Series – Page 7 – John Markum

The Questions You Asked… Part 6

Posted on August 15, 2011 by johnmarkum

Question: “What did Jesus do for the 3 days He was buried?” Answer: From what He said to the thief on the cross, He was in “paradise,” often referred to in the Bible as “Abraham’s bosom.” It was kind of like the waiting room of Heaven. A reference in Acts leads some to believe that He went to Hell. While I think that could be possible, He was not suffering there, because our salvation was already paid for on the cross when Jesus said, “It is finished.” So that’s more speculation than a solid answer, but I hope it helped.
Question: “Is a person saved who accepts Jesus, but shows no remorse?” Answer: Tough question because it’s a blanket assumption. I know that faith and repentance are hand-in-hand when it comes to salvation. But that looks different from person to person. I do believe that a repentant heart is always a fruit of true faith. Without humility, no one comes to Christ.
Question: “What is the church position on karma?” Answer: The Bible calls it the law of “sowing and reaping” (Galatians 6:7-10). Our good will ultimately be rewarded, while we can also be sure “your sin will find you out.”
Question: “Could the American government be considered evil?” Answer: It’s being run by politicians. Yes, it’s evil. As best as we can, as long as our conscience before God allows us, we should submit to and obey the authority over us, because God is the only one possessing the true authority anyway. But while I pray for the peace and prosperity of our nation, Jesus is the only “change we can believe in.” In God we trust, all others are prone to corruption. I love our country! But we should always be vigilant concerning those in power.
Question: “What do Satanic churches do?” Answer: Worship Satan. Take pleasure in being rebellious. Commit acts of wickedness out of a shear desire to mock God. That’s about all I know. Technically the term “Satanic church” is a contradiction.
Question: “Can a homosexual person go to Heaven?” Answer: Can an heterosexual go to Heaven? The only way that any of us will ever see Heaven is because we have been changed by Jesus. Someone who struggles with homosexuality can be saved in Christ. Will they continue to struggle with these urges after accepting Christ? More than likely. Just like straight people still struggle with their inappropriate heterosexual urges. We are saved through faith, not by works, and yet our deeds are a reflection of the true change God has made in our lives.
Question: “Can stealing ever be justified?” Answer: Legitimately? Depends… what are we stealing? Cash from a bank? Diamonds? Food? I suppose few would blame a thief who steal to eat. Bit is it still stealing? Yes. This question is kind of like saying “Are white lies ok?” If something appears to be more gray than black-and-white, it’s usually more black than gray.

The Questions You Asked… Part 5

Posted on August 14, 2011 by johnmarkum

Question: “Romans 8:30… predestination?” Answer: Yes. But your question is incomplete. Predestine to what? Verse 30 is based on verse 29 where it says, “whom He foreknew, He predestined…” God’s “election” is based on His foreknowledge of who would receive Christ. Scripture interprets Scripture. John 1:11-12 puts several huge holes in the idea some have that God chose some people to salvation and others for Hell based on anything other than receiving Christ.
Question: “Does Pastor John have ADD?” Answer: Beavers and Ducks. I mean, yes.
Question: “Why does God want us to save sex for marriage?” Answer: Because God created sex, and He knows that the vulnerability that true sexual intimacy requires is only safe in a committed marriage relationship. There is a trust that a couple builds together when they wait that is absolutely irreplaceable when sleeping together before marriage. Sex outside of marriage ruins good relationships and prolongs bad ones. I said more on the subject here.
Question: “In Heaven, are we completely sinless?” Answer: Yes. Revelation 21:27
Question: “What is the ‘Unforgivable Sin’?” Answer: Rejecting the Holy Spirit prompting toward Jesus (Matthew 12:22-32). And it’s only “unforgivable” in the context of John 3:18. At what point has a person hopelessly rejected Christ? I don’t know. Not my place to know. Only my place to speak in His name and draw others to Him (that’s your job too, by the way).
Question: “Would God forgive the most awful repeat sinner?” Answer: He already did… me. That’s how big God is, and how small we are. He can forgive the most vile human being and make them like His Son. “Where sin did abound, grace did much more abound.” Romans 5:20.
Question: “Who is God?” Answer: “God” is the single, all-powerful Being possessing all knowledge and existing outside of time and space. Therefore, all things created are per His authorship, and nothing has ever happened apart from His knowledge and foresight. From His perspective, the future is just as much a matter of fact as the past. As the greatest “thing,” all good is measured by His standard, and all things short of His standard are utterly short and wicked. His standard of perfection can only be compared to His standard of love. The cross of Christ is the perfect example of both. That’s as good as I can do for a reasonable human description of an infinite Creator.
Question: “Where is the love in creating Hell?” Answer: Questions like this are lop-sided. I would counter this with the question, “where is the justice in letting every drunk, pedophiler, adulterer, serial-killer, and white-collar criminal go to Heaven?” The truth is, we can’t have it both ways: a God who forgives our sin, but has no sense of indignation toward it. If God would simply overlook sin without destroying it, then why overlook it? Just let it be! But God is loving and holy. The love you find in a God creating a place like Hell is two-fold: 1) That He loves us enough to destroy all wickedness that separates us from Him, and 2) That He would provide a means of not going there ourselves by trusting in Christ as the payment for our sin.
Question: “Can prayer change God’s mind?” Answer: Good question. If God knows everything past, present, and future per our definition of God in question 7, then technically God already knows everything He is going to do (from His perspective, He already did it). But His motive for why He does what He is going to, is often because His people pray. The Bible is full of examples (2 Cron. 7:14). In other words, God already knows what He is going to do, and why He’s going to do it, because He knows our prayers before we ask them (Matthew 6:8).
Question: “What is grace?” Answer: Grace is God blessing us with something we did not earn. I like the acronym: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

