibles. Again, this in no way discredits the originals. A great summary of the topic of Inerrancy can be found in, what is called, The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. I whole-heartedly agree with this statement. Question #7: How should the church minister to their children, and what role do children play in the church? Children play a key part in the life of the church. They are, for all intents and purposes, the future of the church. Because of this, we should do all we can to mature them in Christ. Personally, I think the role of children in the church should be two fold. First, to be learners. As outlined in Titus 2, the younger are to be being taught by the older. So, at a young age, learning should be their main priority. Secondly, they should also be serving. They can serve the church by doing different types of jobs, chores, etc. for the church. In addition, children should be taught to obey their parents, being submissive to those in authority. Teaching them discipline at this age is critical. Now, as to how the church should minister to them, I think the key way is by teaching. The church should be training our young ones in the Scriptures, teaching them the bible 2

3 stories, teaching them theology, and then applying this teaching to their lives. The church ought to teach the young ones to have reverence for God, reverence for His word, and a love for the church. The church must never forget, however, that the primary teachers are the parents, not the church. The church must see to it that it equips the parents to do this teaching. Also, I do not think the church should view itself as responsible to entertain the children. They can get entertainment elsewhere. What they need from the church is instruction. This does not mean that we cannot organize events for our children, but entertainment should not be the primary concern of the church. Question #8: How should the church minister to their youth and what role do youth play in the church? I would answer this question in the same way I answered #7. However, depending on the age of the youth, it may be beneficial to give them additional responsibilities in the church. But, again, until they show a certain level of maturity, they should be resolved to a position of learning. I should say that I would prefer the older children and youth to be involved in all aspects of church life. They ought to be attending the same worship service as their parents, and not go to some separate youth service. In addition, I do believe that once a child/youth attains a certain age, they ought to be able to attend the same Sunday School classes as their parents. Again, we want our children/youth to mature, and they will do so at a faster rate if they are stretched and allowed to sit under more mature teaching. Question #9: How would you equip fathers to lead their families? I think the first key to equipping fathers is to teach them of their God given role as a Father and Husband. This includes leadership in the home. Something I have shared with the young men at my church is that, once you become a husband, and once you become a father, you are the pastor of your home. The pastor at church is not the ultimate pastor of their home, rather they are. This means that they are ultimately responsible to teach the wife and children. They cannot pass that duty on to the pastor, Sunday school teachers, daycare worker, or anyone else. It is their duty. Now, as to how I would equip fathers, again, I think it comes down to teaching. I would want to spend time teaching them the bible, teaching them the role of husband and father. I would want to spend time with them, reminding them of what it means to love your wife as Christ loved the church. Again, I would want to remind them of the duties of Fathers, as outlined in Ephesians 6:4. Fathers need to be well versed in the Scriptures, well versed in theology. In addition, I would encourage fathers to make sure they have their priorities straight. Their priorities should be 1. God 2. Wife 3. Children 4. Work 5. Ministry 3

