Q. What is the Biblical meaning of speaking in tongues? Is it fruitful? Is it real when I hear people doing it or is it just babel?
Spiritual gifts are for the edification of the church (1 cor 14:12). So any spiritual gift that is given is for the external manifestation of ministry to build the kingdom of God. We are all given spiritual gifts and we should not covet others’ but pray to ask God to reveal our own so that we may serve our part in God’s design.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. “

Gifts are given so that we may complete the work that God has given us. This is why we should not covet others’ gifts, because each part has its own function and eternal end.

Speaking in tongues is a sign for unbelievers not believers (1 cor 14:22). The use of tongues biblically is always applied for the spirit to remove the language barrier between people so that those who do not speak the language may hear and understand the gospel. The perfect example of this is in Acts 2 at Pentecost. Many of the believers were in the upper room and they all started to speak in tongues, the direct effect of them speaking in tongues was that Jews from “every nation under heaven” heard the gospel in their native tongue/language.

Paul gives the tongues rule book in 1 Corinthians 14. First, tongues must be interpreted if it is in a church setting so the edification can come. Paul says in vs. 16, how can i say Amen, if i don’t know what was said. Also if an unbeliever walks into a service and hears the tongues without interpretation he would think everyone is crazy(vs.23). Tongues are not a spiritual aptitude to know that we are believers, we are all given spiritual gifts and it is in the manifestation of the fruits of the Spirit that we know believers, not in a specific gift.

Q. How does the “problem of evil” resolve itself in the Christian faith?  If God created everything, does that mean He also created evil?

When God created the heavens and the earth, everything He made was good (Genesis 1:31).  There was no trace of evil – no shortcoming in anything God had made.

Our first parents, Adam and Eve, enjoyed uninhibited communion with God in the garden He had given to them.  They loved Him of their own volition, and obeyed Him freely.  The Bible does not define exactly how long this continued, but at some point, evil entered this world through the lie of the serpent (Satan) to Eve.  By placing doubt into her mind as to whether God really meant what He said, he convinced her that she would be like God if she were to disobey Him.  She believed him, and ate of the only fruit in the garden which God strictly forbade.  Adam, being at her side, failed to protect her in her moment of temptation, and ate the fruit as well.  At this moment, Genesis tells us “their eyes were opened,” and they made coverings to hide their bodies (Genesis 3:7).

At the heart of the “problem of evil” is the element of human freedom.*  The Bible speaks often about role of human choice in believing and obeying him (Romans 1:18-23), and emphasizes the need for us to make a decision about whether we will follow him.  An objection which is often leveled against Christianity is that God is a cosmic tyrant who says “you do it my way, or no way at all.”  In reality, God has always given us two options: His or our own.  C. S. Lewis wrote that there are two types of people: There are those who kneel before God and say “thy will be done,” and those who refuse to bend their knee to Him, to whom God then says, “very well.  Thy will be done.”  Freedom to choose is a mark of humanness. As God chose to love us before we were born, so we, being made in His image and likeness, also have the choice to love Him. But He will not coerce us, and this is evidenced in the fact that even our first parents had the choice to believe God, or to believe the lie.

The answer then, is that God created everything, including human freedom, and humanity chose to abuse this gift.  Thus He did not create evil, and He is not responsible for evil.  Evil is the result of human beings abusing the gift of free will. And free will, though it carries the capacity to be used for evil, is also the only way in which true love can exist.  If we did not have the freedom to choose evil, then neither would we have the freedom of choosing to truly love.
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*As an aside, “the problem of evil” is often used as an attack on faith.  However, evil is an even bigger problem for the atheist than it is for the Christian.  When we posit that there is real evil, we also assume that there is real good.  But this distinction requires a real, objective moral law on the basis of which to differentiate between good and evil.  This moral law must have a source, and that source is God, as it is absurd to think that humanity would ever develope such a universal, innate moral compass by chance.  Thus the problem of evil does more to bolster the claim for God than to dispel it.

