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).

Question:
Could you give specific Scriptures about questioning God?

Answer:
“Nay but, 0 man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast Thou made me thus?” (Romans 9:20). “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). Ephesians 1:10 shows that God is in control of every situation.

Jesus asked God a question: “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). This was a cry of agony from His soul. He knew why, for He had this agony so that sinners would not be forsaken. This question was the best way to convey to us Jesus’ agony and grief. Those people at the cross heard Him. This is a question that didn’t require an answer, but to get them thinking.

Question:
Do we have to ask for the Spirit, or do we just receive Him when we are saved?

Answer:
Ephesians 1:13 says: “After that ye believed [or the moment ye believed] ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.” It is impossible to be saved and not have the Spirit indwelling us for we are told: “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Romans 8:9).

When we are saved, our body becomes the “temple” or dwelling place of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). The Holy Spirit is a real Person, just as the Father and Son are Persons of the Godhead (Ephesians 2:18). One of the first things the Spirit does in a soul is to convict of sin (John 16:7-16). When we trust Christ as our Saviour the Spirit gives us life, and we are “born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

Those who are saved are told to “be filled [or controlled] with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). We should judge (and be done with) anything that would “grieve” the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30-32), for this would hinder Him from controlling us. We should also not “quench” the Spirit by “despising” (or holding down) prophesying, which is telling forth the Word of the Lord for the time (1 Thessalonians 5:19,20). To hold down the Word would also hinder the Holy Spirit from filling and controlling our lives.

Question:
Is it wrong to question God on something that goes on in our lives?

Answer:
We should not question “why” God has allowed a certain thing to happen to us, for we know that His love for us could not allow anything in our lives but what is for His honor and glory and the eventual blessing of His people. “And we [do] know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. . . . to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:28, 29). The Spirit of God tells us that the Lord “having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end [right through everything]” (John 13:1).

But we should ask Him to show us what He wants us to learn from the experience, and we should pray to Him with our feelings, telling Him honestly what we feel. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Question:
Can we ever lose the Holy Spirit?

Answer:
No, we cannot lose the Holy Spirit, for the Lord said He will “abide with you forever” (John 14:16). And we are sealed or secured by the Spirit “unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30), which will be when Christ comes to rapture His believers to heaven and our bodies are redeemed (Romans 8:23).

Question:
How does Christ dwell in our hearts?

Answer:
“By His Spirit in the inner man” (verse 16). The Spirit of God is the one Who makes Christ precious to us, and keeps our hearts taken up with Christ. The Lord tells us: “”However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13, 14).

Christianity is Christ within us, controlling us; being constantly aware of His presence and dwelling within our hearts. He is constantly in our hearts, but He should constantly be precious to us, and we should constantly talk to Him about every detail of our life. We should allow the Lord’s life to be lived in us: this is Christianity.

Question:
Is it true that one of Noah’s sons was the first to be of a different race?

Answer:
The scientific definition of a race of mankind, as I understand it, is the following: A race is a population of individuals who at one time inhabited a certain geographical area, relatively isolated from other populations, and differing from other groups of people in the world with regard to certain inherited biological characteristics (such as body structure, facial features, hair form, skin color, blood type, susceptibility to certain diseases, etc.) It is quite likely that the different races of mankind developed as a result of the Lord scattering the people “upon the face of all the earth” following their self-exalting attempt to build a tower that would reach unto heaven (Genesis 11:1-9).

