Questions Without Answers

By A. C. Thomas — From "The Key to Truth" by E. H. Lake

Many people have a very limited view of God's plan of salvation and, when approached with questions, are unable to give an answer—or unable to give a correct answer. This can be, first and foremost, attributed to a lack of true Bible study. It can also be caused by the bias of denominational beliefs, creeds, individual interpretations, or relying on other people to answer for them.

But what does the Bible have to say about the individual Christian being able to give an answer when questioned?

"Give diligence to present yourself approved by God, a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed, properly handling the Word of Truth."
— 2 Timothy 2:15

Believers are told to "Give diligence," or "be diligent". Why? To be "approved by God" and "not to be ashamed" when questions are asked. How and what are they told to study? By "properly handling the Word of Truth," which is the Bible.

Next, look at what the Apostle Peter says concerning questions and answers in 1 Peter 3:15:

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear:"
— 1 Peter 3:15

Within this short verse of Scripture, there are several key principles to consider:

Be READY to give an answer — be prepared.
Be ready ALWAYS — do not put off a question.
Be ready always to give an answer — evasion excites suspicion.
Give an answer to EVERYONE who asks you.
A REASON is asked for — not an assertion.
The answer should be a reason of THE HOPE [not the fear] that is in you.
Answer with HUMILITY toward people, and REVERENT FEAR toward God.

Below is a list of 213 questions that will help to clarify God's plan of salvation as set forth in the Holy Bible, so that when questions are asked, correct answers can be given. To those holding a limited view of God's plan of salvation, they are truly Questions Without Answers; but to those who rely on God's Word, the answers become apparent as His truth is revealed to them.

