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Questions & Answers with Neal and Hiram · Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ)

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Welcome to our question and answers tonight with Neal and Hiram. For those of you who
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are members here at Cumberland Trace, you've probably seen us do this from time to time.
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But for those who are visiting with us or joining us for the first time, we have some
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of our members, they'll submit questions to Hiram and Neal and then we'll get together
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on a Sunday night like this and use this as an opportunity to answer some of those questions.
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You know, I think that it's just human nature for us to ask questions. I think it's a way
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that we learn from the time that we're small children, we're always asking questions even
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up into adulthood. So it's always good to grow and one way that we can grow is to ask
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questions and to learn more and dive deeper into God's Word and that's what we're going
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to do here tonight. You know, some scholars say that there's roughly 3,000 to 3,300 questions
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that are asked throughout the Bible. In the New Testament, individuals or groups of people
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ask Jesus around 183 questions, give or take. And Jesus himself asks questions and he does
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this, you know, to provoke thought, to challenge motives and to inspire us to learn. So I always
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look forward to this opportunity for questions and answers. We've got ten questions tonight
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and the first question will be for Hiram. Alright. Do we still entertain angels unaware?
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Are spiritual beings, angels, and demons active in the world today? Do they act in other ways
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in the Bible such as demon possession? The first part of this question comes from Hebrews
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13 2 and in verse 1 it says, let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain
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strangers for by so doing, some have unwittingly entertained angels. Hiram? So this question
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comes from as Barak just read, Hebrews 13 and verse 2 and sometimes when people read
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this passage they wonder, does this mean if we are hospitable then we'll entertain angels? But
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the thrust of this passage in Hebrews 13 2 is really about Old Testament characters. Think
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Abraham in Genesis 18 1 through 21. Think Lot in Genesis 19 1 through 11 and Manoah, Samson's dad
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in Judges 13 1 through 20. These individuals practice hospitality and individuals who came
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to them in the form of men were actually angels. And the point that the Hebrew writer is making is
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when you extend hospitality, think back to these Old Testament faithful individuals,
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they entertain angels unknowingly and if and when we extend hospitality in the way that we should,
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great things are likely to happen as well. Things that may surprise us that we haven't
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considered. This isn't a guarantee that we're going to see angels. That's not even the promise
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in this passage. It just says by doing this, by extending this hospitality, some entertain
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angels without knowing. Whether or not spiritual beings are still active in the world today,
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we recently had two sermons on this. The answer to this question is yes, though they're not active
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today in the same way they were in biblical times. So the Bible says angels are ministering
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spirits sent out to be servants to those of us who are to inherit salvation. Hebrews 1 14. That
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means in some way though unseen to the human eye, angels are involved in helping those of us who
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are heirs of salvation. Angels guard us or watch over us. Jesus said that in Matthew 18 in verse
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10, in heaven their angels always behold their faces. Angels are interested in the salvation of
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humanity. Whether it's the first time somebody responds to the gospel or whether they're
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repenting from having gone astray. Luke 15 10 says the angels in the presence of God rejoice. And
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then according to Luke 16 in verse 22, angels are involved in some way in the transportation of
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God's people from death into the presence of God. And so while we don't see angels today,
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we can still be comforted that God dispatches them to help us in various ways throughout our
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lives. And they're active, though still unseen to us. As far as demons, demons in the Bible did
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occasionally possess people. Primarily in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you see
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and read about demon possession. There's two occasions in the book of Acts, Acts 16 and verse
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16. There's a demon-possessed girl, Paul and Silas cast her demon out. And then in Ephesus in
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Acts 19, 13 through 15, there's some demon possession. Demons don't do that today. Biblically,
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what we see in the Bible, this supernatural strength, this inability to contain a person
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isn't present in the modern era. And yet demons are involved, but their activity has transitioned.
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According to Paul and first Timothy 4 in verse 1, there's what's called the doctrine of demons.
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And you could read first Timothy 4 1 through 3 for a list of the things that Paul says makes
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that up. Or the spiritual warfare that Paul says we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
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principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places, Ephesians 6, 10 through 12.
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So they're active and involved in our world, but not in the visible way that you might have seen
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in the Gospels and in the book of Acts. But here's where I want us to end this question and our
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thinking on this. A lot of times when we read about angels and demons, our fascination because we live
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in the modern age is with what we can see. But instead, we should simply be trusting what the
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Bible says. Angels are involved in the world as ministers and servants to us, though unseen.
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Demons have limited ability to influence our lives through their teaching, but if we know the truth,
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they can't harm us through what's taught by individuals that would be taken captive by them.
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And the spiritual warfare that Paul mentions in the unseen realm in Ephesians 6, 10 through 12,
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we're triumphant even against that so long as we wear the armor of God and do God's will. So instead
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of looking for visible representation of angels and demons, we should trust Romans 8, 38 through 39.
