Let's Talk – Teens

Why is pride wrong? I thought we were supposed to be proud of our accomplishments.

Yes, you can be proud of your accomplishments but wisdom gives credit to those who helped you in those accomplishments. Pride is selfish. You are a great soccer player because, well… because you’re a great soccer player. Pride wants to make sure everybody knows how great a soccer player you are.

Wisdom tells you it was God who gave you athletic abilities and the coach who taught you the game. Dad encouraged you and helped you practice your kicking in the backyard and Mom brought you to all of your practices. Humility gives other people credit for you being a great soccer player.

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Proverbs 11:2

Why is sin such a big deal? Nobody is perfect.

You’re right in nobody’s perfect, and yes we as Christians sin.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:8

We were born into sin, and yes our sins were forgiven when we ask Jesus to forgive our sins and come into our hearts. We battle sin because we still live in our sinful bodies. We may not think sin is a big deal but God does. God is holy and if God says it’s a big deal, it’s a big deal. That is why it’s important to agree with God. When we do sin we need to understand that we can come to Jesus to confess our sin and be sorry for committing that sin.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

Why is it wrong to take revenge?

Someone does you harm in some way and you want to get even; you want revenge. Taking revenge sounds like a good idea because it seems like a form of justice. You may be thinking if you don’t punish that person, nobody will. But justice and punishment needs to happen by people in authority, not by you. You’re afraid he will not get punished; he will get away with it. You’re right. Maybe he will get away with it, but people sometimes get away with doing bad things in this life. I know it’s not fair, but that’s life. It is more important to obey God than punish someone who has done bad things to us.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge, I will repay,” says the Lord.

Romans 12:17-19

I am a Christian, now what do I do?

You believed that Jesus is fully God, and died for you sins. You admitted that you are a sinner and asked Jesus into you heart, and became a Christian. That is wonderful, but what is your next step?

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Philippians 2:12 -13

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the church in Philippi for the purpose of encouragement and instruction. Look at the phrase “working out your salvation”. This means to implement or act on it. It means that God’s love for us and our love for Him will produce good works, always giving God the praise. It means that we are to show the love of Christ to others . When kindness is needed, show kindness. When help is needed, be helpful. When someone needs encouragement be encouraging. If you are a Christian, act like it.

Why do people have so many different beliefs about God?

We can know God, His character and His plan for mankind. God has given us true and accurate knowledge through His Word, the Bible. That’s the good news; the bad news is sinful people have the desire to push away God’s truth.

The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

Romans 8:7

More bad news. Satan loves to misrepresent God’s truth. Satan does this by taking some Biblical truth and either twisting that truth or adding misinformation to it. Example: God wants everybody to go to heaven, as long as they work for it by being good.

Satan loves to put in peoples’ minds incorrect information about God to distort who God is and what He wants from people. Hence the many different beliefs about God.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2 Corinthians 4:4

There is a true belief about God, but you need to know the Bible to know the truth about God.

How can I be strong enough to resist temptation?

Let’s look on how Jesus handled temptation.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Mathew 4:1

Jesus spent 40 days fasting and being tempted by Satan. How did He respond? First, Jesus loved the Father and wanted to please Him. Jesus had the right heart and mind to start with. Jesus responded to Satan’s temptation perfectly. He used Scripture. Every time Satan tempted Jesus to do wrong, Jesus quoted a verse from the Bible. And when Satan tried to use a Bible verse on the last temptation, Jesus told him how he used that verse incorrectly by quoting another verse.

How can we say no to Satan? First, love God and have a heart that wants to please Him. Second, know the Bible well and allow the Holy Spirit and prayer to give you the strength and desire to say no to Satan and evil desires, and to say yes to following a holy and righteous God who loves you more than you can ever know.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.

James 4:7-8a

What can we know about God from nature?

Our main source of knowledge about God is from Scripture, but we can know some limited things about God from the observable universe.

