Solid Rock Christian Center
(Solid Rock Church)
USA
Building Lives Upon A Firm Foundation
PHILIPPINES
A Church For You
Ask-A-Pastor
In our local newspaper we publish a periodic column of questions and answers. Thought it would be good to make them available for your reading and benefit as well. You may ask your questions through our contact tab above.
Question: I never knew Adam and Eve, so why should I suffer because of their sin?
In short, they were contaminated by sin in wrong doing, and so like a contagious inherited blood disease, every child Adam and Eve bore inherited the sin contaminated blood line of the parents.
Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as through one man [Adam] sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.
The proof that this sin contamination has passed upon each succeeding generation is found in the fact that everyone of us have committed sins, according to our inherited sin nature.
Jesus is the only resolve to our sin problem. He paid the penalty for our sins upon the cross. If we will receive this gift from Him and determine to live a Christian lifestyle, our sins will be forgiven us.
Question: Please explain the lights of Genesis creation, days one and four.
Permit me first to say that Science is nothing more than discovering God’s creation: What He made, and how He made it. Science will at times disagree with the Bible while it is in the hypothesis and theory stage, but whenever it moves into the fact stage, it agrees with the Bible.
To answer your question, let me begin with DAY FOUR of creation (Gen. 1:14-19). God made “two great lights: the greater light [sun] to rule the day, and the lesser light [moon] to rule the night. He made the stars also.” Yet, we read that planet earth was created on DAY ONE of creation. So, you can rightly say the earth is three days older than the rest of the universe, being created first.
By the way, the earth and universe according to Biblical genealogy is roughly 6000 years old, not millions or billions, as science currently fluctuates in their estimates, being entrenched in faulty evolution and carbon dating versus the more accurate Helium dating technique. Even the Big Bang theory is doubted by more modern theoretical physicist Saurya Das at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada.
Back on Day One, the light identified in Gen. 1:1-5 was simply God creating for Himself the bodily form of Jesus to interact with matters of earth. Jesus calls Himself the light of the world in Jn. 8:12. And Rev. 21:23 tells of the future new Jerusalem: “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The lamb [Jesus] is its light.” This glory of God, Jesus, shone brightly illuminating the earth when He arrived each of the first three days of creation, and when He left for the day, darkness returned.
On Day Two, the earth‘s atmosphere was made, and Day Three, the land was formed with its vegetation receiving its needed light from the illuminating glory of Jesus before the creation of the sun and galaxies on Day Four.
The phrase “evening and morning were the first day” (Gen. 1:5), and the same for every day of creation tells us that each day was the same length even as we realize today with the shining of the sun and moon upon the earth’s rotation. At creation there was darkness before there was light. Likewise, a Biblical and Jewish day starts at dusk, progressing through the night and daylight hours, to end when the light fades (dusk). For the first three days this pattern of marking a day was established, and then continued after the sun and moon were made on day four.
There is so much we can learn from reading God’s inspired Word, the Bible.
Question: What Happened to the Dinosaurs?
The Biblical book of Job speaks of two fierce and terrorizing beasts. The Behemoth that walked the land, while the Leviathan was defined as a sea creature. It appears that both existed at the same time as the man, Job. (Job 40:15-24; 41)
In Russia and Texas were found fossilized rows of foot prints of both man and dinosaurs together. The Texas fossil shows a man’s foot intersecting a dinosaur print.
The March 25, 2005 article in Science Journal reported the discovery of soft tissue and blood vessels in several T-Rex dinosaurs. One researcher said, “this fully destroys the dinosaur myth of extinction taking place 65 million years ago.” Even evolutionary scholar Frederick Jueneman was reported as saying concerning this discovery, “The events which brought the Mesozoic age to a close, may not be 65 million years old but rather within the age and memory of man.”
In Peru, through the years many ancient drawings on stones have been found depicting men interacting with various kinds dinosaurs. If these beasts were extinct before man, how would these ancient people know how to draw them?
A quick look at the Biblical inventory roster going into Noah’s Ark lists: Beasts (dinosaurs), then cattle (various animals like lions, bears, dogs, cows etc...), creeping things, and birds. (Genesis 7:13-14)
The inventory roster leaving the Ark lists: birds, cattle (various animals), creeping things, but NO beasts are mentioned. (Genesis 8:15-19) This leaves one probable conclusion - “Dino burgers”. It appears that meat for the days on the ark was supplied by the land dinosaurs (Behemoth). The remaining land dinosaurs outside the ark would have perished in the flood waters, while some of the sea dinosaurs (Leviathan) would have survived.
The sea dinosaur’s fate came later during the Hebrews’ exodus from Egypt as they wandered 40 years in the wilderness. The Bible tells us what God fed these estimated 2.5 million people during this 40 year period in Psalm 74:14: “God broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces and gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.” And Exodus 16:8 “…the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full…”
According to Biblical genealogy, the earth is only roughly seven thousand years old, not millions or billions as the popular THEORY promotes.
The Bible is our history and our future. Let us read and embrace it.
Question: Why does the Bible say he who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist?
Luke 7:28 reads...
For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater then he.