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If we follow God, nothing can separate us from his love. He dispatches angels in a way that's for our
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benefit, though unseen and unrecognized by us. And whatever involvement the demons have in this world,
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they cannot harm, hurt, or destroy a child of God because God keeps us in his love so long as we
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follow him, and we need to look toward that end. Thanks, Hiram. Neil, do you have anything to add
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to that? Just one little piece on the end there with regard. Maybe it'll give us some comfort
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with demon possession. As Hiram pointed out, you see this spike in activity in the Gospels and in
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the first generation of the Gospel being preached. It gave Christ and his apostles the opportunity to
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show that God's power is greater than the power of demons. If we go back to Zechariah 12 through 14,
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Zechariah ends that book looking ahead to a phrase he'll use over and over again,
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and that day and that day. That's the Messianic age. And one of the things he says in Zechariah 13
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and verse 2 is there was going to come a time when the prophet and the spirit of uncleanness
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was going to cease in the land. We can take comfort that demon possession is not going to
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continue to occur because there would not be a way for God to demonstrate his power over that or to
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prove which demons did in possessing people the superiority of Christ and his power to defeat and
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have all authority in heaven and on earth. So you don't have to worry that one day that demon
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possession is going to take place. Certainly, as Hiram said, we're protected by God's power.
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Thank you, Neal. Question two, how do we balance complementing our brethren with allowing them to
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do these works in private in order to build up treasures in heaven? And I think this question
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goes along with like us encouraging our brethren when they're serving in the church or whatever
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they may be doing. So how do we balance that? How much is too much and how much is not enough?
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And Neal, this one's for you. Okay, I think it begins by each of us who do good works
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checking our own motives for why we do it. This is something we struggle with perhaps
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subconsciously, sometimes maybe we know or are aware of it, but Jesus warns us not to do our
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deeds to be seen of men in Matthew 6, 1 through 18 and gives three very basic areas of life where
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we might be tempted to do that with our giving or with our prayers or with a spiritual discipline
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like fasting. Jesus shows his disapproval for that kind of a mindset in Matthew 23 and verse 5
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when he talks about the Pharisees and they love to do their deeds to be seen of men. James 3.14
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talks about selfish ambition, uses a word that means doing something not out of a love for duty
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but weaseling one's way in order to get power or money or position. And so that tendency exists in
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us to have a hard time doing something without wanting others to know that we're doing it.
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Paul says that this is even the preaching of the gospel is prone or subject to that kind of
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temptation. Some are doing that right thing of preaching the gospel message but they're doing
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it from wrong motives. Philippians 1.15 through 17. So I think what that says is is that each one of
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us who are going to do something good for the Lord or to serve need to make sure that we're always
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disciplining our character and making sure that we're watching out that we're doing the right
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thing for the right reason. Now you balance that with what our collective responsibility is for one
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another. Hebrews 10.24 says that we are to stimulate one another unto love and good deeds. In that
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context, one great way we do that is in what we're doing tonight, what we did this morning in the
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worship setting and the songs in which we admonish and teach one another. But that coming together
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provides us a way to encourage and stimulate others to good works. We're not told all the ways
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in which we do that. But we do see principles that are devoted to Christians like Ephesians 4.29.
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Don't let any corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but a word of edification
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which is good that it may give grace unto the hearers or first Thessalonians 5.11. We're to
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edify one another and build up one another. So you and I have a responsibility independent
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of a person's own personal motives for doing right or wrong to make sure we never let a good
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work go unacknowledged if we can help that person and encourage them. They may not be puffed up,
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they may be about ready to give up. And if we go and we help them and reach out to them,
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we may be making a difference in their encouragement versus their giving up.
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Barnabas is known as the son of encouragement. How did he do that? You got to think that he
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looked for ways and looked for people that needed to be lifted up for their evangelism,
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for their public works and good works. I think what we have to do collectively is make sure
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that we leave the reception of those compliments and those words of praise to the character
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development of the person who's doing the good deed. And pray and trust that they will receive
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that and it won't cause them to be puffed up. And make sure that we are always found trying
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to lift up and build up one another. How much better an environment is, all of us suffer I
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think from the lack of vitamin E, of encouragement. And we can give each other a shot in the arm by
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doing that. I would just say Proverbs 27 in verse 2 says, let another praise you and not your own
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lips, a neighbor and not yourself. And so there's several things we could say about that, but Neil
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covered most of it. I would just say the Bible expects you to allow this to happen. So don't
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boast and do it yourself, but we do need to allow other people to encourage us as long as it doesn't
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bleed over into praise and worship and unnecessary and unworthy exaltation. But we should allow
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people to encourage us. The Bible holds two people responsible for keeping us humble. One is ourselves
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and the other is God. Sometimes we withhold praise from other people or we'll even give a compliment
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and say, now don't get the big head. Well, that's not your responsibility. You're supposed to keep
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people encouraged. God in themselves is responsible for keeping them humble. So we might worry like,
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I don't want to overdo it in encouraging them. That's not really a concern of scripture. If it's
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genuine and not flattery, God says pour it on, encourage people and build them up because most
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people are on the verge of giving up. As Neil mentioned, most people, all of us need encouragement
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and we should allow other individuals to work through their own humility and response.
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Thanks, Hiram and Neil. Question number three.
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In Proverbs 6, 16 through 19, why does Solomon say that there are six sins God hates and then uses
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the word abomination for the seventh? Are some sins greater than others? Hiram? Alright, if you have
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your Bible, go ahead and turn it to Proverbs 6 so that you can see this. Proverbs 6, 16 through 19
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is where this is found and it's important to know Solomon wrote this in the section of the Old
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Testament known to us as wisdom literature and I think just the brief word or two about
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how Hebrew poetry works, especially the Proverbs, will be helpful in trying to figure out what's
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going on here. So our poetry rhymes but one of the ways biblical poetry often works is
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through parallel thoughts, sometimes contrasting two things, but sometimes saying the very same
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thing but the second line is always designed to add more emphasis. So let's just do some Proverbs
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most of us know. Proverbs 16 and verse 18, for example, says a proud spirit goes before a mighty,
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a proud spirit goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Both of those lines
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are saying the same thing. A proud spirit goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before
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a fall but that second line is designed to add some oomph to what's being said. Basically, pride is
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very dangerous or Proverbs 17 and verse 17. The first line says a friend loves at all time and a
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brother is born for adversity. Those two lines are saying the same thing but the second aspect of that
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line is designed to add extra emphasis to what's being said and that same thing's happening in
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Proverbs 6 and verses 16 through 19. Solomon says these six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an
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abomination. So the six things that the Lord hates are parallel to abomination. Same thing involved,
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nothing different. Now you might be wondering, yes, but what about that last statement? He said six and
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then added seven. This is another one of those Hebrew idioms it appears throughout the Bible.
