Stump the Pastor II: Pretty Prairie

Q: Where was the Garden of Eden?


A: According to Genesis 2.8-14, the Garden of Eden was located in Mesopotamia, or modern-day Iraq. The Garden of Eden has never been found and many believe that God destroyed it because of the sin of Adam and Eve after they were expelled from the Garden.


Q: Can or should we confront other Christians who are being judgmental?


A: Christians are often very judgmental. We all know that this is wrong, but it does not change us. Although Jesus was clear that we are not to judge (Matthew 7.1), we do. This is complicated when we spot another Christian judging someone. We know that they should not judge, so we think about helping them by pointing out a judgmental attitude, only to realize that we are judging them. It's a very difficult situation.

First of all, when confronting someone about sin we should always do it in the spirit of Jesus instruction in Matthew 18. There are several steps to take in this process.

1. Go and talk to the sinner alone. (v. 15)
2. Talk to the sinner with one or two witnesses. (v. 16)
3. Talk to the church and confront the sinner. (v. 17)

At every point a sinning brother should be confronted not in anger or judgmentalism, but in love and with the hope that the relationship can be restored.

Q: Please explain baptism, confirmation and accepting Christ as Savior.

A: Some of these were answered last week so I will not belabor them here. But let me give a brief explanation of each.

Baptism- Although practiced in many different ways, baptism is the act of grace whereby God bestows grace on the one baptized and welcomes him/her into the family of God.

Confirmation- In the case of infant baptism, confirmation is the practice of a young person learning about the faith and accepting, or confirming, the baptism they received as a baby.

Accepting Christ- This is not necessarily related to either of the first two. Accepting Christ means to repent of your sins and ask Jesus to come in and make a difference in your life.

Q: If we can't see God, how can we know he exists?

A: I like to refer to Romans 1 for this question. In that passage Paul makes a case that all people have the opportunity to know God whether or not they have ever heard the Christian message. He says that...

1. God reveals himself in all people (v. 19). We might be more familiar with the idea of a conscience. All people are automatically equipped with information about God. We know that he is there. He reveals himself by making us guilty when we sin. We know him by the joy we feel on a beautiful spring day.
2. God reveals himself in creation (v. 20). There is very little argument about whether or not there are laws in the universe or order in creation. A serious contemplation on the world leads one to believe in a greater force- a higher power.
3. Christians also can know God through fellowship with other believers.
4. God also reveals himself as he speaks to his followers.