4 Fathers need to make sure that they are not putting work, or ministry, above their children. Again, I think it all comes down to teaching. Men need to be taught what the bible says in regard to their particular role as husband and father. In addition, I would certainly seek to plan a regular men s discipleship program, where the men of the church can come together to learn and grow in the Lord. Question #10: Where should deacons be involved? I believe the responsibilities of deacons are to oversee the more day-to-day affairs of the church, like finances, administration, etc, as well as seek to discern and address the needs of the members. In this sense, they serve to free up the elders, so that the elders can concentrate more on the teaching and general oversight of the flock. Ideally, the elders and deacons will work together to make sure the needs of all the people are met. However, I do believe the deacons should be subservient to the elders, and the elders are to oversee their work. Question #11: What are elders and how do they compare to pastors? The elders are the overseers of the church. They are the ones who are to make the bulk of the decisions for the church, and set the vision for the church. They are also the ones who are primarily responsible to teach the flock. They oversee all spiritual matters in regard to the church. In my mind, elders and pastors are terms that are interchangeable. It is my conviction that the biblical model for eldership is for the elders to equally share the responsibilities of overseeing. Every elder should have an equal say in the direction and decisions of the church. The pastor should not be the lone decision maker. Likewise, the other elders should be involved in the shepherding of the people. The pastor should not be the lone shepherd. In other words, responsibility for the leadership of the church should be shared, not controlled by one man. Question #12: Explain the difference between Arminianism and Calvinism. Defend and Biblically support the position you hold. This is a question that probably deserves a more lengthy answer than I will give at this time. However, let me just mention my understanding of the differences as they pertain to the doctrine of salvation. In regard to their view of man, Arminians tend to believe that man is able to choose God, whereas Calvinists tend to believe that man is not able to choose God. To this end, Arminians believe man may be wounded by sin, or affected in a severe way by sin, but in the end, they still have the power to choose God if they desire. Calvinists tend to believe man is spiritually dead, or totally depraved in that regard. They have no ability to choose God. Dead men can t choose anyone, which is something I firmly believe. Which is why we need God to choose us first, and breath life into us. 4

5 In regard to election, Arminians believe election is conditional, whereas Calvinists believe election is unconditional. In regard to the atonement, Arminians tend to believe in an unlimited, or universal atonement, whereas Calvinists believe in limited atonement. In regard to man s role in receiving the grace of God, Arminians tend to believe that man can resist the grace of God, whereas Calvinists believe man cannot resist the grace of God. Finally, in regard to the security of a believer, Arminians (not all, but some) believe that it is possible for a true Christian to forsake Christ, thereby falling away and losing their salvation. Calvinists tend to believe that all true Christians will inevitably persevere to the end. In a nutshell, the difference between Arminianism and Calvinism, in my opinion, comes down to ones understanding of sovereignty. At its most simplistic level, Arminianism believes man is sovereign. Man is the ultimate determiner of his destiny. Calvinism believes God is sovereign, and that God is the ultimate determiner of ones destiny. Arminianism sees salvation as depending upon man and his decisions. Calvinism sees salvation as depending upon God and his decrees. So, one could say that Arminianism is a man-centered system of theology, Calvinism is a God-centered system. There are certainly a number of verses I could look at to show that salvation is all of God. One is John 1:13 which says that those who are saved were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Then again, Romans 9:16, it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. Salvation is of God. God is sovereign in salvation, not man. That is why salvation is of grace. If salvation were of men, then grace would no longer be grace. Now, I am not sure if you want me to defend each of the 5 points of Calvinism. I can do that, though I will refrain from doing that now. However, I will say that I do adhere to the 5 points of Calvinism. If you would like some more of my thoughts on this topic, I can certainly provide it. Also, I have preached a number of sermons on Calvinistic doctrines. I can provide them to you at your request. Question #13: Have you ever been involved or witnessed the exercise of church discipline? Yes, I have both witnessed it, and have been involved in it. Unfortunately, I have run into a couple of instances in my current ministry where discipline was necessary. First, was in the case of a man in our church who was ministering with the youth. It became apparent that the way he was relating to the youth was not appropriate, so we required that he step down from that ministry. A second case, and one that just happened a few 5

