An Interview with God: Questions You're Asking and How the Bible Answers Them (Paperback)

Chapter One

While some people see the Bible merely as a book of rules, it is more accurately a book of questions. Literally thousands of questions are asked and answered within the pages of the Bible. Some of them are matters of life or death: "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" Some are far less profound: "Is there flavor in the white of an egg?"

Should you be afraid to ask questions of God? Won't He zap you with a cosmic lightning bolt or something if you question Him? Doesn't the prophet remark, and the apostle repeat, that the creature is in no position to question the Creator? But were Isaiah and Paul condemning our questioning nature? I don't think so. God made us inquisitive people. He gave us minds that want to know. We have a thirst to understand everything we can, even things that are beyond our grasp. That's good; it keeps us searching for truth when we encounter fabrication.

God is able to answer your questions. Some of the people closest to Him asked some of the toughest questions. The secret is asking questions that God will answer. Let's identify what some of those questions are.

God answers questions that seek honest information.

Jesus was explaining to His disciples that He had to leave them in order to prepare a place for them and that they would follow Him. Thomas asked, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Many times Thomas is called "doubting Thomas," and elsewhere he may deserve it, but not here. Did the disciples know what Jesus was talking about? Not entirely. Did they know the way? No. This was a legitimate question seeking honest information and Jesus did not rebuke Thomas. Instead He answered his question. (It was Philip whom Jesus rebuked in the next several verses for a lack of faith, not Thomas.) If you need answers, ask God. It's legitimate to question God when you seek honest information.

God answers questions that seek clarification.

Nicodemus had heard Jesus' teachings, but he was puzzled. When Jesus said, "No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again," Nicodemus had a question. Jesus did not rebuke him for asking, "How can a man be born when he is old?" This Jewish law expert and judiciary court (Sanhedrin) member wasn't being smart with the Savior; he simply didn't understand how a person could enter his mother's womb and be born a second time. His question sought clarification and Jesus answered him. You ought not be timid to ask God questions that seek explanation.

God answers questions that show sincerity.

Have you been part of a discussion group in which some of the questions were, well, just downright dumb? We all have. On the other hand, when Daniel was thrown into the lions' den, King Darius was genuinely interested in Daniel and went to the entrance of the den the next morning, asking, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?" That was a sincere request reflecting concern for a friend. God is more apt to provide answers to a sincere person who is really seeking Him.

God will most likely not answer questions with preconceived answers.

Sometimes we ask questions hoping God will confirm the answers we already have. In this case, we're not looking for omnipotent assistance; we're looking for a divine rubber stamp. There was a rich young man mentioned in the Bible who asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. He had formulated a preconceived idea of what Jesus would say, so when Jesus answered differently than expected, the man was not prepared to accept His response. God is not inclined to answer questions that we have already answered in our minds and are just checking out God's opinion.

God will most likely not answer questions that are accusatory.

Have you ever shaken your fist in God's face and said something like, "God, why did You make me marry that guy? He's a loser and doesn't love me the way he's supposed to." Neither our choices nor sinful behavior is generated by God; it's generated by Satan. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." God doesn't answer questions that accuse Him of what He has not done. God may be the only Friend you have. If you want honest answers, don't accuse your Friend of what your enemy has done to you.

God will most likely not answer questions designed for entrapment.

Do you know the first question in the Bible? Satan asked Eve, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The reason Satan asked the question was to trap Eve. She would have been better off to ignore that old snake. But often we ask God questions hoping to entrap Him. Wasn't that the intent of the Pharisees and Herodians when they asked Jesus, "Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Jesus didn't answer the question as they wanted because He knew their intent. He said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?" How foolish it is to think we can question God and catch Him in our trap.

God will most likely not answer questions that are inherently illogical.

I would like to see the expression on God's face every time someone in a college philosophy class asks, "Can God make a rock so big He can't lift it?" God cannot do something that is a violation of His own nature. Said differently, God's morality will not permit Him to do something with His power that defies His intelligence or contradicts His character.

Satan tried that on Jesus but failed miserably. Each question in our Lord's temptation attempted to get Jesus to violate His nature and character of submission to His Father's will. (1) "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread," (2) "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down [from the highest point of the temple]," and (3) "All [the kingdoms of the world] I will give you if you will bow down and worship me."

By asking Jesus to do these things, Satan wanted Him to use His power to accomplish things that He was not ordained to do. If Jesus chose to, He could have left the wilderness and been at a table filled with food or have had the angels catch Him in the air after a jump from the temple. He could have abandoned His earthly mission to rule the world. But that was not the plan. Jesus did not need to do illogical things that would thwart His purpose as Servant and Savior to the world. His birthright, His deeds, and His teaching already proved His power and identity. And He will rule as King of Kings forever according to His Father's terms and timing.

God is not opposed to your questions. Quite the contrary. He welcomes them. That's why there are so many questions asked and answered in the Bible. Come to Him with an open mind, read His Word with a searching heart, and leave your preconceived answers at home. You may be surprised what God will say to you.

