Stand Firm: 2017 Regional Conference

A questions and answers session with Drs. W. Robert Godfrey, Stephen Nichols, and Derek Thomas.

Questions:

1. Dr. Godfrey, what do you hope to communicate to the church with your latest book about the Psalms?(00:20)
2. For decades I've been praying for dear family members to come to faith in Christ. I know God can save them. Sometimes I'm filled with fear that He (God) will not save them. This terrifies me. I want to be filled with faith and confidence, not fear and doubt. Any words of advice?(02:04)
3. How do I handle passages like the warnings in Hebrews about falling away from the faith and the admonitions and Revelation to overcome till the end and the parable of the sower when Jesus explained that the person believed, but later did not believe any longer?(0:00)
4. Where was the true church during the Middle Ages? With emperors and bishops and much politics, were there true gospel believers in the midst or were the true believers in community outside of this context?"(07:49)
5. How can one best be a good steward of the talents and resources God has blessed him or her with?(09:53)
6. Should we as Christians even consider cremation after death knowing that the Scriptures speak only of burial and knowing that our bodies are the temple?(12:51)
7. If according to 1 Corinthians 7:14 we have warrant to baptize infants, does that same verse give us warrant to baptize unbelieving spouses if they consent?(18:37)
8. How do we effectively answer why a loving God would allow all the horrific pain to people?(21:48)
9. How do we respond to opponents of Christianity who say that God changed when He entered into creation and took on flesh?(26:19)
10. What advice do you have for today's Reformed churches who may be focusing on accessibility, comfort, or certain preferences in their approach to worship at the expense of reverence?(27:12)
11. Many churches have altar calls. How should a church that believes in election phrase the call?(34:14)
12. If we speak prophetically to ethical and political issues, we run the risk of not being gospel-centered people, but if we preach the gospel without addressing social issues the Bible speaks to, we run the risk of dishonesty and a lack of love for the place of our exile. Is there a way to do both?(35:59)
13. What is the responsibility of parents of an adult child that declares themself as gay, one that claims to be a Christian and gives God credit for it saying, “God made me this way and He doesn't make mistakes”?(38:09)
14. In the face of an increasingly militant and intolerant secularism, how do we as laypersons and elders prevent and inoculate our churches against its agendas and worldview?(41:53)

Note: Answers given reflect the views of the individual speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dr. R.C. Sproul and Ligonier Ministries. Here is our Statement of Faith.