The Questions You Asked… Part 4

Posted on August 13, 2011 by johnmarkum

Question: “Is it true that there are spirits among us?” Answer: Yes: Angels. Both good and bad (demons). Are there actually dead people’s ghosts walking among us? No. At best, they are demonic impersonations of people who once lived. The Bible refers to people with “familiar spirits” (meaning the demon) and “mediums” who would do this. No, I’m not crazy. Yes, the Bible does talk about it (Leviticus 19:31).
Question: “Exorcism?” Answer: Like, is it a real thing? Oh, yes. I know people who’ve been part of casting a demon from a woman. Horror movies don’t do justice from what eye witnesses tell me. Just know that as a follower of Christ, we are already possessed by the Holy Spirit of God (1 John 4:4). According to Matthew 7:21-23, just because a person casts out a demon from someone in the name of Jesus, doesn’t mean they have a relationship with Jesus.
Question: “Why are there so many religions?” Answer: Because religion is man’s attempt to reach God. It is based on man’s attempts to please deity/deities. Because of that, there are more religious perspectives than there are people on the planet. Jesus did not come to start a religion – He came to replace religion with Himself.
Question: “Why can I not always hear from God?” Answer: Because the teacher is always silent during the test. Your relationship with God is not based on how you feel. Feelings are fickle. Our faith is not in ourselves. Our faith is not even in our faith! Our faith is in the faithfulness of God to love us and guide us even when it feels as though He’s absent.
Question: “What race was Jesus” Answer: Jewish. Thanks for an easy one.
Question: “Where does our sin nature come from?” Answer: James 1:13-15. The real “enemy” is “in-me”. All sin can be narrowed down to one word: “selfishness.” In other words, I sin when I am more interested in what I want rather than what is right, what is good, or what God wants.
Question: “Why do some people struggle with things that others do not (stealing, addictions, homosexuality…)?” Answer: Great question. I suppose the easiest answer is that we are all different. So we all have different strengths and weaknesses. What I struggle with might be no big deal to you, and vice-versa. Notably, most of us struggle over the same 2 or 3 things over and over again. Satan is not extremely creative, he’s just persistent.
Question: “Who was your favorite Power Ranger?” Answer: Green Ranger! He was like this rogue ranger that the other rangers sort of ran into. His Zord was the coolest! It reminded me of Godzilla. Yes, I was a nerd as a kid too…
Question: “How old is the earth?” Answer: By extrapolating the ages of the first humans recorded in the Bible to the point of a known point in time, we estimate the actual age of the earth to be as young as 6,000 years old up to approximately 10,000 years old. “What about carbon dating and stuff?!?” So what? God made a mature earth. He didn’t plant seeds and wait 200 years for it to grow into a massive Sequoia, He just created big, awesome trees. Science strongly favors a young earth concept of creation.
Question: “What happens to your body during the rapture?” Answer: According to 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, we shall be changed into an immortal body like that of Jesus after He rose from the dead.