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VILLAGE LEADER'S QUESTION KEY

Kolin follows the teaching in Genesis

May 12, 2004

One Siawi man's question about Genesis 6:5 provided an excellent teaching opportunity for missionaries.

Since mid-March, missionaries Jason Swanson and Tom Brendle have been teaching chronologically through key passages of Scripture, in order to lay a firm foundation for the Siawi people to understand the Gospel. Last week's lessons were primarily about Cain and Seth's descendents and Noah.

"One thing that we have been praying for is that God would open the eyes of the Siawi people to take responsibility for their personal sin," wrote Danielle Brendle, Tom's wife. "They are masters at blaming others for their sins and especially blaming Satan.

"They will say, 'Oh, Satan shot my belly, and that is why I did that.'" This means Satan caused them to sin and therefore they are not accountable for their actions.

So the question Yeneb asked last week was important.

Yeneb, the village leader, pointed out Genesis chapter 6:5: "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

"According to the verse," Yeneb said, "the people were only thinking about bad things. Did Satan speak the bad thoughts into their minds?"

Tom replied that Satan is not even mentioned in the verse, then asked the people, "Did God look at Satan putting evil thoughts into men's minds and say I wish I had never made Satan? No, that is not what God says."

The Siawis agreed that God's Word did not say that. The Bible says those were the thoughts of men, and God held them responsible.

Pray that this important teaching of Scripture would be clear to the Siawis, as Tom and Jason continue to teach.