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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]To begin with, what I say here isn’t designed to make those who know their loved ones were cremated feel guilty or afraid. Ultimately what happens to the body after death does not affect the soul. 

Immediately following death, the soul enters the eternity of heaven or hell and what happens to the body does not change anything about that. Furthermore, many Christians have had their bodies burned in death, either through tragedy or martyrdom. Nevertheless, I would always encourage people to be buried simply because the biblical pattern should be what we adhere to. 

In contrast with the pagan cultures around them who burned their dead, burial was the practice of saints throughout the Old Testament and the New. Burial expresses the preciousness of the body. Christ has redeemed our body, so it has value. Furthermore, burial expresses the resurrection of the body. One day it will rise again to be reunited with our everlasting souls. 

Where possible, let us follow the biblical pattern.[/su_spoiler]

Is it okay for a Christian to be cremated?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]First, we know that those in heaven will not experience sadness. Revelation 7:17 says, “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” How then will we respond concerning those who went to hell? 

There may be a sense in which we become oblivious to them in eternity, but there is also the likelihood that our perfected minds will think of them as God thinks, and be perfectly satisfied with the justice of God that sent them to hell. In Romans 9:21, Paul asks those struggling with election, “Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” Essentially, God reserves the right to do with man what He please. 

In Revelation 18 and 19 we read of the joy and praise to God that’s offered when judgment is poured out upon the ungodly. God must be glorified in anything He chooses to do, and since He has chosen that the unregenerate go to hell, the children of God will praise Him for that because it ultimately glorifies Him.[/su_spoiler]

How can heaven have no suffering when people we know are in hell?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]We should first of all keep in mind that God the Father has no favourite except Christ. In Matthew 3:17, the Father testifies of Christ, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” All the rest of us are only favoured and loved by God due to our union to Jesus Christ. This is a union in existence before the foundation of the world according to Ephesians 1:4. 

The danger in wanting to be God’s favourite is that it may stem from sinful motive to be superior to others, a bit like James and John in Mark 10. That’s not to say we shouldn’t want to be the best we can be, but it’s not to be better than the next guy. We are to be vessels of honour, meet for the Master's use, i.e. be my best for Him. 

Christ deserves that you give to Him your all. You don't deserve it, and you don't have any right to be better than others to be esteemed God’s favourite. But Christ deserves our best regardless of our position, and all motives must be for His glory and preeminence.[/su_spoiler]

I want to be God’s favourite, is that a wrong desire?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]While there’s a place for direct person to person discipleship and one-to-one accountability, I think a lot of this has become more necessary among believers now because of the deficiencies in the churches people attend, or laziness to use the means of grace. 

Personally, I was discipled by attending church 4-5 times every Sunday for worship, teaching, and prayer, door evangelism on Tuesday, bible study and prayer on Thursday, youth bible study on Friday, and evangelism on Saturday. I lived and breathed the local church, sitting under doctrinal teaching, listening to mature believers pray, and working with mature believers in evangelism. 

In my opinion you’re not serious about discipleship if you go to church once or twice a week. Find a church where bible study is thorough, prayer is regular, attend at every opportunity. 

One-to-one discipleship has it’s place, but most of the lack in Christians is due to neglect of good teaching and corporate prayer.[/su_spoiler]

I want to be discipled, how should I go about doing that?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]Yes, but not perhaps in the way you imagine. The Bible supports the concept of man having a freedom of self-determination as long as we realize that the freedom is limited by the bias of his own will. 

The Fall of man in the garden of Eden had a profound effect upon man’s will resulting in a natural state where as Jesus put it in John 3:19, men love darkness rather than light. By birth, man’s will is bent towards loving darkness and inclined away from God. Man voluntarily chooses in accordance with the freedom of his will, to rebel against God. Thus, man is responsible for his actions. 

This is universal. Paul says in Romans 3:11, “there is none that seeketh after God.” Thus, man’s only hope is to be regenerated by the Spirit of God, at which point he who is dead becomes spiritually alive. 

