Joeraja

How might you describe Christ’s glory? Christ will be coming in all glory, in awesome power, bright and shining with the whole world as His witnesses. How will his glory be terrifying to unbelievers? It will be very terrifying for in an instant they will know that they will be facing the wrath of God and try to run to the mountains to hide between the rocks. The awesome Glory and Splendour of our Lord will be blinding and they will be scampering to get away. If heaven involves sharing this glory forever, what would it be like to be excluded forever from the glory? I can't quite imagine let alone describe how it would be to be excluded forever from the presence of the Lord. Being in the lake of fire without any respite alone is enough to terrify anyone. Add to that forever ! Just can't imagine In what ways is the phrase “outer darkness” a helpful description of hell? It does help to picture that hell will be a very dark place void of light. You will never know from where or which direction danger and suffering is going to come from. It will be totally unbearable.

According to verse 9, what kind of punishment will unbelievers experience? They will experience everlasting destruction and be separated from the Lord. This is a conscious punishment and will be everlasting. One definition of “hell” is “a place of eternal conscious punishment for the wicked.” What parts of this definition are confirmed in verse 9. Verse 9 says that they will face everlasting destruction and face a separation from God whic confirms that the punishment will be everlasting and the will be in a place where God is not present Which parts of the definition trouble you? Why? I have no trouble believing in the Word that clearly states that the unbelievers will face condemnation and everlasting punishment in hell.The fact that the suffering is everlasting troubles me because I have many friends and relatives who don't seem to understand the severity of their decisions not to receive the saving Grace of God by accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. I have to pray very hard and try to bring as many of them to Christ.

Would God be just if he did not punish sin? For God the Almighty is all knowing. Our God is a just God. Although we have been taught that all sins will be punished, it still God's Judgment. His decisions whether to punish or not will be just. He is a God of Mercy and full of compassion for He did not punish us for our sins but instead gave up His only begotten Son as a ransom to to redeem us of our sins. What is the difference between rehabilitation and retribution? Rehabilitation refers to any action to help the wrong doer realise his mistakes and make amends to change his life to be a better person. The main focus is to help the person overcome his or her weaknesses and turn over a new leaf Retribution on the other hand is to pay back a person's wrong doing. It is based on the 'eye for eye' principle. If someone has sinned or done wrong it is only fair that he is made to pay back or compensate. Retribution is being legalistic When does a Christian’s rehabilitation take place? A Christian's rehabilitation takes place when he realises his mistakes and sins and repents and allows the Holy Spirit to minister unto him and be a transformed person. When does a sinner’s retribution take place? A sinner's retribution takes place once he dies and faces the Judgment Day. But the bible also says the "he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." (Exodus 34:6-7). Thus this retribution can also happen on earth How do you balance love and justice? Paul has outlined some guidelines to help us balance love and justice. That is being slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness just as Jesus as commanded us to do.

In what ways do persecution, pressure, and stress help us grow strong in Christ? Persecution, pressure and stress increases our faith because in most instances our human ability would not be enough to face, overcome and persevere. When we go through persecution and pressures we realise that only our faith can help us rise above those problems. It is a testing ground for our faith in Jesus Christ. When we come through victorious it increases our faith and get closer to God. What would we be like without the testing of our faith? Without testing we will never know what true faith is. It may be easy to state our commitment to and faith in Christ when everything is going well according to plan. But when faced with persecution many of us may backslide or back out as our faith hasn't been tested and we fear the world It is during these testing times that we know how strong our faith is. Even Peter denied knowing Jesus when faced with imminent arrest. We howerever do not have to endure such severe tests to increase our faith. Even ordinary day-to-day problems tests our Christian faith.

