Question 13 (submitted by Allison): Where did Cain and Abel’s wives come from?

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Question 11 (submitted by Rebeka and Amy): How do you answer someone who asks, “Is God all-knowing?” If he is then does that mean that he knows if you’re going to Heaven or Hell before your born? If he does then why would he create someone he already knew was going to hell? Isn’t that just creating someone to be damned?

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This is a continuation of our series on holidays. In part I we discussed the origins of many of today’s “Christian” holidays. In part II we looked at whether it is ok to celebrate a holiday that may have origins in pagan celebrations. Today you will get the third and final installment on this topic. Today’s topic is on the date of Christmas.

Question 10 (submitted by Terri and Jack): Why do we celebrate Christmas on December 25th? Read More

Welcome back to part II of our series on Christmas. Today we have the logical next question to last week’s question. Are the original meanings and influences of particular holidays important or does it only matter what they are currently viewed as. Read More

Before I start answering today’s question I wanted to explain some background information and give my disclaimer. These next three questions were submitted to me almost 3 months ago. They were very interesting questions and they were on topics that I knew nothing about. As I started researching I found myself getting deeper and deeper into the study with no specific answers popping out at me. Read More

Before I answer today's questions I wanted to tell you all that I have got some great questions coming up in future posts. For those of you who have asked the questions I am sorry it has taken so long but they required a lot of research. Keep the questions coming, I love receiving them.

Question 6 (submitted by Roshelle): What do you say to someone when you do something nice for them and they say thank you or want to know why you did it?

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What is in a name?

So, Diana and I have been talking baby names. We don’t know whether or not we are going to have a boy or girl so we are going to come up with both names so that we are prepared. I wanted to ask each of you to consider your two favorite names for a boy and a girl and submit them. That will help generate discussion for me and Diana. You never know, we might just pick yours!

This whole process got me thinking about what naming really means. I have done a study on this in the past but have never shared it with anyone. So, today is the unveiling of that study. Read More

Question 5 (submitted by Terri): What translation of the bible do you read and what makes you choose one (or more) translation(s) in your study?

Great Question! Well, to answer the first question, I use the New King James Version (NKJV) when I read and study. Now, for why I choose that verse the answer is a bit more detailed. So, grab your Bible and let's run through a few tests that I have developed to help you answer this question for yourself. For sake of relevance I have only include 3 versions (NKJV, NASB, NIV) in the test as I see they are really the only 3 viable options for Bible study and reading.

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For this edition of "Ask Jeff" I will be answering two questions from Maria. Please keep sending the questions in. I am loving them.

Question 3 (submitted by Maria): Are you saying that my religion is wrong?

Sometimes in the natural course of conversation with a friend about Christ we come down to RELIGION. Oh, that big scary word that seems to cause so much trouble. Religions are such factors in our life that sometimes we will go to great lengths to defend that religion that we identify with even if we don't practice it. I work with a lady that considers herself to be Catholic. She is not a practicing Catholic in that she attends mass at most a couple of times a year but much of her identity is still based on this religion. So, naturally when somebody is speaking bad about Catholics, the Pope, or any Bishops or priests that were involved with the recent scandals then she flies to the rescue.

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First, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has asked questions. Please, keep them coming! I will not be answering all of them on this post but I will get to all of them at some point. Also, keep in mind that you can ask questions anonymously if you want. In this post I will answer two of the questions that I have received so far.

Question 1 (submitted by Amy): How do you respond to the comment that Jesus is an alien and that the Israelite people were protected by alien spaceships while they were in the desert?

Believe it or not but I have actually heard people say things similar to this in the past! When people say things that are so outrageous like this sometimes it makes me speechless in the moment. There are several approaches that you can take to a question/comment of this nature. However, one approach has served me best in the past and it is what I would recommend to you. It is as follows:

In 1Corinthians 4:6 Paul says not to “think beyond what is written”. The context of this verse is a specific example that Paul is referring to, however, it is a principle that applies to the entire Bible. GOD has promised us everything that we need “for life and godliness” (2Peter 1:3). Everything else is not important and will simply lead to dissensions among the body of Christ. Paul also says in Titus 3:9-11 to “avoid foolish disputes” and “reject a divisive man”.

