I understand that the Bible says that you must repent and be baptized to get the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit, but my friend who is studying the Bible believes that he was saved and received the Holy Spirit when he was Pentecostal even though he didn’t believe in a “biblical baptism” because […]
As far as God condoning killing, I understand that he hates sin and so seeks to establish justice on the earth; however, it’s not that he condones killing that bothers me, but that he used Israel to do it! Israel was as sinful (if not more so) than the nations surrounding them. Sinful people killing […]
The simple answer is that we are not required to keep it holy. This is a basic New Testament doctrine which, unfortunately, many religious groups have distorted. To prove this, consider Colossians 2:9f. “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who […]
I have already answered a couple of very similar question. Let me make a single statement and refer you to the questions and answers provided below. When God created the universe, he also created time. God exists outside of time, and therefore the question “What did God do before he created the universe?” does not […]
The meaning of your question is unclear. I can think of a few possible interpretations of this question: 1. Are the teachings of the Old Testament followed by certain religious groups today? 2. Is it correct to teach that Christians should be following all or part of the Old Testament Law? 3. Does the New […]
John 14;13 John 16:23-24 John15:16 John 15:7 It’s clear that if we ask Jesus anything in his name he will do it for us. Every prayer , I pray it in Jesus’ name, but not all of them are answered. On the other hand I can find many conditions for an answered prayer, for example […]
The NIV has the term ‘deaconnesses’ in the footnotes. Biblically is there such a thing as a deaconness and what would their role be if there is? There are two questions implied here. One is whether there is such a thing as a deaconess, and the other is whether this is implied by the Bible. […]
I’m studying with two Mormons currently and a question was brought up that stumped me. I was asked “what happens to people who haven’t heard about Christ”. They weren’t referring to individuals today but to the time before Christ and even people on different continents. After reading the book of Mormon I see they believe […]
In Gen 16:10-12 and 17:20 God promised that He would make descendant of Ishmael to be too numerous to count and that they would be a great nation. Was it already part of God’s plan to make the Islam religion to be the second biggest religion believe by people in the world? Referring to Gen […]
I have been asked a lot of questions over the years, but believe it or not, no one has ever asked me this question! Without context, I am not sure exactly what question you are asking. I would assume you are asking one of the following two questions: 1) What is the philosophical/theological definition of […]
Will people who make it Heaven have free will there? Is there sin in Heaven, and if we have free will, wouldn’t we have a choice to sin? What about Lucifer, how did he get kicked out of Heaven, or was he ever in Heaven. This is a very interesting theological question. It is really […]
What is the importance of God’s anger against everyone, especially in the Old Testament through the plagues and such? First, it is extremely important to understand that anger toward those who rebel against him is a very real part of the God of the universe. It is natural that Christians should emphasize the love of […]
Believe it or not, the Bible does not give a direct, straightforward answer to this question, so one must infer the answer from passages indirectly related to the question. Common sense tells us that God definitely would not send a baby who never had the opportunity to even know about God or to commit willful […]
Certainly there are a number of views on what Jesus meant when he referred to the “unforgivable sin” of blasphemy against the Spirit. Rather than summarize the many points of view, please allow me to give my own best understanding of what Jesus had in mind when he mentioned blaspheming against the Spirit. A general […]
This is one of those unanswerable questions. I myself struggled over this question at earlier points in my life. Philosophers have certainly struggled with this question as well. Although I cannot give a totally satisfactory answer to your question, God himself provided a hint of an answer in Exodus 3:13,14. When Moses asked God what […]
In asking this question, you are bringing up a very broad subject of theology. This area of theology is known as eschatology. Eschatology is the study of end times–such concepts as the nature of a future Kingdom of God, of Judgment Day, of heaven and hell. In the Bible, the end times could be used […]