If you met a true Christian who had no assurance of salvation, how would you explain to him or her God’s power to protect and present them blameless before Christ at his coming? I am not sure what a true Christian means as obviously a true Christian would have had the assurance of salvation. But if it is in reference to a Christian who has not understood salvation then I would explain to him that salvation is a gift from God and will never be taken away. The moment we repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we are granted salvation through God's grace. With salvation also comes the gift of the Holy Spirit which will help us to lead a holy life and present blameless before Christ. God's power works through the Holy Spirit. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us or to empower us. What is the problem of having no assurance of salvation? Having no assurance of salvation means that we have no hope to be part of God's Kingdom, as we who have the assurance of salvation are the sons of God. No assurance of salvation also means that we cannot overcome sin and will be unable to lead a holy life. Thus we will face condemnation on Judgment Day What is the problem of having a false assurance of salvation? False assurance is believing in "once a Christian always a Christian". They believe that salvation alone is enough to save us and the life we lead after that is inconsequential. This would be living in deception. Salvation is given to us by the grace of God and is an encounter with God, marking the beginning of our Christian walk. We have to continue to work our Christian life to remain holy until we are presented blameless before the Lord.

Why do churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy? I believe churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy due to their doctrines not believing in prophecy or simply their inability to deal with it. Sometimes there are too many people who prophecy and it results in disorder. The people who prophecy also lead questionable lives. There are also conflicting prophecies, and the congregation gets confused. This leads many to be wary of prophesies. What guidelines doe Paul give here and in 1 Corinthians 14 to keep prophecy in a congregation healthy? First of all Paul says that there should be order in the church and that prophecy should be tested. There should be a critical examination of prophecies to ensure that it is in agreement with the scripture and that it doesn't take us astray. We need to discern whether it is from God or from the individual. Prophesies should encourage and build the church.

In your own words explain how a person can rejoice and pray continually. One can rejoice continually if we focus all the blessings we have received from our God. Sometimes we get side tracked when we are focused on the problem rather than the faithfulness and generosity of our God. God has kept us from harm and blessed us with a family, friends with resources and thus have so much to be thankful. Praying continually will be to be thankful for everything we have and trust God to help us face all the challenges and battles ahead. We communicate with God praising and thanking Him, as we make our requests to Him. We also need to remember our loved ones. friends, people in need, our church leaders,and the nation in our prayers. Are there any circumstances we might be in the midst of where we should not give thanks to God? No. I do not believe that God makes mistakes! Not wanting to thank God is subtley saying that God has made a mistake. We may not be in a favourable situation but God is always there with us to help us pull through.

What happens to people who seek revenge on those who hurt them? People who seek revenge continue to increase the animosity between themselves and others. This tit for tat response will increase the hurts and they will all end up miserable What happens when they neglect to forgive those who have wronged them? Unforgiveness robs the people the joy and victory in living a Christian life. What happens in a congregation that has an unloving, superior attitude towards outsiders? How do these attitudes reflect on Christ? The outsider will feel 'small' and may not return to the church. If they are non-believers they will be getting the wrong impression of christians and it will be difficult to win them for Christ later. This attitude surely doesn't reflect Christ as Christ has taught us to love one another and be humble. How can people or congregations get healthy after have been vengeful, proud, or unforgiving? We can always turn back to Christ through the repentence of our sins and allow the Holy Spirit to take charge of our lives. It means that we have to spend more time reading and meditating on the Word and lead prayerful lives.

What happens in a congregation when people don’t show respect for their leaders? When the congregation don't show respect for their leaders they will not trust or support the leaders' plans and aspirations. They (the leaders) will have no say in determining the direction the church growth should take. It thus will affect the spiritual and physical growth of the church.The congregation loses out. What happens when the disrespectful spread their disrespect? There will be disunity and will give rise to factions, with each faction trying to grab the leadership and chaos will result. Some members may decide to leave when the church climate is unhealthy. Will getting rid of the leader fix the problem, or is there something deeper going on here? Well it all depends on who the source of the problem is, the congregation or the leaders. A change of leadership may help if the leaders are the source of the problem. Having said that it may not be the solution as there could be something deeper. Maybe it would be better, as Paul suggests, that we go into negotiation and consultation to iron out the differences and reach an amicable solution