We know that John introduced Jesus to the world. He was an important man, yet the scriptures declare that we Christians are greater in the Kingdom of God then he.
The Reason:
Although John helped announce the coming kingdom of God on earth, he was martyred before the establishment of that spiritual kingdom on earth, which began at Christ’s resurrection.
John the Baptist inherited this Kingdom, but we are greater in the Kingdom because we can actually walk in the power and the anointing, the fruit and gifts of the active Kingdom in this life, of which John was not able to do during his life on earth.
This does not make us better than John, but honored and blessed to enjoy such.
Question: I'm a new believer, do I really need to be water baptized?
Yes, as advocated by Jesus. He, our example, was Himself baptized. (Matthew 3:13)
The disciples also continued the practice with new believers. (Mark 16:16) (Acts 2:38-42)
The ritual of water baptism by itself does not grant salvation nor the promise of heaven. It is symbolic of the work of salvation within a person. As these verses indicate, water baptism is to follow one’s personal decision to receive the gift of Christ’s salvation with confession of sins and a desire to live a Biblical Christian lifestyle. Thus, the individual is to be old enough to understand the decision they are making.
Using the imagery of water immersion as the process for baptism, we can understand our salvation experience as we identify with Christ’s baptism.
- First, we choose to become a Christian, following Jesus, symbolized by entering the water.
- Falling backwards into the water symbolizes sins’ penalty of death upon us, which killed Jesus when He received our sins (wrong doings) upon Himself.
- Immersion under the water represents the burial of Christ and us, as we symbolically die to our sinful ways.
- The water flowing over our body symbolizes our sins being washed away by Christ’s blood.
- Invoking the Holy Trinity recognizes God’s plan for salvation, through Jesus’ sufferings, being revealed by the Holy Spirit.
- Rising out of the water shows our victorious resurrection with Christ, freed from sin.
- Leaving the water is symbolic of our new life as a Christian.
- Walking on dry ground represents our mission to spread the gospel to a thirsty world.
With understanding, may all joyfully choose to enter into Christ’s baptism and a Biblical Christian lifestyle.
Question: Why does God allow bad things to happen?
Some may wonder if God created us only to abandon us. Or, perhaps think that He lost interest in His creation. These same questions have been asked over and over again. The Hebrews asked similar questions on their way to the promised land. But God was there all the time, willing to lead, guide, and correct them. He was proven present and dependable, even when they at times were not. (Ex. 14:10-14; 16:3-4; Deut. 7:8-9) Gideon asked similar questions in Judges 6:12-14. And in the last daysyet to come there will be a great falling away from the church during the Tribulation persecution.2 Thes.2:3
When God created humankind, He gave to us a will, the power of decision, the opportunity of choice, because God desires our love for Him to be sincere. He did not make us like some robot that only does and says as we are programmed. God permits us to live right and love Him because we want to, not because we have to.
Many of life’s problems are self-inflicted as people choose to do opposite from our Guide Book (the Bible) given to us by God. The side effects of sin and evil come upon humankind as we permit such to sway us, our community, our country, our world.
Sickness, disease and death came upon humanity because of Adam and Eve’s wrong choices. It wasn’t what God wanted. It was not His will, but theirs that introduced these evils upon humankind. We live in a fallen world where tragedies occur. Our hope is found in Christ’s redemption offered to us.
God loves us and wants to help us. Besides His Spirit, God has given to us scripture, church, and ministers to help guide us toward the good life. Sadly, many choose their own way, which sometimes causes much evil and harm to themselves, others, and our world.
God loves each of us as much as He loves Jesus, otherwise He would never have sent His Son to suffer the punishment for humanity’s sins and atrocities, offering to us the opportunity for forgiveness and fellowship with Him.
May we choose to love God and willingly submit ourselves to His loving care and guidance for our life. He desires the best for us, but will not force us to follow His ways. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
Question: Cremation or Burial?
It makes sense that we Christians should choose burial over cremation; because we believe in the resurrection of the body.
Even in death, we are expressing our faith to the world by burying our body in anticipation of Christ’s return.
Cremation does not express our Christian faith.
It wasn’t so long ago that society considered cremation as a primitive and heathen practice, with books and movies depicting it that way.
Even the Biblical Old Testament guides us to bury our dead and not burn them as exampled by David, Abraham, Samuel, Jacob, Sarah, Rachel, etc., even God buried Moses in Deuteronomy 34: 5-6.
God considered it wicked to burn the bones of the king in (Amos 2:1)
We find the evil cities and inhabits of Sodom and Gomorrah were burned in (Genesis 19:24)
.
The rebellious leaders following Korah were also burned in (Numbers 16:35)
In contrast; in the New Testament believers only buried their dead in anticipation of the coming resurrection at Christ’s return. (Acts 8:2; John 11:41-44; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55)
And of course we have Jesus, our mentor, who Himself was buried and His body rose again (John 19:38-42, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23)
In comparison; the New Testament has the unsaved who will burn in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15)
I surmise that over time, cremation mainly became accepted because of its cost savings, without much thought towards the religious side.
I believe scripture guides us that Christians should be buried, not burned, as a testimony, and in anticipation of the resurrection of the body at Christ’s return.