Posts from Sermon Q&A Blog

All Things for Our Good Q&A

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:51:51 GMT

1) I've always had people say to me that they don't believe in God because there is still pain and suffering even though God is all loving and all caring. They say “how can God love when there is so much suffering?” How can we as believers explain to non-believers the concept that God loves everyone and His hand is in everything, suffering or not?

This is a very difficult question!

There were a series of essays in the Times newspaper some 100+ years ago, responding to the question, “What’s wrong with the world”. G. K. Chesterton, an English writer, wrote the following to the paper:

“Dear Sirs, I am. Sincerely yours, G. K. Chesterton”

I have found it helpful to remember that the problem of evil in the world that causes so much of the suffering that we observe, isn’t all ‘out there’ in the world, it is also ‘in here’ – ‘in me’. So for God to wipe out all suffering; is to wipe out all evil; is to wipe out all people. What response is there from God to all this pain? Is he simply sitting on a heavenly throne, blissfully unaware of and immune to the pain that’s all around?

In the cross we find our answer: God not only entered into a hurting/ suffering world but suffered, immensely. He would have been very justified in taking action to thoroughly do away with all evil by wiping out all humanity. The cross is God’s radical and costly alternative, the cross is mercy triumphant over justice, the cross is the response of a loving, caring and holy God to evil and suffering.

I found this observation by the Christian Apologist Michael Ramsden very insightful. He comments that as he travels the world, the places where he is never asked about suffering as a reason against the existence of a loving God are the places where suffering is most extreme – where people are poor, oppressed, persecuted. He goes on to say that it is only in ‘comfortable – western contexts’ where this question is frequently asked. He made the following reflection on this pattern:

“Maybe we struggle with suffering so much in the West because we are so comfortable most of the time that we feel we don't need God. We don't rely on Him on a daily basis, and so we don't really know Him as we should. When suffering comes along, therefore, it is not so much that it takes us away from God, but that it reveals to us that we haven't really been close to Him in the first place.”

There is hope in suffering, because God suffered and won! Why suffer in isolation when there is a fortress to enter:

“We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose”

Recommended books:

Ravi Zacharias – “Can Man Live Without God?”

C.S Lewis- “The Problem of Pain”

2) How do I hear the Holy Spirit?

In a nutshell:

We don’t hear God speaking to us in an audible way (it can happen, with God 'all things are possible', but it is rare). Regrettably when I have time in devotion, there is no thunderous voice bouncing off the walls revealing what my future holds. We are able to discern God speaking to us however in several ways:

I) Through his word which is a ‘lamp to our feet and a light for my path’ (Psalm 119: 105). The Holy Spirit speaks to us through the word of God and so as you read the scriptures with an open heart to ‘hear’ God speak, you’ll be amazed at how directly the text appears to relate to your circumstances.

II) Through prayer. Prayer isn’t meant to be a ‘one way’ conversation, but a dialogue. As you pray to God expect Him to speak to you. Again this is unlikely to be in an audible way, but more by way of impressing upon me his counsel – perhaps it’ll be a conviction of sin (that would lead me to repent), or a deep sense of peace (that He would have me trust Him with whatever it is I’m going through), or it might be a deep sense of His love and so on.

III) Through the counsel of others. God can speak to us through people, perhaps a word of encouragement, or a prophetic word, or a sound piece of advice: “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future” (Proverbs 19:20).

3) There are different translations of Rom8v28 with different outworking. Some translations suggest that IN all things God works. Others say that all THINGS work. What response would you give to these?

In Romans 8:28-29, Paul provides us with a breathtaking picture of God’s sovereignty over all things, good and bad, righteous and evil. The emphasis is directed towards the purposes of God in our individual lives as Christians, that through all things, He intends to bring about our good: conformity into the likeness of his Son. Most translations would line up with this emphasis, including the King James, ESV, NASB and NIV. These are the translations we are most comfortable with, and consider to be excellent and accurate scholarly works.

Now No Condemnation Questions

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:42:09 GMT

1. Thinking on the back of Romans 7, does this understanding of it lead to the possibility for the Christian not to sin i.e. never to sin again?

