The Bible has many descriptions of God. My favourite is God's description of himself in Exodus 34:5-7

Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.

I like that picture as it shows the wealth and breadth of his character. There is, however, a shorter description that totally sums him up in 1 John 4:8, "God is love".

2. What is the Real, True Name of God?

In ancient times the scribes who copied out the Bible held the name of God to be so holy that they would take a bath and use a new quill every time they wrote out his name. Holy men would not even pronounce his name, so Holy was it to them. Furthermore, in ancient Hebrew there were no vowels so it is impossible to know exactly how the name of God should be written or pronounced.

The main names that the Bible assigns to God are 'El, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of 'Eloah, plural 'Elohim., The Hebrew word Jehovah (or Yahweh) is the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, and is often translated in the english Bible as Lord.

However, in Exodus 13:14 God gives himself a title which is above all these other title. He calls himself "I AM THAT I AM" That is, "I am what I am."

Barnes commentary on the Bible states that: "the words express absolute, and therefore unchanging and eternal Being. The name, which Moses was thus commissioned to use, was at onc e new and old; old in its connection with previous revelations; new in its full interpretation, and in its bearing upon the covenant of which Moses was the destined mediator.

3. How many Gods do we have?

There is only one true God. As the first commandment states in Exodus 20:2-3
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me."

There are many objects of adoration or worship around the world, but there is only one God as revealed in the Bible. This is the God worshipped by Christians and Jews, and is the same God worshipped by Muslims under the name of Allah.

However, as we saw in the last question, God can have many names (and if we look through the Bible we find many given to him, mainly describing his character), so he can also make himself known in different ways. In the Bible we see God revealing himself in what Christians call the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. One God, but working and showing his character in three ways.

4. Christ Jesus was born by Mary. Is he a man, a God, or Spirit?

This is one of the divine mysteries. Philippians 2:6-11 how Jesus is "in very nature" God but in order to save humankind from sin he made himself into the form of a human and died a humiliating death for us. It is the greatest example of love and humility in the universe. It then goes on to say that because of this he became more honoured and greater even than he was before.

This is why in Matthew 1:23 he is called "Immanuel" which means, "God with us". The mystery of the incarnation is that Jesus was at once 100% God and 100% man.

Summery of the Audio Answer:

We often concern ourselves by imposing laws that God gave in Leviticus regarding marrying relatives, back to the very early inhabitants of creation. To all creation God said, "Go forth and multiply." (Genesis 1:28) With humans that started with Adam and Eve, and while only three of their male descendents are listed they certainly multiplied far beyond that with sons and daughters (See Genesis 5:4). These then married and multiplied more until there was a larger pool of inhabitants to choose a spouse from. Notice that even Abraham was married to his half sister.

The Biblical injunction not to marry close relatives is a result of sin. Because of sin we are no longer perfect. If we marry close relatives inbreeding can increase the chance of hereditary deformity. By the time o f Moses this would have been a problem so injunctions are given in Leviticus 18:16-17. With the first few generations, with the perfect genetics of Adam and Eve, this would be no problem at all.

Summery of the Audio Answer: The concept that "one who wavers is lost" is not a Biblical one. Have a read through Hebrews 11. It is a great chapter of the men and women of faith.

Noah -- preached for 120 years with few converts. Built an ark. Really saw God leading -- but who was found drunk and naked in his tent.
Abraham -- willing to leave home to a strange country at the command of his God. A man who learnt to trust but made many mistakes -- including twice passing his wife off as his sister.
Isaac was not a very good father -- treating one son in favour of the other.
Jacob was a deciever.
Moses a murderer with a very short temper and an inferiority complex.
Rahab -- a prostitute.
Samson -- it would take too long to list his faults

. . . The list goes on. They are people of faith, people who have a commitment and relationship with their God, but who, from time to time, wavered.

Then think of Peter at the trial of Jesus. He denied Jesus 3 times, but Jesus did not give up on him. Jesus loved him, and he loves us. That is what gives me hope.

My advice to you is to spend time in prayer and Bible study and to claim the promise of Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)


Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Notice that Jesus is the one who gives you faith and who promises to keep you safe to the end. Trust in him. Keep focused on him. Don't look to yoruself, but to him.

God has a plan for you life and I am sure that you can indeed be a blessing to those around you.

Summery of the Audio Answer:

First of all: You are a free person. Nobody should tell you where you ought to go and pray. 'Where should I go and pray?' a woman asked Jesus. 'Pray to God in spirit and in truth,' Jesus answered (John 4:23,24). He did not tell her to go to a certain house of worship. It was her personal attitude to God that really mattered. Then she could just pray anywhere: in the field, at home or together with others in a place of worship. Christianity is divided in two main modalities, but most religions struggle with the problem of diversity. So we have a choice. If we are earnestly seeking, we will fi nd the place of worship where we will feel at home and our spirits are lifted. The Bible advises: 'Test everything; hold fast what is good.'(1Thess.5:21). May the Lord help you in your search for light.