Q. I know this is a controversial issue, but what does the Bible say about birth control?  Is this an instance where we must listen to our God-given conscience because there is no direct instruction on the matter?
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We Are To Multiply
In order to gain a context for the answer to this somewhat controversial topic in question, we immediately need to be pushed back to Genesis 1:28 “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth…” So what is the obvious point that God is making in this verse?  We are to procreate as human beings, as creations of God.

There may be some random passages which speak about mismanaging a sanctioned opportunity to procreate like the strange account of Onan in Genesis 38:9-10, but that seems to be addressing a specific failure to continue a generational family line.
God Values Embryos As Life
Abortion as birth control is obviously forbidden, as well as something like the “morning after pill” because they both tamper with a developing child already conceived (see Exodus 21:22 “If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely…”  Notice the woman is referred to as being with child).  Psalm 139:16 says “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed…” (my substance, being yet unformed is all one word in the Hebrew: golem – something rolled together, an embryo, a fetus. The interlinear actually reads: “My embryo saw your eyes”).  So we can see that God has great respect for the pre-born, biological development of a human being, which He calls a child.
Silence On The Subject
There doesn’t seem to be any specific, technical mention about birth control in the Bible. So, while avoiding the problems mentioned above, it seems that God leaves things up to the discretion of the couple. Medically speaking, when making the decision to decide on the right birth control pill, a married couple should do research to make sure that the pill chosen does not tamper in any way with an already conceived embryo. That would be the Biblical thing to do.

This is just one’s humble opinion. Do your own research, formulate your own conclusions, and pray that God will give you insight.

Q. I have been wondering what reasonable boundaries should be for modesty in today’s society.  I know the Bible says that it’s better for a woman to be Godly instead of being more concerned with expensive clothing and makeup, but what about swimming suits and stuff?  If I know that my guy classmates are tempted visually, why should I wear a bikini?  That’s not helping them out.  I guess I just need some clarification about what the Bible says.  Thanks.
Great question!  This is one that many of us ladies ask at one point or another in our spiritual journey… especially if we live in warm climates!  As we grow in our Christian faith, we begin to look at others and their needs and as a result, these types of questions arise…

First, let’s look at Romans 12:9-11-“Let love be without hypocrisy.  Abhor what is evil.  Cling to what is good.  Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another, not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord…”

What a great passage on the way we are to treat one another!

• “Let love be without hypocrisy” – remember love is not a feeling but an action/choice to put another person’s needs above your own. It could be defined as “a self-less humble service to meet another’s need no matter how lowly the service or how undeserving the person served.  It is a willful, joyful desire to put others over yourself, your feelings, your desires, your ambitions, etc”.  (1 Corinthians 13:1-7)
• “Abhor what is evil.  Cling to what is good” – Bikinis are not evil.  In fact, no piece of clothing is evil… but as you said, the response it prompts in the hearts of some is evil (Romans 14:14-16).  This verse reminds us that we are to pursue what is good over what is evil.
• “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love… giving preference to one another” – We are to treat every other believer like a family member… these are the people we look out for the MOST!  We are to prefer others over ourselves.  (Philippians 2:3-4)

That being said, let’s look at the principles of Christian Liberty (Romans 14:1-15:13, 1 Corinthians 10:23-30)

1 Corinthians 10:23- All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me  but not all things edify.

In Paul’s day, the argument in the Christian world wasn’t about bikinis but about whether or not it was sinful to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols in the pagan temples.  Ex-pagans who were now Christians thought it was a horribly sinful practice whereas ex-jewish Christians realized it was yummy meat and not a big deal.  Kind of like today; some Christians have no problem whatsoever wearing bikinis while other Christians really struggle with the idea because it’s a temptation to their brothers.  Let’s briefly look at 4 principles from 1 Corinthians 10:23-30

Remember that we need to love others and put their needs above our own in everything we do… in our speech, in our attitudes, in our time, in our financial giving… and yes, even in our dress.

Galatians 5:13 - For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Romans 14:15 – Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.

