Q

Paul seems to say that someone named Epaphras started the church at Colossae. Then he adds that Epaphras is “one of our dearly loved associates” (Colossians 1:7). Does that sound like Paul is laying claim to a leadership role over this church, perhaps a bit like bishops or district superintendents who supervise local pastors or priests? If so, why do you think he did it?

A

Paul considered himself an apostle, a top-tier leader in the Christian movement. He wrote about it in a letter to a church that caused him a lot of trouble: “Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles” (1 Corinthians 12:28 NLT). Paul may have put apostles at the top of the list because they were handpicked by Jesus, and they had met Jesus—though in Paul’s case it was in a vision (Acts 9:3-5).

Reprinted from Leader’s Guide & Atlas for Colossians.

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Q

LIFE APPLICATION. Here’s one main teaching of Christianity that doesn’t seem to make much sense to people outside the faith: “Our sins are a capital offense, but God sent Jesus to take our punishment. Jesus bled and died for the sins we committed” (Romans 3:25). How would you explain why Jesus had to die and how on earth his sacrifice saves us from getting punished for our sins?

A

That’s a tall order for most Christians. Many would simply say they take it on faith, which doesn’t help make a case for Christianity. Taking it on faith might come across as, “That’s what I’ve been told all my life, so I believe it and I don’t think much about it.”

The problem is that when we think about it, it’s still hard to figure out. That’s because God doesn’t often answer our why questions. Instead, he tells out how is, instead of why it is.

The Bible teaches that sin separates us from God; it creates a barrier. That gets made clear when after Adam and Eve eat forbidden fruit, “God banished them from the Garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:23). The point gets made over and over through the history of the Jewish people, especially in the book of Judges. There, the people sin. God sends punishment, usually raiders. The people repent. God saves the people from whatever is hurting them. That cycle gets repeated throughout the book. Sin and God don’t get along.

God set up a sacrificial system, allowing people to sacrifice animals to express their sorrow for sin. “Life is in the blood, and I have given you the blood of animals to sacrifice in place of your own” (Leviticus 17:11 CEV).

We can only guess why God chose animal sacrifice. Perhaps because it was common among other religions and familiar to the Jews; it would have made sense to them because it fit into their culture. In addition, it expresses the seriousness of sin. A creature had to die because of sin. Human senses registered the seriousness in several ways: the squealing sound of the creature dying, the feel of the blood, the sight of the creature cut up and displayed on the altar, the smell of burning meat.

It’s also tough to explain why God didn’t come up with a plan of salvation that didn’t involve his Son getting crucified. Maybe one reason is that the Jews wouldn’t have understood any other means of forgiveness because they had been offering sacrifices for about 2,000 years. On the other hand, Jews prohibited human sacrifice: “Don’t sacrifice your son or daughter” (Deuteronomy 18:10).

Yet Jesus voluntarily sacrificed himself for others. People understand it when someone gives up their life to protect another. A father lies on top of a child, to protect the child from a shooter. A soldier falls on a grenade. For many Christians, why Jesus had to go through this may remain a mystery. But why he did it is clearly taught: “The greatest way to show love for friends is to die for them” (John 15:13 CEV).

Here’s one of many ways of looking at it. Sin created a gap between people and God. Jesus bridged the gap. God invites everyone to cross the gap and join him in his kingdom. Some people have faith in the Bridge, so they cross the gap. They find themselves welcomed into God’s world.

Reprinted from Leader’s Guide & Atlas for Romans.

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Q

LIFE APPLICATION. Paul comes on strong about homosexuality in Romans 1. He’s against it: “Men on men did shameful things to each other” (1:27). The questions Christians face is this: Is God against it? As you understand the debate, why do some Christians say that Paul was not necessarily speaking for God? And why do other Christians say they feel uncomfortable with that take on the Holy Bible?

A

Notes from the footnotes in the Casual English Bible: “Christians are so divided over how to understand what Paul says about homosexuality that church denominations have split over this very topic. Some say they believe Paul is speaking for God when Paul writes this letter and others like it. Other Christians say they doubt that God would want blamed for what Paul wrote, and that Paul was expressing his personal opinion rather than revealing something God told him to say. These Christians argue that Paul would have been surprised that his letters ended up in the Holy Bible, and that if he had known it would turn out that way, he might have made some changes in his letters.”

Many Christians say that the contact they have with friends and family members who are gay suggests to them that this is not a lifestyle most people choose. It comes with the package. And since God gave them the package, it would seem unjust of God to condemn gay folks for being who they are. What’s troubling about this is that many Christians were raised to believe that everything in the Bible is intended as a message from God, even if it is simply a statement someone wrote in a letter. Other Christians question that way of thinking. They wonder why we should expect that everything someone like Paul would write in a letter was in perfect harmony with what Jesus would have taught, though this is a topic Jesus did not bother to address. They also wonder why Christians who embrace Paul’s stance against homosexuality oppose him on other matters of behavior:

• “I don’t let women teach. And I don’t put them in positions of authority over men” (1 Timothy 2:12 Casual English Bible).
• “In all the churches where believers meet to worship, women need to worship silently. They aren’t allowed to talk” (1 Corinthians 14:33-34 Casual English Bible).
• “I’d like the ladies to dress modestly and mildly. Not too showy. Keep it respectable. Don’t go crazy playing dress-up. No need for expensive clothes, fancy hairdos, or jewelry made of gold or pearls. Let the ladies dress like women devoted to doing good things for others” (1 Timothy 2:9-10 Casual English Bible).
• “A church leader needs to do a good job of running his own household. And his kids need to act respectfully and do what he says. I mean, come on, if a man can’t manage his own family how can he manage God’s church, full of families?” (1 Timothy 3:4-5 Casual English Bible).

Reprinted from Leader’s Guide & Atlas for Romans. For more on this topic, see 100 Tough Questions about God and the Bible.

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Q

Paul says that people who give into the lure of sex sins “are no different than someone who worships idols” (Ephesians 5:5). Why do you think Paul would have considered that a fair parallel, sex sins to idolatry?

A

In Bible times, idolatry and sex took place together. Some religions featured religious prostitutes. The idea was that if you wanted to pray for something, like a good crop of wheat or a baby son, you would go to your worship center with a sacrifice and you would have sex with a temple priestess as a way of entertaining and pleasing the god in the hopes that the god would give you what you wanted. A Greek historian named Herodotus (about 484-425 BC) wrote “The foulest Babylonian custom is that which compels every woman of the land to sit in the temple of Aphrodite and have intercourse with some stranger at least once in her life” (The Histories).

Reprinted from Leader’s Guide & Atlas for Ephesians

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Q

LIFE APPLICATION. Paul says God has equipped people with different gifts. He mentions several in Ephesians 4:11. “He spread gifts around, too. He equipped people to serve him as apostles, prophets, preachers, pastors, and teachers.” What are some of the unsung gifts you’d add to the list?

A

• In the church: Nursery workers. Handymen and women who fix things in the church and for friends, neigh­bors, and on mission trips. Folks who come early to make coffee for folks in the church.
• Outside the church: Folks who make Hallmark movies, our mothers might say. Cops who protect and serve rather than intimidate and bully. The guys and gals who plow and clean the streets. Donut bakers; can’t forget those early birds killing us with sugar and kindness.

Reprinted from Leader’s Guide & Atlas for Ephesians

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