Since we are required to love our enemies, can we not safely infer that God loves His enemies? (Matthew 5:44 — "But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,")
If God loves His enemies, will He punish them more than will be for their good?
Would endless punishment be for the good of any being?
Since God loves His friends, if He loves His enemies as well, are not all human beings the objects of His love?
If God loves only those who love Him, how is He any better than the sinner? (Luke 6:32-33 — "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.")
Since "love doesn’t think evil," can God design the ultimate evil of a single soul? (1 Corinthians 13:5 — "doesn’t behave inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;")
Since "love doesn’t harm a neighbor," can God inflict, cause, or allow to be inflicted an endless harm? (Romans 13:10 — "Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.")
Since we are forbidden to be overcome by evil, can we safely suppose that God will be overcome by evil? (Romans 12:21 — "Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.")
Wouldn't the infliction of endless punishment prove that God HAD been overcome by evil?
If a person does wrong by returning evil for evil, wouldn't God do wrong if He were to do the same?
Wouldn't endless punishment be the returning of evil for evil?
Since we are commanded "overcome evil with good," can we not safely infer that God will do the same? (Romans 12:21 — "Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.")
Would the infliction of endless punishment be overcoming evil with good?
If God hates the sinner, does the sinner do wrong in hating Him?
Is God a changeable being? (James 1:17 — "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor shifting shadow.")
If God loves His enemies now, will He not always love them?
Is it just for God to be "kind toward the unthankful and evil" in their present life? (Luke 6:35 — "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.")
Would it be unjust for God to be kind to all people in a future state?
If all people justly deserve endless punishment, won't those who are saved be saved unjustly?
If God "will by no means clear the guilty," by what means can just punishment be evaded? (Exodus 34:7 — "keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children’s children, on the third and on the fourth generation.")
Since no person can measure out endless punishment to their neighbor, will endless punishment be measured out to them? (Luke 6:38 — "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to your lap. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.")
Would it be merciful for God to inflict endless punishment? -- that is, merciful to the sufferer?
Can something be just if it is not merciful?
Don't cruelty and injustice go hand in hand?
Can something be merciful if it is not just?
Does divine justice demand the infliction of pain from which mercy shrinks?
Does divine mercy require anything that justice refuses to grant?
If the demands of divine justice oppose the requirements of mercy, is not God divided against Himself?
If the requirements of mercy oppose the demands of God's justice, can His kingdom stand? (Mark 3:24 — "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.")
If the justice and mercy of God oppose each other in any way, do they "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace"?
If justice and mercy oppose each other's requirements, can God be a just God and a Savior? (Isaiah 45:21 — "Declare and present it. Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it of old? Haven’t I, Yahweh? There is no other God besides me, a just God and a Savior; there is no one besides me.")
If "a God all mercy is an unjust God," wouldn't a God all justice be an unmerciful God?
Is there any such thing in God as unjust mercy, or unmerciful justice?
Is there any such thing in God as just cruelty, or merciful injustice?
If you had sufficient power, wouldn't you deliver all people from sin?
Are you more merciful than the God Who created you?
'Can a woman forget her nursing child?' (Isaiah 49:15 — "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you.")
Is the Creator of human sympathy less benevolent than the creature?
If God WOULD save all people, but CANNOT, is He infinite in power?
If God CAN save all people, but WILL NOT, is He infinite in goodness?
Does God DESIRE the salvation of all people? (1 Timothy 2:3-4 — "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and come to the full knowledge of the truth.")
Since God is righteous, must not the desire for universal salvation be a RIGHTEOUS desire?
Is it true that "the desire of the righteous will be granted?" (Proverbs 10:24 — "What the wicked dreads will overtake him, but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.")
Did God intend universal salvation when He created humanity?
Will God carry His original plan into execution?
Can finite humanity frustrate the purposes of the Almighty?
Is every individual obligated to be thankful for their existence?
Will this obligation continue eternally?
Can anyone be thankful for something that, on the whole, is not a blessing?
If anyone is made endlessly miserable, will they still be obligated to thank God for existence?
Would endless misery benefit the Almighty, as the INFLICTOR?
Would endless misery benefit the saints, as SPECTATORS?
Would endless misery benefit the sinner, as the SUFFERER?
If endless punishment is the "wages of sin," could the sinner ever receive payment in full? (Romans 6:23 — "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.")
Since a human being is a finite creature, can they commit an infinite sin?
If a person cannot commit an infinite sin, can they deserve endless punishment?
If one sin is infinite, can a million sins be any more?
If ONE sin is NOT infinite, can a million sins amount to an infinite sin?
If sin is infinite, can one sin be greater than another?
