[Biblemat] A) QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Monday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article from my recent files:

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question: -- Would you please explain 2 Tim. 2:23?  What
                     kinds of questions are these, and how do they
                     engender strife?

Answer: -- Let us first look at the text and some related pass-
                 ages and find some examples.

     "But foolish and ignorant questionings refuse, knowing
that they gender strife"  (2 Tim. 2:23).

     "Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, 
which minister questionings, rather than a dispensation of
God which is in faith" (1 Tim. 1:4).

     "Refuse profane and old wives' fables.  And exercise thy-
self unto godliness" (1 Tim. 4:7).

     "He is puffed up, knowing nothing, but doting about quest-
ionings and disputes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife,
railings, evil surmisings, wranglings of men corrupted in mind
and bereft of the truth, supposing that godliness is a way of
gain" (1 Tim. 6:4,5).

     "O Timothy, guard that which is committed unto thee, turn-
ing away from the profane babblings and oppostions of the 
knowledge which is falsely so called" (1 tim. 6:20).

     "But shun profane babblings, for they will proceed further
in ungodliness" (2 Tim. 2:16).

     "But shun foolish questionings, and genealogies, and strifes, and 
fightings about law; for they are unprofitable and
vain" (Ti. 3:9).

     There are many questions which arise in Bible discussions
which would profit little or none, even if we could obtain per-
fect knowledge of them.  And there are many questions we will never answer in 
this life: "The secret things belong unto
Jehovah our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our 
children for ever, that we may do all the
words of this law" (Deut. 29:29).  God reveals to us, in His
Word, what He wants us to know and do, and it is foolish to
spend time and create arguments about things that He has
not revealed.

     The time of the second coming of Christ is not revealed,
and it is silly to speculate and argue about when and how that
event will occur.  What happens to one after death is not re-
vealed to us; time stops at death.  There are no calendars and clocks in 
eternity.  What kind of body we will have is not
clearly defined in Scripture, and is thus a foolish and unlearn-
ed question.  The color of Jesus' eyes, length of His hair, His
mode of dress and such things are not revealed, and these
are "foolish and unlearned" questions that will not edify but
rather divide His people.

     The Scriptures point out a number of times the folly of
dealing with "endless genealogies."  This was important to the Jews, and 
records were kept so that a person could trace
his ancestry back to Abraham (Matt. 1:1-17) or even back to
Adam (Lk. 3:23-38).  But under the New Covenant, such genealogies for us are 
meaningless.  Who your ancestors
were is not important, so far as your relationship with God is
concerned.  Notice again: "Questionings and disputes of words, whereof cometh 
envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
wranglings of men" (1 Tim. 6:5).  There is so much of God's
plan clearly revealed, it is worse than silly to argue and wrang-
le over that which is not revealed.

Question: -- Would you please explain "the last days" as 
                    found in 2 Tim. 3:1-9?

Answer: -- "But know this, that in the last days grievous times
                   shall come.  For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of 
money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy..." (2 Tim. 3:1,2).  The expression
"last days" is a term used a number of times in the Scriptures
and it refers to "the last era, or last dispensation."  We are not left in 
doubt as to when "the last days" began, for on the
day of Pentecost, the inspired apostle Peter used the prophe-
cy of Joel 2 and said, "This is that which hath been spoken
through the prophet Joel: And it shall be in the last days, saith God..." 
(Acts 2:16,17).  Thus, as Peter announced, the
last days began on the first Pentecost after the resurrection
of Christ.

     But how long will the last days endure?  Well, if they are
really "the last days," there will be no other "days" after them.
Thus, "the last days" refer to that period of time from Pente-
cost until Jesus returns.  Note Heb. 2:1,2, "In the past God
spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times
and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to
us by His Son."  Just as God in the days of Israel spoke throu-gh Moses and 
other prophets, in "these last days" He speaks
through His Son, Jesus Christ.  And what is described as to
conditions listed in 2 Tim. 3:1-9, these conditions would exist
in the last days.  And we can look around at society and see
these conditions today.   ------ Clem Thurman in Gospel Minutes, Vol. 56, No. 
11, Mar. 16, 2007.   </HTML>
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