Question:
Why do women wear head coverings?

Answer:
First Corinthians 11:5,6 says that if she doesn’t wear one “when praying or prophesying,” she dishonors her head (which is the man, v.3). God gave man the place of leadership and gave woman a different role, though it is not inferior to man. Another reason women are to wear a covering on their heads is “because of the angels,” who are always observing. “Principalities and powers” (speaking of angels) are witnessing God’s order in the assembly (Ephesians 3:10).

Question:
In 1 Corinthians 14:35, women are told to ask their questions of their husbands at home. Should a woman be allowed to write articles or books?

Answer:
Writing is not speaking publicly in an assembly meeting. Women can be used mightily in this line, and they have been over the years.

Question:
Is there a difference between Sunday school and other meetings?

Answer:
Yes, there is a difference between the Sunday school and other meetings. First Corinthians 14:34 tells us that women are to keep silent “in the churches” or ASSEMBLY MEETINGS. This whole chapter is speaking about when “the whole church be come together into one place (verse 23).

The whole epistle of First Timothy was written so that we may know how to act when are gathered as an assembly of believers to represent the “one body” of Christ, which is composed of every believer. As the apostle Paul says: “I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:14, 15).
The Lord tells us in Matthew 18:20 what constitutes an assembly meeting. “Where two or three are gathered in [or, unto] My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Christ is the Center and Object of the gathering of His people who “are gathered” by the Spirit of God through the Word. “Unto,” means in honor of. “My name” means all that the Lord’s name stands for. When we are gathered as we are instructed by the Word, we have an assembly. All that is needed are two, and if there are two who are gathered by the Spirit by the Word unto Christ, there will be three, for the Lord promises that He is there.
We are instructed to have different ASSEMBLY MEETINGS when gathered as His assembly. So we try to gather according to what the Lord tells us in His Word, or, “upon His Word,” or according to or ON the principles of the Word, as the picture on the next page illustrates.

1. First Corinthians 11:20-34 tells us about “when ye [the assembly] come together…to eat the Lord’s Supper.” This is an assembly meeting to remember the Lord in His death. Remembering the Lord causes us to give Him worship and praise for Who He is and for what He has done on the cross. This is a most important meeting of the assembly.

2. In Matthew 18:19 we are instructed to have an assembly prayer meeting, because it is linked with the next verse where the Lord speaks of the assembly.

3. In Matthew 18:17, 18 we have instruction for an assembly meeting for discipline. First Corinthians 5:4, 5 also speaks of the assembly meeting for discipline. Reception to fellowship is part of this. (The whole assembly is to judge those who are “within,” and this would include those who want to come in, and be part of the assembly testimony for Christ as well—v. 12.)

4. First Corinthians 14:23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31 instructs us to have an assembly meeting for the Lord to give ministry from the Word for the time for the needs of the people. “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge” (v. 29). We sometimes call this an open meeting, because the Lord may use any of the brothers to bring the Word from the Lord for the time. “For ye may all prophesy,” but only two or three (v. 29) at this meeting.

In the assembly meetings the Spirit of God leads whomsoever He will to give out a hymn, pray, or speak (1 Corinthians 14:15). These meetings do not depend on special gifts, for the Spirit of God empowers all the Lord’s people to worship, pray, discern His mind, and speak for Him. But gifts are needed for those meetings that we are not instructed in the Word to have as an assembly. The other meetings may be “activities of the assembly,” like the Sunday school and Bible study where the teacher’s gift is so helpful, and the Gospel Meeting where the Lord uses the gift of the evangelist to refresh the saints and bring salvation to precious souls.

Question:
Does 1 Timothy 2:12 mean a woman should not teach a Sunday school class?

 

Answer:
1 Timothy 2:12 says: “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” This instruction was to be carried out when God’s people are gathered unto Christ’ Name as an assembly.

1 Timothy 2:12 talks about usurping authority over a “man” and only children (no men) are in a Sunday school class taught by a woman. Titus 2:4 shows us that older women are responsible to teach younger women. But she shouldn’t teach a boy publicly in a Sunday school class when he becomes a man.
“Does this apply to women teaching ungodly men how to be saved?” To “usurp authority over the man,” would be to take the position as head of the man by speaking to a group of men publicly, whether saved or not. But she can teach men privately, as Priscilla instructed Apollos with her husband Aquila in the privacy of their home, for “they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (Acts 18:26).