When we take a close look at creation, there is good reason to believe God exists. We know from science the universe had a beginning, a starting point. The universe is not eternal and did not come to be on its own. The universe exists because someone caused it to exist. We know God is all powerful and all- knowing because those attributes are what are needed to create the universe.

The more we examine nature in the area of genetics and microbiology the more we see order in design. When we see an amazing universe of complex order and design, we see an all knowing and all powerful God. No one can intelligently say there is no Creator God when they see His creation.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Romans 1:20

Does Genesis 1:15 say that the moon produces its own light?

“And let them (sun and moon) be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth”. And it was so. God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.

Genesis 1:15 – 16a

The moon does not, on its own, produce light. It does, however, reflect the light of the sun, which makes sense since that is the best way to give a “lesser” light at night. So, is the Bible incorrect and not the true Word of God? No, the Bible is not incorrect. We view our experiences by our position here on earth; the term is earth – centric. We say that the sun rises and sets, even though we know that the earth revolves around the sun and rotates on its axis. We say that the stars “come out” at night, when we know that they are always there, hidden during the day by the suns brighter light. Our point of reference determines how we talk about what we see. The writer of Genesis, through the Holy Spirit, gives an accurate report of creation using an earth – centric view of the events.

Does God change His mind?

In the book of Exodus we read of an event in which the people of Israel made a golden calf as an idol. God was going to destroy them all and start again with Moses. Moses was able to talk God out of destroying all the people. Read what Moses said, and how God responded.

“Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self; ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

Exodus 32:13-14

This is not God saying He made a mistake and needed to start over with Moses. This is a holy God hating sin, but loving His people and in righteous stating His response of destroying them. The Bible often describes God’s actions and reactions in human emotional terms. God is a passionate and emotional being and Scripture describes Him as such. God’s character and plans do not change, but His reactions to certain situations can change.

Can life ever come from non-life?

For those who do not believe in a Creator God the answer would be yes. Why? Because life exists and because there is no God, life had to arise from non-life. But is life coming from non-life even possible, based on observational science? No!

Before the theory of evolution was thought up, early scientists, based on observation and testable results, came to a clear conclusion: Life comes from life. No exceptions. This fact has become a scientific law; the law of biogenesis. Wait, the evolutionists exclaim, we need more time to study micro – biology, genetics and bio – chemistry. But the more we learn the more assured we are life cannot come from non-life. The only viable explanation for the existence of life is a living, all powerful all knowing God created life, end of story.

And God said,” Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:20-21

Does the Bible say its okay to kill or not okay to kill?

If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death.

Leviticus 24:17

If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed.

Exodus 22:2

Before we answer this question, we must understand the difference between killing someone and committing a murder. Murder is the unlawful taking of a human life. God values all human life, but He also values laws based on His holiness. Throughout the Old Testament God used the people of Israel to bring judgement on sinful people by killing them. Most killing is wrong, but there are times when killing is justified. America takes many of its concepts of laws from the Old Testament and thus allows for capital punishment, killing someone in self – defense, and in times of war. Lawful, and only lawful killing, is sometimes necessary in a sin filled world.

What does it mean that we were created in the image of God?

After God created all the animals, God created mankind. People are not another animal; God created us separately in His image. What does that mean, in His image? Obviously we are not all powerful, all knowing, and we are not holy. What this does mean is we were made with the capacity to have a personal relationship with our Creator. Like God, we know the difference between good and evil. Like God, we have feelings and emotions and we can respond to other people’s feelings and emotions. Like God, we can forgive, be compassionate and show mercy. God uses His own creativity to create, and because we are made in His image, we have the capacity to use creativity to build bridges, buildings, and washing machines. People continue to learn new things and to develop their talents and skills with each generation taking knowledge from the previous one and building on it.

Yes, other animals can create; beavers can build dams, termites build complex nests with air vents to regulate temperature and birds make nests, some quite complex. But these animals do not use their own creativity; God gives them that ability by what we call instincts.

People are a special creation made in the image of God.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Genesis 1:26