1 John 1:8 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

No one is without sin. And there is no biblical precedent to suggest that any Christian will ever experience ‘perfection’ before Christ’s return...far from it! Paul in his own words was “chief of sinners”; John, in writing his epistles, was evidently aware of his own struggle with sin. However the Christian experience should be one of “victory over sin” and not constant defeat by sin. Romans 8 is a wonderful discussion of life in the Spirit and how the Spirit helps us “put to death” the sin that remains in us. This should not be a lonely battle we face: we have a new master now, one who leads us in righteousness, one who fought the great battle of sin and death which he gloriously won at the cross. We have in us the very same power that raised Christ from death to life. This is the “Spirit of life” that “has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2) No Christian is without sin and we won’t ever be until we are met by Christ upon His return:

“When he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)

An interpretation of Romans 7 that suggests a Christian should be totally without sin is dangerous and not biblical! However, Romans 7 does show us that in our own strength we will never be able to meet the demands of the law and that we will be left in constant defeat because the law is powerless to help us. Yet “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord” who has set us free from our bondage to sin and given us His Spirit so that “we are more than conquerors through him who loves us.” (Romans 8:37).

2. Does this mean that the Christian should not experience guilt?

For the Christian there is “now no condemnation”, that is, there is no punishment for sin. Our penalty Christ paid, our punishment he bore, our guilt he took. So no, there is no guilt before God for our sin. The pronouncement over us has already been made: ‘Not Guilty!’, praise God.

There can be moments when we have feelings that we would associate with guilt, but I would want explore what is behind such feelings. It may well be regret or remorse for a sin, it might be conviction of sin or it might be feelings of shame for having acted in a particular way. It is important to explore this as it will help us to move into a direction of freedom and joy. Conviction of sin is a good thing if it leads us to repentance. However feelings of guilt and/or condemnation are not God given: he does not and will not condemn you, because you are “In Christ”. Your sin was punished in His flesh, so that you will never be punished because of your sin. When we sin now as Christians, as Lloyd Jones puts it, “we sin not against law but against love”. We don’t spoil our relationship with Christ, for once ‘In Him always ‘in Him’. As C.S Lewis put it, “Once a king or queen in Narnia, always a king or queen in Narnia.” However, by sinning, we do affect our enjoyment of our relationship with God, which is why we must be quick to repent of our sins.

Tim Blaber

Slaves to Righteousness

Wed, 19 May 2010 05:05:59 GMT

Tim, filling in for Dave who is in Romania:

Q 1) In the W.E.B. (World English Bible) it describes us as servants, not slaves of sin. Can you explain this difference?

A) The Greek word is 'Doulos' which can be translated into English as 'slave' or 'servant'. Both uses convey the same picture, however 'slave' probably better captures the fullness of the metaphor Paul is using here, one of 'belonging' to a master.

Q 2) Dave was speaking about sin leading to death but the gift of God leading to eternal life. Obviously this also applies to everyone, but for Christians living under grace, will sin still lead to death or to forgiveness in Christ and a deeper understanding of grace and his love?

A) For those who are 'In Christ' death no longer has dominion or a reign over us as it did when we were 'In Adam' (for more on this listen to the sermon Reigning in Life.) Therefore, we can continue to sin and yet still receive all the benefits of salvation, namely in this instance eternal life; our salvation isn't determined by our sin but by his grace.

Our confidence is not in our own ability to be good or better people, but in his finished work on the cross. Hence, when we sin as Christians, our response should always be one of heartfelt repentance and sorrow for our rebellion and a falling afresh onto the grace of God and his forgiveness. As we do this, Paul explains in Romans 6:22, we are experiencing 'sanctification'; we are being conformed into his likeness. And so yes, we do have a deeper grasp of his grace and love.