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When Eliphaz is talking to Job in Job 5 and verse 19, he says the Lord will deliver you in six
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troubles, yes, and seven trouble won't come near you or destruction won't come near you. He doesn't mean
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six, you're getting close, but seven, God will jump in at the last minute. He's saying the same thing but
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then doubling down at the end. So you see that in Proverbs 6 and verse 16. Go to Proverbs 30 and just
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notice the same idea of these numbers are used, nothing to do with the truth of the statement
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being different from the six and the seven, but you'll see this several times starting in Proverbs,
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just start in verse 30 and verse 18. There are three things which are too wonderful for me, yes,
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four which I know not. So you see that three and then four. Look at verse 21, Proverbs 30. For three
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things the earth is disquieted and for four it cannot bear. If you drop down to verse 24, four
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things which are little upon the earth and then you see it again in verse 29 and it's even if you
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go back up in verse 15 and verse 16. Just a biblical expression, a way of saying I've said x, x, x and
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then this plus one kind of concludes this thought and sums all of this up together. So the seven
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things that Solomon mentions in Proverbs 6, 16 through 19 are all equally despised by God and
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viewed as ungodly. The last part of this question and whether or not some sins are greater than
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others are is a different question separate on its own. All sin will land a person in the same place
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if a person remains unrepentant of it. So Romans 6 and verse 23 says the wages for sin is death.
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That means you could eventually lose your soul eternally for blasphemy, for murder, for dishonesty,
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for a bad attitude, for pride. All sin eventually lands a person in the same place if we refuse
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to repent. But in this life all sin does not carry the same consequences and do the same damage and
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sometimes certain behaviors bring on God's wrath in this life to a higher degree typically because
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of the greater influence it has to do damage. So Genesis 19, Sodom and Gomorrah is destroyed for
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inhospitality and for homosexual behavior. Genesis 19, God didn't do that to every wicked nation all
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the time but on that occasion he saw fit to do so. In Genesis 6 with Noah the thoughts of the
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imaginations of people's hearts was evil continually and God destroyed the whole world with the flood.
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Jerusalem, the entire nation is destroyed because of their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah
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in Matthew 24. So this isn't any kind of encouragement to say sin quieter or be more
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skilled in your sinning. All sin that we remain impenitent of could cost us our soul but there are
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some transgressions that just affect people's lives even in the current age more than others.
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Physical violence and things of that nature. In 1 Timothy 5 24 Paul says some men's sins are open
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leading straight to destruction. Other sins are hid and they won't be exposed until afterwards and so
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are some sins greater than others in the grand scheme? Absolutely not. But in the immediate
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sometimes some sins carry greater effects and harm toward the human race and throughout
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scripture we see some of those things bring on God's wrath to a greater degree.
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Thanks Hiram. Neil, do you have anything to add to that? That's good. All right, wonderful explanation there.
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Number four, this question's for you Neil. 1 Corinthians 11 1. This scripture seems to
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demonstrate Paul's pride. I know he brings the attention back to Christ when he says he
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imitates Christ. How does this verse correlate to other scriptures about the danger of pride?
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Okay, I'm just going to deal with this question as it appears. I'll answer that because you'll
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see when I give you my answer. I don't think that this verse correlates to the great many other
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scriptures about the danger of pride and we could deal with that on its own because I don't know
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that we can at all establish that Paul is demonstrating pride here. If you have your
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Bibles, look at 1 Corinthians 11 1. This is a passage that's very familiar. Paul is
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actually going to say this same thing three times in scripture. He's going to say it in 1 Corinthians
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4 16 and Philippians 3 17. Basically it is, follow me, follow my example.
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Here he says, be imitators of me as I also am of Christ. Okay, so Paul first of all gives a
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condition. He's not saying look at me, follow me, I want you to be my disciples. He gives the
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condition, you only follow me as I am following Christ. So he's making it clear he himself is a
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disciple. He's a student and he's following his great teacher. The second thing that can help us
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to appreciate that Paul is not demonstrating pride here is to keep this in its immediate
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context. In 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and chapter 10, Paul has been talking about the things he had
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the right to do that he gave up for the good of others. He is showing us throughout this context
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that his focus is on the salvation of others. He wants them to be right with Christ and so you may
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think in 1 Corinthians 9 it's that passage we often refer to, I become all things to all men.
