Jackie Hwang – Kallos

Is it OK to doubt God?

Jackie Hwang — Sun, 31 Jul 2022 16:05:00 +0000

When you have doubts about God and His word, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. JACKIE HWANG digs deeper into how we can wrestle with our doubts in a healthy way.

It is a natural for any of us to ask questions about things we do not understand and to express doubt about things that do not make sense to us. However, when it comes to our faith in God, what should be our proper response if there are things that do not make sense to us? Is it OK to doubt God?

Before we address this question, it is important to know that doubt by its nature is an open-ended process of investigation. As an open-ended process that is not limited by a predetermined answer, how it is handled is more important than whether it was right or wrong to have the doubt that started the process in the first place. When we handle the process of doubt well, it may initially challenge our faith in God, but will eventually deepen our faith. When we handle the process of doubt poorly, it will harden our hearts to any reason or even to God’s own voice to restore our faith.

To help us understand how the process of doubt can turn us toward God or away from Him, let me use some biblical examples to illustrate the differences. These examples will also show that the Bible indeed condones and encourages a process of doubt when we approach doubt constructively.

Biblical examples of constructive doubt

In Mark 9:24, there is a seemingly contradictory cry of “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” from a man who asked Jesus to heal his son. The man dealt with his struggle of doubt by turning to Jesus for help, instead of turning away from Jesus. The man was honest with Jesus about his doubt. Because of the man’s honesty, Jesus took the opportunity to strengthen his faith by healing his son.

Even though David doubted God, he turned toward God in honesty and humility.

This encounter between the doubting father and Jesus shows that being honest with our doubt and bringing our doubt to God humbly is a constructive way to handle our doubt toward God.

David, a well-known Old Testament figure, wrote many psalms dealing with his doubt toward God. Psalm 22 is one of these. It starts with these words in verses 1–2:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?

My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,

by night, but I find no rest.

Even though David doubted God, he turned toward God in honesty and humility. This attitude allowed David to work through his doubt and led to a deeper faith in God (Ps 22:22–31). In fact, these same words of doubt in Psalm 22:1 were also uttered by Jesus when He hung on the cross, revealing the human side of Him during a time of pain and suffering (Matt 27:46). These biblical examples show us that constructive doubt is the willingness to be honest and to turn toward God even when we doubt Him.

Biblical examples of destructive doubt

Unlike constructive doubt, destructive doubt is defined by arrogance and denial of God’s actions. An example of this is found in John 9, which tells the story of Pharisees who refused to believe in Jesus’ authority even when there was indisputable evidence that Jesus had healed a blind man. The Pharisees insisted on nitpicking the details of how Jesus healed the man to discredit Jesus (9:13–34). Because of their refusal to believe, Jesus rebuked them for their spiritual blindness (9:39–41).

Another example is found in the Old Testament book of Malachi, which describes the rebellion and arrogance of the Israelites toward God. In doubt, they claimed, “It is futile to serve God. … But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it” (Mal 3:14–15). Though their doubt might seem similar to David’s in the earlier example, they differed from David since their arrogance did not lead them to turn to God but led them to reject God’s offer of showing His goodness and faithfulness to them. Not only did they turn away from God in arrogance, but they also denied their wrongdoing when God confronted them (Mal 3:13).

Constructive doubt leads to growing faith

The biblical examples above show us that having doubt is not a problem in itself. Instead, how doubt is handled is the key. When we deal with our doubt honestly and humbly by turning toward God, such a response conforms to biblical teaching. And if we have the proper safeguards against arrogance and against an outright rejection of God, a good dose of doubt can actually be very helpful to grow our faith in God.

A constructive approach allows the process of doubt to make our faith an active faith that is always asking questions and seeking a deeper knowledge of God. In fact, this active faith is much better than a dead faith that is afraid to go deeper with questions about God. So, we should encourage one another to have constructive doubt that will take us further in our faith in God!

Who Made God?

Jackie Hwang — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 07:35:00 +0000

You may have heard that everything in the universe is made by God, but then, who made God? JACKIE HWANG takes us on a thought exercise using logic to answer this question.

There are few questions harder to answer than “Who made God?” or “Where did God come from?” Western philosophers and theologians have pondered and debated these types of questions for a long time. But, because of our human limitations, we will never be able to verify any of the answers offered. Our best chances lie in using logic to address these questions. So, instead of trying to arrive at a 100-percent certain answer, let me take us through some steps to explore this issue using logic.

STEP 1: EVERYTHING IS CAUSED BY ANOTHER THING

The first step in our thought exercise is to recognise that everything and everyone in the universe came into being because something or someone caused it/him/her to enter into existence. To explain this, I will use two examples. The first example is a watch. If we were to see a watch in a shop, we would assume that the watch was made by either a watchmaker or a watchmaking machine at some point in time. The second example is a baby. If we were to see a baby, we would assume that the baby was birthed by a mother at some point in time. For both the watch and the baby, it is most logical that their existence was caused by another thing or another person.

STEP 2: NOTHING CAN COME INTO EXISTENCE BY ITSELF

After we recognise that everything and everyone’s existence was caused by another thing or person, we know that the statement in reverse must also be true. This is that nothing and no one can come into existence by it/him/herself. Using the same two examples as in step 1, we would say that it is impossible for a watch to make itself, and it is also impossible for a person to give birth to him/herself.

STEP 3: THE EXISTENCE OF A THING MEANS THERE NEEDS TO BE A CAUSE OF THE THING

Since the world around us has things and people, it is most logical that there is something or someone else that caused its/his/her existence. So, in the example of the watch, its existence means that someone or something else made it. In the same way, your existence and mine mean someone else gave birth to us. So, the existence of a thing indicates the existence of a cause.