A dead man can do nothing but stink, and until God gives life, man’s will opposes truth and he stinks before God. Jonah declared, “Salvation is of the Lord” and until God saves a man, that man’s will is free only to do what his sinful nature desires.[/su_spoiler]

Is there such a thing as free will?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]Yes. But not because there’s a shortcoming in God that makes Him slow to hear or act or forgetful. The problem is with us, and God calls us to be patient and persistent in prayer about certain things and to request them regularly, such as praying for the salvation of friend or family member. 

In Luke 18 the chapter begins with a parable, the point of which was to teach “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” When we read the parable we discover that it’s not continued prayers about different things, but continued prayers about the same thing, because the widow’s desire was for the judge to avenge her of her adversary. 

God shapes us and teaches us things in the persistence of prayer. Furthermore, the delays and repetition of prayer help us to remember that we serve God, not the other way round. So let us keep asking, seeking, and knocking for those matters that demand repetition in prayer and persistence before God.[/su_spoiler]

If God hears my prayer, should I pray for something more than once?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]The word curse means, “an offensive word or phrase used to express anger or annoyance.” It is not uncommon nowadays to hear even professing Christians express words like God, Jesus Christ in a way that are essentially taking God’s name in vain. 

It is cursing when the context in which these words are expressed disconnect them from what they ought to make ourselves and others think i.e. when you say Jesus Christ, I should think about the Son of God, which I don’t when you express it as an expletive. The same applies when we use the word ‘damn’ or ‘hell’ and there’s a disconnect from their true and solemn meaning. 

We’re told in 1 Corinthians 13:5 that love does not behave itself unseemly, and Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” So our language matters, and if you are a Christian, you should not be using crude and questionable language, or misusing the names of God.[/su_spoiler]

Is it okay for Christians to curse?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]Absolutely not. The term ‘Mother Nature’ is a personification of forces that we see in effect in nature. Terms like Mother Nature and Mother Earth are pagan in origin, coming from an ideology that believes nature provides for us. 

However, the Christian should not identify with this. Jesus said in Matthew 5:45, that God the Father “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Psalm 148 speaks a lot about nature and says in v8, “Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word” i.e. it fulfills God’s will. 

I think the popularity of using this term is because men don’t want to acknowledge God in anything. For the Christian, I think it’s a away of avoiding the hard questions during times when something calamitous happens in nature. But we shouldn’t be afraid to attribute to God what God alone is in control of, even if the outcome results in deaths that we struggle to understand. 

To attribute God’s works to something other than God is idolatry, and needs to be repented of.[/su_spoiler]

Should Christians talk about Mother Nature?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]The passage referred to is that of the woman caught in the act of adultery and brought before Christ by the scribes and pharisees. In the dialogue Jesus says in v7, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” 

Often this is used to stop people from making any form of judgments about others. But did Christ mean only the sinless can accuse? Not at all. The Lord Jesus is applying Deut 17:7, “The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.” The sense is this, the person that isn’t guilty of this particular sin and caught the woman in the act, let that person act first. 

That’s the stipulation of the law and it prevented people making hasty judgements and pressed upon them the solemn task of also executing the sentence, and this the Jewish leaders were unwilling to do, because then the one who first caught the woman would also have to testify against the man who was strangely absent.  [/su_spoiler]

Did Jesus say in John 8 that only one without sin can accuse another?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]Obviously I can’t answer on behalf of every Jew and why they don’t believe, but generally they reject the Christian belief that Jesus Christ fulfills all the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. But in refusing to believe that in Him they are doing two things that they ought to keep in mind. 

First, they are fulfilling the prophecy of Psalm 118:22, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.” This was specific to the Jewish leaders in the day of Jesus Christ, but that unbelief is still reflected in the Jewish people at large and it should alarm them that their is a prophecy that Messiah would be rejected. 

Secondly, it will be impossible for them to validate any claim to be the Messiah the way it could be done 2000 years ago, such as proving He is from the House of David. That cannot be proved now. 

Finally, I might add, the New Testament reveals that Jews largely refuse to believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah because as Paul puts it in Romans 11:25, “blindness in part is happened to Israel.” [/su_spoiler]

Why do Jews reject Jesus Christ as Messiah?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]As a general rule, Christians should be the most law abiding citizens in any land. Romans 13 has strong counsel with regard to the importance of civil obedience. Furthermore, anarchy and mob rule are usually terrifying experiences. 

