Hands down, the top three questions non-Christians and Christians alike ask about God are these:

a) How do I know God exists?
b) How can God allow suffering and evil in the world?
c) How can God be loving and yet send people to Hell?

Click here to watch D.A. Carson answer’s these questions.

John 15:2 says, “Every branch in Me that does not bring forward fruit He destroys, and every branch that brings forward fruit He prunes, in order that it may bring forward more fruit.“

I saw two things here this morning:

a) No Fruit: Jesus is the true Vine, so those who believe in Him are grafted into to Himself as living branches (Rom. 11:17).  Therefore we branches find all our life, support, and sustenance in Jesus.  We’re to look nowhere else to find these things, for if we do, we will dry up and become a dead branch (Rom. 11:18).  The branches in Jesus who fail to produce fruit are destroyed by God, for He is the vine dresser, or gardener.  Fault for the lack of fruit bearing does not fall on Jesus, but on the branches themselves.  By producing no fruit, these branches show themselves to be dead, that they were never true branches to start with (1 John 2:18-19).  They may have appeared to be living branches on the exterior, but the life giving sustenance of the Vine was not flowing into them.  Just as we look for grapes on the branches of the vine, we look for Christianity on Christians.  We look for evidence, we look for the fruit of the Spirit.  If it’s there, even to the smallest degree with can say the branch is true.  If it’s not there, we say, in despair, this one’s dead.  If no fruit shows, God takes those branches off the vine and destroys them.  This is speaking of final judgment for all those who are not in Christ.

b) Fruit: If fruit does show, God prunes it, for the purpose of making more fruit.  This means the only way to produce more fruit is by the pruning of the Father.  This is speaking of sanctification, and it shows that santification is always a painful process.  Pruning involves a cutting off of certain things in our lives that are keeping us from bearing more fruit.  A habit, an addiction, a temper, a lust, a greed, etc.  When those are gone, pruned away, we are free to bear more fruit than we did before!

Therefore, if you find yourself in a situation where life seems to be painful, you should not despair, for the Father is at work in you!  He is doing what only He can do!  He is pruning you so that you can bear more fruit at a future time.  This will most likely be very painful because they are things you love too much.  But O’ how great it is to become more holy as He is!  It is a kind of pleasing pain to me, and I hope it is for you as well.

Question: “What happens to “good” people like the Dalai Lama and Ghandi?”

Answer: I am going to assume the person who asked this question meant: “What happens to ‘good’ people, like the two mentioned, when they die, WHILE not believing in Jesus?”  So I’ll answer this latter question in two ways.

1) There is a misunderstanding from this question about the idea of ‘goodness’.  The Bible says no one is good (Rom. 3:10-18, Eph. 2:1-3, Psalm 14, Isaiah 64:6, etc).  All humans are under the curse of the first Adam (Romans 5:12-21).  There is no man who does not sin (1 Kings 8:46).  This means Ghandi was a sinner and the Dalai Lama is a sinner, deserving death and hell for their sin because that is the due punishment from God.  Now, once we see this, we immediately think of those people we know or have known who were relatively “good” people during their life.  Were they really as bad as the Bible says they were?  Are they really sinners even though they did so much good in this world?  Yes.  Romans 14:23 explains and says,  ”…whatever is not from faith is sin.”  1 Corinthians 10:31 also tells us, “Whether you eat or whether you drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”  Therefore any action done by any human being on the planet, apart from faith IN CHRIST, is an evil action.  More so, any action done, by any human being on the planet, not to the glory of God, is an evil action.

What does this mean for ‘good’ people like the Buddha, the Dalai Lama, Ghandi,etc.?  The answer is simple, but to hear it we must take off our current cultural lense.  Our culture teaches us that no one has the right to tell anyone that their going to hell, or that they’re on the wrong path if such a path seems right to the person.  But, the Bible clearly states that Buddha, the Dalai Lama, and Ghandi could have done much good, but if their actions were not done with faith in Christ, or to the glory of the God of the Bible, all their actions were evil and sinful.