If you know that wearing “revealing” clothing causes your Christian brothers to stumble into sin and temptation (Romans 14:21) and your conscience is telling you that it’s wrong, then you have to follow what your conscience is saying and “limit your liberty” to wear certain things in order to protect your brother in Christ.  However, we always must be careful not to condemn others if their conscience does not tell them something is wrong (Romans 14:3)

Remember, our goals are always to love and serve others… we can always measure these types of issues by asking “am I showing love to my brothers and sisters if I do ___________?” or “am I serving others if I do ________ or am I serving myself?”

Q. How is man able to sin prior to the fall? In the Bible it calls Adam and Eve perfect but then they go and sin, does that mean even in a perfect state man sins? If God is also perfect can he sin?
Human beings are engineered, within this life, with the way we are made at this time, to be able to sin.  Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world…”  God created people with the capacity to choose, part of the being “made in the image and likeness of God”.  Most people are very positive about possessing this ability to choose, even if it can get us into trouble.  Which it has.  But the ability to choose is the preferred design for humanity, not a pre-programed ability to always make the correct choice (like a machine, a robot).  So even though Adam and Eve were perfect, they possessed the ability to disobey and become imperfect, because of their humanness.

The biblical solution seems to be, obtain a regenerated spirit (Ephesians 2:1, theologians view our human spirits as the part of us being made alive), achieve a transformed mind (Romans 12:2), and then one day, become privileged with a newly designed body, a resurrected body (1Co 15:42 “So also is the resurrection of the dead.  The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.”)  Having a resurrected body, seems to be the final step in the path to perfection (1Co 15:53).  Practical perfection, not positional perfection which we receive at the moment of salvation (Colossians 2:10 “and you are complete in Him…”  ‘complete’  pleroo  full, complete, perfect)

God is Spirit and does not have a mortal human body like ours (John 4:24), and therefore has never possessed the capacity to sin. When He did become incarnate through Jesus, as Jesus, (1Tim 3:16  “God was manifested in the flesh” NKJV ), Deity dominated and the incarnate God could not and did not sin (Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin’.).

Q. My husband of 13 years does not love me anymore to the point that he tried to kill me with one of his guns and bruised me up that day in front of our preschooler. On police advice, I filed a protective order against him and 2 weeks later I filed for divorce. I’m scared to stay married to him because I know he hates me. Do I have biblical grounds for divorce, or should I dismiss the filing on my next hearing?
First of all this is a delicate situation and one that requires sensitivity, compassion, and care. No one in their right mind would think that the situation at hand necessitates hanging around. Even if I didn’t know anything about God’s Word, and what it says about specific grounds for divorce, I would still tend to lean towards the side of caution here and tell you that this predicament is one that you or anyone else would want not to continue lingering in.
Biblical Grounds For Divorce
The great news is that the Bible is very clear and direct in stating what the grounds for divorce are. To help you easily remember them, they all start with the letter d. They are death (Romans 7:2-3); disloyalty (Matthew 19:3,9); and desertion (1 Corinthians 7:10-11). In all of these instances as seen in the above passages as well, the Bible supports and sanctions a remarriage.

But there seems to be a fourth reason that the Bible includes as grounds for a divorce. If we read again in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, we see from verses 10 and 11 this presented: “Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord:” (Meaning this was actually the instruction of Jesus while incarnate on earth)  “A wife is not to depart (the Greek word here is the word for divorce) from her husband”. That’s it…that was the teaching and the standard of Jesus. No divorce, sorry wives, no divorce.
What About Danger In The Marriage?
So the question enters, what if he is not unfaithful, and he hasn’t physically abandoned the marriage/family, but he is beating her up daily, or bringing drug dealers home, or pedophiles who are endangering the kids, or he is robbing banks etc…? The point is that there is a serious threat or danger within the marriage. “But even if she does depart (again, the same word: divorce).” What this is saying is that there will be instances for a woman divorcing a husband for a reasonable cause (danger). This is what Jesus is inferring. But there’s a qualifier: “Let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband”

She can divorce because of danger but has to remain unmarried. If he gets his act together, there may be hope for the marriage in the future.  So the wife can get out of the way of danger, but has to remain unmarried.  This qualifier keeps a wife from tossing her husband for a lesser reason (irritations).  Because if she did walk away for a lesser reason, she would not have true Biblical grounds for divorcing her husband.