Q 3) Why do you compare Jesus to a slave master? This seems an odd comparison to make

A) Good question! It is an odd comparison, that's why having described Christians as 'slaves of righteousness' (6:18) the Apostle Paul goes on to qualify this comment by saying "I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations". He says this by way of acknowledging that this analogy of us being slaves but to a new master, has its limitations, he uses the phrase "slaves of God" (V22)- because he is mindful that such language will communicate the spectacular reality that as Christians we now 'belong to God'; that we are his possession, like slaves, we have been bought at a price - the death of his only Son. In our 21st century context we have an idea of slavery that is steeped in abuses and criminality, however the context into which Paul was writing in Rome would not have had our same negative connotations when such imagery is put forward.

The central thrust of Paul's message in this passage is this - God has bought us for a great price; we are his, and as those whom he has set free from the dominion of death and the shackles of sin, as those clothed in garments of righteousness, beloved and forgiven - we can't help but present ourselves to him as 'slaves of righteousness' as 'living sacrifices' (Romans

12:1) - this is our act of worship.

Q 4) Absinthe has sin in and is still pretty good!

A) It also has 'abs' in, but not sure it's gonna help you get a six-pack!

Tim Blaber

Tolerance and Trials Question

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:22:54 GMT

Question: Where was Daniel when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the furnace? Surely he did not bow down so how did he get away with it?

Answer: There is no conclusive answer to this question as Daniel's reason for absence in this narrative isn't given. Hence we are only able to speculate...

Most scholars would suggest that Daniel was probably away from the capital at the time of accusation, most likely on a mission somewhere.

However, you are right to conclude that Daniel would not have been amongst the crowd worshipping the golden tower. Indeed the story of the lion's den in chapter 6 is very comparable to this one: here, Daniel refuses to worship false idols, preferring instead to stand by his worship of God.

I'm not sure which I'd prefer: to be thrown into a white hot furnace of fire, or a den of ravenous lions - these guys certainly didn't have an easy ride!!!!

Tim Blaber: From the Daniel Series

Abounding Grace Sermon Questions

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:00:00 GMT

Question One: You said that our conscience was an imprint of God in us, something I’d agree with. But it made me think – Adam ate the ‘apple’ from the tree that would ‘open their eyes and enable them to know good and evil’. Do you think this was actually the birth of our conscience? If so, is our conscience something that wasn’t originally in mankind’s DNA, so although its an imprint of God in us…we weren’t originally intended to have that imprint?

Answer: Before Adam and Eve sinned, they had an understanding of right and wrong. We know this because they were given instruction from God not to eat from the tree of ‘the knowledge of good and evil’ (Genesis 2:17). The sense of conscience that all people have is similar, it’s a deep inner sense of what it means to obey God and to disobey God, when we elevate our own wills over and above His: Adam and Eve had this before they sinned. When they sinned, their ‘knowledge’ of good and evil was not simply a head knowledge it was an experience of evil, it had infected them. I can have knowledge of a disease without having the disease, for Adam and Eve and indeed for us all, we ‘know’ sin, like a disease we are riddled with.

Question Two: If the first step in recieving grace is an awareness of our sin and distance from God, then how do we help those around us to recognise their own sin and need for grace and salvation?

Answer: Simply telling someone they’re sinful and in need of a saviour is unlikely to go down very well! When people were around Jesus, His purity, Godliness and Holiness were enough to bring a sense of conviction and awareness of sin in people- just by being in proximity to Him! How we live our lives and the increasing work of the Holy Spirit in us, making us more like Christ, will also bring about a similar awareness of sin in individuals, simply by being in proxy with us. For Christ ‘sinners’ were drawn to Him hence He had a reputation for hanging out with sinners. His holiness didn’t deter people, but compelled them to him. We can aspire to having a similar reputation, by living Christ-like lives at home, work, college, school etc...!!!

Question Three: NCC why did God not make the earth perfect originally?

Answer: Genesis 1:31 says this “God saw everything he had made, and behold it was very good.” The world was made by God without any flaw or sin. Sin entered following Adam’s disobedience, this wasn’t God’s doing but Adam’s and the world has been under the curse of sin ever since. Our hope as Christians is that in the future God will renew the heavens and the earth; what has been made imperfect by sin will be restored to perfection, sin will be eradicated from the earth, what a glorious hope this is!