Question:
Romans 11:20-25 seems to be saying that while we are “grafted in” to the root of the olive tree, (saved) by grace, we could be cut off if we do not “continue in His goodness” (verse 22) and abide in unbelief (verses 20 and 23).

However, Paul may not be talking about salvation in this passage, but I’m not sure what he is talking about. So if you could help me, it would be greatly appreciated.

Answer:
Romans 11:20-25:  

20  Well said. Because of unbelief they (Israel] were broken off, and you [Gentiles] stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.

21  For if God did not spare the natural branches [Israel], He may not spare you [Gentiles] either.

22  Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.

23  And they [Israel] also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

24  For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

25  For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
This portion is talking about Jews [Israel] and Gentiles being grafted into a tree and being cut off of a tree. Throughout scripture the Lord worked with, and blessed nations as well as individuals. The Jewish nation was God’s chosen nation marked out for blessing. That does not mean that every Jew who ever lived was saved and is in heaven. Even in the Old Testament, each person was saved by faith just like we are today (Romans 2:28, 29; 4:1-3).
Romans 11:25 shows that this chapter is speaking about the Jewish nation and all the other races of Gentiles: The Jews were given the gospel message first, and even though some received it, most of them did not (John 1:11). Paul was then commissioned to spread the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 18:4-6; Romans 11:13). That is when the Gentiles were grafted into the tree as a race, and concentration was placed on spreading the gospel to them.
Verses 23 and 24 show: that the Jewish people can still be saved today—even though the gospel is mainly preached to Gentiles! It has been that way ever since Paul was preaching and it will stay that way until “the fullness of the Gentiles [will] be come in,” which I believe will end at the rapture of the church, which could happen at any moment!
Then, the Jews as a nation will realize that they crucified their Messiah, who is Jesus. At that time “every eye shall see Him” (Revelation 1:7). “And one shall say unto Him, ‘What are these wounds in Thine hands?’ Then He shall answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends. . . . and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced,’ and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son” (Zechariah 13:6, 10). Then the Lord will bless Israel again throughout the 1,000 year reign of Christ over the whole earth.
So, I believe Romans 11 is speaking about nations of people, rather than individuals. Regarding the salvation of individuals: many verses show plainly that once a person completes the transaction with God–trusting Christ and His work of bearing God’s wrath for our sins on the cross of Calvary–at that moment they have passed from death unto life, and God does a mighty work in that person which can never be erased. They become a new creation of God (2 Corinthians 5:17), their old man is crucified (Romans 6:6), they have eternal life as a present possession (John 3:16), they are indwelt and sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), and they are “in Christ” instead of “in their sins.” None of those things can be undone or retracted by God. That is certainly something to praise Him for!

Question:
My friend at school asked why God allows swearing and drugs to exist in the world. I told her that it was the devil. She then asked, “If God is so powerful, why does He let the devil do these things?

Answer:
Before we try to determine why God allows evil to exist in the world, let me make a comment about the sins that humans commit and the part that the devil plays in this. We often hear people say, “The devil made me do it,” but the Bible is very clear that men are responsible for every sin they commit. The day is coming when God shall “render to every man according to his deeds” (Romans 2:6). We read in Revelation 20:13, “…and they were judged every man according to their works.” The people, referred to in this verse are all those who died unsaved and who stand before the Great White Throne. They will have their lives evaluated to determine the degree of punishment which they will receive in the Lake of Fire. Now, if the devil were solely responsible for the sins of mankind, God would be unfair in holding men responsible. Thus, we must ask ourselves, “What part does the devil play in all this?”

