Question:
What’s to stop a Christian from killing himself to be with Christ?

Answer:
It is true that the more a Christian gets to know the Lord Jesus Christ, the more he will want to be with Him (and soon every believer will be with Him forever in the glory), but it would be a very selfish thing to kill oneself in order to be with Christ.

One who would do this is not considering his loved ones, his friends, and he certainly is not considering what the Lord desires. How could a Christian think that he could be pleasing Christ by killing himself in order to be with Him?
Killing ourselves (or someone else) is sin, and God hates sin. “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). Because of all that Christ has done for us, every Christian should be concerned, not with what we want, but with what Christ desires. We should ask: “Is it Christ’s will for me to die now?” We should always seek to do “the purpose of Him,” and know “the counsel of His own will” (Ephesians 1:11).
Such thoughts may come when a person is overcome with trials. We should realize that pain, suffering, and shame are gifts that God gives to every Christian (Philippians 1:29), and we should count it a privilege to bear them (Acts 5:41), and “rejoice in [our] sufferings” (Colossians 1:24). The Lord uses trials as tools to teach us valuable lessons such as: how to get rid of self-will, to trust the Lord, and to train us for His presence in the glory. “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind…that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God” (1 Peter 4:1,2).
Elijah told the Lord he wanted to die. “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life” (1 Kings 19:4). But the Lord did not take his life away right then; He had other things planned for Elijah. “Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth [trains]….Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:6, 11).

Question:
What about those spoken of in Hebrews 6:4-6 who have “tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost”? We are told that “it is impossible…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.”

Answer:
The people mentioned in Hebrews 6:4-6 were not believers in Christ. They “tasted” of spiritual things, but were not saved. You can taste and not swallow, and this is what was true of these people.

They were “partakers” or companions of the Holy Spirit because they were in the company of Christians, but they were not saved so the Spirit of God did not indwell them. The Greek word translated “partakers” in Hebrews 6:4 is a word that means an “outward relationship only.”
The Spirit of God uses a different Greek word which means an “unlimited internal partnership” when He tells us that believers are “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). Hebrews 6:4-6 tells us that if an unsaved person makes a profession of being saved, and then turns away from Christ, he puts himself into the very serious position of never being saved because only Christ can save.

Question:
What is the “doctrine of the immortality of the soul?” Does the Assembly teach it? Why or why not?

Answer:
When we refer to the “immortality of the soul,” we are stating the fact that THE SOUL CANNOT DIE. Even though the Bible never uses the expression “immortal soul,” or words similar to that, the truth of the immortality of the soul is definitely found within its sacred pages.

There are several passages of Scripture which teach it, but the key text is found in Matthew 10:28, where we read, “And fear not them which kill the body, BUT ARE NOT ABLE TO KILL THE SOUL: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy [loss of well-being, not loss of being] both soul and body in hell.” Here we are clearly taught that the soul lives on after the death of the body, and although it does not state emphatically here that the soul will never die, we can surely draw that inference.
Another portion of the Word of God which teaches the immortality of the soul is in Luke 16:19-26. The Lord Jesus spoke in this passage of two men who had died and of their conscious existence after their death. One was in conscious bliss (vs. 22, 25) and the other in conscious torment (vs. 23-25). And the Lord went on to say that there was “a great gulf fixed” (vs. 26) between them, implying that this condition (of the one being in bliss and the other in torment) was forever.
The Lord told the penitent thief on the cross, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). The thief’s body died and was buried, but his soul and spirit went to be with the Lord in paradise. The Apostle Paul was “willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8) and he told the Philippians “to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21), words which would have no meaning if the soul after the death of the body. Other Scriptures could confirm the teaching of immortality of the soul, but I few passages are enough to assure the Spirit-taught precious truth.In answering the second part of the question, let me say that I would surely hope that all true believers have seen this precious truth and are seeking to show it to others. But let me add that it is the Holy Spirit Who is the Divine Teacher (see John 14:26; 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:9-13; 1 John 2:20, 27) and the assembly is but the custodian of the truth that has been committed to it (see 1 Timothy 3:15). Believers are stewards who have been entrusted with truth, whether it be the gospel (1 Thessalonians 2:4), or any other truth (see 1 Corinthians 4:1; 1 Peter 4:10, 11). So when we are taught a truth, such as the “immortality of the soul,” let us be zealous in showing this truth to others, and count upon the Spirit to teach it to them.

Question:
Is it possible for one who is in Christ to fall out of that?

