Question:
Is there such a thing as evil? Are people naturally evil or is it because they do not know what they do?
Answer:
It is in our fallen nature to do wrong. We are born in sin and shaped in iniquity (read Psalm 51:5). The Bible tells us that there is none that does good (see Psalm 14:3; 53:3), and that our hearts are only evil continually (see Genesis 6:5). That’s why we need the Lord Jesus as our Savior. We cannot save ourselves.
Question:
Why do you feel men should not date other men?
Answer:
The scriptures are clear in telling us that this is sin. Sometimes, those that totally reject the Lord are given up to vile affections, such as homosexuality (Romans 1: 26-28). In the Old Testament, it is called an abomination (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13). Change from homosexuality is possible through faith in the Lord Jesus (read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). If one is living a homosexual life, we should still seek to show him/her the love of Christ and lead them to salvation.
Question:
Why are men said to be superior to women even hundreds of years ago?
While many men may act like they are superior to women, the Bible tells us plainly that this is not true. Ephesians
Question:
How do you know what spiritual gift you have?
Answer:
All spiritual gifts are given to serve the Lord, edify the church, or lead people to Christ for salvation. Some gifts that are mentioned are found in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4. It may not be necessary to know what your gift(s) are. Sometimes, if we think we have a particular gift, we may limit our labors for the Lord based on that gift. We should “stir up” (2 Timothy 1:6) our gift by using it, but be ready to be used of the Lord in whatever way He wants to use us.
“Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church” (1 Corinthians 14:12).
Question: There are many good versions of the Bible in print today. Most people have their preferences like KJV, NAS, NIV, Darby, etc. While some are translations of the original languages, some are merely paraphrases of English versions. We should pray about what version we should use and the Holy Spirit will lead us to understand what we are reading.
Is there one version of the Bible that is the right version to read?
Answer:
Question:
What happens during the rapture? Will unbelievers have a second chance to be saved?
Answer:
We read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 to show that those who had rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ will have no second chance to be saved, but the Lord will send a strong delusion that they might believe Satan’s lies. It is so important to believe on the Lord Jesus now, before it’s too late.
Question: Why did the three Hebrew boys have girls’ names?
Answer:
Although the Hebrew names of the young men in the book of Daniel may sound feminine to us (Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah), they are men’s names. We realize that Nebuchadnezzar changed their names to the Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Question:
How do you know when you are saved? This is an important question. We need to rely on the authority of the scriptures to teach us of salvation and to assure us of our salvation after we have believed on the Lord Jesus. A few verses that tell us how to be saved are: Acts
Answer:
Question: What was it like before the resurrection of Jesus? Between the death and burial of the Lord and His resurrection we don’t have a lot of information. We do know that at His death the veil of the temple was torn from the top to the bottom, and there was an earthquake (Matthew 27:51). Also many graves were opened, and the bodies of these people laid there until the Lord arose from the dead. After the Lord’s resurrection, they then arose and went into the city (Matthew 27:52,53). Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus buried the Lord (John 19:38-40). The next day was the Sabbath so, according to the law, they all rested (Luke 23:56).
Answer:
Question:
How long does it take when a person is put out of fellowship to be allowed back?
As soon as the one under discipline is restored to the Lord, the assembly should receive him back into fellowship. There is a proper order before someone is disciplined by the assembly (Matthew 18:15-18), and ministering to a person’s needs is so important (Galatians 6:1,2). Discipline is the last thing the assembly desires to do, so efforts must be made to restore the offending brother or sister. If this fails, the assembly, in dependence on the Lord, may feel it necessary to administer discipline. Even then, the assembly should continue to work to restore this one to the Lord and the assembly.
The purest type of the Lord’s Supper is, of course, the
Passover. Christ is, indeed, our Passover (1
Cor. 5:7). Let’s consider the
fitness of different ones to partake of the Passover, and then see if there are
New Testament scriptures that show how they apply to the Lord’s Supper.
●
The Passover was for the children of Israel
o Exodus 12:24 – And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to
thee and to thy sons for ever.
● The Lord’s Supper is only for believers.
o 1 Corinthians 11:23 – For I have received of the Lord that which
also I delivered unto you (Corinthian believers), That the Lord Jesus the same
night in which he was betrayed took bread:
● No stranger was to partake. This could
include a Gentile, a Gentile proselyte, or even a Jew that was not known to the
company.
o Exodus 12:43 – And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the
ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:
● No stranger should partake in the Lord’s
Supper. He is unknown, so his life, his beliefs, his associations are unknown.
Are the standards for the Lord’s Supper lower than the standards for the
Passover so that we invite strangers to partake?
o 1 Timothy 5:22 – Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker
of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.
● A purchased servant, who was circumcised,
could partake. Of course, the only way to know if this was a purchased servant
or a hired servant was to ask.
o Exodus 12:44 – But every man’s servant that is bought for money,
when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
● One who is known to be ‘purchased’ and has
put off the flesh should partake of the Lord’s Supper.
o Acts 20:28 – Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the
flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the
church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
o Philippians 3:3 – For we are the circumcision, which worship God in
the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
● A foreigner (outsider) and a hired servant
could not partake. Not being bought, the hired servant would not be compelled
to honor the words of the Lord, so he would be one not circumcised. It would
speak of one who is dependent on his own works, rather than the grace of God.