Ever since the first sin of mankind (in the Garden of Eden), the devil has played the role of the “tempter.” That is, he has been actively seeking to entice men and women (and boys and girls) to, rebel against God’s will for them. And although his influence is great (see John 8:44; Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 5:19 JND version), he can only make suggestions to the human heart to sin (as he did with Eve in the garden). In other words, HE CAN’T MAKE US SIN. When people swear, or use drugs, (as you mentioned in your question), the devil may be an outside agent alluring people to do this, but they are responsible for responding to the temptation to do evil. I might just mention that there are some cases where people have given themselves over totally to the influence of the devil and the result has been demon-possession (Judas Iscariot furnishes us with a good example of this—see John 13:2, 27). But those people will still not be able to say on the day of judgment: “The devil made me do this,” because had they not put themselves into Satan’s hand, he could not have done anything.
Now to the main question, “Why does God allow evil to exist in the world?” This is a good question, and one that men have been asking since the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden. We see over and over again in the Bible that God is “omnipotent” (which means “all-powerful”), so why doesn’t He stamp out all of the evil men in the world and crush the power of Satan? Let us be assured of this; God able to do this, and one day He will put an end to all of the wickedness that prevails in the world. We saw earlier, from Revelation 20:13, that God is going to judge the evil works of kind, and we then read, “Whosoever was not found in the book of life was cast into the Lake of Fire” (vs. 15). And earlier in that same chapter we see Satan doomed to the same eternal judgment (vs. 10). So then, God will eventually make a total end of sin, by confining all sinners to the Lake of Fire. This assures us that God not indifferent to evil. His holy nature HATES sin and thus we read in Psalm 7:11, “…God is angry with the wicked every day.” Just think, EVERY DAY, for nearly 6,000 years, God has been angry with the wicked. So why doesn’t He end it now?
I believe the answer to this lies, in part, to God’s many plans which He purposed before time even began. All of these plans revolve around His Son (see Ephesians 3:11). He has planned for His Son to have an earthly kingdom which would involve an earthly people [Israel] as the center of His kingdom. He has planned for His Son to have a heavenly people (the Church) which will share, as His eternal bride, in His glories all eternity. (God’s wondrous plan is shown in a chart: “A Chart on the COURSE OF TIME FROM ETERNITY TO ETERNITY.) To accomplish all of these purposes, there is so much time needed to bring them about. God has His calendar of events and everything is running according to His perfect schedule. Until all God’s plans are completed, He is allowing man (and the devil) to pursue their evil course. But let us remember that He HATES their sin, and it is only His grace which bears with them. While men and fallen angels rebel, God is bringing men and women to repentance, saving their souls for all eternity. Second Peter 3:9 is especially illuminating regarding this, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise [the promise of judgment—vs. 7], as some count slackness; but is LONGSUFFERING TO US-WARD, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE.”So we see that God’s allowance of evil is not due to any lack of power on His part to subdue the wicked, and it is not due to any indifference in God’s heart, but that it is due to His all-wise plans which are being worked out in the process of time, and these plans include the eternal salvation of precious, immortal souls. And let us remember that, even though men and angels are allowed to sin, they are still limited in what they can do, and their judgment day is coming. The day is coming (like in the days of Noah) when God’s longsuffering will end and sinners will experience God’s wrath against their sin (see Acts 17:31). Until that day, the battle between good and evil rages on, with Satan seeking to keep the souls of men in spiritual darkness, and with God seeking to bring the light of the gospel into men’s hearts so that they may be delivered from Satan’s influence, and from the evil of their own hearts.

Question:
What is a good outline to read and study the Bible for devotions—especially for young Christians?

Answer:
Pray, morning, noon, and night, like Daniel did (Daniel 6:10), then get into the habit of daily reading. “Have thou an outline of sound words which thou hast heard of me [Paul]” (2 Timothy 1:13, J. N. Darby translation). We can never improve on studying the Bible chapter by chapter, verse by verse, and thus we keep in context what God is saying. But we can also use a concordance and do a character study on Abraham, David, etc; or a word study on justification, forgiveness, etc. It is valuable to make an outline ourselves. Start with John’s gospel, and get the Lord’s life before our hearts. Or start with Romans, which has foundation truths of salvation. Get “sound words” (read Paul’s writings.

