Unquestioned Answers

Dr. Jeff Myers wrote the book "Unquestioned Answers", which is about questioning easy answers, simplistic statements, to ten popular Christian cliches. He urges us to go beyond unquestioned answers to dig deep into Biblical truth. You have probably heard some or most of these. #3 and 7 seem to be especially pervasive as of late. Think deeply, friends. Below is some text from the book:

In the world of ideas, like in the ocean, many people settle for surface-level answers to life’s deepest questions. Doing so seems sensible. It satisfactorily settles most issues and prevents bickering. Unfortunately, prepackaged solutions only float on the surface. They keep us in the shallows when breathtaking wonder awaits those willing to go a little deeper. 

1. God Said it, I believe it, that settles it for me.
Alone among history’s influential religious books, the Bible calls for the reader to examine its truth. The Bible records many mysteries, but it does not shroud in secrecy the most important revelation in all the world: there is a God who speaks to everyone everywhere about everything. It’s a book for all his people. God welcomes our inquiries.  

The Bible is a book about everything, and it applies to everyone everywhere. As such, it is transformational, psychologically insightful, historically accurate, literarily brilliant, and inspired. 

The Bible claims to be inspired by God and true in its claims about God and his creation, but it also calls for examination of its claims. 

Jesus’s claims astonished his audience, his enemies, and his disciples. They astonish us today too and leave us with a choice. Many people appreciate Jesus’s decency but not his divinity. They approve of his teachings but not of his claim to be God. Jesus did not claim to be only a good moral teacher. He claimed that his words were God’s words. 

Careful study-or questioning-of the Bible has inspired believers through the centuries to seek a deeper faith. The Bible’s moral guidance led them to abolish slavery, ban child molestation, seek dignity for women, form hospitals and schools, secure liberty and justice for all, advance science, develop great art and architecture, and protect human life. 

2. Just have faith. 
We all place faith in something. The question is whether the object of our faith is worthy. Biblically, faith does not mean believing things that don’t match up to reality. It means admitting that God is the greatest reality in the universe, who solves the mysteries of knowledge and existence, bringing healing and purpose to our lives. Faith in God isn’t something we have; it’s something we live. Biblical faith is a kind of knowledge that is worth acting on, with eyes wide open, because it is based on good reasons. You know you are faithful when your everyday actions prove what you say you believe. Biblical faith isn’t blind. It’s an eyes-wide-open trust in a God who is there and who is worthy. 

3. God will heal our land if we humble ourselves and pray.

We don’t need to twist God’s hands behind his back by holding him to a promise that was not made to us. The testimony of Scripture, especially through the words of Jesus, shows us that the almighty Sovereign of the universe has invited us to ask and promised to answer. That’s a lot better than any prayer formula. If we stop trying to claim promises that may not belong to us, we will be free to focus on God and his plans rather than on whether our nation is failing to receive blessings. God wants us to boldly align our wills with his, praying that what is important to him will be recognized as what’s important here on earth. Prayer doesn’t replace action; it sparks it. 

4. It’s just me and Jesus

The “me-ness” of “me and Jesus” is precisely what I need to be rescued from. To find redemption, I must first admit I can’t save myself. The path to purpose is outside myself. The biggest dreams are given to characters whose stories are larger than they can tell by themselves. This larger story is the story of the church. Being in community with other believers is the only way we become mature spiritually. Measuring the value of God’s plan based on how fallen people live is like blaming a car designer for people’s poor driving skills. 

5. Love the sinner; hate the sin.

When we see others as God sees them, we view everything in the light of our own fallenness and Jesus’s unimaginable offer of grace. This cliché suggests that others’ sins are worse for them than ours are for us. By asking questions and knowing others, we can share Jesus’s love and offer of reconciliation with them. 

6. Christianity is a relationship, not a religion.

If we trust what the Bible says, neither the word relationship nor the word religion sufficiently portrays the awesome work of God in sending Jesus. He is fully God, the one through whom we can be reconciled to God. A personal relationship with Jesus culminates in robust insight into the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe. That’s religion. But this is no dead religion; in relationship with Jesus we can see the whole world from his viewpoint and proclaim the hope and healing he offers. We need both relationship and religion, assuming we properly understand each. The Bible’s teachings about faith are deeply personal, but they also form a worldview that has changed the world forever. Self-destruction is our bent. Some suffer through disastrous lifestyle choices; others suffocate on haughtiness and contempt. A Jesus-focused faith begins with a personal relationship and expands into a set of beliefs about everything that affects everything. 

7. Jesus was a social justice warrior.

Jesus came as the Son of God to reconcile us to God, not to affirm anyone’s utopian agenda. At the same time, the salvation we have received out to restore our capacity to love our neighbors. Because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (Jn. 14:6), we can know what justice is, see the truth, and live lives of wholeness and completeness with those around us. Political and social groups use justice as a weapon to claim moral superiority and shame those with whom they disagree. The question is not whether God is on our side but whether we are on his (Josh. 5:13-14). Trust purpose, true peace, and true justice have their source in Jesus, whether we recognize it or not. 

8. It’s not my place to judge.

Uttering this slogan cuts vital conversations short just when they’re becoming meaningful. Instead, we ought to ask questions that display curiosity and friendly determination. Asking, not telling, helps people see past our faults – and their own – through the lense of the Bible’s message of restoration

9. This world has nothing for me. 

In Christ all things are being made new. Relationships violently ruptured in the fall can be restored. Walls can be repaired. The path to God and eternal purpose can be cleared of brush and followed once again. The Bible says that God has called creation “very good” (Gen 1:31) and made it clear that we are to spread shalom until he tells us to stop. We can experience peace with God and proclaim it to the generations after us. The world worships its ability to draw a crowd or muster political power, because that’s all it’s got. 

Richard John Neuhaus (Catholic thinker): “We have not the right to despair, for despair is a sin. And finally, we have not the reason to despair, quite simply because Christ has risen. And this is the strength of a Christian world view, the strength of the Christian way of telling the story of the world: it has no illusions about it. All the other stories are built upon delusions, vain dreams, and utopias.”

10. God is good all the time – all the time God is good. 

God is indeed good all the time, not just when I like what he is doing for me right now. God’s answer to evil is a person – Jesus. At the cross God declared victory. Our toughest questions may never be answered this side of eternity, but each day is a gift God has given us to bring glory to him and do good to our neighbors. 

Larry Crabb: “God is not waiting to bless us after our troubles end. He is blessing us right now, in and through those troubles. At this exact moment, He is giving us what He thinks is good.”

God’s goodness is not an argument or a pronouncement. It is a person-Jesus. 

If you remember nothing else about these ten cliches, remember this: the most questionable thing about unquestioned answers is how they put the focus on me - what I like, what I'm comfortable with, and what makes sense to me. Life isn't about me. Nor would I want it to be.