Chapter Two

You are prepared to ask God your questions, but are you also prepared to appreciate His answers? When God answers your questions, He will do so truthfully from His faithful heart. But everyone who receives an answer from the Almighty will filter that answer through his or her own value system. We do this all the time. For example, a breakfast cereal claims to lower your cholesterol. You process that claim through your experience and say, "That can't be true. It takes more than a few bowls of cereal to reduce your cholesterol." You may be right, or they may be right. The point is, just as every question is interpreted, every answer is analyzed before it is believed. You will do the same with God's answers to your questions.

FILTERING GOD'S ANSWERS

When your question receives an answer from God, immediately your worldview begins to filter that answer. A worldview is a set of presuppositions and beliefs that you use to interpret and form opinions about everything in your life.

In his book The Universe Next Door, James Sire catalogs the most influential worldviews, past and present, that people use to process God's answers to questions. These are Christian Theism, Deism, Naturalism, Nihilism, Existentialism, Eastern Pantheism, and New Age or New Consciousness. Some of these worldviews are still commonly embraced, while others are not currently popular.

Deism, prominent during the eighteenth century, believes in God but postulates that after He created the universe, He abandoned it. This belief is virtually absent from twenty-first-century thinking.

Nihilism is a more recent worldview and believes that there is no value to reality, that life is absurd. To French writer/philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre goes much of the credit (or blame) for this view. Not widely held today, only a few young people and intellectuals admit to being nihilists.

Existentialism is more prominent than nihilism and infiltrates many worldviews, including those of unwitting Christians. While the existentialist also sees life as absurd, nevertheless he or she believes that our choices determine who we are. We create our own meaning and value. The world, being meaningless, is what we make of it.

Christian Theism is the worldview presented in the Bible. It holds that God is the Creator and sustainer of all things, that He is a loving God who has a plan to save the world. Because of sin, the world and all those in it need God's salvation.

Naturalism began in the late seventeenth century but gained greater acceptance through Marxism and secular humanism. This worldview believes that God is irrelevant because humanity's progress can be explained by evolutionary change. Thus, man is autonomous and will determine his own destiny. God's answers to our questions are as irrelevant as He is.

New Age Pantheism believes that everything is one and therefore all is God. Human beings are essentially divine, and it is their responsibility to discover the spark of divinity within them. New Age pantheism imbibes traditional pantheistic and Eastern religious practices, including belief in infinite cycles of birth, death, and reincarnation. Had it not been for the Beatles, Shirley MacLaine, and a few other Hollywood people, the Western mind would have rejected this worldview out of hand.

Postmodernism is the worldview of choice in the twenty-first century, although most people don't even know it. More of a mood or condition than a philosophy, postmodernism is much easier described than defined. Postmodernists believe that rules are not valid, authority is not recognized, style is more important than substance, tolerance is the cardinal virtue, words have no inherent meaning, Western culture is always oppressive, and whatever you believe to be right is right. Postmodernism is a reaction to rationalism and absolutism. When you look at postmodern beliefs, you'll recognize that they have permeated our society, even the church.

Obviously, the worldview you use to filter God's answers affects your acceptance of those answers. But, when you ask God a question and He answers, He doesn't answer according to your worldview. God cannot lie. He lays it right out there. You can disregard God's answers, you can debate them, but the one thing you cannot do is deny them. God is on record; His answers to your questions are in print. He couldn't change them if He wanted to.

ACCEPTING GOD'S ANSWERS

Before we get to your questions and God's answers, let's save some "honesty files" to our mental hard drive. Think honestly about the following.

Number one: If you ask an honest person a question, you have to respect that person's answer. You don't have to agree, and you don't have to like it. But if you do ask and the person you ask has a history of being honest, you have to respect that the answer he gives will be an honest one. You don't have to ask again. God has such a history. The Bible shows that God tells the truth. "The Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King."

You can choose to believe what the Bible says about God or disbelieve it. The one thing you cannot do is deny what the Bible maintains are God's answers to your questions. He will give you an honest answer, even if you don't accept it. Save that file to your mind's hard drive.

Number two: Be honest enough to expect that God's answers will not always parallel your own. You wouldn't expect your friends to answer questions the same way you do. So why would you expect God to answer the same way you do? Do God and you think alike? Not often. In fact, the Bible is quite clear on this point. "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" You should expect that most often His answers will be different than you thought.

Number three: Often when you ask a friend a question, he will pause for a moment, think about your question, and then offer an answer. And when situations change, he revises his answer. But God isn't like that. Recognize that God didn't just think about your question when you asked it. He's known all things for all eternity. In fact, God is on record with His answers. You can read them in His Word, the Bible. That's why in the chapters in which God answers your questions, you will find so many Scripture references at the end of each chapter. God has already responded to your questions, and His answers have been in print for centuries. Save that file to your mind's hard drive.

Number four: Somewhere along the line you'll have to make some judgments. You may read an answer or two from God and say, "I don't believe that" and stop looking for His answers. Barna Research compiled over a thousand questions of your peers, which represent honest questions to God that receive honest answers from God from the Bible. At some point you'll have to grapple with that.

Are the answers of God likely to supersede the answers of your friends? Who is more apt to know what they're talking about? Part of our problem today is that we live with a "talk radio mentality"-a venue where every opinion is equally valid. But you're a bright person and you know that every opinion isn't equally valid. A pediatric cardiologist is more likely to know how to treat your little brother's heart problem than a gaucho on the Argentine pampas.

You don't have to like God's answers, but they are His answers.

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