Answer:
No, it is not possible to fall out of being “in Christ,” because the Lord says that if we have believed in Him we shall “never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand…and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:28,29). We are “kept by the power of God” (1 Peter 1:5). “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from [every] sin” (1 John 1:7, see J. N. Darby translation note).

His blood makes us safe, and His Word makes us sure. If we disobey our earthly parents we lose the close fellowship we once enjoyed with them, but we still are their child. So with our heavenly Father: sin stops that sweet fellowship He wants to have with us, but we still are His child from the moment we believed on Him and His work on the cross.

Question:
Does the Bible talk about marriage between races?

Answer:
We are all of one race in the sense that we all came from Noah, but it was wrong for the Israelites to marry one not an Israelite. A number of men gave up their “strange wives” to please the Lord in Ezra 10. However, in Numbers 12 the Lord defended Moses who was an Israelite, and punished Miriam for speaking against Moses’ marriage to an Ethiopian woman, which was an inter-racial marriage. We find three possible marriages with Canaanites in the genealogy of the Lord in Matthew 1:3, 5, 6, which would be inter-racial, if we consider descendants of the three sons of Noah to be different races.

It is true that with Christians, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). However, we should consider that there are plenty of differences that must be overcome for a couple to work together in a marriage even if both have the same background and are raised the same, without cultural walls to overcome. An inter-racial marriage will be a problem all through their marriage, not only for themselves and their families, but possibly mostly for the children they may have.

Question:
But do we have to confess all our sins?

Answer:
Is it possible to confess all our sins? Could you remember them all? Of course not.

Sometimes we sin and don’t realize it, but God forgives us because Christ bore every one of “our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24), and “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3). He forgives even our future sins, because every one of our sins were future when Christ died.

Question:
What about hugging? All Christians are in the family of God, and we are to greet one another in love.

Answer:
Before you hug someone, ask them if it is OK to do so. If someone is offended by, or feels emotional when hugging, then don’t do it.

Question:
What does it take to have forgiveness after we sin? Do you have to ask for forgiveness?

Answer:
The Scriptures do not tell us to “ask” for forgiveness, but to “confess [or repent of] our sins” to God in order to be forgiven. If we do this, God “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

“God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven” (Ephesians 4:32) every believer of every sin he has committed, or will commit. If a believer sins he does not lose his forgiveness, but he does lose the happy fellowship with his heavenly Father and he loses the “joy” of his salvation (Psalm 51:12). Just as our eternal salvation comes by “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21), so this fellowship and joy will only be restored when we repent to God in sorrow because of our sin. David said: “Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight…a broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:4, 17).

Question:
How much touching should be done before marriage?

Answer:
“It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband” (1 Corinthians 7:1, 2).

The Greek word translated “touch” here means to have a carnal relationship. In Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy we have lots of instruction regarding relationships, and it is put like this: “Do not uncover the nakedness.” This can be done with your eyes or your hands.For some people, holding hands and kissing is wrong for it stirs the emotions, but for others this may be OK.

Question:
Is suicide sin? If you’re born again and commit suicide, will you go to hell?

Answer:
Examples from Scripture of those who committed suicide are Saul, Judas, and Ahithophel. “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13), would imply that killing yourself is a sin, but is it an unforgivable sin?

First John 1:7 tells us that “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.” So, suicide is a sin, but like all sin, it can be forgiven.
Some examples of murderers receiving forgiveness are David (Romans 4:6, 7); the thief on the cross; and to those who killed Jesus, He said: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Paul was involved with the murder of Stephen and others, and he was forgiven (Acts 13:38, 39). Once we are saved, nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38, 39).

Question:
Is there anything wrong with going out with someone with no intention of marriage? What about dating just for fun? Is there anything wrong with this?

Answer:
If this is your intent, you must openly communicate this to your date. But we must be aware of the dangers of this kind of dating. Possibly the closest to the world’s idea of dating “for fun” in the Bible is when Dinah wanted to have a good time and “went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem…saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her” (Genesis 34:1, 2). This brought shame on herself and her family.

A Christian should not put himself in circumstances that would tempt him/her to be “drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:14, 15).

Question:
Does God punish today according to obedience and disobedience?

Answer:
Yes, He does, and God also loves to reward us for the good we do. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7, 8).

Question:
If two who are dating sleep together, should they feel obligated to get married?

Answer:
Not necessarily. If a casual relationship leads to sex before marriage, it is sin; it must be owned that it is sin in sorrow to the Lord, to the one you sinned against, and you should not do it again.

A marriage should not be based on sin. However, if a child is conceived, each parent is responsible to provide for that child.