Emperor Constantine of Rome was the first to write a law of worship on Sunday. Why do so many religions go to church on Sunday when God’s day of worship is the Sabbath day?(Isaiah 66. 22-23.) It may be true that Constantine wrote some sort of Sunday worship law. To be honest, I am not […]
Let me try to answer the question I think you are asking, and feel free to ask a follow-up question. Let us first consider the use of the word sin in the Bible. The principal word in Hebrew translated as sin is the word chatta’ah and its derivatives such as chata and chet. The word […]
Was the Holy Spirit already in existence during the Old Testament or only after the New Testament? What was Holy Spirit doing in the beginning? The Holy Spirit, being God, existed before the creation of the world. He was not created, but has always existed, just like the Father and the Son. As proof of […]
I am a student at the University of Georgia and I am taking Human Anatomy and Physiology. My question is this: I learned the other day in our text that basically all thoughts and emotions stem from our nervous system, specifically nerve cells, as well as hormones, etc. When I die, these processes, chemicals, cells, […]
Are Jews who lived through the centuries saved by the OT standards and is Israel still the Holy Land? Bear in mind that no one was ever saved through obeying the Law of the Old Testament. “By dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in […]
Psalm 51:5 says David was born into sin, and in sin did his mother conceive him. Can you explain to me please what that passage is referring to and the meaning of it. I’m kind of confused and it seems like it’s talking about original sin or necessary infant baptism? Also, Romans 5:12 says sin […]
How do we know how to interpret the Bible correctly? How many interpretations are there in general? I was thinking one, but I don’t know for sure. You are asking a very broad question. One can take an entire college course in this subject. In fact, one can earn a PhD in the study of […]
I was reading your answer to the question about if anyone was saved before Jesus came. I wanted to ask an additional question: Do you know any scriptures which contain hints from the OT and NT of people getting accepted to Heaven based on their acts of faith? Also I read the Douglas Jacoby answer […]
I have been a disciple of Jesus for five years. I am having a hard time overcoming my sinful nature especially with my purity…a lot of times I am even confused about whether I am still saved. I have been falling to a lot of pornography, masturbation, and impure thoughts…over and over again…the Bible gives […]
Will people who have never heard of God/Christianity be saved in the end? Like for example African tribes or monks in the mountains of China, people who’ve never even heard of the name God? This is the classic question I have heard dozens of times. The other one is “what about someone who wants to […]
Was everyone before the New Covenant saved? This is one of the easier questions I have been asked. Certainly not. If this were true, then that would mean that thanks to Jesus it became harder for a person to be saved. In fact, Jesus himself said in Matthew 7 that the gate is small and […]
In the Transfiguration, (Mt 17:3) Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus. Where had they been all the while? They weren’t in heaven right? Jesus said no one had been to heaven except Himself (Jn 3:13). Then where were they?? Also what exactly happened in the passage given below? I mean aren’t the dead to rise […]
Can you tell me what your view is about how God communicated to humans?. Did he do it in speech, did he send men or another way? In the OT there’s a verse were God spoke with Moses and were he showed himself to Moses on a rock/mountain. Moses was not able to see God’s […]
Why did God allow Solomon to have “700 wives and 300 concubines”? If monogamy is such an important principle in Christianity how do we explain this in the light of Biblical perspective? I would say that God allowed Solomon to have so many wives and concubines for the same reason he allows us to commit […]
I’m thinking about how perfectly ordered the whole universe is. It is a masterpiece and it actually would be logical to think that there is something or somebody behind it. However it is so hard for me to believe and to accept that this powerful creator, who created all of this, is the human-focused God […]
Why does God allow slavery in the Old Testament? The reason the Bible talks about slavery is that slavery was a very common phenomenon in both Old Testament and New Testament times. It is only natural that the topic would come up, both from a legal stand point and simply as a common part of […]
Can you explain to me clearly about the “Holy Trinity”, which the Catholics believe in. Is there a Holy Trinity? I believe my friend Douglas Jacoby has done a great job of answering this question already and would send you to www.douglasjacoby.com and click on archived material for an answer. Let me give you a […]
