The Gospel in Twenty Questions (31 page)

[35]
Live under the law
and your health will suffer. Is it any coincidence that people were long-lived
before Mt. Sinai but after the law was given began to die younger?

[36]
In a literal
translation, this passage speaks of “being judged by the Lord.” This is a
reference to the witness of the Holy Spirit who will constantly seek to affirm
that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. In Christ, we have been
judged and thoroughly approved.

Chapter
15: What is the unforgivable sin?

[37]
This isn’t to say
the whole world is saved, for we all need to respond to the grace of God by
faith (Ephesians 2:8). Everyone is forgiven, but not everyone has received the
gift of his righteousness (Romans 1:17).

[38]
I would love to
take credit for this little gem about God sinning by harboring unforgiveness,
but I stole it (with permission) from my friend Cornel Marais. He wrote about
it here:
http://bit.ly/13n0saV

[39]
G988 (
blasphe
̄
mia
) Thayer’s and Smith’s Bible Dictionary,
website:
http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/blasphemia.html

Chapter 16: Once
saved, always saved?

[40]
G728 (
arrabón
),
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, website:
http://bibleapps.com/greek/728.htm

[41]
There are more than
200 scriptures in the New Testament that touch on the believer’s security.
Space precludes me from looking at them all in this book. However, you can find
additional commentary at EscapeToReality.org on a page entitled “Eternal
Security.”

Chapter 17: Is the
Christian race a marathon?

[42]
Dean Karnazes, “Badwater blues: Why does every year seem
tougher than the last,” Badwater.com, website:
http://bit.ly/1aTkBKc
,
accessed 3 November 2013.

[43]
Acts 20:24, 1 Corinthians 9:24, Hebrews 12:1, 2 Timothy
4:7.

[44]
The first promise comes from 1 Corinthians 1:8
–
9. The second comes from 2 Corinthians 1:21
–
22.

[45]
Paul says elsewhere, “May I never boast except in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and
I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). The believer shares Paul’s boast; the
unbeliever does not.

Chapter 18: What
does it mean to continue in the faith?

[46]
The story of Achan and his troubles is found in Joshua 7.
The story of Uzzah is in 2 Samuel 6.

[47]
Sources: Exodus 13:1
–
16,
Deuteronomy 6:6
–
9, 11:18
–
21. The little law-holding boxes are called phylacteries.
Jesus criticized the Pharisees for wearing ostentatious phylacteries (Matthew
23:5).

Chapter 20: What are
eternal rewards?

[48]
This idea of
viewing people treasure is an old one (see Deuteronomy 7:6, 14:2, 26:18). In
God’s eyes, people are treasure.

[49]
Paul reminded the
Corinthians, “I became your father through the gospel” (1 Corinthians 4:15). He
told the Thessalonians, “We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her
little children” (1Thessalonians 2:7, NIV1984). And like a parent, he was
thrilled when he saw them standing firm in the Lord (1 Thessalonians 3:8).

[50]
Of course, I am
making some sweeping generalizations here. Being poor is no guarantee that you
will be aware of your need for grace just as being rich doesn’t mean you will
be ignorant. But you are more likely to encounter the poor
in spirit
among the needy and downtrodden than those who think they’ve got it made (see
Luke 6:24).

[51]
Jesus said the poor
are blessed because theirs is the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20). In truth, the
kingdom is for everyone, but only those who know they are poor and needy are
running in. Those rich in self-righteousness don’t see their need for grace.