Question:
How should we look at the Old Testament? Literal or figurative? We definitely can learn from it, but how should we look at it in order to use it today?

Answer:
First Corinthians 10:11 says: “Now all these things [in the Old Testament] happened unto them for [examples]: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” “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 perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).

Christ came to fulfil (or complete) the law (Matthew 5:17), and to bring in a new testament as He says in Matthew 5:38, 39. “Ye have heard that it hath been said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:’ but I say unto you, ‘That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.'” “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). The Old Testament shows we could not in ourselves live by the law, and had fallen short of God’s standard, and therefore we needed Christ. “The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24).And Christians will fulfil the law if they are living for Christ. “For what the Law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:3, 4).

Question:
What if it happens before marriage, is your life a total failure from then on?

Answer:
Losing your virginity before marriage is a terrible sin. Fornication is an especially harmful sin which causes adverse effects “against” the body that other sins do not cause. “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18).

However, though you must reap God’s government for your sin (Galatians 6:7, 8), if you stop doing it until marriage, and repent, God will forgive you (1 John 1:9). He will thus give you victory over the flesh (Romans 7:24, 25; 8:3, 4).

Question:
“What think ye of Christ?” (Matthew 22:42).

Answer:
This is the most important question each one of us will ever be asked,/because it is only our personal acceptance and trust in Christ, as to who He is and what He has done on the cross of Calvary, that determines our eternal welfare. The Lord gave a clue to the answer to His question by also asking in that same verse: “Whose Son is He?” The answer is that He is God’s Son, the second Person of the Divine Trinity, who is God the Son. Various answers are given to this question by different people in the Scriptures, and here are some that were mentioned in the Bible study:

–The Pharisees said that He was a “deceiver” (Matthew 27:63).

–Jude said that He is “our Saviour” (Jude 25).

–Jesus said: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).

–Paul said: “Christ…is our Life” (Colossians 3:4).

–Judas, after he betrayed the Lord said: “I have betrayed the innocent  blood” (Matthew 27:4).

–The centurion at the cross said: “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54).

–The demons knew He is: “Son of the most high God” (Mark 5:7).

–He ever was and is the Creator of all things (John 1:1-3).

–One of His names is “the Word” (John 1:1). Any word expresses a thought, and “He was made flesh, and dwelt among us” so He could express God to us (John 1:14).

–Jesus said: “I am the Door,” and “I am the good Shepherd” (John 10:9, 11). “I am the Light of the world” (John 8:12). “I am the Bread of Life” (John 6:35).

–Philip told Nathanael: “We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth” (John 1:45).
“What think ye of Christ?” is a very personal question, and the Lord is asking it of each of us. “What do YOU think of ME?”
If we know that Christ is God manifest in the flesh, and have trusted Him as our own personal Saviour, we will find a struggle going on inside of us between the “flesh” (our wills) and the Spirit of God who has come into our hearts the moment we believed on Him (Ephesians 1:13). “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Galatians 5:17).
Paul tells of his own personal struggle in Romans 7. “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not” (Romans 7:18). The only way of deliverance is to turn from our own efforts to Christ. A picture of this struggle is when Jacob wrestled with “God face to face” (Genesis 32). God had to touch Jacob’s thigh to cause him to bow to Him so He could bless him. May we bow our hearts and wills to the One who loves us and died for us, so He can bless us as well.

Again, the Lord asks: “What think ye of Christ?” of each one who has not bowed his heart to the Saviour for salvation from sin and hell. Your eternal welfare depends on whether you have owned to God you are a sinner and trusted Christ as YOUR Saviour. He “is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Come to Him NOW by faith with all your sins, and trust Him as your Saviour and trust the work He did on the cross for you. “Behold, NOW” is the time God will accept you; “behold, NOW is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Question:
What does Ecclesiastes 7:27-29 mean? Solomon said: “Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account: which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”

Answer:
Ecclesiastes 7:27-29: “Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account: which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”

There are few upright people in this world. Solomon said he could find only one man in a thousand, and not one woman who was upright. Maybe he could not find an upright woman because he took his many wives for the wrong reasons. None of them, except possibly his first wife, could have been “in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39) with he and his wife as “one flesh” seeking together to please the Lord.

Question:
Is dating unscriptural? Is there anything wrong with dating?

Answer:
One way of defining “a date” is any time an unmarried boy and girl are alone together, and every date should be looked at as in view of marriage. There are two very important things that must be true if a Christian gets married.

(1) He/she must not be yoked with an unbeliever (2 Corinthians 6:14). A “yoke” is walking with someone with a common purpose, which is what marriage is. The Spirit of God asks the question: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). The answer is “No.”
(2) The other important thing is that a saved person must marry “only in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39). To marry “in the Lord” both partners must want to please the Lord. Thus there will be only one Boss in the marriage–the Lord.