Isn’t Jesus Christ supposed to be more precious than God’s project of creation? (I mean the creation in Genesis) Was God pleased to let his son be crucified and face death etc…? Didn’t God know the future and realize that people would reject Jesus and crucify him? You are describing the situation exactly. Yes, Jesus […]
In the Bible it is said and we take that as right that God is not physical, he is out of time and space and that he is the spirit. But why does the Bible say that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God or that we will sit, sing and clap with […]
I’ve heard a lot of people say that Islam is a religion of war instead of peace, because of Mohammed’s actions, history, references in the Koran, the terrorists etc. But the God of the Bible murdered and let his people slaughter many peoples who were not living by his standards. How can I explain that […]
Can you help me understand the meaning of the Sabbath Day in Hebrews 4? In Hebrews 4, the Hebrew writer is using the analogy of the Sabbath rest to the future rest for those who enter heaven. To bring this home you really need to go back to Hebrews 3:12-19. In this section, the writer […]
What is the difference between the Hebrew name Yeshua, Yahweh and God, Jesus? The bible says that it is through his name that we are saved. Then why do we call him Jesus instead of his Hebrew name, Yeshua? First, let me be humble and confess that I am absolutely not an expert in either […]
When God picked the few people to be his followers, do we know how he did that? And the people who live in a place where there is no possible way to convert into Christianity, are they guaranteed to go to hell? If he loves all his children equally, shouldn’t he give them all an […]
How does Christianity explain the different races? And what about the fact that early humans were shorter on average? My friends say that we have evolved to grow taller. Is this true? To put it simply, the Bible does not explain the different races. The difference between the races has to do with genetic material […]
Where did God come from? You ask what is really more a question for the philosopher. This is a question which philosophers have pondered from the time belief in God or even in “gods” has existed. In other words, you ask a question which has been asked since there were people. Let me give the […]
How can people say the power of the Holy Spirit was for the apostles and not for today? What scripture would support such a claim? That would depend on what is meant by the claim. If someone claims that we cannot receive the Holy Spirit today, they are obviously wrong. As it says in Acts […]
In the Old Testament, God is often given animal sacrifices 1) What is their significance ? 2) Why is not it being practiced in Christian churches today? Answer: The signigicance of the OT sacrifices depends on which sacrifice you are talking about. There were the; 1. Sin Offering. Atonement for a personal willful sin. (Lev […]
God tells us to be merciful and loving to our enemies (Ex 23:4-5, Mt 5:43-48, Lk 6:27-35). But God on the other hand will send his enemies to hell for eternity (Lk 16:19-26, 9:43-48, Jude7, Rev 20:14-15). To state the same point differently, in the Old Testament we are taught justice in an eye for […]
I have been a disciple for 5 years. During this time, a few of our brothers and sisters have passed away. Many times I have heard either the lead evangelist, or staff say that, that brother or sister is in heaven. This has bothered me for some time, so I have begun to study it […]
Miracle of Science or Perspective of the observer; Did the sun stand still? God is a God of order, yet he performs miracles outside of the natural laws that govern our world. From a scientific perspective, even a miracle would not allow the sun to suddenly simply stop in the sky. That would mean that […]
Could the characters “Cain and Abel” and “Jacob and Esau?” be perhaps symbolic or representative of a species, not actual individuals? Or be real individuals that have symbolic meaning for different species that have existed in the past? Personally, I would hold out that Cain and Abel (and Adam and Eve for that matter) were […]
I would like to know difference between choice and fate in our Christian walk. Starting from Adam to Judas. This is certainly one of the most significant theological/doctrinal debates in the history of Christianity?indeed in all religions. Given that God is all-knowing and all-powerful, and given that he exists outside of time, it seems logical […]
I was posed with a question that I did not know exactly how to answer, one of many that I am unable to answer is; “If you discovered a truth that was truer than the Bible, would you go for it?” In other words, if you were to discover there to be a higher truth […]
Since Jesus is both God and a man, how can the death of Jesus (and his experience in Hell) make sense? I understand that Jesus had to go there to pay for ours sins but how can God be almighty and in Satan’s hand (even if it is 3 days). I will attempt to give […]
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