Certainly you cannot be sinning if you are praying. God loves us to pray.

Summery of the Audio Answer:

The sun is the source of light for earth. Ancient people considered the sun as a necessary part of the cycle of the seasons. Thus, it was often viewed as a god. Ancient Egyptians worshiped the sun as the god Ra, and the Greeks as Helios.
The Bible simply views the sun as the greater light God created to rule the day (Gen. 1:16). In Israel, the new day began with sunset. The Psalms compared the sun's brightness to God's glory by which it will one day be replaced (Ps. 84:11). Zacharias described the coming of the Messiah as a new sunrise for humankind (Luke 1:78).

Someone who worshipped the sun had to be stoned to death.(Deut.17). The Word Search programme on the computer did not find the suggested text which should spell out that the sacrifice had to be brought with the backs turned to the sun, though we looked under Sacrifice, Sun and East. The rising sun in the hymn most likely pointed to Christ, and we do agree that lines like that could give the wrong impression. Poets often use extraordinary vehicles as to express their feelings and thoughts.

I hope that this is of some help to you.
Response from another listener:

Dear AWR:
I was quite surprised at the evasive answer Victor Hulbert gave to the questioner regarding the line in the hymn that says our face to the rising sun. It made me wonder if he has read Eze. 8 where God told Ezekial to look thru the hole and see all the abominations that Israel's leaders were committing. Does he think that we as modern Israel are immune to such practices?? We don't like to think such thoughts, but . . . we are worse than they were. We are prone to think no, this is not possible, but how does God view us? Not that we are actually worshipping the sun but is it possible we have other idols that we are letting come between us and our God?

In my opinion, it might have been better to admit that this particular hymn was an oversight and never should have been included in the hymnal. You know, we make mistakes, forgive us, and lets keep going, instead of manufacturing what it could have possibly said what it didn't say.

Nancy.

Victor's Reply:

Dear Nancy,

Thank you for sharing your concern with AWR. I am wondering quite what you mean by an evasive answer. To my mind the answer is balanced, looking briefly at both sides of the issue. i.e. Noting that the sun has been a object of worship for many heathen nations -- and that someone who worshipped the sun in Deut 17 should be put to death, but equally noting that Bible writers have used the sun as an illustration of the glory of God.

Be careful about how you apply a passage like Ezekiel 8. The passage is talking about brazen idolatry. It would be like a Christian going to a new age service or a spiritualist church -- or even worse, inviting such services and practices to take place in our own church. This is certainly something that God would condemn.

In my answer I pointed out that, "The rising sun in the hymn most likely pointed to Christ, and we do agree that lines like that could give the wrong impression."

This answer fits in well with Paul's council not to provide a stumbling block to those who are weak. (1 Cor 8:4-13) Here he is talking about meat that has been bought in the market that that has probably been offered as a sacrifice to some pagan god before it is sold. Paul argues that if some are distressed because the food has been offered to an idol then you should not eat it -- but if your faith is stronger than that, it doesn’t matter, you can eat it, unless it causes a problem to the other person, causing them to fail. If we are doing something that gives the wrong impression to someone, then it is better not to do it. Using the same argument then yes, maybe you are wise in suggesting that it is not the best song to sing in church. While the song in itself may not be wrong it is better not to cause offense when there is a whole myriad of other, better songs that may be available.

On the other hand, we must be careful not to take things too far. On that basis we might have to cross Psalm 121 out of the Bible as the pagans worshipped on the top of hills so how can I look up to them while worshipping the true God. I would also need to rename all the days of the week as they are all there, originally, to remind me which pagan god I am supposed to most worship that day (SUNday, MOONday, WODENSday, THORsday etc).

Rather than worrying about these small things that have pagan connotations from the distant past, I agree totally with you that we should be looking at the things in our own lives that take our time and attention and make sure that they do not become "idols" for us. These are many and varied and Satan is certainly working hard to find things to distract us from "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2) We need to ensure that we have the appropriate balance in our lives.

I appreciate your concern and commitment, and thank you for writing back. I hope this provided sufficient background for your query.

Summery of Answer:

Your guardian angel, being an unfallen being, would be filled with the Holy Spirit, so, obviously, he and the Holy Spirit would not disagree. Likewise, it would be impossible in most cases to tell whether it was your guardian angel or the Holy Spirit speaking to you.

Because we are all descended from Adam and Eve, who listened to the temptation of Satan, we all inherit their tendency to please ourselves rather than listen to the Holy Spirit. S atan, however, understands our fallen nature, and encourages us to please ourselves. This is our natural, fallen condition.