Tim Blaber: Abounding Grace from the Romans series

'Reigning in Life' Question Two

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:00:00 GMT

Question: You said the reign death had over our lives was akin to that exercised by the tyrannical Henry VIII and not like that of Elizabeth II. I wondered whether there was a distinction in the Greek between the 'reign' that death had in Roman 5:14 and 17a to the 'reign' that we now have "in life through .. Jesus Christ", Romans 5:17b?

Answer: The Greek word that Paul uses in this passage for reign is βασιλεύω (basileuō), and is the same word used in both contexts. My Greek dictionary would define this word as: ‘Reign of a King’ to have ‘complete control’ and to ‘formally reign’. The reign of death would be like a tyrannical/oppressive king who wields his power over all people in a fearful way, this is implicit from the argument Paul uses and the juxtaposition he arrives at as he describes the ‘reign of life’, that comes to all those ‘in Christ’. Those who ‘reign in life’ are free from the ultimate ‘reign of death’, for we know that like Christ all who have received saving faith in Him will have a bodily resurrection like His when He returns (1 Corinthians 15 where Paul teaches in more depth about resurrection – great stuff!). Death therefore does not assert the same power over us as it once did before we were saved – Praise God!

Tim Blaber: Reigning in Life from the Romans Series

'Reigning in Life' Question One

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:00:00 GMT

Question: It’s great that as Christians we can be assured of our future, but what do we say to those who have lost loved ones that don’t know Christ? And to comments like 'they're in a better place now'?

Answer: This is an important question! Ultimately only God knows whether or not someone is saved. It would be wrong of us to conclude that an individual definitely wasn't a Christian; it remains quite possible that God may have encountered this person during their dying moments.

However, I would want to explore (sensitively - i.e. let's not get too intense if we're only a few days or weeks into the grieving period) why the grieving person believes the one they have just lost is in a 'better place now' and where is that place? I'd want to ask them such questions as; 'do you think you'll go there (wherever there might be) when you die? If so, where do you derive your confidence for such a hope? Is it your own morality and righteousness or is your hope in Christ and His righteousness?

Talking about death is never easy, particularly in our western context, it really is a taboo subject. However for the Christian, death presents us with an opportunity to talk about our Saviour, His death and resurrection. For those whose faith is in Him, 'death has lost its sting'. Therefore, there is genuine/robust hope beyond the grave; death couldn't hold Him and so for all who are 'In Christ' death cannot hold you either.

Tim Blaber: Reigning in Life from the Romans Series

Salvation by Faith Question One

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:00:00 GMT

Question: Surely salvation being wholly by faith and not by ‘works’ removes the need for me to do anything as a Christian, if what I do does not really matter?

Answer: Salvation is wholly by faith. There is nothing that you can do that will get you saved, or make God love you more. However, genuine faith in God and belief in what He has done for us, results in a changed heart and a desire to live in such a way as to point towards Jesus. Of course this will affect what you do; but it won’t get you to heaven – that was solely accomplished through what Jesus did for you on the cross.

Question: I am not sure that I have the type of faith that would be enough to save me.

Answer: You don’t. Faith is a gift from God that comes as a response to the love of God as demonstrated through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. You don’t have to ‘work up’ faith from within you, nor do you have to have all your ducks in a row in order to get saved. Salvation is simply about you coming humbly to God, acknowledging your rebellion against Him, asking Him to remove your guilt and give you a new life lived with Him as your Lord. The worst person in the world and the most moral person in the world are both able to put their faith in God because you are simply trusting Him and what He says.

Dave Holden: Justified by Faith Alone from the Romans Series

'Justified by Faith Alone'

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 10:00:00 GMT

Question: Is "faith" simply believing god "can do" something? Surely the bible definition of faith is about appropriating the things god declares as having been done = since he is the one who calls things that are not as though they were?

Answer: The two are not incompatible. That which God has declared can be experienced by faith. There is nothing else that can be added to the simplicity of believing that God can do that which He has promised. As we believe we also need to appropriate, that is step out into action. But both believing and appropriating must not move from the ground of "Faith". I believe by faith, I appropriate by faith. He alone has the ability to make it happen.

