20 Questions with Pastor Mike (Episode 25)

Introduction: learning to think biblically transforms every area of life

Opening of Friday live stream Q&A session

Strange or odd passages in Scripture deserve careful attention

Introducing the Parable of the Dishonest Manager (Luke 16:1-13)

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager: Jesus uses a bad actor to illustrate one positive quality — shrewd urgency about the future

Reading and explaining Luke 16:1-13

Luke 16:9 — "make friends by means of unrighteous wealth" may refer parabolically to using all earthly resources for gospel proclamation

Interpreting the command to "make friends by means of unrighteous wealth" so they receive you into eternal dwellings

Western churches may not give adequate attention to caring for the poor

Discussing the almsgiving interpretation of Luke 16:9

Luke 16:10-13 reframes the parable: the master is money itself — be a faithful steward so God controls you, not money

Reading Luke 16:10-13 as commentary on the parable

Anxiety about eschatology (pre/mid/post-trib) is unnecessary — Christians are called to live ready for a full lifetime of service

Responding to a question about hoping Jesus does not return until after the questioner has died, due to eschatological anxiety

Claiming all biblical promises because "God is no respecter of persons" is invalid reasoning

Responding to the claim that Christians can claim all biblical promises because God is no respecter of persons or because they are grafted into Israel

Being grafted into Israel does not give Christians the right to claim every promise made to Israel, especially negative or law-based promises

The second half of the question about claiming Israel's promises via grafting-in

Confirmation bias accusations are themselves prone to confirmation bias; fear of confirmation bias is not sufficient reason to disbelieve something

Responding to a young Christian worried that his theism might be confirmation bias given that most atheistic arguments seem like straw men and ad hominem

Changing one's mind is not required for intellectual validity; core epistemic beliefs are foundational and need no further justification

Continuing the apologetics discussion about confirmation bias

Christianity has a mountain of evidential support — fulfilled prophecy, unity of Scripture, historical verification

Closing the apologetics discussion by pointing to positive evidence for Christianity

A new believer should lovingly but firmly set sexual boundaries with a girlfriend, even at the risk of losing the relationship

Responding to a 3-month-old believer whose girlfriend is hesitant to abstain from sex

Romans 8:29-30 — the Golden Chain of Redemption: foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified; Calvinist and non-Calvinist interpretations

Brief overview of the golden chain; Mike declines a full treatment and refers to his Romans series

God does not create people destined for hell; the verb tense in Romans 9 distinguishes God's active preparation of the saved from passive endurance of the lost

Responding to the difficulty of reconciling God's glory with creating people He knows will end up in hell

Molinism helps explain how divine sovereignty and human free will operate together

Expanding the discussion about God creating people He knows will reject Him

God's glory is displayed in just judgment of sin, like a good judge rightly sentencing the guilty

Responding to the question of how God's glory comes from judging unbelievers

People disagreeing about Scripture does not make Scripture contradictory — this argument has no force

Responding to the objection that different schools of thought (eschatology, Calvinism) supported by Scripture prove Scripture is contradictory

Calvinism functionally treats faith as a work, which drives its theological conclusions toward unconditional election and regeneration preceding faith

Explaining Mike's specific critique of Calvinism in the context of why schools of thought differ

Approaching a teenage atheist: dig for motives (often sin-related) rather than just arguments, in an environment of love

Advising a mother whose 16-year-old son has declared himself an atheist and can barely defend his position

Forgiveness: will and emotions are separate; you can choose to forgive before your heart feels it

Responding to whether one can say words of forgiveness when the heart has not yet caught up

Satan is not omniscient; he did not know God's plan of salvation and that is why he crucified Christ

Responding to whether the hidden mystery of salvation implies Satan's omniscience since Jesus had to rebuke Peter

Matthew 10:16-24 uses Olivet Discourse language — either Jesus repeated similar words or it shows the connection between the disciples' temporary mission and the church's ongoing mission

Responding to why Matthew 10:16-24 contains Olivet Discourse wording not found in Mark 6 or Luke 9 parallels

Mindful meditation: biblical meditation means active thinking; eastern meditation's spiritual claims are concerning; neutral practices are fine

Responding to whether mindful meditation for mental health can be used by a Christian

Apologetics resources: use general resources (Got Questions) to start, then targeted in-depth resources (books) for specific issues

Recommending starting points for apologetics study

Hebrews 12:1 — the cloud of witnesses is the inspiring example of their lives, not people watching from heaven; secular inspiring figures are fine but cannot be primary mentors

Responding to whether it is sinful to be inspired by historical people outside the Bible

Helping a believer in mental anguish: bear burdens without requiring performance; listen and meet needs without trying to fix them

Responding to how to help and encourage a believer going through a season of mental anguish

Mark 8 feeding of 4000: disciples may not have expected another miracle because Jesus did not multiply food at every meal; also, Jewish messianic expectation may not have extended to feeding Gentiles

Responding to why the disciples in Mark 8 seem unaware that Jesus had already fed 5000 in Mark 6

The empty tomb was verifiable: women as witnesses (embarrassing to early church = authentic), the women are named (eyewitness identification per Bauckham), Roman guards monitored it

Responding to how anyone could be sure the right tomb was checked if Jesus was beaten unrecognizably

Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: gave experiential knowledge of rebellion, not the initial ability to distinguish right from wrong

Responding to how Adam and Eve could be held responsible for disobeying before eating the fruit that gave knowledge of good and evil

Secular music: evaluate by message, not genre; wickedness set to music is still wicked, but neutral or positive messages are fine

Responding to whether it is sinful to listen to secular music and where to draw the line