However, when we accept Jesus as our Saviour, we naturally desire to serve Him, and do what is right. But we still have our fallen human nature, and Satan and his evil angels do their utmost to cause us to sin. Satan cannot force us to do wrong. We have to choose whether we will listen to him or to the Holy Spirit, whether He speaks to us directly or through our guardian angel. So any one who says he has got ?the spirit of smoking, or drinking, or cursing? is trying to blame someone or something else, instead of accepting his own responsibility to choose for himself to do right.

The apostle James says, ?Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you? (James 4:7*). As sinful human beings, we do not have the power to overcome powerful temptations and evil habits in our own strength. But if we make the decision to do right, and ask God to help us, the Holy Spirit will come to our aid, and give us the power to overcome.

Be sure, however, that while Satan, as I said before, cannot force us to do wrong, neither will God force us to do right against our will. But if, desiring to do right, and intending to do right, we do commit sin, either by mistake or through weakness, God is willing and ready forgive when we are genuinely sorry. ?If we confess our sins, he is faithful an d just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness? (1 John 1:9). John continues in chapter 2, ?My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence ? Jesus Christ, the Righteous One? (1 John 2:1).

So yes, evil spirits do tempt us to do wrong, but they cannot force us if we have chosen to follow Jesus. Listen to the Holy Spirit, who speaks to you through the Bible, through your conscience, and as you pray.

Summery of Answer: Thanks for your email and searching questions. And please thank your friend for recommending us! I feel humbled that they put this kind of trust in us here. I will try my best to answer your question.

After carefully reading your item on salvation and baptism I have to say: you're absolutely right! Salvation is the main theme of the Bible. It is for salvation that the Bible has been written. The people, portrayed in the Bible, believed in salvation and wanted to convey that message following generations. Their message: You can trust God. If you stay close to Him, He will guide you through life, whatever may happen. If you do not stay close to Him, you shall see the result of your waywardness as well. Once saved, always saved? The Bible says that if you have faith in God, and practice that faith in word and deed, you will 'indeed' be saved. James tells us that it is not enough to be a hearer of the word; we have to be doers as well! (James 1:22-26.)

Baptism is not a guarantee of salvation! God wants us to illustrate salvation in Christ through the way we live our Christian lives. David knew that there was a need for confession if he sinned. Psalm 51 is the experience of a person who sinned, and who is very much aware of what he has done. David felt the need to confess his sin to God. Why? He needed to be forgiven. He wanted to be right with God. ' Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgression.' He also said 'I have sinned?' and asked God to 'create in him a pure heart'. Although once circumcised, the believers in Israel had to confess their sins and bring sacrifices to God in order to receive forgiveness. The message of the New Testament is similar: 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.' (1 John1:9.)

Your Bible Study Group would also do well to look at the example of the Berean believers. When Paul preached to them they went and checked the Scriptures to make sure that what Paul was preaching was true. (Acts 17:11) Here were a group that knew the Bible but were still open to learn more. Why does Jesus encourage us to study the Scriptures? It is because it is there that we will find eternal life and discover more about him. (John 5:39-40) In John 20:30 he explains the purpose of his book -- to bring us to faith. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 also shows us that Bible study is a continuing part of our Christian life. I certainly hope I understand Scripture better now I am in my 40's than I did when I was age 12!

ANSWER: What you are asking here is not so much a Biblical question as a historical one. I'm not sure what the background is to your question, and your email address possibly being one of a women I'm wondering whether you are asking me for a position statement on the ordination of women.

I'm sorry. That is not something you can get from the Bible. You can read reports from learned committees both from the Adventist Church and other denominations. Those pro-women's ordination argue from the Bible. Those against it argue just as eloquently. Are one set of theologians better at Biblical interpretation than the others? Or is it simply a subject for which the Bible has no set answer as it was not an issue in those days.

This is not an unusual situation. The Bible has nothing to say about smoking, or, for that matter taking harmful substances like drugs. Yet as a church we take a stand against those substances using principles we find in the Scripture like the injunction against excess alcohol (Proverbs 20:1, 23:29) or simple clean diets (Daniel 1:8-20), or keeping our bodies pure for God (1 Cor 6:19).

In the same way we can take principles from the Bible and apply them to the church and its witness in the twenty-first century. Regarding the subject of the ordination of women we might want to take into account the following:

1. Being in Christ does away with inequalities: Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

2. God calls on all to be witnesses: Throughout the Bible we find both men and women sharing their testimony, faith and witness with those around them, from the little servant girl in Naaman's house to brave women such as queen Esther.

3. There are women leaders in the Bible.
Judges 4:4 Deborah, a prophetess,
Micah 6:4 I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.
2 Chron. 34:22 Huldah.
Acts 16:14-15 Lydia.
Acts 18:26 Priscilla and Aquila.
Romans 16:1 Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.
Philip. 4:3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, . . . whose names are in the book of life.