Dave Holden: Justified by Faith Alone from the Romans Series

'Boasting and Faith' Question Three

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Question Three:

"Tim Last Sunday, 31/01/10, you mentioned that the Abraham Covenant was sealed by God passing between the divided animal carcasses. You then went on to say that the divided carcasses were a symbol of the way a Covenant breaker would be dealt with e.g. they would meet a similar bloody end. You subsequently mentioned something about the cross as a demonstration of this. However, God was the only one who ratified the Abraham Covenant, so the only one who could be punished for breaking it is Him. If the cross is a consequence of the Covenant being broken and Jesus could not have been crucified as a man for breaking the Abraham Covenant as no man passed through the divided carcasses to seal it, how/where did God break the Abraham Covenant?"

By passing through the pieces God was demonstrating to Abraham His unswerving commitment to the covenant He had just made with him, so much so that it seems Abraham wasn't required to pass through himself. The full weight of responsibility for upholding this promise was accepted by God in doing so, even though part of the promise as read in chapter 17 was that God's people should be blameless before Him. Due to sin and man's inability to fulfill this expectation, an act of God was necessary in order to deal with the sin that impedes man’s potential to walk blamelessly before God. The cross was always central to the fulfilment of the Abrahamic covenant and vividly demonstrates man’s utter dependence on God to walk blamelessly before Him, as Paul states in Romans 3:27: all boasting is therefore excluded. God in His sovereignty knew that the cross was intrinsic to the fulfilment of the promise. In dying in such a way we see parallels to the sacrificial covenant we read about in Genesis 15 and once more find God is the one who ratifies and not guilty man. The covenant is therefore not broken but fully ratified by God at the cross; what was broken was man’s relationship with God due to his rebellion. Abraham was blameless before God because of his faith which was "credited to him as righteousness", and in the person of Christ and His work on the cross we have the great object of our faith and affection. Here we find also our righteousness.

'Boasting and Faith' Question Two

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:00:00 GMT

Question Two:

"Why didn't the covenant between God and Abram end when Abram died?"

God's covenant was with Abraham and his descendents (see Genesis 17:1-14). The promise made was given therefore to all his descendents too, and a central part of the covenant was that they should be blameless before God and keep the covenant (Genesis 17:1 and 9). They didn't do this, making Christ's victory on the cross so necessary and so wonderful!

'Boasting and Faith' Question One

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:00:00 GMT

Question One:

"Last week Chris quoted Jesus saying that two people who had cast out demons in His name, "Go away from me, I never knew you." How could they have cast out demons in Jesus name, if they were not Christians?"

These were people who relied upon their own gifts for their salvation, Jesus' point was that he never 'knew' them. Being in a saving relationship with God is always greater than performing miracles or preaching etc. They also 'said' that they cast out demons in Jesus' name, this doesn't mean they actually did. When it comes to salvation Jesus said by their 'fruit' you will know them (his true disciples) not by their 'works' or gifts. These fruits are the ones we read of in Galatians 5. Jesus has said that it is possible for men to do powerful signs and wonders and yet not be Christians (Matt 24:24) this is a mysterious thing, but we must emphasise as Christ did that what truly counts are our hearts before God.

Text Number 80800

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:00:00 GMT

Our new text message service has now gone live. Text your sermon questions to 80800: type 'NCC' then type your question. Your question will then be forwarded onto that week’s speaker and your answer will be posted on this blog early in the week.

Please note: Text messages cost only your standard network rate.

Sermon Q&A Blog

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:00:00 GMT

We have just introduced our new weekly ‘Sermon Q&A Blog.’ This is your chance to contact us with any questions you may have about the latest sermon. Whether you are with us live on a Sunday or watching a video stream online, you can now send your questions to a text number for just the cost of a standard text message.

These questions will be passed on directly to that week’s speaker and the answers posted to the blog early in the week. We eventually hope to introduce video Q&A’s so watch this space and click back regularly.