Use an accurate translation of the Bible. We want to know what God says—not what man says, which is what paraphrases and some translations do. The Lord has used the older King James Version for many years to reveal His truth to souls, and the few mistakes in it from the original manuscripts do not change the basic truths of Scripture. The New King James Version takes out the thee’s and thou’s and other old English words. However, it doesn’t clean up the few mistakes found in the older King James Version, as the J. N. Darby translation and the translation in F. W. Grant’s Numerical Bible do.
Another valuable help in studying the Bible is in the use of the gifts that Christ has given to the church (Ephesians 4:11). He has given to some the gift of the teacher to explain the Word. Some have this gift today, and we still have the gifts of others, who are now with the Lord, through their writings. Men such as J. N. Darby, F. W. Grant, H. A. Ironside, C. H. Mackintosh, and others, even though they are dead, they still speak (Hebrews 11:4). But we must be careful with anything that comes to us from a human instrument, to “prove all things [by the Word], hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). We should be like the Bereans who “searched the Scriptures daily” to see if what Paul said to them was true (Acts 17:11).
Make the Word personal, and this requires meditation: “eating” the words (Jeremiah 15:16).

Question:
Is there any Scripture that shows how I can improve my Christian life?

Answer:

(1.)  The Word is essential to our growth process. “As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Look also at 2 Timothy 2:15 and Joshua 1:8.

 

(2.)   Fellowship with believers helps (Hebrews 10:23, 24). Thomas was absent, so he missed out–he doubted all week long (John 20:24-29). If we miss, we’ll miss being encouraged by the Lord’s presence and through the Word.

 

(3.)   John 10:27—follow the Lord. Matthew 11:29—learn of Me. Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet…we need to be occupied with Him and His light will shine through us (2 Corinthians 3:18). “We beheld His glory” (John 1:14). When we do this, we’re changed! And we aren’t conscious of it. Moses didn’t realize his face shone when he came down from the mount (Exodus 34:29).       

 

(4.)  God doesn’t do all the talking. We need to talk to Him too! The order is: He talks to us first through His Word, and then we talk to Him through prayer. (Revelation 3:20). Prayer is like the breath of the Christian.

 

(5.)  “Continue thou…” (2 Timothy 3:14). Go on–don’t just do it in spurts. The purpose of every Scripture is to make us “fully fitted to every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17 JND).

Question:
What if a person doesn’t go to another church but wants to break bread with us?

Answer:
They would have to know, believe, and desire to have part with what we stand for in order to have fellowship or “communion” with us.

First Corinthians 10:16, 17 gives us the doctrine regarding what the emblems stand for in the Lord’s Supper. Notice that the cup is mentioned first instead of the bread, as when the Lord instituted His supper (Luke 22:19, 20). The reason for this is because a person who takes these emblems must first have fellowship with the blood of Christ (in other words, he must be saved). If he is saved, then he can have fellowship with the bread, which speaks of the “one body” (v. 17) of Christ, which is composed of all who are saved. “The Lord added to the church daily such as should be [or, were being] saved” (Acts 2:47). So when we are gathered together as an assembly, we are to represent the “one body,” which is not just the brethren, but the whole body of believers.
Second Timothy 2:19-22 gives instruction for the “last days” we live in (2 Timothy 3:1), which is right before the Lord comes to take His church home to glory. Different teachings have come into the professing church, and we are told that we must be separate from both vessels to honor (saved) and dishonor (unsaved) who have “iniquity,” which is anything unscriptural, if we are going to be a vessel fit “for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”
We must know people in order to know if they are walking orderly or have false teaching. Fellowship or “communion” (1 Corinthians 10:17), is based on knowledge. The verse: “Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other man’s sins: keep thyself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22), has to do with the fellowship with believers, the body of Christ.
“Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28), is not a message to those who are desiring to remember the Lord with the assembly for the first time, but it was written to believers already breaking bread (see who this epistle was written to: 1 Corinthians 1:2). Those who break bread in the assembly should examine, or judge themselves in the light of His presence before they eat of the Lord’s supper. They should examine: (1) The company they keep; (2) the habits they have; (3) their affections; (4) thoughts; and (5) motives.
We are told in 1 Corinthians 5:12 that the assembly is to judge those who are “within” the assembly, and this would include those who desire to come in to the assembly. It wouldn’t be orderly to bring them in, and then judge them and have to put them out! Three things that would keep someone out are: (1) doctrinal evil (Galatians 5:9); (2) moral evil (1 Corinthians 5:7, 13); and (3) evil associations (1 Corinthians 15:33).