Having said that, the Bible gives clear examples of civil disobedience in the life of Daniel, as well as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and famously with the apostles when they are commanded to not preach in the name of Jesus and they reply in Acts 5:29, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” 

And that’s the basic principle for civil disobedience. When authorities call you to do something forbidden by God, or they seek to prevent you from doing what God has commanded, then we ought to obey God rather than men. 

While human authority is ordained by God, all human authority is under the Lordship of Christ, whether that’s church members before church elders, children before parents, employees before employers, or civilians before government officials. [/su_spoiler]

Is it ever right to not obey the law of the land?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]There is a sense in which heart of spiritual life in Christ is reflected by the state of our hearts, and yet it would be wrong to think that there is nothing else involved. 

It’s often a copout for some Christians to avoid doctrine by using some language which implies that living for God is all about your heart. Jesus answered the scribe in Mark 12:30, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” So according to Christ it’s not just our hearts, but our mind and strength as well. 

In fact if you read Paul’s prayers, he repeatedly prays for the believer’s knowledge and understanding which is very telling. At the same time, Jesus prayed in Matthew 11:25, “thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” So while the heart is the true reflection of a man, a man’s heart is shaped by his understanding. But that understanding can only develop in a spirit of childlike humility. [/su_spoiler]

Is the heart of the matter the matter of the heart?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]Definite atonement is a theological term that’s often called limited atonement, or better described as particular redemption. In a nutshell it is the belief that the Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice upon the cross with a particular people in view called the elect. That He died with redemptive effect specifically for them. This view properly presents the death of Christ as a success. 

Take Judas Iscariot as an example, Did Christ die for him? If so, then He suffered the wrath of God for the sins of Judas, and yet Judas is in hell, which means that even though Christ apparently paid for the sins of Judas, God is still demanding that Judas pay for them as well. This makes God unjust. 

Furthermore, Paul says in Ephesians 5:25 that “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” i.e. He gave Himself specifically for the church. 

So definite atonement is the correct belief that Christ secured salvation for all for whom He died. None of this negates your personal responsibility to receive Christ yourself. Have you done that?[/su_spoiler]

What is definite atonement?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]In light of the fact that every genuine Christian is reading the Bible, one might assume that all of them would come to the same conclusions on everything. Yet, the proof is evident that this is not the case. 

What needs to be kept in mind is that communication is a two way street, and information needs to be clearly conveyed and also clearly understood. In the case of the Bible, God is clear in His Word. On every point that Christians disagree, God has given a clear answer. The problem is that God is communicating to sinners, and sinners have hearing and understanding problems. 

With regard to God’s truth, some things He has revealed are of primary, secondary, or tertiary importance. Some you can be wrong about without serious consequences, and some of which if you’re wrong then you’re not a Christian at all. For example, if you deny the deity of Christ, you cannot be a Christian, so any disagreement there is not amongst Christians. 

In short, the problem is not with God or His Word, it is with sinners who by reason of their sinful condition, fail to understand or fail to do what God has made clear.[/su_spoiler]

Why do Christians disagree on so many issues?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]The well known words of Jesus in John 14:6 explicitly tell us that He is the truth. John 1:14 also reveals that Christ is full of grace and truth. We’re also told in John 16:13 that the Spirit is “the Spirit of truth.” 

Each person of the Godhead is truth, and while the scripture is often pointing to redemptive truth, i.e. the truth of the gospel that saves sinners, yet there is a sense in which Christ as God has a monopoly on all truth. 

All the laws of logic and observable truths in the universe have been created by Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:16 says, “all things were created by him, and for him.” So while God has revealed Himself in a special way through scripture, He has also revealed Himself in nature which we call general revelation. 

So any truth that is discoverable through nature, like the laws of logic, has been given by God and any truth we discover can only be discovered because has so ordered those truths that we should discover them. But there is no truth completely detached from or unrelated to God.[/su_spoiler]

Is there any truth outside of Jesus Christ?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]The term reformed is usually strongly connected with the doctrines that came to the fore during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, which was led initially by Martin Luther and carried on by men like John Calvin, John Knox, and William Tyndale. 