6 months ago, is one in which a young woman from our church had basically walked away from her husband. The difficulty of this situation was compounded, given that neither of them lived in the San Diego area any longer. However, given that they had previously been a part of our ministry for a lengthy period of time, we still felt the need to get involved. I recently had to make a public announcement to the entire church in regard to this situation, as Matthew 18 requires. Question #14: Is worship designed for believers, unbelievers, both, neither your thoughts? Obviously, Worship is for the Lord only. Everything we do when we gather for worship is to be directed to Him. However, having said that, there are different philosophies of ministry when it comes to the music and sermons we present on Sunday mornings. One philosophy is the seeker sensitive philosophy, which gears things toward the nonbeliever. The music, the sermons, are all prepared with them in mind. Personally, I do not embrace this approach. When I prepare my sermons, I do so primarily for the building up of the saints. I think this is my first duty as pastor. Now, I certainly don t mean by that that I seek to ignore the unbelievers in our midst. However, I do think my first priority is to the saints. The trend in many churches today is to program everything toward the non-believer, and the saints get nothing. It is no wonder that many Christian people, who have sat in churches for years, never seem to grow. They, unfortunately, are fed the same simplistic teaching, week after week. Ultimately, I blame the pastors for this. The pastors must see the building up of the saints as their main priority. Again, they ought to reach out to the unbeliever, and they ought to preach evangelistic sermons from time to time. But, ultimately, their goal should be to equip the saints. In addition, I do not see our Sunday worship service as an evangelistic outreach. Our Sunday mornings, are for God first, then for the building up of the body. I don t feel the need to gear our Sunday mornings to be evangelistic. Besides, it is my conviction that God honoring worship, and faithful biblical preaching will serve as an evangelistic tool to the lost. Hopefully, they will be convicted by both. Question #15: What would your order be for a typical service? I prefer simplicity, so the things I would include would be Scripture reading, prayer, music and singing, giving, and the preaching of the word. The actual order of these things can be varied, though I would probably save the preaching, and closing benediction for last. Question #16: What kind of music would you use and why? My own preference would be the hymns, given they are so rich and they have a great deal of depth to them. Our goal should be to sing songs and play music that are honoring to God and causes the worshipper to look heavenward. Having said that, however, I am not against more contemporary styles, given that the music is not distracting to the congregation, and given that the words of the songs are biblical. From a personal 6

7 standpoint, I am not overly impressed with much of what is now considered contemporary music. To me, much of it is rather shallow. However, some contemporary music is quite good. So, again, I am not against contemporary styles of worship, though my preference would definitely be the hymns. Question #17: How would you describe your preaching style? Mostly expositional, though I have done topical messages, and series. I tend to be very logical in my preparation, and the feedback that I ve gotten has been that I am very easy to follow and, again, very logical. Question #18: When people offer themselves as prospective members, how would you handle it? First, I would require that they be a part of the church for a while, so that the elders could get to know them. Then I would present to them our doctrine and practices, so that they know what our church stands for. I would also let them know about the churches beliefs about church discipline, and also remind them of some of the expectations the church will have of them as members. Then I would seek to interview them, preferably with all the elders, to hear their testimonies, and to hear whether they can embrace the doctrine and practices of the church. Then, I would have them make a public declaration of their desire to join the church and their willingness to submit to the leadership of the church. After that, I would welcome them as official members. This is a very simplistic outline, and I haven t included things like are they baptized, have they filled out a membership form etc. Question #19: What is your view on divorce in the body and in leadership? My view would be similar to that outlined in the Westminster Confession, that being that there are two situations in which it is permissible to get a divorce. First, in the case of marital unfaithfulness by the other spouse, and secondly, in the case of abandonment by an unbelieving partner. In practice, I certainly would not deviate from this. If the innocent party had biblical grounds for a divorce, then I think he/she has biblical grounds to get remarried, and I would be willing to support such a remarriage. In regard to divorce in leadership, this is a little more difficult. Personally, I would not be against having a person with a divorce in leadership, depending on the situation surrounding the divorce. If it was a biblical divorce, and the person in leadership was the innocent party, then I would not have a problem with that. There are a variety of scenarios that tend to be played out in these situations, so I think it is best to consider them on a case-by-case basis. 7

