Recently during our latest care group meeting a few questions were asked and Laura was kind enough to take them away and pose them to our leadership at the church. Pastor Scott and Laura reviewed, evaluated and answered the best they could.
I wanted to post them here and see if we can drum up a little feedback get some more insight into these inquiries. I hope to have more as our care group meetings progress. Let me know what you think!
Q. If God created animals both males and female (as described in genesis) and this was “good” by his standards, why would he create a-sexual beings such as earthworms or other creatures who could be both?
A. This questions sets up a false dichotomy: They aren't "either/or", they are both good. Each day of creation was "Good". Complicated design magnifies God's wisdom and creativity. God is beyond gender...as are the angels.
Q. If in the Old Testament children were seen as a blessing, then why would He (God) ever make women to be sterile or barren?
A. Sterility was/is possibly a consequence of sin. It is not necessarily THAT person’s sin...but the result of a sinful and fallen world. The Old Testament world was fallen just as our “New” Testament world is today. Sterility is (in general), judgment. It is also given as a means to show God's glory.
Q. Were Adam and Eve’s children incestuous if they were marrying and inter-marrying with brothers and sisters, cousins, etc.?
A. Necessity. Technically, we’re all cousins. When there were eventually enough people on Earth, God provided a means for us to continue to branch out by way of law.
“Obviously, at the creation of man, Adam and Eve’s sons and daughters married siblings. God approved this at that time for the purpose of populating the earth. People in that age were of a more stable genetic construction, and breeding between siblings did not adversely affect the children of such a union. Even until the time of Moses, marriage between a man and his half-sister or aunt was allowed (Gen. 20:12; Ex. 6:20). Upon giving the civil laws to Moses and the Israelites, God forbade marriage between those who were closely related (Lev. 18; 20). This was to avoid the degeneration of offspring”
Q. What (in God’s opinion) is the appropriate age for marriage if our bodies are ready for child bearing (at an earlier age in biblical days), but our society says differently today?
A. It's not only about physical maturity. It's about maturity of commitment. Assumption of responsibility. Legality is also God's plan.
Q. How does God handle a person who says he/she is a believer, but whose actions do not reflect it? In other words, the person says they are saved, but their actions in life do not suggest a walk with Christ?
A. See 1 John & Matthew 7
It's not the profession of faith, it's the expression of faith by which we can tell we are truly changed. The Gospel is by grace alone. You are saved only by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ...not by works, deeds, church attendance, or how many hours spent in church. Church is a place to grow and expand in faith, and community is how God uses others to sharpen us. The need for God and the church must be recognized.
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