Houston: Creating a safe place for questions and answers

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My favorite memory from the past month was our Scripture debate.

My small group was studying 2 Timothy 3:16-17—“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Our point was to talk about how Scripture is the authority in our lives.

angel rivera130Angel RiveraThe discussion ended up going in a different direction. Our group ended up asking questions about what exactly Paul meant by “Scripture” and whether we could really trust the Bible. This time was unexpected and turned into a big debate. Our students decided we needed more time to hash out this topic. So, we planned on meeting within a couple of weeks after we had all done a little research.

I was really anxious. I’m not the type to argue or debate, especially with someone who isn’t willing to listen. Yet, I felt sure this was what God was asking me do. The idea solidified when my director’s wife sent me a text message about what authority looks like. She said, “John 10:18 describes Jesus’ authority. He says, ‘My authority allows me to give my life.’ His kind of authority looks an awful lot like servitude.”

Solid answers

I understood these kids came from a place where the church tried to suffocate their questions. So, they left Christianity because they couldn’t find answers. Now they are here, and we have the opportunity to embrace them in their questioning and give them solid answers.

The day of the debate came, and it went very well. Interesting questions arose, along with some good answers. The best part was I could tell the Holy Spirit was guiding the conversation. Near the end, a girl asked, “Well, if there is truth inside the Bible that can make me virtuous and truth outside of the Bible that can make me virtuous, why would I make the effort to read it?”

I responded: “It’s valid that there is truth outside of what we consider the canon of Scripture, but the Bible is special—in particular because it claims to hold truth that has specific guidelines that lead us towards reconciling with God. No other book has this claim.”

The student asked, “Oh, what are the specific guidelines that Christians believe that can reconcile us back to God?” I couldn’t believe my ears! This girl who claimed to be atheist just listened to the gospel and asked how she could be saved. So, I explained what it looked like to entrust your life to the Lord and what faith looks like.


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Creating a safe place to question

I could not have imagined God wanted to take something so threatening and scary and use it to plant seeds for the gospel and salvation. He wanted to use it to bring life, not the death I had anticipated. I was so amazed at God’s heart and his ability to use this time for his glory. We didn’t know it, but we created a safe place for seeking nonbelievers to ask questions and expect satisfactory answers.

Angel Rivera is serving with Go Now Missions as a campus missionary at the University of Houston.


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