Question & Answer
Benjamin Murphy
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Is Debt Always Wrong? (Q&A Day Submitted Question We Didn't Get to But Are Not Dodging)

What does the church teach about debt? Is it always wrong or is it allowable sometimes?

The Bible gives a very clear warning about debt, in Proverbs 22:7 (NIV), “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.”

Much more can be said, but Alex Giannetti will be discussing this very thing this Sunday! I wouldn't want to spoil it all here and leave people feeling like maybe they don't need to be at HBC on Sunday. :)

Well that was short. Maybe we should cover another question we didn't have time for on Q&A Day: 

Is it ok to lie to defeat evil? - Shawn#

No. The ends do not justify the means. Do not overcome evil with evil, overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). We are called to do the right thing, the God honoring thing, and He is the one who will defeat evil, anyways. He doesn't need us to do the wrong thing even if it looks like it will result in a good outcome. 

More "Q&A Day Questions we didn't get to on Q&A Day" coming next week!

Pastor Jeff

-really needs a better title for this blog mini-series 

The Worst Auto Accidents Happen on the Showroom Floor

New cars. We all love them. We want them, we envy those who have them. That new car smell is quite intoxicating don’t you agree?

Auto dealers know this and they use the power of our weakness for new cars to make us completely lose our minds. If you think about it, cars are not cheap. They are one of the largest purchases we make. Unlike buying a home, a car does not increase in value. In fact, it looses value significantly before the ink is dry on the purchase contract.

The average new car costs over $29,000 and the average monthly payment is $493 per month. That is quite a bit of money for a depreciating asset. After 4 years, that $29,000 car is only worth $14,000. Most payments are amortized over 5-7 years. Many people find themselves upside down on their cars for much of the life of their auto loans. That means that your car is worth less than you owe. If you wanted to sell it and pay it off, you would not be able to.

Does this sound like a sound financial decision to you? I hope not. It’s a horrible decision actually. Did you know that most millionaires do not buy new cars for this very reason? There is a better way to buy a car.

Lets make some assumptions. The average car payment is $493 per month and you can pay that otherwise you would not be able to buy a new car in the first place.

If you put $493 per month into a cookie jar for 10 months you would have $4,930. You could go out today and buy a 2008 Nissan Altima. It may not be as sexy as a new car but it is great transportation and comes with no payments.

If you are not satisfied with that then simply keep paying yourself $493 per month for another 10 months. You could sell your car and add your savings to help you buy a 2014 Ford Focus or a 2015 Nissan Versa. Both are very sensible cars only a few years old that will serve you well. If you wanted more you can keep going. Repeat this for another 10 months and you could purchase a 2016 Volkswagen Jetta. That is practically a brand new car but with no payments.

If you follow this plan, you and your friends would be making auto payments of $493 per month. The difference is that your car is getting better, newer and nicer every year while their car is getting older and worse.

Quit doing what everyone else is doing. It’s time to start making better decisions with your hard earned money. Financial Peace University is much more than just getting out of debt. It is a life changing course that will make you think differently.

-- Alex Giannetti
www.alexgiannetti.com

Have you registered yet?

Harvest Bible Chapel is offering FPU on Wednesday nights for 10 weeks beginning July 12th. Who do you know that would benefit from a course like this? Invite them too!
Register by clicking this link: https://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/classes/1043216

How were the temple and priests purified in Ezra and Nehemiah?

In Ezra & Nehemiah, there is much talk about "purifying" the temple & the priests. How did that happen. Thank you.

Ezra 6:20 and Nehemiah 12:30 are examples of what the question is addressing. The Bible says purification was done with water and blood! In Numbers 8, we see the Levites were purified with the sprinkling of water, and in Hebrews 9:19-22 we see they did not just use water, but when they purified, they also offered sacrifices - and the blood of the sacrifice was used for sprinkling for purification. 

Does Hell Motivate People to Receive Christ?

Driving to Kentucky last week, I saw a sign along the road in the middle of Ohio. It said “Hell is Real”. It got me thinking about how this message on a billboard could motivate people to come to Jesus Christ for salvation. How many people saw this and reevaluated their lives and eternal destiny?

I absolutely believe hell IS real. I believe it is more horrific and more terrible than we can wrap our brains around.

So why isn’t it a motivator to receive Christ?

I mean, obviously on some level, to some people, it is. Otherwise, why would Jesus Himself have warned us of this place so often (e.g., Matthew 10:28), literally more than anyone else in the Bible?

So if it is eternal and horrible, why aren’t people lining up to get saved, every week in every church that proclaims the truth?

As a younger preacher, I thought hell was one of the ultimate motivators. But experience is showing me that it doesn’t motivate like I would expect. In fact, the further I go, the less I see it as a motivator.

But how can this be?

People must either 1) choose not to think about it, 2) think that somehow they can escape it on their own merit when their day of appearing before God is upon them, or 3) dismiss it as a fairy tale – just a scare tactic "religious people" use.

The truth is the Gospel isn’t just about avoiding hell, it’s about being reconciled to the God Who created you and loves you. The God who loves you deeply personally, wants a love relationship with you, and demonstrated His love by sending Jesus to die for your sins and rise from the grave to give you eternal life.

So we just aren’t going to hear people say, “I don't want to go to hell, guess I'll love Jesus.” Can you enter a love relationship so shallowly motivated? Is that mindset going to have you truly love Jesus Christ?

The Bible tells us that mankind has rejected God, rebelliously chosen to be our own god. We decided that this life on earth is about us – our pleasures, our wants, our preferences – about our prideful sin. While God would be justified to just annihilate the earth and start over, He decided to show us how much He loves us instead and pursue us with His love. He put our sin on Jesus and allowed Him to be beaten, mocked, and brutally executed. Jesus rose from the dead to prove sin, death, and the real enemy have all been totally defeated. Jesus’ work gives us the promise of heaven, a glorious eternal existence where any kind of pain is behind us forever. God gives us the ultimate gift when we turn from our selfish sinfulness and embrace Jesus Christ: the gift of Himself, the Holy Spirit, who guides, comforts, and empowers us by living in our hearts every moment of every day we dwell on the earth. And all this is free. There’s no payment to be made, no hoops to jump through, no “catch” - it’s a totally free gift. It’s undeserved, no matter what you’ve done. It can’t be earned, and it can never be lost.

So if this Gospel, this glorious message and promise, doesn't drive you to love and adore Jesus, even the looming reality of hell won’t make any difference, either.

Hell IS real. But I’m rethinking how much it actually motivates people to turn from their sinful, destructive ways. It’s still God’s kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4).

Pastor Jeff

-”You are loved” is still the message that changes everything.