OceanSide church of Christ

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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (40)

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    Have you ever wondered what some of the most asked questions are?

1.      What is the meaning of life?

2.      Is there a God?

3.      Why is there suffering and death?

4.      When is the world going to come to an end?

 

B.      All of those are great questions.  Too, the questions that you ask on our Q&A Night are always very good questions.

 

C.     Tonight is Q&A Night.  We are going to be answering three questions.

 

I.                   QUESTION #1:  Casting Lots

 

A.    Stated:  Is it sinful for Christians today to utilize the practice of the casting of lots in situations where decisions are difficult to make, as was practiced many times in the Old Testament, and by the apostles in the New Testament in Acts 1:12-26?

 

B.      Answer:

1.      The Bible has a lot to say about the casting of lots (Lev. 16:8; Num. 34:13; 36:2; Josh. 17:14; 18:6, 8, 10; 21:8; 1 Chr. 6:65; 24:31; 25:8; 26:13, 14; Neh. 10:34; 11:1; Esth. 3:7; 9:24; Psa. 22:18; Prov. 1:14; 16:33; Isa. 34:17; Ezek. 24:6; Joel 3:3; Obad. 1:11; Jonah 1:7; Mic. 2:5; Nah. 3:10; Matt. 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:24; Acts 1:17, 26).

2.      Pictures of the lots:

 

Image result for casting lots                    Image result for casting lots

 

3.      The lot was used for a number of purposes:

a.      Selection of the scapegoat (Lev. 16:8)

b.      Division of the land of Canaan (Num. 34:13)

c.       To determine which individuals violated the law (I Sam. 14:41-42; Jonah 1:7)

d.      To determine the order of the priests and their duties (I Chron. 24:5-19).

e.       To settle disputes (Prov. 18:18)

f.        Which people would continue to dwell in the city of Jerusalem after the walls were rebuilt (Neh. 11:1).

g.      To determine which soldier would get Jesus’ one-piece robe (Ps. 22:18; Matt. 27:35).

h.      To determine which of two men would be put in the apostleship after Judas fell (Acts 1:26).

4.      In the casting of lots there was

a.      Mere luck in some cases such as the day of Pur in the time of Esther and which soldier would receive the garment of Jesus.

b.      The will of God in other cases as in the dividing of the land and the selection of an apostle.

5.      In the New Testament, there is no authorization for the casting of lots.

In the New Testaments, there is no description of the lots that were cast such as sticks or stones.

In the New Testament, there is no description of how to tell which arrangements of the sticks or stones are the will of God.

Question:  How would we know for certain that the result of a lot was truly the will of God?

6.      In making our decision today, we need to leave the lots off and use other things.

a.      The commands of the Word of God

b.      The principles of the Word of God

c.       The examples of the Word of God

d.      All of the facts that we can possibly glean

e.       Advice from those who are wiser and more experienced

f.        Time to analyze and consider the consequences, when such is possible  (NOTE:  We definitely need to consider the impact of all decisions upon our service to God and our soul’s eternal destination).

g.      Prayer to God for wisdom to make a good decision

 

II.                QUESTION #2:  Rightly Dividing the Word of God

 

A.    Stated:  If we want to be approved by God, we must rightly divide the word of truth.  How do we do that? 

 

B.      Answer:

1.      II Timothy 2:15

 

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

 

2.      Rightly dividing

a.      Strong (3718):  to make a straight cut, that is, dissect correctly the divine message

b.      Thayer:  to cut straight…to teach the truth correctly

c.       Vine:  rightly dealing with a thing, teaching Scripture accurately

3.      There are some rules that all need to remember as we study and teach the Bible.

a.      Keep all passages of Scripture in their context:  immediate and remote (Ex., I Cor. 2:9 is not a reference to heaven).

b.      Define all terms in the text properly (Ex., “hell” in Acts 2:27).

c.       Remember there is a distinction between the Old and New Testaments.

d.      There are three ways God authorizes:  direct command, approved example, and inference.

1)      Command:  “Now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).

2)      Approved example:  The Lord’s Supper taken on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7)

3)      Inference:  “because there was much water there” (John 3:23).  Why did John need much water?  Because baptism involves an immersion not sprinkling or pouring).

e.       We cannot loose where God has bound (Adultery and idolatry, Gal. 5:19-21).  We cannot bind where God has loosed (circumcision, Gal. 6:15 and forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats, I Tim. 4:3).

f.        Examples can be both positive and negative.

1)      Paul (II Cor. 11:1)

2)      The Jews in the wilderness (I Cor. 10:6, 11).

g.      At some point, we must ask the question:  “When is an account of action binding?”  It has been asked as:  “What is an example binding?”

h.      Some things in a text are incidentals (Ex., the upper room when the Lord’s Supper was taken, Mark 14:15).

i.        Some things are optional matters.  God has given commands but has not given us the specifics on how those commands are to be accomplished (Ex., preach the word, II Tim. 4:2). 

j.        The secret things belong to God (Deut. 29:29).

 

III.             QUESTION #3:  Burial or Cremation?

 

A.    Stated:  What does the Bible say to do with a person’s remains?  Is it specific about cremation or burying?

 

B.      Answer:

1.      In Scripture, the two most common burial places were caves and tombs.

a.      Abraham purchased the cave of Machpelah in which he buried his family (Gen. 23:9).

b.      Jesus was buried in a tomb (Matt. 27:59-60).

c.       In the city of Jerusalem was a place called the Valley of Hinnom. 

1)      It was the place for the burning of trash.

2)      However, criminals and those who died without family to claim the bodies were cast into this place of burning.

d.      There were also those who were killed in accidents such as shipwrecks whose bodies never received any type of “burial.”

2.      The Bible nowhere commands us with regard to the way to bury the dead.

a.      This is probably due to the wisdom of God.  He knew different cultures would dispose of the dead in different ways.

b.      In our culture, we have been accustomed to burial throughout the years.  Now, times are beginning to change.  More are beginning to cremate the bodies.  This is due to the cost of burial.

1)      My mother purchased insurance to cover her funeral expenses.  The total cost was about $13,500.00.  Had she not had the insurance, the cost for the same funeral would have been about $18,500.00.

2)      Cremation runs from $2,000.00 to $6,000.00.

3.      Some thoughts:

a.      Find out the wishes of the individual before he/she dies.

b.      Remember that the body that remains is just an empty shell. 

1)      Paul refers to it as our tabernacle, that is, a temporary dwelling place (II Cor. 5:1).

2)      All bodies are destined to ultimate decay.  “Then shall the dust return unto the earth as it was…” (Eccl. 12:7; see also Gen. 3:19).

c.       Seeing the body is good means closure for some people.  It enables them to visualize that the person is dead.  It is possible to rent a casket for a funeral, then cremate the body.  This is an added expense.

d.      It is possible for a person to donate his/her body to science.  They will pay a few hundred dollars for the body.

1)      The money must be donated to a charity.

2)      They will send you a report one how they used the body.

3)      After they have finished using the body, they will cremate it and send you the ashes for disposal.  This could take 8 months to a year.

e.       Whatever method of disposing of the remains, we should be respectful of the body. 

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    We have been all over the place in our study tonight.

1.      Casting lots

2.      Cut up the Word of God

3.      Cremating bodies

 

B.      One of the interesting aspects of God’s Word is that is speaks to all areas of life in some measure.

1.      II Peter 1:3

 

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us to glory and virtue.

 

a.      All things

b.      Pertaining to life and godliness

c.       Through knowledge

2.      NOTE:  Not all things are specifically address, but the divine principles and examples in the Word of God are enough to guide us and enable us to make informed, righteous decisions in all areas of living.