How were people in the Old Testament saved? According to Romans 3:20, they weren’t saved through the law—so it must have been by faith.

Good questions. Before the Fall, God’s standard for salvation would have been perfect obedience to His law. Of course, until this time, the actual need to be “saved” would have been unnecessary. After Adam sinned, God’s standard for salvation did not change. Yet, He provided a substitute of one who perfectly obeyed this law, his son, Jesus, to fulfill this standard. And, as you said in your question, people are saved through faith in Jesus Christ alone. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” As made evident in Romans 7, no man other than Jesus is capable of keeping the law. The law is meant to drive us to Jesus for our righteousness.
Using Abraham as an example, “Abram believed God, and he credited it to him as righteousness” Genesis 15:6, scripture states that Abraham was saved by faith alone. God established his covenant with Abraham, and in Genesis 17, God gave him an outward sign of this covenantal relationship through the act of circumcision. Yet, salvation was by grace alone. Although Abram responded to God’s call, it was God who made the call and established his covenant with man. Salvation is from the Lord alone.
Now, why did people in the OT make sacrifices and keep the law so extensively? The Mosaic law set forth blessings for obedience to the law and cursings for disobedience (much like the fatherly discipline outlined in the NT). Yet, obedience to the law was not a means of earning one’s salvation. Plus, God established 5 different sacrifices for his people in the OT. These included one for guilt, one for sin, and a big annual day of sacrifice called the Day of Atonement. During each sacrifice, the guilt of sinners was symbolically transferred to an animal, which would be punished by either death or exile from the land. These animal sacrifices foreshadowed or anticipated the future sacrificial act of Jesus. These sacrifices, though, rather than save the people, brought the people back into a right relationship with God, much like our confessing our sin to God does today. In other words, these sacrifices did not save the people, but brought them back into fellowship with God, and pointed to the ultimate sacrifice, once for all, that God would provide for His people through His only Son, Jesus Christ.
Finally, the Pharisees were the best example of a group of people who kept the law to the letter. I believe they actually began this practice to please God as they were especially concerned with ceremonial purity. Although this act of strictly keeping the law began as a response to justification by faith, this appears to have changed into legalism and self-righteousness. Unfortunately, because of this change, many of the Pharisees and their followers missed their need for the redeeming grace of Jesus Christ.

-Thanks,
The Young's

My teacher claims that the parting of the Red Sea was the result of an extremely low tide followed by an extremely high tide. Is there evidence?

“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and Jehovah caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left” (Exodus 14:21-22).

There have been many theories as to what may have “naturally” caused the parting of the Red Sea, but none can be factually proven or disproven. Yet, the Bible itself contradicts your teacher’s views. Exodus 15:8 says, “By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood firm like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.” (NIV Version). Also, in Psalm 78:13, the Bible says, “He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand firm like a wall.” (NIV Version). This does not sound like the ordinary ebb and flow of a tide.

I do believe God can use natural phenomena to further plans, and this may have been a natural occurrence. Physicist Colin Humphreys believes the natural cause of the parting of the Red Sea could have been a “wind set-down”. This is a strong, continual wind that can cause the water level to drop on the windward side and can push up water into a wall on the leeward side of a lengthy body of water. If the wind blows across the length of the sea, a gap can actually expose the sea floor. Obviously, this wind would have to have blown for a long time to allow the land to have become dry and then to allow 600,000 people to cross the dry land. In addition, the end of the wind would have to have perfectly coincided with the crossing of Pharoah’s army. Any way you look at this, the timing could only have been orchestrated by God.

Other theories include the belief that a tsunami with a huge tidal wave at the time caused by the erupting of a volcano was the source of the parting of the Red Sea. Yet, it seems implausible that 600,000 people could have crossed between the withdrawal of the water and then re-arrival of the water caused by the tsunami.

Finally, some people speculate that Red Sea was actually the Sea of Reeds. The problem with this theory is that although it may have dried up for Moses and the Israelites to cross, its normally ankle-deep waters could hardly have “flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.” Exodus 14:28. The Sea of Reeds is just too shallow to have caused the demise of Pharaoh’s army.

Again, God can use the nature He created to further His Will. Whether extremely high and low tide, tsunami, “wind-set down”, or unnatural occurrence in the Sea of Reeds, God used the sea to accomplish His purposes in an extraordinary and miraculous way.

-Bruce and Nancy Young

Bible vs. the Book of Mormon

"While talking with a friend about Christianity, my friend (who is Mormon) claimed that the Book of Mormon is more accurate than the Bible because it was easy for the Bible to get lost in translation through the years. I do not doubt the perfection of the Bible, but how can I historically prove this point to my friend?"