 

Before you date someone, you should find out if these two things are true: (1) Is he/she a believer? (2) Does he/she want to please the Lord?

 

Neither dating nor the concept of dating is mentioned in the Bible. Dating is a fairly recent idea. One thing is very clear that God’s intention is that there should be physical purity before marriage (virginity).

Question:
Is it Scriptural for the man to be the spiritual leader? What if in a dating relationship that doesn’t seem to happen? Should you continue dating him?

Answer:
God has given the man the place of “head of the woman” (1 Corinthians 11:3), and it is very important that he take the lead in suggesting to turn to the Word and pray together regarding each situation.

If the man is not doing this, tell him why you must stop dating him. If you do not see this important quality before marriage, don’t expect to see it after marriage.

Question:
If two very strong Christians get married, but one is much stronger than the other; is that bad?

Answer:
“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend” (Proverbs 27:17).

If you both have the desire to please the Lord you will be studying and praying together, and thus growing together in the Lord. But each person must be willing to have their weaknesses pointed out, in order to become more like Christ.

Question:
Are there any examples in Scripture of dating?

Answer:
Both Jacob and Rachel, and Isaac and Rebekah found each other at a well. Many Biblical wives are first seen doing domestic things.

We should find our mates by being refreshed by him/her from the water of the Word. A boy and girl alone together is a very artificial environment. We should spend time together in family situations, learning about his and her family, and learning how he/she reacts in a family setting.
Samson is a picture of a Christian who “loved a woman” (Judges 16:4) who was not one of the Lord’s people, and who did not want to please the Lord. This union cost Samson his eyes, and eventually his life.Even if a Christian marries a Christian “in the Lord,” we are told that “Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh” (1 Corinthians 7:28). (Not in the Spirit, though.) A husband and wife may find that they have differences as to how to squeeze the toothpaste, or mount the toilet paper roll. Man and woman are made very differently by the Creator, but God joins them together into “one flesh” (Matthew 19:5, 6), and wants to direct them so that together they can represent Himself. For God is made up of three Divine Persons who have the same purpose and function beautifully together (Genesis 1:26,  27).

Question:
They say, “Pray hardest when it’s hardest to pray,” but sometimes you don’t want to pray. Which is more important, to pray/read Bible when you don’t feel like it, or to be honest with God? Should we only pray/read when we want to?

Answer:
We should pray/read our Bibles, because He wants us to. “Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, 18). “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). The Lord desires that we “meditate” (Joshua 1:8), and “study” (2 Timothy 2:15) His precious Word.

The Lord knows our thoughts (Psalm 139:1, 2), so He knows if we don’t want to pray, or if we are even praying in anger. But we should want to not hold anything back from Him, and tell Him so by saying: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23, 24).

Question:
What does Hebrews 6:4-6 really mean?

Answer:
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.”
The people spoken of in these verses were Jews who professed to be Christians, but were not. They kept company (came to meetings, social events) with saved people, and this is how they were “partakers” outwardly of the Holy Spirit, because the saved people they kept company with had the Spirit indwelling them. These professors had “tasted the heavenly gift” by hearing the good news of God’s salvation through Christ, but they had not swallowed the message by trusting in Christ as their Saviour.
These verses give the solemn warning that “if” these unsaved Jews should “fall away” by stopping to keep company with believers and would turn against Christ by going back to Judaism, they could not be saved. Why was this true? Because the Jewish sacrifices “can never take away sins” (Hebrews 10:11), and by offering those Jewish sacrifices they “crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh.” By offering those animal sacrifices they refused Christ’s sacrifice and said that “we are” not “sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” never to be done again (Hebrews 10:10).

 

Pharaoh is an example of a person who was enlightened, but did not partake. Pharaoh first hardened his own heart, but after a time the Lord hardened his heart. The book of Hebrews was written as a warning to Jewish people who made a profession of being Christian that if they went back to Judaism they would not find salvation there, and that it is impossible to find salvation anywhere else but in Christ. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Question:
Is truly being saved in your heart or in your head?

Answer:
One can “believe” the way the devils do, but he will not be saved. “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19).

Salvation comes by believing or trusting in our hearts. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9, 10). Do you believe in your heart that Christ died for you? Are you resting only in Christ and the work He did on the cross of Calvary for your salvation from sin and hell? Those people who believe about Jesus are twelve inches away from being saved, because they believe in their head, but not in their heart.