4. Elders are addressed as men in Titus 1:6-9 - but does this limit it to men?
"An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless--not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

5. Do the kind of leadership qualities expressed in 1 Peter 5:1-4 have some areas that are maybe best served by women?
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

6. Women's relationship to their husbands and other men. 1 Cor. 11:3
Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

1 Cor. 14:34
women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.

1 Tim. 2:12
I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.

How do we balance these texts with others (some from the same author) who commend women for their leadership role or for praying or prophesying in public. (1 Cor 11:5, 14:13, Acts 2:18,

7. While you think something is right or wrong you should not put a stumbling block in others way. Romans 14:13
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

1 Cor. 8:9
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

Those are some of the Biblical passages people will use to work towards a conclusion. You then have to add in cultural sensitivity and the status of women within the society you are working in. In some parts of the world there are also a shortage of men available for leadership roles within the church and so women have been put in leadership roles out of necessity.

You also have to balance it with history. Do we follow a Catholic theology where ordination is limited not just to men - but to celibate men? Is the church following principles laid down in medieval times regarding the role of women or are we really going back to the principles of Scripture? Do we follow a team ministry model as in the Salvation Army where the husband and wife are ordained together and serve together?

I believe that women have a major role to play in witnessing for God and preparing people for Christ's return. They have skills and abilities to offer the church that are needed and valuable. I know as a minister myself that working together with my wife in team ministry has brought growth and development in the church that would not have happened without her being a part of the team. I do not believe that the issue of ordination is one that should split the church or cause great dissension among its members whether or not it is approved in a particular community. I do believe that women are probably the life-line of the church far more than we recognise and that maybe if we as Christians recognised Jesus principle of humility for men and for women we would probably spend more time encouraging each other with a spiritual gifts (including the gift of leadership) rather than worrying about a title, a position, or whether or not a person is ordained.

Summery of the Audio Answer:

There is no simple answer to this question. However, we can make certain observations, and there are some clues in Scripture. Let us make the question specific:

Why did terrible things happen to Jesus? After all, He is the Son of God - He is divine! The story of Jesus in the gospels makes it pretty clear why Jesus suffered. He was good. His goodness was evident. He hated hypocrisy. He lived a life wholly devoted to others. His very goodness caused the Pharisees to hate Him. In the end the Jewish leaders, with the sanction of the Roman governor, condemned Him to a cruel death on the cross.

The experience of Jesus gives us a clue as to why some good people, particularly active Christians, suffer abuse and persecution. Have you noticed that, even among children, if one boy or girl is trying to do right, and doesn't want to be included in mischievous behaviour, he or she is laughed at, and even bullied, just because they are good. The good people show up the bad people simply by their goodness, and the bad people don't like it.

Going a little deeper, think about Satan, who, according to 1 Peter 5:8, "prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." When anyone is endeavouring to follow Jesus and do His will, Satan is there with His temptations and persecutions. He is behind those people who mock and persecute good people. That is why sometimes good people have more trouble than bad people. But however hard Satan tries to destroy the faith of God's followers, Jesus has promised His faithful people that "no one can snatch them out of my hand." So long as we believe His promises, so long as we trust in Him, though we may suffer hardship and trial, " in all things God works for the good of those who love him." Or, as the footnote suggests in the NIV, "works together with those who love him to bring about what is good."

Summery of the Audio Answer: Here's a definition of THE UNPARDONABLE SIN. ?Setting one's mind against the Holy Spirit and crediting Satan with what is obviously God's work.

To understand the unpardonable sin referred to in Matthew 12:31-32 (Eph.4:30), is to understand what it is not. It is not: murder, lying, stealing, suicide, adultery, taking the Lord's name in vain, a sin committed in ignorance, a sin that a Christian can commit, or a sin that a person may feel he or she has committed. It is: to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit.

To blaspheme means to speak an insult against someone so as to defame the person's reputation and character. The unpardonable sin is a persistent an deliberate sin against light, maintained in the face of the positive work of the Holy Spirit. This can happen to people today. Jesus was not talking about a sin of His day only; it can happen anytime. It happens when a person sees a work that is without question God's work and not human work, but says it is Satan's work!

What is the Holy Spirit's work? To point people to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. The unpardonable sin is committed today when one sets mind and will and spirit against the Holy Spirit. This is telling the Spirit that He is trying to do something evil in the person's life by pointing one to Jesus. When do people reach that point? No one knows for sure, but each time people reject the movement of the Holy Spirit and Jesus' claim upon their lives, that sense of urgency and conviction gets weaker until, finally, it is too late. Two points occur in a person's life when salvation may not be possible. Salvation cannot come before the Holy Spirit convicts a person; and salvation cannot come after the person no longer feels conviction, because rejection has hardened the heart. That is why the invitation t o trust Jesus Christ is always now.