MARK DRISCOLL REAL FAITH Answers to the Top 100 Questions About Christianity REALFAITH.COM By Mark Driscoll Real Faith: Answers to the Top 100 Questions About Christianity © 2021 by Mark Driscoll ISBN: 978-1-7366834-4-6 (Paperback) ISBN: 978-1-7366834-3-9 (E-book) Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. CONTENTS Preface from Pastor Mark. .xi 5 Questions About God. 1 11 Questions About How God Speaks to Us. 7 6 Questions About Creation. 20 12 Questions About How God Made Us. .29 10 Questions About Sin. 43 3 Questions About Our Relationship with God. .54 8 Questions About Jesus. .58 10 Questions About Jesus’ Death. 67 4 Questions About Jesus’ Resurrection. .80 12 Questions About the Church. 85 10 Questions About Worship. 99 9 Questions About Heaven. 111 Notes. .122 About Real Faith and Pastor Mark. .126 PREFACE Howdy, it’s your nerd friend Pastor Mark here to tell you that I can’t wait for you to start reading this book and discover all the things that God has for you as you seek to find biblical answers to the questions I know we all have about God and Christian- ity. When I first got saved, I bombarded pretty much everyone around me with questions about pretty much everything. My pastor at the time told me to just read the Bible and eventually I would find some answers. He was right, and after teaching the Bible for over 25 years, I want to help you figure out how to learn from God’s Word too, so I put together this book that answers 100 questions about God and Christianity. I love that God builds relationship with us through His Word and prayer, so I’m praying that it’s a blessing to you as you grow closer to Him. Pastor Mark Driscoll XI 5 QUESTIONS ABOUT GOD And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven [God the Father] said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” -MATTHEW 3:16–17 1. What are theology and monotheism?. .2 2. What is the Trinity?. 3 3. Who is the Father?. .4 4. Who are the Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit?. 5 5. Why should we try to understand the Trinity?. 6 1 REAL FAITH 1. What are theology and monotheism? Theology literally means the “study of God”. Varying religions and philosophies have vying proposed understandings of what the truth is about God. Christianity’s view of God is monotheistic. Monotheism teaches that there is only one personal God who is separate (tran- scendent) from the universe though involved in it (immanent). As a result, many people have regarded Christianity as just one of many monotheistic religions along with Judaism and Islam. In one sense, Christianity is monotheistic, as it does believe in one God. Yet, upon further investigation, the Bible is not impressed with mere monotheism because God’s objective is not that we simply believe in one God. As James 2:19 says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” The God of Christianity as revealed in the Bible is one God who exists in the Trinitarian community of Father, Son, and Spirit. No other religion shares the concept of the Trinity with Christianity. 2 TOP 100 QUESTIONS 2. What is the Trinity? The Father, Son, and Spirit are equally declared throughout Scripture to be God. The Trinity appears in creationa, at Mary’s conception of Jesus in Luke 1:35, at Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3:16-17, and in Jesus’ Great Commissionb. Additionally, every mem- ber of the Trinity takes part in salvation with a different rolec. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God. Three persons. While the word Trinity does not appear in the Bible, this One- who-is-Three concept very clearly does. As an aside, the Bible also does not include the word Bible. The word Trinity is a shorthand way of summarizing complex biblical truth. It was likely first used by the church father Tertullian (AD 155–220). To say that God exists as a Trinity does not mean that there are three Gods, or that one God merely manifests himself as either the modes of Father, Son, or Holy Spirit on various occasions. For our purposes, we will use the following definition: The Trinity is one God who eternally exists as three distinct persons— Father, Son, and Spirit—who are each fully and equally God in eternal relation with each other. To say that each member of the Trinity is a “person” does not mean that God the Father or God the Spirit became human beings. Rather, it means that each member of the Trinity thinks, acts, feels, speaks, and relates because they are persons and not impersonal forces. Further, each member of the Trinity is equally God, which means that they share all the divine attributes (e.g. eternality, omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence), which we will explore in later chapters. a Gen. 1:1-2 b Matt. 28:19 c Eph 1:4-13, 1 Pet 1:2, Titus 3:4-6, 1 Cor 12:4-6 3 REAL FAITH 3. Who is the Father? Innumerable Scriptures clearly and emphatically declare the Father to be God.a In the history of Christianity and all the cults and religions that have erred from biblical truth, there has never been any noteworthy false teaching denying the deity of God the Father, because it is so obviously clear throughout the entirety of Scrip- ture. However, there has sadly been an underemphasis on God the Father in many Christian circles because of a father wound. The father wound is an unhealed hurt from a physical or spiritual father or father figure in our life. Fathers fail us, and unless we forgive them and invite God the Father to heal our father wound, we remain burdened instead of unburdened, broken instead of healed, and made bitter instead of made better. People with an unhealed father wound can have a wrong and warped view of God. Our view of God is often a projection or rejection of our imperfect earthly dad onto God. To heal the fa- ther wound, you need to forgive the earthly physical and spiritual father(s) who have failed you. This forgiveness will remove the demonic foothold that bitterness brings. Jesus promised “I will not leave you as orphans.”b When a child gets adopted, they adapt to having a father and spend time getting to know their new father and family. To become a Christian is to get a new family (the church), a new big brother (Jesus), and a new Father (God). a John 6:27; 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:6; 2 Cor. 1:3; Eph. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3 b John 14:18 4 TOP 100 QUESTIONS 4. Who are the Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit? Jesus is also repeatedly declared to be God throughout the Scriptures by both othersa and himself, without apology or cor- rection. bJesus was ultimately put to death for declaring himself to be God, a declaration that, if untrue, would have been a viola- tion of the first commandment and a blasphemous sinc. We dis- cuss Jesus’ divinity and humanity more in depth in the following sections. In addition to the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit is clearly called God throughout the Scriptures. In the Old Testament, he possesses the attributes of God, which reveals his divinity; he is creatord, eternale, omnipotent (all-powerful)f, omniscient (all- knowing)g, and omnipresent.h In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is also clearly declared God.i Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is not merely an impersonal force but a person who can be grievedj, resistedk, and insulted.m The personhood of the Holy Spirit explains why Jesus speaks of him as a personal “he” and not an impersonal “it.”n a Matt. 28:9; John 1:1–4, 14; 5:17–18; 8:58; 10:30–38; 12:37–41; cf. Isa. 6:9–11; 20:28–29; Acts 20:28; Rom. 1:3–4; 9:5; 1 Cor. 8:4–6; Gal. 4:4; Phil. 2:10–11; Col. 1:16–17; 2:8–9; 1 Tim. 6:15; Titus 2:13; Heb.1:8; 1 John 5:20; Rev. 1:8, 17–18; 17:14; 19:16; 22:13–16 b Matt. 26:63–65; John 5:17–23; 8:58–59; 10:30–39; 19:7 c Matt. 26:64–66; Mark 14:62–64; John 8:58–59; 10:30–31 d Gen. 1:2; Ps. 104:30 e Heb. 9:14 f Mic. 3:8; see also Acts 1:8; Rom. 15:13, 19 g 40:13–14; see also 1 Cor. 2:10 h Ps. 139:7 i Acts 5:3–4; see also John 14:16; 2 Cor.