These first three steps establish the logical relationship between a thing and something else that caused it to exist. The thing and the cause cannot be the same item or step in the chain, and the thing’s existence means that there is also a cause. We can call this logical relationship thing-and-its-cause.

STEP 4: TRACING THE LOGIC OF THING-AND-ITS CAUSE LEADS BACK TO A BEGINNING OF ALL THINGS

Following the logic of thing-and-its-cause, we can trace this connection back to a time when there was a beginning cause which led to the existence of the thing/person. For the watch, the existence of a watch means that there is a watchmaker. The watchmaker was taught by someone else who knew how to make watches. The teacher of the watchmaker also learned his trade from another person. And, tracing all the way back, there must be a first teacher (or possibly multiple first teachers in different civilisations) of all subsequent watchmakers. As for human beings, the existence of you and me means that our mothers gave birth to us. Our mothers were birthed by their mothers. Tracing our ancestries all the way back, there must be a first mother who was the beginning of humanity.

STEP 5: THE FIRST BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING MUST BE THE FIRST CAUSE

After we trace everything back to a beginning, we must ask if there was also something or someone else that caused the beginning. The logic of step 2 tells us that the beginning also needs a cause other than itself. Antony Flew, a well-known atheist philosopher who later changed his mind about the existence of God, states, “Every system of explanation must start somewhere, and this starting point itself cannot be explained by the system.” This starting point would be known as the First Cause in philosophy. Flew later would admit that the First Cause is best identified as God.

In the example of the watch, God as the First Cause would be the One who made the universe, the sun, and the earth. The sun shines on the earth. The movement of shadows resulting from sunlight as the earth rotates led to the concept of the sundial to keep track of time. The sundial led to the invention of clocks and watches. Therefore, we have watchmakers and watches.

In the example of the baby, God as the First Cause would be the One who made humanity and gave us bodies with a reproductive system to perpetuate human existence. Therefore, we have fathers, mothers, children, and families.

STEP 6: GOD AS THE FIRST CAUSE CANNOT BE MADE OR CAUSED BY SOMETHING ELSE

If we recognise that the First Cause must be God, then God cannot be made by something or someone else. If He is made by someone else, then He would no longer be the First Cause. The other thing that made God would be the First Cause. Then, the other thing that is the real First Cause would actually be God. God must be the First Cause; otherwise, He is no longer God. According to this line of reasoning, the logical answer to the question of “Who made God?” is that no one made Him. For Him to be God, He has to always exist and not be made. This requires some serious thought, but God is God because He is not made by anything or anyone else, and is always and forever in existence (John 1:1–4; Col 1:16–17)!

How Do I Engage With Friends Of Different Religious Views?

Jackie Hwang — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 14:58:00 +0000

It’s never easy to start a conversation that may end up in disagreement, especially when it comes to matters of faith. How can we do it in a respectful way? JACKIE HWANG relates her experience of sharing the gospel with those with different religious views.

You might have heard of the Great Commission which tells us to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:18–20). This is Jesus’ command to share the gospel with those who do not know Him. For some of us, this command may be difficult because we don’t know how to engage with friends who already have different religious views from ours.

I vividly remember the time in secondary school when, in response to my history teacher’s critique of Christianity,

THE EVERYDAY ENCOUNTERS OF GOD’S GOODNESS ARE USUALLY THE MOST RELATABLE AND CONVINCING.

I defended my faith, something that led to my classmates making fun of me. At the time, I felt embarrassed and confused. Later, in my university days, there was another awkward encounter when my Jewish friend, with a smirk, turned down my invitation to a Christian event. You may have had similar experiences of feeling at a loss for words with friends who have different religious views from yours. So how are we supposed to share the gospel when it seems so difficult to talk to them about the Christian faith?

START WITH A CONVERSATION

Looking back at these two episodes, I would probably say to my younger self, “Be patient about sharing the gospel. Start first with a conversation about other things.” We see that Jesus did this in His encounter with a Samaritan woman (John 4:1–42). He started the conversation with a request for a drink of water, which led to a deeper discussion, and only then did Jesus talk to her about spiritual topics. In the same way, we can slowly work toward a level of understanding and trust with others that makes it possible to talk about deeper things such as our belief in God.

You can start simply by talking with your friend about things you have in common. In one of your conversations, you may find a natural point to share about God. It could be an experience where God has answered a prayer or something tangible that they can relate to. It doesn’t have to be a miraculous event or a well-rehearsed gospel presentation. The everyday encounters of God’s goodness are usually the most relatable and convincing.

BE WILLING TO LISTEN

Another thing that I would tell my younger self would be to listen to the different religious views out there and think about how to connect them to God’s truth. The Bible story that offers us a good example of this approach is found in Acts 17:16–34. In this passage, Paul engaged the Greek philosophers at Athens using their own religion. What he did was, in taking notice of their worship of an “unknown God”, he used this void in their religious belief to proclaim to them the true God of heaven and earth.

What Paul did may seem too difficult for us, since after all, Paul was well trained in religious ideas and a great missionary. However, the lesson we can take from Paul is to start by listening to our friends talk about what they believe. If we are willing to listen, we can understand their belief systems better.

A simple way to start could be to ask and listen to why and how they celebrate certain religious holidays or engage in certain practices. This may not lead to any gospel sharing, but it would build a “gospel bridge” — a connection to talk to friends about religious matters even though you have different views.

As you learn about the religious views of others, think about which aspects are similar to or different from our faith. It could be that you realise there are things about Christianity that confuse you, and it might be necessary to consult a pastor or Christian leader who knows more. But you will slowly build up the knowledge needed to have meaningful conversations with friends about different religious views. Eventually, you will develop a comfort level in knowing how to find an entry point for the gospel. And it all starts with the act of listening to them.

