The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, currently located in Louisville, Kentucky, was founded in the USA in 1859 with the aim of serving the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention “by training, educating, and preparing ministers of the gospel for more faithful service [source].”
As part of their mission to train, educate and prepare people for service, the Southern Seminary has put up a series of videos on Youtube they call “Honest Answers,” where they provide short but comprehensive answers to many of the questions people have about Christianity. In their own words, it is “a series where Southern Seminary professors honestly answer questions directly submitted by viewers about theology, ministry, and life.”
Here is a link to Honest Answers. Most of the videos are 5-10 minutes long on average: short enough to listen to on a quick break but long enough to explain key points in details. I highly recommend subscribing to the channel so you can be notified when new videos come out. It’s good to be deliberate about the kind of media you consume, especially on places like Youtube with millions of creators, but more on that topic another day.
Honest Answers is a great resource for Christians at all stages of life, but I believe it would be most helpful for new believers and the people discipling them, because it provides simple explanations for basic questions about how to live the Christian life. For example, “What is the purpose of fasting?” “How can I improve my prayer life?” and “What should I do if I doubt my salvation?” There are all kinds of topics about other things like the stock market, the lottery, civil disobedience, Halloween, New Years’ resolutions, etc etc.
Honest Answers also addresses more esoteric questions that won’t affect what you do on a daily basisl such as “Who were the Nephilim?” and “What is the Apocrypha?” So if you’re idly curious about something or just have time to spare and want to learn more about theology, it’s a good place to check and pass the time.
As at the time of writing (Jan 29, 2020) there are 85 videos out so far with new ones coming every week. Dig in and share helpful answers with others so that 2020 can be a year of greater knowledge and wisdom for all of us.
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
John 16:33 NKJV
Some time ago, I skimmed through a highly forgettable comic about a girl struck with a curse that doomed her to die in a few years. Or something like that. It’s so forgettable that I can’t remember the titles or the details or what country it came from. It was very boring and drawn out, so I skipped to the last chapter after reading a few chapters, .
However, what I read there made an impression on me that has lasted till today. The heroine, who somehow survived her curse, was reflecting on the whole ordeal. She said something like, “At first, when it was all going on, I couldn’t help thinking, ‘Why me?’ But then I thought again and I realized, ‘Why not me?’ Bad things won’t always happen to other people.”
It’s been several years since I read that bit of secular wisdom, but it has stayed with me because it is 100% true no matter how much we want to avoid it. Bad things won’t always happen to other people. Other people won’t always lose their jobs, or be diagnosed with serious diseases, or have accidents, or be attacked by robbers. Other people won’t always wake up and read text messages they never wanted to see. Sometimes these things will happen to you, and to me. And that is a normal part of this sinful, fallen world.
It’s fashionable in modern times to pretend that Christianity is a one-way pass to health, wealth, prosperity and a trouble-free path through life into eternity. When we hear of crime, sickness, war, accidents, we want to pretend it could never happen to us.
But the Bible never says anything about a trouble-free life, for believers or for unbelievers. While we can have joy, peace and comfort in the midst of the storm, we still be very much in the midst of that storm. Our ultimate rest will not come until we are finally home with the Lord.
For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
Romans 8:22-23 NKJV
In fact, almost all the great figures of the Bible experienced pain, loss, loneliness, betrayal and persecution. Right from the first human family of Adam and Eve, who lost a son to murder and another to banishment. Noah lost everyone except his immediate family in the flood. Abraham lost his father Terah, his brother Haran and later his wife Sarah. Isaac lost his mother, later lost his wife, was separated from his younger son for 20 years, had to deal with a rebellious older son and contentious daughters-in-law…
Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua…. It’s faster to count the figures who coasted through life with no problems… faster because the number is zero. Even if you live to be 999, you will still have to deal with the loss of your parents and an entire older generation.
Long story short, Jesus told us the truth, “in the world you will have tribulation.” (John 16:33) Pressures within, pressures without. Pressures that come from being a Christian, pressures that come from just being born of man. But His statement doesn’t end there. He promises us, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Therefore we have hope.
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8: 37-39
For some of us, 2020 has gotten off to a very bad start indeed. This is not what we had in mind when we heard of “Vision 2020.” But we take comfort in the fact that nothing can separate us from the love of God, and that He is with us in all our trials and temptations.
Let us first ensure that we ourselves are in Christ, having repented and believed in his salvation for our sins. Don’t trust in anything or anyone else except Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation. Then let us also redouble our efforts to reach our loved ones with the message of the gospel so that even in the darkest moments, we know that we will meet again where there will be no more tears.
Belated Happy New Year, everyone! 2020 is a fresh start, and another opportunity to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” for all of us (2 Peter 3:18).
2020 is also an election year in Ghana (and in the USA) so we will be hearing a LOT about politics and voting. As Christians, how ought we to vote? No, before that, how ought we to think about and relate to the government? In fact, what is the government in the first place?
Here to the rescue comes this lesson series from Ligonier Ministries and the late RC Sproul: Church and State.
Sproul first lays a thorough background on what the government is, who established it, what its functions are and what the church’s relationship to the government should be.
He also deals extensively with some of the problems facing the church in America today. As Ghanaian Christians, we don’t have to deal directly with the same social legal issues facing the American church, but the principles of church and government are universal, so it is a great primer on all the relevant issues.
Furthermore, it would be blindly optimistic of us to think that we won’t eventually face the same social and governmental pressures our counterparts in other countries are currently going through so it’s good to learn more about global trends, if nothing else because it lets you follow the news more accurately.
One lesson I really enjoyed was chapter 4, “Established Religion.” That’s where Sproul deals with the history of the separation of church and state in America. It is very interesting history with lessons for all of us in how governmental involvement in religion frequently leads to oppression and suppression, but it’s also the least relevant to the Ghanaian context. But in this election cycle in America I predict you will hear a lot of ‘separation of church and state’ talk being bandied about, so it’s good to know what it does and doesn’t mean so you can correct people (kindly) and follow arguments intelligently.
Ideally I would do a follow up post analyzing the Ghanaian constitution to see what it has to say about religion and also write another post about how we should think and feel about the new “National Cathedral” under construction, but I don’t want to lie to you and say I will do it. Just listen to these for now and I’ll see you when God wills it. Adieu!