The whole assembly must judge–not just one person, or a group of brothers. The “ye” in 1 Corinthians 5:4 and 12 is the local assembly, for the apostle is writing to “the church of God which is at Corinth” (1 Corinthians 1:2). Sisters are a vital part of the assembly and they should have say in reception, and when other discipline in the assembly is needed. The Lord gives further instruction in Matthew 18:17, 18 on assembly discipline.

Question:
Could a saved person from another church come and break bread with us?

Answer:
If they did, we’d be associating with whatever that church believes. First Corinthians 15:33 says that association with evil corrupts.

Question:
Is there anywhere in the Bible that it says for a woman not to have short hair?

Answer:
In 1 Corinthians 11:15 we are told that “if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her,” but the question could be asked: “How long is long?” We need to be exercised individually about this. The more we try to please the Lord, the more we’ll know what He wants. We want to show Christ, not ourselves, like the world and some religions do.

Question:
Who should we direct our prayers to, God or Jesus?

Answer:
In Acts 7:59, Stephen prayed to Jesus. Every believer has fellowship with both the Father and the Son, (which includes speaking to them in prayer—1 John 1:3). God has raised Jesus from the dead and given Him a Name which is above every other name. His full title is the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2:36, Philippians 2:9-11), and so we can now pray to either God the Father or God the Son.

Question:
Is being unmarried a more God-ordained state than being married?

Answer:
Yes, 1 Corinthians 7:35 states a benefit of being single: “That ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.” But God has – not ordained all to be unmarried (Matthew 19:11, 12). Many other Scriptures bring in God’s order of how to serve the Lord with a family. In fact, God said: “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). The husband and wife are a picture of Christ and His bride, the church (Ephesians 5:31, 32). It is most important for a person contemplating marriage to obey the Lord’s instruction regarding marriage, for other than accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, choosing a life partner is the most important decision we have to make in this life.

The Scriptures give us at least two basic guidelines for marriage:
(1) 2 Corinthians 6:14: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” Along with this the Lord asks through the prophet Amos: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” The answer of course is, “No, a thousand times no,” as all those who have disobeyed God regarding marriage sadly proclaim.
(2) “To be married…only in the Lord” which means to own His Lordship; both man and woman desiring to please the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:39). So a person who is saved is instructed to marry only a Christian, and also to marry “in” the Lord. Thus there will only be one Boss, which is Christ!

Question:
Why did God separate all the people at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), when they seemed to be of one accord? Doesn’t the Lord want all Christians to be together?

Answer:
The people in this story “journeyed from the east,” away from the rising of the sun. They turned away from the land the Lord had placed them in, and sought their own land. Then they builded according to their own concepts and ideas, and not according to God’s direction. “Let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name.” They tried through their own efforts to make a name for themselves. We should seek to make a name for God, and not for ourselves. “The children of men builded,” not the children of God, and the Lord came down to condemn it, not to encourage it.

This is a picture of what men are doing today when they seek to make a name for themselves. God’s judgment separated them by changing their languages at the tower of Babel. But on the day of Pentecost, God overcame the language barrier and caused His good news of “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21) to be heard in at least seventeen languages. And now every believer in Christ is part of “one” body of Christians. God wants us to exalt Christ by gathering unto Him, and thus showing this “one body” in the way He shows us in His word to gather together. As the Lord tells us: “For where two or three are gathered together unto My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).

Question:
You know how it says in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that we should not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Well, do you know if it is wrong to be with unbelievers in school?

Answer:
Second Corinthians 6:14 says: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.”

“Be ye not” indicates things that we can control. Up to a certain age a child has no choice as to whether he goes to school or not, for the law requires that he either attend school or is home-schooled. This verse is speaking of being “yoked together.”
We may be together with many unbelievers in school, but attending school does not make us yoked together with them. To be yoked together would be to be linked with another person or persons with the purpose of accomplishing a definite goal. The apostle is speaking in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 primarily of religious links. “What agreement hath the temple of God with idols?” (verse 16).
So, it is not wrong to be with unbelievers in school. But it is important that we are aware of the spiritual dangers at school and in all of the world. The Bible tells us that we are defiled when we are around anything that is not of our heavenly Father: “Be not deceived: evil communications [or, associations] corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33). This is why we need to be cleansed daily “with the washing of water by the Word” (Ephesians 5:26). And we need to depend on the Lord in order to be able to deal with the “peer pressure” that Satan desires to use to control us.

