QUESTIONS SERIES: Why wouldn’t God stop a “bad” person from causing pain or suffering in the life of someone else?
Please see the comments on the blog question on 9/8/2009 in this series — QUESTIONS SERIES: If it’s all God’s will then why do wars, crime, illness, etc. happen?
I would also recommend a short book by C.S. Lewis entitled – The Problem of Pain. It gives a succinct perspective on pain from a biblical point of view. It’s worth the read if you have this kind of question.
QUESTIONS SERIES: What about the idea of “earthbound spirits”?
The Bible is very clear that there is a spiritual realm all around us that’s inhabited by fallen angels or demons – and Satan himself. Ephesians 6 mentions that these fallen angels are organized and many in number. One of Satan’s main things that he does is to deceive people (2 Cor 4:4).
There is a special promise for all true followers of Christ in 1 John 4:4 – ‘Greater is he who is in you than the one (Satan) that is in the world.?”
QUESTIONS SERIES: What’s up with all of the contradictions in the Bible?
In all my years of studying the Bible, I haven’t found a contradiction that didn’t have a viable, reasonable answer. For more on this, I suggest a book by Dr. Norm Geisler, When Critics Ask. In his book, Geisler deals with just about all of the major and most minor contradictions in the Bible.
QUESTIONS SERIES: If we struggle with the same sin over and over, can we still be forgiven?
Remember what Jesus said to Peter about forgiving each other. In Matthew 18:22, Jesus tells Peter to forgive continually – as long as the person is truly sorry (Luke 17:1-4). I would say that if Jesus calls us to forgive like we can experience the genuine forgiveness of God when we sin – even with the same kind of sin. The important thing is our heart. Are we truly sorry for what we have done? Do we understand how much it hurts God and possibly others when we sin? Are we turning from that sin and asking God to give us the power and strength to avoid it next time?
The only sin that God can’t forgive is the sin of unbelief in Jesus. If we deny Jesus, God can’t forgive us and look the other way. In this state of mind, our hearts are closed off to God’s love, grace and forgiveness.
QUESTIONS SERIES: How do we know if a thought comes from within ourselves or from God?
We need to check our thoughts against what the Bible teaches on that issue or subject. Do our thoughts match up with God’s thoughts? Perhaps a harder thing to do is to submit to whatever the Bible says – even if we don’t agree with it at first. That’s an issue of pride. If we do submit to God on what he says and wants us to do, we’ll experience much more peace in our lives.
