Answering Hard Bible Questions.

Recently we had a visitor at our church Harvest Bible Chapel York Region who posed some serious questions about the Bible and the Son of God. In this blog I will try to remember some of the tricky questions and give an apologetic answer for the ones I remember. The first hard question he posed was why did God love Jacob, but hated Esau; As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
(Romans 9:13). Have I hated - This does not mean any positive hatred; but that he had preferred Jacob, and had withheld from Esau those privileges and blessings which he had conferred on the posterity of Jacob. This is explained in Malachi 1:3," And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness;" compare Jeremiah 49:17-18; Ezekiel 35:6. It was common among the Hebrews to use the terms "love" and "hatred" in this comparative sense, where the former implied strong positive attachment, and the latter, not positive hatred, but merely a less love, or the withholding of the expressions of affection; compare Genesis 29:30-31; Proverbs 13:24, "He that spareth his rod hateth his son; but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes;" Matthew 6:24, "No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other," etc.; Luke 14:26, "if any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, etc."

The next tricky question I remember, not in order was the false doctrine held by the word of faith people and some new agers, the we are god's doctrine. Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?b(John 10:34) Jesus answered them - The answer of Jesus consists of two parts. The first John 10:34-36shows that they ought not to object to his use of the word God, even if he were no more than a man. The second John 10:37-38 repeats substantially what he had before said, left the same impression, and in proof of it he appealed to his works.

John 10:34

In your law - Psalm 82:6. The word "law" here, is used to include the Old Testament.

I said - The Psalmist said, or God said by the Psalmist.

Ye are gods - This was said of magistrates on account of the dignity and honor of their office, and it shows that the Hebrew word translated "god," אלהים ̀elohiym, in that place might be applied to man. Such a use of the word is, however, rare. See instances in Exodus 7:1; Exodus 4:16.

The third tricky question was that we are all Sons of God. Notice that I used "capital S". We are not all begotten of the father as Jesus was, notice 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life,^a and the life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 9The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11He came to his own,^b and his own people^c did not receive him. 12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And these verses; Genesis 6:2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Genesis 6:2. The sons of God — Those who were called by the name of the Lord, and called upon that name; married the daughters of men — Those that were profane, and strangers to God. The posterity of Seth did not keep to themselves as they ought, but intermingled with the race of Cain: they took them wives of all which they chosen — They chose only by the eye. They saw that they were fair — Which was all they looked at.

Another tricky question was that he claimed Jesus never claimed to be God. I will refer you to Mark 14:     60And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”^g 61But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. 65And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.

(Jesus here clearly says he is God.) 

These are just a few that come to my mind. He did mention that his God was impersonal and personal and transcendent. I will leave that for now, because I believe it would be testing the God of the Bible to say that any other God exists transcendently. This is Mike.