8 Question #20: What does the bible teach about abortion? Sadly, abortion is a scourge that has greatly affected our society. I am totally against it. I believe life begins at conception. In my mind, the only situation where an abortion may be ethical is in the case where the mother s life is at risk. The biblical evidence is that God sees the person in the womb as just that, a person. Question #21: What guidelines do you use when deciding to perform a marriage ceremony? My personal conviction is that I will only perform a marriage ceremony between two Christians. I know that some pastors are willing to officiate a wedding between two unbelievers, but I would not feel comfortable doing this. In addition, I will not officiate a wedding where one of the parties has an unbiblical divorce in the past. Also, I will only officiate at the weddings of couples I am familiar with. If a young Christian couple, who I did not know, came to me and asked me to officiate, I would probably decline. Question #22: Should our beliefs and practices affect our politics? Absolutely! Our beliefs and practices should affect every area of our lives, including politics. The subject of politics is very important to my wife and I. We try to be aware of what is going on in our government, and we try to be active in the political process. It is not uncommon for us to call our Congressmen, Senators, and even the White House, in an effort to encourage them to stand for what is right. As Christians, we are called to be the salt and light of the world. And we ought to seek to promote righteousness in our society. So, to that end, we ought to be active in politics, and we ought to be calling our government officials to stand for Christian principles. In additions, our politics should not be inconsistent with our beliefs. Personally, I cannot fathom how a Pro-life Christian could vote for a Pro-choice candidate. That is a total contradiction. Nor, do I understand how political candidates can believe one thing, but practice another. From time to time I have heard candidates who say I m personally against abortion, but I will protect a woman s right to choose. Again, this is a contradiction, and a down-right compromise. If you believe something, your politics should be consistent with that belief. Question #23: How are spiritual gifts used today? I would say that spiritual gifts are to be used today within the local church. God has given us these gifts to build up the church and to edify the church. Therefore, every person ought to be using their gifts in a local church setting. 8

9 Maybe, at this time, I should say a word or two in regard to my views on whether all the New Testament gifts are still operable today. First, I believe that the office of apostle and prophet have now ceased. In addition, I do not believe that tongues and healings are for today. Personally, I have never spoken in a tongue, nor have I ever witnesses the biblical use of a tongue, though I have heard, what I considered to be, many false tongues. In general, I am not overly supportive of much of what is found in the Charismatic movement today. However, at the same time, I do think that God is a God of miracles, and He can certainly do the miraculous when He chooses. I do believe God heals, though probably not in the same way as during the times of the apostles. I also believe that God does accomplish supernatural things through people, though it is probably not the norm. I think we, as Christian people, need to be balanced in this regard. We ought not be the type of people who are seeing miracles in everything, nor ought we be the type of people who despise the supernatural. We must test everything against Scripture, as the apostle John exhorts us to do. Question #24: How would you describe your overall theological leanings? My theological convictions are probably best summarized in the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. Question #25: What earthly sources do you use for help when interpreting Scripture? Given that God has given to the church men gifted in teaching, we ought to avail ourselves to their works. So, I will use things like commentaries, dictionaries, concordances, in my study of Scripture. Question #26: According to your observation, what doctrines need special emphasis today? Well, given that many churches today are very anti-doctrine, I would say all doctrine needs to be emphasized. However, if I were to narrow it down, I would say that there are 3 key areas. First, is the Sovereignty of God. The church needs to be convinced that God is sovereign over all, and He does what He does solely for His glory. Second, would be the Depravity of Man. I am a firm believer in the doctrine of Total Depravity, and I do believe it is the doctrine on which the other points of Calvinism stand or fall. Obviously, if man is totally depraved, and unable to come to God on his own, that will automatically elevate the grace of God. Depraved men have nothing to boast about, and I fear there is a lot of boasting in our churches today. In addition, embracing the doctrine of total depravity will inevitably lead to humility, which is something the church also needs today. 9

10 Thirdly, would be the doctrine of Scripture. Obviously, everything we believe stands or falls on the reliability of Scripture. We must defend things like inspiration, inerrancy, and the authority of Scripture. Question #27: How will you know if you are an effective pastor? I will know it by the spiritual growth of my congregation. I will know it by how my congregation is increasing in their knowledge and love of God and His Word. I will know it by how my congregation is growing in love for the brethren. I will know it by the way they desire to serve the church and evangelize the loss. Having said that, I would say that one cannot know he is an effective pastor simply by increases in numbers, size of the church building, amount of giving, etc. Sadly, there are many ineffective pastors who have large congregations with lots of money. The real test is growth and maturity. 10