BE CONFIDENT BUT NOT JUDGMENTAL

Returning to my experience when my classmates mocked my Christian faith, I would also tell my younger self to remain confident in my Christian faith but not be judgmental or too defensive toward others who disagree. Having a wrong attitude will erect barriers for conversations with people who have different views. At the same time, my faith does not need to crumble under their criticism.

In the two Bible stories mentioned above (John 4:1–42; Acts 17:16–34), both Jesus and Paul confidently shared the gospel with those who believed differently without being judgmental or defensive, even when some rejected their message. Jesus and Paul offer us good examples of how to stand firm in our faith without becoming hostile toward those who believe differently.

It is important to keep this principle in mind especially when you face the more controversial issues for which the Christian position is called into question. These could be questions on the validity of Bible,

HAVING A WRONG ATTITUDE WILL ERECT BARRIERS FOR CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS.

the Christian position on LGBTQ+, or the ethics of abortion. Remember that you can agree to disagree whilst remaining clear about what you stand for and being respectful of others’ different views.

LET YOUR LIFE SPEAK

Finally, the way we live often speaks louder than our words. Authenticity matters! It is important that we live out godly lives which are consistent with the gospel message that we want to share with others. Note that this is not a holier-than-thou or no-room-for-error life. Rather, the point is to live honestly with our shortcomings, to be humble about our need to depend on God, to be sincere in the words we speak, and to be compassionate to the weak as God is.

If we can live a life where God’s transformation in us is visible to our friends, our lives will speak about the authenticity of our faith better than any convincing arguments we use. So, living a God-centred life is our witness. Therefore, combining a credible witness with our willingness to listen, to enter into conversations, and to not be judgmental in presenting our positions will be a winsome approach to engage our friends who have different religious views from us.

Dig Deeper: How Do I Know What God’s Will for My Life Is?

Jackie Hwang — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 04:26:00 +0000

When a major decision comes our way — whether in choosing a school, career, or life partner — we often look for guidance to make the right choice. For many of us, we have heard that God has a will for our lives, and we wish to make our decisions according to that will. However, we may find God’s will unclear, and this brings us to the question: “How do I know what God’s will for my life is?” I remember asking this question many times in my younger days, often with the fear that I had missed a clue from God about how to make an important decision. Over the years, I have come to realise that to understand God’s will for me, I need first to understand the nature of God’s will. And once I understand this, what He wants for my life is no longer so mysterious.

I HAVE COME TO REALISE THAT TO UNDERSTAND GOD’S WILL FOR ME, I NEED FIRST TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF GOD’S WILL.

THE NATURE OF GOD’S WILL

One way we can understand God’s will is to recognise that there are three categories of His will. The first is God’s sovereign will, which is His plan from the beginning of time to the end of time. It involves His design to save people from sin through Jesus Christ (John 3:14; Eph 1:3–10). Most of God’s sovereign will has been revealed in history and recorded in the Bible, but some parts of it remain hidden until the end of time.

The second category is God’s moral will. This is God’s expectation for those He has saved to live godly lives and enjoy freedom from sin’s bondage and consequences, whilst being salt and light in a dark world (Gal 5:13–26; 1 Pet 2). God’s moral will has been clearly revealed in the Bible to teach us how to live as believers.

The last category is God’s will for individuals. This is what many of us feel is most immediate to our concerns in decision-making and perhaps the most difficult to figure out. Before I go on to explore God’s will for individuals, let me mention three crucial points. First, God’s will for individuals is never contrary to His sovereign will and moral will. Second, some people, like Samuel (1 Sam 3:1–21) and Paul (Acts 9:1–30), may have a special experience that reveals God’s will for them. Third, some people will never have such an experience, but this doesn’t mean that God’s will for them is any less significant. With these thoughts in mind, we can look into how we can make the right decisions according to God’s will for us as individuals.

HOW SHOULD I MAKE DECISIONS ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL?

Since God’s will for us as individuals never goes against His sovereign and moral will, we should check that we are living according to these two aspects of His will before even asking the question of His will for us as individuals. In a sense, the two aspects of His will that are already revealed in the Bible are prerequisites to our understanding His will for us in other major decisions.

Once we are living according to these aspects of His will, we actually have a lot of freedom in making decisions. Some of us may be under the misimpression that our lives are like a maze in which every choice is critical to lead us down the right path and achieve the right outcome. Contrary to this, a metaphor that is closer to the Bible is that of a ship on an open sea with many paths for navigation to any number of safe harbours, though there are general principles to avoid dangerous waters and to wisely ride out storms. There will be times when we need to make mid-course corrections or look for new paths.

The metaphor of a ship uses a ‘wisdom perspective’ to understand God’s will for individuals. So, instead of making decisions by looking for a sign from God, it looks at what is already available for making good decisions within the revealed will of God as well as our surroundings.

HOW DO I APPLY A ‘WISDOM PERSPECTIVE’ IN DECISION-MAKING?

To apply a ‘wisdom perspective’ in our lives, we should know that choices for schools and careers are often determined by our natural abilities and situational opportunities. With what God has already provided and where He has placed us, we make wise decisions by making the most of these resources according to godly principles. In the Parable of the Talents, for example, Jesus praises the servant who made the most of the resources given by the master (Matt 25:14–30).

When it comes to choosing whom to date and marry, both attraction and compatibility will draw us to people who could be good matches for us. There are many social and moral considerations that will typically guide our decision to finally tie the knot. In the Bible, the emphasis falls less on whom to date or marry, and more on sexual purity (1 Cor 6:18–7:7) and godly spousal responsibilities (Eph 5:21–33). Indeed, these principles are more important for a good relationship than the initial choice of a partner.

SOMETIMES IT IS NOT WHAT WE CHOOSE, BUT HOW WE ACT IN OUR CHOICES AND WHOM WE ARE LIVING FOR.