If sin is infinite, can it be true that "where sin abounded, grace ABOUNDED MORE EXCEEDINGLY?" (Romans 5:20 — "The law came in that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly,")
If sin is infinite, can it ever be finished or brought to an end?
If ONE sin deserves an eternity of punishment, how much punishment do TEN sins deserve?
Do you earnestly DESIRE the salvation of all people?
Is it true that God "opens his hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing?" (Psalms 145:16 — "You open your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing.")
Do you fervently PRAY for the salvation of all people? (1 Timothy 2:1 — "I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men:")
Do you pray in FAITH, without doubting? (James 1:6 — "But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed.")
Are you aware that "whatever is not of faith is sin?" (Romans 14:23 — "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it isn’t of faith; and whatever isn’t of faith is sin.")
Would God require us to pray for all people, and to pray in faith, unless He intends for all people to be saved?
If you believe endless misery to be the truth of God, why should you desire and pray that it proves false?
Can the pleasure of the Almighty be contrary to His determined will?
Would the infliction of endless misery bring pleasure to God?
Can God be glorified by something that brings Him no pleasure?
Since Jesus "tasted death for everyone," can it be true that "the pleasure of Yahweh will prosper in his hand" if some are never saved? (Hebrews 2:9 — "But we see him who has been made a little lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste death for everyone."; Isaiah 53:10 — "Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring. He will prolong his days, and Yahweh’s pleasure will prosper in his hand.")
If God "declares the end from the beginning," can the final destiny of humanity be contrary to His will? (Isaiah 46:10 — "declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure;’")
Can endless misery occur contrary to the GOOD PLEASURE of the Almighty?
Can God WILL anything contrary to His knowledge?
Did God know when He created humanity that a portion of His creatures would be endlessly miserable?
If God, when He created, did not know the outcome of creation, is He infinite in knowledge?
Power is the ability to do; is knowledge simply the ability to know?
If God knew when He created humanity that some would be eternally miserable, did He not will this to be their doom?
If God willed the endless misery of a portion of His creatures, why does Scripture say that "he desires all people to be saved?" (1 Timothy 2:4 — "who desires all people to be saved and come to the full knowledge of the truth.")
If the Scriptures said that God "will have all people to be damned," could we safely infer that some might be saved?
If the Scriptures testify that God "desires all people to be saved," can we safely infer that some may be damned?
If God created an endless hell before He created humanity, did He know there would be any use for it?
If God knew there would be a use for an endless hell, must He not have created some people for endless misery?
If God made an endless hell, was it included in the works that He pronounced "very good?" (Genesis 1:31 — "God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.")
If an endless hell exists and was not made before the creation of humanity, when was it made?
If there is a personal devil, who made him?
Can sin exist in heaven?
If there was sin in heaven, couldn't sin be committed there again?
If an angel of light became a devil, wasn't Paul mistaken when he said Satan masquerades as an angel of light? (2 Corinthians 11:14 — "And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.")
Since sin presupposes temptation of some sort, who tempted a holy angel to sin?
If an angel could sin without a devil to tempt him, can't we sin without a devil to tempt us?
If a holy angel was tempted to sin by surrounding evil, is heaven a holy place?
If an angel was tempted by evil passions, could he have been holy?
If an angel became a devil by sinning, was Adam's sin really the original sin?
If Adam became mortal (subject to death) by sinning, must he not have been created immortal?
If Adam had been created immortal, could he ever have died?
If Adam sinned without inheriting total depravity, why should inherited depravity be assigned as the cause of our sins?
Would there be any more impropriety in imputing MY sins to Adam than in imputing HIS sins to ME?
If people are totally depraved by nature, must not children be so as well?
If children are totally depraved, is it true that "God's Kingdom belongs to such as these?" (Mark 10:14 — "But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said to them, 'Allow the little children to come to me! Don’t forbid them, for God’s Kingdom belongs to such as these.'")
People are to be washed from their sins. If they are totally depraved, what is there to wash?
If evil people and impostors "will grow worse and worse", can they be totally depraved at first? (2 Timothy 3:13 — "But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.")
If human reason is "carnal and deceptive," why did Yahweh say, "Come now, and let us REASON together?" (Isaiah 1:18 — "'Come now, and let’s reason together,' says Yahweh: 'Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.'")
If reason is deceptive, why do some people reason against the use of reason?
Can an effect exist without a cause powerful enough to produce it?
If "we love Him because He first loved us," is it true that we must first love HIM before He will love us? (1 John 4:19 — "We love him, because he first loved us.")
If "we love Him because He first loved us," isn't it clear that He loved US when we did not love HIM?
If God loved US when we did not love HIM, isn't our love for Him the EFFECT (and not the CAUSE) of His love for US?
Was it consistent with divine justice to love us when we did not love Him?
If God once loved us, will not that love continue eternally?
