20 Questions with Pastor Mike (Episode 33)

The Gospel of Thomas is a mid-2nd century Gnostic forgery, not a legitimate alternate gospel. It's a sayings collection borrowing from Matthew/Luke with added Greek philosophical content inconsistent with a 1st-century Jewish teacher.

Q1: Thoughts on the Gospel of Thomas?

The Salvation Army replacing water baptism with wearing a uniform and not practicing communion is a serious mistake — baptism and communion are commanded by Jesus, not optional denominational choices.

Q2: Can the Salvation Army replace baptism with a uniform?

God's impartiality doesn't mean equal circumstances — disabilities, poverty, and wealth may serve God's glory rather than being about what people deserve. Jesus healed the man born blind "for the glory of God," not as punishment for sin.

Q3: How is God impartial when people have such different lives?

Discerning false prophets by their "fruit" (Matthew 7:15-20) — fruit is defined IN the passage as whether their teaching leads people to do God's will vs. lawlessness. It's not about charismatic experiences or emotional reactions.

Q4: How to practically use Matthew 7:15-20 to discern people?

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are in the kingdom (Luke 13:28) despite not having the indwelling Holy Spirit — being "born again" isn't identical to Spirit-indwelling but includes it. OT saints had real relationship with God through different means.

Q5: If born again requires the Spirit, how are OT saints in the kingdom?

Psalm 51:16-17 ("God does not delight in sacrifice") is situational to David after murdering Uriah — he can't just offer a bull and fix things. The only thing he can offer is a broken spirit. It's not a blanket rejection of the sacrificial system.

Q6: Does Psalm 51 mean God doesn't want sacrifices?

The disciples couldn't cast out the demon (Luke 9:40-41) because of faithlessness — Jesus calls them a "faithless and twisted generation." Spiritual power comes through faith and prayer/fasting, not technique.

Q7: Why couldn't the disciples cast out the demon in Luke 9?

Fight sin at its earliest stage — Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount that the beginning state of sin (lust, anger) is already where you've lost the fight. Draw personal boundaries far from the sin, not close.

Q9: How to fight the temptation to lust?

Where was Daniel when the three were thrown into the fire? Unknown — possibly on a trip, ill, or exempt from the order for some reason. The text simply doesn't say.

Q11: Where was Daniel during the fiery furnace?

Intercessory prayer may be connected to the spiritual gift of faith (1 Corinthians 12:9) — a Spirit-given burden to pray persistently for specific people or situations beyond normal prayer discipline.

Q14: Is intercessory prayer a spiritual gift?

Responding to LDS claims that "in the beginning" (Genesis 1/John 1) only means our world: John 1:3 says "all things were made through him" — a blanket category covering everything in existence, not just Earth.

Q16: How to respond to LDS friends about "in the beginning"?

Would Jesus have died of old age if not crucified? Probably yes — physical death entered through the Fall affecting all humanity, not just individual sinners. But Winger acknowledges he hasn't fully worked this out.

Q18: Would sinless Jesus have died of old age?

1 John 3:4 ("sin is lawlessness") doesn't mean Christians must keep the Mosaic Law — "lawlessness" means rebellion against God's moral authority, not specifically violating Torah commands. The New Testament redefines how we relate to God's moral standards.

Q19: Does 1 John 3:4 mean the Law of Moses still applies?