A ‘wisdom perspective’ also helps us see that some criteria for decision-making may be obvious in our existing circumstances. Even though supernatural answers are possible, they are not necessary to understanding God’s will. Paying attention to obvious cues and using godly principles as guides are also an important part of God’s will. A list of questions below provides general guidelines to help us make godly and wise decisions:

• Does my choice fit who I am and where I am in life?
• Should I consider a path less travelled?
• Do the people who know me best and whom I respect agree with this decision?
• Is there anything in my choice that seems to go against God’s sovereign and moral will in the Bible?
• Have I prayed and asked God about this decision?

Remember: sometimes it is not what we choose, but how we act in our choices and whom we are living for. The Christian responsibility to live uprightly, speak truthfully and graciously, and, in all manners, to love God and others as Jesus has commanded us (Matt 22:37–39) is the core of God’s will for us in all that we do and wherever we are. With these principles guiding your sails, may you venture into the open sea with God at the helm of your ship!

Dig Deeper: Do all religions ultimately point to the same God?

Jackie Hwang — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 06:30:00 +0000

In Huston Smith’s famous book, The World’s Religions, he attributes the following words to Hindu religious leader Ramakrishna (1836–1886)

God has made different religions to suit different aspirations, times, and countries. All doctrines are only so many paths; but a path is by no means God Himself. Indeed, one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with whole-hearted devotion.

This statement may seem to make sense because every religion has some idea of a divine reality who is sometimes called God. Yet each religion’s notion of the divine is different from the others. In some religions, God is a what and not a who. In others, there are plural gods and not just one. The plethora of definitions for the divine leads us to the question: Just which God is Ramakrishna talking about? Since all religions talk about God/gods differently, they do not point to the same God. In the following sections, we will explore some religions — namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, and Christianity — and their understanding of the divine. In this process, I hope it will become clear that different religions think about the divine very differently.

DIFFERENT RELIGIONS THINK ABOUT THE DIVINE VERY DIFFERENTLY.

Inclusive Religions

Broadly speaking, religions can be divided into two kinds according to their idea of the divine — inclusive religions and exclusive religions. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism can generally be categorised as inclusive religions. What makes them inclusive is the notion that the divine has many expressions, and thus the worship of one god does not exclude the worship of another.

In Hinduism, the countless number of gods — some of which are avatars (manifestations) of other gods — point to a supreme reality or divine essence, known as Brahman. Though Brahman is often translated as “God,” there is no consensus on whether Brahman is a who or a what.

In addition, Brahman and atman (soul or human essence) are considered to be one and the same. Because human essence and divine essence are the same to them, the highest aim for those who practise Hinduism is to be released from the cycle of death and rebirth. This is when atman re-joins Brahman like a drop of water returning to the ocean. Inclusivity in this sense not only blurs the boundaries between different deities, but also between the divine and the human.

Buddhism, which was birthed from Hinduism around sixth to fifth century BCE, shares some of Hinduism’s inclusivity. Like Hinduism, the temples of Buddhism house many figures of worship, such as bodhisattvas (enlightened one). However, whether these figures are considered divine in Buddhism is open to interpretation. According to the teachings of Buddha (the founding figure of Buddhism), the goal of Buddhism is to achieve individual enlightenment and escape from suffering, rather than to worship the divine. Therefore, what or who is divine is not the central concern of Buddhism. The existence of a divine reality is questioned even within Buddhism.

Taoism’s idea of the divine is somewhere between Hinduism (a belief with many manifestations of the divine) and Buddhism (a belief with no certain definition of the divine). Taoism points to an impersonal “ultimate reality” called Dao (the Way or the Path) which is the rule by which the universe functions. Though in Taoism there is a pantheon of many gods and demigods, none of them represents Dao, nor do they collectively make up Dao. These deities, if properly appeased, can help people in their desire to flourish in life, but the main concern for those who practise Taoism is to find Dao and live according to its ebb and flow.

As we can see, these three inclusive religions differ in their ideas of the divine, even as their inclusivity sometimes allows them to absorb gods from other religions into their own mix. It would be an error to equate the Hindu Brahman, Buddhist enlightenment, and Taoist Dao as the same divine reality.

Exclusive Religions

Unlike inclusive religions, exclusive religions such as Islam and Christianity are clear in expressing that their respective concepts of God are different from other religions. Not only is the concept and identity of God distinct from other religions, the worship of God must also be exclusive — given to Him alone.

In Islam, the Shahadah (an Islamic statement of faith) declares that “there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.” Even though Allah is known by 99 names, these names merely describe attributes and do not change the fact that Allah is the only God in Islam. In fact, Islam is so intensely monotheistic that it often accuses Christianity of having not one God but three because of the Christian idea of the Trinity.

Indeed, Christianity’s doctrine of the Trinity — the unity of one God in three fully divine persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — is a most perplexing but unique concept of the divine. It is not the same as Hinduism’s polytheistic notion of many gods blending into one. Rather, the Bible teaches that God is to be worshipped to the exclusion of other gods (Exod 20:3). Jesus Himself makes the claim, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). (Whenever Jesus says, “I am,” it is an echo of how God declares Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14: “I AM.”)

Because Islam and Christianity are exclusive religions, they would not consider their ideas of God to point to the same God, though they share some historical roots in their development. And it would be even further from their understanding of divinity to assert that their God is the same as the divine reality described in Hinduism, Buddhism, or Taoism. Hence, from the above overview of just these five religions, we must conclude that not all religions lead to the same God!