If the love of God is the cause that produces love in humanity, can anger and wrath produce the same effect?
Is it the revealed will of God that all people should be saved?
Can God will all people to be saved, knowing that some will be forever lost?
If God has two wills, why is double-mindedness condemned in the Scriptures?
If God has two wills, why does the Bible say, "He is unique" (or of one mind)? (Job 23:13 — "But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? What his soul desires, even that he does.")
If God has a secret will, how did you gain knowledge of it?
Can something be a secret if it has been revealed?
If God revealed His secret will to "the saints," why should they reveal it to "the wicked"?
If God under any circumstances wills the endless misery of a human soul, how does He differ from Satan?
Can Jesus Christ be the Savior of any more than He actually saves?
Can Jesus be "the Savior of the world" if the world is not saved by Him? (1 John 4:14 — "We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world.")
Is Christ in any sense the Savior of unbelievers?
If Christ is in no sense the Savior of unbelievers, why are unbelievers called upon to believe in Christ as their Savior?
If unbelievers are not called upon to believe in Christ as their Savior, what are they to believe?
Must not the thing to be believed be true before it is believed?
Must not the thing to be believed continue to be true, whether it is believed or disbelieved?
"For what if some were without faith? Will their lack of faith nullify the faithfulness of God?" (Romans 3:3 — "For what if some were without faith? Will their lack of faith nullify the faithfulness of God?")
Is it true that "God has shut up all to disobedience, that he might have mercy on all?" (Romans 11:32 — "For God has shut up all to disobedience, that he might have mercy on all.")
Can God be "especially of those who believe" unless He is actually the Savior of all? (1 Timothy 4:10 — "For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set our trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.")
If belief and good works in this life are essential to eternal salvation in the next, can infants be saved?
Can the good actions of a finite human being merit an infinite reward?
Can the evil actions of a finite human being merit infinite punishment?
If people are saved by works, is salvation by grace?
If one person is saved by grace, why shouldn't all be saved in the same manner?
Is God partial?
Can the faith of partialists be based on the wisdom that is "full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality?" (James 3:17 — "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.")
Can sufficient provision be made for the salvation of all people if some are never saved?
Must not sufficient provision be sufficient to overcome the will of the creature?
Is there any other way to determine the sufficiency of the means employed than by the accomplishment of the intended goal?
Does not the law of God require all people to love Him supremely and their neighbors as themselves?
Is it true that "not one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished?" (Matthew 5:18 — "For most certainly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.")
Does not justice require of us the fulfillment of God's law?
Will not justice be eternally violated if the law of God is not universally fulfilled?
Can those who are made eternally miserable fulfill the law of love?
Can justice require the obedience of the sinner and at the same time require their eternal disobedience?
If whoever "offers thanksgiving glorifies God," can He be glorified by those who have no cause to praise Him? (Psalms 50:23 — "Whoever offers his thanksgiving sacrifices glorifies me, and prepares his way so that I will show him God’s salvation.")
If anyone is made eternally miserable, can they have any cause to praise their Maker?
Will God ever place some of His creatures in a situation where they cannot praise Him?
Do you believe that endless punishment would display the glory of God?
Can you rejoice in the hope of the glory of God?
Wouldn't the salvation of half of humanity glorify God more than the salvation of one-fourth?
Wouldn't the salvation of nine-tenths of humanity glorify God more than the salvation of one-half?
Can we give "glory to God in the highest" without believing in the salvation of all people?
If "all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God," would eternal sinning fix the problem? (Romans 3:23 — "for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;")
Shall "every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father?" (Philippians 2:11 — "and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.")
Is endless misery "good news of great joy which will be to all the people?" (Luke 2:10 — "The angel said to them, 'Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.'")
Could a person be endlessly miserable without being endlessly a sinner?
If sin exists eternally, can it be true that Christ was to finish transgression and make an end of sin? (Daniel 9:24 — "Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.")
Since Jesus gave himself as a ransom for all, can he ever "see the suffering of his soul and be satisfied" if endless misery is true? (1 Timothy 2:6 — "who gave himself as a ransom for all; the testimony in its own times;"; Isaiah 53:11 — "After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself; and he will bear their iniquities.")
Do you hope that endless misery is true?
Is "faith the assurance of things hoped for?" (Hebrews 11:1 — "Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.")
If endless misery is not something hoped for, can it be a part of the Christian faith?
Is it certain that a single soul will be eternally lost?
Is it certain that a single soul will be saved?
Is it certain that all will not be damned?
Is it certain that all will not be saved?
Can something be certain if it is not decreed?