Question:
What is the first question in the New Testament?

Answer:
“Where is He that is born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2). This question was asked by the “wise men” or Magi who came from the East to see Him that they believed was “born King of the Jews.” We are wise also if we ask: “Where is He?” and desire to see Him. “Where is Jesus?” Jesus is currently in the glory after taking care of the sin question on the cross.

Question:
Why should it be wrong to see movies if it does not influence you–or make you do what the actors do?

Answer:
In seeking to answer this, let us use the movie TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY to help us. Although I have not seen the movie, I am told it is filled with violence, illicit sex, and cursing. Now it is reasonable to assume that one may possibly walk away from the movie without being driven to acts of violence, illicit sex, or cursing, but could we really say that it would have no influence on us?

In the last issue of IN TOUCH I tried to answer the question of what music the Christian should listen to and we looked at three verses which could be used as guidelines as to this. I believe these same Scriptures could be used in this case, but I want to especially consider Philippians 4:8 to see whether or not we are influenced by bad things that we watch. It reads, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are TRUE…HONEST…JUST… PURE…LOVELY…OF GOOD REPORT; if there be any VIRTUE; if there be any PRAISE, THINK ON THESE THINGS.” Now we notice that all of the “things” mentioned here are “good” things. Never are we told in Scripture to think about violence, illicit sex, etc. Why is this? Is it not because our all-knowing God knows that these “things” are not healthy for our emotional and spiritual well-being?
Even though we may not commit the bad things we observe in a movie, it is a known fact that the mind records everything we hear and see. Like a computer, it is put in our memory, and it may come to mind at times when we wish it wouldn’t. Some people have had bad thoughts (from a movie or TV program they had seen) during a remembrance meeting and they wished they could erase them, but they can’t. The “bad” thoughts then interfere with the “good” thoughts that we want to have about our Lord Jesus.
Another thing that can happen is we may become insensitive to sin. In Ephesians 4:17-19 we read about unsaved people who become so hardened in their hearts as to sin that they are spoken of as being “past feeling” (verse 19). That is, they become “numb” as to what sin really is. Instead of their consciences accusing them of wrong, they have no discernment about what is right and what is wrong. Statistics have shown that the average person, by the time he/she is 16 years old, has watched thousands upon thousands of gruesome murders on television or in movies, and it is alarming how insensitive to violence they become. We fool ourselves if we think it can’t happen to us. When our Lord Jesus walked on earth He was a “man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3) because of all the misery He saw which was caused by sin. He would have us to be sensitive to sin too, and not to be entertained by it.
One last thought concerning this would be how our watching bad movies might influence others. In 1 Thessalonians 5:22 we are told, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” If someone sees us go into a theater where TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY is playing, what will they think? Let’s say it is an unsaved friend who we have been trying to win to Christ. Will they be receiving a true picture of what a Christian is really like? Or will they be “stumbled” by our actions, thinking in their heart that there is really no difference between the Christian and the unbeliever? We must think of our testimony to others in everything we do.

Question:
Is it wrong to be with unbelievers in school?

Answer:
The Bible tells us not to be completely separate from the unsaved, “for then must ye needs go out of the world” (1 Corinthians 5:9,10). In fact, the Lord has “sent” His disciples “into the world” (John 17:18) with the good news of God’s salvation. The Lord says: “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
The Lord prayed for His disciples whom He sent into the world: “I have given them Thy Word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth” (John 17:14, 17). The Christian is in the world, though he is not part of the world. And he is to be an example of Christ to the world, and tell them God’s wonderful message that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). The Lord talked to sinners, tax-collectors, harlots, etc. and showed them love, but He never lowered His standards or did the sins they did. The apostle Paul said: “To the weak became I weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).God warns us to be aware that contact with the world is going to have a bad affect on us. “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33). Putting gloves into a manure pile does not make the manure glovey, but it does make the gloves smell like manure. It is so much easier for someone to be pulled down, than to try to pull someone up. So in seeking to reach souls for Christ we must “abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Many times, unbelievers know our guidelines for a Christian life, and try to stumble us. Oftentimes they ask or question our doings, like Satan did to Eve, to try and trip us up. We need to be on the alert as to what we are doing at all times. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6).