This would be in contrast to a purchased servant.
o Exodus 12:45 – A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat
thereof. The unsaved have no license to partake of the Lord’s Supper, neither
those who are ‘workers’ (attempting to be justified through their own works)
o John 9:31 – Now we know that God heareth not sinners. ._
o Galatians 5:4 – Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever
of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
● A stranger who eventually attaches himself to
the Jewish company would be allowed to partake, after all his servants were
circumcised
o Exodus 12:48 – And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and
will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then
let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land:
for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
● One who has made himself to be known as tree
from doctrinal or moral sin, and no longer a stranger, should partake of the
Lord’s Supper.
o 2 Timothy 2:22 – follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with
them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
● One who had come into contact with a dead
body was considered defiled by association and could not partake of the
Passover.
o Numbers 9:6 – And there were certain men, who were defiled by the
dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they
came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:
● The association of an otherwise Godly
believer with those who dishonor the Lord by doctrine or lifestyle, can cause
him to be considered unclean. Are we to be so careless as to allow this
‘leaven’ to enter into our assemblies by carelessly allowing someone to partake
of the Lord’s Supper when his associations cause him to be defiled. . .thus
bringing this deiilement into the assembly?
o 1 Corinthians 5:6 – Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
o Galatians 5:9 – A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
o 1 Corinthians 15:33 – Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt
good morals. (ASV)
These Scriptures make it so clear that reception to the
Lord’s Supper is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly. The Lord
gives the assembly the responsibility to make sure those who are identified
together in the breaking of bread with us are known to be living in purity
before the Lord.
It
is heartbreaking that we cannot remember the Lord with everyone that calls upon
the name of the Lord. However, the church is in a state of division,
ungodliness, and ruin. Scripture calls for separation from those things that
dishonor the Lord, and care in receiving those who desire to walk together with
us.
There are two things which must never he
lost sight of in connection with the question
of reception at the Lord’s table, and these
are, first, the grace which will not allow of
the exclusion of any who ought to be
admitted; secondly, the holiness which
cannot allow the admission of any who
ought to be excluded. -CHM
Question:
Why doesn’t the Bible tell
Answer:
We can rightly assume the Lord did not want us to know her name. Perhaps the answer why can be found in Proverbs 10:7: “The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.”
Question:
Why did a prophet marry a prostitute?
Answer:
The Lord told Hosea to marry Gomer: “The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord” (Hosea 1:2). We learn in 1 Corinthians 10:11, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” Hosea marrying Gomer is a picture of how the Lord loved Israel despite her unfaithfulness to God. We learn so much about the Lord’s unconditional love to us, too.
Question:
Will God judge someone who has not heard the Gospel?
We learn in Romans 1:19,20 that nature itself is a witness to God’s existence and man is left without excuse. Learning from the case of Cornelius in Acts 10, we saw that if someone really wants to know the Lord, He will make sure someone tells them how to be saved. In order to be saved, one has to hear and believe the Gospel. (Read John 14:6.) We take comfort in Genesis 18:25 – “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” The Lord will do the right thing.
Question:
Why did God take away Zacharias’ speech and make him dumb?
Answer:
Zacharias was a priest of God. Although he and his wife were old, Zacharias had been praying for a child. One day, the angel of the Lord told him that his wife, Elisabeth, would bear a son (John the Baptist). Zacharias doubted God and said, “Whereby shall I know this?” As a priest, and an aged man, he should have not doubted God, but he should have believed the words of Gabriel, the angel. Because of this unbelief, Zacharias’ voice was taken from him. His voice was returned at the birth of John, when he wrote on a tablet, “His name is John.” (Read Luke 1:5-22 and Luke 1:57-64.)
Question:
Why did Abraham have more than one wife?
From the beginning, it was the Lord’s will that one man and one woman should be together in marriage. (Read Matthew 19:5-9.) It was not the Lord’s will for men to have more than one wife and there were consequences for having more than one wife. (Read Galatians 6:7.)
Question:
Why did parents give their children such difficult names in the Bible?
Answer:
The names given were in different languages than we use today and were not hard for those people at the time. Often, names were given with special meanings, such as ‘Philologus’ in Romans 16:15, which literally means, “Lover of the Word.”
Question:
Did dinosaurs exist? If so, when?
Answer:
That’s a difficult question. Some say that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago and died out before man was created. Death came by sin (Romans 5:12), so it seems that nothing would have died before man sinned in the Garden of Eden. Before the flood, man lived hundreds of years before dying. Perhaps reptiles, living for hundreds of years, continued to grow and became great creatures…much larger than we have today. Some things are just not revealed to us (Deuteronomy 29:29), so we may have to wait until we see the Lord and He reveals so many new things to us.
Question:
Why did Samson kill himself? Samson didn’t actually kill himself, but gave himself to kill the Lord’s enemies. (Read Judges 16:21-31.) This was somewhat like what the Lord Jesus did…giving His life to defeat the enemy.
Answer:
Question:
Why didn’t Sarah leave Abraham when she found out he slept with her handmaid?
Answer:
The handmaid’s name was Hagar, and it was actually Sarah’s idea that Abraham lay with her. (Read Genesis 16:1-3.) This action had immediate negative consequences. (Read Genesis 16:4-6.)
Question:
Why did God create all the other planets if we are the only people inhabiting a planet?
Answer:
All things were made for His own glory and pleasure. “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).
Question:
Why were some books chosen to be in the Bible, and some were not?
Answer:
There were strict standards that were applied to each book to see if it exhibited God’s exact inspiration before it was included in the Bible. We trust that the Lord has preserved His Word, and given us exactly the books He wanted us to have. We know that there was not room in the earth to write down everything the Lord did while He was on earth. (Read John 21:25.)