Archive for 2011
I’m 100% with you on what you say about animal rights
Question: I’ve read what you’ve said about animal rights not being biblically correct, and I’m 100% with you on that. Sometimes it’s very hard to hear people go on and on about animal rights. Animals are not people. Jesus mentioned in Matthew how we are worth more than the sparrows. Thank you for writing out all these…
Read MoreI committed fornication, but then my boyfriend dumped me. Does that mean I can never get married?
Question: My ex-boyfriend and I committed fornication. We both knew it was wrong to do what we were doing, but the feelings just got the best of us. We both understand now that we have committed a very grievous sin against God. I have really struggled with the guilt and pray every night and morning…
Read MoreWould you explain Hebrews 13:10-13?
Question: I’m having a little trouble trying to wrap my mind around what Hebrews 13:10-13 is teaching. What is your understanding of these verses? I really do value your observations and commentary. Answer: I’m going to expand the range just a little bit so we get a complete thought: “Do not be carried about with…
Read MoreMy girlfriend was seeing another man while dating me. I broke up with her, but she wants to get back together. Should I forgive her?
Question: I am 21 male and I have been walking with the Lord for about three years with my fiancee. I love her, and I admit that we fell into temptation and began sexual relations. I can admit that, as a man of God, I put her first and the Lord second. With that said…
Read MoreI feel obsessed to correct any inaccuracies in what I say. Is this a problem?
Question: What should you do if you were talking to someone and you think you might have said something or explained something wrong? Couldn’t this be considered lying even if you didn’t purposely do it? And wouldn’t that mean that you should explain it better so you tell the truth? I think I get at…
Read MoreJesus would never be a part of a religion that sacrificed animals!
Question: Christ would have not been the person, the all perfect being, to have believed in this cult of animal sacrifices. Also he was a vegetarian. He would not have created innocent sentinent animals for his personal lust of murdering them in an abhoring debauchery way for sacrifice and food. Stop spewing this false teaching.…
Read MoreIs it wrong to hope Jesus doesn’t return soon? I still have a lot of people to whom I want to bring the Gospel?
Question: Is it wrong if I don’t want God to come quickly? We always sing songs about being excited to go to Heaven and asking God to come quickly. I don’t really know that I want him to come quickly; it almost feels selfish to pray and sing for that. Although I have some things…
Read MoreCan a person be baptized correctly by someone who doesn’t teach the whole truth?
Question: I have a few questions for you. One is regarding your answer: “Does a person leaving the Christian Church need to be baptized again?” about a person leaving the Christian Church. I talked to a preacher who is in a bit of conflict with a person who left the Christian Church on the same…
Read MoreShould I wait to be baptized?
Question: I am a new convert. I converted about 6 months ago, but I have been always curious about God and learning about Jesus. The only problem is that I’m not baptized through the waters yet. I still know that the Holy Spirit is with me and I can carry (at least to me )…
Read MoreIs it a sin to eat bone marrow?
Question: I would like to know if it is a sin to eat the blood inside the chicken’s bone. Before I got converted I used to eat it, but after I started to doubt if it was a sin or not too, so I would like to know if it’s a sin to do that.…
Read MoreCan I spank my 10-month-old?
Question: Can I spank my 10-month-old? Answer: Discipline starts as soon as a child starts to reach for things he should not touch. A firm but calm “No” followed by a flick on the back of the hand is usually enough to discourage a child. The key is consistency. You need to have your child…
Read MoreEsther: God’s Providence
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/EstherGodsProvidence.mp3 by Steve Hamilton
Read MoreOur fourteen-year-old runs our house and is ruining our life. What do we do?
Question: My wife and I have a daughter age 14. We love her very much, but we made many mistakes. From the time she turned three, she began having hours long tantrums and screaming fits. Time outs were futile, so we ended up giving in to all her demands. Now we have an unhappy home.…
Read MoreIs giving a hand job sinful?
