TOUGH TOPICS SEPTEMBER 25, 2024
WHAT ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE?

INTRO

1/ Study the Bible.

2/ Lean on trusted sources.

3/ Stay curious.


RANDOM QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

1/ What does 666 really mean?

Many people see the mark, not as something literal, but as loyalty or allegiance.

“Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion, stood the Lamb, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” Revelation 14:1

“(It may be that) the seal on God’s people and the ‘mark’ on the non-Christian is placed on the forehead, (because) the forehead points to one’s ideological commitment and the hand to that commitment’s practical outworking.” Sam Storms

Sam Storms’ view is respected, but there are practical questions unanswered.


2/ Is it wrong to get a tattoo?

“’Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.’” Leviticus 19:28

Remember, there are three levels to the Old Testament laws (civil, ceremonial, moral). Leviticus 19 is a mixture of all three types of laws.

“’Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.’” Leviticus 19:27

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 1 Corinthians 10:23


3/ Is healing still available today?

Yes.


4/ How did Jesus perform miracles?

It’s the Holy Spirit upon and within that allows people to do miracles, signs, and wonders.

“It’s not wrong to say that the Spirit is acting in Jesus’s miracles; He is. It is wrong to say that (Jesus) isn’t.” Blair Smith


5/ Is it ever okay to lie?

Lying: Deceiving another person to believe something that is not true.

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight. Proverbs 12:22

“You belong to your father, the devil… there is no truth in (Satan). When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44

Some believe there are no exceptions for lying.

Some believe there are extreme circumstances where lying may be an option.

Some believe there are extreme circumstances where lying may be a moral obligation.


6/ Can God create a rock so big He can’t pick up?

No.


7/ Will Heaven be ruined because of our knowledge of Hell?

We believe there will be suffering, memory, and regret in Hell.

We believe there will be rejoicing, memory, and perspective in Heaven.

“God the Father (who now pleads with mankind to accept the reconciliation that Christ’s death secured for all) and God the Son (our appointed Judge, who wept over Jerusalem) will in a final judgment express wrath and administer justice against rebellious humans. God’s holy righteousness will hereby be revealed; God will be doing the right thing, vindicating Himself at last against all who have defied Him. (Matthew 25; John 5:22-29; Romans 2:5-16, 12:19; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 18:1-19:3, 20:11-35, and you will see that clearly.) God will judge justly, and all angels, saints, and martyrs will praise him for it. So it seems inescapable that we shall, with them, approve the judgment of persons—rebels—whom we have known and loved.” J.I. Packer

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12
“Although it will inevitably sound harsh, I offer this thought: in a sense, none of our loved ones will be in Hell—only some whom we once loved.” Randy Alcorn


8/ How did Cory land a woman like Joy?

“The secret things belong to the Lord…” Deuteronomy 29:29