Respectful Inter-religious Dialogues

After seeing that all religions diverge in their ideas of the divine, it is important to know that we can still talk respectfully to people of other faiths about their beliefs. In Acts 17:16–34, Paul is a model for engaging people of other religions in a winsome conversation whilst also presenting the gospel boldly. Recognising that other religions are different from ours can be more respectful than rushing to find false similarities. As we listen carefully to people of other religions, we can also be confident to present ours. In this way, we can bear witness for Christ in both our attitude and message!

WE MUST CONCLUDE THAT NOT ALL RELIGIONS LEAD TO THE SAME GOD!

Dig Deeper: Why Does God Allow Evil

Jackie Hwang — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:03:00 +0000

When a horrific event occurs, it is natural for people of faith to ask, “Why does God allow evil?” Not only is this an earnest question asked by believers who are seeking answers to experiences of horror and pain, it is also a question used by sceptics and atheists to deny the existence of a God who is good or all-powerful, or both.

This question is especially poignant as we see suffering on a global scale during the pandemic and also as those in Singapore have been shaken by the senseless killing that took place at River Valley High School on 19 July 2021. Though our hearts ache and our minds struggle to find answers for these recent events, we can still be sure that God has not ceased to be good and all-powerful. In fact, there are many ways our faith in God can help us deal with the evil we see in the world.

Can a good and all-powerful God Allow Evil?

Evil, simply defined, is the absence or corruption of what is good; and often there is an underlying assumption that God should want to prevent all evil because He is good and all-powerful. A sceptic will use this assumption and claim that, because evil exists, God does not care about humans and is therefore not a good God. Or the sceptic will assert that God is not powerful enough to prevent evil. Both arguments use the existence of evil to cast doubt on God’s goodness and sovereignty.

The problem with this assumption is that it overlooks how God has created people with free will. Because God has made people with free will, He allows us to choose to sin and to commit evil acts, even if doing so is contrary to what He desires. Evil exists not because God does not care or is somehow powerless to stop it. Rather, it is because He permits people the exercise of their free will, even though it pains Him to see their sinful choices (see how Jesus laments in Matt 23:37).

However, God will not tolerate evil indefinitely. He promises a future when there will be a restoration of all that is good and a judgement against all that is evil (Rev 21). The Bible offers an inspiring description of this new world in a promise that echoes one made in the Old Testament: “‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev 21:4; cf. Isa 25:8). This picture can be a source of hope when we see evil in this present world!

GOD WILL NOT TOLERATE EVIL INDEFINITELY.

Does God have a good reason for the evil?

In addition to the promise of a future hope beyond evil, God can sometimes use evil to accomplish His good purposes. However, we should not misunderstand God’s turning of evil into a greater good to mean that He has caused evil. No, evil does not come from God! But God’s sovereignty means that He can work toward a good outcome despite evil.

There are two examples from the Bible that show us how God turns evil into a greater good. One of them is Joseph’s story.

Though he was sold into slavery by his brothers, falsely accused of sexual assault
by his master’s wife, and suffered unjust imprisonment (Gen 37; 39–50), God used these evil events to put him at the right place and right time to save not only his family but many people in and around Egypt from starvation during a famine (Gen 50:20). Another example is the death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus knowingly allowed Himself to be betrayed, arrested, wrongfully put on trial, and finally crucified on the cross (Matt 26–27; Mark 14–15; Luke 22–23; John 18–19). But God used the evil done by humans to Jesus as part of His salvation plan for humanity (Rom 5). The examples of Joseph and Jesus show us that God sometimes has a good reason to permit evil, and can even turn it into something necessary to accomplish His purposes.

Sometimes, evil can appear random in that it does not seem to lead to any good outcome or even have human free will behind it. Random evil could be because God has not made His reasons obvious to us. It could be like the case of Job, who lost his family and health, but never found out that all this was a test of his faith (Job 1–2). Yet, Job recognises at the end of his trials that God’s purposes are sometimes hidden from human understanding (Job 42:1–6). And, just like Job, when we face evil that we don’t understand, we should still turn toward God in faith.

God comforts and suffers alongside those in pain

As we turn toward God when we face evil, we will discover that He is our source of comfort (2 Cor 1:4). We can take heart that He is not far away from us when bad things happen. Since Jesus has personally experienced pain and suffering due to evil (Phil 2:6–8; 1 Pet 2:22–24), He understands intimately what we go through when we face evil. In fact, we can say that He suffers alongside us (Isa 53).

NO ONE IS IMMUNE TO MENTAL HEALTH SUFFERING, NOT EVEN CHRISTIANS.

Knowing that God understands our pain, we can turn to Him in prayer. In the Psalms, we often see that God hears the prayers of those in distress (Ps 6; 13; 62). Through turning to Him, we can cling to God’s unwavering goodness and faithfulness to us (Rom 8:28; 2 Tim 2:13), even if it sometimes seems like evil rules the day.

Therefore, when we face evil, instead of turning away from God in pain, we should turn towards Him with the belief that He continues to be good and sovereign amidst any form of evil. In God, we will find a future hope as well as present comfort because Jesus took on human suffering both to accomplish God’s greater plan of salvation as well as to empathise fully with our deepest pain.

Does the Bible Support Rape?

Jackie Hwang — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 10:25:00 +0000

Rape is a horrific crime, no matter when it happens or who
it happens to. So, some of us may be troubled that the Bible
records multiple accounts of rape, and even seems to penalise
victims of rape! JACKIE HWANG digs deeper into the issue.

It may be shocking for you to find accounts of rape in the holy Bible. As a young person, I was horrified when I first read these sections in the Bible. However, I was heartened to discover later that just because historical accounts of rape are recorded in the Bible doesn’t mean that God condones rape. On the contrary, the Bible mentions rape because God condemns it and wants us to know how He deals with these sinful acts.