What effect should a belief in Christ’s soon coming have on believers? Christ's soon coming brings Hope for an everlasting life with Jesus Christ. This Hope rests on our preparedness to receive Christ on the Day of His Coming. So believers will need to be awake, be refreshed by the Holy Spirit daily and keep away from the sinful nature of the world. What does it mean to be “sober” or “self-controlled” (verse 6)? To be 'sober' and "self-controlled" means that the believer has to be aware the Christ's soon coming is very near and thus lead holy lives. We need self-control to avoid being influenced by the wickedness and sinfulness in the world which will increase. Without self-controll we will be tempted by Satan, who is working over-time to prevent us from joining Christ. What does it mean to be “alert” or “watchful” (verse 6)? To be "alert" and "watchful" means to be aware of Satan's attempts to pluck us away from God. We have to be aware of the subtle ways of the world that may cause us to be "asleep" when Christ comes. We also need to be in prayer and rely on the Holy Spirit to empower us to live holy lives. How does this differ from our normal Christian lifestyle? Our normal Christian lives may be on of casualness thinking that there is time to set things right. For example I will pray tomorrow, or start reading the bible as soon as I complete the project. It may even lead us to compromise our christian values to keep up with the worldly ways. all this shows carelessness and that we are not alert and watchful. The Days are near and Christ will come like a thief and we may miss out meeting him in the air.

According to this passage, what warning can we expect to have prior to Christ’s return? The warning is that there will be no warning ! We are to be ever prepared for the Lord's coming and not be caught sleeping. What does it mean that he will “come like a thief”? Coming like a thief is coming at the least expected moment. Christ will come suddenly and those who are not prepared will be left behind. The faithfuls will not be taken by surprise as they would be prepared but the rest of us who are still partying and continue to sin will be caught off-guard as He" comes like a thief'

How will Christ bring with him those believers who have previously died? Those who have died will be resurrected and given new bodies, not perishable but imperishable bodies and come with Christ to meet up with those faithfuls that are still living According to Matthew 25:31, who will also will accompany Christ when he returns? All the angels will accompany Christ

In what ways does Daniel’s prophecy of the Son of Man outline Christ’s return? Daniel's prophecy of the Son of Man outlines Christ's return as expounded by Paul . Christ will descend from Heaven in all glory and power and people from all nations will witness this and worship him. This will be the beginning of the new everlasting kingdom with Jesus Christ as King In light of this prophecy, why did Jesus use the title “Son of Man” rather than “Christ” or “Son of God”? Jesus used the title "Son of Man" rather than "Son of God" because he wanted to stress on the human side of His birth. Although divine in nature He came to earth in human form and will come again in the same form .

Why do you think Paul mentions such severe punishments for sexual immorality? Paul mentions such severe punishments for sexual morality because it is a sin we are doing with our bodies. The body has been described as the temple of God, which means the Holy Spirit abides in the body.God created man to be holy and pleasing to God. Sexual immorality thus would corrupt the holy body and thus is not acceptable Are these punishments more severe than for other sins? All sins will be punished and thus I don't believe it is more severe with sexual immorality. However the bible seems to indicate the sexual morality is a different kind of sin. It does not specifically mention that it is a bigger sin. What effect should these warnings have on Christians? It is clear that Christians should strive to keep their bodies holy as severe punishments await us. I also believe sexual sins are emphasised here because society has accepted is as the norm and continue to sin. The key to keep our bodies holy is to keep away from sexual immorality.

Are humans actually capable of controlling their sexual urges? If so, why are so many people seemingly out of control? Jesus Christ has paid in full for our sins by dying on the Cross so as to make us holy. He has given us the power(the Holy Spirit) to overcome sin and to lead holy lives. If we believe in Him and have accepted Him as our Lord and and Saviour we will surely be able to control the sexual urges People are seemingly out of control because they have not given their hearts to Jesus Christ and continue to live life according to their own understanding and might. Why is it important to control ourselves sexually within marriage? What happens when sexuality does not have any boundaries? It is important to control ourselves as the unholy world presents an environment of deceit and sexual immorality. If we have control we may exceed the boundaries and end up in adultery, fornication, sodomy etc What happens to marriages, to children, to our spirits, to our bodies? When we don't control ourselves sexually marriages break up, the children suffer as they will be separated from their parents, the Holy Spirit is grieved and will not be able to help us and our physical bodies may decay through depession, emotional stress and diseases