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Even in chapter 10 verse 32 and 33, the verses right immediately before this, he says he's doing
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everything for the salvation of others. And so Paul, when he says I want you to follow me
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as I follow Christ, he's given us some great ways in which this very divided church could improve
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their spiritual walk by trying to do the very things that he is demonstrating. But how does
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Paul feel about himself? We can stay in this same letter for an example of how Paul saw himself
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spiritually. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 9, Paul says I am the least of the apostles who
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am not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. In 1 Timothy 1
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and verse 15, he says I'm the chief of sinners. So it doesn't seem at all that Paul is saying,
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look, I'm great, I've achieved all of this and you need to follow me. He's saying I'm in lockstep
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behind Christ and I'm trying to follow him. You look in the second letter and he'll tell you
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everything he's tried to give up for the cause of Christ and the concern he has for the church,
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what he's given up, what he's sacrificed. And he says as long as I'm doing that, follow me.
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That's a great principle for us. We're not ever trying to get anybody to shine the light on us
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and who we are, but we're trying to follow Jesus. And if we do that, we should be saying,
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you need to get in line behind me as I follow Christ. Not me, but the Christ that I'm leading
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you toward. Very well said. Hiram, that's good. All right, moving on to question number five.
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How does the materialist, humanist, and nihilist culture affect Christians and seep into
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our everyday beliefs? And what are the logical inconsistencies and dangers of that?
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Okay, I'll start by saying I had to look up all three of those words just to make sure I knew
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what was being discussed. So if you're like, what is that? I'm right there with you. Yeah, so
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all three of these things, you know these, you may not know these terms, they kind of all parallel
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the same ideas. And these three worldviews, the materialist, the humanist, and the nihilist,
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all have this worldview that basically squeezes God out of human existence and definitely removes
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him from the focal point. So the materialist mindset says everything you can see and touch,
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everything you can experience with the five sense, that's it. That's the only thing that
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matters. If you can't experience it that way, then it has no bearing on your life. The nihilist says
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there is no objective truth. You really can't know anything for sure. There's no true core
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concept or purpose in life. Everybody's just free to do what they want. And then the humanist takes
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God off the throne and makes humanity the ultimate focus and focal point of what humans are supposed
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to be about. And as you hear those three worldviews, those three approaches, you automatically know if
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you have any familiarity with scripture, they're anti-New Testament Christianity, and you can't be
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God's person and subscribe to any of those. Truth can be known. John 8 and verse 32, Jesus says,
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you can know the truth and the truth will set you free. It says throughout scripture that humans
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were made for God's glory, Isaiah 43 and verse 7. So we do have purpose. There's this idea that
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we're the crown of God's creation, Psalm 8 verses 4 and 5, and there's more to this world than just
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simply meets the human eye. And so materialism is false. Jesus says, lay up for yourselves treasures
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in heaven and not only on earth. Lay up treasures where moth nor rust can corrupt and where thieves
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don't break through and steal, Matthew 6, 19 through 21. So the simple short answer is all three
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worldviews need to be rejected by Christians because they're antithetical to God and undermine
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God and our beliefs in Christianity and who we're supposed to be. But the second part of this
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question is important, and how does it seep into our everyday beliefs? And I think it's trying to
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seep in everywhere. And again, maybe you need a dictionary to look up these words, and the next
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time you see it, you'll run in the opposite direction. But it comes in through all sorts of
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ways, and the world is trying to get its worldview across to us through various means. It's in the
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books that we read, the media we take in, the shows that we watch, it's in sports, everything
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that's saying glorify the self. Every time you hear something like somebody say, you only live once,
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it's designed to suggest you've got to go for it because this is your only chance. When you hear
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people say, only do what makes you happy, and you think, oh, this is a nice thing to share on social
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media. Get everybody out of your life that's difficult or that's challenging, that makes you
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miserable, or hey, all of your life should be about your personal ease and comfort. It's these humanistic
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worldviews that are seeping in, and I'm not suggesting that we turn off all media and all
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engagement with the world, but just be mindful that the devil blinds the eyes of unbelievers,
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2 Corinthians 4, 3 through 4, and the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life
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of 1 John 2, 15 through 17 doesn't always come with labels. It comes in early childhood movies
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and through various means that say you're the most important person in the world. All of life is about
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you, and anything that makes your life difficult, anything that involves sacrifice, and anything that
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says you should be ascribing worship and praise and glory to somebody above you must ultimately
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be rejected, and so engage with the world through the biblical filters of scripture, and make sure
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just because something sounds nice, you don't drink it down and take it in because it just might be
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laced with poison, and the Bible's trying to warn us about that. And do you think it's in the modern
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world that these things are seeping into everyday beliefs more now than ever? Yeah, I think so. I
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think there's a lot of this being, again, pushed on us. Your own personal happiness is supposed to be
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the most important thing about a person today, and the world preaches self-esteem, but the New
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Testament is consistently preaching self-denial. Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow me daily,
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Luke 9 and verse 23, and so again, we need to be on alert because the world's telling us
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you don't need to worry about God. You don't need to worry about serving others. The most important
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person in your life is you, and Jesus says if you want to be great, become a slave of all people,
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Mark 10, 43 to 45, and so we're going to either listen to Jesus or to the narratives of the world.
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Number six, this one's for you, Neil. If we're raising young girls and boys, what is the best
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way to teach a godly version of modesty and how to push back against culture and how the world
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values this versus a Christian? Okay, so what I'd like you to do first is take your Bible and turn
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to 1 Timothy 2, verse 9 and verse 10. I'll wait for you. 1 Timothy 2, 9 and 10, and then also put
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your finger there and go to 1 Peter 3, verse 3 and 4. If what Hiram said is right and that
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the culture is trying to infiltrate our thinking and to affect and distort our view of what it
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means to live with purpose in this world, we've got to think that he has specific strategies to
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do that, and our question here, number six, is looking at one of those specific ways, and that
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has to do with a godly version of modesty. So let's look at those passages. 1 Timothy 2,
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verse 9 and verse 10. By the way, the word modesty, if you want a definition, I found
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it's a sense of shame and it's a sense of honor which hinders one from doing an unworthy act.
