Q&A - Questions We Didn't Get To: Legalism Signs?

How can I better detect legalism in the church? I didn't realize how legalistic my old church was until after I left. The list of all the things we "good Christians" should / should not do was very long.

When a church requires you keep certain man-made “rules” in order to be holy / make God happy / be “a good Christian” / etc – that's legalism. Our righteousness is found in Christ (2Corinthians 5:21), and we follow the guidelines of God's Word to live uprightly according to God's instruction – for His glory and our benefit. We can't "keep rules" to become holy and pleasing to God - Jesus already provided the righteousness we require. (we have an upcoming sermon on "obedience" that may be worth listening to if this is confusing).

But the biggest indicator is when the “rules” are man-made, not instruction from the Bible. Rules like “don't play cards, don't dance, don't listen to this kind of music, don't wear these kinds of clothes, don't wash your car on a Sunday” etc - and “anyone who violates this/these rule(s) is shunned or disciplined or rebuked from the church.”

Ugh. Not in the Bible. Won't produce righteousness. That's just legalism. 

Q&A - Questions We Didn't Get To: Who Does God Love More?

Does God love Israel more than Gentiles grafted in?

God has and always will have a special love for Israel, from whom came the Messiah. But even in the Old Testament, God has displayed a love for the WORLD. And now, that special covenant love is due to the reconciliation to God brought by Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:16, 3:6). Showing no partiality (Galatians 2:6), God loves all His people equally: Jew/Greek, slave/free, male/female (Galatians 3:28).  

Q&A - Questions we didn't get to: Whoops...!

Yikes. We discovered some questions from Q&A day in December that were not answered! Let's knock these ones off, along with an apology to whoever asked them!

Why were the patriarchs of the Bible permitted to have multiple wives? Wasn't marriage created 1 man and 1 woman from the beginning with Adam and Eve? Were they living in disobedience and sin? What gives? Not that I need another wife... 1 is all I need.

Haha, true – God's intention from the beginning was 1 man, 1 woman, 1 lifetime (according to Jesus, Matthew 19:4-7) - and yes some patriarchs had many wives. It was wrong – and caused a lot of problems (consider David and Bathsheba's affair, as well as Solomon's waywardness due to his wives).

If the Samaritans are descendants of the tribes of Jacob, why are they hated by the Jews? 

It was sort of a racial thing – they were half-Jewish, and the "full blooded Jews" hated them. It also became a religious thing, with a difference of opinion over worship (John 4:20).

What is your view on the movie “The Shack?”

Sorry, I never saw it.

Q&A - Questions we didn't get to: what about innocents who are suffering?

"Faith is cold as ice. Why are little ones born only to suffer for the want of immunity or a bowl of rice? For who would holda price on the heads of the innocent children, if there is some immortal power to control the dice?" How would you respond to someone who thinks this way?

It's the most common question, just phrased more… poetically. Why is there suffering? We are fallen people, we live in a fallen world, our sin and the sin of others has devastating consequences. Yet, we are called to love the world, make a difference. I would ask the person: what are you doing to help alleviate suffering, bless others? I don't mean that in a harsh way, don't get me wrong. I'm just asking: does the pain and suffering of others move you to get involved in reaching out to help?

Somehow mankind's – our – sin causes so much suffering, and oftentimes, we blame God - the one who did the work to save us from ourselves and from His own wrath!

Sin and suffering - that's our fault. Forgiveness and healing - that's God's Work. Alleviating the suffering others go through - that's what God calls His people to do!