Question:

I was wondering what Exodus 40:15 means. “…that they may minister to me as priests; their anointing shall be permanent from generation to generation; all their children and children’s children shall forever be My priests.” Does it mean that we are supposed to minister to others or does it mean that we are supposed to have priests? I am really confused on that one, and if anyone could help me out on it, I’d appreciate it.

What if a woman feels she’s being called (of the Lord) to preach, etc. to a congregation?

 

Answer:
In Exodus chapter 40, the Lord established a priesthood for His people Israel, ordaining Aaron as His High Priest and Aaron’s sons as priests. This priesthood was to be successional from generation to generation through Aaron’s lineage.

The purpose of the priesthood was to bring God’s redeemed people into an ongoing relationship with Himself as they lived before the Lord from day to day. This ongoing relationship was maintained by priestly activity in bringing to God the various offerings that He had established. The blood of these animal sacrifices was brought to the Tabernacle for the atoning or covering over of their sins. The early chapters of Leviticus tell us about most of these offerings. All of this was only for the nation of Israel to practice.
Today, we have a Great High Priest over the house of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. By reason of His one sacrifice and the value of His blood shed on Calvary, the sins of those who believe in Him are put away forever. The blood of animals could never put away sins. And the only value that blood had was that it pointed to the blood of Christ. Believers today are entitled to have the full knowledge and joy of the benefits of all that He is and has done. This was not true for Israel, who only had the shadow of things pertaining to Christ. Read Hebrews 2:17 through 10:25 to see the truth of Christ as our High Priest.
Because we have been redeemed by Christ, we believers have been brought into the eternal relationship of sons of God. And God has established a priesthood so that we may continue to worship God “acceptably” (Hebrews 12:28). Christ is in heaven as our great High Priest by virtue of His one offering of Himself without spot to God, and each redeemed one is a holy priest to God in the value of that same offering. Since we are holy priests, we have the joy of approaching God and worshipping Him, knowing that our “spiritual sacrifices,” which are “sacrifices of praise,” are acceptable to Him through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Also, we are royal priests with the privilege of showing in our lives the excellencies of Christ to all around us. First Peter 2:5-10 and Hebrews 13:15 tell us about our priesthood. Ministering to others has to do with the work Christ has given us to do according to our various gifts and not so much with our priesthood.
Concerning women preaching, etc. Read 1 Corinthians 14:34-38 and 1 Timothy 2:11-15. These Scriptures show that the Lord has not called women to a place of public leadership, either in the church or in the world. Any who are doing so, therefore, are outside of God’s order. Would the Lord call a woman, or anyone else for that matter, to do what is outside of His order?

 

However, there is much a woman can do. Titus 2:4 tells us that the older women should teach the younger women and children (e.g. at home and in Sunday school).
This leads to one observation. Any priests in the religious denominations of Christendom are outside of God’s order according to His Word in the Scriptures mentioned above.

Question:
What are some of the ‘bad foods,’ or bad things that hinder our growth as Christians?

Answer:
One thing that hinders our growth is to be yoked together with unbelievers, and the Bible tells us not to do this. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

An example of an equal yoke would be two oxen yoked together to plow a field. An unequal yoke would be if an ox and a donkey were yoked together to plow the field. It would be impossible to do the job right with this yoke because the ox and donkey are not equal. They are not the same in strength, abilities, or temperament, for they have different natures. The same thing is true if a believer and an unbeliever would be yoked in a common purpose such as religion, marriage, business, etc. They could not do the job well, and furthermore God tells the believer not be yoked with an unbeliever.It is important also to realize that if two believers are yoked together in marriage, etc., they each must fix their concentration or focus on the Lord and seek to please Him or they will have problems accomplishing what they are trying to do together. The way a farmer plows straight furrows in a field is that he picks out an object on the other side of the field, and keeps his eye on that goal. Likewise the believer must “set” his “affection [or mind] on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2), if he is going to accomplish what God wants him to accomplish.

Question:
“Where hast thou gleaned today?” (Ruth 2:19). How can we apply this Bible question to our lives?

Answer:
How much of the Word have we gleaned today? “Thy Words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart” (Jeremiah 15:16).