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That's modesty. It's both a sense of shame that I do something that would be dishonorable,
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but also a sense of wanting to try to be honorable and not do anything that works against that.
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And while that definition of modesty doesn't specifically talk about clothing, when we think
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about modesty, that's one very clear way in which that's expressed. We get an idea of that. So the
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first passage, 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 9, Paul says,
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Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly,
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not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works,
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as is proper for women, making a claim to godliness. Now, Paul in both of these passages
28:28
are focusing on the women. Here, it's the role that women play in the household of God.
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In 1 Peter chapter 3, he is again speaking to women, but just like when Paul says that a woman
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who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives is not just true of a woman but true of a man,
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we should make this application to men and not just to women. But here's what Paul says in 1
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Timothy 2 verse 9, that the apparel, the clothing that's put on, it's got to be proper. So when we
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approach that, we've got to ask ourselves with regard to what we put on, is it proper? Another
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way to say that is, is it appropriate? So that's subjective, that requires judgment. And it is to
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be discreet. So the opposite of discreet would be indiscreet, that is, that which shows no
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discretion at all. And it ought to send the message, according to Paul, that the wearer of
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this is godly, somebody who is professing godliness. And so all of these are some built-in
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variables and factors that God is giving to any person to consider what it is that they're going
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to put on. In this context, Paul focuses on a kind of an ostentation, an over-the-top overdressing.
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But anything that would fall in the area of not being discreet, not being appropriate or proper,
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is something that we've got to consider whatever that garment is. All right, go over to 1 Peter
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chapter 3 verse 3 and verse 4, and Peter's speaking to a Christian wife here, and he says,
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your adornment must not be merely external, braiding the hair and wearing gold jewelry or putting on
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dresses, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle
30:07
and quiet spirit which is precious in the sight of God. And so what Peter is saying is, is that the
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Christian woman, and again by application the man, is going to be emphasizing the inner qualities
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rather than the externals, what's on the outsides. I mean, worried about the spirit, Peter says,
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and then by contrast not the body. Now let's think about what Peter and what Paul have said
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and contrast that with the culture. What does the culture through our clothing so often want to
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emphasize? It wants to emphasize not the character but the body. And a lot of the choices that are
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made by way of the the fashion that is available not just emphasizes the physique but also is cut
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or built in such a way as to be sexually alluring, to be sexually attractive. That's the way the
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if we're saying that it's my pleasure, my happiness, that life is all about me, then this falls right
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in line with what Peter and Paul are saying that a Christian does not do when they go to clothe
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themselves. They're not putting the emphasis there, they're putting it on the inner person.
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And so here's what, in my view, here's what a Christian should ask with regard to their
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wardrobe. Number one, what is my primary goal in wearing this? And if we don't think about that,
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that's probably a good question for us to ask is, as I think about what I'm going to wear, why
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am I choosing this? Number two, am I attaching my value and worth to my looks or to my character?
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And that's not to say, by the way, I hope you're not hearing in that, you know by the way that
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not I'm a fashion statement anyway, but I'm not saying we dress like some of our more conservative
31:50
friends in the community, they're wearing all black and hats and so forth, but I'm giving thought to
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my value and my, what is it on? Is it on my external look or is it my character? And then
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number three, am I drawing attention to me or my works? This is a hard question. So this is not a
32:10
question I'm trying to answer for you, it's a question that each of us are asking for ourselves.
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And when we approach any subject like this, there are both poles and then there's the middle.
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I think we would all agree that there are some things that would be modest, that there's no
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question, that we would all be in agreement, is not that which draws attention to the outer person.
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And I think on the other end of that, that all of us would agree that there are some apparel choices
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that would be clearly immodest. And we would start at the very extreme, nudity, we would all agree,
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it's not modest, it's not even a clothing choice. That wearing one's undergarments in public
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would not be considered appropriate or an expression of godliness, or a string bikini,
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or things that are obviously going to be sexually accentuating and not going to be an expression
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of godliness and good works. In between all of that is that area of discretion in which we have
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got to be prayerful and careful and to give thought about what it is that we wear and how
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it impacts those around us. Culture doesn't care about that, it's not even thinking about that,
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but god expects us to put the emphasis on our good works and not on the externals.
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Thank you, Neil. I'm just going to say the last part that Neil said, and this goes back to the
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fifth question about nihilism and materialism and all of that. The people that make clothes
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in the modern age don't study 1 Timothy 2 or 1 Peter 3 before they start making the cutouts
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and the drawings for clothing. So with that said, wherever you think in this judgment realm,
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here's the one thing I think we should all be thinking about with modesty. We should increasingly
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expect this to be somewhat difficult. Sometimes people go to the store and they're like, look,
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I tried, they didn't have anything because this is the best they had, these were the only options.
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And what I'm saying is in light of these biblical passages, you might have to look,
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you might have to shop around, you might have to order something, but we shouldn't expect this.
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Discipleship is supposed to be challenging and difficult. This is just one area where that might
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be increasingly challenging in our society because of where we live, and the world is
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never trying to do its best to help us cooperate with the will of God, but just because it's
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challenging and just because it's difficult doesn't give us permission to mail it in.
