Question:  I’m struggling with 1 John 2:2 (He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world).  If Jesus was the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, why then is the cross not effective for the whole world?

Just because something is offered doesn’t mean it will be enjoyed.  For example, my wife may cook a wonderful meal with five different recipes that I think are all good.  However, my daughter may choose to eat only three of the five recipes.  Did Wendy prepare enough for our whole family?  Yes.  Did every member of our family eat all five dishes?  No.  Does this make Wendy’s cooking ineffective (I’d better be careful here!).  No!

Effectiveness is not determined, in salvation, by how many receive it.  Jesus death on the cross was sufficient for all, but only efficient for those who respond in faith.

Question:  Do you think that God’s overcoming grace can ultimately fail to overcome in an individual?  Does it necessarily overcome the elect?

I think God’s overcoming grace always overcomes the elect.  However, this is a question of perspective.  When we look forward toward salvation, we think of choosing God.  When we look back, it always seems that God chose us.  C. S. Lewis said this, “Everyone looking back on his own conversion must feel—and I am sure the feeling is in some sense true—“It is not I who have done this.  I did not choose Christ; He chose me.  It is all free Grace which I have done nothing to earn”.  That is the Pauline account; and I am sure it is the only true account of every conversion from the inside.  Very well.  It then seems to us logical and natural to turn this personal experience into a general rule, “All conversions depend on God’s choice”.  But this I believe is exactly what we must not do; for generalizations are legitimate only when we are dealing with matters to which our faculties are adequate.”

To make this into a law is perilous.  I don’t think God’s grace can ever fail–if an individual does not come to Christ it is not a failure on God’s part, it is a failure on the part of the individual to not respond to the grace of God.  We can never attribute failure to God.

Christians struggle with sin often–every day.  Different Christians have different struggles.  The key word is struggle.  If you can sin and not struggle with it, meaning that it doesn’t bother you to sin, then you must examine your relationship with Jesus Christ.  If someone as great as the Holy Spirit comes to live within you, He will convict you of sin.  If there is no conviction, there is great reason to think that the Holy Spirit is not living on the inside–and that you do not have a genuine relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

In Mark 6:11 and Luke 9:5, Jesus instructs his disciples to shake the dust off their feet against a town if the people refused to hear the message.  In Matthew 23:37, Jesus laments Jerusalem’s rejection of him:  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”

Jesus is clear that people have rejected either him or his disciples.  It is inconclusive to say that those towns will no longer have an opportunity to respond to the Gospel.  However, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were often used as examples of ultimately rejecting God and receiving ultimate judgment.

In short, if God knocks, answer the door.  We are not promised another second of life.

Question:  If government  is in place by God, then are all laws God-given?

Answer:  Government, led by fallen leaders, can pass laws that are not Godly, that are even immoral.  It would be wrong to assume that those laws are God-given.  However, I believe that all laws are either God-given or are a perversion of a God-given law.

Question:  Should our government carry out God’s justice/wrath to the point of death to those who break the law?

Answer:  The Old Testament maxim, an eye for an eye, was given not so that people could exact revenge.  It was given to suppress revenge and to execute justice.  It was given so that the punishment would fit the crime.  This is still just.  There are certain crimes in the Old Testament that require death as the penalty.   I believe there are certain crimes today that still call for the death penalty.

However, as a recipient of God’s grace I am also grateful for His compassion toward me.  A believe who has been offended, especially to the point of losing a loved one, must be willing to forgive.

Check this 3 minute interview out from NPR:  http://www.npr.org/2011/05/20/136463363/forgiving-her-sons-killer-not-an-easy-thing

Question: How should citizens respond when their governments or political figures are not serving God?

Answer:  Elect new ones!  Pray for them to change!

Question:  What if your parents are telling you to do something something ungodly?  Do you do what they say or do you do what you’ve been taught in God’s eyes?

Remember the following reasons you should resist government.  They will apply to your parents as well.

1. If asked to violate God’s command.  (Acts 5…when authorities arrest the disciples for preaching and then order them not to teach)  They went right back to preaching.  We must obey God rather than men.  (Acts 5:28,29)
2. If asked to do an immoral act.  Examples:  falsifying records for “security reasons.”  Perjury for the sake of the department; covering for subordinates by lying.
3. Never go against Christian conscience.

Question:  What about the defense attorneys who are assigned the criminals?  Do they get in trouble if the criminal is found innocent?

Answer:  No.  As long as they are honestly defending the person, it is up to the court/jury to decide if the person is innocent or guilty.  However, if they are dishonest, they are only adding sin to sin.

Question:  Should there be christian lobbyists putting so much money into politics at all?

Answer:  Well, you asked the wrong person this question.  I personally struggle with all the money spent on politics while children go hungry, communities are in such desperate need, and the Gospel needs to reach the ends of the earth.  However, we must effectively address the issues and sometimes that requires money.  We should do it with great discretion.