IS SEXUAL VIOLENCE OKAY?
The most obvious accounts of God’s condemnation of rape are found in Genesis 19:1–25 and Judges 19–20. In both accounts, groups of men set out
to gang-rape the visitors to their cities. Then, innocent women were offered up
to be raped in the place of these visitors. A close look at these two accounts shows that God condemned these actions. In fact, Genesis 19 shows that the angels of God intervened and struck the violent mob with blindness (19:11). In both cases, God severely punished these cities shortly after these incidents of sexual violence (Gen 19:12–13, 29; Judg 20:23, 28). Thus, we should understand these two accounts as evidence that God condemns rape, and so should God’s people (cf. Judg 19:30).

THEN WHY DOES GOD COMMAND WOMEN TO MARRY THEIR RAPISTS?
Though God punished these cities for their sexual violence, other passages in the Bible seem to indicate that one consequence of rape is that women are to be given in marriage to their rapists. In particular, Deuteronomy 22:28–29 explicitly states that a man who rapes an unmarried woman needs to make a financial payment to her father and marry her. To modern ears, this verdict sounds outrageous! Why would God dictate that a victim of rape be ‘punished’
by being forever bound to her rapist? She never consented to the sexual act to begin with, so wouldn’t marriage possibly trap her in a situation of further sexual violence? Furthermore, the financial reparation seems to benefit only the father but not the victim herself.

GOD’S HEART FOR JUSTICE
It would be a mistake to take the law of Deuteronomy 22:28–29 as biblical support for rape. Neither should we see it as a legal stipulation for modern societies. What is important for us to remember is its principle to restore justice in a bad situation. Its purpose is to serve as a deterrent against rape, a corrective to sexual violence in a sinful world, and apathway toward justice in the case of wrongdoing against women. Even as its ancient context is different from our modern one, we can take to heart that God’s condemnation of rape and His concern for victims of sexual violence are timeless!

Do We Really Have Free Will?

Jackie Hwang — Sat, 01 May 2021 02:54:00 +0000

Do we really have free will — the ability to make our own decisions? Many answers have been offered by philosophers and theologians, but each answer generates more questions. I would not claim to answer this question once and for all. Instead, let me take us on a journey of discovery by exploring how this question is relevant to a Christian’s understanding of salvation.

FREE WILL, GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY, AND HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY
The question of free will is hotly debated by Christians who connect it to two particular biblical ideas. First, they contrast human free will with God’s sovereignty — His ultimate control over all things since He is the all-knowing and all-powerful God (Ps 33:10–11; Rom 8:28). We can understand this contrast as a question: If God is sovereign, then do humans have free will to make decisions about what He already knows or has even determined ahead of time?

This leads us to free will’s connection to a second biblical idea — human responsibility for sin. We can also frame this as a question: How can people be responsible for their sin if God already knows they will sin? In a sense, this question shifts the responsibility of human sin to God, because His sovereignty seems to cancel or override human free will!

However, the Bible denies that God is responsible for human sin, even whilst affirming that God is sovereign (Jas 1:13–18; cf. Rom 1:18–32). So, as Christians, we need to hold in tension God’s sovereignty with human responsibility when it comes to the issue of sin. We are each responsible for our own choice to sin and cannot blame God for it.

GOD’S KNOWLEDGE AND HUMAN SIN
One way to resolve the riddle of God’s sovereignty versus human responsibility is to understand that God’s knowledge of the future does not mean that He controls our actions. So, we separate knowing (God’s foreknowledge of us) and doing (our own choice to sin, whether from carelessness, giving in to weakness, or direct intention). However, this solution generates other questions, such as: Why doesn’t God stop us from sinning if He already knows we will sin? If God already knows we will choose to sin, does that leave us with any other alternatives to choose otherwise?

Questions like these are difficult to answer because they venture into the realm of hypothetical possibilities. Some theologians have attempted to provide answers to these types of questions, but others have critiqued them as guesses without biblical basis. Personally, I would say that we just don’t know, and perhaps can’t know, since there are limits to human understanding.

IF OUR ANSWERS TAKE US BEYOND WHAT THE BIBLE EXPLICITLY TEACHES, THEN IT IS UNWISE TO HOLD DEFINITIVELY TO SUCH ASSERTIONS.

Here’s a good rule to follow: If our answers take us beyond what the Bible explicitly teaches, then it is unwise to hold definitively to such assertions. I understand, though, this can also sound like a cop-out! It is difficult to find an answer to a hypothetical question that can satisfy everyone.

CAN WE SAVE OURSELVES?
If people — in having free will — are responsible for their sin, then they are also in need of salvation from sin. The need for salvation takes us to another set of questions regarding free will: If we are responsible for our sin, are we also responsible for saving ourselves? Or put another way, do humans have free will when it comes to saving ourselves?

THE BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE HUMAN WILL IS THAT IT IS LIMITED BY SIN...

The answers to these questions are also complex. At the most basic level, we know that without Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross on our behalf, there would be no forgiveness for us and salvation from our sin. In fact, the overpowering influence of sin in our lives is what prevents us from saving ourselves (Rom 3:10–26). The biblical understanding of the human will is that it is limited by sin and so we are not completely independent in our choices. So, God’s intervention in carrying out a plan for salvation is necessary.

DO WE CHOOSE GOD OR DOES GOD CHOOSE US?
The debate on free will then turns to this question: How much does God’s sovereignty operate at the individual level in our choice to accept His offer for salvation (Eph 1:11–12)? This is a concern not so much when we think about those who are saved, but those who are not saved. And if we assert that our sinfulness means that we need God to save us, there remains this question: Why doesn’t God save everyone?

The fact that there are those who are not saved seem to indicate that God is either too stingy to save everyone — which is clearly not biblical (John 3:16) — or that human will is also an important factor in choosing salvation (Luke 13:23–24; Rom 10:9–10). If human will is actually the greater factor, then the responsibility in rejecting salvation lies more with us than with God.