When we eat something it becomes a part of our body, and the Word should mean everything to us, and it should be seen in our lives. “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8). To mediate is to chew upon as a cow chews its food. We should have a deep desire for God, and desire the Word of God “more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). Our souls need spiritual food more than our body needs physical food. “If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious,” we will be like a newborn babe and “desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:3,2). The more we are in the Word the more we will want to be in the Word. If we are in the Word we will know what is bad for us, and what won’t agree with us.

Question:
What about those who never heard about God?

Answer:
God reveals Himself to them in other ways. He will give people faith to trust God by the testimony of Himself in the things He has made: the stars, nature, etc. (Romans 1:20-21). God has given witness of Himself in all of creation. We can’t question God as Satan did in the first question in our Bibles, if we see Him as He really is in His creation. God asked Job: “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?…Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? etc, etc.” (Job 38:4, 22. Read Job 38-41).

Question:
Why does it say in God’s Word that it is His will that all men might be saved, and some aren’t? Can we pray in faith that they will be saved?

Answer:
We are told to pray for “all men,” and that it is God’s desire: “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1 and 4).

But it is man’s responsibility to receive salvation. “As many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (1 John 1:12).

Question:
What about those who never had the opportunity to hear about God?

Answer:
Those who have died as children (under the age of accountability) will go to heaven. For the Lord Jesus said: “That in heaven their [spirits] do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost” (Matthew 18:10, 11). Contrast Luke 19:10 where we are told regarding adults: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

In Matthew 18:1-5 the Lord tells us that we must come “as” a child simply trusting His Word to enter the kingdom of heaven. So it’s important to teach children the truth. David knew he would be reunited with his child that died: “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23). Death for the Christian is to “depart, and to be with Christ which is far better” (Philippians 1:23).
All who have not heard about the God of the Bible or Jesus are accountable for the knowledge that they have though it be only the light from creation, which presents God:
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat” Psalm 19:1-7).
“For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:17-20).

Question:
Is there a difference between faith and believing?

Answer:
Believing is trusting, and trusting is faith. We need to put our trust in the Lord to go to heaven, not just believe about Him.

The Lord knows if we trust Him or only believe about things He did, for the Spirit of God tells us: “Now when [Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in man” (John 2:23-25).

Question:
What is the age of accountability, when a person is accountable to God and needs to be saved?

Answer:
The age of accountability is different for everyone, but God knows when that age is. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25).

Question:
Since an apostate cannot be saved (Hebrews 6:4-6), does that mean that if we hear the gospel and don’t receive Christ that He won’t try again?

Answer:
No, these people went along with Christianity for a while, but were never saved: then they turned away openly from Christ. But salvation is available now for all. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). “Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). If Christ has begun a work in us, He will complete it (Philippians 1:6). Every believer is “kept by the power of God” (1 Peter 1:5).

Question:
Were the Jews in Jesus’ day like those referred to in Hebrews 6:4-6?

Answer:
 
We are told in Hebrews 6:4-6: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
This possibly was not exactly what the Lord was referring to in John 8:24: “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.” Because the Jews He was speaking to may not have heard the truth, so they could not have turned away from it. In the above Scripture is what is known as an apostate—someone who was enlightened of the way to heaven, but refused it and turned purposely away from Christ. In Hebrews 10:26-29 we have the same group of people, and the Spirit of God in Hebrews is testing the Jewish professors that went along with Christianity.

Question:
Does this mean that we deserve to die?

Answer:
Yes, we deserve to die for “all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Here is another question: “Do we deserve to live?” The Lord speaks in Luke 13 of violence (verses 1-3), and accidents (verses 4, 5) that God allowed to happen to certain people, and He asked the question: “Think ye that they were sinners above” others? The natural heart of man blames God for these things, but anything bad is the result of sin. And since we are all sinners we all deserve judgment. So it is only the grace of God that has preserved any of us up to this moment.

Question:
What is the unpardonable sin today?

Answer:
Jesus said that the only sin that God would not forgive was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which was attributing to Satan the miracles which Jesus did in the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:22-32).

This sin would not likely be committed today because Jesus is not doing His miracles today as He did when He was here on earth. The unpardonable sin today is to not trust Christ as Saviour. God cannot save one who will not believe on Christ. Jesus said to the Jews: “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24).