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I think we can all work through that without thinking somebody's the modesty police and
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telling me exactly what to wear, but just remember as we go through this, the world's not interested
34:43
in making this easy on us, but we still have to do what God says. These passages have something
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to say to us. Thanks, Hiram. One thing I will say when you're raising young boys and girls,
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don't be afraid to openly talk to them about things like modesty when they're very,
35:00
very young, or any other topic for that matter, because the older they get, the more influenced
35:07
they become through media and everything else that they're exposed to, so start early
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and discuss things like this with your children. Question number seven.
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Hiram, this one is for you. In Genesis 6, verses 6 through 7, God expresses regret that He made
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human beings because of their evil desires. Also, in 1 Samuel 15, 11, God expresses regret that He
35:37
made Saul king. Since we know that God knows the end from the beginning, what does the word regret
35:42
mean in these passages? Okay, for time's sake, you see the passages on the screen. The word regret
35:50
in both of these passages, and it's actually used down throughout 1 Samuel 15, it's a word that I
35:55
know English translations a lot of times go with regret, that's fine, but it also communicates
35:59
this idea to mourn or to be remorseful about something, and while it's true, the Bible says
36:04
God knows the end from the beginning, Isaiah 46 and verse 10, and God knows how everything's going
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to turn out with what humans are going to do as well as His actions before they ever take place,
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Psalm 139, 1 through 11. That doesn't change the fact that God is also thoroughly involved and
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invested in human lives and in the world, and He expresses emotion as those things take place, and
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so the Bible says sometimes things about God having physical attributes or responses to communicate
36:32
things to us about God so that we can relate to them, and this is one of those things where God
36:37
has this remorse, God has this mournful idea or attitude, but that doesn't mean that it caught
36:42
him off guard or that he didn't know, and this happens with you and me all the time. You can know
36:47
that you have a family member who, because of their age, is getting closer to death. You can know that
36:52
this is my last year of school, and I'm going to graduate, and I'm going to move on, or this is
36:56
going to be my last time at this job, and you can have full knowledge of that fact, and yet when that
37:01
day comes, you receive no new information, nothing's caught you off guard, and yet you have an emotional
37:05
response. Doesn't mean you didn't know it, doesn't mean it caught you off guard, but it's a human
37:10
tendency to have remorse, to have this kind of mourning atmosphere or attitude, even when you
37:15
already knew from the beginning how things were going to turn out. We didn't originate that. We
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received those attributes from God because we're made in His image, and so what I want to say about
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these passages is just keep in mind the way the Bible depicts God and make sure our view of God
37:30
lines up with Scripture and not our own, and by that I just mean don't have this idea about God
37:35
and Scripture that God's basically in heaven as this all-knowing wizard, and because He knows all
37:41
things, knows what's going to happen before anything takes place. He doesn't feel anything,
37:45
experience anything, or care about anything. He's just stone-faced because He already knows and
37:50
nothing catches Him off guard, and then when you read in a passage about God having emotion,
37:54
you're sort of surprised as if omniscience means He's totally detached. The Bible says God sings
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Zephaniah 3, 17. He loves Jeremiah 31 in verse 3. He mourns and is afflicted when we're afflicted,
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Isaiah 63 in verse 9. He's heartbroken, Psalm 78 in verse 40, that God is filled with joy, Psalm
38:15
16 in verse 11, and all of those attributes that we possess, we didn't originate those. They're
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bestowed on us as image bearers of God, so God can be perfectly all-knowing and still deeply involved
38:27
and invested in the lives of people, so much so that when Saul makes terrible decisions, it didn't
38:32
catch God off guard, but he's sorry it happened. The days of Noah and the wickedness there didn't
38:37
catch God off guard as if His omniscience was in jeopardy, but He's heartbroken that humanity has
38:42
come to this place, though knowing it ahead of time, it still stung Him, and if we can appreciate
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that in our own lives, we should appreciate the same thing happens with God. All right, moving
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on to question 8. Does John 15-16 support Calvinism, that man can only be saved if Jesus chooses
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to save them instead of free will? What other verses address this line of thinking? Neil?
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So if we had more time, we would talk more about what Calvinism is, although that comes up from
39:12
time to time, but this is the idea of one tenet or one teaching of Calvinism that teaches the
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unconditional election, that God chooses you arbitrarily. We sometimes call it Calvinistic
39:28
predestination, that God determines specifically who is going to be saved. From eternity, He picked
39:34
out the people. Now what we would suggest is the Bible does teach predestination, but God selected
39:40
the plan, and the people who are saved are those who submit to the plan. John 15-16 is Jesus teaching
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in the private discourse to His apostles. He is saying this statement to the apostles, and He says,
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you didn't choose me, I chose you to bear fruits and to do the work that's appointed.
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This is the same language we find back in John chapter 6 and verse 70, speaking about the same
40:05
thing, that these individuals were chosen. Now those who teach the doctrine that I mentioned
40:10
have passages that they appeal to, and they, for example, Romans chapter 9, that the Lord shows
40:18
mercy on whom He will show mercy, He hardens those whom He will harden. What I find interesting is
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that in all of those cases, you have free will. None of it's been given up. You have the Jews
40:30
who are trying to be justified by works, and it's because of that they're not going to be saved, and
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the Gentiles that are being spoken of at the end of the chapter, in Romans 9 verse 30-33,
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they have chosen by faith to follow Christ, and that's how they are accepted. But you go back to
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the very beginning of the chapter, and we read about Abraham's seed. You remember God made a
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promise that through Abraham's seed, all the nations of the earth are going to be blessed.