These men affirmed and preached certain doctrines that were distinctive from the doctrines taught by the Roman Catholic Church. These are summarized in the Five Solas, sola being the latin term for alone. 

In opposition to the Roman Catholic Church, these Five Solas teach that Scripture is the final authority in faith and practice, and that as sinners we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. 

A reformed Christian then, is one that at the very least affirms these truths, but it ought to go much farther, because at the heart of being reformed is being biblical in every area of life. Thus, if you are truly reformed it will not merely cause you to affirm certain doctrines, but it will change how you parent, how you work, how you view the church, and much more. No area of your life will be untouched.[/su_spoiler]

What is it to be Reformed?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]This is a common misconception. First, God is unchangeable in His being. He is neither more nor less loving in the Old Testament than in the New. Nor is He more or less just in the Old Testament than in the New. So as soon as we start talking this way, we are laying a charge against God that exposes our ignorance of God and the Bible. 

God’s judgment on individuals for their sin is no less severe in the New Testament. For example, in Acts 5 God strikes Ananias and Sapphira dead because they lied about the price of a piece of land. At the end of Acts 12 God strikes Herod dead because of his sin. So God’s wrath is on display on a number of occasions even during the great days of revival in the early church after Pentecost. 

Furthermore, if you think God’s wrath against nations is more severe in the Old Testament than the New, then you need to read all the way through to the end of Revelation. One thing becomes abundantly clear, God will be glorified in His judgement upon unbelieving sinners just as much as in saving sinners.[/su_spoiler]

Why does God seem angrier in the Old Testament than in the New Testament?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]Never. There is never any justification to be angry at God. Whether it is through some event that has happened to you yourself, or the sickness or death of a child, spouse, or another loved one, there is never any justification for the creature to be angry at the Creator. 

Indeed, while humanly speaking I understand why you may feel angry, the fact is your anger at God is a matter for deep repentance. Behind your anger is a sense of pain, and you are allowing that pain to produce an emotion toward God that will have lifelong and eternal consequences. 

You need to realize that God does not owe us a life without pain, suffering, or loss, and there are a million reasons why God should be angry at you or me. Man is the rebel. Man is the disobedient one. Man is the one that God should be angry with, and if we properly understood how sinful we are and that in spite of our sin, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” then we can never justify any anger towards Him. 

He is perfect in all His ways. So repent of your anger, and acknowledge that you deserve worse.[/su_spoiler]

Is it ever justified to be angry at God?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]The simple answer to this question is ‘for His glory’. That is why God does anything, or everything, it is to glorify Himself. 

For reasons we cannot know, God did not think that creating us and having us fixed in His presence from the beginning would be the way He would be most glorified. The entire history of creation and humanity is the story of God revealing His glory, and so nothing is by accident. God intended to glorify Himself through all that has and will happen. 

We read in Revelation 4:11, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” And that’s it in a nutshell, everything was created and ordered in the way that would bring pleasure to God and glory to His name. 

The question we must ask ourselves is, am I living my life for the purpose of glorifying God? That is the purpose of your existence. [/su_spoiler]

Why didn’t God just put us in Heaven with Him from the beginning?

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[su_spoiler title="Click for transcription..." style="default" open="no"]In John 14:13-14, Jesus says to His disciples, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” 

The repeated emphasis on that instruction is asking in Jesus’ name. Since Jesus Christ is the Mediator between God and men, to ask in Jesus name is to ask with the knowledge that what you are asking for is consistent with God’s will, and so you can append the name of Jesus to your prayer with confidence. 

1 John 5:14 says, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.” So the most important issue is praying in accordance to God’s will, and you do that by knowing the Bible. It is aligning your will along with His will, and desiring what Christ desires for Himself, which allows you to pray in Jesus name with confidence that His redemptive work has purchased the answer for which you seek. 

Ask yourself, are your prayers focussed upon requesting what you know is the will of God? They ought to be.[/su_spoiler]

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