Scholars who have studied the names of the descendants of the three sons of Noah in Genesis 10 believe they can identify the names of Noah’s grandsons with different nations of Europe, Asia, and Africa. (For example, Mizraim, Genesis 10:6, the son of Ham, is also the Hebrew word for “Egypt.”) So when the people were scattered following the building of the tower, it is likely that they were scattered according to the families of the grandsons of Noah. Then, through being isolated from the other families and marrying only within the family for a period of time, the different families eventually became racially distinct from one another.
Perhaps the one who asked the question, or maybe other readers, may be wondering how the black race originated. In this connection I am reminded of a conversation that took place when my wife and I and two acquaintances were having lunch at a restaurant. One of the acquaintances, noticing a number of blacks in the restaurant, asked, “Where did the black people come from? The Bible says that God made man in His image, and God isn’t black.”
I replied, “You are absolutely right. God isn’t black. But God isn’t white either. `God is a Spirit’ according to John 4:24.”
Skin color in man is an inherited trait, governed by several different genes that control the production of melanin, a pigment that makes the hair and skin dark. A person who has mostly melanin-producing genes will be black, while one who has few or no such genes (or only genes that inhibit the production of melanin) will be white.
As I see it, there are three possibilities: Either (1) Adam and Eve had all white genes, and later on in human history God caused some of those genes to mutate into black (or melanin-producing) genes, or (2) Adam and Eve had all black genes and later on God caused some of those genes to mutate into white genes, or (3) Adam and Eve both were created with some black and some white genes. If a man and woman, both having some black and some white genes marry and have children, the children’s skin color may range from all white to all black, depending upon the numbers of black and white genes inherited from the two parents. (To learn more about how this can happen, find a book on genetics at your local library.)
To my knowledge, the only Biblical mention of skin color is found in Jeremiah 13:23–“Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?” The Hebrew word for Ethiopia is “Cush,” which is the name of one of the sons of Ham, the son of Noah. Ham may have inherited more black genes than did his brothers, Shem and Japheth. And Cush, in turn, may have inherited more black genes than his three brothers, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan. Of the four sons of Ham, only Cush is identified with a race of black people. The descendants of Mizraim (the Egyptians), Phut (the Libyans) and Canaan (the Canaanites) were not black-skinned but had somewhat brownish, swarthy skin, just as is often seen even today in the people of these nations.
Those who desire further information on this topic should read an article entitled, “Blacks, Whites, and the Bible,” which appeared in the September-October 1990 issue of the periodical, Words of Truth. If you do not have access to this periodical, you may obtain a copy of the article from the publishers of IN TOUCH or from me—Paul L. Canner.

 

Question:
Go back to the first question in Matthew 2:2. “Where is He?” Where is He today?

Answer:
Turn to Ephesians 3:14-21: “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (verse 17). Christ dwelling in our hearts means that He comes not just for a visit, but to dwell, to be a part of, to be truly and faithfully in our hearts daily. We should want His thoughts to be our thoughts, His actions to be our actions. Christ in us—not just a resident but the President. “Christ liveth in” every believer (Galatians 2:20), but if He “dwells in our hearts,” He will be the controller of all. We are only satisfied when He is dwelling, controlling, and taking care of everything in our lives.

Question:
Was Noah still alive when the tower of Babel was built?

Answer:
We can calculate from Genesis 9:28 and 11:10-26 that Abraham was 58 years old when Noah died. It seems likely from Genesis 11 that the tower of Babel was built before Abraham’s lifetime, so the answer would be yes, Noah was still alive when the tower of Babel was built.

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:
What would you say to a non-christian that has something bad happen to him, and he blames God?

Answer:
It’s important to let them know that we care, with deep concern and sympathy for them in their problem. Job’s friends did this for him: “So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great” (Job 2:13).

Then, let the Lord open up the way to tell them the truth they need (1 Timothy 6:3-10). The unsaved are only looking at the things they can see. Verse 7 says that we haven’t brought anything into the world, so we won’t take anything with us when we leave this life. The person should be confronted with the fact that he needs eternal life. He needs to see how uncertain life is here on earth. “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the Word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40:8, 1 Peter 1:23-25). Sin introduced sorrow into the world (Genesis 3). We must learn that apart from God’s strength, we have none. We should turn to God in repentance of our sins, and ask Him for salvation, claiming His promise that “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).

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:
How should we witness to a non-christian that is bitter against God?

Answer:
Bring God’s love before him, and how the Lord helps the Christian who has trials. Tell of what David experienced: “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4). Tell him that God is the only source of comfort. “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).

In 2 Timothy 2:9-13 Paul tells that God uses our trials to bring the Word of God before others, and there is a future reason for trials, for if we suffer we shall reign with Christ. He is using our trials to teach us to accept everything as from His all-wise hands, and thus He is preparing us for His coming kingdom.
In addition, God will always provide a way for the Christian to bear the trial (1 Corinthians 10:13). The Lord can help us in our trials because He has suffered and felt the same. He can completely relate to everything that happens to us because He was tempted in every way that we are, but He didn’t sin (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15,16).
We might not like the trial at the time, but in the long run it will help us to grow in the Lord’s things (Hebrews 12:2-11). God has something good for us in everything that happens to us (Romans 8:28). And we can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked by the shield of FAITH (Ephesians 6:16).
Acrostic:         Forsaking

                        All

                        I

                        Trust

                        Him

Question:
What is the first question in the Bible?

Answer:
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1).

Satan asked this question of Eve, but Satan was really questioning God. When God says something it is true. Because in Genesis 2:16 and 17: “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
The result of the question is in verses 2-9: The woman sinned. Satan lied to her, so she ate of the tree. Because our first parents sinned we are born sinners, born into a sinful race (Romans 5:12, Psalm 51:5). Adam turned away from God, and all his descendants did also, for “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
We all need to have our sins taken away so we can go to heaven. We need to be saved! Christ bore the wrath of God against our sins on the cross of Calvary and therefore “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).