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That's an appeal to the plan. God revealed the plan, and God says anybody who submits to this plan
41:02
is going to be saved. The who of God's predestination is the people of God who submit to the will of
41:11
God. In the Old Testament, it was the Jews. Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 6, He said, I chose you
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out of all the nations of the earth. In the New Testament, it's the church. First Peter chapter 2
41:21
in verse 9, you are a chosen generation. But then the Bible tells us the how of predestination,
41:28
that Ephesians 1 and verse 4, 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 13 says that we are chosen by
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sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth. You are chosen in Him from the foundation
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of the world to be holy and blameless in your deeds. So God calls all of us, gives all of us
41:50
the opportunity to be saved. Anybody who turns to his plan and submits to it will be saved.
41:56
Perhaps the best way to illustrate this is if you ever fly, the airlines, they publish
42:02
their lists of flights and they have a planned flight from city A to city B. On Monday, May 18,
42:12
2026, there's a flight going from Nashville to JFK. It's leaving at 825 out of gate C-16.
42:20
It's going. Now, to get on that, what you've got to do is you've got to buy a ticket.
42:27
And then you've got to go and you've got to occupy that seat. You buy the ticket, you don't get on
42:31
the seat. That plane is still going to that destination, but you're not going to be on that.
42:35
Or you can't expect that you can get on that flight without buying a ticket and get to that
42:39
destination. Calvinistic predestination says somebody who doesn't want to buy the ticket
42:44
and doesn't want to go to that destination, doesn't have a choice, God's going to put them there and
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send them there. And even if you have a million dollars and you want to be on that flight, you
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can't get on that. The Bible nowhere teaches that. It teaches whosoever will, let them come and take
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the water of life freely. And so, it does not and no other passage would teach or support the idea
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that God chooses us instead of us, along with God's sovereign choice, making the choice to obey him.
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All right, question nine. When talking to others about how to live according to Christ, how can we
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steer discussions toward looking at what the Bible instructs us to do rather than making it a
43:25
conversation about personal beliefs about the Bible? Tyrone? I think this may be one of the
43:30
hardest things we try to do in evangelism, and I would say you want to make sure you get a few
43:36
things agreed upon foundationally before you move forward. So, if you're talking to somebody about
43:41
how to live for God and what's supposed to be the response, rather than immediately throwing out
43:45
verses and beliefs, the first thing I want to know is, does this person agree that the Bible is the
43:51
inspired word of God? Do they take the Bible as authoritative, 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17? If the answer
43:56
is no, stop the behavioral discussion and immediately transition or set up a time to sit
44:02
down and study to establish that as true. If a person agrees the Bible is the inspired word of
44:07
God, I'm under his governance, I submit to scripture as being true, the second question is, are you willing
44:12
and ready to submit to what the Bible says and do what scripture teaches, even if it means you have
44:17
to change? I'd be willing to do the same thing if, as we discuss and study, I find things in scripture
44:22
that I'm not complying with, but if we say we know them and don't keep his commands, we're liars,
44:26
1 John 2, 3 through 5, and if we love him, we'll keep his commandments, John 14 and verse 15. So,
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do you want to do what the Bible says? Are you prepared to do that? If a person agrees with that,
44:36
then I would say you can get into this discussion, and as you discuss beliefs with this person,
44:41
whether it's about behavior, whether it's about doctrine and how to be saved, whether it's about
44:45
the church and worship, as much as you can, try to use terminology like, well, you know the Bible says,
44:52
well, the Holy Spirit says through this passage, well, scripture says. As much as you can, try to
44:56
remove the subjective lens from the discussion and point people back to, here's what the Bible's
45:01
saying, and remember, we agreed upon this standard as what we ought to be doing. Another thing to do is,
45:07
instead of always and only making assertions, ask people questions. Once they agree upon those
45:12
foundational things, it'd be helpful to say, do you think that the Bible affirms this behavior in
45:17
light of these passages, or don't you see why the Bible's encouraging us to do this versus this?