So, the final analysis is that Jesus leaves room for a wife being able to terminate a marriage if she is any sort of perceived danger.

Q. What does God say about doctors and healing. I have many christian friends who say doctors are trying to imitate God and they are afraid of going to one saying they are a lack of faith in God. Are there any verses pertaining to this. I am deeply troubled because I am studying to become a doctor and I am a christian.
A casual research of the term “physician” will assist us with developing an understanding of doctors and medicine from God’s view point.
Old Testament View of Doctors
In Jeremiah 8:22, the prophet is noticeably upset about the spiritual state of Judah.  So he formats his communication to help us understand his concern.  He says…”Is there no balm (Hebrew:  tseriy / medicine) in Gilead, Is there no physician there?”  His point is, if there is medical, physical healing available in Judah, why isn’t there any spiritual healing and potential of recovery in that way?  Jeremiah viewed physicians and medicine as something positive.
Jesus’ View of Doctors
Jesus said in Matthew 9:12 “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick”.  The clear implication being, physicians benefit sick people. In Colossians 4:14, Luke is referred to by Paul as, “Luke the beloved physician”.  So, we see that, one of the human authors of a book of the New Testament was a medical doctor, and he was call beloved.

Mark 5:25-26 does tell the story about “a certain woman (who) had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.” The message here is that sometimes…no matter how competent and how numerous the doctors and medicines are, they still will not be able to accomplish a cure.

In this situation, it provided the opportunity for Jesus to step in and preform a miracle.  But the overall message from the bible certainly does not depreciate or prohibit the use of medical doctors or medicine.

Q. Taking specifically into consideration 1 Peter 3:21, how do we get away with saying that we are only saved by belief and repentance?
In order to understand the entire context of 1 Peter 3:21, one cannot just take into consideration that lone verse, rather the verses preceding and succeeding it must be considered as well.

Verses 18-22 state: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us–baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.

Peter delineates any confusion right on the top end when he places the focus on the work of Christ, who suffered once to bring us to God. We don’t bring ourselves to God, rather He does the bringing. The Bible does not contradict itself. If it says one thing (that salvation comes from the work of Christ only), then it can’t say another also (that man can work for his own salvation). Baptism is a work, therefore it cannot be included within the salvation process. Mark 1:15 and Acts 20:21 clearly state that we are saved by repenting and believing solely.

But what about this passage? Well, if the context is understood properly, water is actually referred to here as an instrument of judgment, not salvation. God’s patience wore thin after 120 years of allowing man to change His ways during the days that Noah spent building the ark. When the rebellion perpetuated, God judged the earth through water. The point that Peter makes is that God save Noah from the water, not through it. Then Peter goes on to speak of baptism, which is used in other contexts than just water in Scripture (i.e. 1 Cor 12:13: For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…). Baptism means to be immersed. Just as we are immersed into the church by the Spirit as Paul tells us, Peter lets us know that through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, we also are immersed into God’s family. Antitype is just a symbolic term used as an earthly expression for a heavenly reality. Peter is using symbolism. Basically, in no way is Peter saying baptism by water save us. He even clarifies by stating “not the removal of the filth of the flesh” (or through some act of cleansing by water), but by “the answer of a good conscience toward God.” Having a good conscience toward God cannot be accomplished by something that we do. It can only be accomplished through repentance and faith…from the working of Christ.

This passage can easily be deciphered when one uses a proper hermeneutic. Plainly stated, when we study the Bible, we must study it properly in order to be able to interpret it properly. If we look at the historical, grammatical, literary, and literal context, we can more easily identify with what the Biblical writers are saying.