On this note, there are some theologians who assert that God’s sovereignty means that His offer of salvation cannot be rejected by individuals whom He has chosen. However, this position can lead to this question: Is God ultimately responsible for their rejection of Him since He didn’t choose them?

One possible way to resolve this is by connecting God’s foreknowledge of people’s choice with His own choice of them for salvation. In essence, God chooses those whom He foreknew will choose Him. However, this logic is vulnerable to the charge that cause and effect have become confused with each other.

OUR FREE BUT LIMITED WILL
I hope our journey of discovery has helped you realise how complex these questions are. The main thing to keep in mind is that both God’s sovereignty and our will — free but limited — are in operation both in our salvation and in our lives. Keeping a balanced perspective is the key. The Bible teaches that we are neither the masters of our destiny nor puppets in the hands of a puppeteer.

Can I Go To Heaven If I Keep On Sinning?

Jackie Hwang — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 08:12:00 +0000

Imagine being a homeless orphan living on the streets. One day, you hear about a wealthy family who wishes to adopt all homeless orphans. The family comes to your city, and you and your friends eagerly take up the generous offer. You now live in a beautiful home and have everything you need — shelter, an education, and a wonderful sense of being loved. You don’t know what you have done to deserve this. They remind you daily that you have really been adopted, and you are now a member of the family.

Yet, a niggling doubt tears at you. Even though the family did not leave you alone but provided counsellors to help you assimilate into this new life, old habits die hard, and the ones you picked up on the streets are difficult to shake. You still hide food away in case you don’t have enough later. You still feel that you need to step on others to get what you need. You are still violent and easily angered. When you look at the other adopted children, they all seem to be doing much better than you are in their new lifestyle. You fear that sooner or later, the family will realise that you don’t deserve to be there. And every day, the fear grows … If you can’t change and adjust, will the family send you away?

This story mirrors the question, “Can I go to heaven if I keep on sinning?” It hides deeper questions about how far God’s grace would go to save us, and our responsibility after He has saved us. To answer it, we need to rethink our understanding of salvation.

Saved By God’s Grace Alone?
Like the orphans in the story, Christians are adopted into God’s family because of His lavish grace alone (Eph 2:5–6), and not because we deserve it (Eph 2:8–9). Only God’s grace can save because everyone is trapped by sin (Rom 8:7–8). Therefore, salvation from sin is only possible when God reaches into humanity through Jesus (Col 1:13–14). The fact that we don’t need to earn salvation is good news — it is the gospel!

THE FACT THAT WE DON’T NEED TO EARN SALVATION IS GOOD NEWS — IT IS THE GOSPEL!

“But what if after being saved, I feel like I can’t stop sinning? Does that mean I am not truly saved?”

After being saved by God’s grace, we can sometimes be confused about what it means to be saved by grace alone. I also had this doubt during my university days. After praying for God to forgive my sin, I promised that I would live my life for Him. God’s forgiveness brought a sense of relief from guilt, so I wanted to do my best with this new life in Jesus (John 3:16). To me, this meant turning my life around and following God’s commands. However, this desire to obey God soon met with disappointment because it was a difficult task. I was plagued by doubts about whether I was doing enough to remain in God’s saving grace. All in all, I was confused by what it meant to be saved by God’s grace alone. Many of us are like the orphan in the story, doubting whether we deserve to stay in God’s family because we continue to sin, and wondering what would happen to our salvation if we don’t change!

On this issue, the famous sociologist Max Weber (1864–1920) observed that Protestant Christians, having been saved by God’s grace alone, ironically try to “remain saved” by obsessing about not doing anything wrong. It is as if any misstep would prove they are not actually saved! But is this the right understanding of salvation?

Saved Into A New Life
In Romans 6, Paul passionately describes salvation in terms of life and death — being dead to sin and alive in Christ. When we become Christians, our previous status as sinners dies on the cross with Jesus, and we are given new life in Him. Therefore, we have a new identity which is more than just a second chance. We are not starting from scratch such that we need to accumulate good works all over again. The old way of keeping an imaginary ledger of right and wrong has been replaced by a constant source of positive credit through Christ’s new life and righteousness. Once we are saved in Christ, we shouldn’t seek to keep our salvation by our own effort (Rom 4:7-8).

This certainty of salvation by God’s grace alone may lead some to ask if Christians are given a blank cheque to sin. The answer is no (Rom 6:1–2)! Rather, we should understand our new life in Christ as empowerment by the Holy Spirit that helps us overcome temptation (Rom 8:1–17). Like the orphan, we have not been left alone to change ourselves. For Christians, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be our counsellor and teacher (John 14:15–18), and the Holy Spirit can speak directly to us through the Word of God and other Christians. We cannot live a righteous life by our own effort, but are growing with God’s help.

HEAVEN IS NOT A FARAWAY PLACE BUT A NEAR AND PRESENT REALITY IN THIS LIFE.

Saved For A New Hope
So, our salvation is assured by Christ and our growth is sure in the Spirit. Now, what about getting to heaven? Many people think of it as a faraway place that Christians go when they die. However, the Bible’s idea of heaven is closer than we may think. Jesus repeatedly says, “The kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt 4:17; 10:7). He also uses “kingdom of heaven” when He describes what it looks like to follow Him (Matt 5:1–12; 13:1–52). To Jesus and His disciples, heaven is not a faraway place but a near and present reality in this life. It is getting to see God’s grace intersect our daily lives, not only in the distant future, so that evil and sin no longer have ultimate power over us. As Christians, this is witnessing heaven in this life!

Dig Deeper: Does The Old Testament Promote Racism?