Question: I’m a Christian girl and I have been dating a Christian boy for almost a year now. We kiss and hug but now he wants me to give him a hand job. I know that he loves me for me not because of my body, etc. I’m truly afraid that if I give him…
Read MoreWas Goliath six cubits and a span or four cubits and a span?
Question: The King James Bible reports the giant Goliath as “six cubits and a span” in height — over nine feet tall, (over 2.75 m) (I Samuel 17:4), but the Septuagint, a Greek Bible, also gives Goliath’s height as “four cubits and a span” (~2.00 m). So by the interpretation which one is correct? Answer: This…
Read MoreI am Compelled
by Ronny E. Hinds via Biblical Insights, Vol. 11, No. 11, November 2011 I checked my thesaurus to make sure. Yes, the synonyms for compelled are bound, obliged, forced, obligated, duty-bound, required, and constrained. Yes, that describes my attitude exactly. About what? — About the recent news from New York and California. The New York State…
Read MoreIs I Corinthians 7:9 a command or a recommendation?
Question: I’ve always wondered about I Corinthians 7:9. I’m unsure of how to take it: as a command or a recommendation? I read that “let them marry” is a better translation than “they should marry,” but I’m not sure how strongly it’s intended to come across, or even the difference in implication between “let them…
Read MoreWhile drinking I had video sex with a stranger. I feel so ashamed of what I’ve done.
Question: I have a wonderful wife and family. I have been happily married, and we wonderful children. Our life is great. However, I have let sin into my life. I started looking at porn about a year ago and thought nothing of it. However, it has crept in, and I think I have a problem.…
Read MoreShould I divorce my husband?
Question: I am married with two children and one on the way. I recently discovered that my husband was having an affair with another woman. I am questioning if divorce is the right decision. My husband flirts with females online and I have found inappropriate pictures of various females in his phone as well as…
Read MoreMy husband abandoned me right after the wedding. Can I marry again?
Question: I married a man five years ago, only for the wrong purposes. He was born in another country, and he needed me to help him with legal documents. We married and never lived together because shortly after he was nowhere to be found. To this day I haven’t heard from him. I have a…
Read MoreMy ex-husband has been engaged in sex since our divorce. Is that fornication?
Question: I was in a physically and emotionally abusive marriage for 30 years and finally decided to divorce after I thought he was going to kill me in a fit of rage. Since leaving, he has engaged in intercourse with his first cousin and pornography. Are these acts considered fornication? Incest is a first-degree felony…
Read MoreIs homosexuality innate or natural for some people?
Question: I have a question about something that I’m really confused about. It deals with homosexuality. In Romans 1, it talks about men and woman going against nature and having unnatural relations with the same sex. I’ve read on a pro-gay theology site about how the original Greek words phusikos and phusis, which both mean…
Read MoreWhere is hell?
Question: Can you tell me what the Bible says about hell? Is it in the earth or is it a spiritual place like heaven? Can we find hell on earth? Is there an opening in the earth? People say that there is hell in the earth. Is that biblical? Answer: See: What Is Hell Like? Hell…
Read MoreI broke my promises to my boyfriend. Will God punish me?
Question: I am a girl in my mid-twenties. I had a boyfriend for about five years. I was deeply in love with him. We almost regarded each other as husband and wife. We saw our future together. I cared for him a lot and he always supported me at all times. He took the best…
Read MoreWhat do you think about Christianity and heavy metal music?
Question: What do you think about Christianity and heavy metal music? As an avid listener of the genre and a Christian, I’m always plagued with people telling me that it’s wrong and satanic. Since I’m the one who actually listens to the genre, I find that those people aren’t very educated on the matter. From…
Read MoreAfter the terrible and unthinkable things I did, is there any hope for me, at all, not to be cast to the lake of fire?
Question: I have a question to ask you: In my youth, I was baptized and gave my life to Jesus, but I did not take it seriously. I fell back into sin and lived in sin. After a couple of years, the Lord drew me, delivered me, and started working in me, changing me. But…
Read MoreThe article on gambling is one of the most helpful I ever read.