45:23
In a nutshell, as much as you can, you want to remove the barrier between individuals and not
45:27
make this personal and allow individuals that haven't encountered with God through scripture,
45:32
because God's more winsome than us. Hebrews 4 and verse 12 says, the word of God is powerful,
45:37
sharper than any two-edged sword, and then verse 13 says, all things are naked and open
45:41
before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. God's the greatest soul winner, and as
45:45
long as we can keep pointing people back to, here's God's word, somebody said God's word doesn't need
45:50
to be defended, it's a line that just needs to be let out of the cage, and if people can agree on
45:55
that standard, it won't be subjective. You just keep pointing back to passages. And one more thing,
46:01
at least it's a lesson I'm learning in personal work, you don't need a hundred passages. Just
46:06
drill down. If you're talking about one subject, God only has to say something one time to make
46:10
his point, and so just try to let the passages make their impression and not overwhelm a person
46:15
with 50 different verses. Just say, now what about this passage and what God says here? How are we
46:19
going to respond to this? And let them think through it and trust God's work to do the work
46:24
that he says it would do. Okay, Neil, question 10 is for you. Are shyness and introversion personal
46:31
defects God expects us to overcome to be pleasing to him? What are some of the practical ways people
46:37
with these personality tendencies can joyfully and naturally serve God and others? So the short
46:43
answer to the first question is no, they're not defects to overcome. Hippocrates was not a
46:51
religious man, he was a physician and he was a philosopher, but he was the first to come up with
46:57
the four temperaments theory, and I think it's pretty accurate. If you think about the people
47:01
that you know, there are two extroverted and two introverted personalities, and he associated with
47:06
bodily organs and fluids, but modern adaptations that maybe you have heard still express the same
47:13
thing, that there are two extrovert personalities. There's the sanguine, the life of the party,
47:18
that's an oversimplification, the one who has a hard time maybe focusing on a task and finishing
47:24
it. You have the choleric, which is an extrovert personality, that's the boss, the take charge,
47:30
that is not shy to give their opinions, and there are two introverted personalities. There's the
47:37
melancholy, some would say that this is the one who is very driven to be a rule follower,
47:43
and very black and white, right and wrong, is a much more quiet personality. The phlegmatic, which
47:49
is the peacemaker type. With every personality, and again that's an oversimplification, some have
47:56
argued that Jesus had all the strengths of all of those temperaments, and none of the weaknesses,
48:02
and as we grow to be more like Christ, we grow in those areas, and we shy away from those things we
48:08
shouldn't be doing. I think that introverts have their own particular spiritual struggles,
48:15
and so do extroverts, and then the thing that we don't know is that we don't get a personality
48:20
analysis of the various characters in the Bible, so we don't know who's extroverts and introverts.
48:24
We may get some clues that maybe Peter is a boss, take charge kind of a guy, and we may see the
48:30
Samaritan woman as maybe somewhat more of an introverted personality, but we don't know
48:34
these things because we only spend a very short period of time with them and not their entire lives,
48:40
but they're thankfully, no matter what you consider yourself, somebody who draws their
48:44
energy from people, an extrovert, somebody, and that's an oversimplification, and somebody who
48:50
draws their energy away from people. God has ways for you to be open, be involved.
48:57
I'll just give a few suggestions about how you can joyfully and actually serve God if you find
49:01
yourself as an introvert, and this is hard for me because I'm an extrovert. I married an introvert,
49:05
so I've observed one for 34 years. First thing you can do is glory in the ability to be a silent
49:13
soldier. Think about all the behind-the-scenes work that needs to be done that will help the
49:18
kingdom of God grow. The four friends in the gospel account of Mark that brought their friend
49:23
to Jesus, that's what we know about them. They're doing this, that grunt labor, and Jesus glorifies
49:29
service. So much that happens in the life of a church that helps it to thrive and grow happens
49:35
where other people aren't watching, not in front of a big group. You think about David's mighty men.
49:41
They do some valiant works. We don't know much about them. Most of the apostles, we don't know
49:45
what they did publicly. Peter's sermon is recorded. We don't hear the sermons of most
49:51
of the other apostles. The second thing that I would suggest with regard to that
49:56
is to see value in the one-on-one opportunities. Jesus was a master of the one-on-one. None of us
50:04
would maybe consider him an introvert, and we don't really know exactly, but Jesus was
50:09
always one-on-one, and that's where great work is done. Philip went to Samaria, but then he went to
50:14
the Ethiopian eunuch. Which one of those was more important in the overall? The third thing I would
50:20
say is don't compare yourself to other people. Comparison gets you in trouble in so many different
50:26
ways. Admire and thank God for the strengths that other people have, and then you use the abilities
50:33
and temperament and the nurturing and all that's made you who you are. Grow more like Christ in
50:39
that and do the very best you can with what God gives you. And tied to that, I would say number
50:44
four is seriously ask God with the abilities and the temperament and personality you have
50:53
to open doors for you, and then go looking for those doors, and then have the resolve to walk
51:00
through those doors and do what you can with what God gives you as an opportunity. God uses all of
51:06
us. Isn't that the glory of the church? First Corinthians chapter 12. We have the eyes and the
51:10
ears and the hands and the feet, and God works through all of us to accomplish his will.
51:16
Harlan, would you like to comment on that last question? All right, thank you both. Wonderful
51:22
answers, very detailed, and we appreciate you guys doing that. Neal, I'll let you close with the
51:27
invitation. Barrett mentioned at the very beginning that Jesus asked questions to get us to provoke
51:33
thought, and I want you to think of two as we close. Jesus in Matthew chapter 16 asks two of them.
51:39
The first question he asked is, who do men say that I, the son of man, am? The answer to that
51:44
will impact where we spend our eternity. Peter gives the right answer. You are the Christ, the
51:49
anointed one, the chosen one, the son of God. And because that's the fact, and he came as God in the
51:55
flesh to die for us, giving the right answer to that and understanding what we need to do in response
52:01
to that is so important. Jesus also asked a question in that same occasion, what shall it
52:07
profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? What will a man give in exchange for
52:13
his soul? Jesus came as the son of God to provide an answer so that we can make the decision to not
52:21
exchange our soul for this world, and he says all we need to do is to respond to who he is in truth.
52:28
Tonight we give you that opportunity if you believe that Christ is the son of God,
52:32
to act on that faith by repenting and being baptized to have your sins washed away,
52:36
and to make the choice of discipleship to follow him, knowing that whatever you give up in any
52:41
regard, that you're going toward the the home of God to be with him forever. We must let nothing
52:47
stand in the way of that. If as a child of God there's something that you're struggling with
52:52
and you need to rededicate yourself to Christ, we're going to give you that opportunity as Clint
52:56
leads us in a song of invitation right now.