Q. Is there an absolute proof of Gods existence or does it completely come down to faith and personal testimony? Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. Invisible meaning actually can’t physically be seen, but at the end says are clearly seen by the world around us.
Let’s focus first on the verse quoted above: Romans 1:20.  In it Paul is talking about the material manifestations of God’s eternal attributes.  In other words, he says that something of who God is can be seen in the things that He has made; that the creation bears the image of its creator.  This refers not only to the planet we live on, but also to the inner-workings of we as human beings.
Only Two Ways To Look At Things
Essentially, there can be only two reactions to Paul’s point.  Either we infer a great creative mind from the incomprehensible complexity and beauty we behold in creation, or, we believe that everything (and I stress, everything) we know of life is the result of one huge cosmic accident. This latter option would declare that everything from DNA, to romantic love, to art, to iPods, to earthworms, to irony, to Bach’s cello pieces, to dirt, to college degrees, to self-esteem are all products of the same cataclysmic explosion that happened somewhere in the ancient past, long before the laws of physics (the ones we use to describe it) had come into existence.

This reductio ad absurdum, though it shows the irrational grounds of materialistic evolution, does not prove the existence of God outright.  What it does help us to do is make an inference to the best possible explanation, which is that all the complexity of life, emotion, physics, energy, and thought owe their existence to a Being more complex and wise than a cosmic cocktail of chemicals (which, by the way, would have had to come from somewhere).*
Absolute Proof
In the end, the answer to the question is that there is BOTH absolute proof and the assurance of faith and personal testimony.  Aside from any arguments related to the creation/evolution debate, we have absolute proof for God of another kind: the life of the historical Jesus. Even if God had left no visible traces of His divine nature in creation, as Paul wrote, we would still be left with the record of the God-Man himself.

The evidences from the life of Jesus form a greater proof for God’s existence than all the volumes of arguments written on God’s existence as proved from material creation.  And this is to be expected, because the focus of the Bible is not the scientific evidence we have for belief in God; it is rather the eternal Word of God, manifest in the God-Man Jesus Christ, whose life is the greatest proof for God available to us.

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* Proceeding with an argument for God’s existence from design would take a much longer than the scope of this post.  Serious inquirers would be well served to obtain a copy of documentaries such as “The Privileged Planet,” or books such as I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman Geisler.

Q. There are many different religions and faiths claiming that they are the only way to heaven. Obviously that means one is right and the rest are wrong. I’m not a very learned guy when it comes to worldviews other than Christianity, but if people believe in something then I would think there would be some concrete evidence for the foundation to their faith. Back to my question, If one is right and the rest wrong, wouldn’t there be some serious loopholes in the “wrong” ones?
Only One Religion Corresponds With Reality
All world-views have to answer the questions that all humans intrinsically ask, Where do we come from? What is our purpose? What is Morality? Why is there evil and suffering in the world? and What will happen when we die? Only the Christian worldview answers all of these questions to the clearest extent. It is the only religion which clearly corresponds to reality and whose text is so instructional and clear in explanation. Other world-views try but they all lack depth and correspondence with reality.

Buddhism doesn’t explain where evil and suffering come from it just explains what one must do to try to get away from it, and that which teaches us how to get away were taught by Buddha, who ultimately died and no one really knows if he ever overcame it. Hinduism adapts relativism, which breaks the very structure of thought to know Truth. Islam and many cults claim the Bible as their foundation of legitimacy (since many come hundreds and others thousands of years after the new testament), then they go and deny their foundation and posit contradictory information which still roots itself in the denied foundation. Once one denies their foundation for legitimacy all of their claims built on a broken foundation, lack foundation. Culture is also against many, for culture perpetuates thinking which is devoid of truth.

“He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” Isaiah 44:15-19
People Ultimately Want To Deny Jesus As God
This is an example in the Bible how man will follow foolishness to all extents. Romans 1:18-32 describes how and why people follow other religions. in 2 Corinthians 3:13-18 Paul describes that peoples’ hearts are hardened and there is a veil over their eyes and that only through Christ can one come and have their veil lifted to truth and salvation. This is why you can prove to someone God is real logically, historically, rationally but they will never accept the Lordship of Christ, because their hearts still have a veil over it. People do not accept Jesus by facts alone but through the heart and the Spirit.

So why do people not see the true God of reality? because of the darkness of the human heart to not look and accept the fallacy of an idea for personal comfort;

“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”  John 3:19-20