Answering The Difficult Questions In Life
Do you know where to turn to find the answers to the tough questions in life?
I love to talk to teenagers. Discussions with teenagers are unique, bizarre, intriguing, informative, mysterious, and rare at the same time.
Recently I was in Oregon and recorded a live podcast with teenagers on multiple topics that ranged from the family, sexuality, faith, peers, culture, and apologetics. Every time I am with teenagers in forums like this I walk away having learned so much about myself and young people.
Tough Questions
For instance, one young lady asked the question about the first woman. But not Eve. She had me stumped in the moment and I had to do some research on this. I bowed out of answering the question because I could not answer it well enough.
What she was talking about was the creation account in Genesis 1 of mankind (Adam) representing both male and female, and, another account in Genesis 2 of a helpmate so Adam wouldn’t be alone (Eve). These are simply two accounts that belong together in the creation of mankind originally and ultimately. There were ancient beliefs from midrash and Greek literature that stated there was another female (Lilith) created before Eve and she rebelled against Adam so Eve was recreated. This is not consistent with scripture. This is extra-biblical.
Here are a few other thoughts from the live podcast:
“Is it okay to doubt God?”
This is really an easy answer and it is more than semantics. I like to say it this way: we should not doubt God but it is OK to question Him. The difference is that when we question God we are looking for an answer. But when we doubt Him we are making the declaration that limits and cripples God. Ultimately what we're saying is that God is not intimidated by our questions. They actually lead us to to the truth.
“I don’t have a good father figure in my life. What should I do?”
This is the reality in our world today. The lack of a father figure in the home could be a negative thing. But there are ways to turn it into a positive. First, pray for your father if he is living. That is an important relationship that should never be neglected. Second, develop a great relationship with your mother. Third, find other male adult leaders in your family such as uncles or relatives. Fourth, there are always great examples of role models at schools or churches in our teachers and coaches and counselors and pastors. It can also be a great thing for you to begin to pray for your mother that she would meet a husband who then could become a great father in the home.
“Should Christians get abortions?”
I don’t believe that anyone should get an abortion. Whether Christian or not. Every human life deserves a chance to live - whether that is the mother or the child. If in cases where the mother's health or the baby's health is in danger, there are always options like medical help, healing, and adoption. But life is a sacred thing and once conceived should never be killed. Can you imagine, of the millions of babies who have been aborted, how many of them could have added to society and culture with the unique design that God would have had on their life?
“How can I stop being lonely in a crowd?”
I want to stress one important thing. Sometimes the crowd is not a positive thing. Now, friends on the other hand, is a different matter. I believe that if you have a great circle of friends around you that you will not be lonely. Sometimes the loneliness comes because we have the wrong people around us. If you have genuine and authentic friends who love you unconditionally, you would develop relationships and not just the be in a crowd. Besides, I believe that sometimes it is healthy to be alone because that is the place where we can learn to accept and love ourselves. And stop the noise around us.
“Can someone who is a Christian or attends church be a pan-sexual?”
To solve this question we must define sin. That’s not easy to do in our culture. Here’s an easy look at defining sin in any form.
If I willfully practice disobedience to the scriptures I cannot inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5.18-22). So, if we define gender or Sexuality changes as disobedience to God‘s natural order of man and woman, sexual activity or behavior outside of man and woman would be disobedience.
Let’s look at and ask this question a little different. Just because someone attends church does not mean they are Christian. I'm sure you understand that. So let's deal with it by asking “can someone in sexual sin be a Christian?” It is clear in scripture that temptation is not sin. So, just because someone is tempted with sexual sin, in this case pan-sexual (or attracted to both men and women), it doesn't mean they have sinned. The sin takes place when somebody acts upon the temptation. In the same way, because I have thoughts to steal or kill, until I act upon these, I have not committed sin.
Now, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus did include sin as a pattern of thoughts that think on these things. That would be mental action and not a physical action toward the temptation. In this case, each person must decide to what degree of action, mental or physical, they are taking in the temptation.
Finally
In Galatians chapter 5, Paul was dealing with the practice of sins. What is helpful to know is that someone can have pan-sexual or gay thoughts but that does not make them a sinner until they have acted upon this mental or physical behavior. It is important for us to know in answering all of these questions that a person's disposition does not define who they are. Sometimes we can be delivered from these things and sometimes it simply takes discipline.