Hi,
Thanks so much for your question. This is a very deep question that requires a very detailed response. In short, then answer is definitively NO, the Book of Mormon is in no way more accurate than the Bible. History does not support it, and most evidence points to the fact that the Book of Mormon is immensely inaccurate. Check out the link below to start your research. It is a wonderful sight that will answer many of your questions and might even create some more from you. Also, feel free to talk to me at youth group if you would like more info.

http://www.carm.org/mormonism

God Bless,
Derrick

If the gates of heaven rarely open, where do believers who have died go? Does the new Earth already exist?

“When believers die, their souls are made perfectly holy and immediately pass into glory. Their bodies, which are still united to Christ [through faith], rest in the grave until the resurrection of the dead. At the resurrection, believers, raised in glory, will be publicly recognized and declared not guilty on the day of judgment and will be made completely happy in the full enjoyment of God forever.”-Shorter Catechism Questions 37 and 38.

There is an important distinction here. Heaven rarely opens to the living. There are less than two dozen recorded times when Jesus walked on Earth before His birth (for example Genesis 3:8 or Joshua 5:13-15) or when angels came to Earth. And, from heaven to Earth, there are only about a half dozen recorded examples of people seeing into heaven while still alive on Earth (Elijah, Jesus, Stephen, and Paul being clear examples.) So, although the evidence indicates that Heaven is physically at hand, we cannot truly perceive it or cross into it of our own volition.

However, anyone who believes in Christ and dies before Jesus returns is taken immediately into the presence of God, into what scripture calls “paradise.”(Luke 23:43; 2Cor 12:4). The physical resurrection of the dead will not occur until Jesus returns. So those who have already died are “in the presence of God.” So, “paradise” is a real place. But it’s not the full heaven. The best is yet to come. Even those in heaven now, are looking forward to the New Heavens and the New Earth. This will take place after the final judgment.

When Jesus returns, “the dead in Christ shall be raised up first” (I Thess. 4:16, 17). Then those who are still alive will be “caught up with them into the air” and given an incorruptible body. After that, the New Earth will be created (or restored), the New Jerusalem will come down, and all believers will live in their eternal and glorified bodies. This will be the fullest heaven. This is also known as the consummation. Far from the notion that we will sit around on clouds strumming harps and playing the same 5,000 hymns over and over again (would that really be heavenly?) we will have physical bodies on a physical Earth doing things that we were created to love doing, in an environment completely free of frustration and failure.

Thanks for your questions,
Bruce Young and Derrick Harris

What do we do if we feel lonely and don’t feel like God is listening/responding?

It is when God seemed most silent, that He was doing the greatest work of all time…redeeming mankind through the death of Christ. Remember Jesus’ words, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) At this moment in history, God seemed to be distant and turning His back on His only Son who was hanging on the cross, but it was also at this moment that through the death of His only Son, God was saving His people. So, feeling lonely/distant doesn’t mean that God isn’t there.

If I am hearing you correctly, you don’t feel “connected” to God currently. I think at different times in our walks with God, most, if not all, Christians have times where we feel God is distant. First, I would tell you to look at what God is trying to teach you during this time of loneliness…do you need to find someone to serve, does He want you to rely on Him and His word more than your feelings, does He just want you to wait on His timing to respond to your prayers? God does have a purpose, even for times we feel He is distant. Next, don’t let your feelings discourage you from continuing to read your Bible, pray, and spend time with other Christians. These are the ways God builds relationship with you and can offset loneliness.

Finally, it may take time for this “loneliness” to go away…you may have to wait on God and His perfect timing. But don’t give up, continue to follow the Lord and remember your commitment to Him.

Thanks for your question,
Bruce Young and Derrick Harris

Why did God create the tree if he didn’t want Adam and Eve to eat from it?

Our God desires a relationship with us. God did not create us to be robots following him in an obligatory manner. For this reason, before the Fall, He created us with a free will, with the ability to choose to obey Him. This ability to choose helps us grow in trust and faith as we see the kindness and goodness of God.

God placed the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden with specific instructions. Adam and Eve could eat from any other tree, and after listening to Satan, they had to choose whether they believed the Lord really had their best interest in mind with the restriction on this one tree. Obviously, when they ate from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, they chose to listen to Satan’s lies rather than trust God’s love and goodness in making this restriction.

Ultimately, why did He create the tree? We cannot answer this question with 100% accuracy. But we do know, that Adam and Eve had a choice, they chose to disobey God’s command, therefore, God punished this sin. But if it weren’t for our sin, how would we understand our need of Jesus redemption.

Rom. 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—

Rom. 5:15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

Rom. 5:16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.

Rom. 5:17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Thanks for your question,
Bruce Young and Derrick Harris

Devotions Help Needed!!

Okay, so I was wondering if you could help me. I've been having some trouble with keeping to my daily devotions and prayer time, and sometimes it doesn't seem really, you know, GENUINE and from the heart. Like it's too much of and obligation and not as much of a privilege. I know, I've seen lots of comments similar to this, but I was hoping you could help me with this PARTICULAR branch of the problem. I just really want my prayers to be, kinda, more REAL.
Thanks.