Jackie Hwang — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 03:39:00 +0000

Does this question make you uncomfortable? It should! The answer that any Christian wants to hear to this question is “NO!” But how do we answer people who claim that the Old Testament (OT) itself promotes racism? Perhaps we secretly fear that this claim is somehow true.

The claim that the OT promotes racism usually comes up because it seems that God gives the Israelites preferential treatment in the OT. God calls the Israelites His chosen people (Deut 7:6). Did God choose them because they were a superior race? Did God not care about other races? Is the God of the OT different from Jesus, who offers salvation in the New Testament (NT) to all people regardless of race (John 3:16)?

When I was a young person growing up in church, I was never brave enough to ask my parents or church leaders these questions. I was afraid that if I did, it would mean that I was doubting God. Years later, I discovered that these are important questions that godly Christians have already asked. I was relieved to know that I was not a “bad Christian” for having these questions. In fact, asking them showed that I cared about what the Bible says and who God really is. If you are asking similar questions, I hope my experience is an encouragement to you. In my search for answers, I was able to find several reasons for a definitive “no” to the claim that the OT promotes racism.

I WAS NEVER BRAVE ENOUGH TO ASK THESE QUESTIONS. I WAS AFRAID THAT IF I DID, IT WOULD MEAN THAT I WAS DOUBTING GOD.

CHOSEN FOR OBEDIENCE, NOT SUPERIORITY
First, God did not choose the Israelites because of any idea of racial superiority. God’s choice was instead based on obedience to Him. To understand this, we need to go back to God’s calling of their ancestor — Abraham, also known as Abram. Genesis 12:1–9 records this important event in OT history, when God called Abram to leave his homeland to go to a faraway place. The incredible thing was that Abram obeyed God, no questions asked! Obedience to God was the only thing that set Abram apart from his kinsmen/tribe in Ur (Gen 11:31), who were likely worshippers of false Chaldean gods.

Generations later, when God acted on His promise to Abraham and began nation-building with his descendants, He chose an equally unlikely group of people — the Israelite slaves in Egypt (Deut 7:7–8). If anything, they were inferior, not superior! With these acts, God showed that His grace can overcome the racial prejudice that the Egyptians had against the lowly Israelites.

CHOSEN TO BE A BLESSING
Second, when God chose Abraham and the Israelites, He did not disregard other races. In fact, God chose the Israelites with a purpose to bless everyone else (Gen 12:3) and to defend the marginalised (Deut 10:17–19). The Israelites were given a special mission to be examples of holy living so that all other nations would learn about God’s holiness (Exod 19:6; Deut 4:5–8). This was important because they were living in an evil world where kings and false gods were cruel and capricious (Exod 1:8–16; 2 Kings 17:31). God was calling the Israelites to live as shining examples of holiness and justice in a corrupt world.

CHOSEN, BUT WITHOUT SPECIAL TREATMENT
Third, God did not give the Israelites preferential treatment because they were His chosen people. We can see this in the stern warnings against evil that God gave to the Israelites. For if, instead of serving as examples of holiness, they acted like other nations, God would judge them and remove them from the promised land (Deut 28). The sad history of Israel was exactly this — they neglected God’s warning against sin and began to imitate the evil ways of other nations. Israel thought that God would give them preferential treatment because they were His chosen people (Hos 8:2; Jer 14:13–14). However, God took issue with their sense of racial superiority (Amos 3:2; 9:7). The sinfulness of the kings and people finally led to God’s judgement after their repeated rejection of God’s warning (2 Kgs 17:7–20). Hence, God’s favour to the Israelites was based on holy living, not race.

WHEN GOD CHOSE ABRAHAM AND THE ISRAELITES, HE DID NOT DISREGARD OTHER RACES.

THE GOSPEL FOR ALL, REGARDLESS OF RACE
Looking at how God chose the Israelites in the OT, something should begin to sound familiar to us as Christians today. In the NT, Jesus has also called us to obey God’s commands (John 14:15), and Abraham is mentioned as an example of faith for us (Heb 11:8; 12:1). Just like the Israelites, Christians have a responsibility to live as examples of holiness to draw others to God (Acts 1:8; 1 Pet 2:9). For those of us who have grown up in Christian homes, the negative example of the Israelites reminds us that salvation is not automatic because of family or race. A genuine and active faith in God is required, and it is in fact the only requirement for salvation. In many ways, God’s selection of the Israelites in the OT foreshadows the call to Christians of all races in the NT (Luke 10:25–37; Acts 10; Rev 7:9–10).

In fact, even in the OT, God’s favour was not only toward the Israelites. There are many OT stories where God was gracious and loving to non-Israelites who turned to him. Some examples are Rahab (Josh 6:22–25), Ruth (Ruth 1:16; 2:6, 11–12), a Sidonian widow (1 Kgs 17:8–24), and Naaman (2 Kings 5:1–14).

GOD IS NOT RACIST. HE IS THE BIGGEST ADVOCATE FOR RACIAL RECONCILIATION!

God was gracious and loving not only to individual non-Israelites; He was also compassionate to whole groups of them. A good example would be the story of Jonah. Unlike the well-loved children’s version of the story with a big fish, the focus of the book is actually about God’s heart to warn, forgive, and save a foreign people (Jon 1:1–2; 3:10; 4:2). When the people of Nineveh were willing to repent from evil and worship God (Jon 3:4–9), He was more than willing to forgive them and remove the judgement against them (Jon 3:10). But when Jonah acted like a racist and was unhappy that God saved the people of Nineveh (Jon 4:1–2), God even scolded Jonah for his racism (Jon 4:10–11)!

Reading these parts of the OT should help us know that God is not racist. In reality, He is the biggest advocate for racial reconciliation and delights in true worshippers from all races! From all these examples, we see that God is passionately interested in working against the sinful human tendency toward racism. As His followers, this should be our passion as well.