Saturday, February 2, 2013

Their Questions, the Bible's Answers: #1


I'm currently teaching the teen Bible class on Wednesday nights at East Hill, and I'm having a blast! They're sharp, fun, and encouraging to be around. They sincerely want to do what is right, and they have a great interest in learning about Christ and what He expects for their lives. The last class of each month is Q&A night. I told them that I would post all of the questions (anonymously, of course) and answers here so they could have them in writing and so they could easily access other reference materials relative to the answers.

Here are their questions and the Bible's answers.


Q: Who were the people in the cities to which Cain fled?
A: Cain had been caught. He murdered his brother, Abel, and God called him on it. The result was that he would be a "fugitive and a vagabond on the earth" (Gen. 4:14). God placed a special mark on Cain as a sign to others not to kill him (Gen. 4:14b-15), and Cain goes on his way.
 [Cain] dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son – Enoch" (Gen. 4:16-17).
Which brings us to our question – where did this city come from and who were its inhabitants? I think it's a great question. Here's the answer: they were Cain's own family members. Bible critics use this passage to argue that Adam, Eve, and their offspring were not the only created family. If that is true, then the Bible is false. Genesis 3:20 says that Eve was the "mother of all living." While the inspired record only specifically mentions the births of Cain, Abel, and Seth to Adam and Eve, Genesis 5:4 teaches that the first couple had many children. It says, "... the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters." God had told them to "be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth" and they obviously took this command seriously (Gen. 1:28).

From this couple came the entire antediluvian world. Therefore, the people in the cities to which Cain fled were, in some way, related to him. To keep this post brief, I'll leave the answer at that, though we could go off on some tangents (as we did in class). Check out the following references for more great information.

References:


Q: Is there a certain age to be baptized?
A: I really like this question a lot. The answer is no, there is not a certain age that one must be in order to become a Christian. Instead, becoming a Christian is a matter of knowledge, understanding, and maturity. In other words, do you understand what the Bible teaches you to do in order to be saved? Do you understand why you must do those things? If so, then you are ready. No one can tell you whether you are ready to become a Christian. It is a decision that you must make yourself. However, there are many people who can help you to arrive at this decision. Your parents or grandparents, your Bible class teacher, a preacher, or an elder are just a few examples of those who would be so happy to talk with you about becoming a Christian.

Kyle Butt and John Farber wrote a great little book titled, Am I Ready to Be Baptized? I highly recommend it to your reading if you're wondering when you should be baptized. In the book, the authors encourage us to think on the following questions:
  • Do you know who God is?
  • Do you understand what sin is? Have you sinned? (see 1 John 3:4; Rom. 3:23; 6:23)
  • Do you know God's plan to remove sin?
  • Do you understand what it means to repent? (see Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 2:38; 17:30-31)
  • If you have sinned, are you willing to repent of ALL of your sins?
  • Do you know that God's plan says that a person must confess Jesus Christ? (see Rom. 10:9-10)
  • Do you know what it means to confess Jesus? (see Matthew 10:32-33)
  • Do you understand that God's plan says that a person needs to be baptized? (see Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Pet. 3:21, etc.)
  • Do you understand what baptism does with sins? (see Acts 22:16)
  • Do you understand that becoming a Christian is a life-long commitment? (Mat. 10:22; Rev. 2:10)
  • Do you think you are ready to become a Christian by being baptized?
References:
A: Yes! The reference that was included in this question could be talking of nothing other than a dinosaur - the behemoth. While some have claimed that this animal could have been something like an elephant or a hippo, these animals simply do not match up with the description here in Job 40 (like the tail, for example - an elephant's tail is nothing like a cedar tree).

Does this mean that dinosaurs and humans coexisted? There is simply no other conclusion if we respect the Genesis account of creation (Gen. 1). Dinosaurs would have been created on days five and six with the animals of the air and water (day five), the animals of the land (day 6), and humans (day 6).

See also passages that refer to leviathan - Psalm 74:14; 104:26; Isa. 27:1.

Admittedly, this is an extremely simplistic answer to this question. If you're interested in further study on the topic of dinosaurs in the Bible, I recommend the following resources.

References:

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