So, from the three scriptures that I mentioned above you can tell the person that you are talking with that unless it is written in the Bible then it is foolish to argue or even think about those possibilities. We simply can’t be bothered with such outrageous claims and divisive notions.

Hope that answers your question!

Question 2 (submitted by Jack): Why was GOD mad at David for numbering Israel (1Chronicles 21:1-30)?

The account that you referenced in 1Chronicles 21:1-30 is a parallel account of 2Samuel 24:1-25. Each passage adds a little bit of information to the whole picture. I would encourage you to read both of these passages in full so that you get all of the information. Additionally, 1Chronicles 27:23-24 adds some light on this census as well. From these passages we learn 4 facts, 1) that Satan incited David to initiate the census (1Chronicles 21:1), 2) that David’s heart condemned him (2Samuel 24:10), 3) that GOD’s anger was already aroused against Israel and therefore used this sin on David’s part to punish Israel (2Samuel 24:1), and 4) that David’s advisers knew that there was something wrong with David’s intentions (2Samuel 24:3-4, 1Chronicles 21:3-6, and 27:24 show that Joab and the captains of the military stood against David because his desire was an abomination). Now, for the actual question of why it was a sin we must go outside of these three passages and build up the Biblical principles that show David’s census to be a sin.

Principle #1: A complete census is wrong… Part A: In Genesis 13:16, 15:5, 32:12, 1Kings 3:8, Hosea 1:10, Isaiah 10:22 – GOD tells Abraham that his descendants will be too numerous to count and his descendants and the prophets repeat that promise. I do not bring up this principle to say that ANY census of the people was a sin (after all there is a book of the Bible based off of two census’ called Numbers) but rather to show that GOD did not want them to number all of the people. I don’t know the reason behind this. Nevertheless, GOD didn’t want the entire population of Israel counted. David himself acknowledged this truth in 1Chronicles 27:23 which says: “But David did not take the number of those twenty years old and under, because the LORD had said He would multiply Israel like the stars of the heavens.” From what I can find in the Bible usually only a portion of the males of the Israelites were numbered. Part B: The tribe of Levi was not to be included in a census of the children of Israel as a whole (Numbers 1:49). They could be conducted separately (Numbers 3:11-16, Numbers 3:39-51, Numbers 4) but not simultaneously. Again, I don’t know why this is but I trust in the word of GOD that it is for a good reason. I do suspect that the reason lies in the fact that the tribe of Levi was used to redeem the first-born male of each household as well as the livestock (read Exodus 13:2, 12-15, 22:29b-31a, 34:19-20, Leviticus 27:26-27, Numbers 3, 8:14-18, 18:15-17 and many others for more information on this).

Principle #2: Every approved census conducted included a census tax… Exodus 30:12-15 says that when a census is conducted each male that is 20 or older must pay a half shekel as a ransom to GOD. The census tax was given to support the service of the tabernacle of meeting. In all three accounts of David’s census it does not mention that he collected this tax. This could be one reason that David’s heart condemned him. The heart of man is representative of our motives and intents. David may have never intended to collect the tax and therefore knew that he was sinning. An interesting note to this principle is that Exodus 30:12-15 specifically states that this tax must be collected to avoid a “plague”. Ultimately, David’s census resulted in, none other than, a “plague”! Here is a census list that were approved by GOD: Numbers 1 – Moses numbers the males 20 and older for military service except the tribe of Levi (v. 47). Numbers 26 – Moses again numbers the people according to the commandment of GOD and numbers the children of Levi separately (v. 62). 1Samuel 11:8 – Saul numbers the military of Israel with the exception of the tribe of Levi. 2Kings 12:4 – This passage show that King Joash had numbered the people because this verse mentions the census tax that was collected. 2Chronicles 25:5 – Amaziah numbers the military of Judah.

Answer: Based off of these principles and the facts that I mentioned above it is clear that David’s INTENTIONS/ATTITUDE were wrong in calling for the census. The Bible is clear that a census in and of itself is not a sin.

I hope that this answer is sufficient for your question. If you still need clarification on this question then leave a comment!

Wow! That was a lot. It took many hours to answer those questions, but I loved every minute of it! Keep those questions coming! Until next time,

Love one another!