If it is certain that one soul will be saved, must there not be a decree concerning the salvation of a set number?
If the number of the saved is fixed, must not the number of the damned be equally set?
If there is no certainty regarding the final destiny of humanity, is not salvation a work of chance?
How is chance any better than Atheism?
If God knew when He created what the end of each soul would be, isn't that end as certain as if it were decreed?
Is not a righteous person attentive to the life of their animal? (Proverbs 12:10 — "A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.")
Will not the merciful God always be as merciful to His creatures as a righteous person is to their animal?
Is it true that Yahweh's "tender mercies are over all his works?" (Psalms 145:9 — "Yahweh is good to all. His tender mercies are over all his works.")
Is it true that the Almighty has "no variation, nor is he distorted by shadows?" (James 1:17 — "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor shifting shadow.")
Would there be any tender mercy in inflicting endless misery?
Are the tender mercies of the Lord like the mercies of the wicked, which are cruel? (Proverbs 12:10 — "A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.")
If God is not the Father of sinners, why should sinners pray, saying, "Our Father... forgive us our debts?" (Matthew 6:9-12 — "Pray like this: 'Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.'")
"Don’t we all have one Father? Hasn’t one God created us?" (Malachi 2:10 — "Don’t we all have one father? Hasn’t one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?")
If God is the Father of all people, will He do less for His children than earthly parents would do for theirs?
Is it true that God disciplines us "for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness?" (Hebrews 12:10 — "For they indeed for a few days punished us as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.")
Would endless punishment be for our profit?
Would endless punishment "yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it?" (Hebrews 12:11 — "All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been exercised thereby.")
Is there an "afterward" to eternity?
Can any doctrine be too good to be true?
Will God contend forever, or always be angry? (Isaiah 57:16 — "For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always angry; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls who I have made.")
Will the Lord cast off forever? (Lamentations 3:31-33 — "For the Lord will not cast off forever. For though he causes grief, yet he will have compassion according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses. For he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.")
Can someone be a Christian if they worship the Lord out of fear of the devil?
Can someone be a Christian if they claim that if they believed in the salvation of all people, they would not worship God?
Can someone be a Christian if they ask, "If all people are to be saved, what is the point of being virtuous?"
Some people say that if they didn't believe in endless punishment, they would take their fill of sin. How much sin would it take to fill a Christian?
If "the goodness of God leads you to repentance," why should His eternal wrath be preached to sinners? (Romans 2:4 — "Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?")
If "the goodness of God leads to repentance," why shouldn't it be supposed that repentance leads to the goodness of God?
If "the goodness of God leads to repentance," aren't the unrepentant the objects of His goodness?
Is not the goodness of God equal in scope and eternal duration with His wisdom and power?
Since the wisdom of God can never change to folly, nor His power to weakness, will His goodness ever change to hatred?
Can God be universally and eternally good if endless misery is true for even a single soul?
If all people deserve endless punishment, wouldn't it be right for God to inflict it?
"Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25 — "That be far from you, to do after this manner, to kill the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked. That be far from you! Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?")
If it would be right for God to punish all people eternally, wouldn't it be wrong for Him not to do it?
Since inflicting endless misery would be returning evil for evil, would it be right for God to inflict it?
If returning evil for evil were right for God, wouldn't it be equally right for human beings?
Since "fear has punishment" and true religion brings happiness, can fear produce true religion? (1 John 4:18 — "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.")
Since "perfect love casts out fear," won't fear cast out perfect love? (1 John 4:18 — "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.")
Can fear fill the soul with perfect love?
Must not those who "believe and tremble" possess the faith of demons? (James 2:19 — "You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder.")
Does believing in endless misery cause the believer to "rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory?" (1 Peter 1:8 — "whom, not having known, you love; in whom, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory,")
Can a belief in anything short of universal salvation fill the soul with "joy and peace"?
Won't the devil and all his works be destroyed? (Hebrews 2:14 — "Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,"; 1 John 3:8 — "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil.")
Won't death, the last enemy, be swallowed up in victory and destroyed? (Isaiah 25:8 — "He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord Yahweh will wipe away tears from off all faces. He will take the reproach of his people away from off all the earth, for Yahweh has spoken it."; 1 Corinthians 15:26-54 — "The last enemy that will be abolished is death... Then when this corruptible will have put on incorruption, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'")