2) The Bible says Jesus is the only way to God.  Jesus said it Himself in John 6:46, 14:6, 17:3, and many other places.  The apostles believed this and preached it as well (Acts 4:12, 1 Tim 2:5-6).  Therefore if any person does not believe in Jesus before death, they will enter into judgment (Hebrews 9:27) and be cast into hell (Luke 13:3, 5).

This should move your soul to evangelism because you know the way God has provided to escape His wrath.  The most loving thing you can do on earth is to help save someone from certain death, whether they recognize it or not.  Also, if your a Christian, you must believe these things.  We do not have a buffet style faith where you believe as you please.  If we come to Christ, we come on His terms, not our own.  Whose terms do you come on?

Question: “Is it Christian to rely on medicine?”

Answer: I am assuming that we agree that it is not sin to take medicine.  God has given the world great minds who have created wonderful medicines that relieve all kinds of pain, pressure, etc.  The question I am getting to in asking this question is: Is it Christian to have to rely on a medicine in order function properly in daily society; so that if they were to stop taking the medication it would prohibit them from functioning in everyday life with everyday people.  Is that sinful?

You may think this is a foolish question, but Christians who are on these meds struggle with this issue.  Does it mean that they do not trust God to get them through the day?  Are they sinning by relying on medicine rather than God’s sustaining grace to make it in life?  Some teachers have answered “yes” to this question and miserably vexed the consciences of faithful Christians.  I think one thing about meds like this.

a) It is not sin for Christians to rely on medicine for their daily mental or physical health.  In fact, I think the thing that drives those on these meds to stop taking them is pride.  They may want to be off of the meds, to show they don’t need them.  They may want to be off the meds to show their powerful trust in God over their fallen body.  But these pressures are built on pride and unrealistic expectations.  These people are NOT failing to trust God in life, God has given them specific needs that must be met with these meds.  THEREFORE, TO NOT TAKE THE MEDS YOU NEED WOULD BE SIN FOR YOU.  Perhaps, God is keeping you humble by causing you to need these meds.

Whatever the case may be, it is not sinful to take these meds and those on them should not think any less of themselves for having to do so.  Do not believe anyone who tells you that you are not living in faith by taking meds like this.  Don’t believe the lie that your not whole until your med-free.  God has made you the way you are for a purpose, embrace that purpose.

A friend sent me a list of questions that came up in a small group recently, and asked me to comment on them.  So I have decided to answer their questions here for your benefit as well as the small group’s.  These questions will be put in the category “Common ?’s”

Common Question #1: “Do babies go to heaven?”

Yes, babies go to heaven.  You can see this prove true in two of David’s sons: Absalom and Bathsheba’s baby.  Absalom was not the son a father would want to have.  He was sinful, rebellious, and hateful toward David his father.  He even stole the kingdom away from David at one point in time.  The relationship between David and Absalom was not ideal, to put it mildly.  After a while, Absalom died a horrible death.  Do you recall how David grieved for his son?  He did not jump for joy over losing this awful son of his.  Rather David groaned over the loss of his rebellious son saying, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom…my son, my son!”  David was heart broken, because he knew he would never see his wicked son again (see 2 Samuel 18:31-33).

Now think of David and Bathsheba’s baby boy.  This boy did not grow up like Absalom did, rather on account of David and Bathsheba’s adultery this baby boy was struck sick from the Lord.  How did David respond?  He fasted and prayed all night long for 7 days asking the Lord to heal and save his boy.  His servants labored to get him to eat, but he would not take any food while his boy was sick.  Then the boy died, and when the servants told David the news of his son’s death David responds in an unusual manner.  He gets up from fasting, washes, anointes himself, changes clothes, and worships the Lord!  The servants were confused and asked David what he was doing, and David replied, “Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?  But now he is dead.  Why should I fast?  Can I bring him back again?  I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” (see 2 Samuel 12:15-23)

You see the difference in David’s reaction with Absalom’s death and his baby boy’s death?  Why did David act so differently?  Because David expected a personal future reunion with his dead baby boy.  That is why he said “…I shall go to him…” Whereas David did not expect to see Absalom ever again.  ”This is just one indicator of the confidence David had in the goodness and grace of God upon the innocent and the hopelessness of David, knowing the judgment and the justice of God upon the guilty.” (John MacArthur)

Do babies go to heaven?  Yes.