Question: Just wanted to say thank you for the article, Is Gambling Sinful?, by T. Sean Sullivan on your website. One of the most helpful I have ever read! Answer: I am glad to hear the site is being useful to you.
Read MoreBeing Made New
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/BeingMadeNew.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 42:1-12 I. It is that time of year when we begin thinking about the new year. A. Sure, it is just a date, a marker in the sand, but it becomes an opportunity to look at what was done and resolve to do better. B. Paul talked about that in…
Read MoreMay we use some of your material?
Question: I’m writing to let you know how much I enjoy reading your web site. You have so many great and inspiring sermons, articles, and studies. We are a small congregation and are currently studying the development of the denominations. We are really concentrating on the Catholic Church and its traditions, etc. You have a…
Read MoreI’m not certain what group you are with, but I find your website helpful
Question: I am a disciple of Jesus Christ who attends a fellowship of churches once known as the International Churches of Christ. I was googling opinions and articles on various biblical topics when I saw your website. I just wanted to tell you how refreshing it was to see such an uncompromising stand on being…
Read MoreIs it wrong for a church to give out a form letter to its members to send to their representatives?
Question: I received a church bulletin with a sample letter to be sent to Senators and Representatives demanding the defeat of the Respect for Marriage Act since it broadens the definition of marriage beyond one man and one woman. Although I agree with the content of it, I am of the opinion that it is…
Read MoreThe Holy Spirit’s Intercessory Prayer
by Tanner Campbell In this article, we will put Romans 8:26 under a full investigation. The text explains that “the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” This difficult…
Read MoreHigher Learning
by Bryan Matthew Dockens A common question visitors seem to think appropriate of preachers, at least in this writer’s experience, is “Where did you go to school?” But folks just never seem to know how to react when I tell them about my year at Moorpark College, the community college near my hometown. They expect…
Read MoreI feel the need to thank you for your efforts on the website
Question: I have examined your website for a few days and feel the need to thank you all for your efforts on all of it. I am a member of a church of Christ We also have a web presence. It appears we have a similar congregation (200) attendance. I plan to at least reference…
Read MoreWas Jael morally right in killing Sisera?
Question: I was wondering about Jael. Was what she did right? It’s shocking to our modern sensibilities (or at least to mine) to read the story as presented in Judges 4. And yet Deborah and Barak (who seem to be relatively moral people?) praise her for everything she did in Judges 5.24-27. Just curious how…
Read MoreMy pastor says I’m disobeying church law by wearing color outfits to services. What do I do?
Question: Dear Minister of God, Thank you for the clarification of wearing white dresses to church and not wearing jewelry. Our pastor says that I’m disobeying the church law by wearing color attire to church. I feel it is a conspiracy (Isaiah 8:12) he’s placing on me. I don’t wear jewels because my parents didn’t let…
Read MoreWhen Jesus said he didn’t know the day or hour of his return, was he speaking in hyperbole?
Question: In Mark 13:32, it says that “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” During our Bible study, somebody said that Jesus really does not know the day of His return. Is this true? Can we take this…
Read MoreWhat does integrity mean?
Question: What does integrity mean? Answer: Integrity means to be complete, upright, innocent of willful wrongdoing, a person with a clear conscience. For example, Job was a man of integrity. “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God…
Read MoreCan a preacher be supported by multiple congregations that he is working with?
Question: Is it scriptural for a preacher to accept support from two churches at the same time? e.g. from the church where he is located and the other from the church which he helped established (currently preaching in both churches). Answer: “I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you. And when…
Read MoreWhy was David wrong in numbering Israel?
Question: In II Samuel 24:1-2, it was written that David commanded Joab to take a census of Israel. After the census was taken, in II Samuel 24:10, David knew that he had sinned and God sends a pestilence upon Israel as a consequence. Why did God consider David commanding a census of Israel sin? And…
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